"Sorry for making you stay for so long, Tobe-kun."
"It's fun. I enjoy myself here."
Even though they had left the zoo, Tobe didn't go home immediately, but went to Maaya's house, and stayed till dinner, and even accompanied her little brothers to sleep.
Was this the feeling of being a stepfather?
Well, he wasn't a stepfather, and Maaya wasn't a single mother, so everything was safe.
"Then, do you want to come more often?" Maaya asked, but unlike before, this time, her expression was quite different. Her smile, which was usually cheery and lively, seemed to contain much more meaning.
Tobe didn't know how to describe it well, but her smile contained a craving-like desire.
"...."
He wasn't blind, and he could tell what Maaya sought after.
This outing together that they did, even if she knew that he had a girlfriend.
If her feelings weren't clear, then would he even go out with her?
Yet—
"I was just kidding. You have a girlfriend. How can you visit me all the time, right?" Maaya smiled as she moved closer to him, so close that it might seem like they were clinging together. "But if you are always playful like this, Yukinoshita-san might get angry at you, you know?"
"..."
Tobe blinked his eyes for a moment, then nodded. "You are right. She might dump me by then."
"Haha..."
Maaya's cheery laughs were so lovely.
"How can you laugh when your friend is going to be dumped?" Still, Tobe looked at Maaya helplessly.
"Should I comfort you when that happens, then?"
"...do you think it will happen?"
"You are such a scumbag that you will go out with a cute girl like me even if you have a girlfriend." Maaya laughed and asked with a hint of curiosity, "Do you think she can stay with you by then?"
"...."
Could Yukinoshita do it?
If Yukinoshita knew all Tobe did, would she still be together with him?
"I think she will."
"..." Maaya.
As usual, Tobe didn't think that Yukinoshita would leave him. Instead, he felt like she might blame herself and accept others as they were with him. Yes, it was wrong, and he had hurt her trust, but that was how he was in his two previous worlds.
Sighing inwardly, he felt a bit too tired to hurt others, but what could he do?
It was already too late to change anything, and he was already too tainted to become pure again. It was like stains that had stuck on the clothes for so long, or mold that had stuck on the wall of the house. Unless he was reincarnated over to the new world, nothing could be done.
'Let's think about it later.'
Everything had just started, and there was no need for him to think too much.
Overthinking wasn't good, and what he needed to do was just to work hard.
What kind of work was hard?
Many things, but first, he should show that he was capable of taking care of everyone that he had slept with, since the world was realistic, and to open a harem, he needed both power and money.
A power that made him able to satisfy his women's bodies, as there were many of them and he lacked the time to be by their side all of them, and money, as he knew well that, as they had entrusted their everything to him, then they would be his responsibility.
Some women might say that, as they were together, they should support each other, and while he didn't think that it was wrong, as they loved him so much that they would accompany him from the beginning.
However, like food, love has an expiration date.
Naturally, if one nurtured it like how one took care of plants or pets, then it would continue to exist, but if one ignored it, then the love that they expected to exist as long as two people were together would cease to exist.
Tobe believed that even if he was a dumbass, who couldn't make money and could only live by being supported by his women, they would love him as he knew his body well, but probably because of his useless machismo pride that he wished to be better for his women.
Was it bad?
Probably, some people said that this pride of his was meaningless and even bad, but as it forced him to be better and became a driving force for him to work hard, he felt that this was a good thing.
Sins might be hated and avoided by many, yet Tobe felt that sins were a necessity that one should have.
Like how a small amount of spice could make dishes more delicious, sins could make someone's life better.
So, while Tobe knew that he was a scumbag, the worst, he had accepted this part of himself and just tried to take care of the one who had entrusted their heart to him in his own ways.
Naturally, some might not be able to accept them, but that's life, isn't it?
If everyone could go according to their own way, then one would be a mighty being!
"I was just joking. Don't take it seriously."
Tobe felt that it was too late for him to stay in Maaya's place for so long. "Then, I will go back first. Thanks for the dinner. It was delicious." As he had stayed for so long and took care of her little brothers, she cooked him a dinner, and naturally, it was delicious as she was in charge of the house most of the time.
Watching her petite figure in the apron as the frilly hems of her short skirt twirled as she cooked, Tobe had to say that it was a delicious scene.
Only when he was about to stand up, he was pushed by Maaya to the sofa, but unlike in the usual scene, he was not pushed down.
In reality, Maaya couldn't push him at all as he subconsciously entered a martial arts stance, rooted his feet firmly on the ground!
"Your body is so strong! Why can't I push you?!"
Still, Maaya complained!
"It should be me who asked you that question." Tobe was speechless. "Why did you want to push me?"
"Isn't it clear to you? A pervert like you should understand, right?"
Her small palms were on his chest, trembling, yet even so, she said those words. Still, probably because she couldn't control her feelings as all of them jumbled together, even if it was his job to make it clear, she said, "If... if it's me... I don't mind! I-I know that we have only met for a while and you might think that it is weird of me to feel like this toward you, but... but... I am serious.
"I-I love you, Tobe!" Maaya stared at him with misty eyes as she said softly, "Even if you date other girls, too, I am fine!"
"...."
There were many things that Tobe wanted to say, but could one love others so much that they could do this?
While it was unbelievable, he knew well that it was possible.
A feeling is a complicated problem, including love, and even if humanity has existed for millennia, they haven't solved this problem.
So, how could Maaya say all of that?
Tobe didn't know, but as a man, while some might not agree with him, he moved closer toward her, to which she blushed, then closed her eyes, then felt his lips on her tender lips as she clung to him before her feelings couldn't be contained anymore, and broke down, yet instead of regretting or hating it, she had become addicted to him.
And, she knew well, it was impossible for her to quit him.