(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.

I hurriedly followed Tachibana-san.

Tachibana-san exited through the main gate and walked toward the riverbank.

What was Tachibana-san thinking right now?

“…Kyo-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“What is our relationship?”

Still facing forward, Tachibana-san suddenly threw that question at me.

What kind of expression was she making as she asked me that?

Our relationship…

“Fiancés… isn’t it?”

We’re fiancés and also classmates.

We’re also fellow residents sharing the same fate under one roof.

“That’s right, we’re fiancés.”

“Yeah.”

“Which means we’re strangers with a contractual relationship, right?”

“That’s not… wrong, I suppose, but I don’t think our relationship is that dry.”

“Right, but we’re not family.”

“…Isn’t that what we’re going to become?”

Everyone starts as strangers anyway.

“Our relationship has been convenient in a way, hasn’t it? We’ve been able to get along well because we maintained a convenient, just-right distance.”

“Convenient relationship?”

“Right. Kyo-kun, you maintain your fiancées to earn money for your sister’s treatment, and I have no objection to continuing as your fiancée—that kind of business-like relationship.”

So that’s what Tachibana-san considers the right distance?

“For that purpose, we did the minimum required dates that the NAZ organization demanded and fulfilled our duties. But that’s all, right? At first, everyone had that kind of relationship—the same just-right distance as me.”

Well, I won’t deny that.

At first, everyone had some circumstances that led them to register for this system.

“But you solved problems with the other two and the distance changed. So I think you should be satisfied with that, Kyo-kun. I don’t have any problems to begin with, and even if I did, I don’t want anything more than what we have now.”

Anything more—I haven’t even done anything for Tachibana-san yet.

“Let’s keep our relationship the same as it’s been—talking happily at school, and moderately at home. That kind of relationship. One that neither develops nor regresses.”

For the first time, Tachibana-san slowly turned around.

“That’s the kind of relationship I want to have with you… so—”

When she faced me, her smile disappeared.

“…”

I was involuntarily overwhelmed.

The light had vanished from Tachibana-san’s eyes, and instead of a smile, there was an expressionless face.

It was similar to Kazari-san’s expression, but Kazari-san’s face definitely conveyed emotion.

In contrast, Tachibana-san’s current face was close to emptiness.

“Don’t step any further into my life, okay? Don’t try to peek into my inner self. If you do as I say, I won’t interfere with your harem either. How about it? Isn’t that a good deal? You won’t have to worry about a broken engagement.”

“Calling that a good deal…”

“I think that’s the best way for both of us to get along, at least we can maintain the status quo—as long as nothing happens. You can enjoy a moment of peace, can’t you?”

“It sounds like you’re saying that if I get more involved with you, someone will get hurt.”

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. At the very least, it won’t be a happy ending—someone will definitely get hurt. It definitely won’t be the future you want, Kyo-kun.”

So doing nothing is the best option?

What did that mean?

I didn’t understand what she was saying.

“Let me say it again, okay? Let’s not step any further and maintain the status quo. Then we should be able to get along well.”

Looking ahead, Tachibana-san was smiling.

Ah, I understood—at this very moment, I was being clearly given a boundary.

Don’t step any further, that’s the line she was drawing.

But…

“…What if I said I didn’t want that?”

“Someone would just get hurt.”

“I see. Even so, I think I’d still want to help you.”

“Think it over carefully and let me know your answer, okay? I’ll ask again.”

I don’t think my answer will change though.

“You’re surprisingly stupid, Kyo-kun—really, it’s none of your business. I won’t tell you anything.”

Tachibana-san spat out those harsh words.

After taking a breath, she returned to her usual cheerful, carefree expression.

“Oh, just so you know, I only have old scars. …Well, see you at school tomorrow. I’m going back to my family’s house today.”

So that’s why we came in this direction. Tachibana-san walked away with her hands in her pockets.

Meanwhile, I remained standing in the same spot.

I realized we had walked quite a distance.

“Don’t step any further… huh.”

Saying that was basically admitting that something was wrong.

And after seeing that emotionless expression, I wasn’t mature enough or detached enough from Tachibana-san to just let it slide when told to leave things as they were.

“I don’t need to think about it—of course I want to help Tachibana-san so she doesn’t have to make that kind of expression.”

The answer was already clear in my mind.

…But why did Tachibana-san suddenly not want to show me her wounds? She had seemed willing to show them until partway through.

What happened in that short period?

Was there some reason she could only show them on the rooftop? But even thinking about it, I couldn’t come up with any such reason.

And while Tachibana-san called the wounds that Aoyama-san saw “minor old scars,” that was also hard to believe.

According to Aoyama-san, there were numerous wounds, and it was unlikely that Aoyama-san had seen wrong.

There were too many things I didn’t understand.

I should have asked before Shiraishi-san arrived.

…No, wait, come to think of it, she did say something like that at the time.

Just as I was thinking that far, my phone rang.

It was Kazari-san?