The Harem King

Chika took a deep breath, standing tall as if making a declaration.

"We've all talked it over. The three of us made a pact not to confess to Uta until after we graduate."

"What?" Ryuya's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"Because we want him to confess to us," Chika said, puffing out her chest with conviction.

"Uta's too kind," she explained. "If one of us confessed, he'd probably accept out of kindness. But that wouldn't be love. And we don't want his pity."

"We've got our pride, y'know?" Miko added with a grin. "I don't wanna date him unless he really likes me."

"We want Uta-san to love us for who we are," Kazuha concluded, her tone steady.

"So," Chika continued, "we're all going to do our best to make Uta fall for us. No cheating. No backstabbing. We'll wait for him to make the first move."

"…And if he doesn't confess to any of you by graduation?" Ryuya asked cautiously.

The girls exchanged glances again before answering in unison.

"Then we'll share him."

"We'll date him together, obviously," Miko added nonchalantly.

"We've already agreed to take Uta-san to a hotel on graduation night if he hasn't chosen," Kazuha said, her matter-of-fact tone contrasting with the bold statement.

"…What?"

Ryuya stared at them, dumbfounded.

"Uta is special to all of us," Chika said, her voice filled with quiet resolve. "We know we're not worthy of him individually. But together, maybe we'll measure up."

"Yeah, it's like settling, but in reverse!" Miko laughed. "Better three of us than just one, right?"

"If it's Chika-san and Miko-san, I don't mind sharing," Kazuha said with a small smile. "I love them, too… just after Uta-san."

"I feel the same way. You two are my best friends—after Uta, of course," Chika admitted.

"Haha, same here!" Miko chuckled. "We're a great team, aren't we?"

"…"

Listening to them laugh and joke, Ryuya felt any lingering hope drain from him. These three girls were out of his reach, not because they didn't care about him, but because their hearts already belonged to Uta.

For a moment, he felt bitterness. Resentment. But it passed quickly, replaced by acceptance.

(It's Uta, after all. If anyone's allowed a harem, it's him.)

Ryuya sighed, forcing a wry smile. "I guess I'll just… find someone else."

He muttered the words to himself, too quietly for anyone to hear. For the first time, though, the thought didn't sting as much. Somehow, he felt… relieved.

He'd lost again, yes, but he finally felt ready to move on.

+

In a secluded alley of the city…

Having deliberately teleported to a less populated area, Uta Hanachiru folded his arms and tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Well… what should I do now?"

Though he had made it to the city, Uta didn't have a plan. He had told his childhood friends with a confident expression that he'd "find a way to return to their world," but in truth, he hadn't given much thought to how he would accomplish that.

"The easiest way would be for me to become whole again…"

If Uta abandoned his human body and returned to his full power as a malevolent god, crossing time and space back to his world would be a trivial task. However, just as spilled water cannot return to its bowl, regaining his full divine form would mean never being able to return to his human state.

In fact, the mere fact that Uta, as a malevolent god, was inhabiting a human body was a miracle in itself—one that even he didn't fully understand.

"Yeah… everyone would definitely get mad if I just turned back into a god…"

His four childhood friends, his parents… they would all be angry. Worse, they'd be sad. That was something Uta wanted to avoid at all costs.

The next option was to harness the full power of his godly abilities while remaining human. This wasn't entirely impossible, but he had no idea how to go about it.

"For now, I guess I'll start by gathering information. I'll check out the city and—huh?"

As Uta wandered along the back streets, he turned a corner and came upon an unexpected sight: a young girl, perhaps in her late elementary school years, surrounded by a group of rough-looking men.

"Hey, come with us, now!" one of the men growled.

"P-please stop!" the girl cried, struggling in their grip.

"Don't fight back, you brat! It's your dad's fault for racking up that debt in the first place!"

The three men grabbed the girl's arms, trying to drag her away. It was an undeniably criminal scene, but as Uta watched, he simply tilted his head and muttered to himself.

"So… is this one of those 'guilty' situations? Or… could this kind of thing actually be legal in this world?"

The men had mentioned something about the girl's father's debt. From what Uta could gather, her father had accrued a large sum of money he couldn't repay, and now the girl was being taken to settle the debt.

"…What a hassle."

Stopping them might be the right thing to do, but Uta hesitated. In his old world, such actions would undoubtedly be illegal—kidnapping and human trafficking were serious crimes. However, this new world might have different laws.

"So, blaming these men outright might be unfair, right? I don't really have a reason to help her, either."

"Hey, you!" one of the men snapped, his voice growing louder.

"But still, it looks like a crime. These guys have serious villain faces, and they probably have bad breath, too. Not to mention, they're ugly."

"Hey, I said—HEY!"

"And if I just let them go, Chika and the others would be pissed if they found out. But, ugh, I really don't want to get involved. I bet they reek of body odor."

"SHUT UP AND LISTEN, YOU BRAT!"

"Whoa!" Uta yelped as one of the men shouted at him. He looked up to find all three men glaring at him, their expressions contorted with anger.

"Oops… Was I saying all that out loud?"

"YOU THINK?! We thought you were taunting us on purpose!"

One of Uta's bad habits was his tendency to mutter to himself. He gave the men a sheepish smile.

"Ah, sorry, my bad. It's wrong to judge people by their appearances, right? I shouldn't have called you bad guys just because you look like you smell awful. My apologies."