[Talent selection complete.]
[Seven talents have been drawn for the player. They are as follows:]
[Photographic Memory (Gold): Your memory is nearly at the limit of human capability. (Better start studying humanities!)]
[Close Kin (Gold): You share a publicly recognized blood relation with the heroine of this chapter. (Specific relationship will be revealed during the simulation.)]
[Master Chef (Purple): Your cooking skills are top-tier, even among professionals. (Win their heart through their stomach!)]
[Herculean Strength (Purple): Your physical fitness is outstanding. (You could make a living carrying bricks at a construction site.)]
[Hawk Eyes (Purple): You possess extraordinary vision, capable of noticing many details. (Please don't use this for peeping.)]
[Pianist (Purple): You play the piano excellently. (Still haven't met a violin girl, though.)]
[Abandoned Child (Green): You don't know who your parents are, but maybe one day they'll find you. (Wait patiently with hope.)]
[Please select one talent to solidify.]
[You currently hold fifteen solidified talents:]
[Childhood Sweetheart (Gold), Etched in Memory (Gold), Perseverance (Gold), Grand Master (Gold), Trickster (Gold), Super Detective (Gold),]
[Orator (Purple), Natural Authority (Purple), Crowd Charmer (Purple), Ultimate Cat Butler (Purple), Martial Artist (Purple), Photographer (Purple),]
[Well-Read (Blue), Minor Fortune (Blue), Soulmate (Blue)]
"Remove Childhood Sweetheart, Etched in Memory, and Soulmate."
The goal of Chapter 3 would definitely involve Horikita Suzune. Now that Ryo knew her internal struggles, removing all uncertain factors should make clearing this chapter much easier.
While thinking, Kitagawa Ryo carefully selected the talents to bring into the simulation. Unlike the previous two chapters, he now had a deep understanding of Horikita Suzune. And with the newly drawn talent "Close Kin," he no longer needed other talents to establish a connection with her.
He definitely didn't want another engagement popping up from that "Etched in Memory" talent.
Truthfully, Ryo wasn't very concerned with this round's initial talents. After clearing the previous two chapters, his solidified talent pool was already stacked with gold-level abilities. As long as the new talents didn't drag him down, he could rely on his existing ones to progress.
And while this batch wasn't exceptional, it didn't have any disastrous picks either. Aside from the green "Abandoned Child" talent, the rest were reasonably useful.
He didn't have any Talent Refresh Cards in his inventory, so if he got stuck with something bad, he wouldn't even have the option to replace it.
Fortunately, he still had two very practical items:
[Ichinose Honami's Self: At the beginning of each simulation, randomly upgrades the quality of three talents (gold talents excluded, applies to both initial and solidified talents).]
[Karuizawa Kei's Self: At the beginning of each simulation, randomly upgrades one talent to the highest gold tier.]
[Talent selection complete. Activating the effect of "Ichinose Honami's Self." Randomly upgrading selected talents...]
[Master Chef (Purple) upgraded to Culinary Deity (Gold).]
[Culinary Deity (Gold): Your cooking skills have reached the pinnacle of perfection. (Your dishes practically glow.)]
[Crowd Charmer (Purple) upgraded to Unparalleled (Gold).]
[Unparalleled (Gold): Your appearance is the most flawless creation of the gods. (Personally molded by Nuwa herself.)]
[Ultimate Cat Butler (Purple) upgraded to Hotaru (Gold).]
[Hotaru (Gold): While the average cat lives 10–12 years, Hotaru will stay with you forever. (Prepare to be her devoted servant for life.)]
[Activating effect of "Karuizawa Kei's Self." Randomly upgrading one talent...]
[Abandoned Child (Green) upgraded to Heir of Prestige (Gold).]
[Heir of Prestige (Gold): You don't know who your parents are, but one day they may find you. (And you'll return to inherit the family fortune.)]
"...Huh."
For the first time, Kitagawa Ryo showed a genuine emotional reaction. He twitched the corner of his mouth but ultimately pressed "Confirm."
[All talent selections complete.]
[Photographic Memory (Gold), Close Kin (Gold), Perseverance (Gold), Grand Master (Gold), Trickster (Gold), Culinary Deity (Gold), Unparalleled (Gold), Super Detective (Gold), Drama King (Gold), Hotaru (Gold), Heir of Prestige (Gold)]
[Herculean Strength (Purple), Hawk Eyes (Purple), Orator (Purple), Natural Authority (Purple), Martial Artist (Purple), Photographer (Purple), Pianist (Purple)]
[Well-Read (Blue), Minor Fortune (Blue)]
"It just keeps getting more luxurious."
Ryo looked at the lineup of talents before him and couldn't help but mutter.
[Chapter 3 Goal: Identify Horikita Suzune's core character flaw and correct it, until she is freed from the shadow of her brother Horikita Manabu.]
Just as expected.
[Simulation begins.]
-------------------------------------
Just like always, class began in a lifeless classroom, with a lifeless lecture.
Horikita Suzune sat upright with perfect posture, standing out among the slouched, sprawled, or half-asleep students around her.
The first afternoon class was math—a subject notorious for lulling people to sleep. Spring fatigue, summer drowsiness, autumn sluggishness, and winter hibernation—students always found a seasonal excuse to nap.
The atmosphere stalled as the math teacher fell silent. Some students, startled by the sudden pause, jolted awake and peeked at the board, where a string of complex equations had been written.
"Actually, you just need to adjust the method I taught earlier to solve this. Anyone want to try?"
The teacher's voice resumed. Sleepy students in the back took this as a cue to rest their heads again. The equation looked like a tangled mess—clearly too much effort.
"Alright then, I'll call on someone randomly."
Suddenly, everyone snapped to attention. Some students rushed to put on glasses, others grabbed water bottles to gulp half of it down, and a few started scribbling nonsense in their notebooks.
"Horikita Suzune."
All the panicked reactions ceased instantly.
With the class watching, Horikita calmly walked to the blackboard. She didn't begin writing right away but paused briefly.
The students stared at her back. In a dull classroom, watching someone else mess up could be the most exciting entertainment. All it took was one person laughing to ignite a chorus of mockery.
Like a celebration.
Especially with Horikita, who was widely disliked in class. A few girls up front looked ready to leap in joy the moment she said, "Sorry, I can't solve it."
But Horikita picked up the chalk, drew a few neat and helpful lines to clarify the messy problem—like untangling a knotted thread with grace.
The whole class deflated like rain-soaked eggplants.
"Well done. You may return to your seat."
The teacher waved her off.
Other students might feign humility at that moment, but Horikita gave a confident nod and walked back with her usual upright posture.
School was where Horikita felt the most confident.
Because once she returned home—
"This is a copy of the Olympiad problems your brother worked on. It took a lot of effort to get."
Just as she tried to share her joy about solving a difficult math problem in class, the boy before her interrupted coldly.
He extended his hand, holding a brand-new workbook.
"If you stay on schedule, you should be ready for this year's fall Olympiad."
He stuffed the workbook into her arms and turned away.
"Flip through it. We eat in ten minutes."
"Okay."
Horikita obediently nodded. On the wall behind her was a meticulously scheduled daily planner, arranged to the minute—something she had worked out with Kitagawa Ryo.
To surpass her brother Horikita Manabu, this was necessary.
She couldn't afford to be satisfied with minor victories. She had to keep pushing forward.
Just follow his footsteps. One day, she would catch up.
She cheered herself on. Though she hadn't seen Horikita Manabu much since childhood, it didn't matter. He was her role model.
She set the workbook on the desk. The orange glow of the lamp spilled across the table as she began working through the problems.
Being good at school basics wasn't enough. Her brother was an Olympiad champion.
Just as she was gaining momentum, Ryo called her to eat. The faint aroma of food made her pause, but she waited until she finished the problem before getting up.
Ryo hadn't started eating. He sat at the table, browsing trending topics on his phone. Out of the corner of her eye, Horikita saw something about a celebrity scandal.
"You shouldn't waste time on that."
"It has no value whatsoever."
She pulled out her chair and addressed her cousin.
"Well, it's not like I have talent anyway, so why not waste time?"
Ryo crossed his legs.
"You're the one who needs to defeat Horikita Manabu, not me."
Horikita paused mid-bite.
"I heard there's a bird that can't fly, so it lays an egg and prays the chick will fly for it."
"Suzune isn't my egg. And I never forced anything on you."
Ryo smirked, counting on his fingers.
"You were the one who heard I was close with Manabu and wanted to learn about him through me."
"By the way, since you're late, you have five minutes left to eat."
"Next, you have piano, aikido, and cooking practice."
"Tomorrow morning starts with relationship management. I heard Manabu just joined the student council, so you need to join too."
Horikita silently sped up her eating.
When she finished, Ryo walked with her to another small room.
A brand-new digital piano sat quietly in the corner, covered by a thin black cloth. She had bought it with money borrowed from Ryo, who had told her Horikita Manabu's piano skills had skyrocketed recently.
Horikita had only just begun learning. Ryo had taught her the basics, but whenever her fingers danced across the keys, she felt like she was climbing stairs toward her brother—soaring closer with each note.
"Wrong."
But Ryo's voice pulled her back to reality.
Leaning by the window, he approached and replayed the section she had messed up. The sound was gentle and melancholic, like moonlight.
"Tsk. Still a long way to go."
He sighed dramatically, then pulled out a photo and taped it to the piano.
In the photo, a boy in red uniform stood tall, glasses perched on his nose, lips pressed into a firm line. Even in just a picture, it took Horikita's breath away.
"This is your target."
"Practice hard. Didn't you say you wanted to surpass him?"
So she kept playing.
That early autumn night, Kitagawa Ryo was her only audience.
No one knew how long she practiced before Ryo finally called it.
She wiped sweat from her forehead. The photo of Horikita Manabu now felt massive—like a sun looming over her, always shining brighter, no matter how hard she tried.
Even though they hadn't talked in years.
Even though their last conversation was two years ago.
It felt like she was chasing the illusion of a god locked in a shrine.
That thought crossed her mind briefly. But she quickly dismissed it.
He was her brother. The one she vowed to surpass since she was a child.
If Manabu could do it, so could she.
That's why she, who always insisted on independence, allowed Ryo to live with her.
"Next up: Aikido."
Ryo crossed his arms.
"Manabu holds a fourth-dan in Aikido, fifth-dan in Karate. You'll start with Aikido."
"It should be about 11 p.m. when we're done. After that, you'll prepare tomorrow's bento by yourself."
"Bath and bedtime by midnight. I'll wake you at 6 a.m. for a morning run."
"You're Horikita Manabu's sister. You can handle it, right?"
Ryo smiled faintly.
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