What was truly the hardest to deal with was Utaha's layered schemes.
At this moment, the girl standing before Haizaki wore a cold and aloof expression. Her long black hair seemed to flutter without wind, and an astonishing dark aura surged forth.
The prelude to an outburst.
She had completely placed herself into the role of a lawful wife who had discovered her husband's mistress.
How had he ended up being led into this?!
He should have firmly insisted from the start that he absolutely had no thoughts whatsoever about a harem.
And the truth was, he really didn't have any harem ambitions at all.
"Nothing to say now, huh?!"
"I think—"
"Next, we'll be discussing how to deal with Haizaki-kun's so-called harem ambitions."
Not even giving him a chance to defend himself?!
Or rather, the outcome had already been decided the moment this topic began.
Haizaki sighed inwardly at his own youth. Utaha's schemes ran far too deep—he hadn't anticipated her true intention behind bringing up the topic.
"Alright. You talk, I'll listen."
He would accept what he could accept, and reject what he couldn't.
"First of all…"
She crossed her arms over her chest and slightly raised her chin, her presence oppressive.
"Harem ambitions are unquestionably wrong."
"Yes. I think so too."
Haizaki even nodded, emphasizing his agreement.
"Very good. Although your attitude feels a bit perfunctory, as long as you acknowledge that point, things become easier. Your attitude is still acceptable. Second, incorrect ideas should not exist in one's thoughts. Haizaki-kun, who harbors such erroneous thinking, undoubtedly needs to receive my 'psychological counseling.'"
A bad premonition began to surface.
What kind of bizarre move was this now?
"As for the content of the psychological counseling…"
A smile of unclear meaning appeared on her face.
"It will correct your incorrect worldview, outlook on life, and values."
"You sound just like—"
Haizaki immediately stopped himself.
He still vividly remembered Utaha's reaction the last time Yukinoshita had been mentioned.
He had no desire to step on Utaha's nerves again.
"Like what?"
"Like my high school teacher."
Utaha felt there was something off about Haizaki's words.
"Your homeroom teacher? A female teacher, right?"
She didn't know much about Haizaki's past, and since the opportunity had come up, she wasn't about to let it go. Moreover, Haizaki's reaction just now had caught her attention.
"It was the high school life guidance counselor."
"A female teacher, right?"
Utaha's casual repetition left Haizaki with no way to evade.
"A female teacher."
"And a pretty older unmarried woman, right!"
Hiratsuka-sensei—have your glorious deeds really spread all the way to Tokyo's Toyogasaki? Or did your matchmaking activities somehow reach them instead?
"..."
Seeing that Haizaki didn't answer immediately, Utaha knew she had guessed correctly.
"Impressive, impressive. As expected of Haizaki, King of Harems-kun—adding an older unmarried female teacher to your harem. Congratulations, congratulations."
"Utaha, stop mocking me."
Although Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei was an older unmarried woman, her overall qualities were excellent. She was beautiful, had a great figure, and came from a good family background.
Other than being a bit older, and… smoking, drinking, and going to bars…
Thinking about that, Haizaki felt something was a bit off.
But all in all, Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei was absolutely a good woman.
"How am I mocking you? I'm congratulating you."
"What's there to congratulate? Hiratsuka-sensei and I are just in a normal teacher–student relationship. Don't overthink it."
Even knowing Utaha was doing it on purpose, he really didn't know how to get her to ease up.
Ease up?
Haizaki's gaze landed on Utaha's red lips.
"When men lie to women, they always say things like that. 'Just a normal relationship, don't overthink it.' But in reality, they've long been involved…"
As a writer of youth romance novels, Utaha naturally used such lines often and saw them frequently in other books as well. Without exception, they always appeared in plotlines where the male lead had gone astray.
"Do you trust me that little?"
Utaha hesitated.
She couldn't tell whether Haizaki was genuinely upset or just bluffing.
But thinking of the previous hard drive incident, she felt it was better to slow things down a bit.
"I trust you, but I want proof!"
I see.
And the best proof he could offer was only one thing.
While Utaha was still staring at him, Haizaki stood up and took a few quick steps to her side. He grabbed her shoulders and, under her stunned gaze, pressed his lips to her red ones.
"Mmm…"
Soft, springy—almost like jelly.
Irresistible.
Haizaki felt that if this continued, he really would get addicted.
"Mmm—!"
Finally unable to breathe properly, Utaha struggled while pounding on Haizaki's chest.
"Was that enough?"
"Huff… huff… barely…"
Gasping for air, Utaha gave a lukewarm evaluation in the end.
In any case, this was another huge step forward.
"But Haizaki-kun… you're getting more skilled."
Haizaki froze.
He had absolutely no idea how to respond.
"You'll need to practice more in the future."
Haizaki looked at her in shock. At this moment, Utaha had already turned her gaze away, the tips of her ears slightly red, betraying that her heart was far from as calm as her words suggested.
"I—I understand."
With so much happening in the middle of dinner, neither of them had the mood to keep eating.
Utaha began clearing the dishes and spoke to Haizaki,
"After I finish washing up, tell me about Hiratsuka-sensei."
"I and her—" Thinking that Utaha still wasn't letting it go, Haizaki hurriedly spoke up.
"I just want to know what kind of teacher could leave such a deep impression on Haizaki-kun. She treated you well, right? She must have been a very responsible teacher."
The harem joke was already over. What Utaha wanted now was simply to chat with Haizaki normally—to understand more about his past, more about his high school life.
"Yes. I'm very glad she became my teacher."
Aside from her teaching ability, she cared deeply about her students' physical and mental well-being, helping them grow in her own way.
At the time, many people found her methods irritating, but in the long run, they truly were good for the students' lives.
And most importantly, after the catastrophic apocalypse broke out, she had always protected them, her students.
That last point, however, was something he couldn't tell Utaha.
At this moment, Utaha was washing dishes in the kitchen.
Haizaki sat on the living room sofa, his gaze resting on Utaha's side profile.
Outside the villa, the cold wind howled. Inside, it was warm and reassuring.
This kind of life only had a little over two months left.
Do what needs to be done, and make good use of the remaining time.
Every bit of knowledge gained and every skill mastered now would add a bit more confidence and foundation to face the future apocalypse.
…