Minami felt as though he had fallen into a dream.
When he opened his eyes again, the scenery before him had completely changed.
The Shinkansen carriage, the girls playing Uno.
All of it had faded away.
In its place was a veranda corridor, unfamiliar yet somehow vaguely familiar to him.
A soft blanket was draped over him.
On a small table beside him sat a hardcover novel.
Mild sunlight poured over the garden wall, falling onto tender young bamboo shoots in the courtyard.
Everything seemed so peaceful and serene.
"Where is this...?"
Minami lifted his eyes, sweeping his gaze around with a hint of confusion.
Just a moment ago, he had clearly been on a Shinkansen bound for his hometown in Akita Prefecture.
How had he, in an instant, ended up in this completely unfamiliar place?
"Could this be the effect caused by activating the 'Hearts of Love'?"
Minami didn't panic too much instead, he frowned slightly, beginning to think it through.
He had chosen to activate the "Hearts of Love" while on the train.
Thus, in the next moment, he had been transported here.
Which meant after activating the Hearts of Love, something akin to a "direct simulation" effect might be triggered.
Thinking along these lines, he reached out to pick up the hardcover novel placed beside him.
Feeling the weight of the book in his hand, and the extremely realistic texture of the cover,
Minami fell silent.
Because he could clearly feel it.
This situation was fundamentally different from a "Direct Simulation."
A "Direct Simulation" was, at its core, still just a simulation.
It simply projected his entire consciousness into the simulated world.
Even if that world felt incredibly real...
By its very nature, it was still fake.
Minami had always understood that clearly.
But this time, this activation of "Heart of Love" was entirely different.
Minami could feel it.
Everything before his eyes truly existed.
Whether it was the breath he exhaled,
The scent of flowers from the courtyard that wafted into his nose, or the sunlight he felt, the breeze brushing across his skin—
It was all real.
Not that hollow, artificial feeling from a simulation.
It was as if this world was the one he had truly lived in all along.
Could "Heart of Love" really have such an overwhelming effect?
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Minami cast those stray ideas aside.
He wasn't panicking.
After all, what had happened had already happened.
Now he needed to figure out how to deal with it.
And the first step toward solving this situation was already right in front of him.
That was—
"Where am I?"
Minami lifted his gaze and scanned his surroundings.
During every "Direct Simulation,"
The simulator would always transmit the necessary memories to him.
But this time was different.
He had been thrown into this place without any warning—
No memory transfer from the simulator, nothing at all.
So before he could even think of a solution, he needed to figure out where he was.
Just as Minami was about to take a walk and look around,
A familiar, elegantly lazy voice suddenly came from behind.
"Minami… you're awake?"
The name was too familiar.
So familiar that as soon as he heard it, Minami's heart leapt a little.
"Ryo… perfect timing."
He turned without hesitation, grabbing the shoulders of the deep blue-haired woman walking up behind him. From the heart, he said:
"I'm really glad you're here."
Yes.
He had assumed that after activating "Heart of Love," he had arrived in some completely unfamiliar, unknown world.
But who would've thought he'd run into Miss Yamada here?
That alone was a stroke of unexpected fortune.
Just as Minami paused his words, eyes lifting to say more, maybe explain the situation...
Then—
He froze.
Because the woman standing before him wasn't the Miss Yamada he knew.
Her short deep blue hair swayed gently under his hand.
Her long, fair, shapely legs were clad in black stockings.
Her signature, captivating amber eyes were as enchanting as ever, marked with that distinct beauty mark at the corner.
All unmistakable traits of Ryo Yamada.
But—
Beyond those familiar features...
This Ryo Yamada had longer, finer eyebrows.
Her once youthful androgynous face had matured.
Her every movement carried a refined, ladylike grace, unlike her former carefree and unrestrained self.
Put simply...
The Ryo Yamada before him looked like a grown-up version of the one from his original world.
And what shocked Minami even more—
Was the little girl standing beside her.
A child with short deep blue hair,
Exactly like the woman beside her in every way, aside from the teardrop-shaped beauty mark resting on her left eyelid.
(TL: Search Klukai from girls frontline 2 for reference.)
"Miss Yamada, you—"
Minami instinctively spoke as he always had.
But before he could finish, Ryo interrupted, frowning slightly.
With a soft tone, she looked at the man holding her shoulder and said:
"What are you talking about, Minami? I've been Shouji Ryo ever since four years ago."
Ryo Yamada—no, Ryo Shouji now—
Tilted her head, looking at Minami with confusion.
"..." Minami.
Huh?
Changed her surname?
Wait...
What is she saying?
When did I marry you?
And when did you change your name?
Why don't I remember any of this?
Everything happening around him…
Minami hadn't anticipated this at all.
Wait—
Could this all be the effect of "Heart of Love"?
His thoughts were quick to catch up.
It only took a moment of surprise before he recalled the "Heart of Love" he had activated earlier.
Though its effects hadn't been clearly explained...
It was likely this ability had pulled him away from his original timeline—
And dropped him into an alternate future where this was all real.
It wasn't impossible.
He had seen similar phenomena with tools like the "Random Daughter Summon Card" or the one-time quest "The Girl from the Future"—all of which required contact with future timelines to use or trigger.
With that in mind—
Minami adjusted his mindset quickly, smoothing over the odd look on his face.
He tapped his forehead, rubbing his temples as if he'd just woken up, and muttered:
"Sorry, Ryo. Probably just groggy from waking up... For a moment there, I couldn't figure out where I was."
"Minami, looks like you really were dazed."
Ryo shook her head slightly, explaining with a hint of teasing:
"You were so confused you didn't even recognize our house… Only someone like Bocchi would do something like that."
Our house...
That phrase struck a chord in Minami's heart.
At this point in the conversation,
He had a rough idea of what was going on.
It looked like after activating "Heart of Love,"
The ability had transferred him into a completely unfamiliar timeline.
Which also explained why the furnishings here gave him a strange sense of familiarity.
Analyzing Ryo's words carefully, it wasn't hard to tell—
In this future timeline, it appeared he was married to both Ryo Yamada and Hitori Gotoh.
But…
Was it just the two of them?
Or, like before…
Had all nine girls been brought into this world and married to him?
Thinking that far,
Minami didn't hesitate. He asked directly:
"Yeah, I think I'm awake now… Speaking of which, where's Hitori? I don't see her around."
"..." Ryo.
"If you mean Hitori, she went to Miyuki's kindergarten for the parent meeting."
Ryo explained, then furrowed her brow and tossed a sharp question his way:
"Didn't you already know Bocchi went to the parent meeting? Why are you asking now, Minami?"
Miyuki was the daughter of Minami and Hitori Gotoh.
Today was the day Hitori attended her parent-teacher conference—something every member of the Minami household knew.
Why is my husband asking this question even though he already knows the answer?
She looked at Minami with a slightly puzzled expression, which only grew more suspicious.
For most people,
Facing Ryo's odd gaze and sharp questioning,
They would probably start panicking.
But Minami wasn't most people.
Sensing the strange light in Ryo's amber eyes,
He simply waved it off with a calm smile that said, "No need to make a fuss."
"It's nothing. I was just thinking Hitori should be getting home around now. It's already afternoon."
His voice, breathing, and tone were all steady.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that for him, lying was as natural as breathing.
Against someone as naturally composed as Minami,
Even Ryo's lingering doubts were easily brushed aside. She nodded slightly, her face blank: "Yeah, it's already past five. She should be back soon even if she's attending a meeting."
Phew...
Seeing that Ryo seemed reassured,
Minami let out a silent sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. He'd managed to bluff his way through.
Otherwise, he really didn't know how he would explain his current situation.
But although he'd bought some time,
Minami knew he couldn't keep bluffing forever.
After all, even he only had a partial understanding of his current reality.
He couldn't afford to make reckless moves like before.
At the very least... until Hitori came home.
He needed to figure out one crucial thing:
Understand the composition of his family here.
He couldn't exactly go on without even knowing how many wives he had, could he?
With that thought, Minami was just about to excuse himself and head inside—
When Ryo suddenly called out.
"Minami, wait a second."
"Uh..."
Minami froze mid-step. "Something wrong, Ryo?"
"Something wrong...?"
Ryo gave him a strange side glance, then spoke in that trademark cold, emotionless tone:
"Minami... aren't we going to do it?"
Huh?!
The hand gripping his arm stiffened. Minami's mouth opened in shock.
Wait, hold on—
Do it...?
Was she serious? Miss Ryo?
Minami rubbed his temples.
Honestly?
He was interested. Very interested.
Especially in the do Ryo was implying!
But....
Now wasn't the time for that kind of thing!
The situation was still unclear; every minute and every second was precious.
No matter how tempting it was, now was absolutely the wrong time.
Besides, Minami was a man of impeccable character and noble spirit.
He couldn't just give in to desire at a critical moment like this!
Clearing his throat, he came up with a proper excuse:
"Well... it's broad daylight... It wouldn't be very appropriate, don't you think, Ryo?"
It was a decent excuse, subtly pushing the "doing" to nighttime instead.
However—
Ryo just looked even more confused.
She tucked a lock of deep blue hair behind her ear, revealing her delicate neck and earlobe, and then asked:
"But you were the one who called me over earlier?"
Huh?!
That single sentence nearly broke Minami's composure.
Good lord.
So the one who called Ryo over... was the previous him?!
Minami, you hopeless fool! How could you have fallen into temptation so easily!
He silently scolded himself.
But Ryo wasn't finished—she tilted her head, blinking her charming amber eyes cutely:
"I even wore your favorite... the black one..."
Black...
Well.
There was no denying it now.
Minami pressed his fingers against his brow, a headache starting to form.
Still, he had plenty of excuses ready.
Aside from "it's not appropriate during the day," there was something else—
"Yeah, I did call you... but isn't Yuna still awake? Let's wait until she's asleep, okay?"
Smiling warmly, Minami reached out and stroked Ryo's fair cheek, before leaning in to kiss her gently.
"Mmm..."
A soft, lingering sound.
Ryo's face flushed pink as she reluctantly broke their kiss.
"Alright then. Minami, I'll go put Yuna to bed first. Daddy left me some sleeping pills... there's still some left."
"..." Minami.
Seriously.
No matter which timeline it was, Ryo Yamada's chaotic, reckless nature really never changed.
He shook his head helplessly but still gave her cute little nose a soft squeeze and said firmly:
"Just coax her to sleep properly. Don't say weird stuff."