Chapter 200: Harems are a Man's Dream (Fantasy!)
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: vb24
Mayuzumi was unable to resist against Seiji’s "forcefulness" and could only comply.
That painful feeling in her chest disappeared, and she suddenly discovered that she was looking forward to tomorrow.
This caused her to feel embarrassed at her true feelings and her words just now in various ways.
‘I’m really not acting like an adult at all,' Mayuzumi commented to herself.
Kaede was secretly a little jealous as she watched this scene unfold.
She wanted to tour the school festival together with Seiji as well, but since she was working as the infirmary nurse, that was impossible.
Just earlier during her conversation with Seiji, she requested that he help buy a few things for her and bring them over, which would make him come to the infirmary office again. Currently, having this much contact was sufficient for her.
Deep inside, Kaede was rather anxious. But she knew that anxiety was no good and that patience was necessary. Even slow, steady steps still meant progress to her.
Maybe the joke she'd made earlier was a little overboard, but it probably left him with a deep impression, so it was okay.
Kaede smiled in a friendly manner as appropriate of an infirmary nurse but hid her emotions from Seiji and Mayuzumi as they left the infirmary.
"That doctor... er, nurse was quite beautiful." Mayuzumi sighed as she turned to the boy beside her. "Haruta-kun, you’re acquainted with her, right?"
"Yes, we know each other from before." Seiji nodded.
"Do you like beautiful women like her?"
"Er... I think she’s alright. Why the sudden question?"
"I was just asking casually." Mayuzumi blinked innocently before posing her next question: "What type of girl do you like then, Haruta-kun?"
Three conversation options appeared before Seiji's eyes.
[A: I like the older, more mature type.]
[B: I like the younger, cute-looking type.]
[C: I like many different types and feel that each type of girl possesses her own unique charisma.]
Seiji couldn’t find any words to express his current feelings at the moment!
If he wanted to improve Mayuzumi’s favorability rating towards him, the correct answer was probably A.
As for his honest opinion, he was leaning towards C.
But C seemed a bit like a scumbag man’s typical statement to him?
Hm, that was a mistaken impression. It had to be a mistaken impression.
"I... can’t really say that there’s only one type of girl that I like," Seiji responded. "I think that each type of girl has her own unique charisma, and none are better than the rest."
Mayuzumi scrutinised his face. "That sounds like something that the main male character of a harem manga would say."
"Urk!" Seiji received a direct impact and made a strange noise.
"Could it be... that Haruta-kun wants to create a marvelous harem?"
Mayuzumi chuckled slightly at his reaction and continued joking with him.
"Er... not at all!" Seiji denied hastily.
"Why not? Harems... aren’t they what every boy dreams of?"
‘Wah! This... it’s impossible for me to deny!’
Seiji was unable to say something that went against his true feelings.
As a man... as a male, anyone would fantasize about it, right!? A harem of his own!!
Various types of beautiful girls pleasing to the eye that all loved only him and belonged only to him... What man hadn’t imagined such a scenario before!?
Seiji personally believed that any ordinary man would have this type of fantasy! That’s why saying that harems were a man’s dream was absolutely correct!!
At least that was what he believed, which was why he found it impossible to deny what Mayuzumi had jokingly asked.
"Haruta-kun?" Mayuzumi noticed his frustration and panic, and her grin grew wider still; it appeared she found his plight amusing.
"Mmm... yes." Seiji changed his expression to one of resolution. "Harems are indeed a man’s dream!"
"I’ve fantasized before about harems! I hope that reality can just be like the 2-D world, with many beautiful girls that love me and belong only to me!"
"I’m willing to work hard for their sake, and they will be willing to do the same! Everyone can be together and do whatever they enjoy while living a happy and blissful life!"
"Even if this is incredibly selfish and willful of me, that’s what I truly want! This is the innermost desire that I wish for!!"
Seiji used a serious attitude to voice the sentiments of his innermost gentlemanly (perverted) heart.
The manga author was stunned upon hearing this.
She never expected to hear something like this! She expected that he would try his best to cover it up.
This confession was rather astonishing in its own way!
"That’s all. If I offended Peach-sensei, I apologize." Seiji saw her dazed expression and retracted his expression of resolution as he sighed. "That’s what I truly believe, and it’s my fantasy as an otaku. There’s no way that I can lie to someone I respect like Sensei."
"And of course, it’s just what I believe, and a dream is just a dream.
"Reality won’t have any harems like in 2-D stories. Or, even if harems did exist, I don’t think that I’m capable of creating one." Seiji shrugged.
Yep, that’s how it was.
Fantasies were one thing, while realities were another. Even if a perfect harem truly did exist, that definitely wasn’t something an ordinary man... or a man with normal emotional intelligence could accomplish.
Seiji felt that his own emotional intelligence was at a normal level, or perhaps even slightly below average. Even with his dating sim system’s existence, he didn’t feel that he was all that smart in this area.
Never underestimate the world or overestimate yourself. That was something important that he learned before from his life experience.
Confidence was a good thing, but overconfidence was foolishness. He had witnessed this type of foolishness far too many times in his previous life.
"You don’t feel that you’re capable of doing it, which is why you don’t intend to do it—is that right?" Mayuzumi regained her senses and asked another question.
"That’s right."
"Ahh, you’re a cup half-empty-type."
‘Then am I supposed to be a cup half-full-type about it? Is this dream (fantasy) something that I’m supposed to work hard at to achieve!? I’m not the author of Love Hina!’ Seiji energetically commented in his mind.
"Reality is like this, isn’t it?" Seiji let out a deep sigh. "I’ve never met someone in real life who was brave enough to believe that he could create an ideal harem and was willing to truly work hard for this goal."
Well, he had met a few people in his past life before that had created harems in real life.
After all, in the modern society, it wasn’t difficult for a man to have many women as long as he had money and power.
No, not only the modern society, it could be said to be from ancient times to the present.
But that was the only type of harem that could exist in reality. The women wouldn’t be truly in love with that man, nor would the man truly love each and every one of the women in his harem. Both sides’ physical needs outweighed any emotional relationships.
Although that type of harem was enough to make some people jealous, Seiji had no desire for such a harem.
Why? It was easy to tell—just go watch a few television dramas about an emperor’s concubines fighting between themselves for power. While reality typically wasn’t as exaggerated as a television drama, sometimes reality would have even worse events than a television drama, which would definitely be no laughing matter!
"Even if I have a gentlemanly soul, I’m still a normal person in the end. It’s fine if a perfect harem exists only in 2-D."
"Mmm... you’re right. But..." Mayuzumi's eyes lingered on Seiji’s handsome face. "I think that perhaps you could do it, if it’s you, Haruta-kun."
"Eh?"
"A majestic harem. Haruta-kun, if you work hard at it, you might really be able to create one. I have that feeling." The manga author’s face reddened after she finished speaking.
Seiji was rendered speechless yet again!
"Stop joking, Sensei." His right cheek twitched violently.
"This isn’t a joke—it’s what I really believe." Mayuzumi averted her gaze. "I don’t know why myself I have this opinion, but... I just have this type of feeling."
‘If it’s you—if a boy like Haruta-kun were to have a harem—I think that the girls might even be able to accept it.’
‘At the very least, I... no, no, what am I thinking!?'
Mayuzumi felt like her face was on fire.
She buried the fleeting thought deep within her heart.
‘She has a feeling that I can do it? Just what does she mean?’ Seiji didn’t quite understand.
He decided not to pursue it too deeply.
‘Peach-sensei must still be in a daze because she just woke up, which is why she would say such strange things.’ That was the "reasonable explanation" that Seiji came up with.
The two of them walked to the practice fields and saw that there were only a few students cleaning up after the school festival, with the visitors having all left already.
And so, the first day of the school festival came to a conclusion.