Ogani Mitsuhiko is on a date with Kasawagawa Ichika…… Meanwhile,
Mitsuki Luia, the light novel writer assigned to Ogani’s series, was hard at work writing in her home. “……”
Her hair was snow-white; her eyes were a vivid red, like a rabbit’s.
Petite and cute, yet carrying an air of piercing sharpness.
Despite the sweltering heat, the girl was dressed in a crimson kimono.
She was situated in the spacious Japanese-style room that served as her private quarters.
Luia was the only daughter of the Mitsuki Group, an ultra-mega corporation and powerful zaibatsu conglomerate.
Luia sat at her desk, penning ink between her fingers. “Hah……”
But not a single line had been written since morning. The reason was clear.
Today, Ichika was out on a date with the man she loved. “…Can’t do this. I can’t concentrate.”
Luia stood up and left the room.
She harbored one deep-seated concern.
It had been weighing on her mind relentlessly lately.
Normally, she would confide in Ichiha, a fellow woman and a dependable older sister figure.
But there was no way she could unburden this particular worry on her. After all, Ichiha was directly involved.
”…My only other option is Jirotae. But he’s busy elsewhere…”
By process of elimination, that left one person.
Recalling her schedule for the day, Lushia headed toward the office of the men in black suits. “Sanjo. Are you there?”
She slid open the fusuma and found a room lined with several desks.
The office of the ‘Black Suits,’ the retainers serving the Makita Group.
Currently, only one person was present.
A hulking brute in a black suit and sunglasses, like something straight out of Terminator.
Azumai Sanjo sat at his desk, staring intently at his computer with an enigmatic expression. “Sanjo?” ”…”
It seemed Sanjo was wearing headphones. He probably wouldn’t want to be interrupted…
However, there is something on her mind. Rusia heads over to Saburo. ” Saburo. I’m sorry, but for a moment…” ” Miss?” Saburo turns around abruptly.
His arm catches on the headphone cable, yanking the earphone plug loose.
『An- an- aan- an- an, I want to watch my big brother’s chibopomi-cuk… ♡』 Rusia stands there, dumbstruck and speechless…
On the computer screen that Saburo had been operating, a girl who hadn’t yet reached adulthood was shown having sex with a man.
” Please, please don’t misunderstand, Miss! This is absolutely not a crime!”
“I- Is that… so? B- But… this, a girl of less than ten and a boy are h-having sex…”
“This is an eroge game! It is a legitimate work of art!”
“A, eroge? Art…?”
“Yes! It’s a wonderful eroge that depicts the beautiful affection between brother and sister! I am certainly not looking at it with lewd intentions!” ” I see…”
Whatever it was, Rusia decided to say just one thing for now.
“I don’t approve of playing games on the job.” ★
In the office, Saburo handed Rusia a glass of barley tea.
Saburo had just been alone in the office a moment ago.
So he had been secretly playing the erotic game he had brought in for personal use.
Then Lushia showed up, and I was taken completely by surprise.
“I see… an ero game. A game played on a PC, is it? So such things exist these days.”
Lushia observed it with an air of impressed contemplation, a quiet “Oh my…” in her voice.
This girl, with her somewhat archaic mannerisms, had a sensibility that was quite old-fashioned.
“The narrative style is closer to that of light novels,” I explained. “Hmm…”
Though I had been startled earlier, the images displayed on the screen were indeed similar to the artwork featured in the labels published by Lushia.
It seemed to depict the romance between young men and women, so it might serve as a reference. “Oh! Are you interested, miss?” “Well, a little…”
“Shall I recommend some? You know, I have my own unique views on erotic games.”
“N-no… I’m fine for now. But there is something I wish to ask of you.” “Of me?” “Yes. It concerns a matter of romance.”
“Ah, very well! Do tell!” Lushia began to reveal the details of her situation.
“But Ikka and Okaya are out on a date today.”
“Oh, right. I remember yesterday she said they were going to the amusement park.”
”…It’s just that I’ve been really worried about it.”
By now, Okaya and Ikka had probably finished their date at the park. The sun was starting to set.
They were likely eating dinner somewhere right now.
“After this… um, they’re probably heading to a hotel, right?”
“Definitely. She was super pumped up about it. Apparently, she bought energy supplements and adult toys online.” “Huh?”
“Aaah, damn it… this conversation is off the record, okay?”
Saburo had messed up by speaking out of turn, but it was already too late.
“Jojou, please don’t tell sis! Please! I’ll get killed!” “Ah, aah… alright.”
“Really?! Yay! Jojou really is the sweetest!”
Torshia let out a weary sigh.
I feel like I’ve gone to the wrong person for advice.
“So, what’s your issue with Sis and Okaya going on a date?”
”…It is, well… why does a man… associate with multiple women? That is my query.”
Huh? Saboro tilted his head in confusion.
To Lucia, who was female, it was an emotion she could not fathom.
To love one man wholeheartedly and build a happy home with him.
That was what she considered the supreme joy in life.
On the other hand, Okaya was involved with multiple… five women.
“Honestly, I do not understand the feelings of Okaya… a man. Is a romantic relationship not strictly one-on-one? Does such a form of romance actually exist in this world?”
Lucia was born into the Kaida family, an ancient and prominent house, in modern-day Japan.
Consequently, her views on romance were somewhat antiquated.
“I… do not understand. What kind of feelings can one have while dating multiple women? …After all, if you date more than one person, surely the affection for any single one diminishes.”
She feared that Oka’s affection would be divided into five equal parts.
“I like Oka. I love him. Deep down in my heart. I want to carry his child, to preserve his bloodline for eternity… But…”
“Ah… you can’t grasp the romantic outlook of the man you love, huh?”
“Yes… Why is it that Oka is with multiple women? For me… I just don’t understand.” Saburo nodded again and again. And then, he said.
“Alright, got it. Let’s play some eroge!” “Wha…t…?” Saburo nodded.
“In my opinion, Miss, you simply lack a male perspective! You must say so!”
“W-Well, yes… I am a woman, after all.”
“Then you should strive to understand! Men’s feelings, their wishes… their desires!”
It was true; as a woman, she wanted to know what men desired.
“So, eroge! They hold the key to male desire! Their wishes! It’s all written in them!”
“What?! Such… a magical tome actually exists in this world?” “Oh, yes, it does…” “I had no idea…” …Naturally, it was highly biased knowledge.
But Saburo, in his own way, was holding space between Oka and Lushia. He held no malice toward her.
It was just… the method was wrong…
“Saburo. Could you… lend me an eroge?”
Rushia said this with a completely serious face.
“I… need to understand. The feelings of men. The desire to be with multiple women…”
“Sure thing, girl! Keep that energy up! I’ll lend you my absolute best eroge!”
He pulled an eroge box from his desk drawer with a thud! “Wow… that’s a hell of a big box…”
“Isn’t that perfect for your needs?” “Is… is that really the case…”
Saburo searched through several eroge boxes.
“I’ve picked out an eroge with a harem route!” “Ha-remu ru-tou?”
“Yes! It’s an ending where you end up with multiple women in the end!”
“I… I see. A harem route… So that kind of thing exists.”
“Yes, it’s standard in the world of eroge! And don’t harems exist in the animal kingdom too?” “Ah, yeah… I guess so.”
…Come to think of it, my grandfather, Kaidan Kougen, used to say—
That it was only natural for multiple women to be drawn to a charismatic man.
“We should study up on harem routes! Let’s understand what a man going through this with several girls is feeling!” “Yeah… I get it…”
And so, Saburo’s lecture on eroge began.
Though this would later lead to some truly absurd circumstances… But that’s another story entirely.