Harem Investment System: Getting Money And Women

Ethan folded his arms, studying the sandcastle in front of him with a raised brow.

It was… something.

The towers were leaning, the walls looked more like random lumps of sand, and the moat — while an admirable attempt — was uneven, half-dried in places, and barely deep enough to hold water.

But despite its flaws, he had to admit, Julia and Megan had put their hearts into it.

"You guys really went all out, huh?" he said, rubbing his chin as if he were an architect inspecting blueprints.

Julia beamed, hands on her hips. "We told you it was big!"

Megan nodded rapidly. "And we made a moat!"

She pointed excitedly at the shallow trench surrounding the castle, filled with seawater they had painstakingly carried over in tiny buckets.

Ethan had to admit, that part was kind of cute. The two of them had obviously put a lot of effort into this.

He knelt down and ruffled their hair. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

Julia grinned. "You should help us make it better!"

Megan gasped. "Yeah! You're tall, so you can make the towers super high!"

Ethan smirked. "Oh, so now my height is an advantage? Because last I checked, someone called me a 'giant old man' before."

Julia rolled her eyes. "That was before. Now we need you."

Megan clasped her hands together. "Please, Julia's Big Brother? Pretty please?"

Ethan let out a dramatic sigh, shaking his head. "Fine, fine. But if I'm helping, we're doing this right."

And with that, he got to work.

The girls watched as Ethan carefully shaped the walls, smoothing out the rough edges and reinforcing the base so it wouldn't crumble as easily.

He showed them how to pat the sand down properly to make it firm, and together, they sculpted actual towers instead of misshapen lumps.

He even helped carve out a tiny arched doorway at the front.

At one point, Megan gasped. "Oh! We need decorations!"

Julia's eyes widened. "Yes! We have to make it look royal!"

The two of them dashed off to collect seashells, leaving Ethan chuckling as he fine-tuned their masterpiece.

By the time they returned, their hands full of tiny shells and smooth pebbles, the castle looked a hundred times better than before.

"Whoa…" Julia whispered in awe.

"It's beautiful!" Megan gasped.

They carefully placed their collected decorations along the walls, creating a charming, mismatched pattern. Julia placed a particularly shiny shell at the very top of the tallest tower.

"Now it's a real castle," she declared proudly.

Ethan dusted off his hands, stepping back to admire their work. "Alright, ladies. What do you think?"

Both girls stared at their masterpiece, their eyes glowing with excitement.

"It's perfect," Megan whispered.

Julia nodded solemnly. "We did good."

Ethan smirked. "Glad to be of service."

For a moment, the three of them stood there, basking in their accomplishment. The sandcastle was a true work of art — a testament to teamwork, dedication, and childlike creativity.

And then the wave hit.

The moment played out in slow motion.

One second, the castle stood tall, proud and unshaken.

The next second, a massive wave rolled in.

Julia's eyes widened. "Wait — "

Megan gasped. "No no no no — "

Ethan blinked. "Oh, boy."

SPLASH.

The wave crashed down with merciless force, swallowing their beloved castle in one swift, devastating sweep.

Sand, shells, and tiny pebbles vanished instantly.

The carefully sculpted towers crumbled like dust, the moat disappeared without a trace, and when the water finally receded…

There was nothing left.

Just a sad, wet, flattened patch of sand.

A long, horrified silence followed.

The three of them stood there, staring at the ruins of what had once been their magnificent castle. It was gone.

Julia's lower lip trembled.

Megan clutched her head. "W-we… we worked so hard…"

Ethan exhaled, hands on his hips. "Well. That happened."

Julia whirled on him, eyes blazing with frustration. "Big brother! Why didn't you stop the wave?!"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Jules. It was the ocean. You want me to fight the ocean?"

Megan shook her fists at the sky. "Curse you, ocean!!"

Julia stomped her foot. "It was so beautiful! And now it's gone!"

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Ethan bit his lip to keep from laughing, crouching beside them. "Hey, hey, look on the bright side."

Megan sniffled. "What bright side?"

Ethan gestured at the sand. "We get to build it again. And this time, we'll make it even bigger."

Julia and Megan exchanged looks, their devastation slowly melting into determination.

Julia wiped her eyes. "Even bigger?"

Megan's frown turned into a thoughtful pout. "Like… a mega castle?"

Ethan grinned. "Exactly. This time, we'll build a fortress so strong, no wave can destroy it."

The two girls perked up instantly.

Julia pumped her fists. "Let's do it!"

Megan nodded fiercely. "The ocean won this round… but next time, we'll be ready!"

Ethan chuckled, ruffling both of their heads. "That's the spirit. Now let's get back to work."

And just like that, their sadness disappeared, replaced with excitement.

As the three of them started rebuilding, Ethan couldn't help but smile to himself. Kids were amazing. One moment, they were devastated, and the next, they were ready to take on the world again.

And honestly?

He kind of admired that.

As Megan scurried off to collect more seashells, Ethan and Julia got to work shaping the sand.

Julia, filled with boundless enthusiasm, insisted that they needed more towering gates this time.

"A castle isn't a real castle without giant gates!"

And Ethan, ever the supportive older brother, let her take charge of the design.

He crouched beside her, carefully packing sand together, shaping the base of the castle while Julia worked on carving out the grand entrance.

"It should be really tall," Julia said, pressing her hands into the damp sand. "Like, so tall that even a dragon couldn't break through!"

Ethan smirked. "A dragon, huh? And what if the dragon breathes fire?"

Julia scrunched her nose. "Then we make it fireproof."

"Ah, of course. How silly of me," Ethan chuckled, smoothing out the edges of the towering gate. "And how do we make it fireproof, exactly?"

Julia paused, deep in thought, before snapping her fingers. "Seashells! We'll cover it in seashells!"