Introspective

It is at 10 AM of Japan's Time Zone, still on day 20 after my reincarnation. Yashima and I are relaxing in the bathtub and are dipping in hot water.

My back is resting on the bathtub while my left arm is hanging outside of the bathtub, the tip of my middle finger touching the rough tiled floor of the bathroom. My other arm is wrapping Yashima's stomach.

Yashima is leaning her back on my chest while her hands are holding my right arm. There is no other sound besides our audible breathing and the rare sound of splashing water. There is nothing to say. We are content.

At the moment like this, I become more introspective. Often, I wonder if I really need to build a harem. I feel like I do not need other women besides Yashima in my life. It feels perfect with only the two of us.

[Hint:…]

As always, the system tells me to build a small harem at the very least. It told me that it will help me later.

Harem.

From what I know, the definition of harem according to the dictionary is as follows:

• a usually secluded house or part of a house allotted to women in some Muslim households: the wives, concubines, female relatives, and servants occupying a harem

• a group of women associated with one man

Meanwhile, the definition of a harem in a certain circle is a genre in manga and anime where a single (often ordinary) guy is liked and followed by a bunch of girls (3 or more) who are all madly in love with him. The girls often fight each other to get the guy's attention. The reverse of this case is a reverse harem.

By those definitions, having 3 or more girls physically and romantically involved with me can be considered as me having a harem. And the system always advises me to create a harem whenever my desire to create one waver. Although I want to ignore the system's tip, I cannot do it because I have discovered something insidious about the Harem System.

The higher my Tier, the urge to think with my dick is stronger and harder to resist. I have realized my mistake in hastily labeled my predecessor as a scum when the truth is that he was likely unable to resist this insidious influence. The Harem System is a fucking trap, an extremely dangerous one at that!

When I demanded an answer to the system, it gave me an excuse as follows:

[Hint: The Harem System is indeed influencing the mind of the User, but there is a valid reason for this. As the User's Tier rises, the User must have the correct temperament to match the User's prowess. If the User fell into the temptation, the User will end up dead or worse. And the System will find a new User. This influence will disappear after the User reaches Tier SSS.]

When I asked about my predecessor's Tier before his death, the system told me that he had only reached Tier S. The highest Tier the past Users had reached was Tier SS. No one had reached Tier SSS. All of them died because they turned mad by lust.

I did not know how should I react to that piece of information. Should I laugh? Should I cry? I do not want to become like those trashy wish-fulfillment fanfiction's protagonists who thought with their dick. I am a principled person who has a strong sense and morals. Moreover, I do not want to discard the teachings of my parents because they are the only thing that still connects us despite our distance.

At this point, I need Yashima's help when the system's influence heightens, hence I want her to quickly reach her max stats first before upgrading her Tier to E. By the way, the cost of upgrading Yashima's Tier, stats, and skills are ten times higher than mine.

Speaking of Yashima's thought about the whole harem thing, she is surprisingly accepting. I suppose I should not be surprised by it.

Sekirei is quite open-minded about intimate and romantic relationships. They are taught to be ready to share their Ashikabi with other Sekirei, thus they do not mind about the harem. Of course, there are some possessive outliers who cannot accept the concept of sharing their Ashikabi with other Sekirei, but Yashima is not one of these exceptions.

Yashima knows my situation and is eager to satiate my enhanced lust.

"Rio-sama…" Yashima suddenly called me with a worried tone. Her voice was low because she remembered that our apartment room was filled with spying devices, except for this place.

Yashima has shifted her position and turned her head slightly to look at me. I see her worry and feel mixed feelings from that. I am happy that she is worried, but I also feel guilty because I have made her worry.

"Be at ease. You have me forever and ever."

"Yashima… Thank you for being an amazing lover. I am very lucky to have you. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Rio-sama…"

We exchanged that short yet sweet words. At this point, Yashima has turned her body around, pressing her tantalizing front on my chest. Her slender arms are wrapping my neck while her legs are intertwining with my legs. Both of my hands are wrapping her thin waist. My erecting shaft is poking her flat and soft stomach.

I pull her body closer, and we share a passionate kiss. There is a flash of light as Yashima's wings appear. Yet, I focus on our lips-lock.

A while later, Yashima pulls her head, breaking our kiss. She looks at me with upturned eyes. She has a sleazy grin.

"Rio-sama, let's have sex."

I am speechless after hearing her request. We just finished our morning routine, yet she is rearing to go for another round. Despite my true desire, I reject her invitation with the shake of my head.

"Let's have sex tonight. We can enjoy other indoor activities to pass the time."

Yashima pouts at me, but she accepts my rejection without making a fuss.

A while later, we leave the bathtub. The water has gone lukewarm, and there is nothing to do in this place. We put on casual wears. I wear a plain green T-shirt and a pair of jogging pants. Yashima, meanwhile, wears a pink blouse, a gray pleated skirt stopping above her knees, and black leggings. Then, we move to the living room.

I decided to order takeout for our lunch. As always, I ordered a huge amount. Individually, Yashima and I can eat several plates of a normal person's serving. While waiting for our lunch, I challenge Yashima in some PVP fighting videogames, and I score higher than Yashima. It is extremely fun.

Our lunch arrives 25 minutes later. After receiving our orders, we have lunch merrily. We are sitting on the floor, side by side. Our meals are filling the surface of the low table in front of us.

"Rio-sama, aah!"

Yashima is trying to feed me the sweet-sour fried shrimp with her chopsticks. I smile at her in amusement and open my mouth wide, indulging her wish.

"Tasty! Now, it is your turn. Say, Aaah!"

I try to feed her a slice of sweet-spicy pork, and she accepts it with an eager expression.

"Mmmh~ yummy~," said Yashima while chewing her food slowly.

After swallowing her food, she has a mischievous look. She picks another fried shrimp with her chopsticks and speaks up.

"Let's do this now~"

My brows in bemusement. Soon, Yashima bites the fried shrimp and launches her body to me. She circles her slender arms around my neck and pulls me to her face. I understand that she wants to feed me with her mouth and indulge her wish.

After that, we feed each other and alternate between using our mouths and chopsticks. Our lunch stretches out for more than an hour because of our antics.

Personally, it is a well-spent time…