I don’t even know how to reply to this.
“Ah, and. Deok-Sung oppa.”
Haru looks at me with her red eyes and says.
“Thanks a lot for saving me, Haru.”
Just as I was about to say something.
Peck.
Her soft and warm lips touch my cheek.
Super cute little sister (illustration included)
The first feeling I got from Haru’s skinship was confusion.
What’s wrong with her?
Did she eat something weird?
As I look at her in disbelief, Haru smiles.
“Hehehe…”
While sitting on my waist, she presses her finger against her chest and says,
“Your flustered face is super funny.”
A mischievous smile appears on Haru’s face.
Funny, huh?
What am I supposed to say to that?
My mind is in chaos.
All the other heroines have that 2010s style, but she alone is rocking the latest 2020s trendy gal character, making it even weirder.
It’d be nice if that scoundrel Black Prince was here to blabber on and distract us, but right now he’s busy fighting Muramasa.
Getting swept up in this is infuriating.
Haru lowers her head.
The ends of her red-tinted side tail tickle my cheek.
“You’re definitely super cute, Deok-Sung oppa. Totally my style!”
Haru pokes my cheek with her finger.
When did we get this close?
Peck.
She kisses my other cheek.
Does she not understand the concept of embarrassment?
Just when I was bewildered and about to push her away.
“Wait a second! What in the world is this scoundrel behavior?! You there!”
I hear a familiar voice from the side.
I turn my head.
There stands Olivia, the platinum blonde beauty in a revealing bodysuit, looking at us with a flushed face.
Her blue eyes are shaking as if there’s an earthquake.
Seeing that, Haru brings a hand to her mouth, squinting her red eyes and grinning.
“Hehe. So you’re Princess Bonaparte, right? Hehe. Nice to meet you in person. I’m Kurosawa Haru.”
Haru introduces herself, playing it cool.
“I am Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte, the platinum knight princess and heir to the noble bloodline of the Bonaparte Imperial Family of France… Wait, this isn’t the time for this?!”
Olivia finds herself unexpectedly caught up in Haru’s antics and taps her cheek in frustration.
“How dare you do this without my permission as your personal maid… A kiss?! What a disgraceful and scoundrel thing to do?! Please, get away at once!!”
Olivia places her left hand on her hip and with her right hand points at Haru.
“A kiss? Oh. What are you talking about, sister? Haru just greeted him in a Western style. It wasn’t even on the lips! You, the princess of France, don’t know that? How silly.”
Haru laughs, covering her mouth.
I never thought I’d hear the classic LN excuse of a kiss being a Western greeting come from Haru’s mouth.
I can’t even.
“W-w-w-where is that a Western greeting?! Th-th-that was surely a greeting filled with ill intentions?! You, thieving cat! Get away now!! I-I-Ick!!”
“Get off!! Eeeek!!”
Olivia screams as she rushes in and pries Haru from my arms.
“What a shame. If only I had a bit more time… Nishi-shishi.”
Haru brings her finger to her mouth, smiling seductively.
“Eeeek! What do you mean by time?! You’re the problem! Why can’t you just cut it off?!”
“Well, it’s because Haru is cuter than you, and younger too. Nishi-shishi. Hey, sis, Haru is the only little sister character in Deokseong Oppa’s harem, you know!”
Before I can say anything, Haru casually says this to Olivia.
I can’t believe she just said that out loud.
My head feels dizzy.
“Ugh… this thieving cat…”
“Nishi-shishi… Olive sis, you’re too narrow-minded. That’s why being the main wife is a major problem, right? It won’t do! It’s gotta be the ultra-cute super☆little sister Haru!”
“No, no, no! Who’s calling me Olive?! Don’t just shorten my name like that! Narrow-minded, you say?! That word was an insult to the Bonaparte royal family! My tolerance, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte, is as vast as the ocean! Got it?”
*Huff.*
Olivia puts her hand over her chest.
“Heh? Olive sis is tolerant? Then you could let your little sister have a pass, right? Deokseong oppa. Haru’s scared. Olive sis is being mean. Nishi-shishi.”
*Swoosh.*
Haru hides behind me while playfully laughing.
My head is pounding.
Honestly, I want to tell them all to just give up already.
Just when I was about to reprimand Haru for causing unnecessary trouble with Olivia,
[Partner! I’ve perfectly subdued Muramasa!]
The Black Prince, in his Black Knight form, flies in, draping the limp Muramasa over his shoulder with a cocky voice.
[What do you think! Partner! The dignity of this black… knight! Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I’m the only one, right? Right? Huh?]
He almost said Black Prince but clumsily corrected himself to Black Knight upon seeing Olivia.
He looks around nervously, aware that he can’t reveal his identity due to the New World League threat that killed him.
Even in the original story, he operated under the alias “Black Knight” without revealing his identity except to Olivia, and it’s the same situation here.
“Hmm?”
Olivia raises an eyebrow.
Her blue eyes fixate on the Black Prince.
[Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…]
The Black Prince awkwardly laughs as he floats behind me.
“What is that? A spirit that’s ridiculously frivolous despite its appearance? Is it perhaps the spirit of Durandal?”
Olivia asks me.
The Black Prince mutters in shock upon hearing this.
[Frivolous… and a scoundrel… How could… this be… That’s impossible…]
He squats in the corner like an anime character, radiating a gloomy aura.
Before fighting Muramasa, he was all serious, but of course, that’s how a light novel world works.
“Hmph. I guess I was a fool to worry about you as your personal maid. I came all this way only to play with a thieving cat… Hmph! Fool, idiot, sea cucumber, sea squirt, sea anemone, pervert, scoundrel!”
Olivia crosses her arms, pouting with a flushed face.
The fact that she came all this way to worry about me makes my heart flutter unnecessarily.
“Olive sis, your tsundere mode is ultra cute.”
“No, no, no! Who’s a tsundere?! You stay out of this!!”
“Got it. Nishi-shishi.”
Haru, laughing gently at Olivia’s screech, eases back.
“So, everything’s resolved, right?”
Olivia’s gaze turns to Haru.
That “matter” must refer to Haru’s rescue.
That part was splendidly done.
The issue is that Haru’s been acting a bit strange since waking up.
Haru, locking eyes with Olivia, grins mischievously.
“Yeah. As you can see, she’s fine, right? How about you?”
“Hmph! Unlike a certain someone who was frolicking with a thieving cat, I came here perfectly ready! I’ve wiped out all the enemies targeting Gwanghwamun and made my way here!”
“Unlike that lazy cat I was playing with, I came here after completely annihilating the enemies aiming for Gwanghwamun!”
Chak.
Olivia says with a triumphant expression, placing her hand on her chest.
“What about Kurosawa Yuji?”
“I left him alone because he was taking a break on a spirit’s lap after handling the enemies.”
A spirit?
Has that damn ending destroyer Kusunagi finally made her appearance? And earlier than in the original.
I’ve considered the possibility of liberation, but just thinking about Kusunagi being on the scene gives me chills.
Olivia said she left him, but knowing that damn woman sees every girl other than herself as a rival, if Olivia did offer help, she’d probably dismiss it.
The only girl she doesn’t see as a threat is Yuji’s biological sister, Haru.
In any case, what a bothersome woman.
[Partner, how are we going to deal with Muramasa?]
At that moment, the voice of the Black Prince came from behind.
“You said Black Knight, right? If you help out, Haru can seal that evil spirit with her sword.”
Nishishishi.
As soon as the Black Prince finishes, Haru responds almost immediately.
It’s the same development as in the original.
In the original, she sealed Muramasa with the help of Kusunagi instead of the Black Prince, and then used that power herself.
“Let’s do whatever Haru says.”
[Really? Got it. Partner. Then this Black Knight will lend a hand.]
As I watch the Black Prince and Haru sealing Muramasa, I sent a situation report to the President via communication.
*
After the battle inside the Blue House ended and the sealing of Muramasa was completed.
I deactivated battle mode and went up to the ground with Olivia and Haru.
We were there to pick up Kurosawa Yuji.
[Partner, now that this Haru girl has joined, what are you going to do? Are you going to keep ignoring the lady’s feelings?]
The Black Prince questions me in my head.
The heroines’ feelings, huh?
Honestly, I’m not an oblivious idiot like those light novel protagonists.
The twisting of the original story and what happened to them is all my fault.
I have to take full responsibility for it, and I will.
I won’t end up like the original protagonist who irresponsibly released all the heroines.
But before that responsibility, there’s still something I have yet to resolve.
First, that I’m a reincarnated person.
The only heroine who knows my true self is Haru.
I don’t know if the other heroines will accept my secret about being reincarnated as positively as she did.
They are real people, not just characters from a novel.
So if I’m serious about being responsible for them as fellow human beings, I will have to address this issue eventually.
Second, the feasibility of a two-way world gate.
I boldly refused the dichotomy, but a two-way gate has never been mentioned in the original or any source material—it’s an unknown territory.
If Saint Beatrice collaborates with genius scientist Ishihara Saori, there’s a high chance of success, but it’s not something I can confidently guarantee.
And the most significant threat, the confrontation with Messiah, isn’t over yet.
“It’s still too early.”
Thus, I can’t recklessly accept their feelings until I have certainty about the two-way world gate and am fully prepared to take responsibility for everyone.
If I truly care about them, it’s irresponsible to hastily say I’ll bear the burden when I’m still not ready or qualified.
I will accept and take full responsibility for everything only after preparing everything and finishing the development of the two-way world gate.
Every last one of them.
[If the partner says that, there must be a reason. Is it because of the secret my sister mentioned? Isn’t it?]
Just as I was about to respond to the Black Prince’s words.
“Oh, there he is, my brother.”
Haru’s voice echoed in my ears.
I turned my head.
The front yard of the Blue House was a mess, unrecognizable.
And there he was.
Kurosawa Yuji, lying down as if asleep, with her kneeling beside him, giving him a lap pillow.
I can see her making a fool of herself.
Long black hair, a completely flat chest that could blend in with her back, and a little girl spirit in a black kimono.
Damn that Kusunagi.
Kusunagi’s gaze turns toward me.
“Hmm.”
Kusunagi’s eyes meet mine.
She furrows her brow.
“So, you’re that Kim Deok-Sung.”
Kusunagi says in a cold voice, glaring at me.
There’s not a shred of goodwill, rather a defensive attitude.
What’s with this uncomfortable atmosphere?
Why is she acting like this?
A girl… talking back?!
“What are you?”
A girl… talking back?!
Unbelievable.
Since when did we drop to such familiarity?
I already disliked Kusunagi to begin with, and with that first impression, there’s no way I could like her.
“Seeing you in person, you’re really just an unremarkable man, not even worth comparing to me, Kusunagi.”
Kusunagi gives a cold smile.
The moment I hear her words, chills run down my spine.
That familiar expression and tone—I’ve seen it in an anime.
The overly jealous Kusunagi often appeared in those scenes where she guarded against other heroines.
But I’m a guy, aren’t I?
“Master, I just don’t understand why you’d rely on such a man instead of this Kusunagi.”
Kusunagi clicks her tongue.
It became clear.
This crazy girl is jealous of me.
My blood runs cold and my body trembles.
The one thing I hate most in this world is BL drift.
I’m not gay; I’m heterosexual.
I can count the heroines I want to take responsibility for on both hands.
There’s no room for some guy in my life.
I couldn’t care less about those dark-haired punks.
“Hey, are you insane? Who’s relying on whom? I don’t have a shred of interest in that guy! You two can sort out your love drama together. I find it disgusting and it creeps me out to even think about it.”
My face contorts.
I feel like bugs are crawling all over my skin, giving me goosebumps.
Ugh.
I feel nauseous.
I couldn’t just leave Yuji, the original protagonist, alone, so I intervened a few times, and now she’s making such a disgusting misunderstanding that I can barely bring myself to say it.
Damn it, is she really crazy?
I’m showing immense restraint by not cursing like a sailor right now.
“How can Kusunagi trust that you have no interest in Master?”
Kusunagi’s eyes turn icy.
The threads of reason in my mind snap.
“This crazy girl! What kind of hellish misunderstanding is she having? I’m not gay! I have no interest in guys at all! Damn! Are you for real?”
I need to do something.
If I don’t settle this with this crazy girl, there might be terrible misunderstandings around me.
I’m not gay, and I’ve already decided my life’s genre is harem.
I have no hobby of describing some guy’s eyelashes and face in multiple paragraphs.
But BL?
It’s definitely a problem that I got too friendly with that Yuji guy.
I wasn’t meant to care about some dark-haired dude.
“I understand that you’re upset because of this ridiculous misunderstanding, but please calm down a bit.”
Olivia says while gripping my arm.
Her soft chest presses against my arm.
“Don’t worry! As your devoted maid, I’ll make sure no one misunderstands you! That’s my job as a maid!”
She puts her other hand on her chest and yells.
She laughs.
Seeing Olivia’s smile softens my boiling blood a little.
It’s not because of her chest feeling.
[Partner, you rascal. How can you casually engage in skinship with your so, so lovely younger sister…?]
Just then, as the Black Prince was saying something in my head.
Kusunagi looks at me and her lips twitch.
“But…”
“Nishishishi. You said your name was Kusunagi, right?”
Just when I felt my blood boiling again.
Haru, who was next to me, suddenly steps in.
