---
The school gates looked the same.
Same iron bars. Same trimmed hedges. Same overly enthusiastic banner that read, "Welcome Back, Students! Let's Blaze Through Another Term Together!"
And yet, something felt different.
Maybe it was the fact that I'd spent the break living in a house full of beautiful, dangerous, occasionally violent girls who were now all walking beside me—laughing, chatting, and pretending like we hadn't just survived a week of rule-breaking and accidental intimacy.
"Do you think they'll notice we didn't turn in the break assignment?" Akane asked, tying her hair up into a ponytail.
"They didn't even assign one," I said, adjusting my bag.
"Exactly," she smirked. "Which is why we should've turned in something to look like overachievers."
"Don't encourage her," Mei muttered, clutching her sketchpad.
Elira was walking two steps behind, staring at the campus with her usual quiet curiosity. "This institution has excellent energy flow," she said, more to herself than anyone.
"Good. Maybe it'll distract you from setting off another explosion in chemistry," I said.
She blinked. "The last one was educational."
"No, it was a war crime."
Sora was unusually quiet beside me. She had on her headphones, her hoodie pulled up just enough to hide her eyes, but I could tell she was listening.
She always listened.
"You good?" I asked her under my breath.
She nodded without looking at me. "Too many people. I'll live."
We reached the main courtyard, and immediately, the atmosphere shifted.
Heads turned.
Voices whispered.
Phones discreetly snapped photos.
Apparently, the sight of me surrounded by five girls—each one a walking anime trope—was still breaking the collective male student population.
"Bro leveled up during break," someone muttered behind me.
"I hate him."
"That's a harem anime MC if I ever saw one."
"Do you think he actually lives with them?"
"Shhh! He'll hear you!"
I pretended not to.
The girls, meanwhile, were completely unfazed.
Mei walked like she was already over it.
Akane waved to every third guy just to make them flinch.
Sora ignored everyone entirely.
Elira smiled politely, probably wondering how Earth society handled mating rituals.
And Rina… oh right.
Rina.
She showed up five minutes late, twirling into the group like she hadn't just missed the entire walk in.
"Guess who got a new piercing?" she grinned, tugging her collar down slightly.
"Guess who doesn't want to know?" I said quickly.
"Oh relax. It's my ear."
"Really?" Akane asked. "You had me worried."
"I like keeping you worried," Rina said with a wink.
System: Warning—Harem Affection Levels Rising Rapidly.
I sighed. I hadn't even made it to homeroom and the system was already twitching like a nervous chaperone.
---
Homeroom was chaos.
As soon as the teacher entered, half the class was already asking about "the new rumors" over break.
Someone tried to bring up the time I "heroically saved a girl from falling off a roof" (that didn't happen).
Another guy asked if Sora and I were dating now (I choked on my water).
A third student—probably bribed by Akane—handed me a fake "Harem King" certificate.
The teacher confiscated it, sighed, then pinned it on the class notice board.
---
After lunch, things got… weird.
I was just walking back to the lockers when I heard someone call out behind me.
"Hey, Kazuto!"
I turned—and flinched.
It was Ayame.
The class rep.
The serious one.
The one who once reported me for bringing snacks into the library.
She was holding a clipboard. Her glasses gleamed in the sun.
"Walk with me," she said.
That wasn't a request.
I followed her around the building, fully expecting to get hit with a detention form.
Instead, she stopped, glanced around, then… blushed.
"I heard… things. About your break."
"Oh God."
"Not bad things!" she said quickly. "Just… rumors. About you and those girls."
"What kind of rumors?"
She looked away. "The kind I didn't want to believe."
I blinked. "Okay?"
"But then I saw you walk in this morning, and… you looked happy."
"I… guess?"
Ayame hesitated, clutching the clipboard like a shield. "So I decided something."
"What?"
"I'm going to compete too."
I stared. "Huh?"
"I'm entering the race," she said firmly. "You don't have to like it. But I won't stand on the sidelines anymore."
And then she walked away, leaving me speechless under a cherry blossom tree.
System: Unexpected Participant Detected. Updating Harem Candidate Registry.
System: Six active participants. Warning: Emotional management critical.
---
By the time I got home that evening, I was exhausted.
Physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
The front door opened and Akane's voice called from the kitchen.
"Welcome back, Harem King."
I groaned.
"I hate you all," I muttered.
"Yeah," Sora said, passing me on the stairs, "but we don't hate you."
And just like that, she vanished upstairs, leaving the scent of citrus shampoo behind.
I stood there for a long moment, letting it sink in.
New term.
New chaos.
New feelings I wasn't ready to deal with.
But one thing was certain.
This was only the beginning.
---
School Courtyard – Ren's POV
I just wanted juice. That was all.
One quiet break, some sun, and this juice box I scored from the vending machine. But peace? Yeah, peace didn't last long.
Sora found me first. I should've known she would.
"There you are!" she beamed, sliding onto the bench beside me. "I waited at the dorm gate this morning. You ditched me."
I blinked. "Sorry. Had to meet a professor… kinda last-minute."
Lame excuse, but she didn't seem to mind. Her shoulder brushed mine, just a little. I pretended not to notice.
Then, right on cue, Mei appeared from the left—graceful, calm, and carrying my notebook like it was a sacred offering.
"You left this," she said with that soft, polite smile that somehow still felt smug.
"Thanks," I replied, reaching for it.
"Sheesh," Sora cut in, shifting closer to me. "He could've gotten it himself, y'know."
Mei tilted her head. "And yet I did. That's just who I am."
Oh no. Not this.
The tension between them was thick enough to chew. I tried to sip my juice casually, like I didn't feel the air crystallizing between them. Mei crossed her legs. Sora leaned forward. Both of them kept stealing glances at each other while pretending they weren't.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Arin. She stood under a tree, arms crossed, unreadable as always. But the way her gaze lingered on us… yeah, she noticed too.
And she didn't like it.
She muttered something I couldn't hear, but her eyes were locked on me like she was analyzing a puzzle she didn't want to solve. When Sora laughed and nudged my arm, Arin looked away.
I wasn't imagining it—there was heat in the air now. Invisible wires pulling tight.
Zotu passed behind me, smirking like he knew the script before it even unfolded.
"You sure you're not using some charm spell, Romeo?"
I almost choked on my juice. "I wish."
Then—just to make it worse—my system decided to chime in.
> System Alert:
Emotional turbulence detected .
Stakes elevated.
Jealousy levels: Moderate → Climbing → Critical.
Proceed with caution.
Recommend: Evasion or Diversion Tactics.
Great.
Because nothing says "normal school life" like needing tactical strategies to survive lunch break.
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