The opening shot just now was probably the world through the eyes of the imagined daughter.
The fact that the daughter had a severe eye disease was revealed in the PV and at the very beginning of the game.
Moreover, from the information Furukawa Hirozawa had gathered so far, it was unlikely that the daughter, Nare, was the male protagonist's biological child; she was probably a child picked up from the snow earlier.
As for why the two of them were living together, then started wandering, searching for the Town of Happiness, it remained unknown for now.
After the opening, the two walked through the town, first putting their luggage in their new residence within the town.
The residence had been arranged long ago; when they arrived, there was a note at the door that read:
"Welcome, Miyazaki, to Guangyu Town.
The furniture has been simply prepared. If anything is unsuitable, please feel free to contact us.
Oh, and I'm the landlord, currently living in Room 101.
Welcome again to this place. I hope you like it, and I hope you can stay for a long time.
Just by getting to know it more, I believe you will fall in love with this place.
— Landlord Chikawa Ailu"
Although he didn't get to meet the landlord in person, Furukawa Hirozawa guessed she must be a very gentle girl.
Then, they made their way to a high school.
The male protagonist had received an employment letter from this high school, meaning he was here to teach.
The employment letter even had a close-up shot, indicating that the male protagonist, Miyazaki Natsuki, was a math teacher.
It was winter at this time, and it was quite rare to encounter a teacher starting work during this period.
It seemed this school must be very short-staffed.
As they walked, the male protagonist reported to the principal's office, and the principal was extremely kind to him, practically overjoyed.
"That's wonderful! Our school finally has a male teacher, and a math teacher at that!"
"Huh?" Miyazaki Natsuki looked bewildered. "Are all the teachers in this school female?"
"Um..." The principal scratched her head awkwardly. "It's mainly because most of the children born in this town are girls. Although our middle school is a co-educational comprehensive school, the proportion of girls in the town is so astonishingly high that the school has, in a sense, become an all-girls' school.
We've hired many male teachers from out of town before, but they couldn't quite tolerate a school full of female students, and many resigned midway."
What the hell?!
Furukawa Hirozawa's jaw nearly dropped in shock.
A town almost entirely of girls, plus a school full of girls—wasn't this a man's dream paradise?
What was wrong with those male teachers who couldn't stand it?
"Oh, by the way, if you don't mind, please choose a female teacher from the school to marry." The principal eagerly held Miyazaki Natsuki's hand.
Incidentally, the principal was also a middle-aged woman.
She had a good figure and was Furukawa Hirozawa's type.
However, considering Old Thief Furuhara's usual style, mature women didn't seem to be within the scope of capture, so he could only regretfully give up.
Damn that Old Thief Furuhara, did he really only favor young girls?
"Eh?!" Miyazaki Natsuki was stunned by the principal's words, and seeing the eagerness in her eyes, it didn't seem like a joke.
"Damn it, how desperate for men is this place?!"
"However, Principal, you know I have a daughter, right?" Miyazaki Natsuki said awkwardly and tactfully. "Who would want to marry a single man with a daughter?"
"A daughter?"
The principal paused.
How wonderful it would be if it were a boy.
"No, no." The principal quickly responded with a smile, "A father with a daughter simply shows he's charming. This actually saves a lot of trouble. A man like you will surely have many female teachers pursuing you.
No, I should say not just female teachers, perhaps even female students..."
At this point, the principal seemed to remember something inappropriate and quickly stopped herself.
"In short, there's no prohibition on dating in school; on the contrary, we strongly encourage you to date."
It was clear that the principal was truly eager for talent, even encouraging the male protagonist to marry female teachers to keep him at the school.
After chatting for a while, the principal suddenly remembered something: "Oh, you just said you have a daughter. Did you bring your daughter along?"
"Eh?!"
Just then, Miyazaki Natsuki also remembered this extremely important matter.
He looked back and saw that little Nare, who should have been sitting on a chair outside waiting for him, was gone.
...
This made the male protagonist incredibly anxious.
Miyazaki Natsuki ran frantically through the campus, asking everyone if they had seen a 6-year-old girl.
Matching the male protagonist's emotions, Furukawa Hirozawa couldn't help but feel a little worried.
But on second thought, no matter how deranged Old Thief Furuhara was, he wouldn't start with a tragedy, would he?
So, his heart settled a little.
After searching for a while, he finally found Nare in the swimming pool.
Because of the male protagonist's arrival, the girls by the school swimming pool let out screams.
Having swimming lessons in winter was simply insane.
But it was clear that this swimming pool was different from most school pools; it wasn't an outdoor pool but an indoor one.
In the cold winter, it was still steaming, indicating that the water temperature was controlled.
However, Furukawa Hirozawa quickly understood the reason for their screams; it wasn't just because a boy had suddenly intruded. More importantly, Miyazaki Natsuki was a male himself.
Or rather, such a young man shouldn't appear in the school.
Rather than being startled, there was also some excitement mixed with the shock.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't realize there were swimming lessons in winter!"
Miyazaki Natsuki hurried along, apologizing as he walked towards the swimming pool.
He saw his little daughter, Nare, splashing around in the swimming pool with a young girl.
Gurgle, gurgle...
Nare gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, rolled her eyes, and sank with a gurgling sound.
Miyazaki Natsuki didn't care about anything else, splashing into the water with a plop, and then, like grabbing a chick, he pulled Miyazaki Nare out of the water.
He put her on the shore and pressed her twice, and Nare violently spat out a mouthful of water.
It was like a fountain.
Hayao Miyazaki's drawing was too cute, making people feel both annoyed and amused.
Currently, Furukawa Hirozawa had the same mindset as Miyazaki Natsuki; this fellow ran off on her own, didn't listen to her father, and almost drowned. In this situation, she deserved a good beating!
But after Nare woke up, she didn't appreciate it at all, yelling that she still wanted to swim.
"Let go of me, let Nare go, Nare wants to learn to swim."
Miyazaki Natsuki was furious, picking her up and walking out.
Just then, a beautiful girl with long black hair wearing a swimsuit appeared on the screen, rushing over and giving the male protagonist a flying kick.
Ah lulu lulu lulu...
Miyazaki Natsuki was kicked and rolled on the ground.
...
"Ah~ I'm sorry, I didn't know you were this girl's father."
After the male protagonist's explanation (which was actually glossed over in the game with a quick scene transition), the swimming girl realized how reckless her actions had been.
"I thought a pervert had come into the swimming pool and was trying to abduct a little girl, so in a moment of urgency, I couldn't help but attack you. I'm truly very sorry."
"Pervert?!"
Miyazaki Natsuki clutched his aching lower back. "Do I look like a pervert?"
The swimming girl didn't dare to meet his eyes. "You're wearing black-rimmed glasses, it's hard to say you don't look like one..."
Hahahahaha...
Furukawa Hirozawa was laughing so hard he almost threw up.
But after laughing, he suddenly felt a little relieved. Fortunately, his eyesight was still normal, and he didn't wear glasses or anything. Otherwise, would he also be considered a pervert if he went to the swimming pool?
No, no, no.
Furukawa Hirozawa carefully re-examined the logic. The male protagonist was considered a pervert mainly because there were no boys in this school.
It had little to do with the glasses.
After some conversation, he learned that the girl's name was Aoba Inori, and she was a swimming teacher at this school.
The school's swimming pool was very special because the school had produced some famous female swimmers, so they had invested heavily in talent cultivation in this area. To facilitate practice for promising students, the swimming pool remained open even in winter.
And it was a heated swimming pool.
(In a future suspenseful Japanese drama called "Class 3A," the victim Kageyama Reina, a talented young member of the school's swimming club, also continued to train in winter and spring.)
"Oh? A swimming teacher, really?" Miyazaki Natsuki was slightly stunned, then sat up straight and bowed slightly. "Hello, I'm the new math teacher at the school, temporarily assigned to Class 3A. Please take care of me from now on."
After a moment of stunned, the swimming teacher suddenly widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Eh~!"
...
After leaving the swimming pool, Furukawa Hirozawa felt a small sigh of emotion in his heart.
Ah~ This young female teacher named Aoba Inori, if nothing unexpected happened, should be the female protagonist.
At least one of the female protagonists.
She was actually quite beautiful; whether it was her perfect figure, her lively eyes, her long black hair, or her cute and impulsive personality, Furukawa liked her very much.
Old Miyazaki is very good at drawing school-style girls.
He had originally been worried that Hayao Miyazaki might draw characters in a 60s or 70s style, but now he thought it was quite good.
Moreover, having Hayao Miyazaki's own style, and being able to create girls that conform to modern sensibilities and popular aesthetics on that basis, was truly remarkable.
...
Leaving the swimming pool, the male protagonist first took Miyazaki Nare back to their residence, gave her a bath, changed her into clean clothes, and blow-dried her hair.
Afterward, Miyazaki Natsuki picked up Miyazaki Nare and placed her on the dining table.
The little girl sat there, facing Furukawa Hirozawa outside the TV screen.
Wearing her small clothes and wrapped in a white towel, Nare at this moment was like a fluffy kitten, making one want to gently rub her face.
Ah! ~
She was just too cute.
Seeing her, Furukawa Hirozawa felt like getting married again.
Miyazaki Natsuki was clearly very angry, holding Miyazaki Nare's shoulders and looking directly into her eyes.
The girl blinked her bright, big eyes, wondering what her father looked like in her eyes.
The male protagonist asked very seriously and sternly, "Nare, why did you run off by yourself? Didn't I tell you not to leave Dad's side?"
"What if you get lost someday, and I can never find you again?"
"And you went to such a dangerous place as the swimming pool."
"Do you know what a swimming pool is? If there's no one around, you could drown..."
At this point, Miyazaki Natsuki suddenly stopped.
Because Miyazaki Nare, sitting on the table, was already teary-eyed, crying silently.
And as if not to let Miyazaki Natsuki notice, she quickly wiped her eyes.
But the tears still flowed uncontrollably.
"Because of Dad."
Nare said with a red nose.
"Hmm?" Miyazaki Natsuki paused, not quite understanding what "because of Dad" meant.
"Didn't Dad say he would take me to the beach to play later?"
"Because if I learn to swim before next summer, I can go to the beach with Dad."
Hmm?
This time, Miyazaki Natsuki was completely stunned.
"I never thought it would be such a simple reason."
"But you can still go to the beach to play even if you can't swim." Miyazaki Natsuki was clearly softening.
"No, because Dad said he wants to swim freely in the ocean like a fish, and Nare wants to be like Dad too." Nare said stubbornly.
"But...
Regarding freedom.
Perhaps Nare can't understand yet, the freedom I truly want might have nothing to do with her."
"However, just then, I saw she wasn't crying because she choked on water, nor was she crying because of my bad attitude towards her...
She was merely sad because she couldn't swim with me.
To be with Dad, swimming in the summer ocean,
I only felt an immense bitterness."
The next second, the male protagonist reached out and gently stroked Nare's head, and she pressed against his palm like a cat.
Then Miyazaki Natsuki hugged Nare tightly.
For some reason, seeing this scene, it was like seeing Okazaki Tomoya holding Ushio in CL. Furukawa Hirozawa felt incredibly warm.
How wonderful it would be if such a scene were in CL!
Damn that Furuhara Tsubaki, no wonder he said LL was a supplement to CL.
Although the two had different characters and narrative structures, this father-daughter relationship was common, and it was no wonder that such a scene allowed Furukawa Hirozawa's regrets in CL to be somewhat satisfied.
Presumably, other game players felt the same way.
Ah~
Bring more of it.
That warm daily life that Tomoya and Ushio didn't fully experience or show, let there be more of it in LL.
Furukawa Hirozawa prayed from the bottom of his heart.
At the same time, he also hoped that Miyazaki Natsuki and Miyazaki Nare would have a good ending.
But just then, the male protagonist's monologue appeared on the TV screen.
He hugged Nare, pressing Nare's head against his chest, but his eyes were filled with unease and sadness.
"Nare, will we always be together?"
...
Huh?
What did this monologue mean?
For some reason, this scene, which should have been incredibly heartwarming, made Furukawa Hirozawa's heart inexplicably skip a beat.
Damn that Furuhara Tsubaki, could this be some sad foreshadowing?
Is he going to deliver another tragedy?!
Such a cute Nare, please don't follow in Ushio's footsteps!