Haruka Hasebe Wants to Make a Friend

If he hadn't just fought Asahina Nazuna, how could he have ended up at a disadvantage here?

After fighting continuously, even he couldn't keep going, no matter how tough he was.

No, he couldn't let this go just like that.

"I'm going out for a bit. You wait here!"

As soon as he opened the door, Ye Yunchuan summoned Xiao Hei.

"Xiao Hei, kill me."

Xiao Hei swung a fist at his head.

Thump!

After a sharp crack, Ye Yunchuan lost consciousness.

Then his Ajin constitution kicked in, and he came back to life at full health.

His stamina instantly returned to full.

So he rushed back and took control of his K'Sante again.

After an unknown amount of time...

"This isn't scientific. You shouldn't still have..."

"Matsushita Chiaki, say something!"

She activated All Out again. This time, though, he was at full health, so he could use both Path Maker and Footwork at will. Not even the strongest Light Binding could hold him back.

Matsushita Chiaki's Lux could only accept defeat.

Although he'd tried very hard, he still hadn't gotten what he wanted this time.

Still, he'd shown off his skills and, thanks to his strength, beaten the young lady's Lux.

Afterward, Ye Yunchuan returned to the dorm with Matsushita Chiaki.

"Chiaki, you're finally here."

When they saw Chiaki, Karuizawa Kei, Sato Maya, Shinohara Satsuki, and the other girls immediately gathered around her.

"What happened? Chiaki, why do you look so pale?"

Seeing her friend looking so exhausted, Karuizawa Kei was naturally concerned.

"Ah, I probably just haven't eaten in too long. I still haven't recovered."

Matsushita Chiaki shook her head, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Ye Yunchuan had been gone all afternoon.

Normally, everyone would have guessed that he'd gone off to play games.

Only Karuizawa Kei was still adorably innocent.

"You've worked hard, Yunchuan. Have some milk to replenish your energy."

By comparison, Shiina Hiyori was much more considerate.

The moment she saw him come back, she handed him a glass of milk.

"..."

Though he felt a little underestimated, he drank it anyway, not wanting to disappoint her.

"So, did you get a new ability?"

Shiina Hiyori suddenly leaned close and whispered the question.

"No..."

Ye Yunchuan's expression stayed blank.

"Ah..."

Shiina Hiyori awkwardly scratched her cheek with a slender finger, then blushed and tried to comfort him:

"It's okay. There's no need to rush. If you keep trying, it'll happen.

Don't do anything else for now. Just get a good night's rest."

"Uh..."

Ye Yunchuan's cheek twitched despite himself.

He was obviously strong. It was ridiculous how frail she made him sound!

That said...

He was a little worn out.

If he weren't afraid of dying, he'd definitely have Xiao Hei punch him in the head.

Perhaps because things had gone so smoothly with the girls he'd been with before, Ye Yunchuan hadn't realized that this sort of hard work wasn't easy.

"Why does it feel like targeted efforts aren't as easy as I thought? Maybe I should cast a wide net and catch more fish?"

With more girls around, Ye Yunchuan had more on his mind.

One-on-one tutoring clearly wasn't efficient enough for what he wanted.

"But would they agree?"

Though tempted, the group still didn't know one another well enough to pull off something this ambitious.

"Yunchuan, Kei's room can't fit this many people. Could you use Xiao Hei to open up the rooms nearby?"

Before Ye Yunchuan could figure out how to make his big plan work, Shiina Hiyori interrupted his train of thought.

That was true.

With so many people, finding room for everyone had become a problem.

For safety, Ye Yunchuan arranged for them to stay in the two rooms next to his.

It was still a little cramped, but there wasn't much else he could do.

After all, he couldn't protect so many people at once. Xiao Hei could only split into two at most; any more than that would be too much for him.

"Why is it you?"

He was supposed to be resting alone tonight.

But when he saw the girl in his room, Ye Yunchuan was taken aback.

Hasebe Haruka.

The girl he'd had his eye on from the very first day.

But even now, he'd barely exchanged a few words with her.

"I..." Hasebe Haruka hesitated.

Honestly, she wasn't sure whether sneaking into Ye Yunchuan's room had been the right thing to do.

"You're actually offering yourself to me. Somehow, that doesn't seem like your style."

Ye Yunchuan looked at Hasebe Haruka with an amused expression.

He was still in his refractory period.

For now, he didn't feel like getting back to work.

So he didn't mind chatting with a girl instead.

"Um... Is what I'm doing really that shameless?"

Hasebe Haruka lowered her head, looking dejected.

"Just as you eat when you're hungry, the instinct to survive comes before everything else.

Even pointless pride.

When order breaks down, the strong prey on the weak, and the weak depend on the strong.

Women trade their beauty for food.

What you're doing is only natural. There's nothing wrong with it.

If I were a girl, I'd probably be lying over there by now."

As he spoke, Ye Yunchuan pointed at the bed.

"Pfft." Hearing that, Hasebe Haruka couldn't help laughing, despite her earlier dejection. Then she said with a hint of reproach, "In the end, you're the one who benefits. Of course it's easy to say that when you're the one saying it."

"Truthfully, I've just been lucky. Without my superpowers, I'd probably be worse off than a dog."

Ye Yunchuan shook his head. He wasn't the sort of person who thought he was the greatest just because he had powers.

He knew his own limits.

"That's still better than me." Hasebe Haruka pressed her lips together, then asked eagerly, "We're just sitting around anyway. Can you tell me about your superpowers?"

"My powers? There's Xiao Hei and the Storage Space, and then there's..."

Ye Yunchuan casually explained his abilities, but he never told anyone about the most important one: his Ajin immortality.

In his view, that was the foundation of everything. It didn't matter if he revealed a few of his other abilities.

"I'm so jealous. I can't believe you have so many superpowers. I wish I had one too."

"I forgot to mention, I have another ability called Multi-child Multi-blessing. Once someone gets pregnant, I gain a new ability. And those abilities might include ones that can make you stronger."

Ye Yunchuan had no intention of keeping it secret.

Rather than let them remain clueless as his women, he'd rather tell them outright and give them more motivation.

Chapter 24: Hasebe Haruka Wants to Make a Friend

"Huh? How's that possible? You're not joking, are you?"

Like Asahina Nazuna, Hasebe Haruka found it hard to accept.

"Having a child gives you a new ability? That's just too..."

"If that weren't true, how could I have so many different abilities?"

Ye Yunchuan spread his hands. He'd explained it so many times already that he was getting tired of repeating himself.

"..."

Haruka fell silent, and Ye Yunchuan had nothing more to say.

The silence stretched on.

"That's just how chaotic times are. Killing and looting can happen at any moment. The only reason you've been living comfortably is that I've been protecting you.

But I'm not strong enough to protect you every second of every day.

So whether you like it or not, I'll do whatever it takes to get stronger, until no one can threaten me."

Perhaps he'd been lonely for too long. Ye Yunchuan suddenly voiced his innermost thoughts without prompting.

"I didn't expect you to be such a responsible man."

Hasebe Haruka looked at Ye Yunchuan in surprise.

His methods aside, he was responsible in the end.

At least, he'd never broken a promise.

"Come on. You shouldn't praise me like that. I'm just a despicable person. These noble words are bound to make people sick."

Ye Yunchuan shook his head.

He wasn't some responsible, good man.

"I'm just selfishly trying to keep all the pretty girls for myself forever!"