As for Nekomata, she found Wise after Anby sent out a message with her location marked.
Koleda, once she realized there were even more girls involved, including ones who were friends with the girls already around him, grew even more determined that Wise needed to be taught a proper lesson.
She clenched her fists, regretting not bringing her weapon today. But even if she had brought it, Koleda probably wouldn't have been able to bring herself to actually hit Wise.
Then there was Belle. She hadn't known where her brother was at first, but when she asked Fairy, Fairy reluctantly gave her the information.
Although she didn't want to, the situation was not good. Fairy decided to make the best of a bad situation and simply pulled Belle along to help.
After all, according to her analysis, the two had been together for so many years.
Even if Wise had done something like this, Belle wouldn't just stand there and let him get torn apart, would she?
Fairy wasn't entirely sure she'd made the right call. She only wished she had a physical body to intervene properly. For now, all she could do was scramble to fix whatever part of this mess she could.
What came next was pretty predictable.
Each of the girls had gotten Wise's exact location and rushed to find him. It was pure coincidence that they ended up walking together along the way.
Belle recognized the other three right away and was the first to speak up, asking what was going on.
Once they all learned they'd each made plans to go on a date with Wise that same day, silence fell over the group.
Eventually, they silently agreed to track him down first and figure things out after. That's when they saw him, standing there with a girl on each side.
Everyone froze. Koleda stared at the man she'd put all her trust and affection into, now holding two other women in his arms.
Something in her snapped. Tears welled up in her eyes, and before anyone could stop her, she charged forward with her fist already raised.
But she wasn't the only one losing her mind over it. Ellen, Anby, and Nekomata all stared at Wise with the same confused, hurt look on their faces.
None of them had any idea there were gonna be this many girls involved.
Even Ellen, who had originally been trying to accept the situation, had unknowingly pulled out her large scissors from her dress.
How on earth she'd been hiding those was a total mystery.
Nekomata had been trying to talk Koleda into giving Wise a chance on the way there, but after actually seeing what was going on, even she was starting to think maybe he deserved whatever was coming.
As for Rain, no matter how deeply the image of Wise saving her from despair had been etched into her memory, she still could not stop herself from clenching her fists.
At that moment, Wise noticed Koleda charging toward him, her fist raised and ready to strike. He lifted a hand, stopping Anby, who had been about to step in and block the blow, and allowed Koleda's punch to land.
What should have been a heavy hit struck his chest without any real force. It was far too soft to cause harm.
Koleda had told herself that if Wise tried to dodge or defend himself, she would chase him down and beat him until he cried bitterly.
But instead, a sob slipped from her lips. Wise stepped forward just as her legs gave out, catching her before she could fall and pulling her gently into his arms.
Seeing this, the latter could no longer hold back. She wanted to cry, but knowing outsiders were watching, she could only bite down hard and force herself to keep it together.
Then she lifted her gaze again, eyes red and brimming with tears, and looked straight at Wise before speaking slowly.
"W-Why?"
Koleda only managed that single word, but it carried the weight of the question every girl present wanted answered.
"..."
Wise stayed quiet for a moment after hearing her, but soon he lifted his head to meet the eyes of all the girls standing before him and spoke with gravity.
"I didn't want to let any of you down, so..."
He went on to explain how each of them had invited him to the Carnival the day before. At first, he had planned to refuse, but every single one had given him a reason far too important to ignore.
Faced with that, turning anyone down felt impossible. So he chose this reckless approach, knowing well the consequences it might bring.
"So... you can't choose between us, is that right?" Koleda pressed her hand against Wise's chest and stepped back, her eyes tinged red but her face set in complete seriousness. "If you had to pick one of us, Wise, who would it be?"
Wise simply stood there, completely frozen. The tension that had already been thick in the air exploded the moment Koleda opened her mouth.
Everyone looked at him at the same time.
This was the sort of question that could ruin him completely. One wrong answer and he was finished.
Just choose one person? That was absolutely impossible.
No matter who he chose, Wise's outcome would not be good.
As for directly saying he wanted all of them? Given the current situation, he would probably die an even more miserable death.
Anby, Belle, and Nekomata already had history together. They'd even shared intimate moments with him before, though that had grown naturally out of time spent together and the understanding that they were still friends beneath it all.
They'd quietly come to terms with Wise having other girls in his life. But despite that unspoken acceptance, even they couldn't ignore how absurdly fast he seemed to be drawing new ones in.
And he hadn't even mentioned the others. If he were to bring that up, their favorability would probably plummet.
Still, there was one trick he could pull.
'System, I'm counting on you.'
[Understood, Host. All charm has been released.]
The second the System said that, it was like all the color drained out of the world. The suffocating tension in the air vanished, replaced by a strange pink glow that lingered over everything.
This was the first time Wise had released his charm completely and without restraint after pushing his charm value all the way to 200.
In this moment, he felt like the center of gravity itself, everything else spinning around him.
"I didn't want to do this, but... hmm? Koleda, you... huh? Anby, and Ellen, you all..."
He'd been about to say something more, but the instant his charm washed over them, Koleda had already bolted forward and flung herself straight into his arms.
The hit was strong enough to knock someone down, but for Wise, it was nothing he couldn't handle.
But then Anby and Ellen, who were standing nearby, lunged at him as well. Anby, just like Koleda, only wanted to kiss him.
Ellen, on the other hand, had something else in mind. She sank her teeth into Wise's neck, and when she pulled away, a small red mark was left behind, still wet with her saliva.
Once the three of them had dragged him to the ground, Wise caught sight of more figures approaching from a distance. Ellen's three best friends were among them.
At that point, it became painfully clear that 200 charm, combined with the effects of the incubus body, was more than enough to make anyone lose control the moment they got close to him.
For the first time, Wise experienced the sensation of being pulled in different directions at the same time.
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