The Fruit of Desire~ Even a Bullied Gardening Club Member like Me Created a Harem~ - Chapter 2

After school, the classroom had completely changed from the morning hustle and bustle and returned to silence.

Though none of his classmates reproached him, they all avoided speaking to Ren and kept away from him.

Those glances and whispered conversations around him tormented Ren’s heart.

However, even amid all that, only Misaki gave Ren a gaze that showed concern, which made him feel a small sense of comfort.

“Misa…” Just as he was about to speak to Misaki, she was called by Shinichi.

Misaki gave a quick glance in his direction, but still left the classroom with Shinichi.

While grateful that Misaki cared about him, Ren also painfully realized how close she and Shinichi were becoming.

–

After school, Ren headed alone to the gardening club room. From the moment he left the classroom, soaked in humiliation, his heart only grew heavier. No matter how much he tried to stay strong, a bit of emptiness always remained.

The silent hallway, with linoleum faintly damp from the rain, made his steps painfully audible. The humiliation from the classroom lingered on his face, casting a slight shadow in his eyes.

But he couldn’t let Haruka-senpai, his senior in the gardening club, see him like that, so he washed his face at the sink, sighed briefly, and forced a smile before opening the clubroom door.

“Good morning, Haruka-senpai!”

However, Haruka-senpai wasn’t there. Feeling awkward, he looked around the room, but she was nowhere to be found.

“What, Haruka-senpai’s not here today?” Ren muttered with a sulky expression.

Just then, his eyes caught a notebook spread open on the desk in front of him. It was the gardening club’s activity log.

Ren picked up the club activity notebook laid open on the desk. The dogwood tree Haruka-senpai cherished was also one of his favorites. He began reading the legend written on that page about the dogwood.

“A wish-granting tree… feels kind of mysterious.”

Written on the page was a curious tale surrounding the dogwood tree that grants wishes.

According to the tale, if a tiny figure like a fairy shows up, it is the spirit of the dogwood tree.

“They say if fruit goes missing, it’s the dogwood spirit; if herbs are taken, if flowers are nibbled…” The notebook was filled with gardening club members’ complaints about things happening around the dogwood tree.

“The spirit’s really being resented, huh.”

The notebook contained the gardening club’s complaints, but along with those words was a drawing of a small girl happily eating fruit, surrounded by cute decorations.

Ren read it over and over, drawn in by how cheerful the club members seemed. Even while writing complaints about the spirit, they smiled. It felt like they understood something he didn’t.

“That’s nice.”

He felt like he could understand, just a little, why Haruka-senpai cherished that tree.

–

When he stepped out of the clubroom, the rain had stopped, sunlight streamed through the clouds, and droplets on the leaves created a beautiful scattering of light.

After leaving the room, he walked a little and headed toward the school’s small garden.

Ren thought back on the day. He was the one being bullied by Shinichi. His classmates looked up to Shinichi, and even Misaki spoke encouraging words to him. Why was he treated differently? What was he lacking?

Upon reaching the garden, he saw a beautiful, small dogwood tree. Around it were flowers and herbs grown by the gardening club, coloring the scene with a rich variety.

He turned his attention to each plant, carefully tending to them one by one.

As he pulled weeds and checked for insects in the garden, he noticed raspberries lying in front of the dogwood tree. Some herb leaves were missing too. Looking at the flowerbed, he realized some flowers had been nibbled on.

Suddenly, he remembered the legend from the club activity notebook…

“They say, if fruit is stolen, it’s the dogwood spirit… they say herbs are taken, flowers are nibbled…”

“Could this be the dogwood spirit…?” Ren thought. He couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like what was written in the notebook was happening for real.

“Haruka-senpai would never do something like this…” Haruka cherished plants, and Ren could confidently say she wasn’t the type to pull such pranks.

Then, a thought crossed his mind—Shinichi. The idea made him uneasy. Could Shinichi have come even here to take Ren’s place?

The very thought of Shinichi stirred both fear and anger in Ren.

(What if Shinichi saw the club notebook… and targeted the dogwood tree that Haruka-senpai and I treasure…?)

While thinking that, Ren looked once again at the dogwood tree. There were rumors that the small tree had the power to grant people’s wishes, but was that really true?

Suddenly, a strange sensation washed over him. When he looked at the flowers blooming there, he was struck by their beauty.

“The dogwood tree is blooming!”

The blossoms danced in the breeze, their beauty enchanting him, stirring a feeling unlike anything he’d ever experienced before.

Ren gathered his courage and spoke to the dogwood tree. “Dogwood spirit, are you there? My name is Ren. I learned about the dogwood tree for the first time after joining this gardening club. I want to help protect the tree, help it bloom beautifully, and bear lots of fruit. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

So please… But he couldn’t say anything more.

(A wish…? What would my wish even be?)

Ren didn’t understand what it was he would wish for.

(Do I want to be saved? Freed from the bullying? …Become Misaki’s boyfriend? …Or maybe… do I just want to die?)

But the dogwood tree gave no response. The leaves simply rustled quietly. Ren looked briefly disappointed, but quickly regained his focus and returned to tending the garden.

“…ーー…!”

Ren suddenly heard a voice from behind and turned around, but no one was there. Feeling uneasy from the strange sensation, he looked around once more, but still, no one was in sight.

“Hey, you pessimistic​ gloomy bastard!”

A sudden voice startled Ren so much he stumbled and fell. Even so, curious about where it came from, he scanned the area once more…

“Geez, look down! Down!”

When he looked at the flower bed in front of him, he saw a small figure.

Ren was captivated by the tiny girl who appeared before him. She was about the size of a palm, with silver hair, red eyes, and wearing a kimono. An undoubtedly beautiful little girl.

“You’re… the dogwood spirit?” Ren said, unable to hide his surprise.

The dogwood spirit stood tall and firm, looking up at Ren, who was much bigger. Despite her small size, she radiated strength.

“That’s right! I’m the legendary dogwood spirit, Mizuki herself!”

Characters appearing in this chapter:

Hayama Ren – First-year high school student, member of the Gardening Club. Has secretly been bullied by Shinichi since middle school.

Asakura Misaki – First-year high school student. Used to be kind to Ren in middle school. But now they are distant. Recently became Shinichi’s girlfriend.

Mizuki – Self-proclaimed spirit of the dogwood tree. A cute girl about the size of a palm.

Chapter length 2978 characters.