(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.

SIDE Tachibana Mizuri

When I was in elementary school. When I wasn’t even 10 years old yet.

Before I even met Setsuna.

Actually, through carelessness, I had my injuries seen by someone other than Setsuna.

Back then was also a time when I was innocently fantasizing about things like hoping someone would solve this, or wanting help.

Now that I think about it, maybe somewhere in my heart I hoped these injuries would be discovered.

It was a decisive event that made me stop thinking such things, when I abandoned hope.

Father hadn’t left yet and I was often receiving discipline from him.

One day, a girl discovered traces of that.

“Mizuri-chan, you have a lot of injuries all over your body. What happened? Are you being bullied??”

I thought I had changed into my gym clothes without being seen, but apparently someone was there without me noticing.

The one who noticed the injuries was a girl with a strong sense of justice in our class.

Her name was… Akaumi Haruko, I think.

“…I’m not being bullied.”

That day I had been hit by father the day before, so I had bruises, making the injuries even more noticeable.

“I know about this. Those bruise-like things only happen when you get hit, right?”

“…I just fell down.”

“It doesn’t look like that at all… hey, try talking to me about it. We’re friends, right? There might be something I can help with.”

Akaumi smiled with a cheerful smile as if to reassure me.

I had no basis for it, but strangely, she seemed reliable.

Come to think of it, she’s a bit like Setsuna. Especially the annoying way she forces herself into your business.

“…”

“Got it! From now on, I’ll stay next to you while we’re at school! Then you won’t get bullied, right? Alright, I’ve decided! Let’s do that.”

“Wait… eh?”

Before I could say anything, she decided, and no matter what I said after that, she wouldn’t listen. From then on, she really was always with me.

She was always with me while we were at school. She played with other kids sometimes, but even then Akaumi was always next to me.

Spring passed, summer went by… and even when autumn came, she was still with me.

We were always together… well, it’s more accurate to say she stuck to me.

An annoyingly bright girl.

At first she was there to protect me from injuries, but before I knew it, being together had become normal.

Before long, according to Akaumi, we had become best friends. With her heartfelt smile, I also, reluctantly but gradually, started talking more…

My feelings also slowly, slowly began to open up.

…Now that I think about it, that was the mistake.

By that time, I had started calling Akaumi by her first name, [Haruko].

One day.

“Hey Mizuri, your injuries… haven’t decreased, have they?”

“Eh?”

I had gotten better at handling it and the frequency of injuries had decreased, but even so, on days when father was in a bad mood, they continued to increase, and receiving discipline when mother wasn’t around hadn’t changed even by this time.

“I can tell because I’ve been with you for more than half a year… this isn’t happening at school, is it? We even go home together, and I’ve never seen anyone harm Mizuri.”

Usually she didn’t probe into this topic, but that day her eyes were serious and wouldn’t let me escape.

“So I fell down like I said before—”

“—That’s a lie. I’ve never seen Mizuri clumsily fall down. Absolutely a lie. …Those injuries are from papa or mama doing it to you, aren’t they? …I know about this kind of thing. It’s called ‘domestic violence,’ right?”

I didn’t understand the meaning, but even young me could tell it probably wasn’t a good thing.

“…Th-these aren’t injuries. It’s because I can’t do things well.”

“Mizuri, you’re not denying that papa and mama are doing it to you.”

Haruko smiled sadly.

“…!”

“Just tell me everything already. You’ve been found out this far, so talking about everything would be the same, right?”

“…!”

This forceful side was typical of Haruko.

If this continued, father and the others would become the bad guys. I had to protect my family. I wanted to avoid that at all costs…

That’s what I was thinking in my young heart.

So I desperately tried to convey that I was the one at fault.

To make it understood by Haruko.

So she would understand that father wasn’t wrong. That I was the bad one.

As Haruko listened to my story, contrary to my intention to reassure her, her expression changed to the complete opposite, becoming increasingly grim.

Now I understand it was different from normal, but back then this was normal for me.

So I explained it—

“—I see.”

After hearing the whole story, she muttered those words.

“…Hey, Mizuri.”

“Yeah.”

“I have to move because of my father’s circumstances.”

“Eh…”

“So I can’t protect Mizuri like before—though it seems I wasn’t really protecting you… I think this can’t continue… so how about consulting with an adult?”

“…An adult?”

What adult?

I don’t have anyone like that to consult with.

“Yeah… like a teacher for example.”

“A teacher? You mean our homeroom teacher Kirigakure-sensei?”

Kirigakure Junko-sensei.

A beautiful teacher in her mid-30s who was popular at school.

She was a teacher who was well-regarded by students for her gentle smile and friendliness. She had charm.

“Yes! She listens kindly to anyone’s problems, and she said ‘please consult about anything,’ right? I think this is exactly the kind of thing you should consult about!”

It’s true that Kirigakure-sensei would probably listen.