Bea and Miyuki, two of the greatest beauties I’ve ever seen, and both out to get . Can I survive this? If there were anyone around, beauties like them, wearing clothes like theirs, would surely co off as celebrities going incognito.
Then again, why was Miyuki wearing clothes in the sa style as Bea? “Miyuki…” I looked into her eyes. “Why did you pick that outfit for today?”
“Huh?” She jumped, slowly averting her eyes. “No reason… I just felt like wearing sothing different today.”
No way… I gripped her shoulders tightly. “Yo- you planned this whole encounter in advance?! You made
think our eting was a coincidence and even made
feel bad for not being a good friend, and now you’re telling
it was all a part of your plan?” I fell for it… One of her tricks… I knew these two were dangerous.
“Ahahahahaha! Surprise!” I frantically shook her back and forth. She tried to play it as a joke, but I’m not letting you off that easily! “Geez… Stop already! You don’t have ti to worry about
right now, do you?”
I let her go.
“I don’t?”
“Nope…” She pointed behind . “Look. Your princess is slipping away.”
While we were caught up in our back-and-forth, Bea wandered off on her own. Sohow, there was a bus stop nearby with one stopping and opening its doors for Bea.
“Iroha, what’s this? It stopped just for . Can I take a look?”
Huh… “Wait!”
I ran imdiately after her, but it was too late. The doors closed behind us, and we couldn’t step out in ti. Th- this wasn’t part of the plan, but… It’d be embarrassing to say we got on by accident, so I paid her fare, and we grabbed a seat.
“Sorry… I had no idea this was going to happen.” Bea was sitting next to . She seed sorry for getting on without asking, but… “Woah! We’re going so fast! How is this city so big? Was this really built by humans?”
“Mhmm, yeah… Not like there are demons in this world, just so you know…” She was completely glued to the window… Her feeling sorry didn’t last for long.
“It’s okay, Iroha, don’t be upset.” The bus had very few people on, and Miyuki managed to snag the seats behind us. “Our goal is to show her around, right? Doesn’t this work out nicely?”
“You managed to get on in ti too, huh? And what? Are we a team now?” Since when was that OUR goal?
“Don’t make it sound like you don’t want
around!” She shook my seat back and forth. “I still haven’t forgotten how you haven’t talked to
once since school ended!”
“What? Who said anything about not wanting you around!? I luv hanging out with you!!”
“Ahahahahaha! That sounded so fake, Iroha!” Prevented you from breaking my seat. Good enough.
Bea had seen enough to get a basic idea of our world and slowly turned her head back to us. “Now that we can sit down, I really have to ask. What’s the relationship between you two? Is… Miyuki, right? A mber of your harem?” She knew to lower her voice when talking about this.
“No.” “Yes.”
I get the feeling we’re not on the sa page… I said no, she said yes which, when added, makes up a kinda, the actual correct answer.
“Miyuki… Did you change your mind? You said you weren’t ready for us to get together…”
“I haven’t changed anything. I’m still not ready, but I told you I’d definitely be your girlfriend one day. I’m technically a mber. A future mber.”
Did hearing Bea call herself my fiancé ss with her head? Is she trying to match her? She definitely wouldn’t say it so readily otherwise… I an, wasn’t she the one who wanted to keep this under wraps until she was ready? Why is she giving herself away?
“*Sigh…*” I turned to Bea… “As you can see, it’s complicated.”
“Ahahaha… I think I’m starting to notice a trend. Nothing is ever simple around you, is it?”
“It’s not really my fault…” Or is it…? Could Bea be right? “Miyuki, when are you going to make up your mind? I wanna introduce you to the others properly already!” Her face was directly above mine as I tilted my head back against the seat.
“I told you I needed so ti… Soon, Iroha… Soon…” So noncommittal… Miyuki pulled her head back and sat properly for once.
I can’t let things between us stay like this… It’s true that after that one kiss, we haven’t done anything that lovers usually do. Effectively, we’re not dating. But saying there’s nothing between us is not right either. There is sothing, and keeping it from Carol and the others makes
feel bad… It’s not right… “Don’t you think so, Bea?”
“Hmm…?” The girl next to
looked genuinely troubled. “Think what? I got a feeling you got lost in thought and now expect
to read your mind.”
“Oh… Anyway, am I cheating on my girlfriends with Miyuki?”
Not sure if she was just that smart or if she was used to dealing with unreasonable people, but she managed to more or less pick up on what I was asking. “I can’t say for sure, but… Don’t you have a harem? Isn’t getting with a lot of girls the whole point? What are you worried about?”
“But my actual girlfriends all agreed to
dating them all at once. Miyuki and I aren’t dating, but she already said she’d like to one day. If I don’t tell them about her just because there’s technically nothing right now, isn’t that cheating?”
“Hmmm…. That’s actually very hard to say…”
Bea crossed her arms in thought, then continued. “I think you’re right on the borderline of what I would consider acceptable… If one of your girlfriends were to give you a hard ti because of it, I think it’d be acceptable, but not necessary. Hmm… You put a lot of thought into this harem of yours. Very interesting.”
Was that a positive impression? That’s what she got out of this ss? Should have kept my mouth shut… At this rate, she’s gonna insist I join that stupid tournant of hers and marry her.
“Bea, we’re not getting married, but you’re not allowed to tell the others anything about Miyuki, got it?”
“Ahahahaha! I wasn’t planning on it.”
“Hey, Iroha…” Miyuki poked her head between our seats again. “We got on the bus, but… Where we going?”
Where are we going? More like, where is the bus going? I don’t even know that…
…
Glistening ocean water bobbed gently around us on this bright sumr day. Sudden as it may be, we ended up on a leisure boat trip just off the coast of Three Records. The bus took us down to the entertainnt and comrce district. The afternoon sun pushed us towards the shore, where the sea breeze helped us cool down, and our fate was sealed.
One thing led to the other, and now we were on the deck of a dium-sized boat that tourists board to get a good look at the city from the sea.
The tall and shiny modern buildings off in the distance are a symbol of Three Record pursuit of excellence and its very heart. To our left and much closer to us, the colorful beaches of the entertainnt district and the top of a Ferris wheel. Even as a resident, I had never seen the city from this angle. It was hard not to stop and admire for a while.
“Your city’s impressive, but so is this boat… Iroha, do you mind if I take a look around?” Not for Bea, it seems. There were two things that caught her eye, and her attention was perfectly divided. “I won’t get lost this ti. Not like there’s anywhere to go here at the sea.”
“Sure… If that’s what you want…”
“Thanks! I’ll be back soon!” With that, she set off to inspect the boat. She shouldn’t be in danger here, but… Don’t die, Bea… We don’t want any interplanetary conflicts on our hands.
Miyuki and I were left alone next to each other, holding the railing while gazing into the city in the distance.
What is going on between us? We were friends before, but what are we now? The only reason our relationship beca like this is because she said she saw a future where we’d be dating and that she wouldn’t mind hurrying that along. Why aren’t we making any progress then? How does she feel about ? *Sigh…* I guess this view is putting
in a romantic mood or sothing…
“Miyuki… Do you still love ?” That sounded so needy! How embarrassing! “I an, you’ve had so ti to think, so why aren’t we dating yet?”
“I told you, didn’t I, Iroha?” She answered without turning her head. “I’m waiting for the right ti.”
“And what does that an? Generally speaking, isn’t that how people say they’re not interested without sounding an?” Which would an I should just give up. Just accept being friends. Which… I still want to be.
But Miyuki’s not a completely normal girl, is she? She and ti have an interesting relationship, so if she’s waiting for the right mont…
“Is it because of one of your premonitions? Is it one of those that you can’t tell
about?”
She nodded. “Sothing like that…” Her chin rested on her arms, and she finally looked at . “But haven’t we talked about this enough?” She pouted. “You were supposed to make it up to
after ignoring
for a long ti. Let’s talk about sothing fun.”
Changing topics… Now that she ntions it, the last ti I saw her was at the mall… On the day we fought Ayumu, I rember seeing her outside the mall just as we ran in. I had almost forgotten about it, but…
“Tell
about Ayumu then.” Maybe not the fun topic she wanted, but oh well. “You know what happened with her at the mall by now, don’t you? You even knew ahead of ti. Why didn’t you warn
about what was going to happen?”
“My dreams don’t let
see everything about the future. What makes you think I knew ahead of ti?”
“Don’t ss with … I saw you outside.”
“Oh…” She was taken back and stood up straight. “Ahahahahaha! Okay, you got . I’m sorry, okay, Iroha? I knew sothing was going to happen, but I had no idea how big a deal it was gonna be. The futures I see in my dreams change when I tell you about them, so now I think it’s better not to tell you unless I see sothing really bad coming up. You get that, right?”
This cos up a lot in stories about ti travel… “The butterfly effect, right?” Not exactly, but close enough. “That’s fair, I guess… What about the separator then? Can you tell
who they are?”
“Separator?” She tilted her head.
Do I have to explain it? “How do I say it? Basically, there’s soone in our world who’s trying to separate the two worlds, and they have so kind of supernatural powers to help them do that. The separator is one of our greatest enemies right now, but I don’t know anything about them.”
“Really…? An enemy? Wouldn’t separating our worlds be a good thing? The portals and the monsters would be gone, and everything would go back to normal, right?”
I wagged my finger. “Sounds good on paper, but it’s not that simple. If our worlds get separated, the other world stops being real and becos a fictional world once again. Don’t ask
exactly how that would work, but it’s true.”
“And that’s bad? It was originally the world from a ga, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, but the people from there are not in a ga anymore. If their world returned to being just a ga, they’d stop being real people. They would lose their lives, in a way.” Ohh… Miyuki’s expression said. There’s a lot to consider here.
“So you feel sorry for them and want to save them? How heroic of you, Iroha!” Is the idea of saving a world exciting to her?
“There’s that… yeah…” Which I care about. I swear… “But… Two of my girlfriends are from the other world. I don’t wanna lose them.”
“Oh… You’re just worried about your girls? Is that it, Iroha?” She smiled smugly.
“Well… Yeah…” If I can prevent unnecessary deaths, good, but that’s not why I need to stop the separator. “Yeah, they’re the only ones I care about, but don’t tell anyone I said that. Makes
sound like an asshole.”
“Really? Doesn’t it just make you a good partner?”
“You think so?” Maybe I’m not that naughty… Who knew?
“Either way, I’ll keep it in mind. If I learn anything about this separator, I’ll let you know. I don’t want to see your heart broken.”
“Thanks…”
“Ahem.” Bea finished exploring the boat. Alive. “I don’t an to interrupt, but are you two done?”
“Oh, Bea, welco back. Did you see everything you wanted to see?” With a nod, she walked over and grabbed the railing on my left.
“For now… There’s still a lot to see, but I don’t think I can take any more in today.” She’s already satisfied.
“Ahahaha… Sorry, maybe it was a bit too much bringing you here without explaining anything. Still, at least now you see why we can’t get married. We’re from different worlds. Our worlds are way too different.”
She looked off into the city, not saying anything. When she turned her head, her expression was completely unfazed.
“So?”
She looked
straight in the eye and continued. “If that was that much of a problem, wouldn’t so of your current girlfriends be disqualified too? I believe both the alchemist and the cat girl are inhabitants of our world. Ririna is even from my country. I don’t think it’s a problem if you’re willing to try.”
“But you’re different… You’re a princess. You have a much bigger stake in your world than them.”
“You know, since you are chasing a harem, I thought you’d be way more of a romantic, Iroha. Soone who chases her dreams without paying any mind to what is and isn’t possible. Why are you letting status get in the way of love?”
“It’s not the status… It’s the responsibility… I just don’t see myself being a king. I’m a girl… And I don’t think I have what it takes for such an important position.”
The sa tired argunts… Bea couldn’t help but shake her head.
“*Sigh…* Maybe I’m just not your type. Maybe I was na??ve to assu you’d be jumping with joy at the opportunity of marrying a princess. Having a harem doesn’t an you don’t have standards, I suppose.”
“Th- that’s not it!” Bea’s definitely good enough for … “Yo- you’re really pretty, okay? And if I had to say whether or not I like you, I’d have to say yes. You’re definitely not the problem, it’s just…” I have my hands full protecting my girls already… How much more would I have to protect if I started dating her?
“Pretty… That so?” She squird bashfully in place, but in the next second, her expression turned into one of pouty anger. “But if that’s the case, I have sothing I absolutely must tell you!”
She leaned forward, her puffy cheeks now closer. I’m getting scolded here, aren’t I?
“I had my suspicions before, but in addition to all the good things that you are, you’re also a big idiot!”
“Wha?!” Behind , I could hear Miyuki trying to suppress a laugh.
“Why do you look so shocked, Iroha? That’s a big part of your charm, right?” Miyuki watched like I was a character in a romantic cody.
“Shut up, you!” I don’t need her making fun of
now… Ignored her and turned back to Bea. “Why am I an idiot? What did I do wrong?”
“Your genius move to convince
that us getting married was a bad idea was to bring
on a date to a wonderful world and show
a good ti.” Her tone was very sarcastic there… I think I deserve a thanks, then, not sarcasm. “Why did you think that would ever work? I’m only more interested in you now.”
“So this is the power of a harem protagonist… Even by accident you manage to captivate girls, huh?”
“Miyuki! Aren’t you on my side? I don’t need this two-pronged attack!” If she was a de facto girlfriend, I’d definitely do sothing naughty as payback.
“We’re not done, Iroha!” Bea forcefully steered my face to look at her. “Let
tell you why this move would never work. As a royal, one of the most important things for
is having an escape plan. I love my country and my people, but that doesn’t an I’m perfect. There are so many nobles and rchants who care so much about themselves, always eager to work with the enemy, that sotis I just feel like running away.”
She continued. Not missing a beat. “Besides, you know how I am. I like to get out of the castle every once in a while and go on an adventure. That’s why Flanne’s always nagging . That’s why if you show
such an interesting place, I’m only going to get more interested. It was never going to work.”
“In my defense, bringing you here was an idea that just popped into my head. I didn’t plan that far ahead.”
“How’s that a defense? You say you’re not an idiot, but your defense is exactly what idiots do.” She said with a judgntal glare.
“Okay… I get it... You can stop making fun of
now…”
“Then join the tournant. It’s not like anything’s set in stone yet. If you don’t win, we can’t get married regardless, so forget about all the complicated stuff and just fight.”
Am I really just overthinking things again? It’s getting harder and harder to justify rejecting her at this point… I should be all over her… She wasn’t wrong about that. So why am I hesitating so much?
“Guhh…. Fine. I’ll join the tournant.”
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