(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 6: To the New Home

“The day has finally come…”

Three days had passed, and move-in day arrived swiftly—too swiftly.  

Sigh.

I hadn’t felt alive during these past three days at all.  

“Well, well, in the end, I’m coming along with you anyway, so don’t worry, okay?”  

“Kazari-san, weren’t you planning to commute from the old house until the last moment?”  

“Well, I mean, the initial atmosphere looked like it was going to be pretty rough, no? I thought I’d wait until Kyo-sama smoothed things over before joining properly.”  

“Why don’t we go to hell together?”  

“What’s hell supposed to mean here? If anything, this might be heaven for you, Kyo-sama.”  

“No, it’s probably going to feel like hell, so I need an ally.”  

As we chatted about mundane things, we arrived before I knew it.  

The house stood tall in a prestigious residential area in central Tokyo.  

Actually, calling it a mansion wouldn’t be an exaggeration.  

Well, with the population shrinking, a lot of houses had been left vacant, and the government seemed to have taken over such properties.  

I didn’t get the details, but living in such a fine house wasn’t bad.  

“This house is incredible.”  

“It really is! I thought the place we used to live in was impressive, but this takes the cake~”  

“I remember how amazed we were that the kitchen and living room area were separate in the old place.”  

“Ah, that was revolutionary!” 

The way she expressed amazement with an emotionless face was oddly amusing.  

But, compared to back then, she had become so much more expressive, hadn’t she?

At first, she hadn’t even made any small talk.  

It wasn’t as if anything special had happened.  

We just grew closer bit by bit.  

“It’s probably because Kyo-sama turned me into a woman?”  

“…What kind of nonsense are you spouting now? What would you do if someone overheard that?!”  

When I looked ahead, I saw Kazari-san freeze, her expression saying, “Ah.”  

…Huh?  

I turned around cautiously.  

“Ah.”  

Ahh, it was over.  

Standing there was none other than Tachibana-san, the classmate I’d be attending the same school with.  

“Excuse me, you’re blocking the way. Could you step aside, please?”  

She smiled sweetly as she addressed us.  

“Ah, sorry about that.”  

“It’s fine~”  

It didn’t seem like she’d overheard my conversation with Kazari-san.  

Close call.  

If she had heard, living together would’ve become even more complicated.  

“Oh, by the way…”  

“Hm?”  

“You shouldn’t have conversations like that on the street, okay? Someone might get jealous and kill you. These days, most people can’t handle such things. Well, I don’t care, though.”  

“Y-yeah, thanks for the advice.”  

“Sure thing. Later~”  

Tachibana-san patted me on the shoulder twice before pulling her suitcase along and heading off.  

“…”  

“…”  

We both remained silent.  

“So, what should we do, Kyo-sama? I’ll be serving as a maid at this house from now on, but after that conversation, I feel like things might get a bit awkward. Any advice?”  

“Hahaha, what are you saying? Our relationship is strictly professional. Meanwhile, I just got overheard by one of the people who’s supposed to be my fiancée! Haha! I thought I could handle things better this time around since I failed last time, but I stumbled right out of the gate! Hahaha! Any advice on what I should do?”  

“Ah, that’s your fault, so please handle it yourself. My workplace relationships, though—they’re at stake, so how about some advice for me?”  

“How about ‘you brought it on yourself’?”  

“Ahhh, is that so? Well then, don’t be surprised if I start spreading things about you using my position as a maid.”  

“Like what?”  

“Like, ‘Kyo-sama is a hardcore masochist who doesn’t just enjoy being whipped, but needs even more to feel anything’.”  

“…Eh?”  

…  

Huh?  

Something felt off.  

No, it was nothing but a bad feeling.  

When I looked at Kazari-san, she wore the same “Ah” expression as earlier, as if she’d messed up again.  

Sigh.

I heaved a deep sigh internally as I slowly turned around, dreading what I would see.  

Standing there was the debutante who had canceled three engagements.  

Further down, a limousine was parked. It seemed like she had arrived without me realizing it.  

I couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eye.  

“…Good day to you?”  

“Don’t you think it’d be better to mind your TPO? You’re going to be in the spotlight going forward, after all. I look forward to working with you.”  (T/N: TPO: time, place and occasion)

With that curt remark, she walked briskly toward the house.  

I caught a glimpse of her face for just a moment—cold as ice, completely unreadable.  

Once again, only Kazari-san and I were left.  

It might be spring, but even so, it was about time I went inside.  

“By the way, Kyo-sama.”  

“Hm?”  

“I’ll be serving as this house’s maid—”  

“—You already said that, didn’t you?”  

Sigh.

I bought us both coffee from a vending machine and tried to calm down. A fresh start.  

The impression I had already left was terrible, so at least that hadn’t changed.  

Yeah. That’s right. Let’s just go with that.  

“Shall we head inside?”  

“Agreed, though it’s going to be awfully awkward…”  

“Whose fault do you think that is?”  

“Is it because of Kyo-sama’s sexual preferences? Like being a sadist and having a hobby of tying up maids…”

“…Ugh.”  

…Again? At this point, I wasn’t even surprised anymore.  

This time, when I looked back…

“…Akitsuki-san.”  

“As a teacher, I must say—practice restraint.”  

She scratched her head and gave me a bored look before continuing toward the house.  

Just when I thought she’d leave it at that, she turned back, her gaze full of hostility.  

“Personally, I have to say—I really don’t like you. Well then.”  

Her heels clacked loudly as she entered the house.  

“…”  

“…”  

“Maybe I should just go home.”  

My mental state was in shambles.  

“Yes, let’s go home,” Kazari-san chimed in.  

“…Kazari-san…”  

“Let’s go! Home!”  

For some reason, she began walking straight ahead.  

Wait, wasn’t home the other way?  

“Um, isn’t our house behind us?”  

Kazari-san stopped and shot me a sharp look.  

“Kyo-sama, your house is right in front of us, isn’t it?”  

“Well, yeah, but…”  

“Come on, let’s go already! Stop whining.”  

“I’m not whining. I just got caught up in a chain-reaction disaster here!”  

“Hmm, fair point.”  

“Don’t say it like that’s all there is to it!”  

Kazari-san’s unnecessarily cool expression made it all the more frustrating.  

“You shouldn’t dwell on the past. Be future-focused.”  

“The future is already looking like a disaster, though!”  

Who knew moving into a new house could feel this depressing? Seriously.  

Wasn’t this supposed to be exciting?  

“Let’s do our best, alright? Fight~!”  

I felt murderous intent brewing within me.