There was no doubt that it was Kaede and Suzu outside the door, along with Vignette and Gabriel from the neighboring apartment.
They entered the living room and waited briefly. After Hachiman finished breakfast with Asougi Shion and Komachi, they all headed out together to take the train.
Originally, the sisters Iris and Aegis would also go to school with Hachiman. However, just yesterday, they had confessed to Kaede and Suzu that they intended to pursue Hachiman. In order to avoid early morning confrontation with Kaede that might ruin everyone's mood, they left Hikigaya's home after finishing their breakfast milk and went to Sobu High ahead of them.
"Hachiman, you better behave yourself and don't let the disciplinary committee catch you causing trouble at school," Everyone arrived peacefully at the front gate of Sobu High. Perhaps because she had felt Iris's threat yesterday, Kaede didn't nag Hachiman today about not flirting with girls. She merely shot him a glare before dragging Suzu off to do their duties.
However, Kaede also understood, if what Iris said was true and her childhood friend was being eyed by so many girls in the Service Club, then just warning Hachiman was useless. She would have to assign someone to monitor him, or just go herself and suppress the girls trying to hit on him.
An elven princess like Iris was already absurd enough. Why would so many noble girls fall for a broke guy?
"Then wait until I get caught," Hachiman grinned at Kaede, who lacked confidence and could only make harsh remarks. He then waved at Usui Makoto and Rurikawa Tsubaki, who were on duty at the school gate, and passed through the inspection to enter Sobu High.
Joke's on them, even without talking about his Love Live Mode, just Iris's soundproof barriers and invisibility magic made him act without any fear.
Unless he had a special reason and wanted to get caught, otherwise, how could he possibly be caught in the act?
After entering campus, since Vignette wasn't in the same class as Hachiman, she had to part with Gabriel.
Before leaving, Vignette looked at Gabriel, who had been quiet along the way, with a hesitant expression. In the end, she didn't say anything and just gave her a sympathetic glance before walking away.
Gabriel understood what that glance meant, but her emotions were conflicted, not knowing what to do.
Hachiman noticed something unusual between them, but since they didn't speak up, it wasn't his place to ask rashly.
Gabriel and Vignette wouldn't act like this over something trivial, but he couldn't figure out what was so troublesome that they needed to talk to him.
"Um... Hachiman...", Arriving in the classroom and sitting at her desk, Gabriel noticed there weren't many students yet. She took a deep breath, wanting to take this chance to talk to Hachiman thoroughly.
Last night, they had discussed matters with Iris for a long time. Although Iris was very easy to talk to and immediately came over when they mentioned discussing aid, they ultimately couldn't reach an agreement.
Iris needed Hachiman's assistance, and even other high-potential elf girls entering their breeding period needed it too. So she firmly stated that she wouldn't reduce the frequency of aid.
Although Iris was extremely friendly and even offered to give up some of her "president aid time" if Gabriel or Vignette needed it, even if they didn't want to get pregnant, it was fine. They could just assist from the side.
'Mm... although Iris was very reasonable...'
Gabriel and Vignette were helpless about the result. Whether he aided them or Iris and Aegis, what difference did it make? What they wanted was for him to reduce the frequency of aid. Now it just sounded like they were the ones craving it... which they weren't...
There was no other way. Gabriel could only try to explain to Hachiman how precious life energy was, that aiding too frequently would cause excessive loss and impact his lifespan, etc.
She didn't expect Hachiman to suddenly repent, just hoped he could exercise some self-restraint.
They knew Hachiman was a helpful person, even if he'd fallen, he still thought more about others. But risking his life to help an elven princess? He should really know his limits.
However, just as Gabriel wrestled with her words and began to speak—
"Morning, Hikigaya-kun, Tenma-san," Ichinose Honami appeared before them, holding her handbag with both hands, and greeted them with a bright smile.
"Uh... good morning, Honami-san...", Seeing Honami appear, Gabriel deflated and decided to talk to Hachiman later about not wasting energy on girls.
There was no helping it. Iris, at least, was just willing to accept being aided by Hachiman together with her. She didn't actively try to drag Gabriel into it.
Honami was different. Yesterday, she and Yuina had cornered Gabriel and tried to pressure her into trying things with Hachiman.
"Good morning. Honami, you left early yesterday? Were you feeling unwell?", Hachiman smiled as he greeted Honami and casually showed some concern.
The reason Honami left early yesterday was actually him. But he had messed with Ichinose Ayano, not Honami. Since he shouldn't know what was happening in the girls' section of the pool, he had to pretend ignorance.
"It wasn't me feeling unwell. Ayano wasn't feeling great, so I left early with her to rest," Honami sat beside Gabriel, put away her things, and explained with a smile.
Although Ayano had reacted a bit strangely yesterday, Honami didn't think much of it. Ayano, being a proper lady raised in privilege, was delicate, so it wasn't unusual for her to feel unwell.
"You left early for Ayano-san? You two really are close...", Hachiman glanced at Ichinose Ayano, who had just entered the classroom through the front door and was chatting with her friend after sitting down.
Honami was quite nice to Ayano, but Ayano might not feel the same.
As she explained to her friend Horigome China the reason for leaving early, Ayano sensed a scorching gaze from behind. Her smooth, plump, and long white-stockinged legs instinctively tensed and pressed together. She bit her lip and only relaxed when nothing unexpected happened after a while.
Although she wasn't wearing the empathy bracelet right now, she didn't know when it might suddenly appear on her wrist again. If she wasn't cautious, she might lose control and embarrass herself in front of everyone.
"Ayano? What's wrong? Didn't sleep well last night? You look like you have slight dark circles under your eyes," China looked at Ayano, who suddenly seemed a bit odd, with confusion. [T/N: 'China' here is pronounced as 'Cheena' not country 'China']
"Ah? Right! I probably didn't sleep well. China, can I borrow your mirror...", Ayano blushed at the remark but quickly covered it up by asking China for a small mirror.
She really didn't sleep well last night. After being thoroughly exhausted in the infirmary yesterday, she finally got to rest at home.
Who would've thought that in the middle of the night, she'd be dragged out of bed again for more "president punishment."
Even though it was just physical exhaustion and discomfort at the time, she felt much better when she woke up. She wasn't even as tired as she would be from staying up late.
Her body just felt slightly off. Considering the substantial "gains" from last night, she could accept it.
After last night, she finally understood why the elven princess Iris had such a close relationship with the president.
How could they not be close? Iris would sneak into the president's room in the middle of the night to play games with him, Hayase Saki, and Asougi Shion.
If she hadn't been called over by the president last night, she wouldn't have imagined that the seemingly pure and lovely Iris and the noble and upright Aegis could become even more proactive than her in private.
Though it didn't matter anymore. She no longer needed to curry favor with the elven princess for her father's political campaign.
But she had already agreed with the president to wear the empathy bracelet and be educated by him for seven days. Only by passing the challenge would she earn his recognition and have his support to oppose her father and take over the Ichinose family, making decisions for herself.
Come to think of it, even the elven princess Iris catered to the president and obeyed his every word. As the daughter of just a councilman, she was nothing in comparison. She needed to work harder and be more obedient to outshine Iris in the president's eyes.
"Hm?", China handed the small mirror to Ayano and watched her bite her lip and blush from time to time, filled with suspicion.
'Is Ayano thinking about her secret boyfriend again?'
'So envious...'
China thought about how she hadn't even dated anyone yet, and her family was already making her take over for her mother.
'Sigh... they said I can think about it, but I tossed and turned all night without sleeping. I really didn't want to go home today...'
"China, you seem sleep-deprived too? Your dark circles look worse than mine," Ayano came back to her senses as she took the mirror and noticed that China also seemed to have something on her mind, blinking in surprise.
China's family wasn't poor, not an average household either. Just their mansion was huge. Could she also be dealing with an arranged marriage or something?
"Well... I did have a bit of insomnia,".China wanted to share her situation, but it was hard to explain, and even if she told Ayano, she probably couldn't help. So she changed the subject.
"That's nothing. Ayano, didn't you join the Service Club? Isn't the president of the club Hikigaya-kun? How come I never see you talk to him in class?"
"Uh... the Service Club, huh. The club helps people who face difficulties. Since the president's busy, he hasn't had time for me," Ayano became a bit guilty when this topic came up. If possible, she didn't want the president to pay attention to her, and just live out these few days in peace.
But clearly, even if the president didn't find her during the day, he'd drag her along at night.
"Helping others with their problems? But Hikigaya's just a student, right? What problems could he solve? Study-related?", China was intrigued, but felt the club sounded unreliable. These volunteer-type clubs usually couldn't accomplish much.
"Well... even if he can't solve it directly, he can provide methods. The president's pretty amazing. The club has already completed many requests. Even the elven princess is in the club. My father even asked me to join to help out," When talking about the president, Ayano became a bit cautious. The president was powerful, who knew if he was eavesdropping? If he heard her badmouthing him, he might make her wear the bracelet indefinitely.
Though she felt like the president hadn't done much, when she thought about it, he had actually done quite a lot.
Most of the current Service Club members besides the vice-president Yukinoshita Yukino had been pulled in through requests. Hayase Saki, Sakurase Shino, even herself, were all recruited by the president.
It was very likely Iris, Aegis, and Yukinoshita were too, she just didn't know what kind of request they had.
Only Hayase Saki seemed to trust them and even shared how she met the president, asking them to learn from her.
"Service Club...", China looked at Ayano, who seemed confident in the president, with a flickering gaze and softly murmured.
Her own problem was difficult to solve, not something related to school. But maybe the club could give her a direction.
If possible, she really didn't want to replace her mother... she hadn't even been in a relationship yet...
———
Hachiman continued attending class as usual, zoning out as usual.
But now that Ichinose Honami and Gabriel had transferred in, his side of the classroom became livelier. During breaks, Kitagawa Marin and Ijichi Nijika would actively come over to chat with Gabriel and Honami.
Although Miura Yumiko from the normie trio still didn't come over to greet them, proudly sitting at her seat with her arms crossed, Hachiman, who sat beside her, knew that Yumiko, who kept glancing over at Gabriel, actually wanted to join the conversation too. But she probably didn't want to lose face by forcing herself in.
This seemingly haughty and popular blonde queen actually lacked common sense and wasn't good at socializing. She usually relied on her stunning looks and seemingly powerful aura to interact with others. Internally, she wasn't as strong as she looked.
Still, despite her flaws, Yumiko cared about her friends. If you became her good friend, she would prioritize you. Although with her temper and lack of social skills, things might often go wrong.
In Hachiman's view, Yumiko was a troubled girl like Yukinoshita Yukino, just more assertive. That made Yumiko seem outgoing, while Yukinoshita was isolated.
"Hey, Hikki, why are you staring at Yumiko like that? Don't tell me you've switched to liking Tenma?", A warm breath brushed Hachiman's ear, and he turned to see the gentle and adorable face of Yuina teasing him with a wink.
Beside her, Rin and Minami also looked at Hachiman with curiosity.
These three gyaru girls were also popular in class, though not as socially adept as Kitagawa or Ijichi. They stuck to their own small circle. Currently, the one they were closest to in class was Hachiman, so they came over to his desk during every break to chat.
"Yuina, what are you talking about? I only glanced at Yumiko once, how does that mean I've fallen for someone else?", Hachiman looked speechlessly at Yuina and the others. Did they really have the nerve to say things like this? They had already done far more over-the-line things with him.
However, this kind of thing was truly hard to explain. After all, they didn't expect anything in return from him and were even supporting his romantic relationship now. It felt like even the word "good friends" wasn't enough to describe his relationship with them.
The only somewhat awkward part was that he wasn't that obsessed with Gabriel. Compared to the still-immature Gabriel, he was more interested in the sister-in-law Zelel he hadn't even met yet.
"That's good, otherwise, in order to help you get over your heartbreak, we'd have to find you a new girlfriend again," Minami glanced back and, seeing that Kotegawa Yui had run off somewhere after class, turned back around and leaned over to whisper into Hachiman's ear with a playful grin.
"Miura is indeed good-looking, but I think Ijichi and Kitagawa are more suitable as girlfriends than Miura. The new transfer student Ichinose is also an option," Rin, still standing coolly at the side, pointed out as usual, but upon hearing her words, Yuina and Minami both looked a bit helpless.
"Rin, stop dissing Miura already. You're not much different from her, oh wait, no, your skin isn't as fair as Miura's," Minami rolled her eyes. Although they didn't get along too well with Miura Yumiko, that didn't mean they could just belittle her casually.
After all, they and Miura Yumiko had "bullied" little Hiki together before. If they belittled Miura Yumiko, wouldn't that be the same as belittling themselves?
"Mi! Na! Mi!", Hearing Minami's mocking words, Rin angrily reached out both hands and pinched Takasaka Minami's cheeks, glaring at her word by word.
As a girl who obsessively pursued fair, smooth, and radiant skin, and often used various whitening products to make herself look prettier, even if Minami was indeed slightly fairer, she couldn't just say it out loud. Especially not about Miura Yumiko, someone they didn't get along with.
"It's just the truth, I didn't insult you. Ah! Ow ow ow!", Minami suddenly yelped in pain and reached out to pinch Rin's cheeks too. The two of them began pulling at each other's faces.
Hachiman and Yuina smiled as they watched Minami and Rin fooling around.
Among the gyaru trio, Minami and Rin were the comedy relief, and their usual antics were quite entertaining.
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