With a sincere and unwavering voice, he said:
"Elsa, would you make me the happiest person in the world and marry me?" Ash's golden, piercing eyes seemed as if they were looking at her heart, waiting for her answer.
Elsa's heart fluttered like a delicate butterfly caught in a whirlwind of emotions. As Ash knelt before her and uttered these words with eyes earnest and full of love, her mind buzzed with shock and disbelief. This moment, frozen in time, seemed like a dream too good to be true.
'Oh my God!' she thought, her innocent and naive nature bubbling to the surface. 'Is he really...? I mean, marriage? Like, forever and ever kind of stuff? Me? Elsa? With Shiro-san! Is this a dream?!'
Her eyes widened in amazement as she looked down at the bouquet of red roses in his hands; they seemed to embody Ash's confession.
"But why me?" she wondered in disbelief and joy. She couldn't see anything special in herself that could attract Ash's attention. With Ash's reputation and strength, he could get any beautiful woman he wants. So she desperately wants to understand what things attracted Ash to her, or else she will feel unworthy of him.
"Why you? It's simple. Because I love you! Love doesn't need a reason at all! Although I just realized it today. So, Elsa, tell me your answer. Would you like to be my wife and spend your whole remaining life with me?" Ash repeated his question, and as if he remembered something very important, he added.
"But before you answer, I must tell you something very, very important!" Ash's eyes became serious. He looked at the shocked Elsa who was waiting for his words before he continued: "I want to build a harem!"
Ash doesn't want to deceive Elsa in any way. He doesn't want to bait her into loving him and then tell her that he plans on marrying another girl, nor does he plan on marrying behind her back. That's too much trouble. So he prefers being honest and prevents any future trouble. He is ready to accept the consequences of this honesty. If she refuses, he will pretend nothing happened and treat her in the future as a friend, nothing more.
"H-Harem?!" Elsa exclaimed in shock and surprise. She was caught off guard by Ash's statement.
She naturally understood what a harem is; this is something she also saw in the movies. For example, some kings will have a lot of wives or some heroes will have a lot of lovers. So she understands a harem as when a man has multiple wives or lovers.
'Shiro-san wants to create a harem? Doesn't that mean he will marry a lot of women? Should I agree? If I marry him, doesn't that mean I'll have to share him with unknown girls? What if he loses interest in me once new women appear? What to do?!'
Elsa's mind was engulfed in chaotic currents of thoughts. She was in a dilemma, hesitant between accepting or refusing. One side of her wants to be with Ash even if it means sharing him with other women, but another side of her is afraid. Afraid that Ash will abandon her after he adds a new harem member, and her importance in his heart will become lower. If something like this happens, she is afraid she won't want to live anymore. After all, once she decides to be with Ash, she will dedicate her soul and her entire life to be with him and only him. This is her belief in marriage.
So she mustered her courage and looked at Ash with determined, firm eyes and asked her innermost worry: "Shiro-san... Will you keep loving me the same even if new women appear in your life?"
Hearing this question, Ash quickly realized her worry.
'So she is afraid that I'll dump her after I add a new harem member?'
He thought for a moment before answering. He wants to be transparent with Elsa, so his answer must be truthful, not drawing a cake for her to bait her.
Seeing that Ash was contemplating, Elsa's heart rate slowed down, and she started feeling nervous.
"Elsa, I'll be truthful with you... Unless I get the ability to duplicate or create clones of myself in the future, I can't guarantee that I'll give every future harem member the same level of care and attention. But in my heart, I'm sure I'll love you all for eternity. My harem members aren't just to fulfill my mortal desires, but they are my partners in this journey. I want to experience all this life has to offer, from adventures, food, fun, etc., with them. So I hope this answered your doubts."
Hearing this answer, the hanging heart of Elsa finally settled down, a radiant smile painted her beautiful face. She said in a tone full of relief.
"That's fine for me. As long as you will keep loving me, I won't care about other things. So Shiro-san, no... Shiro..."
"I want to be your wife!" Elsa shouted these words from the depths of her heart. Then she jumped over Ash and hugged him tightly.
"Crack!"
The door opened, Kai staggered into the living room, grocery bags in tow, only to be greeted by the sight of Elsa wrapped around Ash like a human-sized clingy vine. He blinked, unsure if he'd stumbled into a parallel universe where time moved at warp speed.
"THUD!"
The grocery bags were dropped down with a thud.
"Hold on! Elsa just declared she wants to be Shiro-san's wife, or am I imagining?" Kai mumbled to himself in disbelief.
Elsa and Ash, oblivious to Kai's presence, were locked in an embrace that would make single dogs jealous.
"Wait, did I miss an episode? Did they fast-forward through the 'getting to know each other' phase?" Kai thought, rubbing his eyes as if expecting a rewind button to appear.
"HAY HAY HAY BASTARD SHIRO, I JUST HOPED THAT YOU'D BECOME ELSA'S BOYFRIEND, BUT AFTER I LEFT, YOU ALREADY MARRIED HER! THIS IS SO FAST! ASSHOLE!" Kai shouted on top of his lungs, venting all of his uncomfortable feelings. Anyone who saw the cabbage he planted and took care of being stolen will be angry. Elsa is his little sister, and with the frequent disappearing of his father, he had to play the role of father too. So he couldn't endure this scene in front of him.
Ash and Elsa finally broke their hug, both looking at Kai who seemed full of question marks on top of his head and was waiting for an explanation.
"Uh, Kai, buddy, calm down. We haven't engaged yet, it's just a simple love confession," Ash chuckled nervously, as Elsa blushed like a cherry tomato.