Chapter 11. Harem Rules, Approved by the First Girlfriend

Chapter 11: 11. Harem Rules, Approved by the First Girlfriend

I thought about it, and I realized what this meant. She’s jealous...?! No fucking way that my Alicia can have this kind of feeling, but I had to make sure she didn’t develop any possessive feelings because it could get worse for both of us.

And so... I decided to be honest, because honesty was the one thing she’d never let me skip. And I’m one hundred percent sure that she’s going to understand the whole situation.

"Yeah, I am... but still... I don’t love the name, and I’m not going to pretend that I do." I shrugged my shoulders. "But I spent two lives being a nobody, and now I have something that can protect people who can’t protect themselves!"

"And I’ll be honest with you... there’s a part of me that always wanted this."

"This... like being what exactly?"

"A harem, duh~!" I said. "A big, ridiculous, fantasy novel harem!"

"I read those stories for years in my old world, and I used to say I’d never do that, but I definitely wondered!"

Alicia raised one eyebrow slowly.

"So... Let me get this straight," she said. "You’ve been telling me for years that you wanted to become the strongest knight in the world... and the whole time you also wanted a collection of beautiful women?"

"Eeehhhhhh..." I sat up straight. "When you say it like that... it sounds terrible and made me the villain here... like a womanizer."

"Because it is terrible, and it’s the truth!"

"I was young back then... you do know that boys have that kind of phase when they’re young?"

"No! You clearly said it last year."

"But that still counts—that I was younger last year, no?"

She started laughing so hard that she had to bury her face in the pillow. When she finally came up for air, her cheeks were red and her eyes were wet.

"Oh, Roland~! I’ve known you since you were five... and I’m not shocked!" She shook her head. "I’m just a little offended that I wasn’t consulted..."

"Are you really that mad hearing what I really wanted...?"

"Nope," she said, and then she looked at me properly, still smiling but with something firm underneath it. "I’m not mad... But if you’re going to do this, you’re going to do it right, and I’m going to be the one who makes sure of that!"

"What does that even mean...?"

"It means I’m the leader, of course~!" She sat up and crossed her arms with great ceremony. "If you’re going to have a harem, then that means... I’m going to be the captain of it!"

"Uh-huh...? You make it sound like a knight order or something..."

"Somebody has to keep you from making terrible decisions, of course."

"Well... I can’t argue with that as long as you let me have a large harem, hehehe..." I start to laugh slowly like a maniac.

"Good." She softened a little and put her hand on my knee. "I mean it, though..."

"Nobody gets to be treated like a prize or a power-up... If another woman joins us, it’s because she chooses to, and because she has her own reasons to trust you."

"The second this becomes like some kind of a collection that makes you a womanizer, then... I’ll stop it."

"Eh... That’s fair," I said, and meant it. "Honestly... I wouldn’t want it any other way."

"Having someone who’ll tell me when I’m being an idiot is the whole point."

"So you admit you’ll be an idiot, huh?" She laughed.

"It’s a certainty... and it’s practically in my class description."

She kissed my cheek and slid off the bed. "Come on then, we’ve got a lot to catch up!"

"We still have our selection to prepare for, and I want to ask Hesper about the road to the next village! Laura is stationed there, you know?"

"Who’s Laura?"

"What...? You didn’t know about her...? She’s Laura Lapisfield!"

"She did a joint training stint with me last year." Alicia pulled her boots on and started tying the laces. "She’s one of the best swordswomen I’ve ever met, with perfect technique and no patience for people she doesn’t trust!"

"She also hasn’t smiled once in all the time I’ve known her, so don’t take it personally..."

"Does she hate people? Especially man?"

"I think she just hates wasting time." She stood up and gave me a look. "And Roland... don’t hit on her yet because she’s going to kill you... literally KILL you!"

"Whaaat...? I would never do something like that to a stranger."

"Heh! Knowing you... you’d absolutely hit on her, especially when you get to see her directly."

"Who do you think I am? I’d try to resist like the good gentleman that I am!"

"Nope... That isn’t the same thing."

...

We left Marrow Creek around noon, loaded with fresh bread, dried meat, and a repaired breastplate that Hesper’s cousin had hammered back into shape.

The people of the village lined up along the road to wave goodbye, and the little girl who had called me a storybook knight ran after us for fifty meters before giving up. That’s low-key so cute that I had to look at Alicia.

Alicia noticed how I looked right now, and then she started blushing while covering my face with her palm. "ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO GO THAT FAR?!"

"W-what are you talking about?!" I panicked because I think I know what she’s thinking.

"You’re going for a little—" Before she could finish her word, I had to shut her up by holding her mouth real hard.

"SSSHHHH! NOOOO! I’M NOT A REAL PREDATOR AT THAT!" And then I let go of her so that I can clarify something to her. "It’s just a kid... and you know... I think I like one someday."

Alicia’s whole body froze instantly, and I can see steam is coming out from her head. "You... y-y-you... y-y-y-y-y-you... wanted... a child...?"

I nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"W-with me...?"

"Of course."

Alicia starts to cover her face with both her hands. "Gosshhh... you always have something to say to my face and try to make me die of embarrassment."

"Hehehe, sorry."

Alicia then takes a deep breath and takes a peek through her fingers just to look at me. "One day, okay...? When we’re... at peace..."

"Got it~!"

And that’s that...

The next village, Dunmore, sat about half a day’s walk to the east. Alicia filled me in on Laura as we went, and by the time we crested the last hill I had built up a picture of a tall, serious woman with a sword in one hand and a grudge in the other.

I asked her. "What kind of appearance does she have, by the way?"

"Hmmmm... She’s got short blue hair," Alicia said, "and she stands like she’s expecting an attack at any second."

"She doesn’t talk much, but she’s the most reliable knight I’ve ever worked with... she’s kind too, and if she says she’ll hold a position, she holds it until she drops."

"Huh. Sounds like someone I’d get along with..."

"Naahhh... She’ll hate you probably."

"Heh?! Why?!"

"You joke too much."

"That’s unfair! I only joke when I’m nervous... and that always did the trick!"

"So that means you’re always nervous all the time?"

"Nope! It’s called being observant!"

She was still shaking her head when I caught the smell on the wind. It was smoke, thick and dark, with the sharp edge of burning wood and something worse underneath.

"Wait a minute... did you smell that?" I held her hand.

"Smell what...?"

My new instincts lit up at the same moment, like a bell going off at the base of my skull, and I stopped dead in the road.

Alicia saw my face and went quiet. "But now I can smell it..."

Both of us nodded at the same time, and then we both started running.

From the top of the next rise, we could see Dunmore clearly. Three buildings were on fire, the gate had been knocked off its hinges, and the main road was jammed with panicking villagers dragging carts and children toward the fields.

Beyond them, a dozen men in mismatched armor were smashing in doors and hauling out sacks of grain.

"Bunch of stinky bandits," Alicia said, her voice tight. "A lot of them."

"Go for the families on the left," I said. "Get as many people clear as you can! I’ll find the front."

"Roland, be careful."

"I’ve got a new body and a great sense of self-preservation, so no need to worry about me at all, baby."

"You have neither of those things!"

But she was already sprinting, and so was I.

BAAAMMMM!

I hit the main road a minute later, and what I saw made my stomach turn. An old man had fallen in the street, and a bandit was stepping over him to get at a door.

What a fucking sick bastard... picking on an old man like that as if he were the strongest being in the universe.

"Hey! How about you pick on someone your size, huh?!? After saying that, I came in low, grabbed the guy’s collar, and yanked him back so fast that he spun around in the air and landed on his back in the dust.

"What a bum..."

The old man stared up at me, feeling all stunned, and I hauled him to his feet and pointed at the nearest alley. "Go! Get inside and stay down!"

He nodded and ran as fast as he could. I turned around just as a woman’s voice cut across the whole street.

"Get inside! Clear the road! I’ll hold them here!"

I recognized that tone right away. It was the sound of someone who had decided to die on a spot and wasn’t going to argue about it.

"Alright... let’s see how this body manages it all." I pushed through a cluster of terrified villagers and came out at the crossroads, and there she was.

Laura Lapisfield