Parameter Supremacy: The Man Who Seizes a Harem Through Sheer Effort. - Chapter 60.

Episode  60: Fireworks and Confession.

After finishing dinner, the kendo club gathered in the parking lot in front of the lodge. Camp recreation time—fireworks hour.

I muttered quietly to my classmate Tadokoro.

“Sorry. I’m slipping away with Kayano.”

Tadokoro grinned, gave my back a push, and said, “Go get ’em.” I nodded and scanned for Shiina.

Night had fully fallen; the parking lot was wrapped in soft darkness. The members stood in a loose circle on the asphalt, lighting fireworks one after another. Sparks popped and crackled, white smoke curling lazily upward.

“Whoa, too close! It’s burning, burning!”

“Ahahaha!”

The boys’ carefree shouts rang into the sky. Their faces wore unguarded smiles—nothing like the focused intensity they showed swinging shinai.

A little farther off, the girls huddled around senko-hanabi, squatting as they declared, “Let’s see whose lasts the longest!” Laughter mingled with the breeze; every gust brought tiny shrieks and cheers.

My gaze drifted and found Moe with her friends, setting off fireworks. She laughed along, but every so often glanced my way. When our eyes met, she gave a small, polite bow.

The smell of scorched paper drifted on the wind. Amid the overlapping laughter and popping sparks, my eyes finally caught Shiina.

A little apart, at the edge of the lot. With everyone’s lively voices behind her, she stood alone, quietly watching the glow of the fireworks. I paused, raised a hand toward her, then crooked my finger toward the lake in a silent invitation.

Shiina blinked in surprise at first, then gave a small smile and stood. She walked over carefully, small stones crunching softly under her feet with each step.

“Shall we move somewhere else?”

I said it lightly. Shiina nodded with a gentle smile.

We left the parking lot and walked down the quiet private road. The fireworks noise faded into the distance, leaving only the rustle of leaves in the wind and our footsteps. The night air carried a cool edge that gently washed away the lingering summer heat.

“…It’s cool,” Shiina murmured softly, hunching her shoulders a little against the breeze.

At the end of the private road, the lake’s surface glimmered faintly. We stepped onto the public road and soon reached the pier we’d visited earlier that day. Stars and distant streetlights reflected on the water, swaying gently.

“…Beautiful…”

Shiina whispered, eyes fixed on the lake.

***

We sat on a wooden bench overlooking the water and caught our breath. In my left hand I held a bundle of senko-hanabi; from my pocket I pulled a lighter and a small candle.

“Want to do some fireworks?”

Shiina nodded eagerly, accepting one stick from me with a happy expression. I lit the candle with the lighter, secured it with wax, and we touched the tips of our senko-hanabi to the flame.

Tiny sparks crackled and danced.

***

“Before I give my answer… mind if I talk about myself a little first?”

Shiina looked faintly startled.

“Y-Yeah.”

Her reply was small, almost hesitant.

“I told you I’m an orphan, right?”

She gave a quiet nod.

“I was abandoned. When I was five. No warning at all.”

The senko-hanabi slipped from Shiina’s fingers and fell with a soft pat.

“One morning, Mom left with a man. I don’t know if he was a lover or a common-law husband—just the guy living with us at the time.”

“He wasn’t my real father; I don’t even remember his name. Mom wore slightly nicer clothes than usual, said ‘I’ll be back,’ and left. That was the last time.”

“Eh…?”

“I haven’t seen her since. Honestly, I can’t even remember her face clearly anymore…”

“But there are memories of being loved. She read me picture books before bed, pushed me on the swings at the park… She laughed a lot. She was kind…”

My voice caught for a moment.

“But… doesn’t it sound unreal? One day you feel loved, the next it’s all gone…”

“…”

Tears shimmered in Shiina’s eyes.

“After that, a neighbor took me in for a while, then I ended up in the teacher’s orphanage. The details are fuzzy. One day I just… realized I was an orphan.”

“Sniff… Yeah…”

“I thought I wasn’t the kind of person who could be loved or liked. I was the kid Mom threw away, after all.”

“And if feelings like love or affection could vanish overnight, then I didn’t want them to begin with.”

“…”

Shiina watched me in silence.

“That’s when I met you, Shiina.”

I remembered.

“At first I just thought, ‘There’s an insanely beautiful girl here.’ And she was strong at kendo too—I got completely crushed. I was shocked.”

Shiina’s lips curved slightly; she laughed through her tears.

“I wanted to beat you somehow. I trained hard, and finally I did. I think I was the most surprised person that day.”

I let out a small laugh.

“After that, you started talking to me. We practiced together, walked to and from school, went on dates…”

One memory after another surfaced.

“Before I knew it, you were important to me. I’d always felt like I was living alone, but being with you made it feel like we were walking together…”

I exhaled slowly.

“Shiina—this is my answer to your confession.”

“Sniff… sniff… Okay.”

She looked up at me and gave a tiny nod.

***

“I like you, Shiina.”

Her eyes widened.

“I still don’t really understand things like love or romance. But when I think about losing you… I can’t even imagine it. I don’t want to.”

“If I picture you dating someone else, kissing someone else… it drives me crazy…”

Shiina’s face flushed crimson as she listened intently.

“All I know is that I like you. And I don’t want to give you to anyone.”

“…Is that enough?”

I looked straight into her eyes and asked.

“Yeah. Yeah…”

Shiina nodded through fresh tears.

“I like you too, Ryuuji. I love you so much.”

She let her feelings spill out, crying openly.

“Let’s be lovers, Shiina.”

The moment I said it, she burst into sobs and threw herself into my arms, burying her face in my chest and clutching my shirt with both hands. I placed a hand on her head, stroking gently, and held her until the tears subsided.

***

When she finally calmed, Shiina quietly lit another senko-hanabi and gazed dreamily at the fragile, fleeting sparks.

“Hey, Ryuuji.”

“Hm?”

“…I won’t suddenly disappear on you.”

“…”

Her soft voice brushed against the old scar in my chest like a gentle hand. I couldn’t find words to reply. I wasn’t doubting her. It was just that Mom’s sudden vanishing still lingered somewhere inside me. I had no way of knowing why she left. There must have been a reason. Even so, maybe I’d left a piece of my heart behind in that apartment room all those years ago.

In the quiet, the senko-hanabi in my hand quietly burned out and fell.

“How can I make you believe me…?”

My silence must have worried her. Shiina looked down, a lonely smile on her lips as she met my eyes.

“I’m not doubting you. I just… don’t have much confidence in myself, I guess.”

Confidence in being loved. Confidence in being needed. Ever since I suddenly lost Mom’s warmth as a child, there’s been an empty space in my heart. Being in a place filled with love sometimes feels suffocating. Family, lovers—being part of them can make me feel like an intruder.

I still don’t know how to heal it.

“I have confidence,” Shiina whispered. “In how I feel about you, Ryuuji-kun. More than I do in kendo, even.”

As she spoke, she gently climbed onto my lap, straddling me. Slender arms wrapped around my neck. Starlight shimmered in her eyes.

Then Shiina kissed me.

A quiet, deep kiss—just lips touching lips.

In that instant, something tangled deep inside my chest unraveled. Sweet, almost dangerously intoxicating happiness. Like a small poison that made my heart drunk.

“I’ve wanted… to do this for so long…”

Shiina’s cheeks burned red; she smiled shyly. The expression was so captivating that I pulled her close on impulse.

“Thank you.”

I murmured it, then leaned in to kiss her again—this time gentle and lingering. Short, warm, like the final glow of a firework.

***

After that, we spent a shy, sweet time together, but it was getting late. The fireworks might already be over. I checked my phone— a message from Tadokoro: “I covered for you.” Lifesaver.

“Hey, Ryuuji?”

Shiina, walking beside me with visible reluctance, spoke up.

“What’s up?”

“Um… can I ask you one thing?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

I waited.

“If—if, hypothetically—Moe said she wanted to date you… what would you do?”

“Huh?”

An idiotic sound escaped me.

“It’s just a hypothetical!”

Hypothetical… Moe and me dating?

“Hmm. Sorry, I’ve never thought about it, so I don’t really know. But I’m already your boyfriend, Shiina. If you don’t like it, I won’t.”

“Hmm. Okay.”

Shiina grinned, looking oddly pleased.

“That’s all?”

Thinking the conversation was over, I asked.

“Then… what if I said, ‘It’s okay if you date Moe too’?”

“Eh?”

“How… would you feel?”

“Hmm… Depends on how I feel about Moe at that moment, I guess.”

“And dating both of us at the same time… you don’t have any thoughts about that?”

“Eh? Well… If everyone’s okay with it, I don’t see why not. It’s between the people involved, right? Sensei has three wives, after all.”

The image of Sagara Ichirou and his three wives floated up. They always looked happy together.

“I see. Good.”

“Eh?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

Shiina looked relieved—and somehow amused. Walking beside her on the way back felt incredibly comfortable.

“Ah, right, Ryuuji.”

She turned to me with a bright smile.

“Here—want to hold hands?”

We gently laced our fingers together.