Chapter 73: I'm Here to Break the Deadlock!
"Kita-chan, why have you been making such a troubled face all morning? Did you encounter some difficulties?"
The next day during lunch break, Toyosaki.
Karen and Ikuyo found a spot to eat together. Noticing that Ikuyo had been in a strange state all morning, Karen couldn't help but express concern.
"It's nothing really, just some things that are hard for ordinary people to understand."
Ikuyo was still reeling from the shock of Hitori's views on romance. The idea that someone in modern society would maintain a harem or support their partner having one was simply too unbelievable.
Could it be that Hitori had time-traveled from the olden days?
"Hard to understand things? Can you tell me about it?"
Ikuyo's description made Karen increasingly curious. Had some celebrity's reputation collapsed? Or had she encountered something strange on her way to or from school?
"I suppose I can? But you have to promise not to tell anyone else."
Ikuyo also wanted to confide in a good friend, but this was Hitori's gossip. It felt wrong to spread it, yet keeping it bottled up was unbearable.
"No problem, I'm not the type to gossip."
Karen blinked excitedly. The more mysterious it was, the more curious she became. She was already looking forward to hearing what Ikuyo had to say.
"Well, Bocchi-chan she..."
Before starting, Ikuyo glanced around and noticed the distant court was busy with ball games. The people closest to them were focused on their phones, sharing various interesting online finds. No one was paying attention to their conversation. Even so, she leaned close to Karen's ear and whispered her confession.
"???"
After listening carefully, Karen's expression turned shocked. She also cautiously scanned their surroundings, confirming everyone was occupied with their own affairs, then leaned close to Ikuyo and quietly confirmed:
"Kita-chan, are you saying Bocchi-chan is planning to create a harem for Watanabe-kun?"
"Mhm, it's unbelievable right? While I can understand Bocchi-chan's worry about Ren being taken by other girls, rather than letting him have a harem, shouldn't she improve herself? Bocchi-chan already has such good qualities herself."
Ikuyo nodded with a cautious expression. This was what she found most incomprehensible. If she was afraid of being replaced, wouldn't improving herself until Ren couldn't look away be the better solution? Letting Ren have a harem seemed like the worst possible strategy.
"I can actually understand it, Kita-chan. Think about Bocchi-chan's personality. If you ask her to improve herself, I believe without Watanabe-kun's encouragement, she might not even be able to play guitar to her full potential."
However, Karen had a different perspective. She could understand why Hitori would choose this path—because of Hitori's inherent personality flaws, improving herself might actually be more difficult than accepting Ren having a harem.
"That might be true, but still, letting Watanabe-kun have a harem is going too far. She even asked if any of us would be willing to join."
Ikuyo said with a pained expression. Even if they treated Hitori's words as a joke, it would still trouble them.
Ryo had no shame whatsoever, even joking about being willing to be a kept woman. At a time like this, her admired senior seemed to be growing increasingly shameless.
"Really?"
Hearing this, Karen sat up slightly straighter. She thought it was already outrageous enough that Hitori was letting Ren start a harem, but now she was even scouting for harem members?
"Really, she just told us about it yesterday. But we all refused. If I actually joined, that would be way too rock and roll—my parents would kill me."
Ikuyo, whose family never really approved of her playing in a band anyway, complained bitterly. That kind of rock and roll was definitely not the rock and roll she wanted.
"I see~"
Hearing this, Karen narrowed her eyes, a subtle smile appearing on her face. She then listened to Ikuyo's complaints, occasionally responding with a few words.
After lunch break ended and she returned to the classroom, she took out her phone and sent a message to Ren.
[Himemiya Karen: Watanabe-kun, I heard you're looking for a second girlfriend. What do you think of me? I think we could give it a try~]
...
"?"
There's another expert?
Looking at the message from Karen, Ren stared blankly for a while before confirming he hadn't misread it. He had considered Yuno and Satou, he had considered Anon, but he never once considered Karen.
Because he wasn't actually very close with her—they were more like friends of friends. The last time they contacted each other was when she proactively added him as a friend to tell him that Yuno and Satou were yanderes. And now she was saying she wanted to join his harem.
Was this right? This couldn't be right, could it?
"?"
After being rejected by Anon as well, Ren had pretty much assumed no one else would be able to accept him having a harem like Hitori did. But then Karen appeared.
So should he refuse?
Ren felt conflicted. Even if he were to start a harem, he couldn't just include people he wasn't familiar with. But at least they knew each other, and if both parties were interested, building a relationship probably wouldn't be too difficult.
Most importantly, if he had to pick who among all the girls could most easily stir his most primal desires, it was definitely Karen.
After thinking it over for a while, Ren decided to give it a try. He replied to Karen, suggesting they talk after school, and then sent a message to Hitori as well.
Upon learning that Ren was finally going to find a second girlfriend, Hitori replied with a smiling emoji and excitedly looked over at him with a smile.
Her support was no joke. Realizing that Ren wouldn't choose between her and other girls but would take them all, she felt incredibly relieved. This way, she wouldn't have to worry about being abandoned, and Ren would have someone to keep him company during band activities.
Hitori had a very good impression of Karen. She often came to listen when Hitori practiced guitar with Ikuyo, and after spending some time together, Hitori was sure that Karen was also a very kind person who would never pretend to join the harem only to push her out later.
So she wholeheartedly supported Ren's choice and even told him not to walk her to Kessoku Band after school, urging him to go meet Karen early to talk things through clearly.
...
Satou was worrying about how to atone for her sins when Yuno glanced at her phone, her expression turning shocked before she deeply furrowed her brows.
Just when everyone was unwilling to accept Ren having a Harem, someone suddenly appeared who was willing to accept it—didn't that mean they were all being outdone!?
Who exactly was this Himemiya Karen? How could she even accept something like Ren having a Harem? Had all her brains migrated to her chest!?
There was simply no way for Yuno to stop this. Even puncturing Ren's car tires would be useless. She had been caught completely off guard by this move.
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