Ch.146New Colleague (4)

“Chapter 6 is out.”

Mika said as she closed her laptop.

“Oh, you’re right. Gotta read it right away.”

I said, immediately opening my phone.

“Woooow…!!!”

As expected, this episode was good too.

“The writing style has really changed…”

Mika wasn’t just a one-trick pony for modern pure love stories. Rather, “pure love” had been like shackles for her.

She wrote fantasy harem stories with just as much flavor. It was like she’d become a different person.

But her experience writing pure love stories hadn’t gone to waste. The build-up for each heroine was almost on par with a pure love story.

“She writes so well…”

I need to write better too. I felt motivated naturally.

“Well… I’ve grown compared to before too.”

Mika said.

“I see.”

Mika… had risen by her own will. Shotaro thinks it was thanks to me, but that wasn’t it. In the end, salvation is something you achieve yourself.

“……..”

Eri stared intently at Mika.

Then, Eri approached me.

“Mika… as a fellow writer, she’s quite stimulating, isn’t she?”

Eri said.

“Uh… yeah. That’s right.”

I nodded.

“Honestly… I think it might be good for Shota if she joined the harem…”

Eri muttered with a complicated expression.

“H-harem?! What are you saying?!”

Mika’s face immediately turned red.

“But… I still feel jealous.”

Eri said, pressing her body close to mine. Ah. Is this the timing for an honest conversation?

Well, the timing was perfect. Eri, Taiga, and Tina were looking at their phones, engaged in a deep discussion about how to achieve immortality. They were really serious about it.

And… Madoka was still massaging my shoulders. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was running a workshop to accumulate good deed mileage.

“Jealousy? So you feel that too, Eri.”

I looked at Eri.

“Heh. What are you saying? I’m human too, so of course I get jealous.”

Eri said with a small laugh.

“No… you’re such a good person, Eri. Honestly, I wonder every day if you’re actually an angel.”

That’s what I said.

“Angel my ass.”

Eri burst into laughter.

“No, I’m serious…”

But really, Eri was so kind. Could there be a girl this nice? I asked myself that question every day.

I really don’t want to lose her. Every time my brain had this discussion, it ended with that resolution.

“Before I met you, Shota… I felt inferior even to Umi. One of the boys once called me Umi’s handmaiden. That was always a wound for me. Well… it’s true. I’m not as cute as Umi. Ehehe.”

Eri laughed somewhat bitterly.

“But… that’s been resolved. Because Shota embraces me so sincerely. Equal to Umi.”

Eri smiled and nestled into my arms.

“Shota… you do kendo, and at night you fight monsters, right? That’s the world of the extraordinary… Umi, Taiga, and Tina take care of that aspect. So… I developed a sense of superiority.”

Eri said.

“Superiority…”

So Eri is human too. That surprised me.

“I take care of the everyday aspects. The superiority of being the one Shota relies on for daily life…”

Eri said, leaning her body toward me.

“But… that overlaps with Mika. And it’s an inferior version. Mika… is running toward the same dream as Shota, and she gives Shota professional stimulation. So… I think I felt resistance to Mika joining the harem.”

Eri said.

“……”

I didn’t know Eri had such worries. Eri was… not an angel, but a girl.

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice echoed in my head.

‘Don’t… make a choice… you’ll regret…!’

The voice reverberated, mumbling.

Flash-!!

At that moment, my consciousness went dark.

——–

‘16789th Multiverse’

A dry message appeared.

‘Omega Timeline Breakthrough Failed’

A complex string of characters I couldn’t understand appeared.

“Eri… why?”

Chaos surrounded everything.

The monsters were no longer beings that only appeared at night. Cracks in the hidden world appeared everywhere, and monsters emerged even during the day to attack humans.

Civilization had already collapsed. Corpses were everywhere.

What destroyed Emoshita was a being called a witch.

That witch was… Eri. Eri was wearing a black robe, looking at me with cloudy eyes.

Around her neck hung the head of a girl. It was… Mika’s.

Was Mika joining the harem the trigger for Eri’s corruption? I thought with bewildered eyes as I looked at Eri.

“At first… I liked getting along with everyone. But… I started thinking, wouldn’t Shota be happy even without me? I kept feeling like the space for me was shrinking.”

Eri burst into maniacal laughter and stretched out her hand.

Screeeech-!!

As the gap opened, monsters flooded in.

Umi, Taiga… and Sasitsu were all lying dead.

“Actually… I was jealous of everyone.”

Eri said with an empty smile.

“ERIIIII!!!!”

Finally, I made my decision and ran toward Eri with my sword raised.

Flash-!!!

With that, my consciousness returned to normal.

———

“……..!!!”

It felt like something terrible would happen if I answered wrong here.

Something similar happened before.

In the end, I had no choice but to make a decision.

“I’m sorry, but… that’s not something you need to worry about.”

I said, holding Eri’s cheeks.

“Sh-Shota…?”

Eri’s face turned red.

“I’ll declare it here!!”

I shouted loudly.

Only then did everyone searching for the immortality elixir turn their attention to me.

“As long as the harem structure exists!!! Eri is the official wife. Eri is first. I’ve decided that at this moment.”

I shouted loudly.

“W-wait!! What are you saying?!!”

Taiga immediately flared up.

“That should be decided after I find the immortality elixir!!! Your mind might change when I bring it!”

Umi shouted loudly.

No. How long is she going to be obsessed with the immortality elixir? Apparently… Madoka’s words had gotten to her.

“Why Eri!! Give us a reason!!”

Taiga shouted.

“Of course, being the official wife doesn’t mean different treatment. Everyone is equal. But the center of our harem is Eri. I love Eri the most, after all.”

I said, hugging Eri tightly.

Well… I didn’t like creating differences, but I had to make it clear at this moment. I was certain of that.

If so, the answer was ‘Eri’.

“Sh-Shota… everyone will fight because of this…”

Eri mumbled hesitantly.

“That’s exactly why Eri is the official wife. You’re always thinking about making everyone happy. I like that about you. More than anyone else.”

I said, kissing Eri.

“Will you… help me sustain the harem together?”

I said to Eri.

“Y-yes… I’d like that…”

Eri nodded with a smile. Then, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.

“I love you… Shota.”

Eri hugged me tightly.

“Haah…”

Surprisingly, everyone seemed to accept it.

“Well… Eri does have good tolerance. She’s a good friend. That works.”

Umi coolly acknowledged it.

“Well, Shota makes everyone happy anyway. And Eri is kind. If there has to be an official wife, Eri is better. We probably won’t have jealousy or mind games.”

Taiga also magnanimously accepted it. She’s so open-minded.

“I’m the youngest in the harem, so I’ll follow Shota’s decision.”

Tina said with a smile.

“…If I wait long enough, my chance will come. I’ll let Eri have the throne for now.”

I heard something inaudible from Tina, but I deliberately ignored it.

“Me, the official wife… ehehe. I’m happy.”

Eri still seemed not to have fully recovered from the afterglow of becoming the official wife.

“……..”

Mika was staring blankly at the scene.

As for Madoka…

“Going to earn… pat pat points…”

She was just diligently running her point workshop. Really… this point-obsessed kid… I should never let Madoka play online games later. Yeah. She’s the type to get too immersed.

“Mika. You’re welcome to join the harem.”

Eri, having completely shed her jealousy, said with a smile.

“I’m not joining!!! But… wait!!”

Mika immediately opened her laptop.

“Seeing this scene… inspiration is flowing!! I need to write this now, right now!!”

Mika started typing away.

Anyway, things flowed unexpectedly harmoniously. Well. All’s well that ends well.

———

At that time, I spoke to Tina.

“Come to think of it, Tina. You’re pretty good at killing monsters. Want to become a comrade?”

I asked Tina.

The flow of fate had already diverged from the game anyway. I might as well recruit the allies I want. It was time to level up the party.

Tina didn’t have a psycho-robo, but she was still incredibly strong. She went around smashing monster heads with her fists.

“I prefer fighting strong opponents… but when do you usually hunt monsters?”

Tina asked.

“Every night from 12 to 2 AM.”

Taiga said.

“Ah. Every night is a bit…”

Tina showed reluctance.

“Oh right. You have to guard Madoka.”

Being a bodyguard, she had to stay by Madoka’s side every day.

“Yeah. That’s difficult.”

Tina said with reluctance.

“Too bad.”

Well, things don’t always go as planned.

“But when I have vacation or free time, I could join as a guest member?”

Tina said with a bright smile.

“Ah. Even that would be appreciated.”

I said with a smile.

“If you’re grateful… you know what to do?”

Tina looked at me with suggestive eyes. Well, I’ll have to reward her later.

“Exorcist work? Brother, you do that kind of thing too?”

Madoka accepted all this talk surprisingly without resistance. Well, children often have more tolerance than adults. They have fewer prejudices because they have less common sense than adults.

“Yeah. It’s about saving the world.”

That’s what I said.

“Hmm… so it’s like an Earth Defense Headquarters?”

Madoka said.

“Well… something like that.”

I nodded.

“Do you have a hideout or headquarters?”

Madoka asked.

“No…”

We just meet at the park. Thanks to that, I get bitten by mosquitoes every night.

“Then… a hideout. Should I secure one for you?”

Suddenly Madoka made an unexpected proposal.

“A-a hideout…?!!!”

I exclaimed.

“How many praise points… will you give me?”

Madoka looked at me with greedy eyes.

“3-3000 points?”

I said roughly.

“4000. I don’t accept compromises.”

Madoka said firmly.

“Then 4000 it is…”

I was quickly weakened in the face of financial power.

But… how is she planning to get a hideout?