Papa Ru-nii? The boy said, slightly confused as he stared at my face and fondled my cheeks in the process. His innocent eyes trying to memorize it.

After descending from the peak, were now in our rented cabin. While Minoru and I sat before a fireplace, Miwa-nee was having a good fit of laughter nearby while dotingly looking at the two of us.

Shes preparing another tea for us to drink because its still too cold.

We got out of those thick hiking gears, after all. We couldnt continue wearing it when were supposed to rest here.

Anyway, after what we did right in front of the boy earlier, even if it would leave him a little confused, I told him that I would be his father from now on

Its not full disclosure of the secret yet. In consideration for his young mind that wouldnt be able to fully digest everything, this was enough.

And thankfully, hes a little welcoming of the idea.

Mhm Ill be your papa now. Do you like it? I ruffled his hair dotingly. Seeing him like this, almost a split image of my younger self, I started to wonder if I was this adorable before. Probably not, right?

I was probably clingier, not wanting Akane to leave my side. Or running to my mother whenever Miwa-nee would bully me.

Y-yes! Minoru beamed a delighted smile as he threw himself in my arms, clinging to me as much as he could. I like Ru-nii to be my papa You love mama and me.

Yes, I do love you both. I nodded at him and smiled before turning to Miwa-nee, who had just finished making the tea and making her way toward us. I then stretched one of my arms open, inviting the lovely woman to join us.

Minoru copied me, looking at his mother with one of his arms stretched out to her.

You two are getting along too well, huh? Miwa-nee laughingly said as she placed the tray on the log table. Following that, she went to our open side, taking her place there while also stretching her arms to envelop the two of us.

Mama, Papa. As innocent as he could be, Minoru alternately looked at us while muttering that. Repeating that at least ten times, his jovial mood reached its peak as he just enjoyed that moment with Miwa-nee and I hugging him closely.

When I looked at Miwa-nee, she mouthed a silent Thank you before kissing me and kissing Minorus forehead.

This particular moment warmed us up more than the heat being emitted by the fireplace or the tea that Miwa-nee prepared. I could even feel my chest pounding in delight as I imagined a scenario if there were only the three of us.

Although that wouldnt happen because of my desire, its not bad to dream of the possibility.

Eventually, the boy fell asleep in our embrace with a smile remaining on his lips.

He woke up earlier than normal and we brought him to this tiring hike up the mountain. Its only natural for him to be exhausted.

I carried the boy to the room in the cabin, tucking him in the bed there before returning outside, joining Miwa-nee on the couch.

Even without words exchanged between us, Miwa-nee instantly inched closer to me, raised my arm and put it around her shoulder before using my chest to rest her head on.

Ruki, what will you do now if Minoru starts calling you Papa in front of the other girls? After enjoying that moment for a few minutes, Miwa-nee raised a question.

I dont think I need to do anything to prevent it nor do I need to explain at all. Theyre aware. Most of them, at least. And even if the other girls failed to connect the dots yet, they will soon do. Its not a secret that Ill keep hiding from them.

Its not something that could be hidden until the end and I never even thought of hiding it. Indeed, it would be too complicated to digest at the moment when most of us were still supposed to be studying. However, this was one of the inevitable...

And I think I can already guess what Miwa-nee will say next It will be about the girls failing to accept it.

Even if thats the case, knowing that you already have a son at your age, wont they start thinking of getting out of the relationship with you?

There, right as I expected.

Yes. That can happen. But you see, theyre all within their rights to do that.

Arisa would surely scold me for being too honest when I could keep Minorus identity vague for as long as I wanted. But what would that do? Its just delaying the inevitable.

Besides, if its something they wouldnt be able to accept, then they would now have a chance to get out early before I became more possessive of them to the point of not wanting them to leave at any cost the same as what I feel for Akane.

I love all of them and I am still aiming to be with them for as long as we can But at the moment, theres an exit door for them. If things reach an unacceptable level, theyre free to go out and I will have no choice but to accept their decision.

At the moment, I could only hope that it wouldnt reach that point

No one is bringing that up because were all being vague about it. However, I will never lie to them, Miwa-nee. Not to any of you. I continued.

Miwa-nee raised her head to look me in the eyes, perhaps seeking if there was some kind of hesitation in it But going into this relationship with all of them, I had to expect things to go sideways at any moment. I do not own their minds. They can all think for themselves.

If they decide that its already too much, what can I do to stop them? No its a lot better not to do anything to stop them if Im thinking about their well-being. Because if not for me, they wont be in this extremely complex relationship where theyre waiting for their turn to be with the guy they love

I see Your determination is still unwavering. I turned you into someone who can love multiple women without feeling any remorse at the idea. Now, youre going to endure even if those you love will come to shun and leave you. Miwa-nee paused right there. She reached for my cheek and caressed it endearingly.

Even without saying it, I could feel that she was blaming herself again

Thats why before she could even form words for that, I returned the gesture. Not only that, I pushed her down the coach and climbed up on top of her.

Shes wearing a thin dress at the moment, something that wouldnt be out of place in this rather luxurious cabin. Her black underwear was faintly visible because of how thin it was.

All I had to do was lift it and I would be enjoying her irresistible figure once again.

But well, thats not the point I did this

I placed my hand on her cheek before sliding my fingers to the back of her ear. Holding her head like this, I kissed her once before saying, Enough with the self-blame, Miwa-nee. Its all in the past, hmm? We can only live in the present and dream of the future. The past cannot be corrected anymore but our future is still being written. What we can do right now is to just accept whatever may come and move on from it.

Move on Then Ruki, you better let me tell them that Im the one responsible for everything Because without doing so, I cannot move on from it. They deserve to know it, am I right? I wont let you carry everything by yourself. Your shoulder might be broad but its not invincible.

Ah If Im understanding this properly, shes talking about Minoru. The responsibility of conceiving the boy and giving birth to him away from me and without my knowledge.

Because I was so ready to accept it and make it water under the bridge without blaming her at all, shes finding it acceptable that Im the only one who will be affected if the girls decide to leave me because of it

Haa What should I say here? I still didnt want her to be blamed but as she said, she wouldnt be able to move on from it

I understand Miwa-nee can do that. For our future

In the end, after thinking hard about what kind of response I should give her, thats the only answer I could come up with. To let her do it

And upon hearing that Miwa-nee put on her brightest smile before saying, Yes. Its for our future.