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Although her life was perfect, it still wasn't complete, because she knew that sooner or later her father would find out where she was and would probably force her to return — especially after she had left home without notice and without saying where she was going, plus the large amount of money she had taken in the process. Although… technically it had been Ren who occupied the body, so maybe she could reduce her parents' anger by blaming him, since her parents had always been more lenient with her. Though that obviously wouldn't spare her from a scolding, at least Ren would get the worst of it. Obviously this was a bit of a low blow, but after everything she had experienced here, what she was living, and what she was going to live… she simply couldn't give it all up and return to that life again. A luxurious life, yes, but with no one to share it with, no one by her side, waiting every day knowing that in a few years she would be married to a noble from who knows what planet… she simply couldn't and didn't want to go back.
She owed Akira so much, so many things… and she didn't want to give it all up. She wanted to keep living here on Earth, with everyone… with Akira.
And even if she didn't succeed, she wouldn't go back. She would find a way to stay no matter what.
"Run… I'm glad you're having a good time. However, I haven't done things right and that's why I wanted to apologize," Akira said with a serious expression.
"Apologize? Why?" Run asked, surprised.
She didn't understand why Akira would need to apologize. He hadn't done anything wrong. On the contrary, she was the one who should thank him for everything.
"For making you wait so long. That wasn't right," Akira said apologetically.
Run understood immediately. The reason Akira was apologizing was because she had been the last one to have a date with him.
"I'm not upset, don't worry. Besides, I was the last one to arrive, so it's only natural that I'd be the last to have a date. I don't blame you," Run said.
Could she really blame him? Would it be ethically right? If she said she wasn't a little upset or envious of the others, it would be a lie, but she had no right to reproach anyone. After all, when she joined Akira's harem, Run already knew the consequences. As a man with many women, naturally her time with Akira would be limited and her turn would be last because she had arrived last to the harem. Jealousy was inherent in any harem — it was simply impossible for a woman not to feel jealous seeing her man with another woman — but it was inevitable and they learned to live with it and even ignore it. All of them, without exception. The good thing was that most of them already had polygamy normalized thanks to the environment they grew up in. For most of them — Lala and the others — polygamy was common in the galaxy, nothing out of the ordinary, and not only men with multiple women, but also women with many men, men with many men, and women with many women. Polygamy was simply normal, so raised in an environment where polygamy was normal, none of them had trouble adapting to Akira's harem.
As for Mikan, Kari, and Haruna… they had simply gone through an adaptation process because unlike Lala and the others, they had grown up in a society where polygamy was illegal and monogamy was the norm. So theirs was more of an adaptation process than anything else, and even then they were completely abnormal. A normal woman would never accept being with a man who had multiple women, but… Akira had achieved the impossible: making them part of a harem where there were no jealousies between them and instead they got along as if they were sisters — an incredible situation that no one would ever believe, and yet it existed and had happened in Japan.
"Still, I apologize. I feel better knowing I've done it," Akira said.
Run didn't reply. If that made him happy, she wouldn't say anything more.
Just when they were about to speak again, the waiter served the dishes they had ordered.
"Anyway, let's eat. There's still a lot of date left," Run said with a smile.
While chatting, Run and Akira ate their respective meals. After finishing and paying the bill, they went to the cinema to watch a movie. The movie was very boring for Akira, who almost fell asleep. If it weren't because he didn't want Run to think the date was boring, he would have. So he gritted his teeth and stayed awake.
After that incredibly boring movie, the shopping continued. One store after another — in some they bought things, in others they didn't. This went on for a few more hours until night fell, the most anticipated moment. Instead of going straight to the hotel, they decided to have dinner first.
"Akira… thank you so much for the date. It's been wonderful," Run said with a sincere smile.
"You're welcome, but actually I'm the one who should thank you," Akira said.
"Thank me? I don't understand. Why should you thank me?" Run asked, confused.
She couldn't understand what she could have done to deserve thanks from Akira.
"For loving someone like me," Akira said.
Run looked at him in astonishment, not knowing what to say.
"Ahem, I mean thank you for being my girlfriend and I hope to stay with you forever. I know that because of my situation I can't give you all the attention you deserve, but I will definitely do everything in my power to please you," Akira said.
Cheesy words that could make anyone die of diabetes. For Run, it was proof that her plan had worked. Akira had fallen in love with her! Or at least that's what she thought.
"Akira, I love you so much!" Run said.
Not caring where they were or how many people were around, Run stood up and threw herself at Akira, kissing him passionately. Seeing them, many people applauded, happy for the young couple who seemed to have taken another step forward in their relationship.
"I love you too, Run. I know our relationship started very abruptly, but that doesn't make my feelings for you any less than what I feel for the others. Keep that in mind," I said sincerely.
I truly believed that. Though if we're talking about love…
"It doesn't matter. I know my love for her isn't as strong as it is for the others right now, but I will definitely learn to love her as she deserves," I thought.
Run deserves someone who spoils her and loves her, and I'm going to prove that I'm the ideal person for her. I'll show her what she means to me through my actions.
"Akira!" Run said happily.
After a bit more flirting, Run sat back down in her seat.
"Actually… I also want to thank you," Run said suddenly.
"Why?" Akira asked.
Now it was Akira's turn to be confused.
"Because indirectly you've changed my life. I'll be brief. Before meeting you, I had no ambitions. The only thing that mattered to me was reaching adulthood and separating from Ren to finally be free. But at the same time I was afraid because I knew that, as a noble, what awaited me afterward might not be better than sharing your body with another person for years. Akira… you may already know this, but in the galaxy, nobles usually use their children to establish connections with other nobles — that is, marry them off to the children of other nobles just to gain more power and connections," Run began to explain.
"I know. Lala and the others went through a similar situation," I nodded.
In fact, I met Lala because of that.
"Yes, it must have been hard for Lala and the others too. So imagine, if the king is capable of marrying off his daughters to other nobles… my father is capable of it too. Don't misunderstand me, I love my parents and he's much better than other nobles. In that sense, he's the best. My mother has also been and is a loving and kind mother, and they always showered Ren and me with all the affection they could muster," Run explained.
"But…" I said.
"But even so, my father wanted to use me as a tool. He wanted me to marry another man, just like the king wanted to do with Lala and the others. When I found out, I became depressed. I simply didn't want to marry someone I didn't love. I didn't want to spend my whole life locked in a cage. I wanted to be free. Free to love the person I wanted, free to live my life without the restrictions I had had all these years. But… despite having those thoughts, I never dared to do anything out of fear of my father, out of fear of the repercussions," Run explained.
"And why did you run away to come here?" I asked curiously.
"It was actually Ren's idea. He wanted to come to Earth and get revenge on you. I was just a passenger. But when I saw you for the first time, it was as if lightning had struck me. I know it sounds like fantasy, but I fell in love with you from the first time I saw you in that internet photo," Run said.
"Run…" I said.
"At first I doubted Ren's intentions, but after falling in love with you, I agreed with his plan and for days we planned the escape. The bad thing was that Ren couldn't come up with a decent plan. All his plans were destined to fail. But luckily, I managed to come up with a plan that got both of us out of there and we were able to come to Earth. You already know the rest. But what you may not be aware of is that ever since I've been here, my life has been simply perfect. I've fallen in love with the man I like, I have new sisters, and I also have my own body. My life couldn't be better," Run said with a radiant smile.
Ugh… she didn't even mention Ren. It's as if she had forgotten about him.
"Run… you don't need to thank me for this. It's what you deserve. This is the life you've always deserved," I said with conviction.
"Thank you very much, but… you know I ran away and my father won't take long to find out where I went," Run said.
Then she looked directly at Akira.
"When the time comes… can you?" she tried to say.
But Akira interrupted her.
"I know where you're going with this, Run, and don't worry. If your father wants to take you away from me… he'll have to do it over my dead body. I won't allow anyone to take you away from my side ever again. And if I have to fight your father for it, I will," Akira said.
For his women he would do anything, even put his own life on the line. That's how strong his love for them was.
"Akira…" Run said, moved.
Upon hearing those incredible but reassuring words, a trail of tears ran down her eyes and that wound in her heart began to heal. She fully trusted Akira, in his strength, and she knew that when the time came, Akira would undoubtedly protect her.
"Don't cry… I like your smile better," Akira said with a smile.
"Yes!" Run nodded quickly.
Upon hearing him say that, Run calmed down just a few seconds later and gave Akira a dazzling smile — so dazzling it almost blinded him in that instant.