Cote : I Just Want to Grant Your Wish!

"I don't really get it. If Kaoru doesn't like them, why is he thinking of going back now?"

Faced with Horikita Suzune's analysis, Karuizawa Kei naturally raised that question.

"No. It's because he likes them that he wants to go back."

Suzune lightly shook her head. "It's just that back then, he may not have realized it. Or perhaps his feelings toward them were different. It's also possible that he never confessed properly before and now wants to make up for it."

Kei only half understood, but she understood one thing.

Kaoru probably did like them.

"Uu! That's kind of frustrating!"

Kei irritably squeezed the pillow beside her. "So does that mean we'll have to accept them in the end?"

Suzune said nothing.

She felt that it did not really matter. After all, Kaoru was that kind of person. Expecting him not to have a harem was impossible.

"How surprising. So Horikita has secretly analyzed this much."

Kikyō looked apologetic. "I thought you really didn't care. Sorry. You really do like Master after all."

Why did those words sound so infuriating coming from her mouth?

"I simply thought a little more than you did. The reason he kept hiding this from us is probably not only because of his so-called Producer identity. He must have been worried about something else too."

Suzune suppressed the irritation in her heart and kept her voice calm.

"Think about what he did the first time he met us. If things had kept going in that direction, what would we be like now?"

First, there was Suzune herself.

Because of her massive debt and Kaoru's temptation, she might have been dragged step by step into a situation she could no longer escape from, eventually becoming something controlled by him.

She could almost imagine that kind of scene now: herself glaring with disgust and hatred while still being forced to rely on him.

Then there was Kikyō.

The little angel who accidentally had her weakness caught might also have fallen completely under his control.

In the silence of late night, Kaoru might have led her around campus, using her secrets again and again until she had no choice but to obey him.

Perhaps he would have recorded useful evidence and used it to pressure her repeatedly, making her sink deeper each time until she could no longer return to her original self.

Aside from the two of them, Honami would not have been an exception either.

The great angel who wanted to protect her class and friends might have offered herself up voluntarily.

Because she did not want everyone to worry, she would have forced herself to keep smiling in public while enduring Kaoru's demands in private.

Kei's case would have been even simpler.

With her past experience of bullying, once Kaoru caught hold of that weakness, her fate would have been easy to imagine.

The sharp-tongued, strong-willed gyaru who acted harshly in front of others might have ended up completely helpless in front of him.

Suzune did not doubt this at all.

She felt that Kaoru back then really might have done those things.

By that logic, it was not difficult to guess what Kaoru may have done at 283 Production.

That was why she suspected that his relationship with the idols might have been extremely abnormal, perhaps even seriously twisted.

"N-no way. Isn't that a bit too much? I think Kaoru is very gentle. He definitely wouldn't do anything too awful."

Kei blushed and squeezed the pillow between her legs, shifting slightly.

If Kaoru had really done something like that to her, she felt it might not have been completely impossible for her to accept.

"Honestly, Horikita is thinking too seriously."

Kikyō's face was also red, though nobody knew what she was imagining. "Even if Master wanted to train me, he definitely wouldn't break a girl. I think it would be fine."

Suzune stared blankly at the two of them.

After a moment, her chest rose and fell sharply, and her face turned red with anger. "The most abnormal people here are you two! You've both been completely trained by him!"

Obviously, Kei and Kikyō were perfect examples.

It was not only their bodies. Even their souls had probably taken Kaoru's shape by now.

"Hah? As if you haven't been trained by Master too."

Kikyō was unconvinced. "Who was the cup Master used a few days ago again?"

Suzune shot back, "You two have Stockholm syndrome. Because you've already accepted the worst possible situation, the moment he treats you even slightly better, your impression of him improves massively and turns into affection. I'm different from you!"

"Wow, what an impressive scholar. Then please tell us, Horikita-san, how exactly are you different from us?"

Kikyō immediately began mocking her. As if she did not know what Stockholm syndrome was.

"Of course I'm different. I'm... I'm..."

Even though Kikyō had angered her half to death, Suzune's face turned red, and she could not force out the rest of the sentence.

"Oh my, 'I'm'?"

Kikyō imitated her tone. "What are you? Can't say it?"

Suzune was furious.

She was only a cup. She was used passively.

Kikyō was a pet who actively tried to please Kaoru. Of course they were different.

"Enough, enough. Kikyō, Suzune."

Honami felt a headache coming on. "Now isn't the time to argue. I think Suzune's point is already clear."

Kikyō curled her lips, and Suzune turned aside with a cold face.

"I think Suzune is right. Kaoru's personality... how should I put it? It really is terrible in some ways. He likes teasing girls, and his way of dealing with girls can be very rough."

At this point, Honami remembered something Kaoru had once told her and could not help showing a bitter smile.

Kaoru had said that he had never been a good person. Every time, he openly admitted that he had indecent thoughts toward them, leaving people with no way to argue.

Yet even with that as the premise, Kaoru had restrained himself again and again. When faced with Kikyō's dangerous invitations, he was actually able to keep his reason. That was the most unexpected part.

What reassured and embarrassed Honami was that she had once gathered her courage and told Kaoru her own feelings. If he had any desires, he could release them on her.

If Kaoru were only lustful, he should not have been able to hold back.

However, his attitude toward her did not change at all.

Even with Kikyō, who thought of herself as his pet, and Suzune, who considered herself his cup, Kaoru's attitude toward each of them never truly changed.

Whether they were being treated as objects or as lovers, they understood it in their hearts.

That was why they were willing to accept the current Kaoru and try to soften the terrible impression left by his past.

"Maybe... no, I'm sure Kaoru did something bad at the agency. Because it was something very bad, he doesn't want us to know."

"Why wouldn't he want us to know?"

"Because he probably thinks it would make us see him in a terrible light."

"It wouldn't be terrible. I wouldn't hate him because of that!"

"Mm-hm. Unfortunately, Kaoru has always believed he's a bad person."

Seeing Kei puff up her cheeks angrily, Honami could not help smiling.

That was good.

No one here would truly hate Kaoru.

Just like her.

"If he did bad things, then there's nothing we can do about that. But we still don't know why Master came here."

Kikyō clicked her tongue. "Was he hiding from the women at the agency?"

The girls looked at one another.

It seemed like a question worth thinking about.

"Is that really important? What matters is what we're going to do from now on."

Kei felt a strong sense of crisis. "Are we just going to sit and watch while someone steals Kaoru away?"

"Master won't leave us."

Kikyō sounded confident at first, but when she thought of the agency, she somehow lost a little certainty.

"If you don't want him stolen away, why not tie him to your side?"

Suzune said it casually. "As long as he's tied up, he's yours."

"Eh? Why didn't I think of that?"

Kei's eyes lit up.

Exactly. She could completely tie Kaoru up, and then the two of them could happily live together somewhere in the world.

Suzune froze.

She had only said that casually. Why did Kei look like she was about to put the plan into action immediately?

"No. No kidnapping!"

Honami's face turned stern. "Absolutely not. That kind of extreme method won't make anyone happy, Kei."

Kei bit her lip unwillingly.

That idea had clearly been great.

"I can understand how Kei feels, but we can't force Kaoru to make a decision."

Honami said quietly, "Whether we make Kaoru choose us or make him choose them, nobody will be happy."

"So we should support Master having everyone?"

Kikyō unconsciously licked her lips, her cute face flushing faintly. Clearly, she had begun imagining some chaotic scene involving idols.

"No. I don't know what their position is yet. If they oppose us, then they are our enemies."

Honami paused. "If they're willing to accept us, then they're only our rivals and friends."

Enemies and rivals were two different things.

The former meant hostility. The latter meant ordinary competition.

And the thing they were competing over was, of course, Kaoru.

For someone like Kei, whose head was full of thoughts about getting ahead by becoming pregnant first, Honami did not mind at all. She might even cheer Kei on.

Because Kei getting jealous like that was simply too cute.

Kikyō was disappointed at first, but then she quickly cheered up. "Then the key person is Komiya-san. She may be the agency's messenger. We need to get information from her."

Honami did not refute that, because she was thinking the same thing.

Next, they needed to build a good relationship with Kaho.

And so, Kei and Kikyō began enthusiastically discussing how to win Kaho over.

Suzune returned to reading her book. This no longer had anything to do with her.

On the other side, Airi had anxiously wanted to speak several times, but everyone's attention was elsewhere, so she could not find an opening and had been holding it in the whole time.

Honami had just remembered that Airi was still beside her when the doorbell rang.

"Eh? Who is it?"

"It's this late. Who's still thinking about Master?"

"No, it's someone I invited over."

Unlike the confused Kei and Kikyō, Honami walked lightly toward the door and opened it.

In the next moment, the girls in the room all saw the figure standing outside.

"Good evening, Kamuro-san."

Honami smiled and pulled her inside. "Welcome!"

The person outside was Kamuro Masumi. She followed Honami into the room in confusion.

When she saw Kei, Kikyō, Suzune, and Airi all there, the corner of Masumi's mouth twitched slightly.

"Ahem. Everyone should have met before, but I'll still formally introduce her. This is Kamuro-san, Kaoru's classmate."

Honami introduced everyone to Masumi one by one. "This is Suzune, this is Kikyō..."

Kikyō was only stunned for a moment before quickly smiling and greeting Masumi. Kei followed after her, while Suzune only gave a faint "Mm" at the end.

"What did you call me here for? Where's Mitoma?"

Masumi felt extremely awkward. She did not think she was part of Kaoru's harem group.

"He probably won't be back until tomorrow."

Honami had Masumi sit beside her. "Would you like something to drink?"

Since this was a girls' night conversation, there were actually quite a lot of snacks in the room. However, aside from Kei eating a little, nobody had really touched them.

"I... I'm not thirsty."

Masumi looked away. "Didn't you say you had something to tell me?"

In truth, Kikyō and Kei were both very curious about why Honami had called Masumi over.

Aside from Nazuna, Arisu, Akane, and Amikura Mako, almost every girl with a ring had gathered in this room.

"To be precise, I want to know what Kamuro-san and Sakayanagi-san think."

Honami said, "But before that, how much does Kamuro-san know about Kaoru's past?"

Masumi was the one among them who had spent the longest time with Kaoru. She often acted together with him and even knew what Kaoru had done to Kikyō and Suzune.

"That guy's past?"

"Yes. His past at the agency."

"Oh, that. I know a little. Are you all worried about him?"

"Kamuro-san isn't worried?"

"I... I'm not anyone to him. What's there to worry about?"

Seeing Masumi's stubborn attitude, Kikyō felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Interesting.

Another stubborn one had arrived.

"Hey, don't act like it has nothing to do with you. If Kaoru really leaves, maybe you'll be the first one to cry!"

Kei spoke fiercely.

"Who would cry for him?"

Masumi replied coldly. "You're the ones who are scared. I have a feeling that guy is definitely going to leave."

There was no need for Kei to fish for information. Masumi quickly told them everything she knew, including the unease she had felt about Kaoru before.

Everyone listened attentively.

None of them noticed Airi sitting there with a stunned expression.

Why did none of them know?

As long as they asked Kaoru, he would tell them himself!

Airi had never imagined that the others had not asked Kaoru. It turned out that, right now, she was the only one who knew Kaoru's full plan.

Uuu, should she tell everyone?

Airi looked at everyone discussing seriously, but she still could not find a chance to cut in.

Forget it.

She was tired.

She did not want to deal with this anymore!

Airi secretly took out her phone.

It would be better to let Kaoru tell them himself.