Haruto completely froze against the wall, his mind screaming as his newly unlocked emotions violently redlined. A kiss?! He panicked internally, his face turning a neon shade of crimson. Where on earth did this sudden event trigger come from? My system isn't even remotely calibrated for this kind of intimacy!
Seeing him look like a deer in headlights, Lilith leaned in slightly closer, a playful smirk dancing on her lips.
"You see, Haruto, Seraphine and I actually made a little wager. Since you casually admitted to me earlier that you've never kissed anyone in your entire life, we decided to settle this right now. We want to see who gets to claim your very first kiss."
Haruto's wide crimson eye darted over to Seraphine, looking for any sign of a tactical retreat.
Seraphine quickly looked away, huffing as a deep blush took over her cheeks. She crossed her arms tightly, trying to act completely unbothered.
"D-Don't look at me like that! I'm only participating in this because of the bet, okay? It's not like I actually care that much!"
Suddenly, a familiar chime pinged inside his mind, and Sirehtea's voice popped up, dripping with pure amusement.
"Oh, please! She is lying through her teeth, Haruto! I can read her emotional data from here—her heart rate is completely off the charts. She wants that kiss just as badly as Lilith does!"
Shut up, Sirehtea! Haruto snapped back mentally, desperately trying to block out her commentary while his anxiety threatened to choke him.
Trapped between two stunning girls who were eagerly awaiting his response, Haruto's survival instincts kicked into overdrive. He needed a strategic diversion to break the lock on this conversation. He quickly blew a tiny puff of air into his hand, checked his breath, and feigned absolute horror.
"Oh... wait a second," Haruto stammered, raising his hands slightly to create a tiny bit of space.
"I just realized... We just finished drinking that thick, sweet blood-wine from the ceremony. My mouth probably smells totally weird right now! A historic event like a first kiss absolutely shouldn't be ruined by bad breath. Give me a second, I need to wash my mouth first!"
Before either of them could react to his excuse, Haruto ducked down low, executing a flawless evasion maneuver. He smoothly slipped right through the narrow gap between Lilith and Seraphine, bolted across the restroom floor, and frantically unlocked the heavy brass door.
But just as he managed to swing it open and get half his body out into the corridor, two pairs of hands firmly grabbed the fabric of his royal shirt from behind, halting his escape instantly.
"Whoa, the atmosphere is getting seriously heated in here!"
Sirehtea giggled loudly inside his head, thoroughly enjoying the chaos.
"Come on, Haruto, just pick one of them already! Looking at their determination, I don't think they're going to let you step a single foot out of this room without collecting that kiss."
Just hold on! I'm formulating a counter-strategy right now! Haruto shot back mentally, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Lilith pulled him back slightly, a beautiful but entirely unyielding smile on her face.
"I don't care about bad breath, Haruto. We drank the exact same ceremonial blood-wine, remember?"
Seraphine's face was completely red, but she kept a tight grip on his sleeve, nodding in agreement.
"Yeah! If Lilith doesn't care, then I don't care either! Nice try, but you're not running away!"
Realizing his physical escape path was completely blocked, Haruto's analytical mind quickly kicked into overdrive to find a logical loophole. Alright, if I can't break their guard with force, I have to exploit a psychological blind spot.
He let out a sigh, turning around to face them with an expression that looked completely defeated. "Fine... you win," he mumbled, his voice trembling slightly from his newly unlocked shyness.
"But if we're going to do this, it's way too embarrassing for me while you're both staring at me like that. Both of you close your eyes. I'll choose whoever I want to kiss, and I'll just do it."
Lilith and Seraphine gasped softly, their excitement levels instantly spiking. The prospect of a surprise romantic choice completely bypassed their tactical defenses.
"Okay... don't make us wait too long," Lilith whispered, a deep blush creeping up her neck as she softly closed her eyes.
"Y-Yeah, just hurry up and get it over with!" Seraphine stammered, blushing furiously as she tightly shut her eyes as well, leaning forward just a fraction.
A heavy silence settled over the room. Five seconds passed. Then ten seconds. Then a full twenty seconds.
Feeling like something was completely off, Lilith and Seraphine slowly fluttered their eyes open.
The restroom corner was completely empty. Haruto was entirely gone. Using the absolute split-second of zero visibility they gave him, he had triggered a high-speed dash, slipped through the door, and completely vanished into the palace corridors.
Both girls stood there for a moment, staring at the empty space. Then, their blushing faces instantly twisted into pure, coordinated annoyance.
"That absolute jerk!" Seraphine stomped her foot, her face burning with embarrassment.
Lilith puffed out her cheeks, a dangerous glint appearing in her eyes as she unlocked the door to give chase.
"It looks like his leg speed has been working a little too well lately. Let's go find him!"
Lilith and Seraphine rushed out of the restroom into the corridor, looking left and right, completely determined to hunt him down. But when they stepped back into the grand reception hall, they froze.
There was Haruto, standing perfectly composed right next to the King and Fredrick. He was casually holding a glass, acting like he hadn't just sprinted for his life through the palace corridors. Sensing their glares, Haruto looked over at his two fiancées and flashed them a confident, teasing smirk.
No matter what kind of crazy scenario this game throws at me, I'm the player, Haruto thought, his analytical mind completely smug. In the end, I'm always the one who wins.
Lilith and Seraphine gritted their teeth, realizing they had been completely outmaneuvered. Standing right in front of the King and the most powerful human alive, there was absolutely no way they could bring up a bet about a first kiss. They had to maintain their perfect, elegant posture. However, they didn't let him off completely. Both girls shot him a sharp, dangerous smile and gave him a subtle, synchronized look that clearly promised retribution.
Enjoy your little victory for now, Haruto, they both thought simultaneously. The game isn't over yet. Just wait until we get back to the mansion.
Haruto saw the look but casually brushed it off, turning back to the conversation with the King.
As the night went on, the celebration turned out to be an absolute masterpiece. The music played, the nobles cheered, and the overall atmosphere was filled with incredible energy. But even with all the noise, Haruto's sharp perception grid picked up on a heavy anomaly.
While Toya and Aetherna were practically having the time of their lives at the buffet, Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra were completely shut down. They weren't eating, they weren't talking, and their expressions were flat and completely drained of joy. Haruto wanted to go over and ask what was wrong, but he actively avoided it. With his newly claimed voice pack fully operational, he didn't want to trigger a massive dialogue chain where he'd have to explain his sudden new vocal metrics to the entire room.
Suddenly, Sirehtea's voice smoothly pinged into his internal link, her tone unusually soft and serious.
"Your thinking is completely accurate, Haruto. They aren't just having a bad night—they are genuinely feeling incredibly sad and hurt right now."
Why? Haruto asked mentally, his newly unlocked human emotions causing a tight knot of worry to form in his chest. Did I fail a specific faction quest line?
"Think about it from their perspective," Sirehtea explained gently.
"They are literal goddesses who descended to this world for you. They genuinely believed that they would be the ones standing by your side, conquering dungeons, leveling up, and helping you fix this broken world as your ultimate partners. But tonight, out of absolutely nowhere, you went ahead and established a royal family with Lilith and Seraphine. Even though they know it's a political necessity, they can't help but feel completely left out, left behind, and abandoned by their player."
Haruto's heart did a sudden, painful flip. With his emotional system running at 100% capacity, the guilt hit him with devastating force. He looked over at the three quiet goddesses, feeling completely terrible. I didn't mean to make them feel that way at all... What am I supposed to do now, Sirehtea? How do I fix their mood meters?
There was a brief pause before Sirehtea let out a mischievous, low hum. "
Well... since your administrative system has unlocked both Creation and Nothingness paths, I actually have a very specific operational strategy to fix this. It's a guaranteed way to restore their loyalty and emotional metrics to the absolute maximum."
She leaned into the network connection and whispered a highly detailed, secret suggestion straight into his brain.
The moment the details of Sirehtea's plan fully processed in Haruto's mind, his face violently redlined. He turned an absolute, burning neon shade of crimson, a heavy sweat breaking out under his royal collar as his shyness completely exploded.
Uf... No! Absolutely not! Haruto screamed back mentally, burying his blushing face in his hands as his system completely short-circuited. There is no way that is a
valid solution! That is completely, totally insane!