Love Comes After Simulation

It was over.

Yuuki Minami got up from the bed. The bedroom was dim, and he couldn’t find his slippers, so he walked barefoot across the cold floor to the desk, where the kettle was.

Pouring himself a glass of water, he took a sip. The warmth lifted his spirits slightly.

He drew open the nearby curtains, letting the moonlight spill into the bedroom. In this serene glow, he located his slippers, slipped them on, and sat by the bed.

He thought of Mako.

After he had fallen into despair, it was Mako who had helped him. The girl had given her entire life to him, enabling him to perform that perfect surgery.

Was this really okay? She should have had a life of her own.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The image of the girl’s serious expression flashed through his mind. He reflected: in the simulated life, he had adopted Mako at the age of 41 when she was 11. That meant the girl had been born when he was 30.

He noted this timeline down and began pondering another urgent matter.

The elements needed to save Reina Nakajima were complete. All that remained was to extract the skills.

But could he truly extract both of those techniques?

Skill extraction opportunities only allowed him to draw from the fields he was most proficient in. In the simulated life, his expertise was undeniably in medicine. However, Mako’s artificial valve technology was an interdisciplinary field between biology and medicine, so it was uncertain if it would fall under the category of medicine and be successfully extracted.

Forget it; let’s check the summary first.

[Simulation Summary]

[Score: 89]

Eighty-nine! Yuuki Minami stared at the simulation interface in surprise. He hadn’t expected such a high score this time.

On second thought, it wasn’t that surprising. Although Reina had passed away early, their love had endured until the very end of his life. That perfect surgery had been his lifelong love letter to his wife.

He realized that a score of 89 signified a happy life, which granted him a new skill extraction opportunity. This meant he now had two chances. Even if he failed to extract the artificial valve technology this time, he could strive for it in the next simulation.

He continued reading the summary interface.

[Life Phases: Pursuit, Passion, Crisis]

[Evaluation: She was your greatest love, the sleeping beauty in a bed of thorns. You were her greatest love, the prince who cut through the thorns to kiss her awake. Your love settled into that kiss, but it was as fleeting as a firework.]

[Rewards: You have received [Universal Single-Person Photograph]]

The reward startled Yuuki Minami once again. He tapped on the Universal Photograph icon.

[Would you like to use the Universal Single-Person Photograph?]

[You may select an image of any individual from your memories to be captured as a photograph. Please focus on the specific scene while using it.]

[Note: This photograph will not fade for a hundred years.]

A photograph? Images of Reina Nakajima, Yuko Ibuki, and Nao Asano flashed through Yuuki Minami’s mind. He hesitated for a moment before making his decision.

He clicked to use the photograph, closed his eyes, and recalled the scene he had chosen.

In the next moment, a palm-sized photograph fluttered down through the air, landing gently on his lap.

Carefully, he picked it up with his fingers. On the photo was a girl in a black sailor uniform, offering a faint smile to the camera.

It was Mako Minami.

Reina Nakajima, Yuko Ibuki, and Nao Asano could all be seen in reality. There was no need to create a photograph just to remember them. This universal photograph was destined to be used on one of his daughters.

As for why he chose Mako instead of Miyu, Rikka, or Mayuri, it was because selecting one of them would have implicitly tied his decision to their mothers.

The existence of a biological daughter’s photograph would inevitably affect Yuuki Minami’s final choices. If he desired the daughter in the photo, he would have to choose her mother, which ran counter to his principle of surveying all options and selecting the most suitable partner.

Only Mako was an exception. She would be born even without Reina Nakajima. When he turned 30, he could simply visit the orphanage to find and adopt the girl.

Gazing at the girl in the photograph for a while, Yuuki Minami set it aside and began rummaging through the cabinet.

The thin photograph felt too fragile—he needed a frame to protect it. Failing to find one in the cabinet, he turned to the suitcase filled with miscellaneous items.

At the bottom of the suitcase, he found the pink photo frame.

Inside the frame was a picture precious to his sister.

In his memories, the frame hadn’t been something his predecessor had intentionally brought—it had somehow appeared in the luggage inexplicably. His predecessor had been momentarily puzzled upon discovering it and then tossed it into the pile of junk.

Yuuki Minami removed the photo of his sister from the frame, threw it back into the suitcase, and replaced it with the photo of Mako.

The pink frame, adorned with heart-shaped patterns, exuded a girlish charm. Against the backdrop of the frame, the photo of Mako appeared even more endearing. Yuuki Minami couldn’t help but smile.

He placed the frame on the bedside table, replacing the origami crane that had been there. He casually tossed the crane into the closet.

After settling the photograph, he turned back to the simulation interface.

[You have completed a Happy Life (Score ≥ 80)]

[You have received one free simulation opportunity.]

[You have received one skill extraction opportunity.]

With a new skill extraction opportunity in hand, he could use it without worry! Yuuki Minami clicked on the simulation interface.

[Do you wish to use the skill extraction opportunity?]

[You may choose one simulated life and extract all expertise from its most proficient field.]

Yes! Choose the most recent simulated life!

[Extracting…]

[Extraction successful.]

[You have acquired all expertise in the medical field from this simulated life.]

Yuuki Minami closed his eyes and began to absorb the flood of memories pouring into his mind.

The techniques for scalpels, vascular clamps, and surgical robots; the methods of incisions, resections, and sutures; the knowledge of tissues, blood vessels, and nerves—all of it surged into his consciousness like massive waves, churning the once-calm sea of his memory into chaos.

At the same time, his body—his muscles and nerves—absorbed the relevant physical experience. The moment he held surgical instruments, he could instinctively use them with precision.

When the turbulence in his mind subsided a bit, he mentally zoomed out, searching from above for the crucial technique: artificial valve cultivation.

He found it.

Opening his eyes, he felt his heart pounding with excitement.

Now, the method to save Rena Nakajima was complete.

However, the outcome was far different from what he had initially anticipated.

He had assumed that creating a new surgery and writing down the procedure to pass along to professors at Chigusa University or Misaki University would suffice to solve Reina Nakajima’s problem.

But the current situation was far more complex. The surgery was so intricate that even teaching it hands-on would require significant time, let alone someone trying to learn it from written materials. If he were to teach it step-by-step, it might be more efficient to perform the surgery himself.

The bigger problem, however, was access. How would he even sneak into the operating room to perform the surgery himself?

Furthermore, the artificial valve required a large biological laboratory for its production. The cutting-edge equipment in such labs would be nearly impossible to acquire quickly, even with money.

Both the surgery and the valve presented formidable challenges.

After mulling over the situation for a while, Yuuki Minami began formulating a plan.

Reina Nakajima still had more than three years to live, and her first surgery was scheduled two years later. It would be best to resolve both challenges before that immature surgery took place.

Time was pressing. It seemed like there was only one path left.

I’m counting on you, Ichinose!

But was relying on Ichinose really the right path? What kind of justification could he use to present such advanced technology? Perhaps he should simulate it first to find out.

Rubbing his head, which ached slightly from the prolonged simulation and the influx of new experiences, Yuuki Minami decided to leave the simulation for tomorrow.

---

We are currently recruiting. CN/KR/JP Translators/MTLers are welcome!

Discord Server: .gg/HGaByvmVuw