“Are you serious, Amano?” Haruka asked as I sat there, not knowing how to react.
“Of course I’m serious.”
“You should reconsider. He’s a beast who’s taking advantage of this zombie world to have his way with multiple girls.”
“You say that, but you’re still in love with him. Doesn’t that go to show just how attractive he is as a male?”
“…That’s true… Even if he cheats on me, he’s so amazing I can’t make myself hate him…” As she praised me, Haruka frustratedly clenched her right hand into a fist.
She seemed to be acting funny, so I looked around and saw the empty box of whiskey bonbons next to her.
Had Haruka eaten all of them? If she had, that meant she must’ve been pretty drunk…!
I was worried about her, but Haruka just kept talking.
“He’s so cool… I can’t imagine my life without him…”
“Haruka? Do you realize what you’re saying?”
“You just keep your mouth shut. I love you.”
“O-okay…”
I wish she wouldn’t just suddenly declare her feelings for me in front of everyone. I really don’t know how to react to that. Though I have to admit, it made me really happy.
Does Haruka start praising people when she gets drunk…?
I was still puzzling over that, when Haruka turned to face Amano.
“All right. If you’re serious, then as wife number one, I can’t just ignore you. I’ll interview you.”
…Wife number one? Haruka was interviewing Amano? What the hell was going on?
“First, tell me what you like about him.”
“He’s strong. He risked his life to save us earlier. It’s cool how he fights those zombies without being scared of them.”
“So you’re after his strength?”
“You’re brutally frank, but I do think that strength is the most important asset in this zombie world.”
“Does that mean if someone else shows up who’s stronger than Yuuma, you’ll want to be with them instead?”
“I wouldn’t do something insensitive like that. Besides, I don’t think the average person can fight a zombie, can they?”
“Well, you’re not wrong there. My Yuuma is the strongest, after all.”
“He’s also good-looking and clean-cut.”
“I know. He’s like a breath of fresh air, huh?”
“And he’s tall.”
“He has the perfect physique. Someone too tall or too muscular would make you feel overwhelmed.”
“What about you, Hyuuga? What do you like about Kousaka?” Amano asked, and Haruka’s eyes lit up.
“I’m so glad you asked. I first met him when I was in fifth grade, but even then, he was really nice to me. He listened to all my complaints and did anything I said without a sour look, and he was always on my side, no matter what. He really spoiled me back then, and I couldn’t live without him… But one day, he suddenly stopped coming to see me… Then just the other day, I saw him for the first time in five years. He’d gotten super good-looking, and he was still the nice guy I knew as a child. It was better than I ever could’ve imagined. It’s probably because he’s grown up a bit now that he’s always thinking about naughty things, but I still think it’s cute how fascinated he is with my boobs.”
“……”
Haruka went on and on about our relationship without showing any hesitation. Both the lovey-dovey part at the beginning and the bit at the end about how our relationship had been revealed were so embarrassing I could’ve sworn my face was on fire…
“So from where you stand, Kousaka is a guy you’d recommend to any girl, huh?” Amano said, causing Haruka to let out a gasp.
“…I meant to turn this into a smear campaign against Yuuma, but before I knew it, I ended up praising him…”
“Nah. Pretty much right from the start, you’ve been going on about how much you love him,” Kamiji chimed in. “But, Kousaka, you sure are popular. You’ve been two-timing these girls, and one of them talks about you like you’re the guy of her dreams.”
“…It’s just the suspension bridge effect. They would’ve just seen me as an incredibly normal guy if it hadn’t been for this zombie world.”
“But you really were cool, fighting off all those zombies. Anyone would fall for you if you rescued them like that.”
“What?!” Haruka exclaimed. “Kamiji, don’t tell me you have a crush on him, too?”
“Take it easy. I’m not interested in messing around with someone else’s man,” Kamiji said decisively.
Hearing that, Amano let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad I’m not competing with Saya! I guess that means I’ll have to make an effort to win out against Hyuuga and Tsukishiro from now on. Or is there no need for that since we’re in a polygamous relationship?”
Amano directed the question at me, but how was I supposed to know the answer to that?
Yet Haruka and Mai were also staring expectantly at me. I got the feeling I’d be in serious trouble if I said the wrong thing.
“Uh…it isn’t like we’ve properly decided we’re going to be in a polygamous relationship yet…”
“You have wives one and two now, right? So should I try to talk myself up to you? When will I know whether I’ve passed?”
“…Since we’re on the subject, how does a polygamous relationship even work?” I asked.
Of course, it wasn’t my intention to start something like that, but I couldn’t help but be a little curious. After all, in this zombie world, there was no limit to the number of spouses a man could have if he called for volunteers.
In the old world, that had been restricted by factors like the cost of living and the size of living quarters, but here, we all lived together regardless of whether or not we were in a relationship, and I provided food for everyone.
So should I accept it if someone said they wanted to be my wife?
No. That was way too immoral. Yet it also seemed kind of awkward to reject someone when there was no limit to the number of women I could marry…right?
The more I thought about it, the more difficult a polygamous relationship seemed. Why had I lied and said I wanted to introduce something like that…?
Still, I couldn’t give Amano my saliva, and I couldn’t tell her why. I had to find a way to get out of this naturally. What excuse could I give her? Should I say it was because we’d only just met? But the premise for my relationship with Mai was that we’d become lovers in just three days…
“…For now, Amano, I think you and I should get to know each other better,” I told her. “You might be disappointed once you find out what I’m really like.”
“Yeah, that’s always a possibility.”
“So why don’t we go through the usual routine that guys and girls normally go through when they start dating? Like going out together and learning about each other…”
For some reason, Amano looked puzzled by my suggestion.
“I think that’s a reasonable suggestion, Kousaka, but how are we supposed to go out on a date in this zombie world…?”
“Right…”
Now that she mentioned it, I realized there wasn’t a single place in this world where you could take someone out on a date. For that matter, we couldn’t even step outside of the dorm to go for a casual stroll.
“I wonder how men and women get to know each other in this new world…”
“Well, they probably go on dates at their homes,” Amano said. “But without power, they couldn’t play games or watch movies, so the only thing that they could do would be…”
She stopped there, her face going an even darker shade of red. Just what was she imagining?
“A-anyway, Kousaka, I’m going to start showing you what I can do,” Amano said enthusiastically.
That meant I’d have to look for some kind of flaw to use as an excuse not to make her my wife…!!
“Why don’t I start right away and tell you about my special skills? I’m pretty good at giving people massages.”
I accepted Amano’s invitation, and we all moved to the bedroom.
Haruka, Mai, and Kamiji watched as I stripped down to a T-shirt and slacks and lay face down on the bed.
“Okay, here we go!”
Amano had also changed into sweats, and she got on top of me, kneeling with her legs on either side of my hips. She bent forward and began pressing her fingers into the area around my shoulder blades. Every time the tips of her thumbs dug into my skin, a pleasant pain ran through my body.
“How’s that? Does it feel good?”
“Uh-huh. Really good.”
“I’m glad to hear that. How’s the pressure?”
“I wouldn’t mind if you went a little harder.”
“You got it!” Amano said happily as she widened the distance between her knees and crouched down lower. She could probably put more force into her massage this way.
—Just then I realized something.
Amano spreading her legs wider had resulted in the most important part of a woman’s body pushing closely against my back. She seemed to be unaware of it, but every time she applied her weight to the acupressure, her private area pressed up hard against me.
I felt Amano’s womanhood through our clothes. It was soft yet slightly firm…
All of a sudden, the image I’d seen that morning up her skirt flashed through my mind.
“…Yuuma, you’re smiling like an idiot. Does it really feel that good?” Haruka asked, looking me in the face.
Damn. I had to cover it up fast.