I am that male friend in the harem story

"....." 

Naturally, it was impossible for Ishigami not to be stunned, especially when he didn't expect that he would be so confessed so suddenly. At that moment, he was like that girl who had suddenly been confessed to by a close male friend. 

If he was a female, then he would probably say, "Thank you, but I have always thought of you as an older brother." 

Something like that? 

Regardless, Onodera realized how messed up she was, especially when she confessed to him so suddenly like this. She was in a panic and just wished to escape as soon as possible. 

"I-I am sorry! I-I must have troubled you! Please forget about that... Please forgive me... forget it, okay? S-See you tomorrow!" 

Her eyes were in tears, wondering why she had messed up so badly. All she thought of was running away, thinking that she would be obviously rejected by him, but when her feet moved, she suddenly stopped since her hand was held firmly by Ishigami. 

"Y-Yuu?" 

As her hand was held firmly by him, she looked at him in confusion. 

"Could I treat that as a joke, Rei?" Ishigami asked earnestly. 

"...." 

Onodera felt shy and hesitated, but then, as her eyes met his, she regained her courage, took a deep breath, and shook her head. "No..." Strangely enough, she was calm at that moment, and all the feelings within her heart came out so naturally from her moist, cherry lips.

"I... I know that it might be strange even for you, and you might doubt me, especially when you considered our previous relationship, but... even if the time I spent with you was short, I understand that I have fallen for you, and... and... I want you to be my boyfriend..." 

Her voice was a bit low, yet it was firm, expressing her feelings to him, who did his best to change. 

She had watched him, and she understood what kind of a man he was, and because of that, she didn't want to lose him. 

She wanted him to be hers. 

Still, she knew that she was being reckless, especially when she also didn't know about his feelings, yet it didn't matter since when she thought Ishigami would understand her feelings and realized that she didn't want them to be only a friend, she wished for him to reciprocate her feelings in the same way and be a boyfriend and a girlfriend. 

Onodera was nervous, yet she looked up at him, who was in a daze before he blushed. 

"...you... are you blushing?" 

"...if you know, then you don't have to say it, okay?" 

Ishigami would be lying if he wasn't embarrassed when he heard her sincere confession, but more importantly, he was surprised! 

He thought of the possibility of them dating, but it wasn't too soon, and he believed that it would take them a month or more as it was the most common span that one needed to date the other. 

Still, even if he failed to get Onodera, it didn't matter since he had made a move on many heroines at the same time, yet, unexpectedly, in just a few days, Onodera confessed to him, but then, he also couldn't help but feel complex, especially after Kaguya had been rubbing his erection this afternoon. 

However—

"Sure." Ishigami accepted Onodera's confession and sincerely answered her. "Please take care of me, Rei." He wasn't like the harem protagonist who had a crush on a girl and hesitated in the face of the confession of others. 

Onodera was cute, and she liked him. 

More importantly, she confessed to him, so there was no need for him to have a long, complicated, and arduous journey to get a girlfriend. 

Lastly, he just wanted a girlfriend so he could finish the quest from his system. All heroines were fine, and if there was a chance before him, he would be an idiot to refuse Onodera. 

Yes, he knew that his feelings might be shallow or even fake, but whatever his feelings were, he got a girlfriend. 

That's what is important, right? 

Yet, Onodera was dumbfounded as she didn't expect that her confession would be accepted. While she was happy that she wanted to hug him right away, she couldn't help but hesitate, wondering whether it was okay. "A-Are you sure? Are you fine with me?" 

"Is there a problem with you?" 

"I-I had mocked you before and joined others in hurting you. Do you think I am fit to be your girlfriend—" 

Yes, Onodera was happy that Ishigami accepted her confession, but she couldn't help but think that she felt she wasn't worthy of him. However, she couldn't finish her words since Ishigami took her lips. 

When their lips touched each other, they were in a daze. 

Soft and warm. 

The two thought as they had their first kiss, and the hesitation in her heart instantly disappeared. 

While Ishigami wanted to do more, he was afraid that he couldn't control himself, so he pulled away and said, "There. You have taken my first kiss. Take responsibility, okay?" 

"...." 

"Th-That's my first kiss too!" 

Onodera was speechless and couldn't help but get emotional as it was also her first kiss. 

"Then, wasn't it fair? You have mine. I have yours." 

"....." 

There were many things that Onodera wanted to say, but all of her complaints disappeared as his hand firmly held onto hers. He was no longer tsundere, who held her hand for a moment and then let her go.

This time, he didn't let her go and held her hand naturally. 

"Let's go back," Ishigami said softly. 

"Um..." 

All of her worries disappeared, and she showed a silly, happy smile as she followed his words obediently. 

There was no hesitation in his actions anymore, and he didn't tease her anymore but showed her through action that they had formed a relationship, a boyfriend and a girlfriend. 

"Love you." 

Onodera smiled sweetly as she said those words. 

"Hmm." 

"Please say you love me too!" 

"If you let me kiss you, I will say it." 

"...let's go somewhere quiet." While she didn't mind him kissing her, Onodera felt that it was too dangerous to kiss on the corridor like that again as she was afraid someone might see them, and at the same time, she also wanted to taste his lips better. 

"Pervert." 

Ishigami could tell that this girl also wanted to kiss him. 

"...the pervert was you, right?" 

Yet, no matter what, Onodera was happy. 

However, as the two left, they held each other's hands, but in the corner, one girl took a deep breath calmly as she leaned on the door of the library. Her hands clutched onto her skirt tightly before they were slowly loosened as she showed a bitter smile on her face. While she had a feeling Onodera had a feeling toward him, she didn't expect Onodera to make such a move, yet she also didn't intend to blame Ishigami since she didn't want him to be hurt either, and she just wanted him to be happy. 

She was fine as long as he was happy, but why couldn't she feel happy?

"...could you do that in a place I couldn't see?" 

Still, Kobachi was glad that no one was around since, this way, no one could see her current expression. Staying in the library for a while, she waited until her tears stopped, calming herself, erasing all the traces of her sadness, then walked out of the library and then locked the door firmly like her heart as she knew nothing could be done now. 

Yet, while Kobachi realized everything, the others didn't know anything, and they just couldn't help but think about the wonderful things they would do with him, especially those who had a promise to see him. 

However, they didn't know that in the empty classroom where Kaguya had brought him before, Ishigami had started to make out with Onodera. 

Everything was too late. 

He was already taken. 

---

By the way, there are 15 advanced chapters now. 

If you wish to see advanced chapters, you can check the link below: https://www.patreón.com/akikan40

Thanks~!