(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 156.1: "I Want to Know You"

‘I will become your number one.’ …I see.

Those were the words Sayaka had said to me during our date.

To have her say something like that—when she had treated me so coldly at first—filled me with deep emotion.

But I couldn’t be purely happy about it; it might be a luxury to worry about, but the thought still lingered.

But “number one,” huh…

To be honest… personally, I don’t want to rank my fiancé candidates.

I don’t want there to be a hierarchy or anything like that; rather, I want them to get along.

However, they are human, so it’s only natural and normal for them to want to be number one.

That being said, I also understand the purpose of carrying out this fiancée war.

First of all, there’s the fact that I’m being spurred on by Rin Hanasaki; that’s definitely part of it.

But still.

Somewhere in my heart, there’s a part of me that can’t simply nod in agreement.

To put it all together, it’s just…

“Things just don’t go as planned, do they?”

“…And just what is it that isn’t going as planned… Takeda-kun?”

“Eh?”

Before I knew it, a smiling Rio-sensei was standing right next to me.

Her face wore a smile, but her temple was twitching.

Ah, I messed up.

Apparently, she heard me perfectly.

“N-No—well, I was just thinking how hard it is to read modern English.”

“…That’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think? You were staring out the window, completely lost in a melancholy daze. Besides, the English language itself hasn’t changed between the past and now. …Well, fine. Since Takeda-kun is so troubled, why don’t we have him translate some English to help him forget those worries?”

“Eh?”

“Yay! Lucky~! Thanks to Kyo-kun, I don’t have to translate~♪”

Mizuri, sitting next to me, was overjoyed at my misfortune.

Even in the classroom, Mizuri had returned to her previous cheerful self.

In fact, having moved past her issues, she was even more energetic than before.

“Seeing someone who usually doesn’t get scolded getting in trouble makes the food taste better!”

Mizuri kept goading and goading.

Being energetic is a good thing, of course, but being too energetic is a bit noisy.

As the person currently being taunted, it was hard to feel purely happy about her recovery.

“Oh? It seems Tachibana-san has energy to spare. I’d certainly like you to put that to use in class. Perhaps I’ll ask Tachibana-san to translate next?”

“Wha?!”

Mizuri looked aghast.

By the way, I was actually surprisingly fine with this.

Homework is a pain, but I always make sure to do it.

“────────────”

That’s why I could translate it properly.

The moment I finished answering,

“Traitor!”

Abuse was hurled at me from the seat next to mine.

Mizuri was looking at me with a half-crying face. I stuck my tongue out slightly and smiled back.

She did taunt me earlier, after all.

Well, even with that happening, as a whole, it was just the usual scene of a peaceful, friendly lesson.

Rio-san was also properly in “teacher mode.”

Even now, she was writing sentences on the projector.

If you didn’t know her true nature, she really looked like a capable female teacher.

But at home…

The thought suddenly occurred to me: will she be okay during our next date?

At home, she keeps calling me “Master,” but she’ll be fine… right?

She understands TPO (Time, Place, Occasion), doesn’t she? Her father and mother were proper people, after all.

I-I’m trusting you, okay?

She won’t make me do some weird roleplay, will she?

Like being taken to the mountains for something outdoors…

Surely not?

I’m just overthinking it, right?

There’s no way… something like that would…

I’ll stop thinking about it. The more I think, the more it feels like it’ll become reality.

The following Saturday.

From early morning, I was sitting in the passenger seat of Rio-san’s car.

Today, Rio-san looked more like a mature woman than usual.

Her hairstyle was her usual bob, but her long bangs were parted differently, giving her a different vibe.

Even her glasses were different; the thin-rimmed round glasses brought out even more of her stylishness.

Her outfit consisted of wide denim pants and a white top.

Paired with that was a large leather zip-up blouson.

The sunglasses she wore to block the sunlight from the car suited her exceptionally well.

A date with a beautiful teacher—that’s what anyone would normally think.

B-But while feeling that sense of excitement, I couldn’t just let myself be carried away. That’s because…

“Rio-san… where exactly are we heading?”

“Oh, it’s a secret, you know?”

Because I still hadn’t been able to resolve the anxiety I felt during class.

In fact, if anything…

“Is it just my imagination, or does it feel like we’re leaving central Tokyo and heading somewhere deep into the suburbs…?”

“Fufu, look forward to it.”

Isn’t this getting closer and closer to my prediction?

Rio-san’s smile was scary.

Well, it was still morning, so I didn’t think anything strange would happen.

Trying to drown out my anxiety, the weird roleplay I had thought of earlier crossed my mind.

Could it… really?

My predictions were steadily gaining a sense of reality.

“Master… do you remember our previous date?”