Ch.205Star Breaker (1)

Kujo and his wife began the aftermath cleanup.

The key was to handle the situation as quietly as possible. The work was more or less wrapped up now.

A tree monster… what could it be? Kujo quietly pondered this. And the one who stood against that monster was, by all appearances, an ordinary high school boy. It was quite extraordinary.

However, Kujo’s mindset was to set aside things he couldn’t understand for the time being. Overreacting to unexpected events would only break his mental fortitude.

Rationally grasping only the observable phenomena—that was the secret to Kujo’s success.

A terrorist attack occurred at the amusement park, and a brave boy stopped it. Kujo decided to focus only on that fact.

“Complete defeat.”

Kujo muttered. In terms of manhood, he had no choice but to admit that he had lost to Arigiri Shota.

“Hmm. So you admit it?”

Kujo’s wife said with a sly smile.

“Well… I suppose so.”

Kujo replied.

He had declared like a rookie that he wouldn’t give up anything, yet that same rookie-like attitude had protected everyone. It made his own adherence to realism seem foolish.

‘Plus… he manages the women well.’

Arigiri Shota’s harem members had responded to danger in perfect unison, combining their strength to overcome the crisis. They had already secured the bonds of a family.

Despite everything that had happened, Kujo watched as Shota’s group cheerfully enjoyed their date. The boy had human charm—that much he had to admit.

As much as he hated to acknowledge it, Kujo felt that Madoka might be safe with a man like that.

“Hehehe. I said you had no eye for men… but it seems Madoka does.”

Kujo’s wife had already accepted Shota.

“Hmph. We’ll see about that.”

Kujo said as he turned away. He was being dishonest with himself.

——–

Anyway, after the major incident, we returned home.

There were definite benefits to having my engagement with Madoka publicly recognized, but my girlfriends were still quite dissatisfied.

“Alright!! Starting tomorrow, we’ll take turns one by one!”

I declared firmly.

“I’ll give each of you an exclusive date for a whole day!”

I immediately announced.

Though it wasn’t entirely my fault, I still felt guilty about ruining the date. I wanted to make it up to each girlfriend with one-on-one care.

“Using my rights as the official wife, I’m going first.”

Eri stated decisively.

“Ugh… using your official wife privileges at a time like this…!”

Taiga clicked her tongue.

“Umi already had a one-on-one date, so she’s out… This should be decided by seniority. I’m second.”

Taiga immediately attempted to use her seniority.

“S-seniority? That’s unfair!”

Mika, who was close to last in terms of seniority, cried out.

“Even a harem needs hierarchy.”

Taiga said firmly.

Hmm… this could get dangerous. I shot Eri a pleading look.

As expected, Eri, our harem’s disciplinarian and relief pitcher, immediately stepped up.

“Everyone except the official wife is equal in our harem. The rest should be decided fairly with rock-paper-scissors.”

Eri stated decisively.

“Ugh…”

Though Taiga made a displeased face, she followed Eri’s instructions.

“Rock-paper-scissors!! Paper!! Paper!! Paper!!”

After that, an intense rock-paper-scissors battle broke out in the back of the bus. Kirtan and Madoka naturally joined in as well.

Well, once the order was decided, Eri would report it to me anyway. I closed my eyes with that thought. Even with my iron constitution, unexpected events during the day could be tiring.

———

After returning home, I decided to skip kendo practice. It was too late, and if I spent a full day at the dojo, I wouldn’t have time to work on my contest novel. My true desire was to somehow make a big splash in the writing contest.

Ding-! Ding-!

My phone was flooded with messages from Kana. She was angry that I wasn’t coming to the dojo. Hehehe. This Kana… is she lonely without me?

While sparring with Kana was enjoyable… I had more important things to do, so today was definitely a pass.

“I have future wives to feed.”

I found myself muttering.

“Oppa, don’t worry. I’ll take care of you all.”

Madoka said.

“…….”

It was an incredibly realistic and grateful offer. Coming from an heiress, it hit differently.

“Madoka, what are you plotting?”

I said with a wry smile. Madoka was a sharp girl who never did anything for free.

“Tch.”

Madoka clicked her tongue.

“I was planning to bind you with money to secure the position of official wife…”

Madoka confessed her plan. Madoka… this frightening child!!! She knows how to wield financial dependency as a weapon!!!

“No way. I have my pride as a man.”

I stated firmly.

I couldn’t give up my determination to feed the women I love well without making them struggle.

———-

I immediately began writing my contest novel. As Umi suggested, it was a slightly fictionalized account of my experiences since becoming a high school student.

As a bonus, my girlfriends took a peculiar interest in it since it was my story. They made a fuss trying to read each chapter as it came out.

“I want to be the official wife in the novel at least!!!”

“Eri… so you were practically living together from this point…”

“What’s this? At this pace, I won’t appear until the latter half!!! Make us meet earlier!!”

The girlfriends who read the content immediately tried to stir up trouble. But I immediately cut off the troublemakers.

But not all my girlfriends were troublemakers. One of my supporters was a currently very successful popular author.

“Shota. The pacing gets too slow here.”

“Is this the right build-up?”

Mika, as a professional writer, gave constructive feedback that became my flesh and bones.

Honestly, it did chip away at my mental fortitude… but it was helpful. As expected of an industry professional, her perspective was different. It was quite beneficial.

Indeed, following Mika’s advice improved the novel considerably.

“At this rate… could I really win a prize?”

Having put in unprecedented effort, I couldn’t help but indulge in optimistic thinking.

“I hope you win.”

Eri stroked my head with a warm smile.

“Hnnng… Mama Eri…”

Eri, who supported me unconditionally… the best!!!

“Hey!! Let me cuddle too! I helped a lot too…”

At that moment, Mika fidgeted as she gently took my hand.

“Really… Mika, you’re such a lonely person?”

I immediately embraced Mika tightly.

Afterward, while closely joined with Mika, I finished my work for the day. I had built up some reserve chapters for the contest. The preparations felt somewhat complete.

——–

That night.

With August approaching, I needed to level up my specs.

So today, I absolutely had to go monster hunting.

Our party gathered together.

Kirtan was with us too.

“This is our new comrade, Kirtan! She’s joined our harem… I mean, party!!”

I immediately introduced Kirtan.

“With me here, you have nothing to worry about.”

Kirtan spoke in an arrogant tone. Thanks to her uniquely hearty manner, she seemed cheerful even when speaking arrogantly.

No, it’s just because Kirtan is pretty. Pretty women look good even when speaking arrogantly.

“Well… she’s a useful ally, but… this is sudden.”

Sasith said.

“Using affection as leverage to make another your subordinate… what a frightening man.”

Pril looked at me with wary eyes.

What do you mean, using affection as leverage? It’s true I pay with affection… but it’s not like I threatened anyone with a knife to join us, right?

“I see. At this hour, the Earth is definitely experiencing erosion. I understand now.”

Kirtan seemed to have grasped what was happening.

Monsters began to appear from all directions.

“Oh! Before that… let’s use the Star Breaker to blow up one of Pink Beard’s planets!”

I said. Having acquired such a weapon, I wanted to use it against the enemy to feel satisfied.

“Yeah! The Star Breaker is ready! Just tell me which planet to destroy!!”

Kirtan shouted boisterously.

“Pril, you know Pink Beard well. Which planet would be good to destroy?”

I asked Pril.

“Well… Pink Beard’s mother planet is called V-Zolda. It has the largest population and the most military supplies. Above all, it’s where Pink Beard has the most political support.”

Pril said.

In other words… a capital planet.

“But… if we destroy a planet, all the civilians living there will die too.”

I said.

That would be… a heavy burden on my conscience. Killing a few monsters doesn’t really stimulate my guilt that much. But blowing away hundreds of millions of civilians on a planet felt wrong.

“Spiky-head… so you do have something called a conscience!!”

Pril exclaimed loudly.

“Can you see it…? This is my conscience.”

I immediately opened my chest. Those with pure hearts should be able to see it. The noble soul burning in my heart…!!!

“This guy’s being ridiculous again. Hehehe.”

Taiga laughed as she slapped my back.

“Is there a planet with no people! Or at least fewer people?”

I wanted to minimize casualties if possible. Call it hypocrisy if you want. But human feelings are swayed by such things.

“There is a planet without humans.”

At that moment, Pril exclaimed.

“R-really?!!”

Honestly, I hadn’t expected that!!!

“Yeah. There’s a planet called Pasca. It’s one of the planets Pink Beard consumed. There… only labor machines live there. There’s a munitions factory there. Destroying it would make Pink Beard pretty angry.”

Pril, like a space Wikipedia, gave a kind explanation.

“Then that’s the one!!”

I immediately shouted. And so, the target for the Star Breaker was decided.