Translator: Reflet

  Once he had returned to the room together with Youran, who had redone her twintails, the stormy atmosphere filling the area shocked him.

  Aoba and Leticia were on opposite sides of the room, not letting their eyes meet.

  「What the heck happened?」


  「Hera-chan!」


  When Taiyou called out, she fiercely rushed over upon seeing the fairy that had come back with him.

  The happy-go-lucky Hera was surprised by the sheer force, turning over midair.

  「Wh-What is it?」


  「Natsuno-kun’s『idol』、can it cancel its effects on a target?」


  「『Idol』’s target? You mean to make someone no longer be one of Taiyou-chan’s brides?」


  「Yes! I want you to repel her!」


  Still not facing Leticia, Aoba spoke pointing at her.

  「Aoba?」


  「Letii, what exactly happened?」


  Taiyou turned to Aoba, and Youran turned to Leticia, aiming quizzical glances.

  They should indeed have been getting along fairly well until now.

  「Ah ain’t gonna change ma view, cuz ah dun think that ahm wrong」


  「You are wrong! That way of thinking is as mistaken as the kind of answer that appears on idiotic talent quiz shows!」


  「That is quite awfulー」


  Hera said thoughtlessly.

  Meanwhile, Taiyou was confronted by discomfort.

  He wasn’t sure about Leticia, but he had seen this reaction of Aoba’s before.

  Soon after he had gotten deeply involved with her, he was often criticized about his relationship with the three sisters or she criticized her parents, and those sorts of traits resembled the current Aoba to a T.

  Once she had gotten to the stage of seeing things that way, she was quite stubborn.

  「What in the world happened? And what do you even mean by opinion」


  「Natsuno-kun!」


  「Y-Yes」


  「Natsuno-kun is going to make up to seven brides right」


  「Y-Yeah」


  Strictly speaking, with converse revision of “image” he wouldn’t be able to make any more brides than seven, but he purposely chose to not point it out.

  「Is there an order for those seven brides that you attach?」


  「Order?」


  Inclining his head, he wondered what she meant by mentioning order.

  He recalled the contents of the conversation Kotone and the others had with Kohaku.

  「You mean the order in which they become my brides?」


  「No! Legal wife, concubine, first wife, second wife, etc, that sort」


  「Ahh, that sort of thing」


  Taiyou nodded in affirmation, satisfied, almost immediately replying afterward.

  「Come to think of it, Kotone and the others seem like they want to have an order attached to them, but not an order involved with ranking, just something like attendance numbers. I personally have no intention whatsoever of doing that」


  「Right! We’re good with that!」


  Emphasizing, Aoba drew closer.

  He was relieved at her using the term “we” to mean one’s house, but right now was not the time to think of it.

  「That really whatcha want」


  Because further away, Leticia had voiced her differing opinion.

  「If ya dun firmly assign a hierarchy when yer surrounded by gurls it’ll become a messy situation. Ya need’a at the very least assign one lawful wife, then make the others concubines ‘r mistresses ‘n the like」


  「Why’d you go so far as to bring that up」


  「Didja fergit? What situation that there fool’s got ‘erself in. Lawful wife and concubine, the women’s children with the inheritance rights ended up causin’ a disturbance in the household」


  「Oh……」


  「This ‘n that’s all because they din properly determine the rankin’ order amongst the wives. Mah house’s the same, mah fool of a father treated all ‘o them wives equally so even now these trivial wars been ever-ceasin’」


  「Uhh……basically from your, your and Youran’s experience, you’re saying that it’s best to differentiate」


  「Yup. Ah ain’t sayin’ ta do that to me, just sayin’ that ya’d best make one person yer legal wife」


  「That makes sense」


  「That is bad, Natsuno-kun! We’re all going to become Natsuno-kun’s brides. Don’t decide on some strange order. Impartial to all」


  「Th-That makes sense」


  He looked at Aoba, then looked at Leticia.

  Coming this far, he finally understood both of their points.

  Basically, both of them recognized that Taiyou had himself a harem, and one was for equality for all, whereas the other one was instead for making a hierarchy.

  「I totally thought that you would say something like『You shouldn’t have seven brides』――」


  「Obviously not!」


  「Dun be stupid!」


  He was curtly refused by both of them.

  Taiyou nearly fell backwards in surprise.

  「Everyone loves you, Natsuno-kun!」


  「Duncha have any dependability as a man!」


  With them getting angry at him like a stereo, Taiyou finally began wavering.

  His wandering gaze was caught by Youran.

  「Th-They got angry at me……」


  「Aren’t you the popular one」


  It would be an understatement to say that her eyes were full of exasperation.

  「No no, I don’t think that’s a result of being popular or――」


  「By the way, I’m close to Letii’s opinion, albeit a bit different」


  「I don’t care about the opinion of some outsider!」


  「Yeah yeah」


  Youran lifted her hands up, shrugging her shoulders as if throwing in the towel.

  「Natsuno-kun! Which do you think is better?」


  「Whatcha think!」


  「U-Uhh……」


  Taiyou was at a complete loss.

  He understood both of their points, and knowing their background, he couldn’t just decide something like that.

  Aoba was born in a household with three mothers.

  Not being told who among the three had birthed her, she was raised in equal circumstances in a sense of the word.

  She had at first hated it, but having now made up with her parents, she thought that it was best that the girls be on equal footing with one another.

  Meanwhile, Leticia affirmed that the current strife was occurring because her and her best friend’s household hadn’t been able to create any clear disparities.

  It was especially true for Youran.

  Sakura and those like her who were the children of concubines were all siblings of a different mother, and yet they didn’t so much as come into the picture this time. If Pochi’s mother were in the same sort of position then the events this time around shouldn’t have happened.

  Which was why he could logically understand what Leticia was saying.

  「Umm……」


  Seeking aid, he further wandered his gaze around.

  He already knew that Youran wouldn’t work. She was a third party, but her ideology was that of Aoba and Leticia’s.

  If he couldn’t depend on her, there was only one more person remaining.

  Gazing at the small fairy floating in the air, he said in a small voice「Save me please」.

  Hera hit her chest with a thud, making eye contact that told him to leave it to her.

  She then spoke to Aoba.

  「Aoba-chan, and Letii-chan」


  「Whatcha want」


  「What’s up?」


  「I am thinking this: Aoba-chan and Letii-chan are Taiyou-chan’s brides, right. If that is the case then I really believe that there is something wrong with brides fighting in front of their husband and inconveniencing him」


  「Th-That’s……」


  「Well……you do have a point」


  With one word of Hera’s, their fight began to quell its flames.

  Taiyou was relieved. He had not had this much gratitude toward Hera until now.

  If things were going this way then the fighting would stop, he thought. It was at that moment.

  「So all you have to do is do it somewhere Taiyou-chan isn’t looking」


  「……What?」


  Taiyou doubted his own ears. He looked at Hera with an expression questioning what she was saying.

  「It is a no-no to inconvenience Taiyou-chan for not making a decision. So you two should settle your fight somewhere Taiyou is not watching, and report only the conclusion to Taiyou-chan. That is common sense」


  「That so?」


  「So it’s sort of like having the subordinates work to have the higher-ups sanction them」


  「Indeed!」


  Pushing up her hands along with a phrase that was liable to make every side angry, she answered thoughtlessly.

  Accepting that, Aoba and Leticia looked at one another.

  Taiyou couldn’t believe what was about to happen.

  「Alright, I’ll go along with it」


  「Don’t go along with it!」


  「’N ya dun make such a teary face」


  「And you! Where did you get those gloves from!」


  Leticia slapped on gloves, and Aoba belligerently glared back.

  This was quite the outcome, as well as tension.

  Thoroughly overwhelmed, Taiyou lost grip of the timing needed to stop them, and he ended up letting them go.

  「Phew, all is settled」


  「It is not all settled!」


  Taiyou flat-topped Hera.

  He retorted strongly, not playing along, and the small fairy bounded after being struck to the floor.

  「How will we proceed with the duel?」


  「Japan-style or Phili-style. As per the compassion of a warrior, ahll let ya choose」


  (You’re not a warrior, you’re a princess.) He didn’t have enough willpower to quip that.

  「What is Phili-style like?」


  Aoba asked, and Leticia whispered into her ear.

  The two of them readily whispered into one another’s ear without heeding protection, so were they perhaps not actually all that hateful of one another at the core? Taiyou thought at that moment.

  「……Th-That’ll be fine」


  For some reason Aoba reddened her face and nodded.

  「Oh boy, that’s how it’s going now huh」


  Youran said along with a sigh.

  「Then I’ll be waiting outside, okay. Call me when it’s over」


  「Outside? Over?」


  Taiyou was perplexed at Youran. But then next moment, he would go into further bewilderment――becoming shocked enough to die.

  「Mm……」


  Leticia pursed her lips, thrusting them out.

  「N-Natsuno-kun……」


  Aoba was for some reason pinching her skirt, lifting it up to the point where her underwear could almost be seen.