The Fruit of Desire~ Even a Bullied Gardening Club Member like Me Created a Harem~ - Chapter 19

On Monday morning, Misaki promptly delivered the cupcakes that Ren had made to Shinichi. Shinichi, though surprised, expressed his gratitude with a gentle smile, saying, “Thank you.”

Misaki felt relieved in her heart. She was hoping that this might help improve the relationship between Ren and Shinichi, even if just a little.

Shinichi looked at the cupcakes and said, “But there’s quite a few. Can I let these guys have some too?” as he pointed at the two boys who followed him around.

Misaki nodded happily and said, “Yes, they were made with that in mind.”

Shinichi, though finding Misaki’s strange wording a bit puzzling, took a bite of the cupcake he believed she had made. The taste was far better than he had expected, and he couldn’t hide his surprised expression.

Then, everyone present also ended up happily enjoying the cupcakes that Ren had made. In her heart, Misaki prayed that this would become an opportunity for even a small improvement in Ren and Shinichi’s relationship.

Shinichi turned to Misaki and expressed his thanks. “Yeah, it was delicious, Misaki.” But in the next moment, his eyes turned cold.

“By the way, Misaki, I heard you’ve been hanging around with Ren lately. Did you forget I told you to stay away from him?” Shinichi furrowed his brows and stared at her.

Misaki was flustered by those words. “Huh? Um, I think that’s a misunderstanding. Ren-kun is a good person,” she tried to explain.

Shinichi gave a dry laugh and said sarcastically, “Ahaha, of course everyone puts on a good face when they’re in front of the girl they like.”

Even though Shinichi’s words had hurt her, Misaki held onto her belief in Ren’s character and their friendship.

–

Shinichi made sure Misaki had left, then immediately resumed chatting with his two followers. A look of hatred, unimaginable from his earlier expression, appeared on his face.

“I confessed to Misaki because she looks good and has a good personality, but she won’t let me have s3x with her. Says her sister was attacked by some guy or something. It’s kind of a pain.” Shinichi muttered in a low voice.

One of the followers said enviously, “Well, just having such a beautiful girlfriend is already something to be jealous of. I mean, if you just forced yourself on her, wouldn’t she become obedient?” he said.

“What are you talking about? I’m known as an honor student. You think I can afford to do something stupid?” Shinichi replied with a laugh.

Then, the other follower spoke up. “Now that you mention it, is it true that Ren is dating that Shirakawa heiress?”

Shinichi’s face twisted further with hatred. “Yeah… with that recent incident too, there’s a rumor like that. I can only think he’s getting too full of himself…”

–

Ren later received a report from Misaki that Shinichi and the others, including his followers, had eaten the cupcakes. Inside, he was so happy he wanted to dance, but in front of Misaki, he kept a calm face and said, “That’s great. I wonder if they liked them?”

“Yeah, everyone looked like they were really enjoying them. Ah, I’ve got to go now,” Misaki said. Then, realizing Shinichi was nearby, she quickly moved away from Ren.

However, it was a moment too late, Shinichi also noticed that Misaki and Ren were together. He glared at Ren for an instant, but quickly changed his expression and spoke to Misaki with a gentle-looking smile. Ren noticed this, but for Misaki’s sake, said nothing and simply saw her off in silence.

–

A few days later, due to errands in the middle school division, Mizuki and Risa were absent from the gardening club. As a result, Ren and Haruka ended up doing the gardening club’s routine work together, just the two of them, for the first time in a while.

Haruka said to Ren, “Ren-kun, since Mizuki-chan and Risa-sensei aren’t here today, why don’t we take it a bit easier than usual? It’s a rare chance for just the two of us.” Ren agreed with Haruka’s suggestion and said, “Yeah, we can work more calmly than usual. Maybe we can even try something new.”

In addition to their usual tasks, the two of them enjoyed themselves by planting new types of flowers and experimenting with different ways of taking care of them.

As Ren and Haruka were focusing on gardening club activities alone, three men suddenly stormed into the garden. Startled, they stood frozen, trying to grasp what was going on.

Among the three men were Shinichi and his hangers-on. They approached Ren and Haruka with expressions full of malice. Haruka moved close to Ren, her face turning bright red as she trembled and whispered, “Ren-kun…”

As the lackeys held Ren down, Shinichi grabbed Haruka’s arm and restrained her as she shouted, “What are you doing?! Let go of me!” But despite Haruka’s resistance, Shinichi just kept grinning.

Shinichi spoke to Ren with a smile. “You know, you’ve been getting a little too full of yourself lately.” But contradicting the smile on his face, his eyes were filled with coldness.

Shaking with anger and fear, Ren forced out his voice and shouted back, “What do you mean I’m getting full of myself?!” But Shinichi only grinned, trying to overwhelm Ren by making him even more afraid.

Ren and Haruka desperately tried to resist, but they stood no chance against Shinichi and his lackeys. With tears in her eyes, Haruka pleaded, “Please stop, I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

But despite her words, Shinichi threw out even more provoking remarks. “Because you’re an eyesore. I don’t like seeing you getting along with Shirakawa.”

Shinichi’s words revealed his true intent and only intensified Ren and Haruka’s fear. Flushed with anger and frustration, Ren desperately tried to break free.

Meanwhile, Haruka also desperately spoke to Shinichi. “Attacking us over something like that, it’s unforgivable! Do you really think you’ll get away with this?!” Haruka’s words were filled with sincerity, and Ren could feel her determination.

Yet Shinichi remained unfazed by Ren and Haruka’s resistance, continuing to smile coldly. He was clearly enjoying breaking down their resistance little by little by increasing their fear.

Shinichi’s lackeys began assaulting Ren with punches and kicks. Enduring intense pain, Ren cried out, “It hurts! S-stop it!” But they didn’t even pretend to listen.

Ren started to panic. He was sure Shinichi and his followers had eaten the sweets made with his fruit.

If that were the case, then just like when he made Ryuji eat the fruit before, he should have been able to control them with just his words.

“Damn it, why?” Tears welled up in Ren’s eyes from the pain.

Unable to hide her panic at Ren’s condition, Haruka questioned Shinichi. “Why are you doing this? Until now, you all acted like model students, treating everyone kindly!”

Shinichi sneered as he spoke. “Of course I act like an honor student. That way, it serves as the perfect cover when the time comes. And as long as we threaten them without anyone finding out, there’s no problem, right? If the Shirakawa heiress got raped and ended up tainted, she wouldn’t be marketable anymore.”

Haruka was stunned by those words. Shinichi, like her, was supposed to come from a fairly influential family in this area.

She couldn’t believe he had turned out to be such a twisted person.

Shinichi ordered one of his followers to take photos of Ren and Haruka. Ren shouted, “Stop it!” but he was helpless, unable to move or do anything.

With desperation, Ren asked Shinichi, “Why are you doing this to us? Why do you keep harassing me?”

Shinichi replied coldly, “Have you ever kicked a rock down the road?”

Ren replied with a confused look. “Well, yeah. I used to when I was in elementary school.”

Shinichi went on, “It’s like kicking a rock on the street. It wasn’t in the way or anything, while being not too big or too small. It was just the right size, so I kicked it. It’s not like it was fun or anything… It just happened to catch my eye. That’s all.”

Ren and Haruka were stunned by those words. They had just been told they meant no more to Shinichi than a stone on the side of the road.

Ren was more shocked than he had ever been in his life. Ever since the bullying started, he had always believed there had to be a reason for it. Deep down, he wondered if he had done something to Shinichi, or if there was something about him that made people hate him.

Hearing Shinichi’s explanation, Ren was hit with the painful realization: he was just like a rock on the street, picked out simply because he caught his eye. The absurdity and powerlessness of it all crashed down on him, and he had no idea how to get out of the situation.

All kinds of thoughts ran through Ren’s mind. He remembered a day when someone had asked him what he wished for.

Ren longed for power, but not the spotlight that came with being a hero. He had no desire to become a villain either. He wished to be loved, yet lacked the confidence to return that love.

Each of those wishes felt uncertain and half-hearted. Yet there was one thing Ren had always longed for above all else: never to yield. That stubborn desire lived at the core of his being.

“Get away from me!” Ren shouted at the top of his lungs, startling one of the henchmen. Using his small frame, he slipped through the opening and charged straight at Shinichi.

“Don’t you touch my Haruka!” Ren shouted, his voice filled with raw emotion.

Shinichi raised his fist, but Ren, without slowing down, launched himself into a full-body tackle. With just a split-second lead, he struck before Shinichi’s punch could land, successfully knocking him off balance.

Though Ren was small in stature, the steady muscle he’d built from daily gardening club work had added real weight to his frame, giving his tackle surprising force.

At the same time, Haruka quickly broke away from Shinichi and in the blink of an eye, she had turned the tables and restrained him. Her agility and ability to stay calm even under pressure had clearly paid off.

“Ren-kun! It’s working!” Haruka’s voice snapped him back to his senses. Shinichi and his lackeys had eaten Ren’s fruit. At first, his commands hadn’t worked but now, it seemed the effect was kicking in.

Regaining his composure, Ren gave a stern command, “You three. Don’t move an inch. Stay still and keep quiet.”

As soon as Ren’s words echoed out, the violent behavior from moments earlier vanished, and the three instantly became docile. The power of his fruit had taken hold of their minds, leaving them with no choice but to obey.

Before leaving, Ren and Haruka made Shinichi and the others promise never to lay a hand on them again and never to reveal Ren’s power to anyone. With relieved expressions, they quietly left the classroom behind, having made it through the ordeal.

Ren let out a long sigh and murmured, “That was close…” His face showed exhaustion, but there was also unmistakable relief in his expression.

Smiling gently, Haruka said to Ren, “You were really cool, Ren-kun.”

Ren’s face turned red as he spoke. “I’m sorry I pulled you into all this. But I’m glad I was able to protect you.”

Haruka waved her hand gently. “Don’t worry about it. I was actually happy when you called me ‘my Haruka.’ And… when you dropped the honorific too,” she added, looking down shyly.

Ren’s face also turned red as he stammered, “Uh, well… anyway, let’s go to the nurse’s office.”

Hand in hand, the two of them walked together, wrapped in the comfort of having overcome a nightmare.

Characters in this chapter:

Hayama Ren – First-year high school student, member of the Gardening Club. Became intimately involved with Haruka, Risa, and Mizuki. Was able to subdue Shinichi.

Shirakawa Haruka – Second-year high school student, president of the gardening club. She is also kind to Ren. She loves Ren. Actually, she has been practicing Aikido and can easily handle someone like Shinichi.

Asakura Misaki – First-year high school student. Shinichi’s girlfriend. She doesn’t know that the sweets she gave him were a trap.

Shibasaki Shinichi – First-year high school student. Misaki’s boyfriend. He attempted to attack Ren but failed.

Chapter length 4927 characters.