"So, how many heroines will be around him?"
"Hmm... probably like the Gambling King."
"Gambling King? Who?"
"Macau Gambling King."
"Like I said, who?"
"...it's four heroines."
"Four..." Sonoko murmured, then nodded. "That's a good yet ominous number."
The reason why this number is good is because that way, all the heroines' characters can be explored, and all the readers won't think of the existence of the heroines as Pokemon that waited to be caught by the protagonist.
As for why this number is ominous because it is sometimes pronounced "shi," which means for death.
Nevertheless, having too many heroines wasn't a good thing since it was troublesome to manage, write, and remember since most humans in the world didn't have hyperthymesia or superior memory that made them unable to forget what they saw and experienced in their lives.
Our brain wasn't designed that way, and sometimes most of us would forget something even if that memory were precious to us.
So, having a limited number of heroines was necessary so the readers wouldn't forget them. Still, it didn't mean that having so many heroines would be bad as long as one could handle it, of course.
Yet, the reality couldn't work that way, and it was also the reason why many people only had one partner since life wasn't so easy.
"By the way, who is Macau Gambling King?"
"Check Google."
Sonoko pouted, but she took her smartphone honestly as she was curious, and when she learned about the Gambling King, she nodded and understood why Mizuto mentioned this person.
"So, how is the ending?"
Sonoko wasn't sure whether Mizuto had thought it would end, but at least he should have thought about what kind of an ending that would be given to this story.
It was like a certain pirate story where the author had thought about the ending when he started to draw the story, even though the story is still drawn now.
"What else except for a tragic ending?" Mizuto looked at Sonoko helplessly and said brutally, "He is cheating, you know? Do you think that he can achieve a good ending where everyone can be happy together?"
Even Akatsuki, who let him be with others, could get jealous.
No normal girl could accept their loved one to be with the others unless there wasn't a love between them.
Nevertheless, Mizuto felt like everything became easy when he said those words. When there was no expectation, it didn't matter anymore. It was because there was an expectation that something might happen that would make it difficult and make his heart restless. Yet, as he had accepted what his fate would be and thrown his expectations aside, it was easier for him to focus on his ambition.
Yet his callous answer stunned Sonoko to the point of silliness.
Sonoko also knew that, in reality, such a relationship would end in nothing but a tragedy. The price of the protagonist's cheating was obvious, and karma had always existed in this world.
If this was in the primitive world, where the man was strong and could hunt, then having a harem was possible as he could protect his women.
However, this was a modern world.
While it was impossible to have perfect equality, the gap between a man and a woman was shortened. Sometimes, some women were even better than men. In such a time, would a woman be willing to share their loved one with others?
No way.
If Sonoko was in the place of the heroine, she would move away, yet at the same time, she knew how ridiculous love was as she had seen many people helplessly falling in love. Even though it was out of logic, crazy, and even to the point of being hurt, they still clung to it tightly that they wouldn't want to let it go.
So, at this moment, she said something unthinkable, something that she had never thought would come out of her mouth.
"No, try to make it into a happy ending."
"...are you serious?"
Mizuto was surprised by Sonoko's words.
"If this is pure literature, then there is no problem to make the ending into a tragedy, but this is a light novel. We exist to bring dreams and hope to everyone. If there is not even a hope or dream in fiction, then how can we enjoy life?"
Life was so painful, so at least fiction should be nice and bright, right?
So, it could give enjoyment to those who were working hard, struggling against the cold reality!
"...I don't think that it is good to give a dream for guys to have a harem. Or rather, I can imagine that the feminists are going to be enraged and try to ban my book."
"That's fine." Sonoko laughed, then said courageously, "Our publisher house isn't so weak that we have to bow down against the feminist group! Moreover, this is just a harem story. What's the harm in it? Compared to "Lolita," your book is nothing. Let your imagination shock the world! Go wild, my Devil!"
At that moment, she was so excited that she hugged him so tightly!
It was probably her first time doing this, but she was like that hot-blooded teacher, coach, or mentor in the Shonen manga who pushed the protagonist forward to challenge his limits and become stronger!
Yet, Mizuto was still stunned and struggling, thinking that it was impossible.
"He has hurt others. Do you think he has the right to be happy with all of them?"
This was the price for being greedy.
There was no other result except for this since nothing could be done anymore.
"It's because he has hurt others that he has to be responsible! Unlike real people who can only give up, fiction is different! You can fight! You shouldn't give up! Keep fighting until you achieve happiness for all of them!"
However, Sonoko didn't give up and tried to change his mind.
"It's going to be messier..."
"As I have said before, let it be wild. Do whatever you want. As long as it is interesting, it doesn't matter. You only live for once, anyway. Why should you succumb to fate? As for being hurt or becoming messy? Isn't that obvious? If you want to achieve something that is never able to be achieved by others, you can only fight, work, and bleed more than others!"
If one wanted to get something, they had to pay something more than the others.
It was like those professional athletes who needed to sacrifice their youth, spending all their time training tirelessly from morning until night during their youth.
Yes, it was painful.
However, the fruit of that hard work was the success that they gained.
Money, women, status, fame, and everything.
By sacrificing, they gained everything that someone could only dream of.
So, if Mizuto wished to achieve what he wished instead of giving up, he should fight, bleed, and work more than many others. Hurting others or himself? Wasn't that something obvious?
How many people were killed by Alexander, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon Bonaparte?
Those people who stood on the top got everything by defeating, pushing, and killing the others so they could become the conquerors.
What he wanted might seem impossible, but had those who lived at the same time as Alexander, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon Bonaparte ever thought that they would become great conquerors that would be remembered in history?
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and said, "Let me rewrite the story."
"Go!"