After finishing the unexpected outing, I arrived home to find Yubin, SuA, and Milky Way in the living room.
There had been an operation early in the morning and a report later in the day, so they seemed to have gathered again to check if anything had happened.
Everyone had stayed overnight after the operation ended yesterday, but there were signs that everyone had left the house once while I was out.
“Did you go out?”
“Yeah, I went to headquarters.”
Given that the radio base operated by the Earth Defense Union was unexpectedly attacked, it seems they went to headquarters to check what had happened.
Since we had been going to headquarters almost every day since the embezzlement incident, there wasn’t much of a sense that everyone had gone, and I could observe the atmosphere inside without any discomfort.
“Nothing happened?”
“No, headquarters was the same as usual.”
Yubin shrugged her shoulders, indicating that there hadn’t been any results, and said nothing had happened.
“I see.” I muttered to myself and approached the girlfriends sitting in the living room. SuA was playing a game, and Yubin and Milky Way were also playing on their smartphones.
“How about your older brother?”
Since he came to SuA’s house after work instead of going home, he would naturally be curious about my situation.
“I submitted the report and will wait until orders come down from above. I think I’ll hear from them sometime next week.”
“I see.”
Like me, Yubin didn’t have any significant results either.
I expected there wouldn’t be dramatic changes in a secret facility overnight, but it was so predictable that it was somewhat disappointing.
“Where’s Yura?”
I asked while looking around the spacious living room, not seeing Yura.
“She’s probably showering. She just got off work.”
It seemed not everyone had gone to headquarters.
Yura had gone to work at a cafe, and hearing she was working there made me worry a bit about how things were going at the cafe lately.
Anyway, since she had worked at the cafe for a while, I roughly knew the people there were trustworthy, but the atmosphere might have changed after the embezzlement incident.
Of course, I didn’t think the team being completely victims meant it would get worse, but since you never know what can happen in life, I couldn’t assume everything would be fine.
“Where’s Hayang?”
I thought Hayang would be here since Yubin was, and sure enough, Hayang appeared in the inner living room wearing a robe.
“Hey, you’re back?”
“Yeah, I just got here.”
Both Yubin and Hayang stayed at SuA’s place instead of going home because they were worried about me after the operation.
Recently, we had been spending a lot of time at SuA’s house preparing for operations, and staying like this after the operations made us feel like we were all living together. This made me feel even better.
“There’s something I need to talk about. Is it okay?”
I needed to mention Luche, but first, I had something to say to everyone. I wanted to bring up the topic quickly to hear their responses before Yura finished showering. It should be fine to explain after Yura comes out and continue the conversation.
Right after saying nothing happened after the operation, I suddenly mentioned having something to discuss, so everyone seemed to predict it was something serious, giving me serious looks.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a heavy topic.”
After hinting that it wasn’t anything serious, I sat on the floor and glanced at the girlfriends sitting on the sofa.
“I thought it would be good to gather opinions one by one and then summarize, but since we’re all here, I think it’s fine to discuss it all at once.”
Even though I told myself it was nothing special, I felt a bit nervous when it came to bringing up the topic.
“What do you think about all of us living together?”
Without consulting SuA, the owner of the house, or asking Yubin and Hayang, who lived separately, I decided to ask the others who already lived with SuA, Milky Way, and Yura.
I took the risk of the conversation getting complicated. The girlfriends didn’t seem surprised at all by the sudden suggestion. Yubin and Hayang, who were in the position of needing to move in, looked at each other, and everyone’s eyes turned to SuA.
“I don’t mind. It’s just increasing from four to six.”
SuA seemed unfazed, her eyes fixed on the game, as if she wasn’t bothered by the increase in people.
Moreover, since we had been spending a lot of time together recently and thinking about the future, she probably believed it was better to stay together rather than be apart.
Of course, living together is different from friends visiting often, but given that there haven’t been major issues and the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, she seemed to think it was fine.
“The landlord is okay with it. What do the two of you think?”
The most important opinions were Yubin’s and Hayang’s.
Yubin had always been against the harem, while Hayang supported it but still had lingering feelings about the house I chose. We hadn’t reached a conclusion on living together until now.
Both knew their opinions were crucial and thought deeply about it.
“……It seems good.”
Yubin, who had been deep in thought, surprisingly answered without hesitation.
“Considering there will likely be many incidents and problems, including those unrelated to the Earth Defense Union, it would be best if we had a space where we can easily gather together.”
As the team leader, she found the most rational reason for living together. My reason for suggesting it was also that it would be convenient not to have to gather every time communication is needed.
More importantly, I wanted to live with my girlfriends in the same house, which was my personal desire.
“Living together with girlfriends is much better than living separately.”
My personal desire was immediately understood.
Yubin narrowed her eyes and glared at me, but she didn’t raise any objections about my desire.
“Haha…”
Unable to deny it, I laughed awkwardly and turned my gaze toward Hayang, who hadn’t given her answer yet.
Hayang, who was still lost in thought, lowered her gaze, seemingly troubled by the decision.
“What about you?”
“I want to live with you too. But the house…”
It seemed the house we had lived in together was the issue.
I imagined the first house she lived in independently held great significance for her.
Moreover, we had spent a lot of time together there, so I thought I would need to persuade her rather than let her decide on her own. Of course, if she insisted on staying in her current house, I would respect her opinion.
“You can always find a new house. Don’t worry too much. We can spend more time in a new space.”
“…Are you really okay with it?”
Suddenly, I felt uneasy. It didn’t seem like she was hesitating because she had lingering feelings about the current house, but rather as if she was asking if it was okay to leave the house I provided.
“It’s fine. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have suggested it.”
Having traveled through many planets, I had no resistance to changing residences. Although I had felt annoyed moving my belongings after each invasion and returning to the spaceship, it had become routine.
Since I had no resistance to moving, I also had none to leaving the house I provided. As I said, if I had resistance, I wouldn’t have proposed it.
Residences can change depending on circumstances and environment. When I first found a house for her, it suited her situation and environment at the time. Now, proposing to live together in SuA’s house means it fits everyone’s current situation and environment well.
“Then let me think about it a bit more and tell you later.”
“Okay.”
Hayang’s expression, which had been tense, brightened up.
“What about Milky Way?”
“Me? Why me?”
Milky Way seemed surprised by being singled out, her eyes widening.
“Yes, even though you live in SuA’s house, you’re living together now.”
“Oh… I think it’s good. Living with my older brother and the members.”
No one showed any resistance. Even though I didn’t hear Yura’s opinion, given that she had been the first to support the harem, I assumed she would welcome living together.
“You were so adamant about opposing the harem, but now we’re all living together.”
Yubin, who had not paid attention to it for a while, suddenly remembered her stance against the harem and smiled wistfully.
“Your opinion hasn’t changed, right?”
With five girlfriends, I always needed to listen carefully to everyone’s opinions. Any changes needed to be noticed beforehand.
If I couldn’t notice changes, I would ask directly. When I asked if Yubin’s thoughts had changed, she looked at me from where she was gazing into the void.
“Now that you’ve decided, what difference does it make if you oppose it?”
Although she had been against it, she had already intertwined with everyone and now lived together.
She had also expressed her intention to join the Spacystro, so it seemed her stance was leaning towards supporting it.
Naturally, her eyes turned to SuA, who had also been against the harem.
SuA, who had been focused on Yubin’s words, stopped her hand, and our eyes met when my gaze shifted to her.
“What?”
“No, I was just wondering what SuA thought.”
“……If I were going to oppose, I wouldn’t have let you in.”
“Hahaha.”
I deliberately forced a laugh, knowing it wasn’t appropriate to openly show joy.
SuA seemed to have gradually leaned towards supporting it over time.
Still, there must be some remnants of Earth’s sentiment against harems among them.
If I ever became complacent and started showing different levels of affection for each person, dissatisfaction would arise.
Therefore, I believe it’s most important to continue loving everyone equally as I have done until now.
Most importantly, I shouldn’t forget my gratitude for my Earth girlfriends, who, despite the lack of harem culture, agreed to it.
It was a decision each of them made, giving up something to be with me and ensure the happiness of the team members.
And feeling it was the right moment, I opened my mouth.
“If someone else likes me…”
Before I could finish, the air in the living room turned cold.
Reluctantly agreeing due to the situation, the friendly atmosphere turned icy, and everyone’s eyes turned to me.
“Older Brother?”
Even Milky Way, who supported the harem, seemed surprised, calling me without emotion.
Yubin remained silent, her mouth open.
Hayang was looking around at the members, and SuA…
“Damn son of a bitch.”
I thought I might get scolded, but I did.
The relaxed posture I had taken had turned into kneeling, and I lowered my head, unable to continue speaking.
“Who is it?”
“Huh?”
“Among the four, who is it?”
Yubin, who had been silent with her mouth open, asked me.
“Luche… Wait, four?”
While we had a close relationship, it should be just the two of us, including Esmeralda.
But if it’s four, then it probably refers to the team leaders, based on what the girlfriends knew.
Had I ever shown such a mood with other women in front of my girlfriends?
No matter who I am, I wouldn’t create a mood with another woman in front of my girlfriends.
Wondering where the conversation had gone wrong, I was lost in complex thoughts when Yubin sighed.
“They’re struggling on their end too.”
