Kaoru hadn't planned on doing anything, but seeing her like this stirred something inside him.
The sight of her pale, delicate arms alone could make him think of things like having children.
Even the slightest movement, an innocent gesture from the girl, suddenly conjured up wildly indecent images in his mind—despite him not even being in the mood right now.
Perhaps it was because of everything he'd been through lately.
Kaoru recalled his days at the agency, where outsiders envied him for living with several idols.
In reality, he was the one who suffered the most.
After the initial adjustment period, the girls gradually let their guard down.
He often caught glimpses of suggestive sights, and their teasing constantly tested his resolve.
Just like now—with Karuizawa merely rubbing against him a few times, his instincts as a man were already stirring.
"By the way… did you really get involved with that senior?"
Unaware of his thoughts, Karuizawa felt a pang of frustration.
Even though she had accepted his so-called "Take all" approach, why was the number still increasing?
"Compared to you, progress has been slow."
Kaoru suppressed his urges.
"Honestly, I don't know how to explain it to you. Situations like this shouldn't happen again—any more, and I won't be able to control it."
"You can't even call this just being lustful anymore. You're a full-blown pervert!"
Karuizawa gritted her teeth and punched his shoulder.
"You even dared to make a move on a senior! Are you planning to play around with a first-year or two this year as well?"
"Stop hitting me. I didn't even have that idea, but you might just talk me into it."
Kaoru caught her flailing fist.
This only made Karuizawa angrier.
She was just venting—were you actually considering it?!
Then again, given Kaoru's usual behavior, it wouldn't be surprising if even first-years couldn't escape his grasp.
"Are you really just lustful?"
Karuizawa eyed him suspiciously. "For the sake of one senior, you ended up clashing with a second-year, and now you're even giving us rings."
"Not lustful?"
Kaoru was curious about her perspective.
"A little perverted, but not lustful."
Karuizawa's face reddened, her voice dropping unconsciously.
"A lustful person would only care about… that kind of thing. They wouldn't care about me…"
As she spoke, she placed both hands on the hem of her clothes and lifted it right in front of Kaoru, revealing her pale, delicate stomach—where a faint, ugly scar was clearly visible.
"This... you've never once looked at it with disgust..."
The girl studied his expression. "Even though it's so ugly, why don't you frown, Kaoru?"
"Its just scar, why would I be disgusted?"
Kaoru could imagine the terror and despair she must have felt back then.
For an ordinary person, bearing such a horrific scar would have left a lifelong psychological scar.
Yet, Karuizawa didn't withdraw into herself.
His voice made Karuizawa's heart clench.
Her eyes grew slightly damp.
Even as she tried to suppress the emotions surging within her, they spread wildly like weeds, breaking through the weight of a massive boulder.
In the gentle breeze and slanting rain, she felt a clear light—even in the churning darkness, the moon still shone brilliantly.
Humans had invented language and writing to better understand each other's feelings, but at this moment, none of it was as moving as the look in his eyes.
The so-called "gyaru" persona had always been just that—a persona.
Under his gaze, Karuizawa felt as though her ship had begun sinking long ago.
The seawater had already risen to her chest, suffocating her.
This sensation of being accepted by the whole world only made her feel utterly beyond redemption.
"Kei?"
Kaoru called her name, slightly puzzled.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Karuizawa finally flashed a radiant smile. "Actually... I've always thought Kaoru isn't the lecherous type."
"What kind of person do you think I am, Kei?"
Kaoru felt that he was lecherous—when he was with them, it was pretty much nightly revelry.
"You really want me to say it out loud?"
Karuizawa curled her lips, unable to resist teasing him with a more assertive tone.
"I can't guarantee I'll say anything nice, you know! Kaoru should have some self-awareness!"
Kaoru averted his gaze, pretending not to hear her last remark. "If you don't want to, we can talk about it next time."
"I never said I was unwilling. After being with you for so long, I've more or less figured out what kind of person you really are."
Karuizawa spoke with an air of confidence.
"You're not a pervert, are you?" Kaoru reflexively blurted out.
Karuizawa suppressed a laugh—this guy actually had some self-awareness.
But even if the person she liked was a complete pervert, she'd accept it.
So it wasn't a flaw, much less something to label him as a pervert over.
"No."
The girl kept a straight face. "Haven't you noticed, Kaoru? There's a serious problem with you."
"Being too easygoing?" Kaoru sounded uncertain.
"What? No, not that at all."
Karuizawa sighed deeply. "You're just too greedy."
Kaoru froze for a moment.
He was too greedy?
"When we first met, you said you were just experimenting with me, right?"
"Yeah. At the time, I groped your chest."
"D-don't just say it out loud like that! Is my chest all you ever think about?"
"Because Kei is irresistible."
"Guh…! T-that's not the point right now! The point is, you're too greedy. You didn't even plan to take responsibility for me at first, but less than a month later, you changed your mind."
Now that he thought about it, that was true.
Kaoru corrected her, "But back then, you were the one who kept clinging to me, weren't you?"
"I—I—! Even if I was the one clinging to you, the one who made the decision was still you!"
Karuizawa flushed with embarrassment.
"You could've just kept treating me as a transaction. I never expected you to care about my feelings—you were the one who brought it up!"
"What's wrong with that?"
Kaoru simply didn't want to see Karuizawa end up with someone else in the future.
"There is something wrong! If you were just a horndog, you wouldn't have needed to do that. You're just too greedy."
As she spoke, Karuizawa sighed again. "You get one thing, then immediately want the next. You're just collecting the things you like."
Someone else had told him something similar before.
Kaoru fell into thought.
Seeing his silence, Karuizawa worried she had been too harsh.
Gently, she pulled his head into her arms and softened her voice.
"I'm not angry. If you keep going like this, the one who'll end up exhausted is you, Kaoru."
The desire to collect was endless.
For most people, it might just mean hoarding figurines that matched their tastes, but Kaoru was collecting real people—people who could talk, who had their own thoughts.
Once the numbers grew, a harem conflict wouldn't just be some idle joke.
And honestly, Karuizawa truly believed this would be too exhausting for Kaoru.
Just dealing with Asahina meant he had to compete with Nagumo Miyabi.
Would he have to keep fighting over every new underclassman too?
"But I'm not telling you to give up on anyone. If it's someone you like, I'll do my best to accept them too."
Karuizawa lowered her voice. "I think it's fine if you let loose sometimes, Kaoru. No need to take responsibility—just bully whoever you want."
The corner of Kaoru's mouth twitched. "Are you telling me to be a villain?"
"Villain sounds too harsh. Like you said, aren't you just a horndog?"
Karuizawa's face reddened. "You don't have to be a villain. Just be a lecher. You don't always have to worry about our feelings—you can do whatever you want."
As she spoke, Kaoru felt her shift slightly, as if pulling something out of her pocket.
Seeing what she took out, Kaoru Mitoma fell silent for a long time.
"What is this?"
"Don't you want to today, Kaoru?"
"That's not what I meant. How did you even bring this in?"
"The teachers only confiscate electronics. This can just stay in my pocket."
"Didn't anyone see you?"
"Honestly! I was being careful the whole time!"
Karuizawa puffed out her cheeks, clearly displeased with Kaoru's lack of trust in her.
"Let's just forget about this. Someone might see us here."
Kaoru hadn't expected her to be so bold—he hadn't even considered the idea himself.
After all, this was a training camp.
There was always a chance someone might stumble upon them.
"We can make it work."
Even Karuizawa herself felt embarrassed, but her resolve was firm.
"There's a forest outside. Who would go out there? Everyone's staying in the dorm. It'll be fine."
"Kei, you're making it hard for me to hold back."
Kaoru's voice was low and strained.
He was already struggling to keep his nerves in check.
If she teased him any further, his last shred of rationality might evaporate entirely.
"Then don't hold back. Like I said earlier, sometimes you worry too much about us. It's exhausting."
Though flustered, Karuizawa's stance was clear.
"No matter what you want to do, I'll go along with it. In fact, I'm asking you to choose me. I'm the only one who can really help you, Kaoru."
If she went through all this trouble only for Kaoru to decide to go find Ichinose Honami instead, Karuizawa knew she'd be furious.
Kaoru took a deep breath and was about to act when suddenly, footsteps approached.
Then came a timid voice.
"Um… can I join you?"
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