Kaoru did not take the library incident to heart.
If anything, teasing Nanase Tsubasa once in a while was surprisingly entertaining.
The uninhabited island exam was still in its preparation phase. Aside from finding teammates, there was not much else to do for now. As for how he should arrange things with Tsubasa, that would have to wait until the exam officially began.
The fastest year to finish forming groups was the second year.
Because Class 2-A had decided to form groups within the class, the other classes were forced to unite as well, forming mixed groups under their respective leaders.
Under the pressure Class 2-A exerted, Ichinose Honami temporarily put aside her grudge against Ryūen Kakeru and joined forces with Horikita Suzune to oppose Class A.
They had also planned to sell item cards at a high price, but once Sakayanagi Arisu noticed their intention, she quickly stopped the purchasing attempt.
And so, the month became strangely calm.
At least, on the surface.
Kaoru felt there were definitely undercurrents moving beneath that calm. For example, the girls around him had been acting a little strange recently. From time to time, they would casually ask him about his personal preferences.
Sometimes, Karuizawa Kei would quietly ask if there were any outfits he wanted her to wear.
Kushida Kikyō was even more direct. She said she had custom-ordered a collar. As for its exact design and purpose, Kaoru could only pretend he had not heard anything.
Other than that, they had rarely come over recently.
Kaoru knew they were secretly planning something behind his back. Out of curiosity, he deliberately pressed Sakura Airi for information.
He had thought this soft former idol might reveal something, but unexpectedly, Airi clenched her teeth the entire time, her face bright red as she endured his interrogation. No matter how he teased her, she refused to speak.
That made Kaoru even more curious.
Even Airi, who had always leaned toward his side, was guarding the secret so tightly. What exactly were they planning?
Since they wanted to hide it from him, Kaoru simply pretended he knew nothing.
During these days, he mostly spent his nights with Arisu.
Perhaps because their relationship had only recently deepened, Arisu still drew Kaoru's attention far too easily. Her small, delicate body fit perfectly in his arms, and whenever that usually arrogant face turned faintly red, he felt the urge to tease her even more.
After one especially long night, Kaoru held the faintly trembling Arisu close.
"You're holding me too tightly. I smell entirely like you now. Is making a poor girl a mess one of your hobbies?"
"You just recovered and you're already provoking me. Are you saying I wasn't thorough enough earlier?"
"Hehe. I already knew Mitoma-kun was hopeless, but I didn't expect you to be this obsessed with me."
"I admit I like you very much, but can you stop praising yourself like that?"
"That depends on when Mitoma-kun decides to turn over a new leaf. Sometimes even I think you're too much of a pervert. You like teasing girls and—mm."
"The one who needs to correct herself is you. Even now, you're still calling me Mitoma-kun."
Kaoru gave her a small warning, reminding her who had the advantage right now.
Arisu bit her lip and glared at him, though her arms were still looped around his neck. Sitting close to him like this, the atmosphere between them was naturally intimate.
"Do you want to meet Kei and the others?"
Kaoru encouraged her. "You've never really interacted with them much. It wouldn't be good for the relationship to stay so distant."
"Do you simply want us to meet, or are you planning something else?"
Arisu looked at him with a faint smile.
She was not some naive little girl. Such a simple trick would not fool her.
"Their thoughts are the same as mine. They only want to get to know you better. You've been standing outside the circle all this time, so they probably feel uneasy."
As for how to properly manage the relationships inside a harem, Kaoru honestly had no idea where to begin.
He could only tell the truth.
"If it's about getting to know each other, Kushida-san already came to see me."
Arisu paused, watching his reaction. "She was quite interesting. That girl may care about you even more than Ichinose-san does."
Kaoru felt a little awkward.
He had not expected Kikyō to move so quickly.
She had not, by any chance, used one of her strange theories to convince Arisu to join some ridiculous party, had she?
"Hehe. I don't mind going over if that's what you want, but you had better be prepared."
Arisu traced a finger lightly down his chest. "If it were me, the first thing I would do is forbid you from sneaking snacks elsewhere. Everything here would be under my management."
Kaoru suddenly felt a little guilty.
They were not even married yet, and Arisu was already thinking about making him report his "daily income."
"What do you mean, sneaking snacks? Does being with you right now count too?"
"I hope you can remain that bold in the future."
"..."
For some reason, Kaoru really did feel guilty.
Just as he tried to change the subject, Arisu shifted closer again.
"I understand Ichinose-san a little better now. One girl really may not be enough to handle a beast like you."
"That's because you're too cute."
Kaoru said it casually. "But it's true we shouldn't overdo it. You only just recovered."
"No need."
Arisu turned her face away.
If she let him pull away now, it would feel strangely wasteful. What if nothing came of it?
"I simply didn't expect you to be this excited. What else do you want me to wear in the future?"
"You look cute in anything. Cat ears, bunny girl, maid outfit, lolita dress, nurse outfit... there are too many. I feel like anything would suit you."
Kaoru had no idea what she was thinking and answered casually.
For some reason, Arisu felt a little happy.
Although she had heard him call her cute many times already, nobody disliked being praised by the person they liked.
"What about Ichinose-san and the others?"
"They'd all look good in those outfits too, but it feels different when you wear them."
"Hehe. How is it different?"
"Because the one wearing it for me is Arisu, and I think she's cute."
"Is Ichinose-san not cute?"
"You're all cute. But Arisu's cuteness isn't something that exists because I compare you with Honami. There's no need to compare at all. Arisu herself is cute in the way that made me like her."
Arisu discovered that she could not beat him in words.
From his mouth, she sounded as if she were some heavenly fairy descended to earth.
Even the tiny trace of jealousy hidden in her heart was coaxed until it almost melted.
At that moment, the girl finally understood why some girls were foolish enough to fall for sweet words.
Because when the words came from someone you liked, there was no resistance at all.
"You should save those lines for Kamuro-san."
Arisu turned her gaze away. If one looked carefully, they would see that even her ears had turned red. "Next month is your birthday. Why not bring your dear Kamuro-san with you?"
"Masumi may be a little difficult."
Kaoru was tempted, but he was not sure what Masumi herself thought.
"She isn't difficult at all. Aside from scolding you verbally, when has she ever truly resisted?"
Arisu smiled. "As long as you're a little more forceful, Kamuro-san is the easiest girl to handle."
That did sound somewhat reasonable.
At worst, he would take a beating.
However, Kaoru did not know what the girls were planning, so he told Arisu about how strange they had been acting recently. In response, Arisu asked him how he had originally planned to arrange his birthday.
"I'm planning to celebrate with them one day early, then go back to the agency on the actual day."
"You're taking leave again? Did you tell them everything about the agency?"
"Mm. Including the fact that I'll temporarily leave school for a while next semester."
"Hehehe. No wonder Kushida-san invited me."
"What?"
Kaoru looked confused, only to see Arisu smile slyly.
"I can't tell you the details. Although I don't plan to join them, Mitoma-kun can look forward to it."
Now that she had said that, Kaoru became even more curious.
"If you still have time afterward, I'll prepare a birthday surprise for you with Kamuro-san."
"With Masumi?"
"Mm... your reaction really is honest. Don't look that excited. Do you want me and Kamuro-san to accompany you that badly?"
"Ahem. I'm looking forward to it a little."
"Let me say this first. Kamuro-san and I will wait only until ten at night. If you're late, the birthday surprise won't count."
Evidently, Arisu had successfully stirred Kaoru's interest.
...
Because it was an early birthday celebration, the day Kaoru had been looking forward to arrived quickly.
The first person to give him a present was Katsuragi Kōhei.
Yes.
That serious-looking bald guy had noticed that Kaoru's birthday was approaching and prepared a birthday gift for him.
The reason he gave it before Honami and the others was because Kōhei understood his position very well and did not want to disturb Kaoru's time with them.
And so, Kaoru received his first birthday present of the year.
It was a fountain pen.
Kōhei had probably thought that since Kaoru handled documents every day, he might have use for it.
That made Kaoru feel rather guilty. He had never even thought about preparing a birthday present for Kōhei.
After that, Hashimoto Masayoshi and Yamamura Miki also prepared birthday gifts for him. Perhaps Arisu had deliberately arranged it by leaking Kaoru's birthday to them.
Then came Amikura Mako, Manabe Shiho, and the others.
The two sides happened to run into each other on the road, and Kaoru spent a long time explaining himself. The way Mako looked at him only became stranger and stranger.
In the end, Kaoru simply gave up struggling.
In Mako's eyes, he was probably already a pervert who liked girls' legs and forced girls into weird pet play.
However, perhaps because it was his birthday privilege, Mako finally agreed to let him be a little more affectionate than usual.
Kaoru had originally wanted to let her meet the others.
Mako, Shiho, and the others could be considered his most secret little lovers, completely disconnected from the rest of the group.
Putting Shiho and the others aside for now, Mako should at least integrate a little, right?
In the end, this girl insisted on remaining a secret lover. She said that as long as she pretended not to know Kaoru had a harem, then she did not count as sharing her boyfriend.
Kaoru had no idea how that logic worked, but most of the girls around him had their own strange logic, so he could only let it go.
Very soon, the promised time arrived.
Although Kaoru had imagined something like this might happen, he still had not expected them to actually do it.
And the mastermind was not Kikyō.
It was Honami.
Even the usually serious Suzune did not object. Because of the need for space and privacy, they had even gone to the Student Council office and openly closed the door.
The reason for closing the door was simple.
This was their secret little game.
Even Kaoru, who had experienced plenty of chaotic gatherings before, realized for the first time that he might not be able to beat them.
They were planning to play the King's Game.
And not the normal version.
In this game, the king's command was absolute. All participants had to obey unconditionally. Even the original rules already left plenty of room for imagination.
Normally, the participants should first discuss what level of commands everyone could accept so that nobody would feel uncomfortable and the game could continue smoothly.
At first, Kaoru thought the important part was the game itself.
That was his greatest miscalculation.
The rules Kikyō had personally written were much simpler and more brutal: the king could only give embarrassing romantic commands. If the command was not embarrassing enough, the king would be punished instead.
What a joke.
She had wanted to hold a party from the beginning. A birthday party was still a party. With such a perfect opportunity, how could she possibly let anyone slack off?
Kaoru had already thought the rules were ridiculous.
Masumi somehow coming along was even more ridiculous.
And even more ridiculous than that, because school had already ended for the afternoon and nobody else was on the Student Council floor, Kei and Kikyō were far bolder than usual.
Not just the Student Council office, but even the hallway, empty classrooms, and restroom areas could theoretically be used for the game.