The Violence Witch’s Yuri Harem

Chapter 221 – Trouble at Home

The girls of the House had finally got what they wanted. Daisuke finally left them alone. But the cost they paid couldn’t be any higher.

The four girls sat around near the entrance of the dorm. Everyone was sitting at a different corner, just listlessly looking at the walls without anyone saying a single word. Carol and Narumi were sitting on separate couches, Katja was at the dining table, roughly behind Carol, and Hecate was staring at the sink filled with dishes yet to be cleaned.

What’s going to happen now?

Iroha’s stunt should keep Daisuke off their back for a while. The dragon on her hand scared the man so much that he’s not gonna sleep soundly any time soon. As soon as Iroha passed out, another squad under Daisuke’s control broke into the dojo to take Iroha away with them. He naturally went with them too… To run away from the danger he faced at the House.

The girls were safe now, but they couldn’t find it in them to be happy at all. The feeling of pushing her down… Pinning her down against the wooden floor while that bastard injected her with who knows what. They couldn’t forget it…

Barely any words were spoken between them since they took her away. Her loss was too painful… Sleeping was impossible, and even next morning, not a single one had the energy to do anything other than mope around.

“He- hey… When’s Iroha coming back… She’s coming back, right…? I don’t want this…” Narumi cracked under the silence.

“Tsk… How are we supposed to know?” Carol said.

No one was in the mood to talk. Narumi was only different because her mind worked and worried so fast that it destroyed her ability to stay quiet.

“What happened back then… Did Iroha really use magic?”

“*Sigh…* I guess so…”

Slowly, the conversation between the other two dragged Hecate and Katja to the couches. If for no reason other than they had to stick together now that things were tough.

“What’s going to happen to her? She’s gonna be fine, right?” Narumi curled up on the couch.

“Again, how are we supposed to know?! You think we’d be like this if we knew?”

“Why would she even show off her powers in front of someone from the PSF?” Hecate asked Katja with a chilling glare. “You know something, don’t you? I want you to tell us the whole story.”

Katja didn’t even react. Almost like she didn’t hear her. “I’m sorry… It’s all my fault…” There was a lot about her past that she couldn’t forgive herself for, but this one felt especially bad. Why was that?

“I didn’t ask you for an apology. What happened? Why did Iroha do that? I can piece some things together from what happened, but I need to hear it from you.”

Katja finally managed to force herself to speak.

“Daisuke came here for me… I told you I’m technically the heir to the Kurokawa family, so he was here to drag me back… Iroha told me that they found something at the mall that seemed to indicate that we used magic during that fight, and they were going to pin it on me regardless of what the inspection found.”

“So Iroha stopped them with irrefutable proof…” Carol muttered with a gasp.

“Even if that meant she’d be the one in PSF’s sights…” Hecate brought a hand to the eyepatch over her lost eye. For Iroha to do something so reckless… Was she trying to make up for something? “I’m not surprised she’d do something like that. Did you tell her to do that? When she told you their plans?”

“N- no…!” Katja paused. “Wh- what Daisuke said during that fight wasn’t a lie… I’ve been hiding it from you, but it’s true… I am a murderer… The heir of the Kurokawa family is chosen through an… unpleasant competition… A survival game of sorts… Even though we were young, all the potential heirs fought with their lives on the line for the position. I was supposed to die back then. The whole family sent me, along with a few others, into that contest as cannon fodder for the actual candidates. Yet I’m the one who survived. They were all family in one way or another, and I killed them with my own hands.”

No one said anything. Their eyes were all focused on Katja. She didn’t even want to imagine what their expressions looked like and stared at the floor.

“I’m dirty… I’m unworthy… When Iroha told me they were here for me, I thought my time had come… My sins had caught up to me. There was no point fighting it. I’m just going to keep causing problems for you as long as I stick around, so I might as well give in. I even told her not to do anything, but Iroha went ahead and did all that by herself. She shouldn’t have…”

*Slap!*

Hecate slapped her across the face.

“When did you turn into such a crybaby? Your time is up? Your sins caught up to you? What the hell is that? Did it even cross your mind? Fighting against that fate? Why didn’t you tell us? We could have found a better way if we knew what was going on. Did you really think we’d turn our backs on you?”

Katja rubbed her cheek. Hecate was on the verge of tears.

“Why would you ever think to sacrifice yourself for us? You know I hate that! We need to be all here! The House is nothing if one of us is missing! You can’t sacrifice yourself! Ever!”

“Sorry…” Katja knew that… But in some cases, that kind of fight just doesn’t work. Iroha was taken exactly because of that. If someone should have to leave the paradise that is the House, it should have been her, the one who least deserves it.

“Bu- but what about Iroha? She ended up sacrificing herself…” Even though she was sorry, Katja tried to defend herself. Wasn’t it hypocritical to blame her?

“Don’t try to change the topic. We’re talking about” Hecate instantly said. “Iroha sacrificed herself because she chose to fight. You never even considered that. You’re just pathetic.”

Ouch… That stung… But if Hecate’s harsh words are all she’s going to receive, she’s getting off quite lightly. Hecate used to be much scarier…

“Don’t be mean to each other now… I can’t handle it if you start acting like that now…” Narumi said.

“She’s right… Now’s not the time for us to fight.” Carol crossed her arms. “We can’t abandon Iroha… We to figure out what we can do for her.”

“Is there even anything we can do? Shinji went after Daisuke. We have no choice but to wait until we hear back from him…” Katja said.

“There’s no way they’re gonna give her back… Anything we try to do will be seen as opposition by the PSF, and they won’t hesitate to eliminate us…” Narumi bit her nail, forcing herself to come up with something helpful rather than just worrying. “Rather than start with what we can do for Iroha, we need to think about what we’ll do after. She wouldn’t want us to throw our lives away just so we’d all get crushed.”

“Do we even have time for that? Who knows if Iroha will last that long…” Hecate said. “There’s just so much we don’t know! How are we supposed to figure out anything like this?”

“*Sigh…* I guess we really can’t do anything but wait for Shinji to return…” Carol punched the armrest of her couch. “If nothing else, we should make we’re ready to act at all times. There’s a good chance we’ll have to fight to get her back.”

Hecate and Narumi looked Carol directly in the eyes. No one’s giving up. That’s how it should be. They replied with vigorous nods. Everyone slowly brightened up.

“Katja?” Except for the one looking distracted.

“Huh? Yes! Staying in shape. I agree.”

She naturally became the center of attention, rushing a reply. It was a bit embarrassing, but now she had no choice but to share what was on her mind.

“Uhmm… This isn’t the best time to bring this up, but… Did anyone else hear what Iroha said during her fight? I think I was hearing things, but did she say she loved me? Even after hearing that I… Hearing what Daisuke said about me… Did she really mean that?” Her face turned bright red once Carol and Hecate shot her some very judging looks. “O- of course! I know she probably meant it as a friend! I was worried that she’d be disgusted with me, so it kinda stuck with me… Do- do you think there’s any chance she meant it romantically, th- though? I can’t imagine anyone would ever feel that way about an awkward girl like me…”

The cutesy blinking at the end was the work of a master. A master at pissing off other people. Carol and Hecate immediately piled on her.

“Hah?! That’s what you’re thinking about now?! She probably meant it, but don’t go thinking you’re special!”

“Yeah! What’s up with your maiden-in-love act?! Are you picking a fight!?” Hecate said.

“You don’t know anything about Iroha! Sure, maybe she’s crazy enough to find whatever you did hot. But there’s a lot you don’t know about her! She may have accepted you, but there’s no way you can accept her as easily!”

“What Carol said! Don’t get carried away, newbie!”

Katja couldn’t sink back further into the couch. They almost seemed angrier now than when she said she was willing to go with Daisuke. What the hell?

“I don’t really get it, but…” She blushed again and tried to cover her face with her hand. “She meant it… Wow…”

Could such a person even exist? Someone who actually liked her more because of her sins? Katja had given up on that kind of happiness, but maybe…

“He- hey… Why wouldn’t I be able to accept Iroha? Surely her past’s not as bad as mine.”

They already saw Iroha use magic. And with her currently held by the PSF, what point was there in keeping any secrets? Carol and Hecate nodded to each other, then Carol turned to Katja.

“It’s just… Iroha’s trying to build a harem… You may not be able to tell, but she’s actually a crazy perv who’s a little too much into girls. You’re not special. You’re just one of many.”

“A harem!?” Katja gasped. She actually had to think for a bit about what that meant. “I would never have dreamed that… How do you even know about that?”

“Because we’re both part of it.” Hecate said.

“Pffft! Huh?! Yo- you two are wh- what?!”

“Also, she got her powers from going into another world.” Carol completely ignored her. “The magic with the dragon is just one of her powers. And the portals monster come from actually connect to the different world named Balterra. And Iroha has more girlfriends there.”

“Wait wait wait… That’s way too much too handle!” Katja said. “Are you seriously telling me that you and Hecate are both Iroha’s…”

“*Nod*”

“You didn’t even give me time to finish… And you’re serious about Iroha being able to use magic?”

“*Nod*”

“And you’ve known this all this time without saying anything?!”

“*Nod*”

Three pairs of nods were enough to leave Katja completely lost. She leaned over her knees and rubbed her face in disbelief.

“You can’t be serious… I don’t believe you…”

“I don’t blame you. The fact that it’s all so ridiculous is one of the reasons we never told you two.” Carol shrugged. “But hey, since we’re on this topic, we might as well show you. If we want to do something for Iroha, her girlfriends in the other world could help us. Let’s go over this with them.”

Carol and Hecate stood up, and Hecate stretched her hand to Katja.

“Go?! Go where?”

“To the other world. Isn’t that obvious?” Hecate smiled as she pulled her up. “We’ll fill you in on everything on the way there.”

The last girl was clutching her head. The conversation fried her brain. “The conversation got too crazy while I was supposed to be feeling sad… I don’t get it! What am I even supposed to think?!”

“*Sigh…*” Carol stopped by the girl’s couch before leaving. “What are you doing? Snap out of it. You’re coming too, aren’t you?”

Despite how ridiculous it seemed, the master managed to restore the other spirits a little with her work. Even if she ended up being yelled at.