Once Honami had fallen asleep beside him, Ren carefully withdrew his arm from her embrace.
He walked into the study.
Ren sat down at his desk and opened the laptop he hadn't used in ages. His fingers flew across the keyboard, drafting a transfer agreement.
He decided to leave what he couldn't take with him to the girls.
After finishing everything, Ren went to check on Honami first. Seeing that the young girl was still sleeping soundly, he didn't disturb her.
He then pushed open the door to Airi's room. Seeing Airi sprawled out in a ridiculous sleeping position, he shook his head with a smile.
And his own room...
Well, Kikyo and Chie were hugging each other in their sleep.
Closing the door softly, Ren tossed the papers onto the coffee table and headed to the kitchen.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The phone alarm went off right on time, telling Honami it was time to get up.
"Mmm..."
She hit the snooze button and forced herself to sit up.
What time is it...?
She grabbed her phone from the bedside table. 8:10.
It was almost time for the morning meeting.
Taking a closer look, she realized today was Saturday—students had the day off.
She tossed the phone back and flopped onto the bed.
So sleepy… just five more minutes.
Honami's eyes snapped open. She jumped off the bed and frantically started changing into her uniform.
Students had weekends off, but the Student Council didn't.
Especially not for Honami, who was fighting for the position of Student Council President.
Panic flickered across Honami's face. After getting dressed, she hurriedly tied the ribbon at her collar and left it slightly crooked.
Pushing open the door, Honami rushed downstairs.
...
With the first snowfall of the year, Ren had lit the fireplace in the living room early. The wood crackled as it burned, and the flames flickered and danced.
Sitting back on the sofa and reading a philosophy book, Ren heard the hurried opening of a door upstairs and looked up. "Morning, Honami."
"Ren... Ren-kun, morning. The Student Council meeting—I'm going to be late! I... I have to go."
Running down the stairs, Honami greeted Ren and dashed towards the entrance.
Breakfast? There was no time to make it.
"There's warm water on the dining table, and I packed your breakfast in a bento box. There's also a contract next to it—don't forget to sign it."
Ren shifted his gaze from Honami back to his book, calmly laying it all out for her.
Unlike most people here, Ren preferred warm water—what he grew up with.
A glass of warm water every morning just felt right.
"Mm-hmm."
Hearing Ren's arrangements, Honami immediately changed course and hurried to the dining table.
She took a sip from the large glass of warm water, found it wasn't too hot, and drank it in one gulp. She also put the pink bento box into her shoulder bag.
Contract?
The contract on the table made her hesitate. But she didn't have time; without even glancing at it, she signed her name, Honami Ichinose, on the line.
Who cares what kind of contract it is? If Ren-kun tells me to sign, I'll sign.
Ren-kun wouldn't harm me.
After doing all this, Honami didn't forget to run over to Ren. She lifted his chin with her slender, fair fingers.
She leaned in and kissed him.
"Ren-kun, I'm heading out~."
She looked pleased with herself, like she'd pulled one over on him, ready to dash away after the kiss, but Ren grabbed her hand.
Putting down his book, Ren seriously straightened the crooked ribbon at her collar.
He fixed her ribbon, then let her go. "Okay. Come home early."
"Ren-kun, I love you~."
Watching Ren carefully tidy her ribbon, Honami felt a burst of happiness inside.
"Me too."
"You too what?"
I've got great taste.
"Ren-kun, you're so annoying!"
After a bit of flirtatious banter with Ren, Honami finally left the villa.
After clearing the empty glass and the contract, Ren poured himself a glass of warm water as well.
"Airi?"
Ren had just returned to the living room when he saw Airi sitting obediently on the sofa in her pajamas, with her legs tucked under her.
Seeing the person she was waiting for had arrived, Airi held out her arms. "Ren—hug me."
Ren wrapped one arm around Airi's waist, which had filled out a little lately, and with the other hand, gave her a few sips of the warm water he had just poured. "Airi, why not sleep a bit more?"
"I want to stay with Ren!"
As she drank, a lock of hair sprang up.
After giving Airi water, Ren pulled out a contract from the stack on the coffee table and handed her a pen. "Airi, come sign a contract."
Airi didn't check the contents either. If Ren asked her to, she would sign.
After signing her name, Airi Sakura, she picked up the contract with both hands and handed it to Ren, her eyes openly seeking praise.
"Airi, aren't you afraid I'll sell you off if you don't even look at it?"
Ren pinched Airi's cheek in amusement.
Why are you all so careless? Not an ounce of caution.
"I'm already yours. I'll do whatever Ren tells me to do."
Airi said seriously. After speaking, she placed Ren's free hand on her other cheek.
As a former popular idol, of course Airi understood the importance of reading a contract. But this was Ren—if it was for him, she'd do anything.
Enjoying having her cheeks rubbed by Ren, Airi burrowed into his arms and hugged him tightly.
Ren would never harm her.
"Jerk, wasn't last night enough? You're making a move on Airi first thing in the morning?"
Chie and Kikyo, who had also woken up, walked out of Ren's room. Seeing Airi nuzzling into Ren's arms, they couldn't help but misunderstand.
You couldn't blame Kikyo for thinking that way.
Things got pretty wild last night.
Don't you get tired?
"What, Kikyo? Do you want to watch me make a move on Airi that badly?"
Ren raised an eyebrow slightly.
"If Ren wants to… it's okay," Airi said weakly from Ren's arms.
It wasn't her first time, so she understood Kikyo's suggestive remark.
"Aren't we supposed to be sisters?" Kikyo shot back.
Chie didn't join the argument. She sat on one side of Ren and picked up a contract with her name on it.
"Ren, is this for Chie?"
"Mhm."
Receiving Ren's confirmation, Chie signed her name neatly before reading the content.
Signing first showed where she stood; reading the content was because Chie needed to see exactly what Ren was giving them.
It was a simple transfer agreement. In short, Ren was transferring shares of the points betting pool he'd set up to her.
Honami would get 10%, Airi would get 10%, Chie would get 10%, Kikyo would get 10%... who would get the last 10%?
Chie couldn't help but wonder.
"Contract? I have one too? It's not a deed selling my body, is it, you jerk?"
Seeing that both Airi and Chie had signed their contracts, Kikyo picked up her copy and looked at Ren with suspicious eyes.
"Exactly. A contract to sell you off."
"Hah!"
Rolling her eyes prettily at Ren, Kikyo also chose to sign her name directly without checking the content.
"That's your safety net for the next two years."
Ren gave Kikyo a gentle reminder.
Kikyo was different from his other girlfriends. After he left, she might really end up living on the school's free vegetable meals.
To prevent Kikyo from treating this contract as a joke and throwing it away later, Ren had to say something.
"Ren?"
Airi picked up on it immediately. She pulled away from Ren's embrace, her blue eyes staring intently at him.
"Hmm... I might be leaving."
Ren didn't hide it; he chose to be honest.
Sure, he could stay with them until graduation, but that was too boring.
Boring enough to drive him crazy.
He wasn't going to stay somewhere that bored him.
"Ren... don't you want me anymore?"
As soon as Ren said this, Airi began to tremble. Her eyes filled with tears, and she hugged Ren tightly.
She didn't want Ren to leave.
"Jerk?"
The contract in her hand slipped to the floor. Kikyo looked at Ren with disbelief.
Was Ren really leaving, just like that?
Among the women, the one who accepted the fact that Ren was leaving the quickest was actually Chie.
"Ren, wait for Chie. Chie will quit and come find you after graduation." Chie smiled gently.
The school was just Ren's playground. It was only natural for him to want to leave once he got bored.
How was Chie supposed to stop him?
All she needed was a promise—one that they'd meet again.
"Of course," Ren said. "I'll be waiting."
"And Airi and Kikyo, too. I'm just leaving the school, not disappearing forever. Why are you so surprised?"
"How could I not want Airi? Airi's my treasure."
Pressing his forehead against Airi's, Ren soothed her emotions.
"Ren... I want... I want to..."
Before Airi could say she wanted to leave with Ren, he gently shook his head at her.
"Airi, since you've come to this school, study hard. Be a good girl, and I'll come pick you up after you graduate."
"You too, Kikyo. No messing around with weird schemes."
"Chie, I'll wait for you."
Making promises to the three women, Ren didn't forget to warn Kikyo.
As someone in Class D, Kikyo definitely had some underhanded tricks to get herself expelled. Ren didn't want them to lose what they'd earned because of him.
"Heh... hehe... Alright, I know! You jerk!"
Caught red-handed, Kikyo scratched her head awkwardly. Seeing Ren staring at her, she finally gave her guarantee.
Can this jerk read my mind?
Kikyo grumbled to herself. She really had thought about repeating the things she did in middle school here. That way, she would 100% be expelled.
Then she could get expelled and go find him.
"Ren..."
Airi was still a little uneasy.
"Airi, let's make a pinky promise."
He held out his pinky, like she needed the reassurance.
"Chie wants one too!"
"Jerk, count me in!"
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