Story Reader / Festival Event Story / To the One and Only You / Story
With Liv
Liv sent a message. She wants to meet at Kuroro Coffee.
There you are, Commandant.
This is the Star of Life's specially developed health monitoring system. It can track your vitals and offer personalized lifestyle advice.
Since it's still in testing, we went with the simplest design to minimize processing load. To handle unexpected offline situations, we made it a portable, detachable bionic skin ring for now.
I asked the professor for a prototype... so I could give it to you in time for your birthday today.
Come on... give me your hand...
C-Commandant! I can't put it on like this...
Even though she says that, she still hesitates and lets you hold her hand a little longer.
Don't move just yet. Give me a moment, okay?
She gently slips out of your grasp, takes your hand, and skillfully presses the ring-shaped patch onto the inside of your wrist.
Next, let's try something simple, like comparing a sugary drink with a healthy vegetable juice...
Only after the patch fully blends with your skin does her warmth slowly pull away.
Next, let's try something simple, like comparing a sugary drink with a healthy vegetable juice...
Following Liv's instructions, you each take a sip from your drinks. Numbers immediately pop up on the wristband.
Beep beep beep. Sugar intake detected. Please consider moving around to burn calories...
If it's this sensitive about sugar, does that mean you can't sneak snacks anymore...?
Mmm...
You glance at Liv. She's just as puzzled, staring at the wristband with something unspoken in her eyes.
I didn't think it'd be this sensitive... Anyway, let's just follow its advice for now and move around a bit.
You and Liv walk together to the cinema. The film playing is from the Golden Age, and even now, it still has a kind of magic that captivates you...
On their birthday, the protagonist and their lover part ways.
Both turn back, trying to stop the other, but they miss their chance. In the end, each walks alone into the rain...
The hands that once held each other can no longer find their way back together.
Liv stares into the flickering light and rain on the screen, her eyes filling with sorrow.
[player name]'s birthday would never be spent like this...
Just as you're about to act, you hear Liv murmuring softly to herself.
Commandant's birthday would never be spent like this.
Maybe feeling sorry for the lovers in the story, she tries to grip your hand in the dark.
Beep beep beep—
Aargh!
Prolonged inactivity detected. For your physical and mental health, please start moving your limbs! One-two-three-four, two-two-three-four!
The soft, dreamy mood is suddenly broken by a loud system beep. Liv quickly covers her wristband and turns the volume down in a fluster.
I can't believe it's still going off... at a time like this...
She turns her head with a bit of frustration, muttering under her breath. The two of you have no choice but to pull apart...
To follow the fitness band's prompt, you and Liv take a walk to Babylonia's simulated greenhouse.
It's still early, so the greenhouse is empty and feels a little quiet.
The air is warm and damp, filled with lush young greenery. A quiet mist rises between the two of you as you walk side by side...
It feels like spring. Like wandering through a dreamlike rainy season.
Did you know, Commandant? This plant needs soil type 810 and a specific kind of nutrient mix...
On the narrow path, the two of you get closer and closer. Your hands sway with each step, as if trying to find each other...
Beep beep beep beep—
The ill-timed alert chimes in again, right on schedule.
Abnormal heart rate detected. Please take a deep brea—
...
Shutting down...
She silently raises your hand and gently removes the bracelet.
I just knew it would go off right at this moment...
She fiddles awkwardly with the band of the bracelet, clearly frustrated with the so-called "health monitoring system."
The thing given as a birthday present ends up being taken back on the birthday itself. It's hard not to feel a little amused.
[player name], did you know?
Picking up where she left off, the girl speaks softly again.
The plants in this area need soil type 810, with slightly alkaline nutrients at 24 degrees Celsius.
I come to the greenhouse a lot to take care of these little ones, so I know them well. And you... you're just like them.
I-I didn't mean it like that...
Realizing how abruptly the words came out, her face flushes with warmth.
What I mean is, I care about you... as much as I care about them.
But you're also not like them. You're always working hard, always putting yourself in danger on the battlefield.
I often wish... there could be a greenhouse that holds you for me.
Yeah... I was hoping it could help you take care of yourself. I didn't think it would cause us this much trouble.
On your birthday, what the girl really wants to give you isn't the bracelet... but something else...
Her face shows a hint of surprise, as if she hadn't expected to guess correctly.
But "health" isn't something you can see or touch, and this bracelet might be taking things a bit too far.
You don't have to avoid every snack, and you don't need to exercise every second. Your missions burn through calories so quickly anyway...
Well... it's not like it fought alongside you for long. It doesn't know how to adjust things the way a person would.
She hesitates at first, but the more she talks, the more she nods with growing conviction.
That's how it is. So I'll be the one to remind you.
The doctor has no advice to give.
I know how sweet you like your coffee, when you tend to get insomnia, and which holidays you like to sleep in on...
"I'll adjust the sweetness of your coffee. If you can't sleep, I'll sing your favorite lullaby. When you want to sleep in, I'll turn off your alarm and stay in bed with you a bit longer... If there are unhealthy snacks, I'll secretly hide them and cook something that tastes just as good..."
So the doctor doesn't give advice. The doctor goes straight to the "treatment."
She smiles gently at her "patient."
Eh?
I often wish there could be a greenhouse that holds you for me...
...
She lowers her flushed face a little, then slowly leans in as her arms wrap gently around your back.
Well then, happy birthday, [player name].
