The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
How should I answer?
What words should I choose?
I was incredibly conflicted.
Still, staying silent wasn't an option.
Even if I couldn't put my thoughts together properly, it would be better to speak honestly about how I felt.
I steeled myself.
"To be honest..."
"Yes."
"It's not like I've never thought about that sort of thing... I've imagined it a little."
"So that means you're attracted to Kanade-chan?"
"...Yes."
I nodded honestly.
She wasn't just cute—she was always cheerful and energetic.
A natural mood-maker who could make everyone smile.
And Kanade was a very kind girl.
She was always supporting me...
And she had helped everyone many times as well.
She was someone we could all rely on emotionally.
A girl like that was close to me, and on top of that, she had feelings for me.
There was no way I could remain unaware of her.
Whether I could call it love or not...
That part was still a little uncertain.
But there was no doubt that I was gradually becoming attracted to her.
"In that case, there shouldn't be any problem with taking Kanade-chan as your wife, right?"
"I... can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Um... this is going to make me sound like a terrible person..."
I hesitated.
And hesitated.
And hesitated.
But in the end, I decided to be honest.
"There are other girls who have told me they like me... and there are things about them that attract me too."
"Oh my."
It really was an awful thing to admit.
Instead of focusing on one woman, my attention was scattered in every direction.
As a man, I thought that made me pretty pathetic.
But...
No matter what, I couldn't focus my eyes on just one person.
When I thought about hurting the others, I just couldn't...
"Good grief. When it comes to romance, Rain-san, you're incredibly indecisive."
"Ugh."
"It's rather pathetic. You're a hopeless man."
"S-Sorry..."
Since everything Suzu-san said was completely true, I couldn't argue.
All I could do was apologize.
"But..."
Suddenly, Suzu-san gave a small smile.
"The fact that you don't try to hide that weakness and instead confess it honestly leaves a good impression. I can tell that you genuinely want to be sincere."
"I'm already doing something ridiculous by having my feelings waver between multiple girls... so at the very least, I want to be as sincere as I possibly can."
"You're rather clumsy, aren't you?"
Suzu-san chuckled softly.
To be honest, I had prepared myself for the possibility that she might become furious.
But she wasn't angry at all.
In fact, she seemed pleased.
"You're not angry?"
"No."
"Um..."
"To be honest, I expected this outcome. I could clearly imagine that if it were Rain-san, things would probably turn out like this. And now it's exactly as I imagined."
"Ugh..."
I just felt terribly sorry.
And pathetic.
I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
"Let me give you a piece of advice, Rain-san."
"Advice?"
"You don't necessarily have to narrow it down to just one person, you know?"
The outrageous statement left me momentarily speechless.
While my mind froze, Suzu-san continued on her own.
"I don't know much about humans, but if I remember correctly, polygamy is allowed, isn't it?"
"Huh? Ah, yes... technically."
Depending on the circumstances, nobles were expected to leave behind many descendants.
They couldn't allow their family line to die out.
For that reason, having concubines was permitted, and multiple marriages were also allowed.
And the same applied to commoners.
If nobles were allowed to do it while commoners weren't, it would be considered discrimination and cause backlash.
So regardless of social status, polygamy was generally permitted.
"Then the answer is simple. You should just marry every girl who likes you."
"E-Even if you say that..."
Even though polygamy was permitted, very few commoners actually practiced it.
The issue was simply money.
Neither my parents nor anyone around them had multiple spouses.
Because of that, I had a certain resistance to the idea—or rather, a negative image of it.
But Suzu-san simply laughed that concern away.
"Even if polygamy were prohibited, Kanade-chan isn't human—she's one of the strongest species. Human laws don't bind her anyway."
"Isn't that just sophistry...?"
"Besides, don't you carry the blood of a god, Rain-san? If so, I would think having many wives and many children would be important."
"No, but..."
"More importantly, if you choose only Kanade-chan and make all the other girls sad, are you really okay with that?"
"That's..."
I imagined that scene.
Just thinking about it made my chest ache.
"Instead of making only one person happy, everyone can be happy. Isn't that enough?"
"Is it really that simple...?"
"Well, I'm not trying to force you to accept polygamy—or a harem. For that matter, it wouldn't work unless Kanade-chan and the others agreed to it as well. After all, girls naturally want to be the most important person in the eyes of the one they love."
"Right..."
"Still, those girls get along so well that I suspect their desire to stay together is stronger."
"Which is it supposed to be...?"
Whenever she said something that sounded like a rejection, she followed it with something that sounded like approval.
What exactly was she trying to tell me?
"You're the one who has to decide, Rain-san."
"Ah..."
That's right.
I had forgotten something so obvious.
Whether I chose one person or chose everyone, the first thing I needed to do was make up my own mind.
That was probably what Suzu-san was trying to tell me.
Get your feelings straight first.
"Hehe, do your best. I'm rooting for you. Oh, and my husband said he's cheering for you too."
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