I am that male friend in the harem story

Iino and Kobachi might not have helped Ishigami cook, but they helped him put all the dishes on the table so they could eat together. 

"It might be late, but you are okay with udon, right?" 

"Everyone is okay with udon." 

"Well, some people love their noodles thin." 

"I like it thick and long." 

"...that's good then." 

"But, I never thought you would make tempura, too." 

"Did you not hear the frying noise from the kitchen?" 

"Sorry, we talked about a lot of things earlier." 

"That's good, then." 

Ishigami knew that it was his cue not to ask anymore, but Kobachi didn't let him. "Oh, was it good? Why?" 

"...." 

Watching Kobachi's gentle smile, Ishigami wondered whether he had walked into a trap unknowingly, but as someone who had experienced many hardships, he could handle this calmly. "Of course, so it can be a surprise." 

"Oh, you..." Kobachi rolled her eyes and knew Ishigami was happy that she had solved the problem with Iino. Yes, when this bastard cooked dinner for the three of them, she handled all the mess, but then again, she was the one who took the initiative to come with him, and she also had prepared herself to solve this problem by herself. 

Nevertheless, she knew that if it wasn't for him, who smoothed out everything between the two, it wouldn't have ended so easily. 

Ishigami might appear irresponsible for throwing all the problems at Kobachi, and this was what he had planned to do from the beginning, but as Kobachi came, he knew that he had to handle this differently, or else everything would crumble. 

Fortunately, everything was alright, which was a surprise to him too. 

Kobachi was also surprised by how smooth this ending was. 

Yet, was it really the end?

"Try the kakiage, Iino." 

"U-Um!" Iino hadn't talked since she had been eating all the time, slurping the warm, gentle, flavorful bowl of udon and the crispy, hot, yet delicious tempura. Yes, the two dishes were tasty, better than anything she had tasted in her life, especially—

"Oh, is it an onsen egg tempura, Yuu?" 

"Yeah, take a bite, and the egg will melt in your mouth." 

"...you are going to make me fat like this." 

"...please exercise, okay?" 

"I will." 

"..." 

Watching her meaningful smile, Ishigami was speechless. Still, after she gave him a hint of wishing to do a "hard exercise," she looked at Iino's petite body. "I am jealous of your body, which can't get fat, Iino." 

Iino smiled; yes, this was a heartfelt smile that came from the bottom of her heart. 

In the eyes of others, this might be a ridiculous situation as two girls were together with a single man. 

No, it was much worse, especially when the man couldn't give them a proper name for their relationship, yet despite all of that, she knew that he would take responsibility for her, and similar to the others, he would do the same, so she knew that no matter how long she would wait, the result would be the same. 

However, if she refused and cleared up the relationship between them, what would happen? 

As she put long shrimp tempura into her small lips, which were slightly too big for her mouth, she forcefully put it inside; it was her first time feeling this kind of warmth, the warmth that she couldn't feel in her family. 

Delicious foods, the company of others, and pleasant yet joyful talk between the three. 

Everything was like the most beautiful thing in the world, even though it began from the ugliest desire within her heart. 

So, when they finished their dinner, Kobachi and Iino started to have their second talk as they washed their dishes. 

Meanwhile, Ishigami waited on the sofa, and coincidentally, he sat on the wet part of the sofa. 

"...what is this?" 

He quickly stood up, then sighed in relief since his pants didn't get wet. He then used his hand to rub the wet mark on the sofa, and he sighed in relief since it was almost dry. 

"This girl is so clumsy." 

Ishigami thought that Iino had dropped her water, leaving a wet mark on her sofa. Fortunately, he thought so, but if he knew the truth...

Still, Iino, who washed the dishes, was startled by Ishigami's act and felt awkward, yet slightly wet, when she thought the place she just used to... was being... by Ishigami. 

"..." 

Kobachi was silenced, but considering Ishigami's nature, he might be happy to know what that wet mark was about. 

"...." Ishigami. 

"You don't have to worry. He was so engrossed in his cooking that he didn't notice what you did before." 

"Ah, oh, that's good..." Iino sighed in relief, ignoring the fact that Kobachi had realized her dirty little secret. 

"Have you thought about what to do?" 

"...what?" 

"Play dumb, aren't we?" 

"I-I never thought to go that far!" 

"Even after you did an act like those janitors in the hentai manga?" 

"...." Iino. 

"While most people will say that you should go after the one that can treasure you better if you like him, then just do it. You don't have to care about the talks of others, and he isn't like those men who will proudly tell everyone of his feats." 

Ishigami wasn't such a childish boy who gained pride and ego from the number of women that he had slept with. He was mature enough to know how to treasure the women who had entrusted themselves to him, and this was why he was irresistible even if he had been with many women.

If there was a problem, it would be who would take the position of the main wife as there could only be one. 

Yet, it was such a problem in the distant future, and now, it was better not to think too much. 

Let's start with a baby step, starting from a small step, solving all the problems we can before we slowly walk into bigger steps and solve all of our problems. 

Still, life was a cycle of a problem, and it was perfectly normal for us to meet all of those problems, especially when a human was sent to the earth for punishment by a higher being, as they had made a mistake in heaven. 

However, a human was a creature that could easily adapt. 

No matter how hard life is, we start to learn the beauty of small things that we never realized before. 

For Kobachi, even if Ishigami was like that, he was her treasure, and she didn't want Iino to blackmail him, so she wanted her to rethink her decision, and fortunately, even if she didn't say anything, Ishigami had shown what kind of a scumbag he was. 

Yet, despite his bad points, his good points were obvious. They probably would not be able to find the warmth and joy that came from him in someone else.

The warmth might be possible, but the joy, especially from his 20 cm stiffness, was impossible, considering the average of most people in this country. 

Well, Kobachi only wished to be with him, though, but it seemed she underestimated Iino's determination since while she waited for Iino's answer, Iino just looked at her for a moment before she walked toward Ishigami. 

"Ishigami, no, Yuu." 

"Hmm?" 

Before Ishigami could do anything, he was pushed by Iino, who, despite her small size, had unexpectedly strong strength. 

"????"

Ishigami was confused in the beginning, but when he felt her clumsy kiss, he sighed inwardly and taught her how to do it correctly. 

"....." Kobachi. 

Yet, Ishigami and Iino seemingly fell into their own world, enjoying their first kiss, without letting each other go until Kobachi woke up and came to them, pushing Iino away, then started to kiss him. 

"Hnh~!" 

Iino was in a daze, yet when she saw his eyes, she moved closer without hesitation and joined him. 

The three had never thought of this, yet somehow, the mood, the atmosphere, and his damn skill, Kobachi and Iino, were swayed before they were completely enraptured by him. 

This guy hardly said anything, and he hardly expressed what he wished, yet even so, he got all of them. 

Why? 

Was he handsome? 

Was he wealthy? 

Not because of any of that; instead, it was because he was the one being chased. 

Like men who would do anything for the woman they loved, even if they knew that woman had boyfriends and just used them for someone to talk to when they were sad, the women were the same. 

When a woman falls in love with a guy, they would do anything. 

The only difference was that some men would use that love to trick the women, whether it was by asking for money or just leaving them when they were bored. 

In the fast-moving world where everything could be gained easily, the word "love" became cheap, and when they were bored, they would start to search for others as if they didn't understand the meaning of treasuring every encounter. 

Yet, the three, despite their ugly beginning, treasured each other, but as Kobachi lay resting on the side, watching how happy Iino was as she was being held by Ishigami, she felt that this wasn't enough, so she took their picture and sent it to someone that that would be excited to join. 

"Come and help!" 

Then, there was a picture of Iino, who rode on the top of Ishigami like a female warrior who tried to tame a wild stallion, yet on that scene, there was also Kobachi, who made a peace sign on the corner, which made this photo become even more distorted, showing the moral degeneracy of the current generation, or the example of a hard-working young man to save the country's declining birth rate problem. 

Still, Kobachi didn't need to wait too long before she received her reply. 

Tsubame: "Where are you? I will go there!" 

By then, everything was uncontrollable, and Ishigami realized that he had achieved something that no man of his generation had achieved, yet even so, he would do his best even if he was drained to a husk tonight.

Still—

"Erase the photo, okay?"

---

By the way, Happy Christmas~!