In the Multiverse, Only Through Wife-Taking Can One Grow Stronger Chapter 3

"Huh?"

Goto Hitori blinked, not processing it.

After a long pause...

"Huh-huh?!"

Goto Hitori jumped up, her face instantly bright red.

"Liking me... how could that ever happen..."

Goto Hitori couldn't believe it.

Someone as gloomy and withdrawn as her being confessed to by a guy? No way...

"I've always been watching you."

At that moment, Tsukikawa Shu grabbed Goto Hitori's small hand and said, word by word, "I just never had the chance to get close to you, to tell you how I feel."

"I like you. Will you be with me?"

"Th-this this..."

Goto Hitori's frame seemed to shrink all at once.

Her first confession ever in life.

She'd fantasized countless times about being confessed to, being pursued, even imagined how she'd have a passionate romance, or gracefully reject or accept someone.

But now that a confession came out of the blue, Goto Hitori's mind went completely blank.

She was too shy to speak, her thoughts a total void.

Should she refuse? But he's so handsome, and he's someone who understands me...

Should she accept? But we've only known each other for less than a day—though he might have known me for a while...

But if she didn't accept, maybe no one would ever come after her again...

Goto Hitori's lips trembled as she struggled to find a suitable reply.

"I've always wanted to be with you, Hitori."

Tsukikawa Shu pressed his advantage at this moment.

"You won't have to play guitar alone anymore. You'll have someone to talk to."

"I'll take you to see the world beyond home and school, and help you slowly overcome your social anxiety."

"I'll accept all your flaws."

"Please form a Destiny Contract with me, let me stay by your side, okay?"

Tsukikawa Shu kept holding Goto Hitori's hand tightly, even squeezing it a bit painfully.

And in truth, Tsukikawa Shu was also nervous as hell.

His first time confessing to a girl...

Face to face, they were both complete rookies in love.

"...Okay!"

After a moment, Goto Hitori finally couldn't hold back and agreed with her eyes shut.

She was never good at refusing others, and now that a guy who cared about her was confessing, she couldn't overthink it.

[Goto Hitori has accepted the Destiny Contract]

[Your Wife-Taking quest is complete]

At that moment, prompts appeared before Tsukikawa Shu's system, and rewards began to be distributed.

[You have gained talents: Double Experience, Double Item Drops]

[You have gained a blue-tier weapon: Muramasa]

[Each time you kill a monster, you and your partner will both gain the full Experience Points]

[You have awakened the class: Enchanter]

[You have obtained the "Formation Master" Class Card]

Looking at the system panel prompts, Tsukikawa Shu pondered.

Gaining the same Experience Points as his partner meant that grinding monsters would be twice as effective from now on.

When killing a monster, instead of distributing Experience Points based on damage output, both would receive the full amount.

For example, if Tsukikawa Shu killed a monster worth 100 Experience Points, not only would he get those 100 points, but Goto Hitori would also get 100 points.

If each killed a monster worth 100 Experience Points, then each would gain 100*2.

Forming a contract meant double the joy.

For Tsukikawa Shu, the more wives he contracted, the higher the gains from killing monsters.

Truly a Wife-Taking system—from now on, he'd really be getting stronger through his wives.

Tsukikawa Shu thought to himself, then tapped open the description for "Enchanter."

[Enchanter:]

[Killing a monster with skills has a chance to drop those skills]

[Killing a player who has entered the Inner World allows you to plunder their skills and class]

[After acquiring skills and a class, you can use them yourself or gift them to your partner]

The system's Novice Gift Pack seemed pretty decent.

Then, Tsukikawa Shu's gaze returned to Goto Hitori.

Goto Hitori still hadn't snapped out of it.

"I'm in a relationship? Am I really in a relationship? Someone like me actually escaped being single? And it was this easy?"

Goto Hitori pinched her own fingers, asking herself over and over.

She hadn't even noticed the changes on the system panel in front of her.

"Bocchi-chan?"

It wasn't until Tsukikawa Shu went over and gave her a nudge that Goto Hitori finally came back to her senses.

"I'm not worthy... but please take care of me!!!"

As if realizing something, Goto Hitori immediately dropped into a Dogesa.

"No need, no need, you don't have to do that."

Tsukikawa Shu quickly said.

"Take a look and see if anything's changed after forming the contract."

Tsukikawa Shu added.

"Changed?"

Goto Hitori finally noticed some new things on the system panel in front of her.

[Destiny Pact Contract]

[You have formed a Marriage Contract with Tsukikawa Shu. Your fate will be bound to Tsukikawa Shu.]

"Huh? Marriage Contract?"

Goto Hitori was dumbfounded.

Was that what he meant by "being together" just now? They hadn't even dated yet, and now they were married?

Then, she skimmed through the explanation of the Marriage Contract and froze on the spot.

A marriage pact, besides sharing experience gains, more importantly meant one's honor and loss were shared.

If one party died or suffered a major blow, the other would be affected too.

This was far more binding than a legal marriage! And it couldn't be undone.

"I haven't saved up enough dowry yet..."

Goto Hitori thought of the ceramic piggy bank at home, where the so-called dowry was just a few clinking coins.

Instantly, she collapsed again.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Tsukikawa Shu quickly steadied his newlywed wife of less than an hour.

"Why... why did you want to marry me so fast? What is there about me that could possibly attract you?"

Goto Hitori asked.

By now, she didn't even know what she was feeling.

Confusion? Embarrassment? Shock? In short, reality had directly crashed her brain's CPU.

She'd longed to escape being single, but suddenly getting married was way too fast... even her imagination couldn't keep up.

"Well..."

Tsukikawa Shu scratched his cheek.

Could he say he'd fallen for her after watching an anime? No one would believe that.

"Because you're cute," Tsukikawa Shu said.

"...Huh?" Goto Hitori blinked.

"In short, you're just really cute!"

Tsukikawa Shu emphasized again, seriously.

"Eh? Eh? I'm cute?" Goto Hitori was stunned.

She couldn't believe it. Aside from her friends, the word "cute" had never come from anyone else's mouth.

On the contrary, plenty of people had called her frumpy.

"S-So... that's why you fell for me?"

Goto Hitori asked. "I'm not really that pretty, you know..."

Even though when she joined the band, the other members made her wear casual clothes or maid outfits and kept complimenting her, Hitori had absolutely no confidence. She figured they were just setting her up for a fall.

"That's right!"

Tsukikawa Shu said firmly, then took Hitori's hand.

"So, even though it's sudden and there's been no buildup... please marry me!"

"Right here in this Inner World!"

Looking into Shu's sincere eyes, Hitori froze for a moment, then her face flushed bright red.

"M-M-Marry... marry?!"

And with a guy who was totally her type, too. It was a bit fast, but she really had no reason to refuse...

Her face burning with shyness, she started to feel lightheaded, her expression wavering.

Like she'd chugged cheap booze—first dazed, then barely holding back her embarrassment, and finally breaking into a goofy grin.

"Hehehe..."

The sudden happiness had gone straight to her head.

Goto Hitori's brain had short-circuited!