Chapter 37: Gotta Start a Harem! (Patreon)

Inside the room, Rias still lay quietly in Hanakain Fubuki's embrace.

With the silver-haired maid gone, she could finally emerge from her ostrich state. Lifting her head, her turquoise eyes reflected the boy's face above her.

"Idiot..." Rias suddenly cursed softly.

It didn't carry any real blame; it felt more like the affectionate pouting of a girlfriend during playful banter.

She let out a soft, feigned sigh of helplessness.

"Now I'm really doomed~"

"Why?" Hanakain Fubuki raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

From being pulled onto the student street to entering the hotel, getting the room, and saying she wanted to 'do it'—up to this point, Rias had taken the initiative every step of the way. Logically, the current outcome was exactly what she had hoped for. Why the sudden turnaround about being doomed?

"Why else!" Rias pouted, exhaling softly, and rolled her still slightly moist eyes. "We did... that kind of thing right in front of Grayfia-nee-san. Now Grayfia-nee-san is going back to report to Onii-sama. If something like this gets back to the family... Fubuki, just put yourself in my brother's shoes. If your younger sister did something like this out there, what would you think?"

"Er~" Hanakain Fubuki thought about it seriously. "Setting aside the engagement, I'd hunt that punk down and silence him overnight."

"Why set aside the engagement?"

"Because if there was an engagement, I'd silence that fiancé brat along with him."

"...?"

As if utterly stunned by this 'siscon' declaration, Rias disregarded her fatigue and sat bolt upright, staring incredulously at the boy so close to her.

"Fubuki, don't tell me you..."

"My sister is only thirteen," Hanakain Fubuki said, glancing sideways, then raised his hand to indicate a height roughly between 1.3 and 1.4 meters off the ground. "She's only this tall right now."

Hm? Thirteen?

Rias paused, thinking that age meant just graduating elementary school and starting junior high. Okay, never mind then.

But the next second, she heard Hanakain Fubuki add, "Though it would be the same even if she were eighteen."

???

Rias instantly transformed into a cat-head question mark again. So he really is a siscon after all!

After a brief silence, the red-haired girl spoke again softly.

"So... we're officially together now, right?"

"Hm?" Hanakain Fubuki's tone rose slightly, then dipped back down with an affirmative hum. "Of course. Why, is there a problem?"

"I don't have a problem, but Akeno..." Rias hesitated, speaking somewhat haltingly. "Although I don't know why, Akeno probably does like you. You know that, right Fubuki?"

"Yeah, I know," Hanakain Fubuki acknowledged.

He wasn't dense. He had clearly sensed it during the argument between Akeno and Rias back at the old school building last time. If that didn't count as having feelings, then what would?

"How should I put this... maybe it's just my imagination," Rias shook her head. "I've always felt like Akeno knew you from before. After all, Fubuki, if you think about it, you two haven't had much contact at school. Even during missions initially, it was always me paired with you, and Koneko with Akeno... What do you think, Fubuki?"

"Probably not, right?" Hanakain Fubuki was also a bit hesitant.

Logically, his memory wasn't bad. He usually wouldn't forget anyone he knew and had spent some time with, let alone a girl as... 'generous' as Akeno. How could he possibly just forget? Impossible, absolutely impossible.

"Alright, if you can't figure it out, don't dwell on it," Rias comforted him softly, seeing the growing confusion on the boy's face.

After confirming their relationship, it seemed even her tone of voice had undergone a subtle shift, filled with gentleness and consideration.

But then her topic shifted abruptly.

"Anyway, that's not what I wanted to ask."

"Ah? Then what is it?"

"What I actually wanted to ask is..." Rias paused, her gaze shifting slightly, her voice softening. "If, down the line, Akeno doesn't give up and still wants to pursue you, would you accept her, Fubuki?"

"..."

Dropping this kind of anxiety-inducing, relationship-jeopardizing question right after getting together, is this appropriate?

A normal person might think that, but Hanakain Fubuki merely pondered for a second before giving his answer.

"Probably, yes."

"Haah!?" This time it was Rias's turn to be unable to sit still.

What did he mean, "Probably, yes"? In this situation, shouldn't the answer be a firm "I would refuse"?!

"Well, how should I put this..." Hanakain Fubuki recalled. "I read a book once, and there was a passage in it that made a lot of sense to me. I've forgotten the exact words, but the gist was, 'If you reject a girl, you're not just rejecting a wedding that should have been yours; you're also rejecting that girl's entire life.'"

"But what if you've already accepted another girl's entire life before that?" Rias frowned. She was actually getting a little angry now. This was a matter of common sense, something even a devil should know. Feelings themselves are inherently selfish. Saying you'd accept another woman's pursuit right in front of your girlfriend—even the most good-natured person couldn't tolerate that.

"Well, that brings up another issue," Hanakain Fubuki glanced sideways. "Life choices are like encountering a fork in the road while climbing a mountain. There are always choices that are objectively correct, but that you'll definitely regret once you actually make them. Just like your marriage engagement, Rias."

"If you had chosen to accept that engagement, the outcome would naturally have more pros than cons: the Underworld prospers, the family's status is secured, and so on. Everyone would get what they want; everyone would be happy and glad to see it happen..."

"Except for you yourself, Rias."

"But this is completely different from the situation with Akeno!" Rias couldn't help but interrupt.

Hanakain Fubuki shook his head again.

"Actually, it's the same thing. Or conversely, what would happen if I rejected Akeno?"

"That would..." Rias opened her mouth, then suddenly froze.

Right. If Fubuki rejected Akeno, given Akeno's intelligence, she would inevitably realize that it was because Rias got there first. Especially concerning something as inherently selfish as feelings. At that point, even a falling out between sisters wouldn't be impossible.

If things really turned out that way, Rias herself would lose a friend she had known for years. For Akeno, she would lose not only her happiness but also her friendship. And Fubuki would lose out too.

In that gamble, who would actually benefit in the end?

The answer was no one. All three would lose.

"Besides, if you really think about it, it doesn't have to be that selfish," Hanakain Fubuki's tone suddenly shifted, becoming lighter. "Based on my analysis, jealousy essentially stems from dividing something that should belong to one person among others. You can't even think of it using the principle of 'not worrying about scarcity but worrying about uneven distribution'; it should be 'worrying about both scarcity and uneven distribution.'"

"...So?" Rias was somewhat stumped by this string of classical Chinese idioms and subconsciously pressed for clarification.

"So, isn't it fine as long as enough is given to both?" Hanakain Fubuki shrugged. "To be more specific, it just means I need to work a little harder, and it'll be fine."

"Huh? What does this have to do with you working hard or not?" Rias became even more confused.

However, the moment she finished speaking, she noticed the boy glance at her with a look of loving concern.

"It's true, it might not even count as hard work. After all, Rias, you can't even last two hours right now."

Two hours? What two hours??

A spinning loading icon appeared above the red-haired girl's head. It took quite a while before she suddenly understood.

He meant two hours of THAT kind of thing!!!

Veins popped on her forehead, blood pressure spiking past 180 mmHg. Rias felt like she could almost cough up blood from sheer frustration.

But when the words actually reached her lips, they transformed into soft whispers.

"Forget it. Anyway, I don't care about the rest, and I can't win an argument against you. But you have to treat me well from now on. Don't forget your old love just because you have a new one, understand?"

"Mhm."