Chapter 51: IF End: The Best Treat, Satoshi-kun

Route Requirement: 

Tomohiro-kun and Miho-san didn't intervene with Hikari-chan and Satoshi-kun's life in chapter 47 and 48.

IF End: The Best Treat, Satoshi-kun

For some people, being around someone better than you can be quite stressful.

It's hard to be motivated when you know the other person can do the same thing better, and whenever you fail, you fall into the illusion that you're being judged. It has nothing to do with whether the other person really feels that way; it's just that you feel that way.

It sounds incredibly simple and silly when you put it into words, but being constantly exposed to this stress isn't good for living a normal human life.

And it's not like I suddenly had this thought because, while I'd always been the one causing stress, I'm now around someone better than me for the first time... or anything like that.

It's true that I'm talented in this life, and I could be a major source of stress, mainly for my younger sister and Tomohiro-kun, but at least my younger sister doesn't seem to mind it that much.

Of course, it's not like my current environment is difficult. 

To begin with, I was always losing to my childhood friend from my previous life, the current Miho-san. I even took advantage of that and even became a kept man for a while, so there's no way I'd be letting such a complex get the better of me.

So why am I thinking this now? Because right in front of me is someone who has been exposed to that stress for so long, and who has finally been freed from it.

Satoshi-kun was smart from a young age, and had never lost to anyone his age unless it was against a reincarnated person like me.

So, Satoshi-kun grew up quickly, and happily became even stronger than me, even with my geta sandals. And by becoming so strong, he was able to escape the curse of being second best at everything he did.

What I mean by this is... Hm, it doesn't mean anything in particular.

Did you think everything had meaning just because I said it? Haha, you're such a fool.

That's why you're such a loser! ...Just kidding, I'm sorry, don't cry! I'll think of a plausible reason right away!

As I was thinking along the lines of my thoughts, I realized there was no particular meaning or punchline, laughed at myself, and then the words made me sad, so I came up with a reason to do something about it.

...I'm not saying that a girl would come with one.

The words themselves aren't vulgar or anything, but the way they're primarily used is vulgar.

I suddenly feel sorry for Language-chan, as she's suffering from negative publicity because of me.

Putting aside the quality of the expression, I puzzled for a bit, thinking that escaping the curse meant that he could do and become anything from now on. This meant that Satoshi-kun would surely grow even more dramatically from now on.

Or he could be satisfied and stop trying.

If that's the case, then what I needed to do was to create an environment where Satoshi-kun wouldn't, and couldn't, give up trying, thereby forcing him to grow.

I came up with a concrete plan to achieve this, and although it was hastily put together, I think it came out with a punchline that seems plausible.

However, if I had to point out one flaw, it would be that the concrete plan has already been put into action. ...Ahh! Please don't cry! Ugh, ugh, good girl, good girl.

Finally, I recovered and stabilized my mental state by praising myself in front of the mirror, saying things like, "I'm cute! I'm a good girl!"  

When you're feeling unwell due to some mental health issue, being able to think, "But I'm cute, after all," is a very important thing in life.

I have to be grateful to Mama for giving birth the cute me.

Thank you, Mama! You're cute, Mama! I love you, Mama!

I sent Mama an email expressing the love that was overflowing from inside me, and when I called her, she answered on the first ring.

Now that I'm on my own... or is it two of us, since I'm with Satoshi-kun, she must be bored and has a lot of free time on her hands.

I shouldn't say that she always seemed bored when I was around. Mama had an important role in creating a relaxed atmosphere in the house.

Yeah, I just wanted to hear your voice. We haven't been able to talk much lately, so why don't we go for lunch sometime? I know a great place. Want to bring my little sister along?

By the way, you're really cute, do you use LINE? I said, flirting like a pick-up artist, and we made plans for a girls' night out, and in the process, my mental health completely recovered. 

Hikari-chan is weak-headed when it comes to family, so it's easy to fool her. Kiss, sorry for being so simple-minded.

By the way, the concrete plan I took, which I've digressed from the original discussion, was to financially outdo Satoshi-kun, who is smarter than me, and motivate him to better himself.

It protected my tiny self-esteem while also giving a little boost to Satoshi-kun's pride.

It was a two-for-one deal.

And so, thanks to all my hard work and dedication, Satoshi-kun's pride as a boy was stimulated, and he threw himself into his studies, saying, "I'll soon start earning money and repay you," as he went on to study hard.

The fact that he's simultaneously studying subjects unrelated to his classes and even for qualifications he's not sure he'll use, is a testament to his genuine interest. Now that I've lost my reincarnator privilege, I can barely keep up with classes, but I was amazed at how much a natural-genius guy like him could do. 

"...So, by applying the 3.12 formula here, we can add flexibility to the 5.7 formula, which will help us understand this law..."

"I see, I finally get it. Thank you. Oh, that qualification book you mentioned the other day. I asked Mama and she says it's still at her parents' house. Let's go get it together next time."

In order for me, a useless idiot like myself, to gain a psychological advantage over Satoshi-kun, I have no choice but to dip into my past savings. Luckily, as a former qualification collector, I have the qualifications Satoshi-kun is trying to obtain.

"You just can't be satisfied unless you're on top? Is being petty also a human nature?"  You ask?

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I want to be on top for the sake of my own pride. In fact, I'm perfectly happy to be a submissive puppy when the other person is a great dom.

You might be wondering why I'm doing this so much, but the answer is simple.

I've already lost emotionally, but ultimately I want to destroy Satoshi-kun. To do that, I need to prepare a lot of things, and to do that, I can't just give up the initiative.

...I, too, want to be a dog with an empty brain and an obedient personality. Satoshi-kun, you'll probably make a good owner. Woof!

I suppress the urge to take the easy way out with my overflowing faith, telling myself that, if anything, I'm in the position of keeping people as pets.

I can't do it since I chose Satoshi-kun, but it would surely be fun to ruin my little sister's and Tomohiro-kun's lives and rescue them when they're crying like stray dogs.

The best part of keeping a pet is the sense of superiority that comes from knowing that a fragile, tiny life is in your hands. The tingly pleasure of knowing that this life could be lost at any moment if you so desire. ...Hikari, you should never get close to living things again.

Immediately after thinking that, I remembered that Satoshi-kun was also a living being, and relaxed the restrictions, saying she could get close to humans after all.

It was a stunning two-paragraph blunder that revealed my weak will.

"...Hikari? What's wrong, staring into space all of a sudden? Do you see something strange?"

Is there something there? Is it the Ferengelstaden phenomenon?

Satoshi-kun worried, but I couldn't explain why I shouldn't keep living creatures as pets, so I just gave him a vague smile and brushed it off.

"It's nothing big. I was just thinking about something. I wasn't praying to the space or anything, so please don't worry."

"It's fine if nothing's wrong..." said Satoshi-kun, who seemed a little confused, and continued studying.

Thanks to my diligent study, I was able to graduate from school without any problems. My relatively good grades, though a small thing, are something to be proud of.

...Satoshi-kun? He was exempt from tuition fees for four consecutive years as an outstanding student. I said I would be willing to pay the tuition, but it seems his pride as a boy wouldn't allow it. He's so stubborn, it's cute.

After graduation, Satoshi-kun will pursue a research position after going on to graduate school, while I will be a full-time housewife(?). I am glad that I was able to finish university, which I had dropped out of in my previous life.

By the way, I am only a full-time housewife in name; in reality, I sell my woodworking products. Otherwise, our finances would be in ruins. That's the difficult part about student marriage.

I think Satoshi-kun's research will be a great success in the future, but it seems difficult to even get a start in the early stages.

It's fascinating to watch Satoshi-kun, who promised to start earning money quickly and repay me, fretting over his lack of results.

It's fascinating on its own, but even more so when I realize he's fretting over this because he can't repay me for my love.

Feeling the overflowing love, it's like my heart is beating again. ...Am I palpitating? No, it's not. I'm still young and energetic.

Putting aside the fact that my heart is beginning to fall apart, it's the way Satoshi-kun appreciates me. Our circumstances may have been a little unusual to call us normal lovers, but we have deepened our relationship as lovers to a certain extent.

Of course, the thing that has deepened the most is trust. Not just faith, but trust, I have taken root in Satoshi-kun's heart to the point that he can honestly rely on me if he is in trouble. A parasitic plant perhaps?　

Anyway, the point is that he can now consult me ​​about anything. Starting with small everyday problems, to troubles with relationships, and even things like stuck research issues. He's now willing to tell me things that he's bound to keep secret and shouldn't tell anyone, so I wonder if Satoshi-kun has weak morals, or if I've been able to get through to him more than that. I'd be happy if it's the latter.

While giving advice like this, I deepen my understanding by occasionally asking amateur questions or giving my opinions, gradually grasping the outline of the research. I also take the opportunity to take a peek at Satoshi-kun's computer, which he had left at home, to get a full grasp of the contents and think about where to share the data.

Just as I had hoped, Satoshi-kun was an extremely talented student, and if his research progressed well, he would develop into a talented individual who would be featured in the news.

And now, little by little, I see that talent beginning to take shape right before my eyes.

He definitely got the talent I was looking for. My eyes weren't wrong. The fact that I was able to meet such a wonderful person when I was still in elementary school makes me feel like there must be some kind of artificiality on the part of a higher being, but that's just how it is.

It's proof that my actions were what was desired, so it's a very good thing. A very good thing.

Yes, that's what Hikari thinks.　

Setting aside my own unimportant opinions, it's the timing of Satoshi-kun's harvest.

If it's of decent quality, you can enjoy it no matter when you harvest it, but you can't be so careless when it comes to someone who has gone out of their way to find it.

Therefore, it's necessary to harvest it at the best possible time to make the most of Satoshi-kun, and for me, that time is like the moment just before the large flower blooms.　

Anyone who sees a bud knows it will blossom into a beautiful flower. But when such a bud begins to swell, it is cut off, causing it to wither before it blooms. The beauty of the flower in full bloom, which can only be imagined, and the reality that it never blooms, are what make it so beautiful.　

In other words, I'm trying to snatch research results right before they're about to be published and sell them to a place with no sense of ethics or morals.

I want to see Satoshi-kun hurt by the fact that his research results, which would undoubtedly have been even better if he had been involved until the end, are released to the world in an unfinished and distorted state.

I want to see Satoshi-kun, who could have achieved greatness if I hadn't interfered, broken down because of me.

I want to see Satoshi-kun, who only opened up to me, come to the point where he can't trust anyone.　　

...So that's what I did: I leaked the research results.

I let Satoshi-kun, who had been working hard on his research every day, sleep soundly, and while he was asleep, I stole all of the data.

It wasn't easy to do it without getting caught, but it wasn't impossible given the trust I'd built up over the years.

His mistake was trusting me and saving the results and data on his computer. The storage location should be a shared folder, and the computer itself should be treated as a backup in case something happens, otherwise you won't be able to deal with this kind of situation.

Well, I guess he did that because he didn't anticipate this kind of situation.

Of course, it's crazy to imagine that the person he trusts more than anyone else would betray him for such a ridiculous reason.

There you go, Satoshi-kun, you did nothing wrong. You were just not prepared enough. It's all my fault, so don't worry about it.

Just kidding. You'll worry too much and end up distrusting people.　

The video recorded on a hidden camera was also perfect.

Satoshi-kun was relaxing at home on a rare day off when he suddenly received a phone call informing him that someone else had produced the same research results as Satoshi-kun.

Satoshi-kun was stunned that his research, which he had been considering patenting, had been taken away without any context. I was very pleased to see his goofy face, which didn't suit his intellectual glasses.　

Things continued to get hectic for a while, and he was spending even less time at home.

I was doing my best as a housewife, worrying about Satoshi-kun, who was getting increasingly thinner and thinner, when one day, he suddenly came and questioned me with a scary look on his face.

"That data was only on my computer. And there was no sign that it had been hacked, or used without my permission anywhere. No one other than me could have stolen that data. ... Except you, Hikari."　

Apparently, Satoshi-kun had been accused of selling his research results to someone else, and he looked distressed, unable to accept the fact, before finally turning his suspicious eyes towards me.

"...That's not true. Please tell me it's not true! There's no reason for Hikari to do something like that. I've also checked and found that you have no connections to that company. It's not like your family is short of money, and it's not like you're secretly borrowing money from anyone. Even if you sold it, it would only be a pittance for you."　

The place I sold them to bought them for about eight figures, which is certainly a small amount to me.

...Just kidding, I didn't say it was very small, but it was still an amount I could easily make. Big name artists are amazingly rich. And Satoshi-kun, knowing that, probably believed in me to the end.

In fact, even now as we're talking, he probably wants me to deny that I ever did anything like that.

"No, you were right. You realized it a little late, but it was me who did it. All of Satoshi-kun's hard work was wiped out because of a moment of carelessness. Isn't that sad?"　

When I said that and smiled, Satoshi-kun's face looked very hurt.

Oh no, his eyebrows were furrowed. It made me feel good to see him looking so weak.

Satoshi-kun kept asking why, why, like a little child again.

I felt so much better, so I answered all the questions he asked, and finally, he started to burst into tears.　

All his efforts were for nothing, all the trust he had given was betrayed, and even his job was in jeopardy.

I simply wanted to see the despair he felt.

I wanted to see the expression on his face when all his efforts had been crushed.

Only Satoshi-kun himself would understand how he felt when that happened. I know it so clearly.

Having lost everything, Satoshi-kun must be feeling an unprecedented sadness. He must also be feeling just as much despair and anger. Unable to contain the urge that wells up inside him, he pushes me down, even though I'm smiling right in front of him.

My back hurt. I hit the back of my head a little. But I had expected it, so it didn't do much damage. What was more important to me right now was Satoshi-kun, screaming silently.

His voice, his eyes, his expression.

I was going to enjoy this moment to the fullest, something I could only experience now. The size of his hands, which he had wrapped around my neck in a fit of passion, was also irreplaceable.

"...Why...why?!"　

And kindhearted Satoshi-kun is unable to put any strength into the hands he has around my neck.

No matter how angry he is, no matter how wavering his feelings, Satoshi-kun does not have the courage or coldness to put any strength into his hands. Satoshi-kun's parents have really raised him to be such a good child.

I'm sure that's a very good thing, but sometimes it can lead to bad results like this. I think it's okay for his parents to cry. Satoshi-kun is crying too. He's such a cute crybaby.　

It was a weak side of himself that he had never shown before. He was surely trying to avoid showing it in front of me even more, and it was the soft side of his that had been exposed after all the effort he had put in up until then, the strong appearance he had tried to show, had been peeled away.　

He looked at me with eyes that seemed to say he could no longer trust anything.

The dew that ran down his cheek and into my mouth was so sweet.

[Satoshi-kun Route: END]

Satoshi-kun:

He worked incredibly hard and produced Nobel Prize-worthy research results. Just when everything was starting to go well, he was betrayed by the only person he trusted, and suspicion arose for not building trust with those around him. He lost his reason for working hard, his achievements, and the people he loved, leaving him with nothing.

If Hikari had choose different target, his name would be recorded in history and future textbooks.

Common Fetish Girl:

She felt good about ruining Satoshi-kun's research results. It also felt good to lose the trust she'd built up up until then, and it felt a little good to have her neck gently choked.