Refuse Harem
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Prius
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 098 – Dear Tenma, It Seems I Have Underestimated “The King’s Sword” V
Sophie cleared her throat with a light cough and revealed a shameless smile.
“Because you are so critical of women, I wanted to show you a different perspective. If you keep this a secret without telling anyone else, I could lend you the continuation.”
“Really?! If that’s true, I will never tell anyone else and keep it a secret for the rest of my life!”
Lars’ eyes as he declared that with a clear tone were sincere and had no trace of deceit.
“Okay, then I’ll lend you the continuation.”
“T-thank you very much!”
Lars overflowed with happiness, but Sophie’s words didn’t stop there.
“But not today.”
“Why?! Is it because I’m not loyal enough?!”
“It’s because if I lend it to you today, then you will stay up all night reading again, right?”
Lars couldn’t say a word in response.
The reason Sophie knew was because she also did the same.
Since Lars had a similar impression of the story as Sophie, she recognized him as one of her kind. She had no doubt that if she were to lend him the continuation, he would read it carefully and repeatedly and end up staying awake all night because of that.
“You have dark circles under your eyes. I recommend you rest today. As for the book, I will lend it a day before your holiday.”
“How compassionate… Yes, I’ll be patient until then!”
Lars was a little disappointed, but he still responded well. His expression was different from the previous one, giving off a nice complexion and gloss.
“Err… Is it really okay for me to be here?”
Luca, who had been silently watching all this time, said so with a reluctant tone.
Hearing the two say “secret,” Luca had been confused and wondered if it was really alright for him to listen to it. He got further confused since he couldn’t understand the thing they were talking about whatsoever.
“I don’t mind, Luca. You won’t say it to anyone, right?”
“Y-yes!”
Although Luca had such intention to begin with, he became scared now that Sophie mentioned it again.
Luca had a chill as he imagined he might end up like Lars yesterday if Luca blurted it out by mistake.
While Luca had his cute face distorted in horror, Sophie smiled at Lars.
“Well then, let’s welcome the fellow secret keeper. May I call you Lars?”
“Yes, it’s an honor! This Lars Rydholm might not be great at swordsmanship, but I can at least help you carry your luggage!”
“No, I will carry my own luggage myself.”
Lars was in a little panic seeing Sophie immediately refuse his offer.
“But I don’t know what else I could do…”
Lars mumbled in a small voice.
“Oh my, there is a lot you can do. But is it really okay, Lars? If you are seen together with the unwelcome purple star, you will end up estranged by others as well, you know?”
The black star students were blatantly hostile to Sophie, the bearer of the purple star. It was likely for Lars to gain a bad reputation just by mingling with Sophie. However, there was no hesitation in Lars’ expression as he heard those words.
“I have learned that Sophie-sama is a person with great wit from Alan Aubin-sama’s story yesterday and from the book you lent me, unlike myself. I wanted to learn more about you!”
“Even if you have to pay a price for it?”
“If I miss the opportunity of something greater because I feared the price, it would be a mark of shame for the gold stars and the Rydholm family! …I will no longer make excuses for my lack of self-confidence to shield my anxiety. Even Margaret-sama devoted herself to work hard, so if I, a man, keep messing around to protect myself, I would be embarrassing myself.”
As expected of “It’s a Flower, Whether it Blooms or Buds.” To think it managed to completely change a boy who read it, even though he only read a quarter of the whole thing.
“If you are that determined, then I won’t hold back. After all, I wanted the power of the gold stars the most in this academy.”
Lars’ eyes went wide at Sophie’s words.
“The gold stars… are the ones you wanted the most?”
Lars swallowed his breath at the unexpected words.
He always thought, for this capable purple star, the gold star was something she didn’t need at all.
After all, the gold stars couldn’t serve as a sword and shield to protect like the black stars and the copper stars, and they also didn’t have the knowledge to make scientific or technical advancements like the silver stars had.
However, since Sophie had said the gold stars were the ones she wanted the most, Lars was strongly determined to help her however he could.
“I will do my best to help Sophie-sama.”
Lars’ bow wasn’t as deep compared to what he performed earlier, but it came from the depth of his heart, which made Sophie smile gracefully.
A/N:
Sophie, Luca, and Lars are all 14 years old (*´-`)
We’ll proceed to Lars’ perspective in the next chapter (*´-`)
Want early access to Cannon Fodder, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer, and I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem? Support the translator on Patreon!
I wonder what would happen with Lars if he read Yuri F*ta first
ayo…
That’s right, you shouldn’t read all night long, especially if you have three finals exams the next day… but well, in the end even if i had poor marks, I passed, and it was a good read.
it depends whether you put more worth in words (pass or fail) or numbers(<passing graded~perfect score) but if you fine with that, i have nothing to say
thank you for the translation ^_________^
thx for the comment!
So Lars’s already corrupted beyond salvation.
Or maybe enlightened on another perspective.
enlightened indeed.
to the dao of lily