“W-why
are you so angry?” Kevin leapt away from more ice shards, one
of which came suspiciously close to impaling his crotch.
“Why
am I angry? WHY AM I ANGRY?!” Christine’s face had turned
purple by this point. “I’m angry because you’re a
disgusting lecher who’s trying to make a harem! And you deserve
to die!”
More
ice shards tried stabbing him. They missed when Kevin leapt
backwards. He was about to try and defend himself from Christine’s
untrue accusations, but another voice spoke up before he could.
“H-harem?”
As
if time had come to a standstill, everything stopped. The twins
stopped fighting, the trio of girls stopped chatting, even Christine
had ceased with her ice shard blasting.
Kevin’s
eyes widened. Oh, god. No. Please no. There was no way, just no way
this person could be here. Not now.
He
turned around.
Yes,
way.
Eric
Corrompere had definitely seen better days. His face had multiple
contusions and what almost appeared to be claw marks. Blood leaked
from numerous wounds on his body, gashes so deep they should have
killed him. How he wasn’t dead was beyond Kevin. How come no
one was freaking out over this?
“You…
you have a harem…?” Like a zombie, Eric began to walk,
his steps slow and halting, arms hanging uselessly by his sides as if
they no longer worked properly. “You have a harem…
hehehe… harem…”
“Eric,
I don’t know what you just heard, but I’m going to tell
you right now that whatever it is, it’s not… eh?”
Kevin’s eyes widened. “E-Eric… a-are you…
crying?”
Indeed,
Eric was crying. Like two large waterfalls, tears streamed from his
eyes in a never ending flow. Miraculously enough, his shirt remained
dry.
Eric
stopped in front of Kevin and raised placed his hands on Kevin’s
shoulder.
“I
think I just found my new god.”
Everyone
stared at Eric very, very oddly.
***
Ever
since she had begun living at the Swift residence, Kotohime had
created a routine that allowed her to maximize her time in the most
efficient manner possible.
After
waking up and making breakfast, she headed to the grocery store or
went out to gather intel as needed. She then returned home and
cleaned the apartment before making dinner. After dinner, when Kevin
and Lilian went to bed, she would go out onto the balcony and enjoy
the Arizona night sky. It was mundane, but she enjoyed the simplicity
of her new life.
As
Kotohime put away the groceries from her latest shopping trip, her
sister walked into the apartment. Camellia, who’d been watching
TV, stood up to greet her.
“Kirikiri,”
Camellia smiled a dazzling smile at her maid… until she saw
the blood covering the entire front of Kirihime’s outfit.
“H-hawa! W-what happened?! Are you okay?!”
Kirihime
gave her mistress a gentle look. “Do not worry, My Lady. I am
perfectly fine.”
“B-but
you're bleeding!”
“Bleeding?
Oh, no.” Smiling her lovely, brilliant smile, Kirihime gestured
to the splatters of dark crimson covering her clothing. “This
isn’t mine. I was out hunting.”
Camellia
tilted her head. “Hunting?”
“Right.
Hunting.”
It
was at this point that Kotohime finished putting the groceries away
and walked into the living room. “Please be careful, Kirihime.
This isn’t like the old days, and I would hate for you to get
arrested for manslaughter.”
Kirihime
was quick to reassure her older sibling. “There’s no need
to worry. I don’t intend to do anymore hunting. Not for awhile.
I just needed some rough leather for a project I’m working on.”
Kotohime
stared at her sister for a long time before nodding ever so slowly.
“Very well. I won’t say anymore on that matter. Oh!
Before I forget, I must tell you not to let Kevin-sama know about
your… hobby. I do not think he would appreciate the
knowledge.”
“H-he
wouldn’t?” Kirihime seemed shocked. “B-but he was
so nice last night.” She paused. “Well, actually, he
seemed kind of frustrated, but he was nice for the most part. He even
let us stay with him, despite not knowing we were coming.”
“Indeed,
Kevin-sama is a kind and courteous young man.” It was one of
the few points Kevin had in his favor, at least as far as Kotohime
was concerned. “And that is why I am kindly asking you not to
let him know of your hobby.”
“I—okay.
If that is what you want me to do, sister, then that’s what
I’ll do.”
“Thank
you.” Kotohime placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder.
“And do not worry. I am sure that Kevin-sama will appreciate
you, even if he doesn’t know about your love of hunting.”
The
smile Kirihime gave her sister was a wondrous and enchanting thing to
behold. “Thank you. You always know just what to say to make me
feel better.”
“Ufufu,
of course.” Kotohime’s demurely curved lips greatly
enhanced her natural beauty. “You are my sister, after all.”
***
Kevin
rested his head on the table. His eyes were open but stared at
nothing. They were the eyes of a defeated man, someone who, after
years of hardship and struggle… or five minutes of the most
humiliating experience of his life, had finally decided to give up
and quietly die.
“There,
there, Beloved,” Lilian murmured gentle reassurances to her
mate, running her fingers through his hair. “It’s okay.
If you don’t want a harem, I’ll make sure you don’t
get one.”
Kevin
looked up at her, his hopeful eyes boring into hers with an almost
frightening intensity. “Really? You promise?”
“Of
course. You’re my mate,” Lilian declared passionately.
“If you don’t want a harem, then I won’t let anyone
else have you.”
“Oh,
thank god,” Kevin muttered in relief. “I was really
worried for a second there. The last thing I need is to become one of
those bumbling, idiotic, harem protagonists. I know people think
they’re awesome and everything, but seriously, have you seen
the crap those guys have to go through? It might be entertaining to
watch, but I can’t imagine it’s very fun to experience
firsthand.”
“Don’t
worry about a thing. If that’s what you want, I’ll never
let you become a harem protagonist for as long as I live.”
Kevin’s
eyes became warm pools of gratitude. “Thank you, Lilian. I love
you.”
Lilian’s
heart fluttered at his words. “You’re welcome, Beloved. I
love you, too.”
“Lilian…”
“Kevin…”
The
two leaned in, their lips moving ever closer…
Sniffle.
Kevin
froze.
“It’s.”
Sniffle. Sniffle. “It’s so beautiful.” More
sniffling. And a sob. “To think his divine power expands.”
More sobbing. “He can make girls fall for him just by talking
to them. Truly, My Lord’s greatness has no limits.”
“We
are not worthy! We are not worthy!”
“Would
you three knock it off already?!” Kevin shouted as Lilian
crossed her arms and huffed, annoyed at how their moment had been
ruined by a trio of fools.
Christine
facepalmed as she watched the idiocy happening in front of her. “I’m
not sure whether I should laugh or cry.”
“I
think I’m gonna go with laugh myself.”
Christine
glared at Iris. “I wasn’t talking to you, fox!”
“Ha!
Damn right I am!” Dipping her finger into the dressing on her
salad, Iris turned to the three idiots bowing reverently to Kevin.
“Oh, boys!” They looked up and Iris slowly stuck her
finger between her lips, erotically sucking on it. She moaned around
her finger before removing it, the digit coated in her saliva, which
she then used to blaze a trail down her neck and collarbone, stopping
only after it had reached her cleavage.
Alex,
Andrew and Eric were felled immediately by a nosebleed. Even Justin
was taken down in the same manner despite not actually watching it
happen. The four boys laid on the ground, twitching as blood spurted
from their noses like leaking faucets.
Iris
nodded in satisfaction before turning to a pissed off Christine and
smirking. “And that’s how it’s done.”
Christine
gritted her teeth, eyes alight with fury. “This is why I hate
you foxes! You’re always acting like a bunch of skanks because
you think the way to a man’s heart is through his dick!”
“The
way to a man’s heart is through his dick.” Iris’
alluring crimson eyes glinted mischievously. “Didn’t you
know that?”
“Kevin’s
not like that.” Lilian smiled at her mate as she gripped his
hand. He blushed, but smiled back. “He didn’t become
interested in me because I’m pretty. It wasn’t until two
months after we met that we started, um, dating, despite my countless
attempts to seduce him.”
“Tch!
We’ll see how long he lasts against me…”
“Did
you say something?”
“Nope,”
Iris responded, going back to her salad, not letting anyone know what
she was thinking.
Within
the confines of her mind, a plan began to form.
***
Watching
the group of humans and yōkai eat lunch from a distance,
Valsiener sat in the library and looked out the window. With his
youki-enhanced eyes, he could easily pick out the details of their
faces, and with his talent for reading lips, he knew exactly what
they were saying.
“Seems
the group has expanded. Things are definitely getting interesting for
Kevin and his entourage.” He paused, his eyes lighting up. “If
I’m not mistaken, I believe I remember hearing about how some
big-shot clan heir was looking for Lilian. That should keep things
interesting. Kekeke…”
***
“Achoo!”
“Bless
you, Beloved.”
“Thanks.”
Kevin sniffled as he rubbed his nose. “Wonder what that was
about?”
“Maybe
someone’s talking about you,” Lindsay suggested.
“I
hope not.”
“Here,
a napkin for you, My Lord.” Eric appeared before Kevin with a
napkin in hand.
“Oh,
thank you—no. Wait. Stop calling me that!”
“Very
well, Harem Lord.”
“Don’t
call me that either!” Kevin’s wail went ignored. It was
going to be a long day.
A
really, really, really long day.
***
Kiara
sat behind her desk, reading over reports and statements about her
fitness centers.
A
lot of people thought it was easy to own a business like hers, that
all you had to do was sit through a few meetings and have others do
the the grunt work. All those people were a bunch of idiots who had
watched way too many movies.
Owning
a business meant putting a lot of time and effort into your career.
It meant spending hours listening to people bicker over inane and
senseless issues, reading over reports to see how the business was
doing, and then making decisions that you felt would best help expand
your business.
There
was also the whole decision-making process itself. Every decision she
made affected her fitness centers, from the centers themselves, to
her employees and the customers. Even a single careless mistake could
cost Kiara her dream, and hurt the people relying on her to provide
them with a stable source of income, not to mention their jobs. It
required more than just hard work to excel at owning a business like
hers. It required grit, determination, and a business acumen that few
people ever acquired.
Her
intercom beeped, interrupting Kiara’s musings. She set her
paperwork down and accepted the incoming call.
“Yes,
Lisa? What is it?”
“You
have a visitor here to see you, ma’am.”
“I
see… send her in?”
“Yes,
ma’am―wait. How did you know it was a she?”
“Lucky
guess. Now send her in.”
“… Okay.
She’ll be up in just a minute.”
Kiara
smiled as the door opened and a familiar, kimono-clad,
katana-wielding vixen walked into the room. She was honestly glad to
see the woman. She and the four-tailed kitsune shared an odd
relationship. They weren’t really friends, though they got
along in a strange way. They also weren’t enemies, as none of
the fights they got into were ever done with the intention of maiming
the other.
“Kotohime.
I’m surprised to see you here. Have you come for a quick
sparring session?”
“Unfortunately
not.” Kotohime walked up to Kiara’s desk, set her katana
against the chair situated in front of it, and then sat down herself.
“I am actually here for other reasons.”
“Ah.”
Her eyes glimmering with the barest hint of amusement, Kiara placed
her left forearm on the desk and leaned forward, meeting Kotohime’s
steady gaze with one of her own. “I see what this is about. You
want to know about the boya’s training, right?”
“Indeed.”
“I
didn’t know you cared.” When Kotohime said nothing,
merely staring at her with that placid expression, Kiara pouted.
“You’re no fun.”
“Ufufu,
I believe you and I have very different definitions of fun,
Kiara-san.”
Kiara
snorted. Leaning back in her seat, she tapped her fingers against the
desk in a staccato rhythm.
“The
boya’s training has been progressing well. His strength, speed
and endurance have increased a great deal these past two weeks. I’m
not surprised, though. The kid’s got guts, is determined, and
has some serious motivation to get stronger.” Kiara paused to
look at Kotohime. “Is that a smile I see?”
Kotohime’s
lips flattened. “I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”
“You
sure about that? I’m pretty sure I saw a smile.”
“You
must have imagined it.”
“Of
course.” Kiara chuckled.
“Do
you think he’s ready to begin combat training?”
“Mmm…
hard to say. I suppose I could begin teaching him, but I would like
to raise his physical stats a little more before I start training him
to fight. Why?” Kiara studied Kotohime, her eyes keen and
sharp. “Is something going on?”