The Stand User Of The Daily World

Chapter 114: A Thorny Path to the Harem

Just as Utaha was on the verge of shutting down emotionally, Mai broke the silence: "Shunsuke-kun, aren't you going to introduce your relationship with Kasumigaoka-san?"

"Utaha is my junior in writing. We met two years ago when my editor asked me to write a recommendation for her novel."

"Oh, Utaha, is it? You two seem quite close." Mai said with a strained smile. "I was wondering why someone who only sleeps through class has been taking subtle jabs at me lately. Now it makes sense."

"Heh, it seems someone really lacks self-awareness." Utaha countered with a similar strained smile. "Even though you're just Mai-san, you sure are confident. Trash-kun is merely someone's manager. Surely you don't think that counts as a confession, right? That's purely a professional connection."

"Who's the one getting worked up now?" Mai quipped.

"If it's just a work relationship, what gives you the right to be so controlling?"

Watching the two trade barbs again, Shunsuke finally understood what a real "love battlefield" felt like.

Both of them had dominant personalities—Mai, the strong and independent semi-celebrity, was no pushover like Eriri, who'd let herself be bullied. If this kept escalating, things could get dangerous.

With that in mind, he forced himself into the conversation to defuse the situation. "Mai-san, your bento is going to get cold. How about we go upstairs and eat first?"

"Good point. After all, it was at your insistence, Shunsuke-kun, that I made this bento. It'd be a shame to waste it."

Shunsuke forced a smile but said nothing.

Utaha's eyes gleamed with a mischievous light. She then feigned a casual smile and said, "Trash-kun, you're really something. Asking a busy superstar to make you a bento. Next time, leave that kind of thing to me. Consider it my thanks for you writing a novel just for me."

"Not to be rude, but Utaha, can you even cook? From what I remember, you're completely useless when it comes to housework," Shunsuke said, seemingly oblivious to the underlying meaning behind Utaha's words, unintentionally undermining her.

Utaha looked visibly displeased, and Mai couldn't help but sympathize.

In this world, girls don't casually make bentos for guys they don't care about.

Getting to this point is already a bold enough move.

Unless the guy is the kind of dense protagonist you see in anime, everyone knows what such actions mean.

For the girl, this is as forward as it gets—just shy of outright confessing.

And based on their daily interactions, both Utaha and Mai were well aware that Shunsuke wasn't the dense type.

Yet, when it came to matters like this, he always behaved so frustratingly straightforward…

Though she hated to admit it, Mai, already with one foot in the adult world, understood that this in itself was a kind of answer.

Utaha, even if she had some inkling, still held onto a sliver of hope.

In the past, neither Mai nor Utaha, as proud women, would have shown any warmth toward this kind of man.

Especially Mai—unlike the socially awkward, secretly fragile, easily entranced otaku senior, she was far more rational and harder to handle. If someone tried to play games with her, her response would be clear: Sorry, I'm not interested.

But after experiencing the strange phenomenon of adolescence syndrome, during which everyone else had forgotten her, there was one boy who still remembered her, who stayed by her side no matter what.

That unique bond made it impossible for even the strong, independent Mai to sever her connection with him.

—Besides, neither I nor Shunsuke-kun has confessed. To suddenly distance myself from him without reason would feel ungrateful.

—So, there's no rush. Let's play this out. At this point, who's the hunter and who's the prey isn't so certain anymore.

Mai justified her actions to herself, though she was inwardly annoyed at her own feelings.

She was starting to realize that she was no different from the seemingly strong but emotionally vulnerable fool sitting next to her—she had fallen for him, too.

The two seniors exchanged a glance, and for a moment, there was an inexplicable sense of camaraderie, as if they shared the same plight.

Shunsuke noticed that something seemed off with Mai's expression. While he couldn't fully grasp her complex thoughts, he had a vague idea of what might be causing it. Yet, he felt utterly helpless.

If he wanted everyone to become his "wings," past experiences from other pioneers had made one thing clear: confessing outright was absolutely not an option.

That left him with no choice but to resort to the classic "I didn't quite catch that" or "I have no idea what's going on" strategies of the notoriously dense male protagonists.

At that moment, Shunsuke deeply empathized with the countless "dense" protagonists of the past.

In that moment, he wasn't fighting alone—Ichijou Raku, Hasegawa Kodaka, Izumi Masamune, Yuuki Rito… countless "dense" male protagonists seemed to possess him.

Shunsuke was not fighting alone!

As for Runa and the others?

Well, according to feminist rhetoric, this was a case of "separating love from desire"—two entirely different matters.

Let's just pretend that's true for now.

Realizing that his attempt to change the subject had failed, Shunsuke remained undeterred and prepared to try again.

However, the girls, now completely in sync, weren't about to give him another chance.

"Trash-kun, how exactly do you know that old woman's age? Did your editor tell you that, or did you go out of your way to investigate?" Utaha asked with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Shunsuke-kun," Mai added, stepping forward in unison with Utaha, her expression equally "friendly," "after addressing Kasumigaoka-san's question, could you also explain what happened at Hyakkaou Academy? Your assistant mentioned some very interesting things."

The synchronized advance of the two girls made Shunsuke's heart skip a beat. While Utaha's question was easy enough to answer, Mai's inquiry sent a chill down his spine.

He had worn his mask for too long. In the chaotic world of Hyakkaou Academy, he had unconsciously let it slip.

Looking back now, his actions seemed utterly reckless—publicly betting on the "rights" to Runa, winning, and then carrying her off in front of everyone.

What was he even thinking at the time?

His brain must have short-circuited to do something so insane!

Momobami Kirari—truly terrifying.

Shunsuke instantly shifted all blame onto Kirari.

Then...

Za Warudo!

In the frozen world of stopped time, Shunsuke took a moment to think carefully.

The most critical issue now was determining how much Mai actually knew.

—Although she has ties to Yumemi's group, none of those people are actual students of Hyakkaou Academy. As outsiders, they wouldn't have the authority to enter such an elite institution. Otherwise, Yumemi's own assistant wouldn't be that clearly inexperienced girl in glasses.

—Judging from Mai's earlier attitude, she didn't seem inclined to bring it up at first. This suggests that, in her view, the issue isn't too severe!

Quickly piecing things together, Shunsuke identified the key points.

He decided to address minor details to deflect attention.

Even if he hadn't analyzed it so thoroughly, his approach would probably have remained the same.

---------------

If you want to read 10 advance chapters ahead.

Visit my patreon: patreon.com/EggZy