"Is...?" Rudy stared at Alice with a curious yet calm look on his face.
Of course, he could read Alice's mind and know the answer, but he was afraid.
"Listen, I understand why you want a hare, and honestly, you are trying to do a good thing by saving the girls. But I can't be part of your harem," Alice stated with a straight face.
"..."
"..."
"...."
SIGH!
"Okay, I am kidding," Alice sighed. "But I am still against it. It is impossible for you to love every girl equally. And even if you think you can do that, you can't."
"How can you be so sure of that?" Rudy asked with a curious look on his face. "You don't know the future."
"I am a girl, and as a girl, I can understand other girls' feelings," Alice stated. "Suppose, you are talking with the pool girl, then the ghost girl would also want to talk to you, and so would I. Now, are you saying that you can talk to all three of us at the same time?"
"Same conversation?"
"No. Different conversation, and different topics."
"..."
"You seem it's not as easy as it looks. There are other things you have to consider, you know? While you are trying to save a girl, you might just end up breaking them even more. They might feel neglected and less loved. And I am telling you, that not all the girls would think the same."
"I guess..."
"And even if you do love them equally, the girls would always think you don't. That's a natural thing to happen."
"You are right. But in such cases, you girls also need to be considerate of other girls and get along well." Rudy shrugged his shoulders and said, "Or you can come to me if there is something wrong. If you think I am not giving you attention, then I will give you more attention."
"And what if every girl thinks that? Will you be able to give 'more' attention to all the girls?" Alice asked with a knowing look on her face.
"Well..."
"The thing is..." Alice held Rudy's hand in her hands and said, "All the girls would want your attention. They all would want to be loved, more than others. And why would they want to be considerate of other girls when they are their rival?"
"..."
"You are missing out on many things, Rudy. And the reason why nothing has happened yet is that one girl in your harem is a ghost, who is always with you. And another is a meek girl, who just wants to be loved by you."
"And you...?"
But then he recalled the moments when he was in trouble and Angelica laughed out loud.
'Or she might have buried me into a deeper pit hole...'
Asking Angelica for help was like a double-edged sword.
"Okay. I have made my final decision," Alice said with a serious look on his face.
"I am... ready..." Rudy prepared himself to hear Alice's answer.
"I..."
"Hmm?"
"I need time to think about it."
"...." Rudy stared at Alice in disbelief and let out a weary sigh with a loud groan.
"Okay. Take as much time as you want. I am going home."
Rudy didn't want to be persistent and pry too much, or that might have made Alice mad.
Rudy got off the bed and walked to the door to leave Alice's room, but he was hit in the back by something soft.
Of course, Rudy had already sensed that, but he didn't care to dodge it.
He looked down to see Alice had thrown a pillow at him.
"..."
He glanced at Alice to see her pouting at him with a glare in her eyes.
"What now...?" Rudy asked with a confused look on his face.
"I thought you would try a little harder to convince me. But it looks like you gave up," Alice remarked.
"I did not. You said you need time to think about it, so I am giving you time..."
Alice squinted her eyes and said, "Where is my goodbye kiss?"
"...what?"
"My goodbye kiss!"
'I seriously can't understand her. She is not sure about joining my harem, and yet she wants a kiss...?'