Parameter Supremacy: The Man Who Seizes a Harem Through Sheer Effort. - Chapter 41.

Episode 41: Isshiki Moe – Movie Date.

Isshiki Moe’s POV.

My eyes opened. The clock read 8:00 a.m. For a weekend wake-up, that was perfectly acceptable. Maybe because of the slight nerves about today’s date, I’d woken up several times during the night, and a faint drowsiness still clung to me.

Right. I slapped my cheeks lightly to snap myself awake. The movie started at 1:30. —If I headed to Minato-kun’s house at noon to pick him up, that should be fine. With that thought, I slid out of bed. Still in pajamas, I left my room, descended the stairs, and stepped into the living room.

Dad had already finished breakfast; Mom was at the sink doing dishes.

“Morning~”

We exchanged simple family greetings. Both of them smiled back. Mom quickly finished up and began preparing my breakfast with brisk efficiency. On weekends without bentos to pack, Mom handling breakfast was routine in the Isshiki household.

Rice, miso soup, grilled fish—the classic Japanese morning spread. I sipped tea to wash it down. After carrying the dishes to the kitchen, next came the shower. In summer I showered every morning before school to rinse off the sweat; it was a habit Mom and I shared. The outfit I’d chosen for today was already laid out, and there was still plenty of time.

I still had several hours before heading to pick up Minato-kun. I loved the original novel, and honestly, even before the movie outing was decided, I’d been thinking of going alone—I’d been looking forward to it that much. I picked up the novel and flopped onto my bed, turning pages slowly.

This story—I’d wanted to see it on screen no matter what, even without an invitation ticket. The fact that I got to experience it at all made me happy, regardless of who I was going with.

I’ve always loved romance novels. Romance manga too, of course. The delicate shifts in people’s hearts, the way they care for one another, the feeling of loving someone—those things are expressed so beautifully and romantically in stories. The ending of today’s movie was sad, yes, but the path leading up to it—the relationships, the gentle steps they took together—was truly wonderful. I found myself wondering: Could I ever have a love like that, something worth risking everything for?

On the other hand, violent movies and manga were something I couldn’t stand. Anything that looked painful, anything frightening—I just couldn’t bring myself to like them. There was a reason, of course. I didn’t want to think about it right now. The one thing I could say for certain was that I hated violence. Pathologically so.

***

…Maybe I got a little too lost in thought. From some point on I don’t even remember what I was thinking about anymore…

When I snapped back to reality and checked my phone, it was already past 11:00. Minato-kun usually played online games with his middle-school friends from late night into early morning—those slightly scary kinds of games I didn’t like. On days like that he said he slept until past noon, but just to be safe, I sent a message.

MIO: Minato-kun. I’m coming to pick you up at 12:00. You awake?

No read receipt. Ten minutes passed with nothing, so I took a deep breath and called him instead. The ringing went on and on. No answer.

“Sigh… Still sleeping, huh?”

The clock showed fifty minutes until noon. No need to panic yet. I sent one more message and decided to wait and see.

MIO: Heyyy. You up?

***

While waiting, I finished changing and did light makeup. All that was left was heading out. The time was 11:50. Still no read… Resigned, I decided to go wake Minato-kun up in person.

The moment I stepped outside, his house was right there—practically next door.

Ding-dong.

“Yes…? Oh, Moe-chan. Hello. What’s up?”

Minato-kun’s mother answered through the intercom.

“Hellooo, Auntie. I had plans with Minato-kun today… Is he home?”

“That boy again… Sigh. Sorry, dear, he’s still asleep. I’ll wake him—come in and wait, okay?”

A short while later the front door opened. Minato-kun’s mother appeared, looking apologetic.

“I’m really sorry, Moe-chan. Come on in.”

She led me to the living room. Minato-kun’s father gave a small, considerate nod and quietly retreated to his room. Auntie poured me a glass of barley tea from the pitcher. I stared absently at the midday news on TV. …Another assault case in the area… Kind of scary.

“Minato! You idiot— Moe-chan came all the way here to pick you up!”

After Auntie’s loud shout, hurried footsteps thumped down from the second floor.

I’d half-expected this, so I stayed calmer than I thought I would. I pulled out my phone to check the time.

“Sigh… Are we even going to make the movie…?”

***

I took a sip of barley tea. The faint droplets clinging to the rim of the glass left a cool sensation on my fingertips. The weather forecast was on now—today was going to be the hottest day of the summer so far. Another glance at my phone showed thirty minutes had already passed since then.

Minato-kun went to the bathroom, came back, changed clothes. Through the frosted glass of the door connecting the living room and hallway, I could see his shadow darting back and forth. Fixing his hair? Brushing his teeth? The intermittent sound of hurried footsteps echoed. He should be coming down any moment now.

Right on cue, the doorknob turned with a click and the door flew open.

It was Minato-kun.

“Sorry, Moe. Overslept.”

“Yeah. It’s fine… But if we don’t leave right now, we’re definitely gonna miss the movie~?”

From the Sato house to the station on foot, then train to the theater—even if everything went perfectly, it would take forty minutes. Factor in signals and waiting for the train… we were cutting it razor-thin.

“But I haven’t eaten yet…”

“That’s fine… But we’re absolutely not making it on time if we stop for food~? Should we shift to a later showing?”

The next screening wasn’t until close to 4:00. That would throw off the rest of the day completely.

“…Got it. Let’s go right now. Moe, hurry.”

“Yeah. Okay—Auntie, thank you so much for today. The barley tea was delicious.”

I thanked Minato-kun’s mother properly.

“Don’t worry about it. Minato, you really need to apologize. Have fun, you two.”

With her words at our backs, we hurried out of the Sato house and rushed toward the theater under the blazing summer sun.

***

We practically jogged from the ticket gates to the cinema. My phone showed only ten minutes until showtime. A small complaint bubbled up inside me.

“This is bad… Are we gonna make it?”

“We have to run. Come on?”

I answered in a flat, emotionless tone. Beside me, Minato was breathing hard, mumbling excuse after excuse. I flicked a sideways glance at him but didn’t slow down.

The instant we passed through the automatic doors, cool air-conditioning enveloped us. Sweat that had been pouring off me receded in an instant—but the smoldering irritation deep in my chest didn’t cool at all. The clammy way my skirt stuck to my thighs was unbearable. A few other moviegoers were already lined up in the lobby; only five minutes remained until the start.

“See? We still made it.”

“…We still have to exchange the vouchers for tickets~”

My short reply made Minato clamp his mouth shut for a second before he forced an awkward smile.

“Sorry…”

“It’s fine. Let’s just hurry~?”

I exhaled deeply and walked toward the ticket machine without another word. No anger, no laughter. Just moving forward mechanically, chased by the ticking clock.

***

We slipped into the theater at the very last second. The lights were already down; commercials were playing. We found our seats in the dark and sat quietly. The main feature began almost immediately, and the atmosphere in the room was swiftly drawn into the world on screen.

“Phew… We actually made it~”

Finally—a moment to breathe. The air-conditioning made my sweat-damp skin feel chilly. I clenched my hands tightly, drew my shoulders in a little, and tried to focus on the movie.

But right beside me, Minato-kun kept whispering under his breath, “I’m so hungry…”

We hadn’t bought anything to eat or drink before the show—of course he was hungry. I understood that. Still, every time his voice reached my ears, my concentration broke a little more.

I sent him the slightest, coldest sidelong glance and let out a slow breath. I folded my trembling hands in my lap and forced myself to keep watching.

The film itself was magnificent. …The work alone, at least, was undeniably so.