The Fruit of Desire~ Even a Bullied Gardening Club Member like Me Created a Harem~ - Chapter 3
Ren was momentarily confused by those words but realized the strange reality that he was talking to a tiny girl standing right in front of him. At some point, she had planted herself firmly and was staring up at him.
Ren was nearly overcome with doubt, wondering if the tiny girl in front of him was truly the dogwood spirt, or if this was some kind of dream. Her small size aside, she clearly had an otherworldly beauty that didn’t seem human.
“So you’re called Mizuki because you’re the dogwood spirit? Isn’t that kind of lazy?” Ren blurted out the silly question without thinking.
“It’s fine! It’s not a real dogwood tree anyway, so Mizuki is fine!”
Ren had a strange thought. Could it be that the tree he and the seniors in the Gardening Club had treasured, wasn’t really a dogwood tree?
“Then what kind of tree spirit are you?”
“Well, that’s… a maiden’s secret! That’s why I can’t tell you!”
Ren wasn’t entirely convinced by the dogwood spirit’s answer, but he could tell there was something she wasn’t revealing.
“Haruka’s not here today, huh?” Mizuki muttered, glancing around.
“Yeah, she wasn’t at the clubroom, so maybe she’s taking the day off.”
“Then that’s perfect.”
“Is something going on?”
“There is! Look at this.”
As the dogwood spirit stretched out her hand, a small glowing fruit appeared at the tip of a tree branch, and at that moment, Ren’s eyes widened.
A beautiful light seemed to wrap around the fruit… and then Mizuki smiled at him and spoke.
“Here you go, Ren. Eat this♡”
“What is this? A fruit?”
With a hint of suspicion, Ren accepted the fruit from Mizuki’s hand.
Though the glow dimmed once it left Mizuki’s hand, the fruit remained a translucent pale pink, still giving off a gentle light.
“Um, what exactly is this?”
“This is a maiden’s secret fruit. If you eat it, your wish will come true.”
“No way… seriously?”
“Yes, really. But it doesn’t grant just any wish. It reflects what’s in your heart.”
“My heart…?”
“That’s right, Ren. The purpose of this fruit is to make your wish come true.”
Faces of Shinichi, Misaki, and Haruka flashed through Ren’s mind.
…If only he could start over. If only he were stronger. If only he could stay calm no matter what unpleasant things others said. Thinking that, he hurled the fruit into his mouth without hesitation.
“It doesn’t matter what it is, if my wish would come true. If something could change because of this.”
“Yay, you ate it!” As Mizuki raised her small hands high and danced with joy, Ren, though a little confused, smiled.
The instant the fruit touched his lips, he felt as though something had changed, yet the feeling quickly faded away.
Even so, Mizuki’s happiness gave him a small sense of relief.
“Yeah, I ate it,” Ren said, smiling.
Mizuki jumps up and spins around in dance.
“Soon, soon, your wish will come true.”
“By the way, what kind of wish is going to come true?”
“Just a little more patience! I’ll tell you soon.” She said, and reached her hand out to Ren.
Ren, swept up in the moment, stretched his hand toward Mizuki. Then, with a little hop, she jumped onto Ren’s hand.
When Mizuki hopped onto his hand, Ren, having mistaken it for a handshake or something, couldn’t hide his surprise. He gently held her, making sure not to drop her, and looked at her face.
Mizuki turned an innocent smile toward Ren, who felt both soothed and confused by her expression.
“Well then, take me to Ren’s house.”
“Huh? Going home? But I’m still…”
“Look, the sun is already setting, we should head home together.”
Mizuki’s innocent voice eased Ren’s heart. That’s right, it was time for him to create a new future. After returning home, he decided to think again about the wish he wanted to make come true.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Ren gently cradled Mizuki in his arms, wrapping up the gardening club’s work, then left the garden.
Ren was anxious about being seen by someone on the way home, but fortunately Mizuki said, “I can’t be seen by other people. Walk with more confidence,” which helped Ren relax and return home.
When Ren entered the room, he said to Mizuki, “Wait a minute,” and hurried to the kitchen to search for fruit. Fortunately, there were apples and oranges, so he placed some on a plate and set it in front of Mizuki.
“Here, please eat. You must be hungry, right?”
Mizuki happily took the fruit in her hands.
“Thank you, Ren. I’ll share a bit of a maiden’s secret♡ Just a little♡♡”
Without delay, Ren asked about the fruit he had just eaten.
“By the way, that fruit was so delicious, but what exactly will happen next?”
Mizuki chuckled, pointing at her mouth with a small hand, before saying, “Actually…”
“The fruit you ate, Ren, was actually my true form♡ Mizuki herself♡♡!” Mizuki said, blushing and covering her face with both hands.
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“Well, I am the spirit that resided in that tree, and the fruit that came from it. That’s me. In other words, through the fruit you ate, my soul has been transferred into you.”
“What? Your soul through the fruit?… Is that okay?”
“It’s fine! Eventually, the fruit will merge with you, and we’ll truly become one♡ Once that happens, you’ll be able to create fruit too.”
Mizuki nodded and began to speak dreamily while covering her mouth with her small hand. “Yes, you and I have become one♡ And now, I’ll amplify your desires♡♡” She smiled seductively at Ren.
“When someone eats the fruit created by Ren, Ren’s desires are passed on. And the desires of the person who eats it will be absorbed and return to Ren. This is how the power is amplified. The strength of those desires is connected to the strength needed to fulfill Ren’s wishes.”
Ren was surprised but also listened with great interest. Ren’s wishes were passed on through the fruit, and the power of the fruit grew stronger with the desires of the one who ate it. It felt almost like magic.
He thought that the stronger the power of desire, the stronger the drive to do one’s best would become.
“Hurry, let’s melt together…♡”
Ren, unaware of Mizuki’s seductive smile, stared at his palm with excitement, thinking, ‘I can change with this too.’
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.
Mizuki – Self-proclaimed spirit of the dogwood tree, but apparently not the actual dogwood tree. A cute girl the size of a palm.
Chapter length 2771 characters.
Tl Note: The character used for wish is also used for desire, so I used desire where it fit better, however I may have gotten this wrong in some places. Also the Mizuki name contains the same characters as dogwood tree. Which is why Ren called her naming herself Mizuki lazy.