Chapter 113: Study Session in Progress

November 21st, clear weather.

I, Haruhi Haruno, have perhaps experienced a moment that others might never possess in a lifetime. I brought five beautiful, vibrant young girls home. It is exactly as it sounds; you read that right. As everyone’s eyes were on me, the hazy sensation of a harem king welled up within me. Haruhi Haruno, it turns out I am the man destined to become a harem king!!! Especially with the way those girls looked at me—it seemed as if they even wanted to join in. Although everyone envies me, I also have troubles that no one else knows about... Well, actually, this does satisfy my vanity just a little bit.

—November 21, 2018. The tail end of autumn, the beginning of winter. By Haruhi Haruno.

***

"So this is where you live."

The door opened, and as I watched the beautiful girls file in one after another, an unparalleled sense of pride suddenly welled up within me. It felt like a sea king returning home with a full net.

"One by one, don't crowd! Hey, the ones in front, stop rummaging through people's cabinets!" I stood at the doorway and shouted inside.

Yukino Kiyoryo stuck out her tongue and pulled her little hand back from the cabinet she had opened.

One, two, three, four, five... Exactly five beautiful girls. After counting them, I closed the door.

"Is this a rental apartment?"
"It's very clean. Not as messy as I imagined—after all, Big Sister doesn't look like the type who does housework."
"Do you usually cook at home? Who makes it?"

With more people, the small apartment became lively. Everyone started looking around the small room, chatting away.

Welcoming five beauties at once, this dilapidated rental apartment had surely reached the highlight of its existence. I never expected that even as it approached its twilight years, it could accommodate so many beautiful girls at once. One can only say that how many people fit in the passenger seat depends on the driver.

"Wow, there's only one bedroom! Doesn't that mean you and Kiyoryo are...!!!"

Kanae Terashima keenly noticed the layout of the apartment. The tiny living room could barely hold six people, there was a kitchen behind the small balcony, and the bathroom was to the right of the entryway. To the left of the entryway, there was only one bedroom, and nothing else.

Everyone was astonished, their beautiful, wide eyes darting back and forth between us. Their expressions were full of shock and disbelief. They hadn't expected the two of us to progress so quickly!!!

"Yes, just one bedroom. So what? Is there a problem?"

Sitting on the sofa, Milon Kiyoryo said it quite nonchalantly, her eyes full of confidence and radiance as she looked at the others. It was as if she were speaking of something entirely mundane.

"N-no, nothing." Kanae Terashima replied. Her sly eyes rolled twice, and then she happily ran over to Milon, lowered her head, and whispered something in her ear. Milon's face turned visibly red.

Seeing this, Mai Hanai quickly leaned in too. The three delinquent girls started whispering among themselves.

Only I and Yuriko Ogata remained standing. The information she had just received was a bit of a shock to the young girl! She thought her relationship with me was already very close... She never expected... never expected that they had already done *that*... She realized she was so far behind.

At the thought of this, Yuriko's eyes welled up with tears. Seeing this, I had to speak up: "Yuriko, you find a seat too. I'll go make some milk tea for you all, and we'll study together in a bit."

"Okay... Haruno-kun..." Yuriko Ogata took a deep breath, trying hard not to let her tears fall, found a corner on the sofa, and sat down silently by herself. Her face looked so aggrieved, yet even then, she didn't want me to see it. She felt that she should just bear the grievance alone and not cause me any more trouble. But, she just wanted to cry... *Sob, sob, sob.*

There was no helping it; today was indeed a bit of a shock for the girl.

Yukino Kiyoryo sat on the sofa without hesitation, her gaze toward me full of mockery. Clearly, this was something the second young lady hadn't anticipated. At the same time, she was curious: what kind of magic did I have to be able to pluck the flower that was her arrogant, self-centered, foolish older sister? And to have even earned her father's approval? But looking at me now, apart from a handsome exterior, I had no other special traits.

And it seemed that this little girl, who was even shorter than her, also liked that scoundrel. Yuriko Ogata, the eldest daughter of the Ogata family? This is getting more and more interesting.

I glared at her fiercely. Looking at the scene in the living room and hearing the faint, sporadic whispers, I couldn't help but sigh. I turned and walked into the kitchen, lit the stove, and started boiling milk tea for the girls. It was cold outside, and having a cup of steaming milk tea to warm up was a wonderful thing.

Five minutes later, the girls in the living room smelled the faint scent of milk.

"Come in and help carry these," I called out from the kitchen.

Led by Milon, the girls walked into the kitchen one by one and came back out, each holding a cup of thick milk tea. On the way back, Mai Hanai couldn't wait and took a sip. It was very hot, but instantly she felt warm all over, as if the damp chill of autumn had been driven away.

"Mmm~" A satisfied and happy expression spread across her face.

When she sat back down, Mai realized that everyone else was drinking it too, as their expressions were all essentially the same.

"Hey, Kiyoryo, what brand is this milk tea? It's so good!" Mai asked openly after sitting down, deciding that she would start hoarding it once she got back! Kanae Terashima nodded vigorously in agreement; it was indeed delicious, with a rich, milky sweetness. Even Yukino was a bit curious.

Seeing everyone's attention on her, Milon took a sip, and only after keeping everyone in suspense did she slowly say, "It seems to be a foreign brand, from the East. I also think it's delicious and very sweet. Haruhi bought it."

So it's imported? Yukino looked at the pale milk tea in her cup and couldn't help but mutter: A brand from the East? It really is delicious. I didn't expect that guy to have such taste. Well, that might be a plus, but it still isn't enough to hide the fact that he's a jerk!

The ripples in the tea reflected the curious faces of the beautiful girls, who looked like porcelain dolls. I walked out of the kitchen and heard the conversation, revealing a knowing smile. I was holding a bowl of milk tea myself, as there wasn't a sixth cup to be found in the house.

"Haruno, what's the name of this brand?" Seeing me walk over, Mai asked directly.

"Xiang Piao Piao~" I answered.

*Xiang Piao Piao~???*

The study session officially began. The group sat around the coffee table. It seemed to be getting windy outside, blowing the withered yellow leaves in the small courtyard. The cherry blossom tree that Mrs. Momotani, the landlady, had planted didn't survive that stormy night. The lonely lady had planted a locust tree in the same spot. I remembered that day, I had shown off my strength—uprooting a willow tree was certainly impossible, but planting the locust tree all by myself was something worth bragging about. After finishing the planting, Mrs. Momotani had thoughtfully given me a full-body massage, this time in the second-floor bedroom. The mature and sexy lady had practically maxed out my buffs.

Unfortunately, autumn had arrived, and no long-lost greenery appeared in the small courtyard; the bare branches only made the apartment look more desolate. Perhaps life is just like that—it's too hard to get what you want. I sighed, pulled my thoughts back from the window, and focused on the sea of knowledge.

There was no choice; ever since I got the system, I had become a bit decadent, not listening well in class. My homework was just copied from Yuriko, and in a daze, it felt like I had returned to my past life. Damn it! I've been blinded by this colorful neon world! Haruno, you can't just keep falling like this!! At the very least, I couldn't be surpassed by the up-and-coming Miss Kiyoryo during the monthly exams! Otherwise, my status in this household would truly change...

Unlike the whistling wind outside, the living room was exceptionally quiet, save for the occasional sound of pencils sliding across paper. It was healing and comforting. Even Mai and Kanae, those two delinquent girls who were usually slackers, were infected by the atmosphere and started gnawing on their national language books. Milon took out several black-and-white exam preparation books from her bag, spread them out on the coffee table, and began to study hard.

I stared at a math problem on the test paper for three minutes and couldn't make heads or tails of it. I probably wouldn't get a good result if I kept looking at it. But a study session is about someone daring to ask questions to spark a discussion! Otherwise, if everyone just studied on their own, what's the point of a study session? I had to be the one to break the silence!

My eyes darted around. Who should I ask for help? Milon was also struggling with a math problem; judging by her furrowed brow, she was in over her head and couldn't be relied upon. Next were the delinquent duo, Kanae and Mai. Kanae seemed relatively reliable. Although she didn't study much, her test scores were surprisingly good every time. I had whispered to Milon more than once that Mai must be studying crazily at home in private, and even taught Milon a new word: "involution." No, that wouldn't work; I had mocked her at school before, so asking her now would be too embarrassing.

As for Mai? I skipped her entirely. The dull atmosphere had almost put the girl, who was maxed out in physical stats and physique, to sleep. Her long eyelashes were fluttering, and her head was nodding like a chick pecking at rice, almost hitting the coffee table. Well, you can't demand perfection; having three prominent traits is already quite good.

Next was Yukino. As if noticing my gaze, the second young lady raised her proud little head, her eyes carrying a hint of mockery. "What's wrong? Is Haruno-kun stumped? Are you thinking of asking me, a little sister who just jumped a grade into the high school division this year, for help?"

She didn't lower her voice, and her words broke the dull atmosphere of the study group. Everyone looked up. Even Mai was startled awake. Her posture was like an earthquake—the slightest movement shook the ground, a stark contrast to the flat-chested second young lady beside her.

"Nothing, just asking. Maybe I can help you solve it!" Yukino said, though her gaze couldn't help but drift toward her sister.

"What strange things are you saying?" I reacted quickly. "I was just thinking of testing you all."

As I said this, I put the test paper in front of Milon. "Mai, look at how to solve this problem. The teacher went over it a few days ago!"

Looking at the test paper suddenly thrown in front of her, Mai, who had just woken up, was stunned. "Eh?!" A big question mark hung on her exquisite face, her bright eyes filled with clear, ignorant stupidity.

"Can't answer it? You're so slow! Here, Yuriko, you explain it to her." Not giving her a chance to react, I placed the test paper in front of Yuriko Ogata.

Although she found it a bit strange, since it was me who said it, Yuriko subconsciously looked over and began to think. A top student is a top student; this person who consistently ranked in the top ten of the grade only glanced at it twice before the logic formed in her mind.

"This is a problem about functions and inverse functions. You have to first..." Her slender, beautiful fingers picked up a pencil and began to write and draw on the draft paper. Although she had seen the answer at a glance, the dedicated "Teacher Yuriko" clearly listed out the steps.

The members of the study group couldn't help but look over, nodding from time to time. I also took the opportunity to listen carefully. It was as if a bright mirror had appeared in my mind, and everything suddenly became clear.

"Alright, this kind of problem is often tested; it might even appear on the monthly exam." Having successfully finished her teaching, "Teacher Yuriko" put down her pencil, pushed the draft paper to the center of the table, and asked with a smile, "Did you learn it?"

"Yeah, I got it." I nodded subconsciously. Everyone looked at me, and I quickly reacted, pulling the draft paper toward me and saying seriously to Mai, "Did you understand, student Mai?"

*It's so painful, I'm vomiting blood. I don't know why, but the latest chapter was sent to the free section. By the time I realized it, the full-attendance bonus was gone... I didn't get much in royalties to begin with, and now the full-attendance is gone too... Vomiting blood, vomiting blood...*

(End of chapter)