February 14th, Valentine's Day.
On this perfect day, Ethan officially began his counter-offensive.
He gathered all the chocolates sent by various girls, both those he knew and those he didn't, into his personal spatial dimension, and then opened the pink, heart-patterned love letters.
The content wasn't particularly interesting, mostly the same: declarations of love, with some of the more explicit ones straightforwardly asking for sex.
More than the content, Ethan was interested in the signatures.
"Natsuha Murasakimiya..."
Looking at the two distinct piles of love letters on his desk, he picked up one from the smaller pile. "She's indeed a fine sexual partner, but I wonder if the butterfly's wings affected her. If the Blonde Guy hasn't gotten to her yet, I can definitely take her."
Natsuha Murasakimiya, first-year student in Class 1-F at Kuoh Academy. She had an exquisite, seductive face, a fiery, full figure, a cheerful personality, and was skilled in Aikido.
In terms of combat ability alone, one or two ordinary adult men couldn't easily get close to her.
Beyond these traits, she was the female protagonist of the hentai series, "Hydrangea," which Ethan had once collected.
Recalling the basic information, Ethan put the remaining small pile of love letters into his spatial dimension, while completely incinerating the letters with signatures he didn't recognize using his azure flames.
Simply throwing them away or leaving them at home to gather dust didn't seem right. After much thought, disposing of them without a trace was the better option.
Looking at his spatial dimension, which was almost full, Ethan sighed, "Looks like I need to delve deeper into spatial magic. One cubic meter of space really isn't enough."
After breaking through to S-rank, he had constantly been working on the spatial dimension issue. He had finally mastered the method of opening a small, personal subspace a while ago.
However, he could only maintain a space of about one cubic meter. To create a larger one, he either needed to break through in power or gain deeper insight into spatial magic.
In reality, while spatial magic was difficult, it was unexpectedly not that uncommon.
Whether it was Rias's frequently used teleportation circles, various fixed spatial gateways, or even small pocket dimensions, they were all considered common knowledge in this world.
Sometimes, to hold a Rating Game, the Devil Kings would construct a temporary sub-space, and live broadcasts would also utilize spatial magic.
However, few people, and few items, could create a personal, small dimension for storing items, like Ethan's.
Ethan had asked Rias about this, and the answer was that pre-constructed spaces couldn't be carried on one's person, and if someone knew the coordinates of an item stored in a dimensional pocket, they could access it directly.
But after repeated experiments, the small subspace Ethan opened could be carried with him, and no one else could open it. Forget opening it, they couldn't even perceive it.
Rias and the others tried to open a space using Ethan's method, but the result was the same as before—they simply couldn't form a personalized subspace of their own.
Ultimately, it could only be attributed to Ethan's inherent uniqueness.
Anyway, he had enough strange things about him already; one more didn't matter.
However, there were pros and cons. While other types of spatial magic were still uncertain, in terms of creating a pocket dimension, Ethan found it much more difficult than others.
Though his S-rank power might even be stronger than Rias's, Rias could easily create a classroom-sized space, while Ethan struggled with even one cubic meter.
After school, Ethan took Natsuha Murasakimiya's love letter and smiled as he walked to Class 1-F.
"Murasakimiya-san, good afternoon."
Natsuha Murasakimiya was packing her bag when a magnetic male voice suddenly sounded in her ear. She subconsciously looked up. "Uesugi-san?!"
"Yes, it's me. Just call me Ethan."
Ethan smiled and shook the pink envelope in his hand. "I read your letter, you know~ I feel quite fond of Natsuha too. So, let's go on a date right now."
"...Eh?!!!"
The beautiful girl with light purple hair widened her eyes, and her cherry lips slowly parted, letting out a scream of disbelief.
The students who hadn't left the classroom all instinctively looked over, curious about what was happening.
Due to Rias's and Sona Sitri's instructions, and Ethan's generally restrained behavior toward ordinary girls, the students of Kuoh Academy rarely paid attention to him anymore.
If the Cuckold Template hadn't started acting up again, Ethan, who was actively suppressing his natural charm, wouldn't have received such an absurd number of love letters and chocolates this Valentine's Day.
But Natsuha Murasakimiya's gasp instantly awakened the students' long-forgotten memories.
"Hey, isn't that Demon King Uesugi?"
"Yeah, looks like he's set his sights on Murasakimiya this time."
"Tsk, tsk. Murasakimiya... If I had Demon King Uesugi's skills, I wouldn't let her go either."
"True. Those breasts, those legs, and that face... If I weren't afraid of her giving me an over-the-shoulder throw, I would have confessed a long time ago."
"Wake up, stop dreaming. You don't even qualify to be thrown over her shoulder."
"Demon King Uesugi isn't here to confess. Look at what's in his hand. Murasakimiya probably threw herself at him."
"Kishototsu [Damn]... I'm so jealous."
Ethan had walked further and further down the path of a scumbag and was completely immune to these comments, but Natsuha Murasakimiya, whose heart was just beginning to flutter, couldn't ignore them.
As the increasingly explicit whispers grew, her snow-white face turned pink. She lowered her head shyly, her sensuous body twisting unnaturally.
"Natsuha... I can call you Natsuha, right?"
Natsuha Murasakimiya nodded, mumbling, "Yes..."
"Natsuha, this letter was written by you, right?" Ethan smiled brightly, reaching out to lift the girl's smooth, delicate chin. "If it's someone else's prank, then just disregard everything I said."
Forced to look into Ethan's eyes, which were as deep as the night sky yet incredibly brilliant, the girl's heart began to pound uncontrollably, and her light pink face deepened into crimson.
"Yes... I wrote it..."
Natsuha Murasakimiya gathered her courage and said firmly, "I didn't expect Uesugi-san to actually read it, and agree..."
Too many girls sent chocolates and love letters to Ethan. He naturally couldn't accept every one face-to-face; most were secretly slipped into his shoe locker and desk.
"As long as you wrote it, it's fine." Ethan grabbed the girl's pale white wrist. "The rest of the details, we can discuss on the date."
Natsuha Murasakimiya offered no resistance. With a flushed face, she allowed Ethan to pull her out of the classroom.
Before leaving, Ethan glanced at a corner of the classroom.
A tall boy with deep yellow hair, dark skin, a fierce look, and two silver earrings was glaring intently at them.
It looked like this Blonde Guy hadn't succeeded yet. Finding this out made Ethan even more pleased.
Originally, Natsuha Murasakimiya, unable to endure her loneliness, willingly gave away her virginity and embarked on a path of no return.
Now, she was still being proactive, but with Ethan's presence, she naturally wouldn't choose a despicable jerk for whom she had no feelings, and even disliked.
Compared to Katsu Ugai (the Blonde Guy), who also messed around with many girls, she clearly preferred a handsome, gentle-looking guy like Ethan.
Therefore, the hormonally charged Natsuha Murasakimiya would inevitably choose Ethan.
This love letter and the beautifully packaged chocolate were the best proof.
"Pah, bitch! I wasted so much time pestering her, and after she finally couldn't hold back, she still chose a useless loser."
Glaring at Ethan's retreating back, Katsu Ugai spat out viciously, "You have a senior protecting you in school. Outside of school, let's see who you can call for help."
Ethan's peak S-rank power had slightly increased his height and weight again. He was currently 177cm tall and weighed 75kg.
However, since it was all muscle, he still looked slender in clothes. Coupled with his gentle face, unless Ethan deliberately exuded a fierce aura, most ordinary people's first impression of him was that of a herbivore male.
Blonde Guys despised the "nice guy" male protagonists who were too gentle to take what was offered to them. If they didn't encounter a Bull, they were fine, but once they did, they were basically a cuckold candidate.