Mash-up Anime World: Creating the SCP Foundation to Contain Anomalies-Chapter 333 - 327: Bocchi: Haruto-senpai, I Want to Marry You!

Seeing the stunned reactions of the four girls, Haruto chuckled and waved his hand.

"I can understand where you're coming from. The entertainment industry really isn't a great place. Fame does bring all kinds of trouble, after all. It's a muddy river. If you don't want to get involved, there's no reason for me to push you into it.

I'm not the kind of vampire capitalist who's so broke that I need to exploit four little girls."

The four of them were momentarily speechless.

They hadn't expected Haruto to be so understanding of their feelings.

After the performance at Tokyo Dome, they'd retreated at their peak—refusing large commercial performances and idol-related work.

To outsiders, it might seem like a missed opportunity, something hard to understand.

But Haruto, having partially managed Ai Hoshino's career decisions, knew the entertainment industry inside and out.

Fame doesn't just bring popularity, money, and admiration.

It also brings jealousy from rivals and baseless attacks from envious people.

Online flaming, stalkers, obsessive fans—there's no end to it.

And once you step into the spotlight, you're no longer just yourself—you become a product used to attract attention.

This isn't something you can just wing with talent or passion. In truth, very few in the industry truly see this clearly.

Amid the silence, Haruto waved his hand.

"Alright, let's not dwell on heavy stuff. To thank you for your performance, how about I treat you all to barbecue?"

The four girls immediately lit up at that.

Just then, Haruto walked over to the backstage door and pulled it open. A blonde figure tumbled in. Haruto, having expected this, reached out and caught her slender waist.

"Careful there, Boss Lady."

He smiled as he spoke.

The blonde was none other than Ichiji Seika.

As the older sister—or maybe as a senior—she still couldn't help worrying about the girls and had come secretly to eavesdrop.

Even if it wasn't the most proper thing to do. But having played in a band herself, she knew the darker side of the scene. She just didn't want her cute juniors to be led down the wrong path.

And now she'd been caught red-handed by Haruto.

Despite her petite figure, Seika felt surprisingly nice to hold.

As an older woman, she exuded a charm that surpassed that of younger girls. Once she regained her footing, Seika quickly pulled away from Haruto's arms, ears turning red.

"Ahem. Business at the shop just wrapped up. Are you heading out?"

Pretending not to know anything, she tried to act casual. Haruto didn't call her out. He simply smiled and said,

"Yeah, it's about dinner time. We're going for barbecue—care to join us, Boss Lady?"

Seika wanted to decline.

The atmosphere felt a bit awkward after all.

But then she remembered—she was the older one here. How could she shy away from a younger boy?

In the end, Seika agreed.

Haruto stroked his chin with interest.

This boss lady was surprisingly tsundere.

There was a barbecue spot—or rather, a pub—not far from the Shimokitazawa live house.

Seika clearly knew the place well, likely a frequent visitor.

After sitting down, Haruto handed the menu to the girls and told them to order whatever they liked.

However, Ichiji Nijika eyed him suspiciously.

"Haruto-senpai, I know it might sound rude, but... you're not planning to sweet-talk Bocchi into paying, are you?"

Hmm, she's got a point—there's a precedent!

Bocchi lowered her head, nervously fiddling with the hem of her clothes. Even though she made a bit of money from the performance...

Treating this many people still hurt the wallet.

If it were just Haruto-senpai, she could manage. After some internal struggle, Bocchi pulled out her wallet.

"Haruto-senpai, I can..."

She timidly held out the wallet with both hands toward Haruto.

"Don't give your wallet to Haruto-senpai!"

Nijika shrieked and quickly grabbed Bocchi's hand, trying to push it back.

Absolutely ridiculous.

She'd been worried Haruto would con Bocchi with smooth words, but Bocchi just skipped straight to giving him her wallet!

Haruto barely held back his laughter and waved his hand, pulling out his own card from his pocket.

"I said it's my treat. I'm not taking Bocchi's money... Maybe next time."

Nijika: "Not even next time!"

After ordering...

The food started to arrive one dish at a time.

Haruto skillfully picked up the tools, grilling the meat, brushing on the sauce, and even placing portions on the shared plate.

His command of the grill was clearly far beyond that of the girls.

At first, the girls felt a bit shy.

But soon, the delicious food completely won them over.

Haruto was especially attentive to Bocchi.

He served portions directly onto her plate.

Because if he treated her like everyone else, putting food only on the shared plate, chances were, Bocchi wouldn't even get two bites in.

She was just too shy and slow.

Would be a shame if such a cute Bocchi starved at the table. At first, Haruto tried giving her a bit of everything—

Then he watched how she reacted.

Even though Bocchi looked utterly flustered and grateful, she still ate whatever was placed on her plate. But the difference between her reaction to foods she liked and disliked was subtle but noticeable.

Haruto gradually adjusted the portions based on that.

Seeing all her favorite foods on her plate—

Hitori Gotou felt like crying.

It was the first time she'd ever really felt like she was eating at a group meal.

And she might actually get full, too.

Usually, at gatherings like this, Bocchi barely ate two bites despite paying her share.

Even worse, sometimes someone would notice and heap all the leftovers or foods she didn't like onto her plate.

And Bocchi couldn't bring herself to say no.

She'd just eat in silence, enduring it.

Compared to those miserable experiences—

This dinner felt like heaven.

Her soft pink head tilted slightly upward, blue eyes peeking out from under her bangs, secretly glancing at Haruto.

But even that stealthy glance got caught.

Haruto returned her gaze with a warm smile.

In that moment, Bocchi felt like a pink heart-shaped arrow had struck her heart.

If it's Haruto-senpai... even if he drinks or gets violent after marriage... as long as it's not every day, I can live with it!

That's what she was thinking.

Haruto, of course, had no idea her love-struck thoughts were running wild again.

He was just used to taking care of people like Bocchi.

In the beginning, he had been the same with Annie, Nao, and Shiro...

In short, the girls Haruto "picked up" and brought back to the apartment—most of them were troubled in one way or another. Only through attentive care could he earn their trust.

Otherwise, his harem house would've gone up in flames long ago.

At that moment, Haruto felt someone poke his arm. Sitting beside him was Ichiji Seika.

"...Thanks."

She whispered softly.

Seika had always been uncertain about Haruto.

After all, he suddenly dragged her little sister to Tokyo Dome. That was a lot to process. Even after the band got popular, her first reaction wasn't joy—it was worry.

Because when things seem too good to be true—

They usually are.

The next step would be exploitation.

Four naïve, inexperienced girls—any half-decent scheme could eat them alive. Using fame to stir up drama, create fake relationships, do gravure shoots...

And those were the tamer tactics.

So when she heard what Haruto said backstage, Seika had felt genuine gratitude.

"Honestly... your thanks means more to me than money ever could."

Haruto replied in a low voice as well.

Hearing that, a faint blush crept up Seika's ears.

This boy really was different.

Even though he was younger...

To hide her flushed cheeks, Seika quickly grabbed her beer and took two big gulps of cold brew.

But thanks to the alcohol, instead of cooling down—

She felt her temperature rising even more.