The Fate of the Protagonist Who Chose the Harem Ending - Episode 19

The Crumbling Harem 

“Ah, Fujimoto-san. She’s gone from around Ichijou.” 

“You’re right. Shirogane-kun, you did it!” 

A few days after the sports festival. While Shizuku and I were peeking into Ichijou’s 2-A classroom, we noticed. 

Fujimoto Tsukasa was no longer there. 

Ichijou was emanating an aura of displeasure, but those around him seemed to find it amusing. 

“She’s left, huh?” 

“She was like a little sister, wasn’t she?” 

“That boy who took her away, wasn’t his name Shirogane-kun?” 

“Yeah, I heard that when she tried to leave, Shirogane stepped up to defend her.” 

“Whoa, what a great guy!” 

“I saw them earlier, and their height difference totally gave off sibling vibes.” 

“But if he shielded her because of their height difference, doesn’t that mean he made sure she couldn’t see Ichijou?” 

“Wow, that’s so heart-fluttering!” 

“Ugh, so old-fashioned.” 

“What did you just say?” 

“Even though he’s younger than her. What a man!” 

“So, Ichijou got out-argued by someone younger than him? That’s so lame.” 

The voices praising Shirogane and mocking Ichijou spread through the classroom. 

“At this rate, it might all fall apart soon.” 

“Really seems like it.” 

But let’s return to reality now. 

That’s right—the midterm exams are coming. 

“Speaking of which, midterms are coming up.” 

“We have to study…… Want to go to the library and have a study session?” 

“Sounds good. Let’s go after school.” 

I suggested studying in the library, and Shizuku agreed. 

—

After school. 

Shizuku and I headed to the library for our study session. 

The library was filled with various kinds of people: 

– Students having study sessions like us. 

– People quietly reading books. 

– Members of the library committee going about their duties. 

We borrowed a corner of a table and began our study session. 

The sound of pencils scratching paper. 

Muttered frustrations as we wrestled with tricky problems. 

Occasional triumphant murmurs when something was finally solved. 

We helped each other with difficult sections and worked through problems repeatedly. 

When we decided to take a break to rest our minds and hands, Shizuku noticed someone. 

“Haru, that girl over there—isn’t that Imakoga Takako?” 

Shizuku pointed out that the girl was also part of the harem. 

“And the boy next to Imakoga-san—isn’t that Oumi Kenji?” 

Both of them were classmates of ours. 

Still, something seemed odd. 

“They often seem to pair up and act together, don’t they?” 

“Yeah, our classmates said he’s been aggressively pursuing her.” 

Maybe he’d been interested in her before, and Ichijou had swooped in. 

If that’s the case, I don’t understand why he wavered. 

Keeping our voices low to avoid disturbing the quiet library, I shared my thoughts with Shizuku. 

The two of them likely thought they were speaking softly. But in the quiet of the library, their conversation could be overheard by those who listened carefully. 

“Oumi-kun, you got that part wrong.” 

“Really? Man, I can’t believe this is wrong…” 

“Complaining doesn’t change the fact that it’s incorrect. Try again.” 

“This too, but seriously, why do we even need to factorize? It’s such a hassle to put it back together after breaking it down.” 

“That’s a fundamental principle, so just accept it.” 

Imakoga-san was tutoring Oumi-san on his studies. But he seemed to be struggling with factorization. 

Where did that idea of “putting it back together” even come from? 

“Thanks for helping me with my studies all the time, Imakoga. I like you.” 

“…! I dislike stupid people.” 

“Aw, still no, huh?” 

“…! …! …uh…” 

Imakoga-san had an unclear reaction. She was avoiding eye contact. 

Apparently, Shizuku noticed this too and responded. 

“Ah, I get that. That’s just like me.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Shizuku explained. 

“Haru and I had Yuri-chan as a bridge between us. That’s why we were able to quickly convey our feelings to each other. But those two don’t have anyone to bridge the gap. So they might keep misunderstanding each other.” 

It’ll take time, I thought