The Affection Multiplier - Ch. 237, Ch. 238 & Ch. 239. (Patreon)

Chapter 237: Julia and Lilian.

“There’s a lot of stuff we need to move.” Julia tells Lilian as they stand in front of an unoccupied classroom. “We had to empty the storehouse by the court so they could clean it up and perform annual maintenance, so now we have to carry everything back.”

Lilian grimaces, making Julia laugh.

“Don’t worry! We’re not moving everything today!” She assures. “And I’ll be sure to ask more help when we have to move heavy stuff. For now it’s just boxes with balls, cones, nets and stuff like that.”

Lilian sighs, relived. “Okay. That, I can do.”

“Thanks for your help. David might have roped you into this, but I appreciate it nonetheless.”

“He didn’t rope me into this.” Lilian pouts, crossing her arms. “Is it really that hard to believe I’m doing this willingly?”

“Okay, okay. I believe you.” Julia chuckles. “Come on! The sooner we start, the sooner we finish!”

The two girls start moving boxes from the unoccupied classroom in the first floor all the way to the big storehouse close to the outside court. It takes several trips to get even ¼ of the boxes.

“I think it’s best if we leave it at that for now.” Julia says with a deep breath.

On her part, Lilian is tired but not outright beat. At least Julia was being honest when she said the boxes weren’t heavy. She leaves the last box on top of a stack of 4 and lets out a tired sigh.

“Again, thanks a lot for your help, Lilian! You’re a lifesaver!”

“It wasn’t really that big an issue.” Lilian says, but eyes her teacher with a complicated expression.

Of course, Julia notices.

“It looks to me like you want to say something. So out with it.” Julia encourages with a smile.

“N-No. It’s not that I want to say something.” Lilian sighs. “It’s more like… I wanted to ask a question, but I don’t know who to ask.”

“Oh? Is it about a certain someone we know?” Julia asks, looking around. The storehouse is big, but not awfully so. It’s not like there could be someone hidden here.

“Yes, actually.” Lilian nods hesitantly.

“Alright. Give me a second.” After Julia confirms that there’s no one outside the room either, she closes the door, guides Lilian a little further away from it and motions for her to sit down on top of a box as she does the same. “Let me see if I can help.”

“This is REALLY embarrassing to ask, though.” Lilian bites her lip.

“So you’d rather keep your doubts to yourself?”

“No…” With a final sigh to psych herself up, Lilian speaks. “Is it… normal to feel like you’re seriously in love with someone after… having sex?” She asks, her face as red as a tomato and as hot as a stove.

“Oooh. That’s what it is.” Julia chuckles. “Okay, let’s see. I think we should make something clear. I think that feeling INFATUATION for someone right after sex is 100% normal.” Julia nods.

“Infatuation?”

“You want to be close to him, you want to kiss him, you want to hug him and all that, right?”

“Guh.” Lilian flinches, but nods. It’s like she completely read her.

“That’s normal. After all, you just had a really good experience with him, am I wrong?”

“N-No. It was… It was amazing.” Lilian says, pursing her lips. “So you’re saying it’s not love, but infatuation?”

“Don’t rush it.” Julia stops her, raising her hand to her. “I’m saying infatuation is normal, but it’s also possible you’re feeling more than just that. Think about it. Is there anything specific, any memory that’s making you feel more strongly about him?”

“…” Lilian thinks, recalling the memories of that day. It’s like there’re butterflies in her stomach, and a giddy feeling assaults her. “He was… so careful with me.” Lilian admits. “I was really nervous, but he didn’t mind.”

“And that was important to you?” Julia asks.

The younger blonde nods. “He’s not my first boyfriend, but he’s the first I feel I care about. Back in high school… other guys would always try to push me to having sex and giving them blowjobs. I didn’t want to, so they got mad and I ended up breaking up with them.”

“Seems like a common enough experience, sadly.” Julia sighs heavily.

“But more than David being like that with me…” She swallows. “Seeing him treat Jessica and Olivia the same way made me respect him so much more. And then… even after we did it, just being able to talk to him normally, looking at him as he just listens to me talk… it means something to me.”

Huh. Saying these things out loud is helping Lilian understand it better. It’s just like Megan and Emily said that time. It’s not about how exciting the relationship is, but how comfortable she feels being with him.

“I think you’re starting to realize something yourself.” Julia chuckles.

“Yeah.” Lilian grins. “I’m realizing that being in love it a pain.”

“It is.” Julia laughs. “Sex feels good. If it didn’t, people wouldn’t reproduce and humans would be extinct. But love is the reason we decide to stay with someone for the rest of our lives. To trust someone, to rely on someone, to have fun with someone, to relax with someone. I think love is when we find that one person who can fulfill all those roles at once and more.”

“You’re saying he found eleven people who fit that criteria for him?” Lilian laughs.

“Oh yeah!” Julia shares that laugh. “He’s a lucky dog, isn’t he?”

“Hell yeah.” Lilian nods with a big smirk on her face, which softens after a moment into a smile. “I think I understand what I feel a lot more. I was… worried I was being superficial again.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a bit of superficiality.” Julia shrugs. “Of course, you can’t base a serious relationship on looks alone, but don’t feel guilty for thinking he’s attractive and wanting to do naughty things with him. Remember, he feels the same about you.”

“…” Lilian smirks. “You know what? You’re right. Thanks… Julia.”

“You’re welcome, Lilian.” The teacher chuckles. “I’m available whenever you want to talk.”

“I might take you up on that every once in a while.” Lilian nods.

She’s been thinking about David a lot lately, but if there’s one thing she has to admit at this very moment, is that he picks the coolest, most amazing women to date. Herself included, of course.

________________________________________________________________

Chapter 238: Olivia, Lilian, Jessica and Anzu.

“Oh boy, he wasn’t kidding. You do look like crap.” Lilian points out before wincing at her own words. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.” Anzu chuckles tiredly. “I do feel like crap, to be honest.”

The bags under her eyes are even more pronounced than the other day when David saw her. Her shoulders are slumped. There’s a glass of water on her desk along with an opened box of painkillers.

“Normally I’d tell you not to worry, but I think my head’s gonna split.” Anzu says with a light laugh that still makes her head hurt.

“Why don’t you take the day off?” Olivia asks, crossing her arms in annoyance directed entirely at the school. “Don’t tell me the headmistress didn’t let you?”

“I haven’t asked.” Anzu says with a weak smile. “Finding a substitute nurse for only one day would be impossible.”

“Ugh. See? This is what you get for being so responsible.” Olivia groans.

“Ahaha…” Anzu laughs weakly.

“Just sit down and tell us what needs to be done.” Jessica tells her. “The others told us to call them if we needed extra hands.”

“Well, for starters I need to clean up here.” Anzu says, looking around her office. “I haven’t been able to sweep in a whole week.”

“I can do that.” Jessica says.

“Then there’s the inventory. I need to check everything I have left and the things I need to order.”

“I do inventory at my mom’s store.” Lilian says. “Leave that to me. I’ll have it done in a jiffy.”

“And then there’s this.” Anzu looks with unabashed hate down at a stack of documents piled up on her desk.

“What are those?” Olivia asks.

“Remember those physical examination tests you have to submit at the beginning of each semester?”

The three girls nod.

“Well, these are all the ones that came in late. Over 60 of them.” Anzu groans, wincing as she feels a sharp pain in her head. “I need to check them and put them all in the respective student’s folder.” She looks back to a shelf full of folders marked with letters in alphabetical order.

“If you tell me what I’m looking for, I can do that.” Olivia says.

“If the student has any specific condition, like an allergy to something or asthma, it’ll be written in red. Write that down in an extra sheet before you put them on the folders.”

“Got it.”

With that, the three girls get to work, being supervised by the nurse. Jessica is careful when moving things to sweep around, which is a huge relief to Anzu. She was worried there could be an accident, like bumping into one of the shelves and breaking a few medicine bottles, but Jessica already took that into account. Lilian is working particularly fast. Enough that it almost makes Anzu think she’s rushing it to get it over with. But when she sees the blonde start counting the boxes of painkillers, narrow her eyes when she’s done, count again and then realize that the missing box is the one on her desk, Anzu knows she’s taking it seriously. Olivia works silently, but with laser-like focus. She’s working more slowly than Lilian, but that’s because she’s doing a double take on every document to make sure nothing important gets past her. After all, missing an important condition of a student could lead to a tragedy. Anzu’s still going to do a double check when she’s feeling better, but it’s reassuring to know Olivia is taking this seriously too. Actually, the girls are working so well it makes her wish they’d stay as her assistants for a while longer.

They don’t get the opportunity to talk with how busy they all are, but they’ve taken an incredible weight off of Anzu’s shoulders. She’ll have to treat the girls to a meal after midterms are done.

________________________________________________________________

Chapter 239: A quick talk with the student council president.

“Okay, that’s it for today’s meeting.” Monica, the student council president, says.

You finish typing the minute on her laptop, click save and quickly scan the document for any typos.

“David,” The president’s voice calling you breaks your focus. You look at her.

“Yes?”

“Can you stay for a little bit? There’s something I want to talk to you about.” She sounds serious, but not angry or frustrated, so you figure you haven’t done anything wrong.

“Okay.” You tell her. You only hope she makes it quick. You want to check on Anzu and the others. Hopefully the girls were able to take some load off of Anzu’s back.

The rest of the student council leaves with cheerful goodbyes. Not to sing your own praises, but things have been going smoothly since you started helping out. Soon, you’re alone in the room with Monica.

“What did you need to talk to me about?”

“Before that, let me thank you on behalf of the school.” She says solemnly. “You’ve been a great help to the student council, and your work here has made it easier for us to focus on fixing things that really matter. The bathrooms are getting fixed, walls are getting repainted and some doors are getting replaced. Thanks to you, the process has gone very smoothly.”

“Just trying to do my job the best I can.” You nod, accepting the praise.

“But it seems you’ve been doing more than that for the school.” She grins. “I’ve noticed, of course. You somehow stopped the school’s biggest bullies from continuing their… activities and even sent them to be the teachers’ assistants. That’s one less thing to worry about. I don’t know how you tamed those three, but you have my thanks.”

You smile wryly at those last words. “I know they have a reputation around school, but I’d appreciate you don’t treat my girlfriends as if they’re wild animals. That said, it’s not like I don’t get it, so I won’t say much more than that.”

“Okay, that last comment was uncalled for. I apologize.” Monica says sincerely. “I still find it amazing that they’ve changed such much over the last few months. They may not say it, but quite a few people are thankful to you for stopping their bullying spree. Wait!”

Monica suddenly stands up from her seat, hands on the table and looking at you with worry.

“They’re not forcing you to do anything, are they!?”

“What? Oh. No, not at all.” You chuckle, shaking your head. “Don’t worry about that. We just had many talks over time and, well, now we’re together. We’re growing up.”

“I-I see.” Monica sighs in relief.

“Is that what you wanted to tell me?” You ask, ready to head out.

“There’s… one more thing. Something more… personal.” She says, suddenly sounding bashful. Her cheeks are getting red and she’s looking at the floor.

…

Oh no.

You haven’t checked her score at all! She’s not… in love with you, is she!? You haven’t spoken much to her outside of school! You already promised to keep your harem to eleven women! W-Will you be able to say no?

Goddammit!

“W-What is it?” You ask, swallowing hard.

“You see…” She takes a deep breath. “Like many other girls here, I’ve only ever been to all-girl schools. I’ve had minimal contact with guys.”

“Y-Yeah?”

She nods slowly, still looking down at the ground to avoid your eyes.

“So… I wanted to ask you something.” She says, nervously.

“S-Sure.” You nod. Your heart is racing.

“You’re actually the guy closest to me. I’ve gotten to know you a little better, too, so…” She swallows. “Can I ask you for some advice?”

Advice?

“Advice?” You voice your thoughts, all your nervousness suddenly replaced with curiosity.

She nods and fidgets in place. “You see, I started taking these piano lessons. The guy teaching me is only a couple of years older than me, and, well…”

…

Oh.

Ooooooooooooh.

Well, now you feel stupid. And very much relieved. Enough that you have to hold back your laughter, causing Monica to eye you with annoyance.

“H-Hey! W-Why are you laughing!?”

“Sorry! Sorry!” You say, waving your hands. “It’s just… Ahahaha! You made me nervous for a moment there.”

“W-Why!?” She says, eyes widening.

“I thought you were going to confess to me.” You admit, letting out a heavy, relieved and content sigh.

“W-Why would I confess to you? We’ve hardly even spoken outside of school matters!” She says, her face now getting completely red.

“Sorry, but the way you were talking and your body language made me think that.” You grin.

She frowns and crosses her arms. “You seem a little too relieved that it wasn’t a confession. What? Am I not good enough for you?”

You swallow the first answer that comes to your mind. Telling her that you were worried because you didn’t know if you’d be able to say no might be counterproductive. But you also don’t want to get her self-esteem down.

“That’s not the issue here. I’m relieved because, as you know, I already have eight girlfriends.” Officially speaking. “And they might yell at me if I try to make a move on someone else.” You laugh.

“R-Right.” She says, looking down at the floor nervously again.

“So the issue is not whether or not you’re good enough for me, but whether or not you can catch the interest of your piano teacher, right?” You grin.

“Y-yeah.” She nods slowly. “I… really don’t know who else to ask. You obviously have a lot of experience in this matter, so…”

“Alright. I’m game.” You nod. You then look at your phone and see the time. “Does it have to be now, though? I need to go to the nurse’s office to check on Anzu and the others.”

“Oh! I’m sorry! I should’ve asked if you had time!” Monica says, looking apologetic. “Yes, we can leave it for another time.”

“Great. Again, sorry for laughing. I know from experience this is a very serious matter to you. I don’t know how much I can help, but I’ll try the best I can.”

Monica gives you a big smile. “Thank you.”

With one last goodbye and the promise to meet at the nearby coffee shop on the following days, you leave the classroom and head to the nurse’s office.