Is It Wrong To Have A Harem In Daily Life?

Coming out of the not-so-crowded campus store, Murakami Yuu had acquired a box of pre-cut sushi rolls and a bottle of purified water.

Originally, he had planned to make his own bento for lunch today, but after having that bizarre dream last night, he really wasn't in the mood to cook this morning, so he could only make do with this.

On his way back to class after changing into indoor shoes, he unexpectedly encountered a familiar person.

"Yuu..."

It was Eriri, who had just left the club activities, still holding her laptop.

Murakami Yuu nodded slightly.

"Good afternoon, Eriri."

"Good afternoon. Is that all you're eating for lunch?"

Eriri noticed what he was holding.

"I wanted to be lazy occasionally. Although this doesn't taste great, at least it's convenient."

Murakami Yuu gave a casual reason while noticing the direction Eriri had come from. If he remembered correctly, that area seemed to be where her club was located.

"Well then, I'll head back to the classroom first."

Murakami Yuu said this politely and started walking again.

But as he passed by Eriri, she grabbed the corner of his clothes, and he heard a soft murmur in his ear:

"Yuu... stay with me for a while, okay?"

Looking back, Eriri's eyes were full of pleading.

Murakami Yuu looked at her quietly, and noticing that several gazes from passing students were already focused on them, he sighed inwardly.

"Let's go to the rooftop. There should be fewer people there."

He didn't have anything else to do anyway.

...

As Murakami Yuu had thought, on the slightly warm October day, there wasn't a single person on the rooftop.

Finding a bench in the shade, the two sat down side by side. Since there was an occasional breeze, they didn't feel particularly hot.

Although looking at Eriri's expression and understanding her personality, he could roughly guess what she wanted to talk about, Murakami Yuu still wanted to initiate the conversation himself and ask tentatively.

After all, Eriri currently looked dejected and unlikely to speak first. If they continued this silent standoff, who knew when this conversation would end.

"Did something happen?"

Murakami Yuu asked while placing the boxed sushi he had purchased on his lap and opening the packaging.

"It's the artwork. The heroine character design I worked on during the weekend, just like last time, didn't pass..."

Eriri kept her head down, her brilliant golden twin-tails hanging on either side of her body with her movement.

"I see..."

Although he had already anticipated that Eriri would only seek him out for something like this, when she actually said it, Murakami Yuu still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

The role he was currently playing was, to put it nicely, a confidential listener who wouldn't leak secrets—or to put it harshly, a garbage can for collecting unwanted negative emotions.

Murakami Yuu was a psychologically normal man. If he had designs on the other person, he could selectively perform some accommodating behaviors—this was a necessary price to pay for increasing favorability.

Like with Tachibana Rui before, whether during or after, he would appropriately show his tender side. Although it was a request initiated by the other party, he was indeed lusting after her body, had indeed succeeded, and had a quite pleasant night, so this level of patience and care was naturally something he needed to provide.

But with Eriri, Murakami Yuu couldn't think of any reason why he needed to sit here listening to her talk about things he wasn't interested in.

Admittedly, her appearance was exquisite, the thighs exposed between her pleated skirt and knee-high socks were white and tender, and her tsundere personality might be a nice moe point.

Being cute and pretty could indeed get you a lot of preferential treatment in this society, but Murakami Yuu was an exception.

After all, who hasn't played with a few pretty and cute stud...

Cough... cough!

Forget it, this would be the last time. After this, he'd inadvertently distance himself from her gradually.

"Want some?"

Murakami Yuu offered the sushi roll in his hand.

"No need, I'm not really... growl..."

As Eriri waved her hand in refusal, her stomach gave an honest answer. In just an instant, her fair face was tinged with a light pink.

"No need to be so polite."

Murakami Yuu chuckled, popped one into his mouth, and placed the rest on her closed thighs.

"Thank you..."

Eriri swore to herself that no matter how rushed she was for school in the future, she would finish breakfast before leaving.

Making such a loud noise, and right next to Yuu—how embarrassing!!!

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Murakami Yuu unscrewed the cap of the purified water and placed it on the bench between them.

With something to distract her, the embarrassment on Eriri's face gradually faded. Using a narrative tone, she slowly recounted what had happened in the club room earlier, even opening her laptop to show Murakami Yuu the character artwork.

"Are you an idiot?"

This was Murakami Yuu's first reaction after waiting for Eriri to finish her account.

Eriri was stunned for about ten seconds. When she saw that Murakami Yuu's gaze remained fixed on her, she realized that the "idiot" he mentioned referred to her, not someone else.

"So Yuu also thinks my artwork quality isn't up to standard..."

"Why would you come to that conclusion?"

Murakami Yuu was startled. Her thought process seemed incomprehensible to him.

"Because Yuu called me an idiot..."

The usually gentle Murakami Yuu becoming somewhat direct made Eriri feel both unfamiliar and a bit wronged.

Murakami Yuu helplessly looked up at the sky and sighed.

"I remember Eriri's father is British, and he's also a diplomat, right?"

"That's right. Why bring this up suddenly?"

"Eriri should learn from your father—a diplomat's way of thinking and methods of handling things."

How did Mrs. Sawamura manage to snag your father from across the ocean only to give birth to such a loser like you? (Note)

Murakami Yuu had wanted to say this, but the words stuck in his throat and he swallowed them, choosing a more peaceful way of speaking instead.

It wasn't that his personality was dark and he wanted to attack people, but after learning the whole story through Eriri's account, an indescribable feeling of frustration welled up in his heart—the kind of emotion that would make even bystanders angry.

"As for me, I feel like I'll never reach that level of excellence like my father."

Eriri's head, which had been raised, lowered again, and her soft, brilliant golden hair seemed to dim considerably.

"I'm not asking you to reach that level, just to learn how to use words to decline unnecessary requests, instead of running to me seeking comfort under someone else's nonsensical personal opinions."

Murakami Yuu's tone returned to its initial nonchalance as he casually took a piece of sushi from Eriri's lap and put it in his mouth.

Not bad—although it was just convenient food sold in a regular store, it tasted surprisingly good. Maybe it was because he was somewhat hungry?

After hearing this and thinking for a moment, Eriri's eyes lit up.

"Yuu, you mean..."

"While it's true that Eriri is an idiot, in this matter, I don't think the problem lies with you."

"Who! Who's an idiot!"

After hearing the answer she wanted to hear, Eriri's emotions warmed up and she immediately showed her tsundere nature.

"Very cute, this side of Eriri."

When he came to his senses, Murakami Yuu found his hand was already resting on top of her head.

Not expecting Murakami Yuu to make such a direct move, Eriri's head overheated like a train puffing steam and she crashed on the spot.

She didn't even notice the fleeting gloomy expression on his face.

Withdrawing his hand and trying to calm his mind and not overthink, Murakami Yuu spoke again after Eriri regained consciousness.

"When I was working before..."

"Working? When did Yuu ever work?"

After receiving the head pat, Eriri's cheeks were still rosy, but having been satisfied in some way, she could now honestly follow Murakami Yuu's conversational flow.

"...Sorry, I misspoke. When I was working part-time before, I encountered some unreasonable customers who made impossible demands, some even reaching the level of being completely unreasonable."

"In that case, wouldn't it be better to just directly refuse such impolite customers?"

Eriri was somewhat puzzled, not knowing why the topic had suddenly turned to completely unrelated matters.

"No, I couldn't refuse directly. For things I could complete, I would do them directly. For things I couldn't complete, I would choose to inform my supervisor and let him handle it. Maintaining a smile throughout and not getting angry was basic.

Because I knew that customers were my bread and butter. If they didn't come to consume, then the job I was doing would have no reason to exist."

Eriri frowned, her expression changing from confusion to contemplation.

"Still about part-time work—this was another job. The shop I worked at encountered an ignorant outsider partner who constantly told us what to do, making us change this and that. But the requirements he mentioned were actually useless for the work, yet we still complied."

"Eh? If it was useless, why listen to him?"

"Because the other party was a rich second-generation. Without his financial investment, the shop I worked at might have gone bankrupt. You could say he alone was supporting all the employees in the shop."

"This..."

"In society, money can solve many things cleanly. Those who complain about wanting to rest on holidays and not wanting to work overtime, those who grumble about work being too busy and tiring—they're all expressing dissatisfaction because the money isn't enough."

"Yuu, you mean..."

"What I'm about to say is just my personal subjective view. Eriri, you don't need to accept it. Just make your judgment based on your own inner thoughts."

Murakami Yuu paused for a while, and after seeing Eriri nod, he continued:

"Aki Tomoya is neither your bread and butter nor your sugar daddy. Why should you deny your own efforts and force yourself to accommodate such a worthless person who only talks nonsense?"

Eriri's eyes widened in shock. Although Murakami Yuu had spoken lightly just now, the content that came from his mouth completely overturned her understanding of the person before her.

The Murakami Yuu she knew and understood had always been someone with a gentle smile who gave people unparalleled warmth and reassurance. Previously, when she had told him about troublesome things in the club, he had always used positive words to help her regain an active mindset.

But what was going on today? Not only did Yuu's words contain strong contempt for Tomoya, they even included profanity.

What was even stranger was why, after hearing Yuu's words, an indescribable sense of satisfaction welled up in her heart...

"Sorry, I seem to have accidentally used some inappropriate words, but after hearing about your experience, this is indeed my most honest feeling."

Murakami Yuu shrugged. Although he was apologizing, there was no trace of remorse on his face.

"It was me who approached Yuu to talk in the first place. You saying such things is also because of me, so Yuu doesn't need to apologize."

Eriri pursed her lips slightly. Thinking of her childhood friendship with Aki Tomoya, she still softened and wanted to defend him:

"As for Tomoya, he's not really that bad. At least he's serving as the producer, responsible for game planning and plot design..."

"Perhaps. I don't know him very well. My conclusion just now was only an evaluation based on the impression I got of him from you, Eriri. So maybe your thoughts are correct."

Murakami Yuu glanced at Eriri and smiled.

Such as:

"Having someone who can't even figure out basic game production ideas serve as the planner—it's like having a group of normal people let a blind person drive and lead the way. Aren't they afraid of crashing into a ditch?"

"Since he's the producer, the preliminary preparation work should be done well. He should have a clear idea of the heroine's image and personality. But why, when facing the artist, can't he even state the most basic requirements?"

"It was Aki Tomoya who gathered people to form the game club. As the overall person in charge, although he has the right to decide whether to adopt any content, while exercising his power, has he fulfilled the obligations he needs to bear?"

Such rhetorical questions—

After understanding the meaning conveyed by Eriri's previous statement, Murakami Yuu dismissed the idea of saying these things.

The other party still held expectations for Aki Tomoya. The original intention of establishing that game club was ultimately a case of one willing to hit and another willing to be beaten. Eriri coming to find him today was only to vent her sense of loss at not being affirmed—something like 'I'm sad and need to be coaxed to feel better.'

So in the end, the conclusion was that he seemed to be worrying unnecessarily.

Murakami Yuu felt quite frustrated.

Forget it, it was just killing time during lunch break out of boredom anyway. He'd treat it as entertainment. Besides, there wouldn't be a next time.

Murakami Yuu took the now-empty plastic container from her lap and stood up. If there was already a conclusion, there was no point in saying more.

"Lunch break is almost over. Let's go back to the classroom."

"Yuu... I want to stay here a little longer..."

"I see. Then rest a bit more. I'll go back first."

Murakami Yuu chose to ignore the expectation in Eriri's eyes.

"I'm leaving first."

After receiving Eriri's reluctant wave goodbye, Murakami Yuu left the rooftop decisively.

Walking down the descending stairway, Murakami Yuu gradually tightened his grip on the plastic container.

It was the same hand that had touched Eriri's head earlier.

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