I Accidentally Built a Harem of Girls Who All Hate Each Other

The library air, usually so calm and scholarly, crackled with the energy of a nascent revolution. The "Alliance for a Balanced Campus Life" sat around the large table, a tableau of mismatched intentions and a single, unifying goal: to counter the ever-expanding empire of Reina Kujou.

I felt like a hostage at my own liberation party.

"Alright," Yui began, tapping her pen on her notebook like a general pointing at a battle map. She had fully embraced her role as de facto leader of the coalition. "Our primary, short-term objective is to neutralize The Warden's planned occupation of this library. We cannot let her establish a foothold in our new strategic headquarters."

"So we fight her!" Asuka declared, cracking her knuckles. "The next time she shows up, I'll 'accidentally' spill a sports drink on her precious paperwork. See how she likes that."

"No," Yui and Shiori said in perfect, horrified unison.

"Miyamoto-san," Yui explained with the strained patience of a teacher explaining a simple concept to a difficult student, "your methods are... direct. But direct confrontation is what she expects. She thrives on it. It allows her to play the victim of your 'brutish' behavior while asserting her authority. We cannot win by playing her game."

"Then what do we do?" Asuka grumbled, slumping back in her chair. "Set a trap? Lure her in with a limited edition fountain pen and then lock her in the rare books room?"

"The thought is appealing," Yui admitted with a flicker of a smile, "but again, too direct. Our weapon is not force. It is bureaucracy, environment, and plausible deniability." She turned to Shiori. "Akiyama-chan. This is your territory. What are its weaknesses from an occupier's perspective?"

Shiori, who had been listening intently, pushed her glasses up her nose, her expression thoughtful. "The library's greatest strength is also its weakness," she said, her voice quiet but clear. "The silence."

"The silence," Yui repeated, a slow, predatory smile spreading across her face. "Go on."

"President Kujou is accustomed to working in her office, where she has absolute control and silence," Shiori explained, gaining confidence. "The main reading room is silent, yes, but it is a public silence. It's filled with small, unpredictable noises. Sneezes. Coughs. Scraped chairs. Dropped books. It is not a controlled environment."

"She's right," Asuka chimed in, catching on. "You can't get into a real work groove when some first-year is sniffing every five seconds. It drives you crazy."

"Exactly," Yui said, her eyes gleaming. "We cannot stop her from coming. But we can make her visit so unproductive, so... annoying... that she chooses, of her own volition, not to return." She began to scribble furiously in her notebook. "This is a campaign of micro-aggressions. Environmental warfare."

"So, what's the plan?" I finally asked, my voice a nervous croak.

Yui looked up, her expression one of brilliant, diabolical glee. "Phase One: 'The Annoyance Audit'. Tomorrow is Tuesday. Kaito's first official shift as a library assistant, and The Warden's first scheduled occupation. Asuka, your role is diversion and disruption."

"My specialty!" Asuka grinned.

"You will need to 'study' in the library tomorrow," Yui instructed. "Specifically, at a table with a direct line of sight to where Kujou will be sitting. You will not be quiet. You will fidget. You will tap your pen. You will drop your books—repeatedly. You will sigh loudly. You will be the most annoying study partner in the history of the world. But you will do it all under the guise of a 'jock who hates studying'. It's the perfect cover."

"I can do that," Asuka said, already practicing a particularly loud pen-tapping rhythm on the table.

"Shiori," Yui continued, turning to her new intelligence chief. "Your role is resource denial and atmospheric control. You will ensure that the most comfortable chairs are 'unavailable for maintenance'. You will direct any and all students with loud, sniffly colds to the tables nearest to the President for 'ease of access'. And you will... adjust the thermostat. Make it just a little too warm. A little too stuffy. Uncomfortably so."

Shiori nodded, a determined, almost fierce look in her violet eyes. The quiet librarian had just become a master of psychological and environmental warfare. The thought was terrifying.

"And me?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"You," Yui said, pointing her pen at me, "are the bait and the shield. You will perform your duties as a library assistant with impeccable diligence. You will be shelving books, which will require you to be constantly moving, making it difficult for her to 'supervise' you. You will be a model of quiet, helpful efficiency. Your very presence will be a justification for all the other disruptions. After all," she added with a saccharine-sweet smile, "the library has been so busy since you so kindly agreed to help out."

It was a brilliant, multi-pronged strategy. Every action was deniable. Every annoyance was explainable. It was designed to slowly, methodically drive a meticulous control freak like Reina Kujou completely insane, all while making her look unreasonable if she complained.

"This is..." I started, "actually a really good plan."

"Of course it is," Yui said with a confident sniff. "I'm the campaign manager."

Asuka grinned. "This is gonna be fun. It's like a stealth mission."

Shiori gave a small, determined nod. "For the good of the library," she whispered.

I looked around at the faces of my new, unlikely allies. The fiery athlete, the quiet bookworm, the strategic genius. They had all been my rivals, competing for my attention. Now, they were a united front, their combined talents focused on a common enemy. And it was all because of me. The thought filled me with a strange mixture of terror and a bizarre sense of pride.

"Okay, Alliance," Yui said, closing her notebook with a snap. "You have your orders. Disperse and prepare for tomorrow's operation. And remember the first rule of our revolution."

"What's that?" Asuka asked.

Yui's eyes met mine, a silent, powerful message passing between us. "Kaito doesn't get caught in the crossfire."

Her primary objective, even in this grand, strategic game, was still my protection. The realization hit me with a surprising amount of force.

As we all stood up to leave, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out. It was a text from Ms. Mori. My blood ran cold.

Ms. Mori: Heard about your new library duties, Tanaka-kun. How wonderfully studious of you. I have a stack of old medical journals that need archiving. Perhaps I could drop them off at the library for you to handle? It would be a great help. I could even show you some... interesting anatomical diagrams while I'm there.

I showed the text to my war council.

Asuka recoiled. "Whoa. She's not even being subtle."

Shiori blushed a furious red and looked away.

Yui's face became a mask of cold fury. "The rogue state is making its move," she hissed. "She's trying to invade our headquarters before The Warden even gets a chance. This complicates things."

She looked at me, then at the others, her mind already working, adapting the plan.

"The objective remains the same," she said, her voice like steel. "But the threat level has increased. Tomorrow, we don't just make the library annoying. We make it a fortress. And we protect our primary asset at all costs."

The simple plan of annoying Reina had just turned into a multi-front defense against two of the most dangerous women in the school. Tomorrow wasn't just an operation anymore. It was going to be a battle.