(Chastity Reversed) The Legitimate Wife War: How I, a Harem-Hater, Ended Up Creating an Ultra-Eccentric Harem with a Villainess, a Sadistic Beauty Teacher, a Scheming Classmate... etc. - Chapter 1: Harem Law

One Year Ago.

“… Is there no other way to save Mio-nee…”

Muttering to myself, I glanced at the bankbook in my hand.  

Whining about it, however, wouldn’t solve anything, so I made up my mind.  

My bedridden older sister, Mio-nee, suffered from an illness requiring exorbitant treatment costs.  

No matter how many part-time jobs I took or how much extra effort I put in, even with high-paying gigs, there was no way I’d be able to gather the necessary funds in time to save her. At this rate, I was already dipping into savings just to keep things afloat.  

…Yes, if things stayed “normal”, this would all be hopeless.  

For the average person, there would be no choice but to despair in such a situation.  

But in this world, as one of the few men, I had the means to change these circumstances.  

This was one of the rare moments I’d genuinely felt grateful to have been born male. Though this world had thrown its challenges at me because I was a man, in this instance, I could only thank fate.  

In my previous life, I’d never thought being male was something to be thankful for—what a joke.  

Because I was a man, as Grandpa used to say, I could save Mio-nee and my family properly.  

…Though, well.  

“If Grandpa and Grandma were still around, they’d probably scold me endlessly for taking advantage of this government policy…”  

They were gone now, so I didn’t know what they would’ve actually said about it!  

But still, I was their grandson by name and blood. If it was to save Mio-nee, they’d forgive me for this, wouldn’t they?  

I mean, come on, it was their fault for passing away so quickly!  

They should’ve lived longer, seriously!  

“Ah, but lamenting solves nothing, huh. Grandpa would probably say, ‘What’s done is done’, but this is my choice, and I stand by it.”  

I’d already made my decision.  

This was the only way I could think of to save Mio-nee.  

“So, time to get myself a harem!”  

No, not create a harem. Get one.  

Anyone born in the 1990s or 2000s might shake their heads and call this ridiculous.  

Back in Grandpa’s time, the ratio of men to women was one-to-one. Things were different then.  

But now, it was the year 2100. Times had changed drastically. The gender ratio was now dramatically skewed, at 1:5.  

That ratio included the elderly, though. Among the younger population, the difference was even starker. Frankly, it felt like there was a tenfold difference.  

In a classroom of thirty students, seeing even four boys would be considered lucky. Three was more common. Having only one male in the class wasn’t unusual.  

The government hadn’t been idle in addressing this imbalance.  

They’d implemented measures like sperm banks to enable women to have children without marrying. Policies to support child-rearing were enacted to stabilize, and potentially increase, the population.  

However, these measures hadn’t succeeded.  

For reasons still unclear, artificial insemination resulted in male births only about 1 in 50 times. In other words, most children born this way were female.  

Theories suggested that a certain enzyme, “zetta-i-umare-ru”, released during a man’s natural ejaculation played a pivotal role. This enzyme was mostly absent in sperm collected through other means.  

Then came the government’s radical response—the “Polygamy Law”.  

Nicknamed the “Harem Law”, this law aimed to boost the population by allowing one man to marry multiple women.  

At first glance, it seemed like a great idea. But…  

Half a year since its implementation, multi-wife households were still practically nonexistent.  

The reason why? The answer was pretty simple.  

“The societal backlash is way too intense. No wonder it hasn’t caught on, huh?”  

Parents of the older generation opposed it vehemently.  

Meanwhile, the current generation of men didn’t seem keen on marrying multiple women either. Many guys just weren’t comfortable around women these days.  

Apparently, the number of male same-sex couples had even been on the rise.  

Still, for me, this was an opportunity.  

By entering into a harem marriage, I could secure the money needed for Mio-nee’s treatment.  

This wasn’t about ideals or romance—it was survival.  

Today’s matchmaking event was my big chance, and I couldn’t afford to mess it up.  

Frankly, it was close to selling myself.  

No matter who came, I had to agree to marry them. The initial meeting alone wouldn’t bring in enough money—I needed to finalize a marriage contract.  

“…But honestly, now that the time’s come to meet someone face-to-face, I’m really nervous.”  

I wasn’t one of those modern guys who were shy around women or anything.  

Still, the idea of a formal matchmaking meeting was intimidating, wasn’t it? This wasn’t something a 16-year-old normally did.  

“…Don’t worry so much, Kyō-sama. I’m sure you’ll be just fine.”  

“…Kazari-san, I’m sure you mean that, but this is still nerve-wracking.”

Sato Kazari.

She was my personal maid, assigned to assist me as I applied for this “harem system”; a woman dedicated to supporting me in every possible way throughout this process.

…If I remembered correctly, she mentioned she was 19 years old?

She’d taught me a variety of things—many things, really.

“Don’t worry. Over this past year, I’ve seen you work tirelessly, doing your utmost for your elder sister and putting effort into many different things. Even if the people arriving today have one quirk, two quirks, or even three quirks, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

…Huh?

One quirk or two quirks I could understand, but three quirks? That wasn’t something you heard every day.  

This was making me feel seriously uneasy…

“Kazari-san, you just admitted that these people have quirks…”

“Well… that’s because they do have them. Even based on the preliminary information we received earlier, it’s apparent. It’s the truth, and at this stage, there’s no point in hiding it. You’ll meet them soon anyway, so there’s nothing you can do about it now. Fufu.”

“Fufu? Laughing poker-faced like that only makes it scarier, you know?”

“My apologies for that.”

Apparently, they took into account every last factor up until the very end, which was why it took so much time to finalize the harem selection.  

As a result, I had no idea what kind of people they were—I didn’t even know what they looked like.

“Would you like me to share a bit of information about them? Or would you prefer going in without any preconceived notions?”

“Well, since you’ve already mentioned the ‘quirks’, I guess I’d better hear just a bit.”

There was no time left for a detailed explanation anyway.

Alright, just a quick summary, then.

“One of them is an older, beautiful woman. And, to put it mildly—a sadistic high school teacher.”

Even just her title alone reeked of taboo.  

‘To put it mildly’? If you exaggerated, would it become extreme? No, that wasn’t right.

But… if that was all, then maybe it wasn’t so bad.

If this pattern held on, it shouldn’t be too—

“Another one is a beautiful girl your age. Her family background is—let’s just say—complicated. A black-hearted, conniving classmate.”

Umm… complicated, huh?

What even was that? ‘Black-hearted, conniving classmate’ sounded like way too heavy a phrase.

“And lastly… eh…”

…Did I just hear her gasp like she was genuinely surprised?

“My apologies. The last one is a currently trending college girl. She’s beautiful.”

So, they were all beautiful? That was good, at least.  

Please, don’t add any more details. I now had a really bad feeling about this.

It seemed that my plea didn’t reach her, however.

“Ah, about her… she’s a debutante who has broken off two engagement meetings.”

“…What did you just say?!”

My brain couldn’t even process what I’d just heard.

“One of them has broken off three engagement meetings.”

…Wow.  

This was absolutely something else.

No matter where I looked, there was clearly something going on with each of them… I felt like crying.

“These are the individuals deemed most compatible with you by the government’s matching system. Don’t worry, you can do this! I’ll be here to listen if anything comes up.”

Wait, so the people I was most “compatible” with were all quirky?! Was I being subtly insulted or something?!

“…I’m counting on you, okay?”

“You don’t sound at all like the person you were when we first met. Back then, you were just… honestly…”

“Please don’t bring that up, Kazari-san.”

She tugged at my tie, adjusted it neatly, and buttoned up my suit with care.

“…Fufu, there we go.”

“Alright, I’m heading out.”

Just as I was about to start walking, she added, “Oh, one more thing—something I didn’t mention earlier…”

When I turned around, I saw her faintly smiling, almost teasingly.

“They aren’t just beautiful, they’re incredibly beautiful. Please look forward to meeting them.”

She playfully put a hand to her lips. That posture reminded me of her usual mannerisms.

“…Well, I suppose that’s good news.”

Honestly, what exactly was I supposed to look forward to?

“Now, go on and do your best to achieve your dream, Kyo-sama. As always, I, Kazari, will be here, waiting.”

“…Alright, I’m off.”

Now, let’s see what awaited me—a demon or a snake.

From here, my harem begun!  

With that thought, I opened the door confidently.