The cosplay outfits and the photo camera sounded like wild tech that made people like him, but there was no way the others didn't know he didn't like forcing people.
Even Shion, Kikyo and the rest knew you couldn't recruit unreliable, unwilling newcomers for the cliques, so naturally nobody would drag people in by force. At the very least, they'd have to be half willing.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt the biggest reason for this situation was still himself.
The cosplay outfits, the photo camera and so on might really only make it easier for them to get into the cosplay state. Maybe a little of the side effects had piled up, making those idol beauties more inclined to approach him on their own later and not mind a bit of intimate behavior, but not to the point of really turning them into nymphos.
What turned newcomers meeting him for the first time, like Inui Sajuna, Inui Shinju and Amano Ririsa, into nymphos was mainly the pile of buffs he had on himself.
[Service Aura], [Succubus-Attracting Constitution], [Dependent Affinity], [Reluctant Mouth, Honest Body], [Immoral Infatuation], [Idolmaster], [Desire Sense].
Even if most of the buffs didn't work on Inui Sajuna, the few that were left were enough to leave Inui Sajuna, already made sensitive by the cosplay outfit's influence, in a world of trouble.
If her sister Inui Shinju had been cosplaying Qingque from Honkai: Star Rail instead of post-Honkai Timido, [Immoral Infatuation] would probably have hit the Fu Xuan-cosplaying Inui Sajuna especially hard.
In this situation, the only way for Inui Sajuna to quickly lower the buffs' influence was to make contact with him herself.
"Huh? You're saying... all of this, the way I am now, is my problem?"
Inui Sajuna hadn't actually understood what Hachiman meant.
It was only that, with Hachiman holding up her little bottom, her white-stockinged legs had naturally wrapped tight around his waist, her arms had circled his neck, and she'd buried her face in his neck, breathing in his strong scent, her mind a complete blank.
She really wasn't a nympho, aaaah!!!
How had she ended up like this!!!
"Of course it's my problem. Marin and the others didn't deceive you on purpose, either. The cosplay outfits putting you into the cosplay state and what it does to you, maybe even whoever made the outfits didn't expect that."
Hachiman said it without hiding anything. When something needed admitting, he admitted it, though he still kept to his principle of letting feelings grow over time: never take the initiative, never refuse, never let go.
"...Then how much longer... do you and I... have to hold each other?"
Inui Sajuna bit her lip and raised her head, looking at Hachiman, so close that a pout would have been enough to kiss him, and instinctively tried to shrink back away from him.
But the moment that thought rose in her heart, she found she couldn't stop herself from kissing Hachiman. Hurriedly reining in that thought against her body's instinct, she hugged Hachiman tight and buried her burning red face in his shoulder.
It was still wildly embarrassing even now. She felt like Hachiman, who was holding up her bottom, knew she was soaked down there and was just not saying anything so as not to embarrass her.
But embarrassing as it was, this was far milder than the earlier situation of sacrificing herself in front of Shinju.
Still, even if she could accept the current situation, that didn't mean she could keep putting up with the two of them staying in this awkward position.
She had school tomorrow. If she stayed up too late tonight, she wouldn't be able to get up tomorrow.
"I'm not sure how long either, but don't worry. When we play the Service Game in a bit, you can watch from the side. Watching should have some effect too."
Hachiman shook his head.
Watching from the side might have some side effects too, but as long as he didn't use the empathy, it should be fine.
"If worse comes to worst, Juju-sama, you can eat a little with us. You calmed down just now, didn't you? Maybe drinking more will solve your trouble."
Kitagawa Marin, who lived by the waste-not principle, had finished collecting the fruits of Inui Sajuna's efforts. She slowly stood up, licked the corner of her mouth, and looked at Inui Sajuna clinging to Hachiman like an octopus, unable to hold back a laugh as she spoke.
"I'm not drinking that stuff!"
Hearing Kitagawa Marin call her by her online handle again, Inui Sajuna had no strength left to correct her, and turned the suggestion down without a moment's hesitation.
When it had looked like she and her sister would both fall victim together, she'd have preferred to be treated roughly by Hachiman all by herself.
But now that she only had to hold on to him for a while, she couldn't take it.
"How about stepping on him, then? We couldn't take off our cosplay outfits at first, but later we all could."
Seeing Inui Sajuna with the evidence all over her mouth and still refusing to admit it, Kitagawa Marin tentatively made the suggestion.
"Maybe you have to follow the doujin plot of the characters we're cosplaying to get the outfits off and stop being affected by them."
"It doesn't have to follow the doujin plot exactly, but if you follow it as much as you can, Juju-sama, I think you'll feel better too."
"This..."
Hearing that Kitagawa Marin seemed to be cooking up some scheme again, Inui Sajuna's face flushed bright red, but she said nothing, only clenched her hands and gave a silent nod.
Compared to riding, creampies and stuff, just stepping on him, going through the motions, getting through the doujin plot... she could... just barely... accept that...
Not accepting wasn't an option anyway!
Right now she had to hold on tight to Hachiman just to get by, and who knew when her body would get out of her control again and she'd spread her legs and bite down without being able to stop herself!
Compared to that horribly painful sacrifice of blood, stepping on him through white stockings was nothing. At worst she'd just give up this exquisite, beautiful cosplay outfit!
"Then it's settled. Let's go somewhere else to eat something and rest. You've used up a lot of stamina just now, haven't you?"
Seeing that Inui Sajuna's mood had settled, Hachiman changed the subject right away and got ready to take her and the others off to eat something and ease their minds.
Before he got here, Inui Sajuna and the others had been slumped on the grass for a long time, and on top of that, she hadn't become a magical girl, so she didn't know how to cherish the fruits of labor and couldn't fully convert them into her own stamina and rapid mana recovery.
"No, right here! You're not going anywhere!"
Hearing Hachiman say he'd take her away from here, Inui Sajuna hurriedly struggled to get down off him.
Where was this guy planning to carry her?!
The trees here were tall, the undergrowth thick, the light dim. If it was going to happen, why not here instead of running outside to do it?
Was Hachiman deliberately trying to let the others see her embarrassing side! She would never agree to that!
"Sajuna, the others won't laugh at you two. They play way more than this."
Hachiman set Inui Sajuna down on the ground, and seeing her little face still bright red, comforted her softly.
"Silence! Lie down this instant!"
"From now on, you're not allowed to call me by my name! You can only call me Fu Xuan!"
Inui Sajuna shoved Hachiman down onto the grass, slowly drew a deep breath, and her little face was full of resolve.
He had just made her kneel on the ground in such humiliation, so now she was going to stomp on this guy's head with everything she had!