"What do you mean by that's normal, Taku… onii-chan! You better explain this to me!" Jealousy flared on Mio's face as she glared at Takumi. The entire class stared on like an audience at a drama.
When they heard Mio call him onii-chan, everyone's eyes sparkled.
"Onii-chan!?"
"So they're siblings!?"
"She's totally got that brother-complex vibe, hehe~"
"Ohhh, what if it's one of those forbidden sibling romances!?"
"Naruse-san doesn't even look like his sister. I've seen Rias-senpai—those two look more like sisters than these two!"
…
Listening to the class gossip, Takumi felt the weight of every sharp stare stabbing into him.
Yup, Senjougahara's teasing smirk was bad enough, but why was Airi also staring straight at him!?
Taking a deep breath, Takumi forced a calm tone. "Yuki and I are childhood friends… we used to play together a lot."
His guilty expression, though, told another story. The "games" they used to play were anything but innocent. If he hadn't been so young back then, they might've gone all the way already. Everything short of that… he'd already done.
Mio sighed in partial relief at his explanation. Childhood friend… my ass. She's an enemy, a serious one!
A woman's intuition told her Yuki Nonaka was a formidable rival.
After all, childhood friends are the white moonlight in every man's memory! But when she remembered that she was now Takumi's slave, sharing a bed with him that very morning… Round it up a bit, and the advantage was clearly hers!
Still, she muttered bitterly, "So what if she's your childhood friend? She's not your cat or dog!"
"…" Takumi was speechless.
What was that supposed to mean—are you comparing yourself to my pet now!? Sure, I do "pet" you sometimes like one… but most of the time, I treat you like a person, right!?You're making me sound like a damn furry!
Before he could even respond, Yuki Nonaka's cold voice cut through the air. "That has nothing to do with you, Naruse-san."
That line set Mio off immediately. "O-of course it does! I live with him right now!"
The classroom went dead silent. So quiet that you could've heard a pin drop.
Then came voices from the hallway—
"This is your fault! I'm covered in mud now!"
"Hey, you're the one who made me help you look for that lucky four-leaf clover!"
Covered in dirt and still arguing, Inda and Hakari walked into the classroom. The moment they felt the weird tension inside, their mouths snapped shut. After a few seconds of confused silence, their gazes locked on Takumi sitting at the back—and their eyes lit up.
"Eh!? Ta-Takumi-kun, you're here too!" Hakari said with delight, ignoring everyone else as she hurried over.
Seeing her move first, Karane followed immediately.
Another set of rivals!? Watching the two girls rush toward Takumi, the class burst into whispers.
Even Airi—who had stayed calm despite knowing Mio lived with him—was starting to squirm.
"You two are…" Mio recognized them immediately.
Weren't these the girls he'd carried to the infirmary earlier!? Now that she thought about it, she hadn't even asked how they'd gotten so close to him.
"Ahem! Karane-san, Hanazono-san, hello there. What a coincidence, same class, huh?" Takumi greeted them awkwardly, forcing a smile.
Hakari blushed, stepping even closer with a bright grin. "I'm really happy to be in the same class as you, Takumi-kun~"
"I-I'm not happy just because we're in the same class or anything!" Karane snapped, turning her head away with a pout. Her obvious tsundere act made Takumi's heart clench from the cuteness overload.
Too cute…
Still, cold sweat ran down his back. There was a serious problem here—and he had no idea how to settle it.
Before he could speak up, the classroom door slid open again, drawing everyone's attention.
Shizuka Hiratsuka stepped in, immediately spotting the group of girls swarming around Takumi.
"Class is starting. Stop crowding together already." Her voice was sharp, and she shot Takumi a pointed look. "As the only male student in the entire school, Takumi-kun, you'd better watch your behavior. Don't go causing any funny business!"
Her tone carried a clear warning. The students quickly scattered back to their seats.
Watching them sit down, Hiratsuka sighed inwardly. If Takumi had been some unpopular boy, she wouldn't have cared. But with that face and charm? He was a disaster waiting to happen. So many girls already fighting over him… this fluffy, romantic atmosphere was way too much!
This is a school, not a dating sim! She didn't want to see one of her female students dropping out pregnant before the semester even ended!
Damn it! If only I'd fallen in love back in high school, I wouldn't still be single now! But now it was too late. Well… unless she found herself a younger, handsome guy—her gaze flicked back to Takumi. Wait… no! That'd be a teacher-student relationship! That's wrong!
Lost in her spiraling thoughts, Hiratsuka almost broke herself mentally. Flustered, she turned away and refocused on starting the lesson.
Meanwhile, Takumi noticed something odd—Hiratsuka's favorability toward him had jumped from 79 to 86 in less than a minute.
Just what kind of mental battle did she fight in her head!?
Sitting at his desk, Takumi felt completely surrounded. Every girl in the room was sneaking glances at him… even the teacher seemed to have designs on him. Still, at least his [World-Crossing Gate] progress was skyrocketing.
As he zoned out, a folded note landed on his desk—from Senjougahara.
[Pervert-kun, I'm curious—how exactly do you toy with so many girls?]
"…" I haven't even started toying with them yet!
Glancing at her mischievous smile, Takumi sighed and scribbled back. [Shut it. Can't you see I'm the one being targeted here?]
Seconds later, another note landed.
[Tch~ if Pervert-kun doesn't want to share, fine. Then let's talk about Naruse-san instead. She's living with you now, right?]
[…Yeah.]
[Can I move in too?]
Takumi froze, staring at her with wide eyes. After thinking for a while, he sighed and wrote back:
[You can visit anytime, but living there's not a good idea. I don't want you girls fighting. How about I get you your own apartment nearby?]
A small smirk curled at his lips. Good thing he still had that apartment building he'd earned off Mio's money— looked like it was about to come in handy.
...
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