Parameter Supremacy: The Man Who Seizes a Harem Through Sheer Effort. - Chapter 75.

The Second Semester and a Trace of Unease.

I forced my heavy eyelids open.

Outside, the sky was already bright. Today marked the start of the new semester.

Yesterday, I had experienced something that could rightfully be called a major life event for a high school boy—my first time with my girlfriend.

I had half-expected that waking up the next morning would make the world look completely different, but the room in this rundown apartment looked exactly the same as always. In the end, even after having sex, the world hadn’t changed. As a minor who had just come to that realization, I quickly got ready and headed out for my usual morning training run.

When I checked my phone, a message from Shiina was waiting: she would be skipping morning practice today. I suspected it was because of last night, but there was no way I could ask her directly, so I simply replied with “Got it.”

***

After finishing my usual training session, I returned to the apartment. It had only been about a week since I resumed training, but my stamina and muscle strength had almost fully recovered to pre-injury levels. As for academics and appearance, I hadn’t slacked off even during summer break, so those numbers should have improved as well.

Overall, my personal specs were higher now than before summer vacation. That was how I viewed my own abilities.

I showered off the sweat, changed into my school uniform, prepared a simple breakfast, and washed it down with milk. By then, it was already a good time for us to head to school.

After giving my hair a final light adjustment in the mirror, I grabbed my bag and slipped on my loafers. It was the new semester. I wasn’t exactly bursting with enthusiasm, but stepping back into school after a month still stirred something in my chest.

***

I reached the usual spot in front of the supermarket. Even from a distance, I could see her waiting for me.

Shiina was checking her reflection in the supermarket window, carefully fixing her hair.

Ah… the world really had changed.

It felt like everything except Shiina had blurred into the background, as if I were looking at a beautiful photograph taken with a single-focus lens.

It might have been self-conscious on my part, but seeing her fussing over her appearance just for me brought an unstoppable smile to my face.

I could have stood there watching her from behind for hours, but today was the first day of the new semester. I couldn’t risk making her late. Steeling myself, I called out to her.

“Good morning, Shiina.”

Startled because she hadn’t noticed me approaching until the last second, Shiina spun around in a fluster.

Her face was tilted slightly downward in embarrassment, but her eyes looked up at me through her lashes.

“Ah… Good morning, Ryuuji.”

It felt a little awkward. Unlike yesterday, when we had been swept up in the heat of the moment and let our bodies come together, a full night had passed. Both of us were calmer now.

“Shall we head to school?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

We turned in the same direction and began walking slowly. The heat was still intense, and unpleasant sunlight made sweat trickle down our skin. But still… even so.

I wanted to touch Shiina. I wanted to feel her warmth.

“Shiina…”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Nn.”

I held out my right hand.

Shiina tilted her head with a question mark hovering over it, freezing for a moment. Then, a little gruffly, I repeated:

“Nn.”

“Ah… Ehehe.”

She gave me a pure, innocent smile—the kind only a young girl could make—and gently took my right hand in hers.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Ehehe, I’m so happy.”

Matching steps with the clearly satisfied Shiina, we made our way to school.

***

When we reached the familiar crossroads, a recognizable figure was already there. Loose, fluffy chestnut-colored waves. It was Isshiki Moe, the girl whose relationship with us had grown much closer over summer break.

The moment Moe noticed us, she broke into a wide, silly grin and trotted over.

“Morniiing, you two!”

“Moe, morning~!”

“Good morning.”

The three of us exchanged friendly greetings. Moe’s gaze naturally drifted down to our joined hands. Seeing them, she grinned again.

“Still super close even on the first day of the new semester, huh~”

“Ehehe. That’s right! I’m really so happy♡”

Shiina melted into a sickeningly sweet, sugary smile.

“Well, we are dating, after all.”

I gave a safe, neutral reply.

When other people were around, embarrassment still won out. Of course I wanted to show off such a cute girlfriend, but I was still in the middle of puberty. I had the same level of shame as someone who accidentally calls their mom “Mommy” in front of friends.

“Alright, I’ll head this way then~”

“H-Hey—”

Before I could react, Moe wrapped both of her arms around my free left arm. The impact pressed her ample chest firmly against it.

Munyuu.

Soft. A completely different, almost violent softness compared to Shiina’s, which I had touched just yesterday. Despite always saying how much she hated violence, Moe was carrying dangerous weapons on her chest.

“……”

I kept my voice suppressed and maintained a blank expression.

But when I looked at the situation objectively… what the hell was this? Seriously, how had things turned out like this?

My right hand was holding Shiina’s, while my left arm was linked with Moe’s. What was this? Some kind of harem?

I glanced at Shiina and saw her giving Moe a “Nishishi” grin while exchanging mysterious eye contact. Was this really okay? It felt extremely unethical…

I tried to give Moe a mild scolding, but she tugged on my left arm.

“Come on, let’s go~”

Fine. I gave up.

For now, I’d just consider it a perk of the situation. Still, there was the shame, and it wouldn’t be good if weird rumors started. I resolved to keep some sense of moderation.

Even as I thought that, I couldn’t stop the stupid grin from spreading across my face. Maybe I was pretty far gone too.

Thankfully, it was still relatively early, so there weren’t many students from our school around yet. I figured I could create some distance from the two girls at an appropriate point.

By the way, Shiina and I usually left for school at a fairly early time, but Moe had clearly been waiting for us… Just to be sure, I asked.

“Moe, you’re pretty early today. Did we make you wait?”

“Eh? Not at all~ I only waited a little.”

“I see. Sorry about that. How long were you waiting?”

“After my morning bath… around 6 o’clock?”

““Huh???””

Shiina and I blurted out in perfect unison, sounding completely dumb.

“J-Just kidding~”

Seeing our reactions, Moe panicked and quickly corrected herself.

So it was a joke… Thank goodness. The thought of a girl who had only recently been a stalking victim standing outside alone for a long time had me ready to smack her butt with a shinai.

Good, good…

Wait. It really was a joke, right?

***

Just in case, even if it was a joke, I gave Moe a light lecture about not doing anything stupid while the three of us continued walking to school.

“Sorry~ I won’t do it again~”

Moe made an X with her eyes, pretending to reflect seriously.

More students were starting to appear on their way to school, so I asked the two girls to keep a bit of distance.

***

Once we entered the classroom and placed our things at our desks, Shiina and Moe naturally gathered around my seat. It was quite embarrassing, but as a guy, I just couldn’t bring myself to brush off two such cute girls.

Still, we had topics other than romance in common. Of course, the main one was club activities.

The conversation quickly turned to the kendo club—how my injury was healing, whether I could swing a shinai yet, and plans for after-school practice. Just casual student talk.

Students who had entered the classroom and initially given us suspicious looks quickly realized it was normal conversation and looked away, heading to their own seats.

This was fine.

I didn’t think there was any special need to hide my relationship with Shiina. Toward the end of the first semester, we had eaten lunch together and walked to and from school side by side. Naturally, rumors had already spread. We hadn’t officially announced it, but it was pretty much recognized around school as an established couple.

Moe, however, was different. Our closeness had only really developed during summer break. Very few people knew about our relationship. When it came to romantic matters, only Shiina and Matsuri-chan were aware.

If that became public here, strange rumors could easily start. Once people started saying things like “cheating” or “two-timing,” it would be hard to clear them up.

If it were just me, I thought I could endure it. But Moe was different.

Of course, if I started dating Moe as well, it might dispel those particular rumors—but the fact of dating multiple people at once was still very much a minority situation.

Either way, gaining understanding from others would be difficult.

We had to proceed with caution. That was what I was thinking when—

“Ohayo~!”

A cheerful voice boomed through the classroom. With a huge smile on her face, Matsuri-chan—Tsukishiro Matsuri—came running straight toward my desk with an energetic greeting.

Her loud voice instantly drew every classmate’s eyes toward us.

“Having both your girlfriend and Moe-cchi attending you first thing in the morning~ So hot! You three!”

The three of us froze with shocked expressions and stared at Matsuri-chan. Or rather, at the person standing right behind her…

***

“Shiina, are you dating Sagara now?”

Satou Minato. With eyes as empty as the void, he stared intently at Shiina’s face. A faint smile played on his lips.

“U-Um… yeah. Since summer break…”

“I see…”

Muttering those quiet words, Satou trudged slowly toward his own seat.

Matsuri-chan looked at us apologetically.

“Ahaha… I really messed up, didn’t I…?”

As I looked at her face, a faint trace of unease settled in my chest.