My Harem Is Not What I Expected!

"That's enough!"

After finding my resolve, I used body activation to enhance my legs and moved behind one of the wolf-kin holding Fleur's arms in one swift motion, delivering a chop to the back of his neck and rendering him unconscious.

"!"

The suddenness of the assault caught the other two off guard, so before they could recompose themselves, I moved behind the other one to disable him as well. I was caught up in the heat of the moment, so my power wasn't as controlled as it should have been, but luckily this is the adventurer course, and all students wear some sort of protective gear. I could only hope it was enough to soften the impact.

Now only Dorian was left, and he was furious that I had interfered in plans for a second time. Using the hand still clenched onto Fleur's neck, he threw her to the ground before turning to me.

"You again? This won't be like the last time you caught me by surprise. And no one is going to stop us."

It was because the headmaster intervened that he was still alive now. Did he forget that? Also, we are still in class. It's not like we are in the middle of a private duel. It was hard to believe someone could be so blindly irrational and forget that they were in a public setting like this. The only thing that came to my mind was that it must be Fleur's charm at work inflaming his aggressive behavior.

"You're right. It won't be like last time." I said.

Dorian put a hand on the blade he carried on his back, and I enhanced my body once again in return. But before either of us could make a move, an arrow landed on the ground between us. It was from Uldrid.

"I think that's far enough. Both of you, stand down," he said, trotting over to stop us.

I did as he said and relaxed my stance, but Dorian was reluctant to end things here and was still gripping the hilt of his blade.

"I said, stand down, Mr. Lupin. Or do I need to get the kingdom's knights involved?"

The mention of calling the kingdom authorities grabbed his attention, and he finally did as he was told before storming off in a huff.

"It seems I was wrong about you, Rune. I was curious to see what you had planned, but you lacked the conviction to follow through properly."

"And what about you, huh? You're the teacher; you could have stepped in and stopped this much sooner."

"Need I remind you that this was your idea? Why should I take the blame for your poorly thought-out actions? This is the adventurer course, not a daycare. When you leave this place, you'll be expected to deal with situations far worse than what happened today. We'll stop you from killing each other, but we aren't here to hold your hand."

". . ." I had nothing to say to that. Uldrid was completely right.

"If something like this happened outside this place, your poor planning and hesitation could have gotten this girl killed."

". . ."

"Learn to think things through before trying something like that again. There won't always be second chances." He said before picking up the two unconscious students and walking away.

I helped Fleur to her feet and left to take her to her next destination. The spectators had long dispersed after realizing that the situation had ended without anything happening. There aren't too many rules that adventurers need to learn, so we had a free period since the rest of the week would be given to us to study for the upcoming test.

She said she had joined a study group with a couple of other female students where they could practice their skills, so that was where I was taking her. The trip there was mostly spent in silence. She had tried to break the tension a few times but walked in front while keeping a set distance between us and made sure to speed up my pace whenever she tried to call out to me. I didn't want to ignore her like this, but I felt too guilty to face her and needed some time to clear my head.

I used my free time to wander around until I stumbled upon a nice spot where I decided to rest my back against a large tree. My mind was feeling more exhausted than usual, and I wasn't sure why. Combining that with the sun's warm rays on my face, I found myself dozing off before I knew it.

When I woke up, I saw many more people walking around, which told me everyone was now getting ready to change classes. I had my lesson with Carin next, but I was still feeling out of it and decided not to go and took the day off. I'm sure Carin will be mad, but I couldn't bring myself to care, and my other classes were just a bit of physical activity. I'm sure missing a day wouldn't be too bad.

I wandered around in that same manner for the rest of the day, occasionally stopping to sit and think about how I could have done things differently. When I would finish with that, I would get up and begin moving again. The cycle repeated until school was over, but instead of going home, my path led me around the academic district.

Eventually, enough time passed that night fell, and I found myself sitting on a park bench while staring out over a pond. There are lots of small bodies of water like this and plenty of greenery too, so it doesn't really feel like being in a large city.

While watching the water, my attention was grabbed by the sound of approaching footsteps. They continued until the person in question stopped right in front of me while placing their hands on their hips. I didn't look up at their face as I already knew who it was, and frankly, I didn't feel like dealing with her right now.

"What do you want, Luna?"

"It's quite rude to abandon your partner like that, you know. Do you have anything to say about that?"

". . ."

"I heard what happened. What made you come up with a scheme like that? It's not like you. You should stick to doing things straightforwardly like you always do."

". . ."

"Are you just going to keep ignoring me?"

". . ."

"I'm leaving! I can't stand being around you when you're acting this pathetic." She turned around to leave, but after taking a few steps, she stopped.

"I thought you said we were a team. . . If only you trusted me enough to rely on me too." Her words were just barely audible enough for me to make them out before she left for good.

A few minutes passed until I received another visitor. It was Raya. She didn't say anything and sat at my side to watch the water with me. Some time passed, and she turned to examine my face, and after seeing whatever it was she was looking for, she left. Somehow her silent approach hurt more than the way Luna went about it.

"What am I doing sitting here wallowing like this? Luna was right; I am pathetic."

"No, you're not."

I turned around to see Fleur standing behind me. I didn't even hear when she arrived. She circled around and then sat beside me on the bench while putting her head on my shoulder.

"Where were you today? It was lonely not having my escort, you know."

". . .I'm sorry."

"I'm just joking. Believe it or not, I'm not mad. I know you only had good intentions, even if it was out of character for you to try something like that."

"But still I-"

"Used me as bait? I'm not mad about that, either. I think I understand why you did it. You were trying to create a situation where Dorian would never want to bother me again, right?"

". . ." I looked down towards the ground. I didn't know what to say. Something that seems to be happening a lot lately. Despite my screw-up causing her to get hurt, she still trusts me this much. It's hard to believe someone so nice could exist, yet they do, and I'm the one she's chosen to be by her side.

Another awkward silence passed between us for a few moments before Fleur spoke up to break the tension.

". . ."

"Did you know I'm actually not that good at archery?"

"Hmm?" It was such an unexpected change in the conversation that I looked up at her in confusion.

"Hehe, it's true. I practiced every day in secret to get as good as I am. It might look like I'm good at it, but the truth is, the arrows have never hit exactly where I wanted them to. Not a single time. Yet I still continue to practice."

". . ."

"I even joined that group to improve my other skills. Why do you think that is? Why do you think I stood up to Dorian today instead of cowering in fear? I'm sure you realized that that's not how I usually act."

Now that I think about it, she's right. I had noticed Fleur was acting differently and working much harder than usual. Why is that?

"This past week I've spent with you made me realize some things. I don't always want to be a burden who relies on others. And it's not something that should be forced upon you either."

She leaned in and cupped my face in her hands before giving me a gentle kiss. It was short, but I felt the full extension of her affection all the same.

"I'm grateful for everything you have done, even if you can't see the value in some of it. So please, don't be so hard on yourself. Come home. Everyone is waiting for you."

"Alright. I promise."

I got up and began walking away when I noticed Fleur hadn't moved yet.

"You know, I had to go everywhere aaall on my own today and then come looking for you after. My legs are so veery tired. I'm not sure If I can get back on my own." She said.

I smiled wryly at her acting, knowing full well what she wanted. I walked back over to her and crouched down, where she hopped onto her favorite spot on my back and wrapped her arms around me.

"Hehe," She giggled while nuzzling my neck with her face as we walked back.

A part of me thought she was too good for me, but as the one she had chosen, I could only vow to improve myself.