Stealing Spree

Upon arriving home, the first girl who greeted me was the youngest among them, Ria. She ran up to me as soon as I pushed the door open and took the first step inside. Looking like she had just woken up from a nap because of how she kept rubbing her eyes, my lovely girl couldn’t even wait for me to fully enter before jumping in my embrace and having me carry her with all of her limbs wrapped around me.

Well, what else should I expect when I keep them waiting this long? Maybe even if all of them jumped at me at the same time, I’d probably do my best to remain standing just to accommodate them all. It’s not a question of whether it’s impossible or not. The question should be, will they or not?

Anyway, I completed my entry while supporting Ria and closed the door behind me. Looking past the girl’s shoulder, I noticed Aoi, Aya, and Hiyori who were probably only a few steps slower than the girl in my arms.

“Geez. She’s getting more adept at detecting your arrival, darling.” The unruly girl pouted while looking a little jealous. However, that didn’t hold for too long because at the next moment, without so much as concern for the other two or Ria, she stepped forward and approached my side. Cupping my cheeks and turning my head to face her, Aoi granted me her sweet, addicting kiss conveying how much she missed me.

“Eh? Aoi, don’t steal away my thunder. I won the race to Dumb-senpai!”

When Ria, who still had her face buried in my neck to inhale my scent, noticed that, she pushed Aoi’s face away before doing the same, delivering the same intensity of kisses. Furthermore, she also tried climbing higher so that I eventually had to raise my chin while her arms wrapped nicely around my head.

Aoi pouted again but this time, she didn’t interrupt us. Instead, it’s the other two who stormed forward, albeit timidly.

“Wait. Aya-chan, let’s not get beaten by them. Ruki is also ours.”

Not wanting to be left out, I saw Hiyori grabbing Aya’s wrist as the two of them approached us. Then after splitting up on each side, they both grabbed the hem of my shirt as they conveyed that they also wanted my attention.

“Ruki...” Aya pressed her forehead on my shoulder as she called out to me. And that alone was enough for a part of my attention to split to her.

Perhaps sensing that I also wanted to greet the other two, Ria gave my lips one last suck before retreating back to burying her face in my neck.

And with this, it gave way for Hiyori and Aya to steal my lips for themselves.

Spending at least three minutes there just alternating between the four, the ones who were waiting in the living room probably lost their patience as they all took a peek at us and called out the four girls keeping me busy.

Aoi stuck her tongue out at them while Hiyori and Aya silently retreated, their eyes already displaying their satisfaction. As for Ria... Well, I continued carrying her as we moved to the living room.

Instead of waiting for her to get off by herself, I did her the favor by carrying her to a cushion and placing her down on it. In that way, it wouldn’t feel like she was forced and it also showed that at the end of the day, I was still the core of our complex relationship. It won’t be good if I keep giving way to them, right? I have to be the one steering the wheel and not become the wheel they can steer in any way they want.

While I won’t mind spoiling all of them at any time of the day, I still have to show them that I’m not playing favorites.

Ah. Enough about that.

The first thing I did after being freed was obviously to check on who among all of my girls are present. The girls from my class; Nami, Chii, and Saki were already waving their hands at me.

Haruko along with Edel and Mina.

Yae along with Sena, Miyako and Aika.

Then, Rae, who spent the night here, was next to Kana and Hana.

Yeah. Even though she’s still adamant about not considering herself as one of my girls, Hana showed up – possibly invited by Akane or Haruko.

When our gazes met, she had this kind of expression that tells me she was pushing herself to mingle with my girls. Knowing that most of them are still hostile towards her, Hana must’ve been barraged by their questions or at least, tried to have her give up her goal of stealing me.

Given how close she became with Kana and Rae, it’s probably not wrong to say that they’re already on her side. They could shelter her but when it comes to giving way to her desire, I doubt the two would be lenient in it.

Anyway, Kana was the first to step forward. Her eyes were brimming with excitement as though she was bearing good news.

And sure enough, as soon as she closed our distance, Kana threw herself at me and revealed the news she’s eagerly wanting to tell me.

“I passed the selection, Ruki... My novel... It’ll be among the finalists. I was contacted by an editor of the publishing company sponsoring that contest. They said even if I fail to win an award, they will help me publish my work.”

Alright. That’s more than the category of good news, right? It’s an excellent one. And when the girls heard that, they all swarmed her with congratulations.

Likewise, I placed my hand on top of her head before doing the same, “I know my Kana can do it. Congratulations. I can’t wait to read it again once it becomes published.”

“It’s all because of your encouragement, Ruki... I won’t be as confident to send it in without you and... the other’s help.”

“Well, you’re the one who wrote it so... the glory is still yours. We’re all happy for you, Kana.”

After a round of congratulations wherein the others also expressed their surprise since they’re only hearing about that now, my lovely Kana became swarmed by them that she had no choice but to grab Hana and Rae to help her tide through it.

Continuing on, I also greeted those who were only on video call because they couldn’t come here today. Following that, I specifically went to Miyako who was creasing her forehead again. I eased it up by kissing her and pulling her with me to sit down.

Akane along with Eimi and Yua simply watched but for sure, they were also waiting for their turns which I eventually gave them.

Around ten minutes later, Shio, who was in the kitchen along with Ririka, called out to us so that we could finally eat our dinner.

It’s already past eight o’clock so we couldn’t delay it any longer. The other girls had to go home soon, after all.

And while we were in the middle of the dinner, they informed me of what transpired while I was away.

The trio of Akane, Yae, and Haruko spoke up for everyone. There’s no surprise prepared but they told me in great confidence that whatever differences they have towards each other has already been talked about and mended properly.

As for what those differences are... well, they’re too long to list but in essence, it’s about how they see each other with or without me.

If there’s one thing that I could point out then it’s probably how they wanted to break the unspoken hierarchy between all of them.

I mean, they’re aware of it. Among all of them, they probably considered Akane, Yae, and Haruko the most special to me. Furthermore, the three were also kinda acting with that thought in mind. Now, they cleared that out and somehow convinced everyone that when it comes to their relationship with me, there’s no one above the other. It’s just a matter of their own circumstances whether they could be like Akane who’s living with me at the moment.

The girls who were planning to live with me soon or after they graduated also spoke up, revealing their plans. And that made the others begin considering those possibilities as well a few years in our future.

Well, all in all, while the talk about it somehow dulled the lighthearted mood at our table, I took it upon myself by hogging the spotlight at the end of it.

Before I send them home... I decided to properly take care of all of my girls here without missing one of them out.

Forget being exhausted... I feel energized by the thought of holding them all in my arms again. My insatiable desire would continue flaring up when it comes to them. That shows how much I love and care for them.