(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.

“…It’s over.”

I barely remembered how I even made my way back home.

Now that I thought about it, I felt like there had been a full-course meal served at some point, but I hadn’t tasted a thing.

Ah, so that was how it’d gone. …Right.

I see.

…What was I supposed to do here?

“…To think I’d be outright rejected like that from the very beginning. I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever been told ‘I’m not interested!’ so bluntly before…”

The initial outright denial… yeah, that one stung. Maybe working adults dealt with stuff like this all the time, but unfortunately, in my past life too, I was only ever a high school student.

“Stop sulking! Cheer up! Oh, would you like to… squeeze my breasts?”

Kazari-san leaned forward slightly, emphasizing her ample chest as she spoke.

“No, I don’t think I could go that far… But if you’re offering, I’d like to bury my face in them.”

“Isn’t that asking for even more?! …Oh well, I don’t mind. Come on, go ahead.”

She spread her arms slightly, presenting her chest as if to invite me in.

“Then, if you insist…”

I dove in and wrapped my arms around her, burying my face into her soft chest without hesitation.

At first, I used to hesitate about these kinds of things, but by now, I’d grown numb to the strange closeness she seemed to prefer.

Or maybe, more accurately, I had started to accept it… probably since that time.

“…How is it?”

The familiar vanilla scent of her filled my nose, and the softness of her chest was both pleasant and soothing.

Ah, this was so calming.

“It’s perfect.”

“Honestly, Kyo-sama, you’re probably the only person these days who’d get so much joy out of something like this.”

When I glanced up, her expression was filled with mild exasperation. Yet, at the same time, there was a faint, amused smile on her face, as if she thought, Oh well, what can you do?

“Oh, but you’re not allowed to grope, okay? If you do, I might end up turning on my own switch.”

That only made me want to grope her even more, but I knew from experience that I’d get scolded afterward if I actually did it.

I stayed in that position for a few minutes, and soon my uneasy heart had completely calmed down.

Breasts really were nature’s stress reliever, weren’t they?

As I tried to pull away, Kazari-san’s arms unexpectedly tightened around me, holding me close.

“Kazari-san?”

“…Ah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to.”

What do you mean, ‘didn’t mean to’? Well, I supposed I didn’t mind reaping this little benefit every now and then.

“Feeling better now?”

“Yeah, much better.”

“Maybe it’s my overwhelming motherly charms that helped.”

“I think it’s the older-sisterly care that got me.”

“Wait, did you just call me an old woman?”

“No, I said older sister.”

“Hmm, alright then. I’ll let it slide!”

Ah, the usual pointless back-and-forth banter.

“So… what’s the plan now?”

Giving up didn’t seem to be an option Kazari-san was even considering.

Of course, neither was I—if I gave up, I wouldn’t be able to help Mio-nee.

I was just… thrown off by how different the whole situation turned out to be from what I’d imagined. No, I was way too thrown off.

“Well, I think the first thing I need to do is get to a point where I can actually talk to all three of them to some extent.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I needed to get to know what kind of people they were.

And…

“Even if they came off that strongly the first time we met, they haven’t completely rejected the idea either—at least not entirely.”

“Oh? And what makes you say that?”

“I’m sure each of them has their own personal issues or reasons at the core of it all. It felt more like they were uncomfortable with the general idea of men rather than outright disliking me specifically.”

Some of them were better at hiding it than others, though.

“Hmm, if we’re talking about someone who fits that description, I’d say it’s Hosho-san, maybe?”

“Yeah, Hosho-san does come across exactly like that.”

“What about the others?”

“I don’t know yet. I’d need to talk to them more before I could say for sure. But the fact that they showed up to the matchmaking session at all suggests that they don’t completely hate the idea either. I’ll just have to take my time and slowly work to open their hearts as much as I can.”

There was nothing more ridiculous than a marriage without love, or one that was just for show.

After all, it would remind me too much of those kinds of people—the ones I hated.

Though, considering I was trying to marry three, no, four women, maybe I was the one being contradictory here…

Haha, in the end… I guess I was no different.

That wasn’t something I was realizing just now. I’d already long decided to walk this path.

“…How about a light snack before bed?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll have some—”

Ding.

The sound of a text notification came from Kazari-san’s phone.

“…Your phone just went off, Kazari-san.”

“Ah, thank you. But who could possibly be contacting me at this hour…? Huh?”

Kazari-san’s face, which initially showed mild irritation, suddenly froze in shock.

“What’s wrong?”

“…”

“Kazari-san?”

“Ah… Sorry.”

“Did something happen? What kind of message is it?”

Judging by her reaction, it was probably bad news…

“…Kyo-sama.”

She looked directly into my eyes, her expression serious.

“Yes?”

Her gaze was so intense it almost felt like a confession. I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“Kyo-sama, I apologize.”

She bowed her head and held up her phone for me to see.

“…What is it? What does it say?”

“Just look at it!”

“O-Okay?”

Confused, I took the phone and glanced at the screen. What I saw was a single message.

[NAZ Agency: To celebrate the success of today’s matchmaking session, the four of you will now be living together in the same house. The moving date is set for three days from now.]

[That is all.]

“Huh?”