The rumor that his girlfriend was Arisu spread to every corner of the school in no time at all. Ryunosuke could only press his palm over his face as a monstrous headache set in.
This time he was truly finished. His own future father-in-law had stabbed him in the back. His entire "harem" was in danger of going up in flames.
He stole a sideways glance at Megumi and Airi, who were standing nearby, and thought to himself: (Airi shouldn't be too big of a problem. She already knew from the start that I had a girlfriend. Even if the girlfriend has changed from Morishita Ai to Sakayanagi Arisu, she doesn't know for certain who my actual girlfriend is, so I can still talk my way out of that one. As for Megumi, I'll just have to leave that to fate.)
"Haaah..." Ryunosuke pressed his fingers to his throbbing temple and thought about the rest of the girls.
Hiyori was going to explode. She had no idea at all that he was already seeing someone. Megumi at least knew the situation; if she had come to terms with Ai, she could probably come to terms with Arisu. The real problem was Hiyori, who was completely in the dark, and of course, his "first wife," who would be throwing a fit any minute now: Morishita Ai.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Elsewhere, in Class B. Morishita Ai was in the same class as Sakayanagi Arisu, and she was ready to settle things.
She was a woman, after all. Having her man taken from her was not something she could simply sit with. She grabbed her school bag and pulled Arisu out into the hallway.
Arisu followed behind with the help of her cane, carrying a trace of guilt but not feeling entirely in the wrong. This was her father's doing, but she had no objection to it. She had always wanted to knock down that wall between them and fight for first place. She was a woman too. She wanted to claim his heart for herself.
They reached a quiet stretch of corridor. Ai was the first to speak, as the woman who had officially come first. "When did the two of you start?"
She had her back to Arisu, and her voice carried a cold edge that made no effort to hide the anger underneath. The subdued, quietly distant girl she usually was had completely disappeared.
Arisu let out a slow breath and put on her familiar composed smile. "Around the time my father ran into trouble, I suppose. He helped my father reclaim his position as chairman. A truly remarkable person, exactly the kind I had hoped he would be." She looked almost dreamy as she said it, clearly proud of him in a way she wasn't trying to conceal.
Ai stopped walking. Her gaze sharpened. "So that's why you fell for my man. I think I need to have a word with him about helping other women so freely. Especially white foxes like you."
"My, are you jealous?" Arisu raised a hand to her lips with an expression of theatrical surprise.
Ai said nothing. She simply looked at her, and the hostility in it was plain. Seeing that, Arisu dropped the act. Facing the pressure of Ryunosuke's "legitimate wife," her expression settled into something serious. She sighed and spoke honestly.
"I had feelings for him before any of that. Not because he helped my father, but because he genuinely is extraordinary." Arisu moved forward on her cane, and Ai followed beside her. "I first became interested when he faced off against Ryuuen. He wasn't as strong then as he is now, but the talent was already there. I knew he could become something greater, so I started getting closer out of curiosity."
"After the relay exam, he beat me again, and that was when I realized he had already taken my heart."
Arisu stopped and turned to look at Ai squarely. The will to win was burning openly in her eyes. The message was unmistakable: she intended to take him. She knew she was the newcomer here, but she still wanted to fight for it. Who wouldn't want to keep someone like that all to themselves?
Ai bit her lower lip, meeting the gaze of her rival. She felt deeply, privately wronged.
(I was here first. Why do all these newcomers think they can just take my man?)
She clenched her fists, and something in her finally snapped. Her eyes flashed with something dangerously close to red. She stepped toward Arisu in one decisive stride and snatched the walking cane out of her grip.
Arisu immediately lost her balance and had to catch the wall to keep from falling.
Ai gripped the cane in both hands, brought it down against her knee with fierce intent, and tried to snap it in two.
*CRACK!*
The cane didn't break. Her knee nearly did. Ai dropped into a crouch and clutched her knee, making the most pitifully adorable noise.
"Uuu, that really hurts..." She whimpered a little, feeling thoroughly sorry for herself. She got back up and tried kicking the cane instead, putting everything into it, but no matter how hard she kicked, the thing remained completely intact.
Arisu, still leaning against the wall, raised one small hand in a helpful aside. "That cane is carbon fiber, actually. It's several times harder than regular steel, though it does have a weak point against sharp impacts."
She was even offering tips on how to destroy her own cane, out of guilt for having stolen Ai's man. She felt the other girl deserved somewhere to put all that feeling.
Ai grasped the information immediately. She drove the cane against the edge of the wall with force, and this time it finally cracked and broke in two. She threw the pieces down in front of Arisu, put her hands on her hips, and lifted her chin to make her anger as clear as possible. Unfortunately for the statement she was trying to make, with that composed and lovely face of hers, the whole display came across as devastatingly cute.
Without her cane, Arisu had no choice but to stay propped against the wall in silence.
Seeing her standing there looking genuinely helpless, Ai let out a breath and released her grievance for the time being. She had a more pressing matter: finding Ryunosuke and making him answer for this. She turned and headed toward Class C with feeling in every step.
Arisu leaned against the wall to keep from sliding down, took out her phone, and called Kamuro Masumi. Masumi arrived shortly after, carrying her bag.
She looked at the broken pieces of cane on the floor and said with mild bewilderment, "What happened here? Don't tell me you just stole someone's boyfriend."
For once, she had guessed the exact truth.
Arisu picked up the pieces of her cane. "I'm sorry, Kamuro-san, could you help me? I can't manage on my own right now."
Masumi looked like she had things she wanted to say, but she was too soft-hearted to act on any of them. She helped support Arisu and carried the broken cane pieces without a single complaint.
Watching her, Arisu allowed herself a small smile.
(She's probably fond of Ryunosuke too. Even if she thinks she's been hiding it well.)
In Arisu's estimation, Masumi was a straightforward girl, not difficult to read. Given that Ryunosuke had played tricks on her more than once and she had forgiven him every time, Arisu was fairly certain something deeper was there.
She was beginning to think about bringing Masumi into an alliance. Her own physical condition was a serious limitation, and against Ai alone, she wasn't sure she could hold her ground. She needed someone on her side, someone to share the arrangement with.
Arisu considered herself rather generous in this regard. Especially given her heart condition, she had her doubts about whether she could give Ryunosuke children at all. Even if she tried, the risk to her life would be considerable, and she was certain he would never allow her to take it.
At the very least, she needed to make sure he had someone who could. Masumi seemed like a reasonable candidate. Her background was solid, Class C level, so there was no worry about their children going hungry. Her build was good as well, practical for childbearing.
The one thing Arisu wasn't entirely sure about was Masumi's intellect. She had a quiet concern that their children might end up with somewhat limited Iqs.
🎇Keep reading and support this story on Ko-fi:
📎Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/lovefanfiction or bit.ly/4sbFiOM
✅More early access chapters from WebNovel
✅5 translated fanfic chapters & 1-2 new original fanfic chapters every day (Monday-Saturday), exclusive on Ko-fi.
Thank you so much for your incredible support!