Chapter 108: Bet With Kaede— Make a Harem?

This damn tsundere—he seriously suspected that if Suzu hadn't held her hand down at the crucial moment, she might have insisted on competing with him to decide who would be on top.

Even though he could just pin her down directly, Kaede would probably only half-heartedly resist, then later nag him about it. But forcing things wasn't good, so he decided to give Kaede one more chance.

"Get lost! I don't need you touching me!", Kaede, flustered and annoyed, lowered her head and tried to bite Hachiman's restless hand. Seeing that he wasn't pushing his luck further, she sighed in relief and stubbornly continued,

"You've had a lot of girls around you lately, but they definitely can't fulfill your dream of being a stay-at-home husband. Stop dreaming," She didn't believe it. Hachiman came from an ordinary family, had a gloomy and twisted personality, and those dead-fish eyes that ruined both his charisma and looks—what kind of girl would be into him?

Well, okay, maybe he did look a little better than before, and his dead-fish eyes weren't as noticeable, but she still stood by her opinion.

Dating was one thing, but marriage was another. Some girls might impulsively consider dating Hachiman, but when it came to marriage, there was no way they'd choose a guy who would dump all the household burdens on them.

Only she and Suzu might barely be able to accept Hachiman, but that was because they were childhood friends—twins, even. Living together wouldn't be as much of a burden, otherwise, they wouldn't have considered someone like Hachiman.

"And how do you know they can't fulfill my wish? Iris is an elf princess and will even become the elf queen in the future. Supporting a regular guy like me shouldn't be a problem, right?", Hachiman looked speechlessly at Kaede, who was full of confidence.

"There are also many rich girls in the Service Club now—Yukinoshita Yukino, Ichinose Ayano—they're both daughters of politicians. My family has always let me do as I please; they wouldn't mind if I married into another family."

Not that he would ever marry into another family. Even if there was a one-in-a-million chance he did, he wouldn't pick a politician's family. He'd rather become an elven prince or maybe Gabriel's brother-in-law. But for now, he had to throw out a few more names to make Kaede realize just how in demand he was.

"Hah! You start dreaming the moment the moon rises? If you really manage to charm the elf princess and all those rich girls, getting them to marry you and support you, then I'll be your lover," Kaede scoffed, completely dismissing Hachiman's nonsense.

She could believe that Hachiman might befriend those girls. Setting aside his lazy and slacker tendencies, his character wasn't bad. If they spent enough time together, forming friendships was definitely possible.

But as for how deep those relationships could go? She wasn't buying it.

Even back when Tsubaki was in the student council, Hachiman never used her name as an excuse to get close to her.

The guy was all talk. When it came to taking action, he chickened out every time.

As for why he never hesitated when bullying her, well…

Hachiman was just a cowardly bully, taking advantage of the fact that she and Suzu, as his childhood friends, couldn't really fight back against him.

"Are you stupid? I told you to confess properly, and instead, you want to be my lover," Hachiman pinched her soft cheek hard and sighed.

In some places, "lover" was an affectionate term between spouses, but here, it clearly meant "mistress" or "side chick."

Sure, they said love made people stupid, but she couldn't be this dumb, right? Or did Kaede like him so much that it short-circuited her brain?

"I meant all of them. Don't just assume you've already seduced them," Kaede, her cheek stinging from his pinch, bit his finger in frustration and glared at him.

"If they all know about each other and still accept you, then why should I have a problem with it?", She wasn't that dumb. Hachiman had to make all of them—Yukinoshita, Ichinose, Iris—fall for him, get them to acknowledge each other's existence without any fights, and only then would she agree to be his lover.

But could Hachiman actually pull that off? Getting all those rich girls to willingly share him?

If he did manage to do that, it would mean he was really something.

And what would she do then?

She definitely wouldn't want to just hand him over to those rich girls either.

"Then don't call it being my lover. Just say you're okay with me having a harem," Hachiman shook his head after thinking for a moment.

Kaede's condition was tempting, but he couldn't let his childhood friend take a loss.

She'd been with him since they were kids. If not first place, her status and feelings should at least be second. How could she be just a mistress?

"...You're actually considering this?", Kaede gritted her teeth and glared at him, looking ready to bite him again.

She had only set that ridiculous condition to shut down his delusions. She never intended to be his lover for real.

"Elves from another world can appear in this one—why wouldn't I dare dream of a harem?", Hachiman laughed and kissed Kaede again, pinning her firmly in his arms.

"Fine! If you can get Yukinoshita Yukino, Ichinose Ayano, and Iris to accept each other, then I'll let you have a harem," Kaede bit her lip, then turned the tables with her own challenge.

"But if you fail, you have to marry me after high school. Get a job, have kids—no more fantasies about being a househusband."

"???"

Hachiman froze, staring at Kaede in disbelief.

"Kaede… are you setting me up? Have you been planning this all along?", He had just been thinking she was too naive, but now he realized—what if she was only pretending to be dumb?

"Hmph! A fair bet should be equal. Like I'd let you have a harem for real," Kaede blushed deeply, but she didn't care anymore.

"Just those three? Then you're doomed to lose," Hachiman chuckled at Kaede's overconfidence.

Iris was already actively helping him build a harem. Ichinose Ayano was an airhead—he just had to decide if he wanted her, no effort required.

Only Yukinoshita Yukino would be tricky.

But it wasn't impossible. She had no close friends and took pride in her self-righteous sense of justice. If she bonded deeply with the Service Club members and became too attached to leave, they might just peer-pressure her into it.

"Wait! Add Vignette, Gabriel—everyone in the Service Club. Oh, and Tsubaki too. You wouldn't turn down a rich girl like her, right?", Seeing Hachiman's confident smirk, Kaede panicked and started piling on more conditions.

That made nearly ten girls now. No way he could get all of them to agree?

"Tsubaki? She's taking a break from school," Hachiman looked at Kaede, speechless at how thick her skin had suddenly gotten.

"Hmph~ If you're so sure about Iris, Yukinoshita, and Ichinose, then Tsubaki should be easy too, right? Otherwise, what kind of harem is that?", Kaede smirked proudly, seeing Hachiman finally falter.

She knew he was just all talk.

"Fine. But as my future wife, you should at least let me hold you," Hachiman pulled her into his arms, deciding to put this debate on hold before she added more impossible conditions.

The current conditions were barely acceptable—many of the people listed were already within his hunting range. But if Kaede really lost her mind and proposed a self-damaging condition like making him go after Hiratsuka Shizuka or Kirisu Mafuyu, then he'd be doomed.

"You haven't won yet, so why should I comply with your demands?", Kaede crossed her arms, proudly lifting her chin, showing no intention of going over to hug Hachiman.

Just a moment ago, he was talking about a harem, and now he wanted her to go over and hug him? Hachiman really had some nerve.

"If I lose, I have to marry you, and you'll be my wife. If I win, you'll be one of my harem members. No matter the outcome, does it make a difference?", Hachiman grinned at Kaede.

"...", Kaede was stunned.

What he said… didn't seem wrong, but… but…

"Not willing? Then I'll go find Suzu. Suzu is much easier to talk to than you."

"Wait! You're not allowed to go to Suzu," Seeing Hachiman suddenly turn to leave, Kaede quickly rushed forward to grab him.

'That fool Suzu isn't very good at rejecting Hachiman.'

'This shameless guy might actually do it.'

"Kaede, wouldn't it be easier to just admit you like me? Instead of setting up all these conditions—are you tormenting me or yourself?", Hachiman smiled, turned around, and embraced Kaede's soft, curvaceous body, giving her a firm kiss on the cheek.

"Who would like someone like you? I'm just afraid you'll grow old alone. In the past, Komachi worried so much about you, and you don't even feel sorry for her," Kaede turned her head away with a huff.

"You're still being stubborn even now? That's so like you," Hachiman cupped her cheeks, making her turn back to meet his gaze. Their foreheads touched, their noses brushing, as he spoke softly.

"You're already considering Suzu, so you should know that she likes me too, right? Unlike you, she's not tsundere and can actually admit her feelings," Not to mention that with Suzu as a little traitor on his side, Kaede herself was already hard enough to let go of. No matter what, she was doomed to never escape from his grasp.

"Mm...", Kaede shut her eyes, refusing to speak.

There was nothing worth saying to this self-important guy.

If he weren't her childhood friend, she wouldn't have let this shameless bastard threaten her like this.

The worst part was that Suzu, who used to be on her side, had now defected to Hachiman's. Yet here she was, accepting Hachiman's coercion for Suzu's sake.

Seeing Kaede's stubborn yet submissive demeanor, Hachiman stopped bothering with words and moved on to physical persuasion.

———

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Gabriel and Vignette, who were busy cooking, suddenly froze.

"What's wrong? Are you tired? Do you want to take a break? I can ask the president to come help," Iris blinked, smiling as she looked at the suddenly paused Vignette and Gabriel.

"...No, nothing."

"Let's just keep cooking."

Vignette and Gabriel exchanged glances, noticing the subtle expressions on each other's faces, but they could only act as if nothing had happened and continue cooking.

They had originally thought that keeping Hachiman and Iris from cooking together in the kitchen would prevent them from hearing any embarrassing noises.

But they hadn't expected that Hachiman would just continue outside.

In reality, Hachiman and Kaede were in the entryway corridor, where an isolation barrier was suppressing any sound. The one who had cast it was none other than Iris, who was cooking alongside them in the kitchen.

Otherwise, with the ruckus they were making, someone would have long since come to peek.

But precisely because of this, Gabriel felt even worse knowing why Iris had done it.

'Iris, stop this!'

'If this goes on, Hachiman will really fall into depravity.'

.

.

.

"Mm~ Gabriel-neechan, the food you guys made is so delicious~"

At the dining table, Komachi picked up her chopsticks and tasted the dinner made by Vignette, Gabriel, and Iris, looking around at the girls surrounding the table with an expression of blissful satisfaction.

She had once thought that her awkward older brother would never be able to find a girlfriend and would grow old in her company.

Who would have thought that now, the girls around her brother were all so outstanding?

So outstanding that she was even developing choice paralysis.

After all, there was no way her brother could have all of them, right?

Even if they all agreed, her brother's body wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Hm?", Komachi blinked and suddenly realized that something was off with the atmosphere at the table.

Why was no one agreeing with her?

After Kaede-neechan and her brother went out and came back, they hadn't spoken much. Suzu-neechan was always quiet.

Makoto-neechan wasn't too familiar with them.

Shion being too shy to speak in front of so many people was understandable, but why weren't Vignette-neechan and Gabriel-neechan saying anything either?

"Vignette-neechan? Are you too tired from cooking?", Komachi looked at Vignette, who was silently eating with her head down, with concern.

Vignette-neechan had come back from work and hadn't even taken a break before heading straight into the kitchen to cook.

She was practically the model of a perfect housewife.

If her brother didn't already have so many close female friends, and if her good classmate Shion weren't such a promising candidate, she would definitely push for Vignette to be her sister-in-law.

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