6 Main Heroines Who Absolutely Want to Monopolize Me - V1 Chapter 0.1

Prologue – Eve, Childhood Friend, Curry Rice

“Having fewer possessions is better. This applies to both material things and human relationships.”

That’s all there is to it.

It may be difficult in modern society to live aloof with only green clothes, a pointy hat, a reusable sack and a harmonica like the wandering character in the fairy tale.

On the contrary, in today’s society where we have easy access to all kinds of data, a four-and-a-half-tatami-mat apartment with the minimum necessary furniture, wi-fi, and a smartphone is all we need for most things.

Naturally, the lighter you are (material), the nimbler you become.

You won’t have trouble moving or relocating, and cleaning becomes a breeze.

Above all, your mind feels at ease.

Human relationships are somewhat similar.

The more connections you have with people, the more burdens and restraints you acquire.

The fear of being disliked by important people leads to timidity and hesitation, and favoring certain individuals breeds jealousy and a sense of unfairness.

In short, human relationships can dull one’s ability to make the right judgments.

Moreover, there is no guarantee that such relationships will be beneficial for oneself.

In fact, it’s more likely that they won’t be.

People won’t always behave according to one’s desires, and if everyone is living for their own happiness, their goals may conflict.

Yet, despite this, people unintentionally develop expectations, thinking, [This person might make me happy.] Then they end up feeling betrayed, hurt, and wasting their time and emotions.

In the end, people have no choice but to live for themselves, and they alone can make themselves happy.

There is a saying, 『If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.』

Well, I want to reach ‘that’ place as soon as possible.

Whether it’s far or not, I won’t know until I try, but at the very least, I need to get there quickly.

Therefore, I want to have minimal involvement with other people.

“That’s all there is to it.”

Staying true to my beliefs, I live in a small, cheap four-and-a-half tatami mat apartment.

For the umpteenth time, I was sharing such thoughts with my childhood friend, who was eating curry on the other side of the foldable low table.

“Sigh, no matter how many times I hear it, I can’t help but be fascinated by your minimalist comments on social connections.”

She sighed, neither impressed or exasperated.

“Well, I know you, but that’s why people at school call Shinichi ‘A mysterious struggling-loner-student of unknown cause,’.”

“Huh? Do I have a nickname like that? I had no idea.”

“Yeah, it was a nickname behind your back. You come from a wealthy family, so you should be living a comfortable life, but instead, you choose to live in poverty, and even though you excel in academics, you’re always alone.”

“Really…? Well, wait, why does Sakiho know about my nickname behind my back at my school?”

“Knowing that is common sense.”

“…I think it’s natural for you to not know that, Sakiho is just unreasonable…”

The reason is that my school is a private all-boys school from junior high to high school, while my childhood friend sitting in front of me is undeniably a girl with a delicate figure.

Naturally, since she doesn’t attend the same school, she shouldn’t know any rumours about me.

“Well, I know, you study so hard to continue as a scholarship student and choose to live in poverty because you want to achieve that dream, right? And as for being a loner, it’s because everyone is scared of Shinichi for no reason.”

“Sigh… Sakiho seems to know everything.”

“I don’t know everything. Just about Shinichi.”

“Ah, right…”

What’s with that line, it sounds like something from a famous script…

“Well then, let’s test Shinichi Hirakawa, our socially minimalist friend. Who exactly this beautiful, soft and fluffy girl, Sakiho Shinagawa, who cooks for you every day? “

With a mischievous smile, she leans in closer.

Soft and cute? I don’t know about that. I mean——

“That’s precisely why I’m saying you don’t have to do it. Even without me asking you, Sakiho just makes the food on her own. Besides, we no longer live near each other, and I can cook my own meals.”

“You say that, yet you eat it every day, don’t you?”

“There’s no point in rejecting something you made for me, and it would be a waste, so I just reluctantly accept it.”

“Reluctantly?! Geez, you really don’t get it. Do you know how jealous the boys in my class would be if they found out that a cute girl like me comes over and cooks for a guy living alone? They’d be swooning all over!”

“I mean, I guess it might look like that at first glance, but…”

Admittedly, Sakiho’s cooking is delicious, and I suppose, in general terms, she could be considered cute.

It’s only her who doesn’t give up on me despite my stubborn attitude. I do appreciate that, no doubt. But——

“What’s wrong? You look dissatisfied.”

With her expression of ‘Why don’t you tell this older sister if you have any trouble?’ and with a smile that seems to say, ‘I’ve said this countless times’, I’m confronted with a cruel fact.

——Mainly, a cruel fact for me.

“I mean, Sakiho, you’re stalking me, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. So what?”

“Is ‘So what?’ an appropriate response?”

Right, she’s my stalker.

Despite putting on the façade of being a close childhood friend with a good sense of distance, her actions are incredibly obsessive and scary.

I still shiver when I recall that winter in sixth grade when she brought me to her room, and there were pictures of me plastered all over the walls. It’s a traumatic memory.

Moreover, without my knowledge, she seems to have a spare key to my apartment where I live alone.

So far, nothing valuable has been taken, but periodically she says things like, ‘I replaced your toothbrush with a new one because you’ve used it for a month,’ . It’s terrifying to think that she might be taking it away since I never saw any toothbrush in any of my garbage cans.

All things like that piled up; even today, I was asking her, ‘Please don’t come here anymore.’

See, this is why it’s better to keep human relationships to a minimum.

“But, Shinichi, you say ‘minimum necessary,’ but that doesn’t mean you don’t need anyone at all, right? Like, friends or partners, or any human relationship…”

“Well, yeah, I suppose so.”

Realistically speaking, I don’t believe that I can live entirely on my own.

There are countless things I can’t do.

In fact, it’s more accurate to say there are only a few things I can do.

So, to live and achieve my goals, cooperation with others is indispensable.

“But it’s more like cooperating with someone when our interests align for the same purpose. It’s more like a contractual relationship rather than a human relationship.”

“Here it comes, the alignment of interests.”

I have had this conversation with Sakiho many times before. She shrugged her shoulders, looking somewhat exasperated.

“If our interests align, I guess we can move in a way that benefits each other? I believe that such relationships are necessary.”

Though it’s an idea borrowed from someone else, I find it convincing and have made it my principle.

It’s not that I am a misanthrope.

“Hmm… Well, then, what about marriage?”

“Marriage? Why bring that up all of a sudden?”

“Well, isn’t marriage a kind of contractual relationship? Does it fit into your ‘minimum necessary’ criteria?”

“I guess so…”

I pondered for a moment and then recalled the words I often hear in my dreams.

“…Well, actually, it seems like it could become the biggest burden, this whole husband and wife relationship.”

“That’s harsh. How can you say something like that to your future wife?

Sakiho pouted, raising her lower lip.

“I never made such a promise. Besides, I don’t think you’re at an age to even consider such things, you’re not old enough to get married.”

“That’s not true. Shinichi will be turning 17 tomorrow, right?”

“So what? I still have one more year until I’m old enough to get married… And by the way, I’m impressed you remembered my birthday is tomorrow.”

“Like I said—,Something like that, of course it’s common sense.”

“No… Well, I guess it’s not that strange to know something like that…”

Even for something like a birthday, which normally should be a delightful thing to be known, it feels scary when Sakiho knows about it.

Wait, that reminds me. I need to make things clear about this.

“Just so you know, I don’t want anything for my birthday. No gifts, no material things, nothing at all.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Absolutely.”

Last year on my birthday, when I came home from school, the entire house was covered with red rose petals, and at the center of it all, there was Sakiho, lying there in nothing but white underwear, with her eyes closed.

It was all so overwhelming that I almost had a panic attack.

Her clothes were nowhere to be found, and after I put my T-shirt and sweatpants on her and kicked her out of the house, I was left with the daunting task of cleaning up the mess and being terrified of getting pricked by the rose thorns.

There was no sense of celebration; if anything, it felt like a curse.

Maybe it’s because ‘Celebrate『祝う』’ and ‘Curse『呪う』’ look similar in writing…

The next day, when I confronted her about it while we were having dinner as if nothing had happened, she just laughed and said, [Hehe, Shinichi, you were thinking about me the whole time you were cleaning up, weren’t you?].

[She’s an invincible woman…] I muttered and raised the white flag.

Not to mention, I never got my T-shirt and sweatpants back, I think I’m the only one who’s losing money.

“Anyway, this year, I really don’t want anything.”

“Sure, sure, thanks for setting the flag——”

“I didn’t set any damn flag…”

And with that, my shoulders dropped in disappointment.

“Just kidding. I really, really can’t come here this year, I can promise you that.”

“Oh, really?”

“You look disappointed.”

“I’m not. Not at all.”

Also, stop poking my cheek.

“Anyway, there’s an even bigger surprise. Not from me, though. It’s a huge surprise present for you from someone else.”

“A huge surprise…? But I just said I don’t want any big things.”

“Hmm, I tried to oppose it, to be honest. But, you know, when the sender is the sender…”

“Yea? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, well… I mean, it’s not exactly a present, but…”

Ignoring my questioning, Sakiho continued with a somewhat dry smile.

“It’s more like a potential present, I guess?”

***

TL: Hiraeth