Tokyo Soft Rice King.

“A wise ruler is not a god; he won’t unconditionally grant our wishes.”

"Of course I know that, and isn't it all your fault that Mingjun has become like this? What I mean is, Mingjun has become my beacon of hope..."

"So you want to help her 'replicate' her own experience? You're 'aiding the enemy'."

"If she can win the favor of the current wise ruler, that is her own skill. After all, as the number of people increases, the difficulty of winning over the wise ruler has changed from the easy mode to the hard mode."

"Really... luckily I acted early~ I met a wise ruler even before you, I'm so lucky, hehe~"

"Tsk...you woman are really...I can't stand not feeling disgusted for a second, huh?"

"Compared to Tsukimi Ran-i, you seem quite adorable. I don't like her, and she won't become the second you. If she really falls for Ming-jun, it will become a huge problem. You should know what I'm talking about."

"..."

Ziyin truly understood what Tong meant.

Tsukimi Ryoui is not the woman who is attracted to Kuroba Akira.

This is different from anyone else.

Everyone present was gathered here because of Kuroba Akira. Some of them may have a good relationship with each other, but that relationship is not the reason they joined the harem.

The reason why things have come to this is because neither of them wants to give up their love for Akira Kuroba.

But for Tsukimi Ryou, even if she really fell in love with Kuroba Akira, it wouldn't be a 'love she couldn't give up'.

She couldn't possibly value Kuroba Akira more than her acting skills, career, or goals.

In other words, even if Tsukimi Ryou really falls in love with Kuroba Akira, she won't join them.

Some might say that not increasing the number of women in the harem is not a good thing for them.

However, this is not without its challenges, as Tsukimi Ran will likely maintain a lingering, on-again, off-again relationship with Kuroba Akira.

In other words, she would become an 'outsider, unregulated entity'.

This is the most troublesome part, because her behavior will make everyone dissatisfied and cause conflicts within the harem.

Moreover, since she opened this door, who knows how many women will establish this kind of 'invisible relationship' with Kuroba Akira in the future.

Just like a wife not knowing how many mistresses her husband has outside, it makes people feel uneasy.

That's why Anri Hitomi said that Tsukimi Rii was a problem.

This is much more troublesome than those women who fall head over heels in love with a wise ruler.

"What you're saying is just a deduction based on the current situation, but a wise ruler is a man who can turn the impossible into the possible. Who knows what she will become in the future? How can you be sure she won't become a love-struck fool like me?"

"In the end, does it all come down to Mingjun's personal charm...? I mean, Mingjun is indeed very special, so special that people want to lock him up and raise him... But Tsukimi Ran-i happens to be the type who 'doesn't get along' with Mingjun the most. The probability of her becoming love-struck is even lower than the probability of you giving up on Mingjun."

"Then do you want to make a bet with me? I bet that Mingjun can resolve her inner conflict and get her to join our side."

"Heh... So what do you want to bet on?"

"The right to share means that whoever wins can freely join in on the other person's alone time without being able to refuse. I'm not talking about Makoto's intrusion. You should have your own private time alone that you don't want to share with anyone, right? Like the time I used to spend sleeping with Akira at night."

In the imperial harem, the time each person has alone with another is a priceless treasure.

"Playing this big... Okay, let's gamble. My judgment has never been wrong. I bet she won't join us."

"It's a deal! If you lose, you can't go back on your word. I'm recording this to keep as evidence."

"That's what I'm saying. Now that you've already given up your nighttime, if you lose even that last bit of alone time, you'll only be eating from the communal pot from now on, okay? Nobody will be considerate of you during public hours."

"It's not certain who will lose yet. Just wait and see. With such arrogance, be careful not to capsize in the gutter. Anyway, I have more faith in a wise ruler than in you."

"So being love-struck is just plain stupid, even though she doesn't have big breasts..."

"What did you say! What does this have to do with that pile of fat! You just don't believe in a wise ruler!"

"Of course I also believe in wise rulers, but that's a different matter... Never mind, no matter how I explain it, it's like talking to a brick wall."

"Hmph!" "Hmph!"

The two of them snorted coldly, crossed their arms, and turned their heads away.

Qingxia listened to this part silently, feeling a bit amused and exasperated. She really didn't know whether the relationship between these two was good or bad...

But no matter who wins, in the end, it will be the two of them enjoying Kuroba-kun together, right?

So they just wanted to have some fun together?

If that's the case, should I join the betting?

Anyway, as the arbitrator, I don't have any time for just the two of us, so I'm not losing out either way... Well, never mind, I shouldn't disturb their 'pleasures'.

However, Qingxia was also a little curious about what kind of person Kuroba Akira would ultimately turn into Tsukimi Rii.

Both Xiaotong and Ziyin have valid points, but in all fairness, Qingxia also feels that Lanyi in the moonlight will not join their side.

If you ask why... she probably doesn't even like herself.

It's not that she's narcissistic, but rather that she's never truly cared about herself.

How can someone who doesn't even care about themselves want to find a love that is unforgettable?

What Kuroba Akira probably needs to do is make her realize that, compared to anything else, she is the most important person.

……

In the corner of the room, Amayu Hikaru stared at the book in front of him with a gloomy expression.

From the moment Lan Yi stole a kiss from Kuroba Akira in the moonlit scene, Amayu Hikaru never turned another page of the novel in her hands.

She was the only one who cared deeply about the fact that Kuroba Akira's lips had been taken away.

Although she had always stayed in Kuroba Akira's harem and knew about the relationships between the women and Kuroba Akira, she had never directly witnessed Kuroba Akira being completely taken advantage of.

This time, I've really seen something new.

Then, a dark emotion, tinged with jealousy, surged from the depths of her soul; that was her 'true self'.

A tremendous killing intent was directed at Tsukimi Rii.

Chapter 441 The Beginning of Becoming Frenemies

Kuroba Akira thought it would take a long time to find her, but she quickly found Tsukimi Rii, who was looking out at the snow-capped mountains, on the path in front of the hot spring inn.

Judging from the expression on her face, she didn't seem particularly unhappy.

Is this what it means to cultivate an actor's self-discipline?

Top actors have the ability to freely control their emotions, and she is probably just letting go of all the negative emotions she just felt.

It seems there's no need for comforting... Well, that makes sense. She's not the kind of girl who likes to throw tantrums. Tsukimi Ran entered the entertainment industry at a young age and grew up in the adult world. She's much more mature than her peers and wouldn't be affected by something like this.

This saved them the trouble of having to do psychological counseling first, so Kuroba Akira naturally went over to talk to her.

"Hey, feeling better now?"

"Good my ass! Are you blind? Didn't you see how utterly humiliated I was just now? This failure is a stain on my life, tsk..."

Rude... what he said was nothing like what an idol would say.

But judging from her appearance, she seems to have already taken off that professional mask, at least she's no longer putting on airs.

In Tsukimi Ran's view, Kuroba Akira and the others were birds of a feather, so her attitude was much worse than at the beginning.

"So what are you doing here? Are you here to continue making fun of me? Or are you here to take advantage of my vulnerability? Then give up. Don't think that just because I kissed you, I've really fallen for you. I was just using you."

"You're overthinking it, you narcissistic Tsukimi-san. I'm not interested in you at all. Don't assume that every man will be attracted to you just because you're pretty."

No matter how good-looking someone is, if they have a bad personality, Kuroba Akira will find it hard to talk to them.

Especially when it comes to getting married, you really can't just look at a face. What's the use of keeping a vase at home? If she can't even provide any emotional value, you might as well just buy a cabinet full of figurines.

Tsukimi Ran glared fiercely at Kuroba Akira, gritting her teeth and speaking hatefully.

"Damn it, how could you not be? It's all your fault for not cooperating. If you could be as easy as a lecher and be seduced by me, I wouldn't have been ridiculed by them one after another."

"You're such an unreasonable woman. Don't blame all your mistakes on me. First of all, you're not interested in me and just use me as a tool, aren't you? You yourself said that kiss was just a tactic of yours. I'd be a coward if I were still fascinated by it."

Tsukimi Ryou rubbed her forehead, shook her head, and said in frustration.

"Ha... I really made a basic mistake that only an amateur would make, I didn't even do a good lead..."

She had actually listened to what Shion Murasaki said, and although she was unwilling, she admitted that she had not done well enough this time, just as Murasaki had said.

Even if there are no cameras pointing at you, you should still take it seriously and treat every scene with the utmost professionalism.

Tsukimi Ryou had long known that it wasn't enough for her to just be a good actress; she also needed to be able to draw those around her into her world.

Because the entertainment industry is full of people with terrible acting skills, and those who are only passable in appearance are just incompetent, not even half-baked.

Movies and TV series are generally not just one-man shows. If only one person has a great acting skill and everyone around them is useless, the person with the good acting skill will seem out of place.

Tsukimi Ryou couldn't accept that the film's quality would be lowered because of the group's disastrous acting. Since it was a film she starred in, she felt she should at least ensure that the others had decent acting skills, so she learned to guide them early on.

Therefore, she admitted that she was only focused on her own performance and neglected Kuroba Akira, who was her 'opponent' at the time.

"Phew... Fine, I admit defeat this time."

Tsukimi Ryou let out a long breath, ending with these words, burying all the bad emotions and mistakes in the past.

She won't forget what happened, but she won't dwell on it like before. After all, complaining won't help. The most important thing is not to make the same mistake again.

Therefore, she was able to face Kuroba Akira with a peaceful mindset again.

"I'm serious, you'd better run away quickly, preferably abroad, otherwise they'll definitely kill you."

"You're actually worried about me? You're actually a pretty nice person."

"Do you really understand your current situation? To be honest, it's a miracle that you haven't lost any limbs yet. Some of them... especially Hitomi Anri and Shion Murasaki, seem like the type who would preserve your body parts in formaldehyde as a collection."

And then there's Ame no Hikari. Although she didn't join in just now, just looking at her makes me feel uncomfortable, and her red line is the darkest...

So, out of good intentions, Tsukimi Ryoui advised Kuroba Akira to escape from them as soon as possible, otherwise she would die sooner or later.

"Don't make it sound so scary, it's terrifying!"

"Hmph... I should have realized long ago that those who can dye the red thread black are no good people. I was too shallow to provoke them so easily... Being humiliated by them is just reaping what I sowed."

Although she is a bit arrogant, Tsukimi Ryou is surprisingly the type who can face her mistakes and reflect on them.

"As for that one just now..."

Lan Yi was referring to the sudden kiss just now, and she was now displaying a haughty attitude like a little girl.