Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Four-Party Face-Off (1)
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The hotel room belonging to Harumi that I'd come back to was utterly quiet.
As expected of a royal suite costing an insane amount of money, the soundproofing was flawless.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
She must have sensed the gravity of what I was about to say, because she was acting different from her usual self. Instead of glomming onto me, Harumi sat primly in her chair.
"Miss Harumi."
Saying outright to her face that I planned to date multiple women was always a heart-pounding ordeal.
"The truth is, I already have two girlfriends."
"...What?"
Harumi's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. She looked a little flustered.
But she didn't seem angry.
"I'm officially dating Tsumetai Ren from Class C, second-year—like me—and Haiyūmori Saki."
Even as I laid it all out honestly, my heart was hammering away.
Should've just said it sooner.
But up until now, Harumi had been leaning on me so heavily for emotional support, and with everything so unstable, it hadn't felt right to drop a bombshell like this.
"And...?"
Harumi crossed her arms, her voice sinking low.
"And I want to welcome you, Miss Harumi, as my third girlfriend."
I braced myself for a flash of disgust or betrayal on her face.
"That's it? You were all worked up over nothing."
"Huh?"
Her unexpected reply left me momentarily dumbfounded.
"You know this already, but sneaking around without saying a word is the absolute worst. I'd never forgive that."
Given her family history, that was only natural.
"But if you come right out and admit to your harem situation, then ask me to join on equal terms... there's no reason for me to think badly of it, right?"
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. The tension drained from my shoulders.
"Thank you. Really, for seeing it that way."
"Ahem! I'll make a special exception. I'll be this commoner's third girlfriend."
Harumi snorted derisively, arms still crossed.
"But in return, you have to like me more than the others."
Her petite frame stomped its feet in a mock threat—it was nothing but adorable. But her tone and the glint in her eyes carried the unmistakable confidence of a wealthy heiress.
I nodded, fighting back a grin.
"I won't pretend you're not third in line. But that doesn't mean you're third priority. I'm the type who commits fully once I start something!"
I knew it well.
The fierce tenacity she'd shown, clawing desperately not just for her own life, but for her mother's too.
"But won't your other girlfriends just let that slide?"
"Hmph. Let them try. No one's stealing my teddy bear! I'm just lending him out for a bit. Be grateful—I'll share him nice and fair out of the goodness of my heart."
Once Harumi got like this, fired up and rolling, no one could stop her. That obsessive streak of hers—the one that let her churn out dolls nonstop for over ten hours straight without a break—wasn't going anywhere.
"Fine. Then all that's left is introducing me to your second and first place girls?"
To be technical, Ren and Saki were the ones whose permission we needed, putting us in the beggar's position. But Harumi talked about "first" and "second" like they should consider it an honor.
I just hoped those two wouldn't take it the wrong way...
Either oblivious to my worry or simply ignoring it, Harumi flashed a beaming smile before sidling up to me and nuzzling into the back of my neck.
She murmured something faintly chilling under her breath.
"I won't lose..."
The spot we'd agreed to meet was the rooftop of the academy's main building—the place where we'd somehow started having lunch together.
From the textbook lovers' hideaway perfect for two to flirt in, now repurposed for a full four-way face-off.
"Is that Miss Harumi over there?"
Ren sat demurely on the rooftop bench, knees pressed neatly together. Meanwhile, Saki loomed in front of her, arms crossed like a gang boss vetting a fresh recruit.
Where the hell did she get those sunglasses? The theater club's prop room...?
"That's right. Ahem! Allow me a proper introduction. I'm Kanemochiru Harumi. I'm officially dating this commoner now, so let's get along."
Harumi clung tightly to my hand with a smile, while Saki furrowed her brow.
"Officially? You haven't even gotten permission from us yet."
"Permission? I don't need approval from the likes of you. As long as Sanghyeon says yes, that's all that matters, right~?"
Harumi rubbed her cheek affectionately against my arm, purring contentedly.
"Wh-what's with that...!? This is an interview! What do you think you're doing in a serious meeting like this? Get off him or you're out!"
"Saki, relax. It just means she likes Sanghyeon-kun that much. And no one understands that better than we do."
The dignity of the first wife.
"Tch..."
Saki shot Harumi a teary-eyed glare before turning her ire on me. Her eyes screamed, 'This is all because you go around seducing other girls!'
Hee hee hee.
Harumi, grinning ear to ear, jabbed a finger toward Ren and declared,
"You, the one sitting there! You're growing on me. Hahaha!"
"Is that so? Hohoho..."
Ren covered her mouth with her hand and smiled gracefully. She radiated the gentle modesty befitting the first girlfriend. But the chilly glint peeking through her smiling eyes... must've been my imagination, right...?
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Saki scrunched her brow and narrowed her eyes. She was squinting, trying to make something out.
"...Yuu, what's that on your neck?"
Scratch.
I scratched at my neck on reflex—then remembered. That was where Harumi had left her mark. Talk about awkward.
"Hee? Oh, that? It's my lip print~?"
Harumi's eyes sparkled as she eagerly took the bait.
"What...? Th-that!? So envi—no, wait, that's not what I—!"
Saki's face turned beet red as she flailed her hands in the air.
"Scribbling crap like that on someone's neck where everyone can see? Are you insane!?"
Harumi poked at the back of my neck with her finger, chuckling shamelessly.
"What's the big deal? The commoner's mine. Can't I mark what's mine?"
Saki flushed even deeper at the brazen display of affection, stammering,
"H-hey, you! Aren't you being a little too forward? I... I haven't even done that much yet..."
"That's your problem. I'm doing whatever I want. After all, I'm the daughter of the Kanemochiru family. Ohohohohoho!"
Harumi stuck out her tongue before dissolving into a ridiculous faux-ladylike cackle. Hand her a fan, and she'd be perfect.
She kept laughing for a good while before yanking insistently on my arm, bending my torso down and draping herself expertly over me. Despite her small size, the sticky tenacity of her cling was unmatched.
Mwah♥ Mwah♥
All the while, she slyly added another hickey to my neck.
"Hey!! Cut it out!! Get off Yu!!"
"Tsk tsk. The second one's such a total rookie. It's just some light skinship. A hug and a kiss?"
"R-rookie...? No, that's not just a hug! What kind of girl spreads her legs like that and calls it clinging to a guy a 'hug'? And who the hell gives a 'kiss' by mauling someone's neck like that?!"
Saki ground her teeth and strode forward, unleashing a nonstop barrage.
Haa...
These two really don't mesh at all.
"And she's way shorter than me, but acting all grown-up...!"
"Hmph. Short but cute works just fine! Our Sanghyeon prefers my dainty little figure, right?"
Harumi burrowed even deeper into my chest and bobbed her head.
"Right, teddy bear?"
I hadn't even said a word yet, but Harumi whooped like I'd agreed—"Yeah, yeah!"—and buried her face in the crook of my neck.
Bleeeh-!
Glancing down, I caught her tongue sticking out at Saki before snapping back in.
"...She really knows how to piss me off. And with those tiny tits too, acting all high and mighty. AA—no, AAA cup. Bet she doesn't even fit a junior bra."
Now it was straight-up body-shaming.
"Wh-what did you say!?"
Harumi's face went crimson in an instant.
"Th-they're not that small! I... I wear a bra too, you know!"
Saki smirked triumphantly, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
"Pfft... pffft... Oh, really? Somehow I doubt it. Nipple patches, more like. Yuu, isn't this a crime? You can't date a kid. It's gonna get censored!"
"A kid!? I'm a full-grown adult! Twenty-one years old! Older than you!"
Harumi hopped down from my arms in a huff, stomping her feet and yelling her head off.
"Teddy bear! From now on, you gotta grope my boobs way more than that girl's! Or else... I'll punish you!"
"B-boobs...? Are you nuts? Why bring that up out of nowhere?!"
That was when Ren quietly spoke up.
Her voice was far softer than Saki and Harumi's shouting, yet it rang out with startling clarity.
"You two haven't gone all the way already, have you? Doing that before getting harem approval... would be blatant cheating, you know?"
She smiled again, but now it was unmistakable.
Ren was in a very bad mood right now.
I frantically waved my hands.
After all the care I'd taken not to hurt any of you. I hadn't even gone near that subhuman sow onahole.
Saki read the truth on my face and snickered.
"What, you haven't? Pfft. Big whoop."
Grit.
"You. You're starting to really get on my nerves."
Harumi clenched her teeth before abruptly switching to a pitiful whine and sidling back toward me.
"Ah~ it's suddenly so chilly. Sanghyeon, gimme a hug!"
Mmm~ mmm~ mmm~
"Cicadas are screaming on a day this hot... and you're cold?"
"Aaaah! Hug me now!! Like you did from behind that time... hehe."
Sparks flew from Saki's eyes.
"What!? From b-behind? Doing what!?"
She was picking the most misleading phrasing on purpose...