Chapter 71: The Magnanimity of the Main Wife
On the way to school today, Ren's car was unusually crowded. The SUV he had specifically bought to keep a low profile was almost at full capacity.
None of the girls in the car spoke. Anon sat in the passenger seat, her expression suggesting she had something to say but couldn't bring herself to say it. With both Yuno and Satou present, she found it difficult to speak up.
While waiting at a red light, Ren glanced at her.
[Anon Chihaya: Favorability toward the host: 89. Willing to accept most actions from the host.]
[Emotional State: Confused, puzzled, wanting to ask the host why Satou and Yuno stayed overnight at the host's place.]
[Recommended Action: A single confession is all it takes to make her a member of your harem.]
Checking the rearview mirror, he observed Hitori as well.
[Hitori Gotou: Favorability toward the host: 97. Willing to accept any action from the host.]
[Emotional State: Nervous, curious, anxious, desperately hoping the host will start a harem due to her lack of self-confidence.]
[Recommended Action: She is an insecure girl afraid of losing her loved one to others. Simply finding a second girlfriend without breaking up with her will ease her worries.]
After observing four individuals, Ren had a preliminary understanding of the favorability system: above 90 indicated love and affection, above 80 meant favorable impressions, and anything else fell into the category of ordinary friends or strangers.
Upon arriving at school, Ren tested the system on Gabriel.
[Gabriel: Favorability toward the host: 70. Wouldn't mind helping the host with certain matters if paid.]
[Emotional State: Restless and impatient, wanting to skip class and go home to play games, troubled by a lack of money for in-game purchases.]
[Recommended Action: She needs money, and you have it. Use financial means to deepen your relationship.]
Aside from Gabriel, Ren scanned his other classmates and confirmed his assumptions: below 80 indicated friendship, while scores between 50 and 70 were typical of strangers.
Having established these boundaries, Ren deactivated the module and waited for lunch break.
The punishment for Satou continued. Ren ignored her all day, blocked her again, and maintained his interactions with Yuno.
"Are you just giving in to Ren?!"
During lunch break, Satou, who had been ignored all morning, grew increasingly agitated. Only now did she realize how lenient Ren had been with her before—the feeling of being ignored was truly unbearable.
Each time she tried to speak with hopeful anticipation, she was met with cold indifference. The accumulated disappointment and sadness from receiving no response made Satou so frustrated she felt like tearing her hair out.
This punishment was indeed excruciating for her.
Meanwhile, Yuno maintained her usual demeanor, interacting gently with Ren as someone secretly in love with him, neither overstepping nor causing any friction.
Even after Ren openly expressed his desire to try having a harem, Yuno's behavior, in Satou's eyes, seemed no different from acquiescence.
But was that even possible? They were both yanderes—how could they possibly share the person they loved with others?
"Are you willing to do anything for Ren?" Yuno responded to Satou's question with one of her own.
"Of course I am," Satou declared resolutely.
"Then why can't you accept it now? You still haven't realized that Ren can never abandon Gotou-san."
Yuno spoke softly. Before this, of course she couldn't accept it—the battle on Gotou's street should have been their decisive confrontation. But Hitori did the same thing as before, employing a strategic retreat that created new variables in the situation.
Now they were the ones left with no options, forced to either accept or walk away.
"Tch... traitor!"
Satou stamped her foot in frustration. Being punished while having no alternatives made her feel even worse, but what could she do? The consequences of continuing to act were unbearable—even a lovers' suicide might not succeed in taking Ren with her. Dying for nothing would only benefit others—wouldn't that be foolish?
Helpless, she could only return to the classroom dejectedly, wrestling with whether to compromise.
Wait, it seemed she didn't even have the chance to compromise now. Leaving aside whether Ren had forgiven her, if Hitori found out she had murderous intentions last night, wouldn't Hitori come to hate her? Then she'd have zero chance left!
Atonement!
Realizing the situation might be more serious than she imagined, Satou's mind raced as she contemplated how to atone and gain forgiveness from both Hitori and Ren. If she couldn't figure it out alone, she could consult Yuno—their unbreakable alliance hadn't dissolved yet, and they could barely be considered friends.
As for Ren, although worried about Hitori's anxiety, he needed to make Hitori clearly understand the danger posed by Satou and the others. She shouldn't foolishly regard them as harmless close friends. So Ren still told her about last night's events.
He expected Hitori to feel anxious, fearful, or even develop hatred toward them. But unexpectedly, after hearing what happened, Hitori remained silent for a long time before tugging on Ren's sleeve and whispering:
"I can understand Satou-san and Yuno's feelings. They really love you deeply, Ren. At least I couldn't eliminate rivals like they tried to. I'm fine with it, Ren—you should consider accepting them."
Being willing to kill love rivals for someone you love—that's so rock and roll.
This earned Hitori's genuine admiration. Instead of fear, she felt respect—loving someone to such an extreme degree was truly impressive.
"What nonsense are you talking about, Bocchi-chan?"
Ren frowned and leaned back, looking at Hitori with confusion. Instead of being afraid, she actually admired Satou!? Was there something wrong with his thinking, or was Hitori being overly magnanimous?
"It's not nonsense, it's how I truly feel. They love you so much, Ren—they can definitely do many things I can't."
Hitori shook her head seriously. What she wanted were sisters like Satou and Yuno—women willing to kill or even die for Ren. Accepting Ren having a harem would be much simpler compared to that, wouldn't it?
Seeing the evaluation hovering over Hitori—"Wants him to start a harem quickly due to insecurity and anxiety"—Ren realized Hitori wasn't deceiving him. She was completely serious.
What is this, some kind of mutual understanding between girls that he couldn't comprehend?
"But they've always been unwilling to accept it. It was only when I mentioned starting a harem that they went berserk," Ren said helplessly. He had already been prepared to give it a try, but neither Yuno nor Satou could accept it. Asking them again now would probably yield similar results—how could there be so many people like Hitori who would accept him having a harem?
Hearing this, Hitori showed a troubled and conflicted expression. The topic ended there, but when she went to Kessoku Band for band activities after school in the afternoon, Hitori, who had been wrestling with it all day, still sought advice from Nijika and the others.
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