My Harem Is Not What I Expected!

"NO!! It's not like that" I turned and pulled Stella close to me. She was trying to blame herself, and I couldn't let her do it.

"Rune?"

"Stella, you are beautiful. So much so that it makes things difficult for me. There is nothing wrong with your body."

"Then what is wrong?"

"I don't know, but believe me when I say it isn't your fault."

"Okay. . ."

She nuzzled up against me, burying her face in my chest. I could tell she was still having doubts, but I didn't know how else I could reassure her. This really isn't her fault. Even so, there is no doubt that my feelings aren't mistaken. I'm sure of it.

Stella and I did not talk much after that. We stuck close, enjoying each other's naked embrace under the starry sky. And after a bit of time, we went our separate ways. I was reluctant to let her go without fully patching things up, but it was getting late.

I walked back home, contemplating what could have gone wrong, but I could not make heads or tails of it. I entered my house, and surprisingly my parents were still up.

----------

Shortly before Rune entered the house, there was a conversation taking place.

"Are you sure it was okay to let him go out tonight without telling him anything?"

"There is no guarantee that telling him would solve anything."

"But we could have tried!"

*sigh*

"Norma, you know how tough things were for us. He might not believe us; in fact, telling him might make it worse."

". . ."

"The most we can do is wait until he figures things out a bit on his own, and if he comes to us after, we'll explain everything."

"I hope everything went okay."

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.

'Please don't tell me. . .'

"Rune, what's wrong? What happened?" I asked, but my son silently went to his room with a sullen look. My heart ached, and I turned to Bo. He hugged me tightly, and I sobbed silently in his embrace.

----------

My parents were sitting at the table facing each other. They seemed to have been discussing something before I walked in, but I did not feel like asking or talking at all, for that matter. They turned to me with worried faces, and Norma immediately stood up to ask what was wrong, but I ignored her and went to my room. Feeling mentally and physically exhausted, I fell on my bed face-first and drifted off. Unknown to the fact that, at the time, another girl cried herself to sleep that night.

It was morning and the day of my departure, and I was optimistic about the future. I was glad that things improved after my night with Stella. Things were awkward between us at first, but we talked much more often, and she made sure to visit my house every day. We are almost back to being as close as we were as children. I was worried that Stella was still blaming herself, but I didn't see any point in bringing it up again when I had to leave so soon.

Currently, I'm standing at the edge of Kin loading up my things with my parents beside me. The capital is only a couple hours' ride, so I wanted to leave early to register for the academy. I surveyed my surroundings, searching for a specific face, but I could not find who I was looking for.

'I guess she didn't come today,' I thought to myself before Norma spoke up.

"I'm going to miss you, my little Rune."

"I can't say I'll miss you dropping me on my head in the morning."

"What was that? I didn't quite hear you," Norma responded, her brow twitching in annoyance

"Tch" I clicked my tongue and turned my head away

*slap*

"Owww! What was that for?!" I groaned after being slapped upside the head

I closed my eyes after feeling a rough pull on my body, expecting the worst, but it never came. I opened them to find my mother hugging me tightly, to which I responded by wrapping my arms around her back and doing the same.

"I'm going to miss you too, mom."

"Silly boy, why couldn't you say that in the first place?" Norma said with teary eyes

We hugged for a few more seconds before letting go when my dad walked up to me to hand me my holopad.

"Here you go, son; you can't forget this now."

"Thanks, dad."

"I'm proud of how hard you've worked these past couple of years, so I took the liberty of adding a little extra to your account. It's not much, but I hope it helps."

Bo saw me off with a pat on the back, not being one to get emotional. I can't deny the fact that I am going to miss his loud laughter.

I turned and was about to get into the carriage when I stopped realizing there was something I still had to do.

"Please wait for me. I'll be right back." I said to the coachman before running in the opposite direction.

'There's something I still need to do.'

I ran back to the plaza and made a sharp turn toward the forest, following its path to my destination. Reaching a familiar field of flowers, I saw who I was looking for. I entered and saw her standing in the spot we shared our first time. She was dressed in her white sundress, staring at the sky with her arms clasped behind her back.

I walked up to her, and she turned around and spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

"You never came to see me off."

"That's because. . . It is too painful saying goodbye."

I pulled her into a hug

"Stella, will you wait for me?"

"Huh?"

"I'm going to figure this out, and when I do, I'll come back for you. Will you wait for me?"

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Stella stood up on her tiptoes and kissed me.

"I'll be waiting."

We shared a few more minutes of intimacy before I said my goodbyes. The coachman was still waiting, and the longer I took, the harder it would be for me to leave this little fairy. I returned to the carriage, said one final goodbye to my parents, and then signaled the coachman that it was time. He flicked the reins, and the horses trotted off, pulling us behind them. I took one last look behind as we left and saw Stella waving with a smile on her face. Seeing her made my mind feel much more at ease. I faced forward and relaxed, feeling hopeful for the future.

'Things will get better; I can feel it.'