Chapter 3: A Talent for Harems (Souta’s Point of View)
My name’s Souta. I’m a completely ordinary loner high school student you can find anywhere.
My hobbies are watching anime and reading light novels, and the happiest moments for me are enjoying those things “alone,” without anyone bothering me. I like being by myself. That’s exactly why I keep annoying friendships to a minimum and stick to being a loner even in my school life.
My private life is supposed to be carefree solo living, since my parents are working overseas even though I’m still in high school. Or at least, it would be, but that’s not how it turned out. Just three months ago, I ended up having to live at my parents’ house with a “suddenly acquired stepsister.”
Seriously, the people around me really won’t let me live a proper loner life.
And right now, I’m on my way to school together with that very stepsister.
“Um, Chris. Isn’t this kind of position hard to walk in?”
With a wry smile, I speak to my stepsister Chris, who’s walking beside me while tightly hugging my arm.
But she only silently shakes her head.
Or rather, the stares from people around us have been painful for a while now. I don’t want to stand out. I just want to quietly enjoy my loner life.
“How did it end up like this…”
I mutter the line that’s practically become a habit lately and turn my eyes toward Chris, one of the main causes.
Chris is a child of a distant relative on my mother’s side, and due to complicated circumstances three months ago, she was taken in by our family and became my stepsister.
She has foreign blood, with straight platinum-blonde hair that reaches her waist and blue eyes. She’s a beautiful girl.
Because she’s blessed with such looks, she stands out no matter what.
On top of that, Chris openly declares that she loves me, without any shame.
Apparently, it’s because “we made a promise a long time ago…” Did Chris and I meet somewhere before? No way. In a past life or something?
“Haha, yeah right.”
I can’t help letting out a wry smile.
Just then, a bright, eye-opening voice calls out to us.
“You’ve got such a lecherous grin on your face first thing in the morning, Senpai~”
The one who pops out in front of us as if bouncing is Rinka, a little-devil-type beauty who’s said to rival my stepsister Chris and is famous for being cute even among the first-year students.
“Hey, calling it lecherous is pretty misleading, you know?”
“Eeh, but you’re totally staring at my chest with pervy eyes right now, aren’t you?”
Rinka clings to my free arm and presses her generously large chest, especially big for a first-year, right up against me.
“I-I’m not. I wasn’t l-looking at anything!”
“Kufufu, flustered Senpai is so cute~”
Then Rinka whispers in a small voice right into my ear, “It’s okay if it’s you, Senpai.”
At those words, I furrow my brow just a little.
Because of a certain incident, Rinka has a sense of discomfort toward men.
Back when she’d just started school, Rinka, who’s cute and well-endowed, was almost attacked by a group of delinquents on her way home. That experience still lingers as a trauma even now.
By the way, I was the one who happened to save her back then.
At the time, I got serious, took a martial arts stance, and released killing intent. Combined with Yukiya’s huge build and intimidating appearance, we managed to drive off the delinquent group without even fighting.
Ever since then, I’ve ended up being doted on even by Rinka, the little-devil-type beauty.
Ah, my loner life keeps drifting farther and farther away…
As I’m lamenting my situation with both arms claimed by two beautiful girls, this time a clear, dignified voice with a refreshing feel calls out to me from the front.
“Good morning, Souta-kun.”
The one who greeted me was the perfect superhuman student council president, beautiful, brilliant, and excellent at sports. Azaka-senpai.
“Good morning, Student Council President.”
“Hmph… It’s ‘Azaka’!”
“Ah, A-Azaka-senpai…”
She leans her face in close, and I recoil a little.
My first meeting with Senpai was an extremely ordinary, common situation.
One day, while I was enjoying my usual loner time on the school rooftop, Azaka-senpai spoke to me, and that was how it all started.
“You there. Won’t you become my right-hand man in the student council!?”
Senpai was incredibly pushy, and in the end, I gave in and ended up becoming the student council’s “errand boy.”
Since it’d be a problem if I seriously tried and got fully dragged into the student council, I always stayed in the shadows and let the proper student council members take credit for the work. Apparently, that attitude struck a chord with Azaka-senpai, and she ended up liking me even more.
While recalling those days, I turn my eyes back to the present scene unfolding right in front of me, the exchange between three beautiful girls.
“Both of you, please let go of my brother.”
“Eeh, wouldn’t it be fine if Chris-chan let go instead?”
“Good grief, first-years are so noisy. Shall we go on ahead together, Souta-kun?”
As usual, the three of them are tugging at my arms.
Seeing that sight, a thought suddenly crosses my mind.
“Huh? Come to think of it, isn’t Kanae not here?”
Normally, she’d be watching us with a smile from a step behind.
“Now that you mention it, she wasn’t at the place where she usually waits, Niisan.”
“Did she oversleep, maybe? Kanae-senpai gives off a pretty laid-back vibe.”
“There’s also the possibility that she already went to school. It’d be best if we arrive first and confirm her absence before calling or messaging her.”
I shrug my shoulders with another sigh and slowly shake my head.
Honestly, Kanae’s hopeless. She really is a troublesome childhood friend.
“Well then, let’s go, Niisan.”
“Yeah. Let’s go!”
“Hey, you two have had more than enough time next to Souta-kun already, haven’t you? Next is my turn!”
Once again, the battle over my arms begins.
Seriously, give me a break. For a gloomy loner like me, the stares from everyone around us hurt way too much.
And like this, my loner life keeps getting eaten away.
Haa… good grief…