(05/05)
After dropping Haruna off, the group headed not to Haruno's apartment, but to Ryouko's house—a place that, at first glance, resembled a mansion straight out of a horror movie. But to Haruno's surprise, the eerie structure had undergone an astonishing transformation. In just three days, it had been fully renovated, looking polished, and strangely cozy despite it having been destroyed by an alien attack.
"Whoa... this place looks amazing," Haruno muttered, still taking it all in. "But… Why are we here? I thought we were heading home."
Lala and Yui exchanged glances, clearly in on something. Ryouko, meanwhile, casually parked the car in the garage and stepped out, tossing her keys into her lab coat pocket.
"Because we have something planned," Ryouko said with a sly smile. "And your apartment's way too cramped for it."
Haruno blinked. "Planned? What kind of—"
"Relax," she added, leading them inside. "I also need to be ready to resume my work as an alien doctor. Things are going to get busy soon in this mansion, and I figured I should get my place in order before more weirdness spills onto Earth."
The living room, now sparkling clean and filled with high-tech alien devices, looked nothing like it did before. She gestured for them to make themselves at home. "You guys wait here. Oh, and don't worry about dinner—I'm ordering something fancy. Let's call it a small celebration."
"That's generous… but are you sure it's okay, Ryouko?" Haruno asked, half-concerned.
She shrugged nonchalantly. "I make a ton of money from my alien patients. Most of them pay in advanced tech or rare materials, so I'm fine. I still treat those who can't pay, of course."
That explained the mansion and the futuristic medical setup. Still curious, Haruno turned toward Lala and Yui. "So what's this plan of yours?"
"It was Yui's idea!" Lala chimed cheerfully.
"W-Wait, not entirely! I just wanted to make sure we didn't go overboard!" Yui stammered, her cheeks flaring red.
Haruno narrowed his eyes, a faint expectation growing in his chest. "What exactly are you three planning for me…?"
"Hehe, just wait, okay?" Lala said with a mischievous grin, followed by Yui nodding beside her. "That's true."
As Haruno sat on the sofa, watching the two girls walk ahead, his thoughts drifted. The whirlwind of events over the past few days had taught him many things—about love, chaos, danger, and connection. But amid the warm feelings and affection from his growing group of heroines, one unavoidable reality kept creeping back into his mind.
Money.
Sure, in the far future, if he married Lala and ascended to become the king of the Deviluke Empire, money would be the least of his concerns. At that point, he could probably buy an entire continent if he felt like it. But for now? He was just a guy living in an apartment, with rapidly increasing romantic obligations… and the occasional date or gift could really dent his wallet.
'A part-time job is possible, but it'll take away time from being with them… Hmm. Maybe there's a better way,' Haruno pondered. 'If I could leverage the stories I remember from my past life—the ones that don't exist yet here—I might be able to write web novels or manga adaptations and actually make money off them.'
Turning toward Lala and Peke, he voiced a half-joking idea. "Hey, Lala… could you maybe make something like Peke?"
"Oh? You want your own multi-functional clothes generator?" Lala's eyes sparkled as she leaned in, clearly thrilled at the thought. "Hehe, I'll make you one if you want! That'd be so fun!"
"Not quite," Haruno chuckled. "I meant something more like… a robot or an A.I. assistant—something that could help me write or draw, maybe speed things up."
"Hmm…" Lala tapped her chin thoughtfully, then stood up with energy. "I don't know about making a full robot just yet, but I do have something that can help with that kind of work!"
With a dramatic twirl, she pulled out a device that looked like a magical girl wand—except it had sleek, futuristic plating and tiny bat wings adorning the top.
"Ta-da! Behold, the All-Mighty Tool™!"
"Oh? You can really make something with that?" Yui asked, watching Lala with a mix of awe and suspicion. She had seen Lala pull off incredible feats with her inventions before, but never actually witnessed how she built them.
"Yosh, let's use this chair as a base!" Lala declared, lifting the wand high. With a subtle flick of her wrist, the bat-winged tip of the All-Mighty Tool began to shift and reshape. Small ports opened along the wand, launching out a flurry of micro-components that hovered in the air before assembling themselves with remarkable precision.
In less than ten minutes, the plain chair had transformed into something that looked like a cross between a futuristic gaming rig and a high-end drawing studio. A mechanical glove was attached to the chair's armrest, linked to a sleek console on the back with wires that shimmered with alien energy.
Yui couldn't hide her amazement. "That's incredible… In just a few minutes, you really turned a normal chair into this?"
Lala puffed out her chest proudly. "Ehehe, of course! I call it the Creative Accelerator 3000! Just slip on the glove and think about what you want to make—your hand will move accordingly!"
Haruno, however, was slightly cautious. He vaguely remembered something similar from his past life—the time when Rito's father got an assistant who worked incredibly fast with one of Lala's tools… only to burn out completely and quit.
Still, curiosity won out. "Alright, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," Haruno said, sitting down slowly and slipping his hand into the glove. It fit snugly, as if molded exactly for him.
Now that he had access to clear memories from his previous life, Haruno considered his options. For starters, Kaguya-sama: Love is War came to mind. It was a perfect blend of romance, comedy, and clever character dynamics—finished, unique, and unpublished in this world. The perfect starting point.
He wasn't a pro artist, but he had drawn casually during his long hospital stays, enough to understand the basics. This time, maybe he really could make something out of it—with a little alien help.
In the end, Haruno decided to start simple—just sketching a few characters from Kaguya-sama: Love is War. After all, he had never actually made a manga before, and this was more of an experiment with Lala's high-speed drawing chair than anything serious.
But what happened next took even him by surprise.
As soon as his hand moved, the glove seemed to synchronize with his thoughts. His brain would visualize a pose or expression, and before he even realized it, his hand had already drawn it. Within two minutes, Haruno had completed a rough, but recognizable, monochrome sketch of Kaguya Shinomiya. The lines weren't perfect—there were awkward strokes and minor inconsistencies—but the speed and fluidity were something else entirely.
It was as if the chair bypassed the tedious process of sketching, erasing, and refining. He didn't even have time to second-guess himself. He just thought—and the glove acted.
Encouraged, Haruno continued. He drew Kaguya in different outfits: her school uniform, gym clothes, a kimono, even a swimsuit. Each drawing took mere minutes, and soon his screen was filled with a variety of dynamic, if slightly messy, illustrations.
But by the end of it, Haruno was completely drained. His body slumped in the chair, sweat trickling down his face, his fingers tingling despite barely moving. His mind felt like it had been wrung dry, overloaded by rapid-fire visualization and creative output.
"Haah... No wonder they burned out," he muttered, recalling the assistant who had collapsed from overusing a similar tool in his past life.
Still, Haruno had gained something valuable from the experience.
"Even if I can draw like this... I don't think I'm cut out to be a full-time artist," he admitted, pulling off the glove. "But if I just focus on writing the story—the name—and leave the art to someone else…"
It was a solid plan. With his knowledge of popular series from his past life, Haruno could churn out dozens of storyboards in no time. If he could find the right artist to collaborate with, it could be the beginning of a profitable venture.
"Well, it's a start. Not the smartest plan in the universe, but hey—my brain can only handle so much."
Author Note :
100 Heroines: 6 chapters per week, with each chapter ranging from 1,200 to 1,800 words. I may drop to 5 chapters if I'm busy.
You can read 10 chapter at patr*on.com/Iam_HaremLover123