"What is not lasting will end in tragedy." — William Golding, Lord of the Flies
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Sakayanagi Arisu should be arriving soon.
Kitagawa Ryo took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Arisu was a year older than him in this simulation, as she was born in the same year as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and thus part of the fourth generation. Ryo, meanwhile, belonged to the fifth.
Regardless of whether it was the real world or Arisu's last simulation, she would visit White Room for the first time at age seven, accompanied by her father. During that visit, she would see Ayanokouji Kiyotaka through the glass wall—a crucial narrative event.
So after passing his sixth birthday, Ryo began paying close attention to that timeline.
But things were more difficult than he had imagined. As one of the lowest-ranked test subjects in the White Room hierarchy, even though he currently held an important role in their internal plans, his treatment hadn't improved. At least not yet.
The only good news was that, thanks to the previous simulation, Ryo had a rough estimate of Arisu's arrival time. But even that wasn't reliable. The circumstances of her life had changed significantly between the two simulations, and her current timeline likely aligned more with reality than with the first simulation.
In addition to the uncertain timing, Ryo faced another major problem: he had no way of meeting her.
White Room subjects were strictly confined to their classrooms during the day, with no free time, and surveillance was omnipresent. On the day of the Sakayanagi family's visit, security would undoubtedly be even tighter.
Ryo slowly closed his eyes. His goal wasn't to break the game or escape the simulation. What he truly needed was someone capable of disrupting the cycle and saving this world from descending further into tragedy.
If no external force intervened, this simulation would likely end in even greater disaster than any before.
Initially, Ryo had hoped to use the opportunity to investigate White Room's inner workings. But he quickly realized his naivety. White Room never intended to interact with him deeply. On the contrary, they seemed to prefer he remain a silent, pliant piece of cloth—unmoving, expressionless, and easily manipulated.
Through repeated forced drug injections and brainwashing, Ryo finally understood White Room's expectations of him—as nothing more than a surrogate in their twisted version of the "Harlow monkey experiment" with its cloth mother surrogate.
It was a butterfly effect of sorts.
Ryo looked at his personal interface, where [Leader], [Affinity], and [Peerless] talents gleamed. These traits had passively attracted the attention of the entire fifth generation. White Room had noticed this and, rather than suppress it, allowed the phenomenon to grow unchecked. Over two years, he had unintentionally become a unique and distorted symbol within the White Room.
Distorted.
He sighed and rolled over, staring into the black void of the ceiling.
Only a place like White Room could create such distortions. Ryo never believed true talent could be cultivated in such an environment. It either erased a person's emotions entirely or pushed them into emotional extremes—living driven by hatred, obsession, or love.
Ayanokouji's fourth generation embodied the former. His fifth generation was becoming the latter.
To be driven by fabricated rationality or artificial sentiment—neither was healthy.
So.
[Engagement Contract: A one-time-use item. Allows the user to form an engagement with any character.]
Ryo reopened the item description in his inventory.
He needed a variable—something to disrupt the current deadlock. Curling up in bed, enduring the waves of discomfort in his mind, he made his decision.
[Please specify the character's name.]
[Sakayanagi Arisu]
[You are about to form an engagement with Sakayanagi Arisu. Confirm?]
[Confirmed.]
[Item used successfully.]
[You are now engaged to Sakayanagi Arisu.]
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"Looks like the project's progressing nicely, Ayanokouji."
The elderly man, despite his advanced age, still appeared remarkably spirited. Naoe Jinnosuke, a well-known political figure who had served as Minister of Transport, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Chief Cabinet Secretary, spoke calmly with an air of authority.
"If the plan wasn't going well, I wouldn't have dared come to see you, Sensei," Ayanokouji Atsuomi replied swiftly, his humble demeanor completely masking the dominance he wielded within the White Room.
"The significance of this plan will only grow as it advances. You understand that, don't you?"
Naoe Jinnosuke smiled, swirling his sake cup before taking a light sip.
"I have a general idea."
Atsuomi knew this was not the time to appear ignorant. Carefully, he refilled Jinnosuke's cup and began to explain:
"Recently, a major corporation president approached me. He's a notorious playboy with many mistresses. One of them secretly stopped using birth control, hoping to climb higher by having his child."
"In the end, when she gave birth and excitedly informed him, she discovered that some barriers cannot be overcome by an illegitimate child. The enraged president had her drowned in Tokyo Bay. Apparently, his wife is highly possessive."
"But what troubled him was the child. After confirming via DNA test that it was indeed his own bloodline, he couldn't bring himself to kill the child, yet raising it publicly was out of the question. That's when he heard about our project."
"Following your advice, I packaged the plan as a secret talent development program, supposedly more advanced than the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School."
"So, the president asked me to take the child into White Room, to raise and educate him there."
"And that's not the only case."
Jinnosuke clapped lightly, draining his cup in one gulp—an action that belied his age.
"It's not just corporate heads. If the plan progresses smoothly, financial groups and political circles will become increasingly interested too."
"As you said, many of them have illegitimate children they can't publicly acknowledge. These children are often deprived of proper education. If they learn of a government-supported, secret, and stable training institution..."
"They'll willingly send their children."
Atsuomi nodded. That was precisely why he had been so ruthless with the early batches of test subjects. They were necessary sacrifices, paving the way for the next generation of illegitimate heirs.
Wasn't this educational philosophy warped?
Jinnosuke dismissed the thought casually:
"Make sure to train them properly. They'll be the backbone of our faction in the future."
What Jinnosuke truly sought were perfectly branded, obedient products—servants molded to serve.
From his eyes, Atsuomi also sensed another implication:
These illegitimate children, despite their status, carried the blood of their powerful parents—corporate leaders or politicians. When the time was right, they could be elevated to positions of influence.
It was a perilous plan—but one promising unimaginable rewards.
Atsuomi also knew that if it failed, Jinnosuke would remain untouched. The burden of failure would fall solely on him, ending likely in a suicide for redemption.
"How is the Sakayanagi family lately?"
"No issues. Once Sakayanagi Narimori steps into White Room, it will be a fact that the Sakayanagi family is involved in the development of this institution."
"What about Tsukishiro?"
Atsuomi froze slightly, caught off guard by the sudden mention. Tsukishiro was a man introduced by Jinnosuke when Atsuomi first took over the White Room project. Tsukishiro claimed he could do everything from personal security to intelligence gathering—a true jack-of-all-trades.
However, because he wasn't from Jinnosuke's direct faction, Atsuomi had never pursued a deeper connection.
"Don't underestimate that man. He's extremely useful. Not only within our faction but has ties on the other side as well,"
Jinnosuke reminded him firmly.
Atsuomi nodded slowly.
"Tsukishiro... hmm."
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"Tsukishiro-san, we meet again."
"It's been a while, Sakayanagi-san."
With a faint smile, Tsukishiro welcomed Sakayanagi Narimori and gestured for him to take a seat. Ever the attentive host, he poured him a cup of tea with practiced elegance.
"About the matter I requested last time..."
Narimori didn't touch the tea immediately. Holding the cup in both hands, he leaned forward eagerly.
"I've found some leads. We should have results soon," Tsukishiro replied with a reassuring smile. Tapping the table lightly, he added with mild interest, "By the way, I hear you're about to become the new chairman of the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. Congratulations in advance."
"Your information is as accurate as ever, Tsukishiro-san," Narimori responded with a chuckle. "Though honestly, I'm merely inheriting the position from my father. I'm not exactly brimming with confidence."
"Come now, Sakayanagi-san. Your abilities are well-known to all."
After whispering a few instructions to a nearby butler, Tsukishiro continued, "I heard that the matter I'm investigating might be connected to the elder Sakayanagi as well?"
"Yes," Narimori admitted with a wry smile. "He suddenly recalled a marriage agreement made with the Kitagawa conglomerate years ago. It was meant for our generation, but since both sides ended up having sons, it was left unfulfilled. And because Arisu's health wasn't stable, it was never brought up again."
"Ah, yes. I do recall something like that. Your daughter is undergoing new treatment, correct?"
"Yes, though it's quite bizarre," Narimori said, his expression a mix of amazement and confusion. "The new treatment plan was something Arisu found herself a year ago beneath a tree in the hospital courtyard."
Even now, Narimori struggled to fully believe it, and Tsukishiro's widened eyes reflected his own disbelief.
"It was a USB drive containing detailed pathology studies and treatment methods for congenital heart disease. Nobody knows who left it there—surveillance footage caught nothing. It's like it fell from the sky."
"We had multiple experts review it before proceeding, and thankfully, it worked."
Tsukishiro tugged at the corner of his mouth, feeling as if he were listening to a fairy tale.
"Well, as long as it worked..."
"We plan to release the information under the Sakayanagi name to ensure its wider use and to help more patients."
Tsukishiro nodded with understanding.
Of course. They probably just had a private medical team working in secret. Just admit it already.
"It was because of this that my father brought up the marriage agreement again," Narimori added, changing the subject.
"However, the Kitagawa conglomerate has no male heirs. Even the head of their generation passed away due to illness. Only the old patriarch remains, barely holding on."
"But from that side, we received intel that the previous head might have had an illegitimate child. It wasn't publicly acknowledged at the time, but now that there's no direct heir, they're actively searching."
"And because the marriage agreement is tied to our family, they reached out to you, Tsukishiro-san."
"Hmm..."
Tsukishiro didn't seem surprised. Outside of the unusually devoted Narimori, most people in their circles were quite promiscuous. Illegitimate children weren't rare.
"You mentioned earlier that you've found some clues. What exactly do you mean?"
"Indeed, we've traced something."
Tsukishiro nodded just as the butler returned. Taking the neatly organized documents from him, he handed them to Narimori.
"Although it dates back six or seven years, we did manage to uncover something."
"White Room."
"There's a high chance that the child was sent there."
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