Ever since the boy first gained consciousness, his entire world consisted only of his father.
Where did my mom go?
For a child growing up in a single-parent household, this was an incredibly common question to ask. To this, his father would always wear a sad yet affectionate expression and give the classic, cliché response: "Your mom went to a very, very far away place. Because it's so far, she can't co back."
He didn't know why, but every ti his father answered that question, a trace of profound, indescribable sorrow would always linger in the corners of his eyes.
Years later, his father died from an illness born of severe depression. After mourning his passing, the boy read his father's diary among his belongings,and discovered an incredibly shocking truth.
His father and mother were childhood friends. As they grew older, they naturally realized their feelings for each other and fell deeply in love.
But during that ti, an unexpected accident occurred.
His mother's best friend had also secretly fallen in love with his father.
Perhaps out of consideration for her best friend, the friend initially chose to bury those romantic feelings deep within her heart.
Later on, through college and into their careers, the three of them coincidentally ended up very close to each other, practically seeing each other every single day.
One day, during a gathering, his father and mother announced the news that they were getting married.
Perhaps because she had too much to drink, upon hearing the news, the best friend accidentally confessed her feelings to his father.
The next day, having sobered up, the best friend rembered her disgraceful behavior from the night before and tearfully apologized to his parents.
But even so, the relationship between the three of them could never return to how it was before.
His father agonized over this deeply. After a long period of thinking, an idea popped into his head.
As long as I can be with both her best friend and her, then all three of us can stay together.
His father was an avid ani fan and harbored deep admiration for harem protagonists who managed to make everyone happy.He even desperately hoped that he could be just like them, granting happiness to all the girls he loved.
However, when his father proposed this idea to the best friend, all he received in return was a furious slap to the face.
Don't be so arrogant. Did you seriously think I would lose everything without you?
Perhaps blinded by an overabundance of confidence, his father genuinely believed that his relentless efforts would eventually move her heart, and so he launched a persistent, aggressive pursuit.
As the days passed, his father gradually forgot his original intent. Blindly focused solely on pursuing the best friend, he unconsciously began to neglect his mother.
On the day of the delivery, after giving birth to the child, his mother died due to complications. And until the very end, his father hadn't even noticed the ergency ssages sent to his phone.
Overco by a crushing sense of guilt over the mother's death, the best friend took sleeping pills and committed suicide.
Having lost the two won he loved most in an instant, his father finally snapped back to reality, realizing just how utterly foolish and childish his actions had been.
As if to wholly deny the impossibly stupid dream of his past, he nad his child Guan ng.
And Guan ng, almost as if answering his father's silent prayer, grew up harboring an absolute, fundantal hatred for harem ani.
.......
"A dream...?"
Itsuka Shido opened his hazy, sleep-filled eyes, muttering the word in confusion.
"Yo! You're awake, Shido-boy."
A familiar voice rang out from directly above him. As his vision gradually cleared, an exquisitely pretty face was staring down at him intently.
"Yutsuki..."
"Mhm... it's ." Nodding gently, Yutsuki flashed a small smile. She tapped his forehead and said, "Since you're awake, hurry up and get off. It's been a few hours; even as a Spirit, my legs are starting to fall asleep."
"Eh?" Hearing Yutsuki say that, Shido suddenly realized that the "pillow" under his head felt a bit too comfortable. It was soft yet firm, almost like a giant jelly.
Furthermore, judging from his current angle, Shido instantly understand the situation—he was currently resting his head on Yutsuki's lap.
"AAAH! I am so, so sorry—!" Letting out a panicked scream, Shido scrambled off Yutsuki's lap and imdiately dropped into a formal sitting bow (seiza), pressing his head to the ground to apologize.
Yutsuki stared at the boy, who was panicking over such a trivial thing. Finally, unable to hold it in, she clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.
"Haha—! And here I thought a guy capable of conquering five Spirits would be so incredible, smooth talking playboy! Who knew you were just a pathetic, spineless virgin! I can't—this is way too funny! Hahaha!"
"What's so funny about it?!!!!" Shido's face burned bright red from Yutsuki's teasing, but he still replied with a bitter smile.
"Alright, alright! I'll stop laughing." After suppressing her giggles for a mont, Yutsuki finally cald down.
"Where are we...?"
Shido looked around and realized they were no longer at the battlefield where he had collapsed fighting Ellen, nor were they inside the Fraxinus airborne battleship. Currently, it was the dead of night, and he and Yutsuki were sitting on the grassy lawn of a park.
"Just a completely ordinary park in Tengu City," Yutsuki replied with a shrug. "After you passed out, your body suddenly erupted into flas and completely healed itself. However, just to be safe, we went back to the Fraxinus so you could be thoroughly checked over. Tohka and the Yamai went too. After a while, that Chief Analyst with the heavy eye bags suddenly told , 'Shin got hurt fighting for your sake, so since it's like this, I'm leaving him in your care while he's unconscious.' Just what exactly goes on inside that woman's head?"
"Hah... Reine-san really is sothing." After a dry laugh, Shido suddenly rembered sothing and asked, "How are your injuries, Yutsuki? I rember you took a pretty heavy hit back then."
"That's none of your concern. It seems that thanks to a certain soone's pure malice, I heal incredibly fast! (The Author: "Ahem!")" Yutsuki shot Shido a sidelong glance, then said with slight regret, "Ugh... As expected, Shiori-chan's appearance was much, much cuter."
Shido's original won's outfit had gotten completely filthy, so after checking his vitals, Kotori had ordered her crew to change him back into his n's clothes.
Hearing Yutsuki's muttering, a drop of cold sweat slid down Shido's forehead. He laughed dryly, "You really liked that look, huh."
"Of course! Shiori-chan's appearance matched my ideal type perfectly! Beautiful, gentle, and considerate. Exuding a dashing, heroic aura while retaining just a hint of fragility. She looked like the absolute perfect, supportive wife! She was literally the girl of my dreams!" Halfway through her praise, Yutsuki suddenly lowered her head in sheer disappointnt. "But... she was actually a guy in disguise..."
To this, the actor who played Itsuka Shiori,Itsuka Shido—could only sit on the sidelines and laugh dryly, burdened by a deep sense of guilt.
"Honestly, for a mont there, I actually considered kidnapping Shiori-chan, taking you to an illegal overseas hospital to alter your mories and gender, and then living together in seclusion..."
From her tone of voice, Shido knew perfectly well that Yutsuki wasn't joking. During their date, she had genuinely, seriously considered that idea.
Shido instantly felt a severe, bone-chilling shudder run down his spine. The hairs on his arms stood on end, and his shirt was drenched in a cold sweat.
"Don't worry, I've already given up on that." Seeing Shido's pale face, Yutsuki laughed dryly to comfort him. "After all, dragging you away like that would feel like a huge betrayal to Yuzuru and Kaguya."
"I-Is that so?"
"..."
"..."
The conversation hit a dead end, and for a mont, both of them fell into complete silence.
After a brief pause, Yutsuki suddenly looked up at the pitch black sky and spoke in a flat, quiet tone:
"Shido, I am actually incredibly jealous of you."
"Eh?"
Hearing Shido's confused response, Yutsuki let out a helpless sigh. "You have a school to attend, a ho to return to. You have friends to keep you company, family to support you, and lovers who stay by your side. You have everything I don't. It's perfectly normal for to be jealous, isn't it?"
"Then you can just..."
Shido started to speak, but Yutsuki imdiately silenced him with a sharp glare.
"And despite being a damn scumbag harem protagonist... you accomplished everything I couldn't."
"Eh? What do you an?"
Shido asked in confusion.
"Saving the Spirits!"
Frustrated, Yutsuki ripped a handful of grass from the ground and threw it at him, grinding her teeth in bitter reluctance. "It was the sa with the Yamai. Even though they both desperately wanted the other to survive, the only answer I could give them was 'Cherish each other until the end'—an answer that only made them sadder. It was the sa with Tohka today. I accidentally drew Ellen's attention to her, yet I lacked the power to save her."
Hearing Yutsuki pour out her heart, Shido realized sothing profound. No matter how lonely or miserable her own situation were, this girl standing before him desperately wanted to help her friends; she wanted them to find happiness.
To avoid disrupting her friends' lives, she chose to leave quietly.
To avoid hurting the AST mbers who were just trying to protect humanity, she went out of her way to learn how to disable Realizers.
Just as the Yamai sisters had said, this girl-who had been burdened with the terrifying title of 'The Most Dangerous Spirit to Humanity' was, in reality, far more considerate and gentle than anyone else.
"I... didn't accomplish a single thing. Why?! You're just a scumbag harem protagonist! Why are you able to accomplish the things I couldn't?!"
Unable to control her surging emotions, Yutsuki continuously ripped up grass and threw it at Shido again, shouting with a voice tinged with tears.
Because I have the power to seal them. Although that was the objective truth, Shido sensed that this wasn't the answer Yutsuki wanted to hear.
"Because I refuse to accept that kind of ending! I refuse to accept their sad expressions, no matter what it takes!" Shido shouted, his face displaying an absolute determination. "To change that outco, I will do whatever it takes, even if it ans risking my own life!"
Yutsuki froze. Then, as if finally accepting sothing, she let go of her frustration and lay back on the grass.
She had absolutely no reason to doubt Shido's words. Because just a mont ago, Shido had proven his resolve through his actions.
Unlike Yutsuki—who, upon encountering an impossible situation, would give up and seek out a secondary plan—Itsuka Shido possessed the resolve to sacrifice himself in order to carve out an entirely new path from a dead end.
That was exactly why Shido succeeded, and why Yutsuki failed.
"Seriously... I really hate harem protagonists..." Unlike before, this statent held far more helplessness than actual disgust.
Looking at the girl in front of him, a pang of heartache pierced Shido's chest. Her current appearance uncontrollably reminded him of the profound powerlessness and despair the boy nad Guan ng felt when he learned of his father's past in that dream. Then, a sudden thought struck him.
"Yutsuki... were you ever a human?"
"What makes you ask that?"
At Yutsuki's question, Shido thought for a mont and ca up with an excuse.
"Because... you seem extrely familiar with how human cities operate and various worldly matters. Compared to Tohka, who was a Spirit from the very beginning, she severely lacked common sense."
Shido's reasoning was completely fair, so Yutsuki didn't suspect anything. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Based on what you're saying, are there Spirits you've conquered who used to be human?"
"Mhm..." Hesitating for a second, Shido nodded. "Kotori, my little sister. Five years ago, she was turned into a Spirit by Phantom."
"Oh... So she really was Efreet..." Yutsuki muttered thoughtfully. In truth, ever since she t Phantom, Yutsuki had suspected that so Spirits might have originally been human. Now, Shido had just confird it.
However, that wasn't important right now.
"Unfortunately, your guess is incorrect." Yutsuki shook her head. "I have indeed t Phantom before, but long before that, I had always existed in the form of a Spirit."
"Is that so?"
Was that dream really just a coincidence then?
"But... I did live a life as a human once." Seeing Shido's disappointed expression, Yutsuki wrestled with herself in her mind for a mont before finally resolving to tell him. "When I died in my past life."
"A past life?!" Shido replied in absolute disbelief.
"You don't believe ?"
"No... I believe you." Shido took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Thinking about it, hadn't he already accepted way too many impossible things? His originally innocent and cute little sister was actually a sharp tongued, sadistic Commander; spacequakes were basically just AoE attacks that girls triggered upon spawning; raising a Spirit's affection and kissing her sealed her powers. Itsuka Shido's ordinary daily life had been destroyed a long ti ago. Adding mories of a past life to the list wasn't even that weird anymore. Furthermore, Yutsuki had absolutely no reason to lie about this.
"Oh... as a side note, in my past life, I was a guy~" Seemingly dissatisfied that Shido accepted it so easily, Yutsuki added another bombshell.
She probably hadn't realized it yet, but regardless of the reason, she had already subconsciously accepted Shido as soone she could share her deepest secrets with.
"I see."
Hearing this, Shido was surprised, but not completely shocked. Actually, many of her previous behaviors could easily be explained by this fact. On the contrary, knowing Yutsuki used to be a guy suddenly made a lot of confusing things completely make sense.
For example, why she didn't care in the slightest about physical contact when he was a guy, but beca overwhelmingly shy and flustered the mont he cross-dressed.
"Tch!" Seeing Shido accept her deepest, darkest secret so casually, Yutsuki felt a surge of frustration, but also a tiny, unmistakable flicker of joy.
"So? Kissing soone who looks like a girl but is actually a guy on the inside. That's pretty disgusting, isn't it?"
"Not at all." Shido chuckled softly. "If I were kissing an actual man, yeah, I probably wouldn't be able to handle it. But that was just your past life, wasn't it? Right now, Yutsuki is simply a very cute girl who happens to have mories of her past life."
"I-Idiot! A guy who doesn't even care about sothing like that! Are you gay?! Are you a pervert?!"
She didn't know why, but despite it being such a frivolous, smooth talking line, Yutsuki's face flushed completely red.
Dammit! Harem protagonists are all so disgusting! This is exactly why I can't stand them!
"Yutsuki!" Suddenly, Shido grabbed Yutsuki's shoulders, staring intently into her eyes with an incredibly serious gaze.
(—Ba-Thump! Ba-Thump!)
Shut up, you stupid heart! I swear I'll rip you out! (The Author: "No! If you rip it out, you'll actually die!")
No matter how many tis she cursed it in her mind, her heart disobeyed her and pounded hard against her ribs. Her face grew inexplicably hot. With her physical strength, she could have easily broken free from Shido's grip, but for so unknown reason, she couldn't muster a single ounce of strength to push him away.
"Unfortunately, I cannot marry you. Because I still have Tohka, Yoshino, the Yamai, and the others. If I did that, it would an abandoning them to enjoy happiness all by myself. But—" Shido took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I swear! I am willing to stay by your side for the rest of my life! Until the very mont I die, I will stay with you and treat you as my family!!!"
In that exact mont, as if a heavy chain wrapped around her heart had finally snapped, for the very first ti, a tear slipped from the corner of Yutsuki's eye.
The reason Guan ng hated harem ani wasn't because he thought making everyone happy was a laughable, absurd concept. Nor was it because he felt disdain, viewing it rely as a pathetic excuse n used to justify their own selfish desires.
The reason was incredibly simple. Because his father had chased after the exact sa ideal as an ani harem protagonist—and as a result, he had lost every single family mber he was supposed to have, leaving him entirely alone in this world.
That was why Guan ng despised harem ani. That was why he hated them with every fiber of his being.
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Really, really?"
"Really, really!"
"Really, really... Pftt, pfft! Are we doing a tongue twister or sothing?!"
After retorting her own foolish behavior, Yutsuki let out a soft breath. Her amber eyes quietly gazed into Shido's.
"Shido, your hands are shaking..."
Yutsuki teased him with a smirk.
"I-It can't be helped! This is the first ti I've ever said sothing like this... It's so embarrassing!"
Looking at Shido's increasingly red face, Yutsuki let out a sigh of defeat. Speaking in a highly complex, nuanced tone, she said: "Shido, you truly are an unbelievable playboy."
"Why?!"
Yutsuki wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, an utterly helpless yet accepting smile gracing her lips.
[ng, absolutely never look forward to a harem, unless... There is no unless! Wait until you reincarnate into an ani world!]
Dad, if you could see my current situation, you'd definitely be crying rivers of tears right now.
"...Ten seconds."
"Eh?"
"What do you an, 'Eh'?! Taking your hard work into consideration, I will close my eyes, stand perfectly still, and endure this for exactly ten seconds! During this ti, whether you want to do it in the wild or kiss , do whatever you want!"
The mont she finished speaking, Yutsuki squeezed her eyes shut without another word. Instead, it was Shido who suddenly found himself at a complete loss for what to do. Excluding the ti he kissed his own sister, in every other situation, Tohka and the others had initiated the kiss themselves!
"Hurry up! You have six seconds left!"
Whatever!
Shido slowly leaned in toward Yutsuki's flawless, delicate face. Perhaps feeling Shido's warm breath inching closer, the girl's cheeks flushed with a rosy, shy blush, and her slender, petite fra began to tremble slightly. Seeing her look so overwhelmingly cute, Shido's heart uncontrollably accelerated. Staring at Yutsuki's exquisite, inviting cherry lips, Shido secretly swallowed hard before finally pressing his lips against hers.
How should I describe this...? People always said a girl's lips tasted like lemon, but Yutsuki's gave him a refreshing, minty sensation. Was it because she chewed gum? Savoring the soft, pudding-like texture of the girl's lips—a sensation so wonderful it felt like paradise—Shido's mind wandered into a daze.
Next, the black trench coat and Tokiwadai uniform on Yutsuki's body began to dissolve, the Astral Dress shattering into particles of light and vanishing into the air.
Slowly opening her eyes, Yutsuki noticed that she was currently naked. Her face instantly darkened.
"This is..."
"No! Listen to my explanation! This is because after a Spirit's power is sealed, the Astral Dress naturally disappears!"
Even if I go with Shido's explanation, the clothes I bought myself earlier should still be on my body! As expected of a harem ani, the universe is absolutely brimming with pure malice...
Taking a deep breath, Yutsuki barely managed to force herself to stay calm. She said:
"Don't worry. I know the fault doesn't lie with you; it lies with the world itself. Besides, I used to be a guy anyway, and you are my family now. I forgive you."
"I-Is that so..."
"S-So—" Bathed in the moonlight, Yutsuki's pretty face grew redder and redder. Biting her lower lip, she crossed her arms to cover her chest. Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, she scread, "SO TURN AROUND ALREADY, YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!"
"GUWAAAH—!"
In the next second, driven by Yutsuki's iron fist, Itsuka Shido drew a beautiful, perfect curve through the air before crashing heavily into the distant woods.
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