(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.

After that incident at the beach, the moment I got in the car, sleepiness hit me, and when I came to, I was on a hospital bed.

I was hospitalized again.

I felt like I’d been in the hospital’s care way too much recently.

Apparently others saw it that way too, as I ended up receiving a serious scolding from a nurse who said [Even though you’re male, you get injured too much. Take better care of yourself].

Since this headbutt was definitely my own fault, I obediently accepted the scolding… it was genuinely scary.

The diagnosis was a mild concussion. Well, it was definitely an injury from the headbutt.

I didn’t want to get scolded by the nurse, so I said I fell… but if I’d told the truth, the lecture would definitely have gone on longer.

As for everyone else, since they’d all been active until morning, aside from Kazari-san who stayed with me, everyone else apparently went home for now.

Karen-san is also currently hospitalized. First she’ll apparently undergo psychiatric evaluation.

That afternoon.

Some people came to visit me. Unfortunately, Sayaka-san, Ayaka-san, Rio-san and others were apparently busy dealing with yesterday’s aftermath.

Which resulted in the current situation.

Kazari-san, the eldest daughter of the Tachibana family who was the catalyst for this incident, and Tachibana Mizuri-san, the second daughter who had continued to receive DV in the name of discipline.

The two people with the most delicate relationship had gathered.

“…”

No one spoke, couldn’t speak.

After Tachibana-san came to the hospital room and apologized to me, she’d been looking down the whole time, her usual brightness subdued.

“…”

Tachibana-san apparently felt guilty toward me, thinking she was partly responsible for my injury, and came first thing to apologize to me, along with everything else she’d caused trouble with.

I wished she wouldn’t worry about it…

But I understood that Tachibana-san couldn’t think that way, and in that sense, I was partly responsible too.

Thinking back now, bleeding from a headbutt was completely not good!

Even though it was a split-second action, that completely made Tachibana-san feel guilty.

I felt like there were better ways, like biting my tongue to regain consciousness or other methods.

…Well, it’s too late now and there’s no point saying it, so I just have to convey through words and actions that I’m not bothered by it.

Should I at least put on a smile?

“…”

Kazari-san, who would normally talk, was also silently peeling an apple.

Kazari-san had apparently been with me constantly since yesterday because she’s my maid.

Actually I just woke up earlier, so I haven’t really talked with Kazari-san much yet.

Kazari-san’s first words when I woke up were also [I’m sorry for exposing you to danger], an apology.

Sisters both opening with apologies.

…They really do seem similar somehow.

And then Tachibana-san arrived… leading to the current situation.

Right now in my hospital room were the three of us: me, Kazari-san, and Tachibana-san.

With me inserted between two people whose relationship was strained.

“…”

An awkward silence still flowed through the room.

Me lying in bed, with Kazari-san sitting in the chair beside me silently continuing to peel apples.

I can’t eat that much, you know? But I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t.

Tachibana-san was also sitting in a chair on the opposite side, looking down.

…And me sandwiched between them.

Both silent, and this silence was driving me crazy.

To put it mildly, it was extremely awkward.

They were both probably searching for a conversation starter, but…

‘Well, I actually don’t know what to talk about either.’

For Tachibana-san, the sister who had left before she became aware of things, who she thought might exist but was uncertain about, suddenly appeared—and moreover, it was someone who’d been nearby.

Even though some time had passed since learning the truth yesterday, it was hard to think her emotions were completely sorted out.

Conversely, Kazari-san probably didn’t know what to say either.

Kazari-san knew Tachibana-san was her sister, of course, but originally she shouldn’t have revealed herself as the older sister. Apparently NAZ Agency regulations were set up that way too.

But this situation arose and she had to appear before her mother, and due to circumstances, she was forced to reveal it. This was originally irregular.

Thinking back now, Kazari-san tried not to show herself in front of Tachibana-san as much as possible. Even during the three-way meeting with Karen-san, she unusually didn’t come along—that makes sense now.

If I forced a positive spin on the current situation, maybe they could now talk about things they couldn’t before, but Kazari-san probably hadn’t sorted things out either.

Last night I also got injured and lost consciousness, and Kazari-san probably had other things she needed to think about too.

All things considered, as a conversation starter, Kazari-san might be slightly… easier to talk to? Maybe?

But even so, easier said than done.

It actually seems difficult.

Trying to call out to someone you haven’t talked to as sisters for over 10 years. And moreover, they’d been nearby as a different person.

The situation was too complicated—I understood Kazari-san’s feelings about not knowing where to start talking or what to talk about.

Well, can’t be helped.

I’ll be considerate here and take the initiative.

“…W-well, I’m sure you two have much to catch up on, so I’ll go for a walk—”

“—Master, stay.”

“—Kyou-kun, rest!”

I couldn’t escape.

I’d thought of them both, but I couldn’t slip away.

I slowly lowered my raised hips.

“…Yes.”

As expected of sisters.

Their coordination was perfectly in sync.

And then silence began again.

“…”

But this silence didn’t last as long as before.

Kazari-san was the one who broke the ice.

“…First, Tachibana-sama… please let me apologize to you.”

“You don’t need honorifics like -sama… And apologize… for what? There’s nothing for Kazari-san to apologize for, right?”

Tachibana-san tilted her head.

With a face that had no idea what Kazari-san would apologize for.

“…For not being able to notice what was happening to you. For not being able to notice you were being abused for so long, for not being able to help you when you were suffering… I’m sorry. There should have been more I could do.”

Kazari-san bowed her head. The slight trembling in her words was probably from frustration.

But Tachibana-san, who received the apology… still had a troubled face.

“…Even if you apologize. Actually, as Kazari-san, there was nothing you could do, right? You had your own struggles too, and contact with family from NAZ Agency was prohibited, right?”

“That’s true, but… there were things I could have done, I think. I could have supported you from the shadows, couldn’t I—I could have forcibly removed you, if only I’d paid more attention—that’s why I’m sorry for being powerless.”

I understood Kazari-san’s feelings painfully well. If the same thing happened to Mio-nee, I’d regret it beyond measure.

Kazari-san felt helplessness about the past, self-blame.

Though the trigger was different, the fact that Kazari-san had to leave became a factor in the Tachibana couple breaking mentally.

So she couldn’t help thinking she should have done something more somehow.