Episode 43: After All, Momentum and Timing Are Important, Right!
Kazuma accepted Kaede’s offer almost without thinking, to the point where it seemed like a spinal reflex, but as expected, the people around him stepped in, deeming it out of line.
“W-Wait a minute! No matter what, isn’t that a bit too hasty, I wonder~!”
“That’s right! I believe the proper way for romance is to get to know each other more, closing the distance step by step!”
“I don’t particularly mind, though? If Kazuma-han wishes it, he just needs to marry that girl too.”
“Eh!? Is it okay to build a harem!?”
Ignoring Karin and Yukihime’s intervention as if he didn’t care, Kazuma’s heart leaped at Yayoi’s suggestion.
“Kazuma-han. It’s been decades, even centuries, since Japan introduced polygamy. Although the population has been increasing, the threat of the Ibinom still hasn’t disappeared, and tens of thousands of victims appear every year.”
“Eh, ah, that’s right.”
“That’s why, for a man with power to have multiple wives is a duty, and also a mission, you see?”
“I-Is that so?”
“Of course, even if you say harem, it’s not that easy to achieve. The man’s resourcefulness, financial situation, character, and various other things are questioned.”
“H-Heh…”
“But, please don’t worry about that. I will support you fully.”
“Meaning?”
“Let’s get married.”
“With pleasure.”
“Are you an idiot—!”
Kazuma, who had stopped thinking, accepted Yayoi’s proposal, and just as the marriage was about to be finalized, Momoko, who appeared out of nowhere, hit Kazuma on the head.
“M-Momoko-chan!”
“It’s Touko! More importantly, what are you trying to do on your own!?”
“What, you ask… Marriage?”
“Marriage? It’s not that! Is it okay to decide something like that so casually? She only sees you as a tool!”
At Momoko’s words, Yayoi also scowled sullenly.
“Isn’t that rude? I properly adore Kazuma-han as a man. Could you please not show up out of nowhere and say such irresponsible things?”
“Can you truly say that from the bottom of your heart!”
“Of course.”
Momoko glared at Yayoi, who was puffing out her chest confidently, and read her mind.
“(It’s true that I find Kazuma-han appealing as a man. But I also want to use him for the further advancement of the Tennoji Group. Half affection, half calculation. If I can win Kazuma-han, I’ll become any kind of woman!)”
“(So the affection itself isn’t a lie…! However, as I thought, you plan to use Kazuma-san for the Tennoji Group’s development! I won’t let you! He is going to work for the country, for the people! I won’t let him be dragged into the Tennoji Group’s money-making schemes!)”
“(Hawawawa…! This is a mess!)”
“(Don’t just barge in like that!)”
Sparks flew as Momoko and Yayoi glared at each other.
Kazuma was flustered watching them, but he also seemed to find it rather amusing.
“Alright! That’s enough for now! Any more than this will be a nuisance, or rather, an obstruction, so withdraw. Got it?”
Saying that, Shiori, who had stepped between Momoko and Yayoi, glared at both of them, silencing them.
“C-Could it be, Vice President, you too… about me!”
“Huh?”
Towards Shiori, who spoke in a low voice with a gaze as cold as ice, Kazuma also felt his life was in danger and obediently bowed his head.
“Ah, I’m sorry. It was
“In the first place, what exactly are your intentions in voicing your opinions to me? If that Makimura-san over there were to state her opinion, I would understand. You’re rivals for the same man, after all. But you two? If this is just meddling, it’s quite a nuisance.”
“Th-That is…”
“…Um…”
Yayoi’s words pierced their chests like sharp knives.
Her argument was correct. Yukihime and Karin had a senior-junior relationship with Kazuma, and also a master-disciple one, but that didn’t give them the right to interfere in someone else’s love life.
However, and yet.
While they might not have considered themselves to be deeply in love, it was a fact that they held him in high regard, and there was no doubt he was the man they currently had the highest favorability towards.
That being said, confessing on the spur of the moment in a place like this, with no atmosphere or charm, was out of the question.
“Why don’t you say something?”
They couldn’t refute her, nor could they complain.
If they were in the position of love rivals, things might have been different, but as they were now, the two of them had no right to challenge Yayoi.
“Yukihime, at this point, we have no choice but to brace ourselves.”
“Eh! But, in a place like this, surely…”
“This isn’t the time to hesitate! Besides, after being this blatant, everyone’s probably already realized, don’t you think!”
Karin, who had been silent, unable to say anything back to Yayoi, could no longer back down. She steeled herself, deciding she had no choice but to reveal the feelings she had kept hidden in her heart.
In the first place, the reason she had interfered with Yayoi this much was because she, at the very least, had feelings for Kazuma.
Most of the people watching this farce had probably already figured it out.
In that case, rather than continuing to grumble and complain, she had no choice but to reveal her true feelings and become defiant about it.
“I… I like Kazuma-kun too! That’s why I don’t want to give up being number one!”
“Same here, I also like Kazuma-kun!”
“Hmph, you should have just said so from the beginning…”
Karin and Yukihime’s faces were bright red as Yayoi shrugged, as if to say, “Good grief.”
And Kazuma, despite being the person in question, hadn’t paid it any mind and now stared wide-eyed at their confessions.
“Seriously?”
“Kazuma-kun, you didn’t realize?”
Shiori was starting to feel exasperated, wondering just how dense he could be.
Kazuma could indeed read people’s emotions to a certain extent, but he wasn’t infallible.
“No, I mean, I thought you looked up to me as your senior, you know? But I never imagined you liked me as a man.”
“So you understood that much, huh. Well, I guess it can’t be helped since those girls were hiding it. Still… I bet they didn’t want you to find out their feelings this way…”
If they were going to confess, they would have much preferred to do it in a better atmosphere, but they had decided this wasn’t the time to worry about appearances.