(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.

“No. Please become my fiancée, Akizuki-san.”

“……Eh?”

Akizuki-san, who raised her head, was clearly shaken.

She had a face that said she didn’t understand what I was saying to her.

“……W-was my confession rejected? Become Takeda-kun’s fiancée once more……what does that mean? Why?”

“I understood Akizuki-san’s feelings. But why did you think I disliked you in the first place?”

“……Well, eh, because, like I said before?”

Akizuki-san was already so confused she was stumbling over her words.

“I’m not charming at all, I said lots of horrible things to Takeda-kun, I acted in ways that would make you hate me, I caused trouble……”

‘Finding good points would be harder,’ she said, her voice getting smaller and smaller.

“That’s certainly true. To add to that, when we first talked you said things like ‘I’m not interested because I like women.'”

“Y-yes, there’s that too.”

“But I know all of that was because you were caught between Shiraishi-san and your parents. Besides, I know other sides of Akizuki-san. Like how gracefully you eat, how you can care for others—I could go on forever, but I know those good qualities from living together.”

Besides eating, I’d always thought every one of her gestures was elegant and beautiful.

I knew she was someone who could get angry for others’ sake—during the Kuzuryu incident, I remember Akizuki-san was furious like raging fire for Hosho-san’s sake.

“……That might be true for Takeda-kun, but what I just mentioned are pretty ordinary things. The demerits are so huge they’re nowhere near enough to cancel them out, right?”

Ordinary—that’s not true at all.

I couldn’t help but smile wryly at Akizuki-san’s words.

“I know other things too. How you try to handle everything alone, how much you can care for your lover, how you do your job properly and give careful lessons even when there are people you don’t like. I know lots of wonderful things about Akizuki-san.”

“……Those are all natural things.”

“Are they……? I think they’re plenty amazing.”

Maybe they’d be natural once you enter society.

Maybe there are lots of people like that.

But rather than thinking ‘it’s natural because everyone can do it,’ I think it’s better to think ‘everyone who can do it is amazing.’

At least I respect Akizuki-san.

“They’re not amazing.”

The reason she denies it so thoroughly was probably because Akizuki-san couldn’t forgive herself.

I think she couldn’t forgive herself precisely because she had come to properly care about me—for what she did to me in the past.

Because Akizuki-san has a strong sense of responsibility.

“Then let me put it differently. Even if you quit being a fiancée, what atonement would that be?”

“It means you wouldn’t have to see my face……”

“I don’t think even one millimeter that I don’t want to see Akizuki-san’s face, so it’s not atonement at all. Rather, it’s a negative.”

“……Ah.”

“Besides, for me it would just mean an attractive woman disappeared……there are only demerits for me. This way everyone loses. I lose Akizuki-san, Shiraishi-san would feel guilty about being my fiancée because you disappeared and would just end up in Akizuki-san’s former position of being caught in the middle. The other fiancées would feel lonely with Akizuki-san gone, and Akizuki-san would lose her fiancée status, lover, friends, and even her parents—everything.”

“……I don’t want that. Only I should be unhappy.”

No, that’s wrong, Akizuki-san.

That’s impossible.

“I don’t think there are that many people who need to be unhappy. Did you really do such things? At least I don’t think anything of it.”

Akizuki-san looked down.

If there really were people who should be unhappy, I think it would be those who only think of themselves and don’t care at all about causing trouble for others.

People who think ‘as long as I’m fine, nothing else matters’ and can act regardless of others’ troubles or sadness. Like Eucharis.

“That might be true regarding Takeda-kun, but at least I made my parents unhappy.”

“Made them unhappy……?”

“Yes. I made them bow their heads when they didn’t need to, and even caused them to be disowned. That’s nothing but being an unfilial daughter, isn’t it?”

……Well, that’s half Shiraishi-san’s fault.

But from what I heard, even if Shiraishi-san hadn’t exposed things, they weren’t in a relationship where they could talk, and they probably would have continued drifting along without ever being able to have a heart-to-heart conversation.

And then either an explosion would have happened, or Akizuki-san would have continued being suppressed until her heart died.

But that was way too extreme, Shiraishi-san!

I’ll give her a piece of my mind next time.

Well, setting that aside, I think this:

“The current situation is certainly unfilial as you say.”

“……”

“But I think that’s just the current state of things. As I said before, my parents died in an accident so there’s nothing I can do about it anymore, but you are different, right? They’re alive and you can talk to them if you want to. You can still start over. ……Besides, I know. That you sent an apology letter to your parents.”

“How do you know that……”

“Well, there’s a talkative person nearby.”

Just from that, Akizuki-san seemed to figure out who had talked.

“Ayaka.”

“You’re properly acting to avoid being unhappy. So shouldn’t you forgive yourself a little too?”

This person was too hard on herself, like her parents.

“But no reply has come back, and making them unhappy……”

“I’ve never had children so I don’t know, this is just imagination, but I think parents basically don’t wish for their children’s unhappiness. Any decent parent wants to see their child’s smile. ……Besides, they’re your blood-related parents. A little quarrel can be worked out somehow. You should try expressing your opinions more. Talk until you both understand each other. A fight where you part ways is impossible. With Akizuki-san’s parents from before, maybe you couldn’t have had discussions, but I think it’s fine now.”

There seemed to be some regret there recently too.

“……I wonder if that’s true even for my parents.”

Memories from the past were probably clinging to Akizuki-san.

Old memories.

“……You can tell Tadashi-san and Miwako-san’s love for you from how they apologized to me the other day, can’t you?”

They’d never do such a thing if they didn’t care about Akizuki-san.

Being angry means, conversely, that they care seriously about the other person.

“You might be unfilial now, but from now on you can make them happy as their child. And you have already taken that first step. You’ve long since changed from the past Akizuki-san who ran away and wouldn’t face people, wouldn’t face your parents.”

She was crying and stopping at that the other day.

I feel like Akizuki-san has changed.

“Well, since I was wrong, I couldn’t exactly not act……but I see, maybe I was able to change a little.”

“At least I think so. If you’re still worried, why don’t you ask Shiraishi-san?”

“Ayaka, huh.”

I’m sure she’d say it.

‘You’ve changed.’

“If you can’t make up with your parents, I’m here too, and I could have Shiraishi-san apologize.”

Shiraishi-san planted the seeds herself, so she couldn’t possibly refuse.

“I might do that then……is it okay for someone like me to be happy? Me, who has two people I love?”

Whether it’s okay to be happy.

“It’s fine. If your situation isn’t fine, then I, who have three fiancées and am trying to make a fourth, would be even worse.”