Truthfully, Kaoru had overlooked one thing.

Based on Ichinose Honami's usual behavior, he had judged that her sense of morality was strong—and he wasn't wrong about that.

However, precisely because of this, Ichinose Honami couldn't completely sever her excess emotions.

She couldn't bring herself to employ the so-called "main wife tactics" and remained unable to be ruthless.

It wasn't just because Amikura Mako was involved, but also because she realized it would be utterly futile.

When she couldn't even control Kaoru, concepts like "main wife" or "declaring sovereignty" were nothing but illusions.

The essence of "correcting" him was to make Kaoru acknowledge her rules and change the parts of himself that didn't align—not to force him to submit to her.

The current situation was that she hadn't made Kaoru accept her rules, so she felt she hadn't truly "corrected" him.

Kaoru's rules were simple: he wanted to "Take all" and wouldn't let anyone go.

Thus, Ichinose Honami was in an awkward position.

Normally, girls would scold Kaoru and angrily break up with him.

But Ichinose Honami had never considered breaking up.

Either she would "correct" Kaoru into a pure love warrior, or she would actively integrate herself into his world—accepting his rules while proposing her own.

The first priority?

Correcting Kaoru's lecherous tendencies.

Of course, she never expected Kaoru to suddenly give up his womanizing ways—and there was no way he ever would.

At the very least, couldn't he control himself a little?

Ichinose Honami had once counted on her fingers—setting aside herself and Amikura Mako, there was Sakayanagi Arisu, Kamuro Masumi, Kushida Kikyo, Asahina Nazuna, and Tachibana Akane.

Wasn't that just way too many?

If Kaoru fell for every girl he met, no matter how open-minded she was, she couldn't possibly tolerate it.

So, the first thing that needed to change was this—no more adding to the list.

Then there was the issue of dating multiple people at once.

This was the most pressing concern, and it couldn't be taken lightly.

Simultaneously dating several girlfriends—forget jealousy—what kind of looks would they get from others?

What would happen after graduation? Who would hold higher status? And what about their families?

Most importantly, Kaoru couldn't just treat this as some casual fling.

That would be far too irresponsible.

"You want my help?" Amikura Mako was momentarily stunned, wondering if she had misheard.

"Did I hear that right? What could I possibly help you with?"

"Mako-chan, do you like Kaoru?" Ichinose Honami asked bluntly. "I want the truth. If you lie, I'll get angry."

Amikura Mako was even more bewildered.

Then her face flushed red, and she bit her lip, hesitating before finally mumbling, "I… I don't know. Ever since I saw that other side of him, I felt disgusted, repulsed… but sometimes I still remember how it was when we were together."

"So you do have feelings for him." Ichinose suddenly smiled, pinching Mako's nose playfully.

"Actually, I'm just like you, Mako-chan. I have no experience with love either. I keep thinking about all the things I hate about him, and then his good points—getting angry for no reason, liking him for no reason."

"It's all because you guys egged me on back then!" Mako's face burned even hotter.

"At first, I didn't think anything of it at all. You're the ones who led me astray, making me tense up every time I see Mitoma-kun, like every little thing he does is a prelude to a confession."

"I was just testing you back then!" Ichinose's own face reddened.

"Besides, you were the one who called me later and said you might have fallen for Kaoru."

"I never said that!" Mako refused to admit she had ever said such a thing.

She had only confided her frustrations to Ichinose Honami as if complaining about some trivial matter.

Ichinose withdrew her hand, her smile fading as she returned to her usual demeanor.

Softly, she murmured, "I don't want to break up with Kaoru. And I don't want to see you struggling and suffering like this, Mako-chan. We're supposed to be good friends."

Mako froze.

Then she heard Ichinose continue, "If Kaoru and I were in a normal relationship, I would never do something like this, but… So, I want to know—what do you think, Mako-chan?"

Now she understood.

Amikura Mako covered her mouth in disbelief before stammering, "W-wait, this… this can't possibly work… Me and him… No, no, no, no! Honami-chan, has he been tricking you?"

"Maybe. I want to have him all to myself—but is that really possible?" Ichinose's voice turned distant.

"In places I don't know about… you'll still be with him, won't you, Mako-chan?"

Amikura Mako was about to deny this statement, but recalling yesterday's events, she fell silent.

Her gaze shifted to the side as she murmured softly, "No matter what, agreeing to let him continue being unfaithful is too much. It's just too unfair to Honami-chan."

"Not necessarily. Whether he wants to be unfaithful, whether those girls have feelings for him, or whether they'd even agree to his ideas—all of that is still unknown." Ichinose Honami smiled.

"If he can handle all those issues, do you think I'd have any reason to refuse, Mako-chan?"

Even if the other girls agreed to Kaoru's ideas, what could she, the "main wife," do to stop them?

Amikura Mako's expression turned complicated.

"Are you… considering my feelings in this?"

"Partly, but it's also because of Kaoru. If Mako-chan truly likes him and can accept this, I won't oppose it. But if you hate the idea, then no matter what, I won't let him get close to you." Ichinose Honami was firm.

Like was like, dislike was dislike.

If Kaoru Mitoma ever tried to force or threaten anyone, she would be the first to refuse.

Amikura Mako hesitated, wanting to say something but unable to find the right words.

The situation was overwhelming for her.

"Also… I was hoping Mako-chan could help me." Ichinose Honami continued, "You know Kaoru has quite a few girls around him. Some might not realize his true nature, while others might want to monopolize him. I want to ask you to help me explain to them that it won't work."

Not only did she need to control the numbers at the source, but she also had to eliminate competition.

Ichinose Honami didn't want to receive only a fraction of his affection.

"Stopping Kaoru's unfaithfulness isn't something one person can do alone. I can tell he won't change his mind easily." Ichinose Honami had already sensed Kaoru's mindset—sometimes, his thoughts weren't even in this school, lost in distant contemplation.

Combined with his experience in dealing with girls, she had a sharp intuition that her rivals extended far beyond the girls in school.

If things continued like this, Ichinose Honami could already foresee her fate.

She had to take the initiative.

Amikura Mako touched her own cheek and spoke up, "How… can I help you?"

"After the exams, let's go on a date together." Ichinose Honami took her small hand, her face flushing slightly.

"Next month is Christmas. I want to tell Kaoru how I feel."

"N-No way!" Amikura Mako stammered, her words faltering.

"Three people?! That's just…"

She didn't finish her sentence, her entire face burning red as her voice trailed off.

"It is a bit of a reward for him, but I won't force you, Mako-chan. So… H-stuff… we won't do that…" Ichinose Honami's face was equally red.

"Mako-chan, you're so indecent!"

"I am not!" Amikura Mako retorted weakly.

But going on a Christmas date—wasn't it always leading to that kind of thing?

Still, she subconsciously sighed in relief.

If all three of them did something indecent together, it really would be too much of a reward for Kaoru Mitoma.

"Wait… have you and Mitoma-kun already… done it?" Amikura Mako suddenly remembered something critically important.

"No way!" Ichinose Honami retorted just as guiltily.

After all, they hadn't gone all the way—she still considered herself a pure and innocent girl.

Seeing her reaction, Amikura Mako understood.

Her face flushed even redder.

At their age, she was hardly ignorant—she knew there were things far more scandalous than kissing, and some that were even simpler than losing one's virginity.

"But... is this really okay?"

Faced with Amikura Mako's question, Ichinose Honami fell silent for a moment before smiling as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Since he plans to Take all, that's not my problem to worry about. Let him figure it out himself."