For example, right now Hachiman was using special methods to deepen bonds with the new members of the Service Club.
Seeing Kita Ikuyo and Yamada Ryo gradually lose control, their "screams" rising and falling one after another, Ijichi Nijika poured milk into Minami Kotori and Nishikino Maki to help them recover their spirits, while also reflecting on herself.
Had she really eaten that much? She didn't think it was that much.
She only went to Hachiman proactively for Yumiko's sake or for the band's sake.
Other than that, at most the gyaru group would invite her and Yumiko and Miyuri to hang out together, or when she was tormenting Gabriel, Gabriel would beg her to help hold the line.
If Hachiman came to class, it was possible to participate in activities several times a day. If Hachiman didn't come to class, maybe not even once.
Thinking about it carefully... it wasn't that she ate a lot, it was that she endured too much.
For Yumiko, she had endured quite a bit;
For the band, she had endured the most;
And for Gabriel's side... she had endured a share that shouldn't have been hers to bear.
The rumor spread by the gyaru group, that Hachiman liked pure, kind, small and cute blonde girls who were easy to hold. Gabriel actually claimed that Hachiman liked her, not Gabriel herself, and always used that as an excuse to drag her over to help.
That kind of excuse for asking her help was already absurd enough, but what was even worse was that Gabriel would only kiss Hachiman or let Hachiman kiss her, but when it came to the critical moment, she'd run away, and the one who stayed behind to actually endure it was her.
———
[At the Same Time, in the Next Room]
"Why are the noises from next door so loud... aren't Nijika and the others just helping newcomers with empathy..."
"Could it be that Setsuna and Kazusa are having trouble adjusting because it's too intense? Should we pause for a bit..."
Hearing the sounds coming from the next courtyard, Tsukimi Chifuyu and Furuhashi Fumino, who had been staring at the hot spring pool, exchanged glances and couldn't help but look at Yukinoshita Yukino standing beside them.
Originally, this room had been assigned to three people: Ogiso Setsuna, Furuhashi Fumino, and Tsukimi Chifuyu.
But Touma Kazusa didn't have her own group and didn't know anyone familiar, so Ogiso Setsuna invited her to their room.
Now Touma Kazusa and Ogiso Setsuna were undergoing empathy together, with Tsukimi Chifuyu and Furuhashi Fumino watching over them.
Their small group didn't have a single official member yet; their best record was the combined effort of Furuhashi Fumino and Ogiso Setsuna.
Raphiel, who had made up with them and apologized, had originally wanted to come give them a hand, but Ogiso Setsuna and the others had refused, they'd rather figure things out slowly on their own than get tricked by Raphiel again.
Unexpectedly, Ogiso Setsuna and Touma Kazusa, who had been doing fine just a moment ago, suddenly lost focus in their eyes, as if they couldn't hear them speaking.
Fortunately, the vice president of the Service Club, Yukinoshita Yukino, had appeared here.
"There's nothing wrong with their bodies. It might be that they've never learned about this kind of thing before, and the first experience was too overwhelming. Just let them rest a bit and they'll recover."
Yukinoshita Yukino stared at Ogiso Setsuna and Touma Kazusa, whose skin was flushed all over, with droplets on their cheeks and noses that could have been either sweat or spring water. After observing for a while, she slowly shook her head.
Logically, unless someone had a serious illness that made their body too weak, there was no reason they wouldn't be able to endure it.
So many people from Sobu High had gotten through it, even she, with her poor stamina, had held on, and now Ogiso Setsuna and Touma Kazusa were soaking in a hot spring that restored stamina.
Or was it... a problem on Hachiman's side... the Service Club president's side?
The way Ogiso Setsuna and Touma Kazusa looked really didn't seem like their bodies couldn't handle it; rather, it seemed like their minds had taken a strong shock.
Empathy had two issues: one was that it was too real, and without timely replenishment, like a bowstring left drawn too long, it could damage one's own body. The other was that it could create a telepathic connection with the empathy target, a feeling of having no secrets between them.
But the former could be simulated with strategic reserves to meet the body's needs, and the latter only occurred when empathy reached its extreme, it couldn't even be called a flaw.
When two people reached the extreme of empathy together under the president's aid, those with conflicts would reconcile, and those who already got along would become even closer.
However, right now Ogiso Setsuna and Touma Kazusa were using empathy, and empathy ribbons with considerably reduced intensity at that.
Could remote empathy make the target feel completely immersed and telepathically connected? Even Iris and Kaede couldn't necessarily do that.
Yukinoshita Yukino thought for a long time but couldn't figure out a solution.
Awakening magical girls had always been the president's unique ability, how would she know how to solve it? She couldn't even take their place.
But seeing that Ogiso Setsuna and Touma Kazusa's condition was still okay, she wasn't too worried.
If it really came down to it, she could also pull out strategic reserves.
Mm... this wasn't something she'd hoarded privately, nor did she have that kind of hobby. It was just that her older sister had told her to carry some so she could provide timely aid to members who needed it.
Although this kind of strategic reserve was quite absurd, it was indeed very effective. Much more reliable than what Yotsuya Miko wanted to take as a protective charm.
"Fumino, um, Setsuna seems to have recovered?"
"Yeah, Kazusa too. Setsuna, how do you feel? What happened just now?"
After a while longer, Ogiso Setsuna slowly came back to her senses. Seeing the concerned looks from Tsukimi Chifuyu and Furuhashi Fumino, her heart tightened. She quickly changed the subject and smiled as she pulled the two who were leaning by the edge of the hot spring down into the water.
"It's nothing. My body's just a bit weak, that's why that happened. Chifuyu, Fumino, it's your turn now. Get in, I'll watch over you!"
She didn't know why it had turned out this way, but since things had come to this, no matter what, she should be considered one of Hikigaya-kun's people now.
If she went to find Hikigaya-kun right now, she might run into something particularly awkward. It was better to take care of Chifuyu and Fumino first.
Chifuyu and Fumino had been tricked by Raphiel just like her, and both had already had some intimate contact with Hikigaya-kun.
"Huh? Are you really okay?"
Seeing Ogiso Setsuna's face once again show her gentle crescent-moon smile, Furuhashi Fumino and Tsukimi Chifuyu exchanged glances, feeling that Ogiso Setsuna wasn't telling the whole truth.
But they didn't really have any reason to refuse either. They'd watched Setsuna go through it, so it wouldn't be right for them not to experience it themselves.
Even though this kind of experience was quite problematic, if they didn't do it now and got tricked by Raphiel again later, that would be troublesome.
The sounds of Yamada Ryo and Kita Ikuyo coming from the next courtyard made them a bit scared, if they didn't adapt in advance, they might end up screaming even more "miserably" when their turn came.
Touma Kazusa, who had also come back to her senses, watched Tsukimi Chifuyu and Furuhashi Fumino being pulled into the water by Ogiso Setsuna. She said nothing, just silently stared at the moon in the night sky.
After a while, her dazed gaze gradually grew firm.
Then, Touma Kazusa untied the empathy ribbon around her neck and gently touched the slightly raised hidden button on the black collar.
She wrapped her pale arms around herself, her glossy black waist-length hair sinking into the hot spring along with her body.
The warm, surging spring water enveloped her whole body, giving her a feeling of returning to childhood.
Back then, her mother hadn't yet gone overseas to develop her career.
"You all keep going. Contact me if anything comes up. I'll go check on the others now."
Seeing that the matter was resolved, Yukinoshita Yukino turned and left with Yuigahama Yui, who had been silently following behind her, heading to other rooms to assess the situation.
Upon checking, she indeed found that quite a few people were experiencing similar symptoms of excessive empathy at the same time.
However, most people's issues were minor and just required a brief rest.
Only a very few, like Touma Kazusa and Ogiso Setsuna, needed a long time to fully recover.
In that case, could it really be that the empathy intensity was too high? Even newcomers wearing empathy ribbons couldn't quite handle it?
Then in the future, should she remind the president to set aside some time specifically to control the aid intensity, to help newcomers adapt to empathy...
Actually, if newcomers didn't care about the strength of their magical girl awakening talent, they wouldn't need to adapt in advance at all, they could just enjoy the magical girl awakening ritual with their most genuine first experience. But if they wanted to last longer and awaken stronger abilities, they definitely needed to adapt beforehand.
Yukinoshita Yukino pondered, thinking about when to give Hachiman a suggestion.
Although she felt that even when making suggestions, she'd have to discuss business while getting punished with mugwort, it was still better if she went rather than her older sister or the others.
One person suffering was better than the whole family suffering...
Yukinoshita Yukino, thinking of something, suddenly slapped her own rosy cheeks with both hands, then put on a stern face and walked toward another part of the hot spring inn.
"Yui, let's go find my older sister and see how things are going on her end."
"Mm!"
Seeing Yukinoshita Yukino's expression was off, Yuigahama Yui quickly followed, already quietly speculating in her mind.
Originally they were supposed to help look after Asagami Fujino from the Asagami family, but Yukino had her own things to do, and she didn't have the confidence to take care of Asagami Fujino alone, so they'd ended up placing Asagami Fujino in the same room as the Tohsaka Touka sisters.
Now it seemed that lack of confidence had been justified, if she had been alone and something like this happened, she really wouldn't have known what to do and would have had to panic and ask Yukino for help.
Although after following Yukino around and seeing all this, she was already starting to worry.
The competition in the club was way too fierce, so many sister pairs, so many small groups.
Family-style groups, idol group-style groups, club-style groups, race-style groups, and so on.
She thought the Yukinoshita family, with two vice presidents, Yukinoshita Haruno and Yukinoshita Yukino, was impressive, but in the Service Club, they didn't really have any advantage, their small group was very small indeed.
Yukino... she wouldn't ask her to recruit people later too, would she...
The friends she could recruit in her class seemed to be only Koga Tomoe, not many suitable to bring in at all.
———
The Service Club's vice president, Yukinoshita Yukino, only needed to make a few simple rounds, but the Service Club's president, Hachiman, had it much harder, still not resting even late into the night.
The hot spring pool, which had been chaotic and rowdy earlier, had changed considerably.
Tsubakihara Mira and Takamine Kasumi, who had started off pulling people into the water, had long since crawled out of the hot spring pool with gurgling sounds, no longer fooling around with Irisviel and the others around Hachiman.
The two sat at a table by the edge of the hot spring pool wrapped in bath towels, sipping juice through straws, gazing at Minami Hiyoko, Nishikino Mizuki, and the others still clustered around Hachiman, their eyes filled with confusion.
It wasn't that they didn't understand Hachiman's appeal, when faced with him, their own bodies stirred as well, and just catching his scent up close was enough to make them lose control.
If the others hadn't been feeling the same way, they would have thought something was wrong with their own bodies.
However, the few people still in the hot spring pool seemed different from them.
It was no longer simply about satisfying their long-dormant bodies, they were doing everything they could to please Hachiman.
Yukinoshita Kiyuki, whose family was weak and wanted to solidify the position of her two daughters, wasn't too surprising.
Touma Yoko, who was gravely ill and had originally wanted to sacrifice herself to secure happiness for Touma Kazusa, was understandable.
Minami Hiyoko... wanted to secure a guarantee for her daughter through the school-saving commission, so it was understandable that she'd up the ante.
But Ogiso Akina, who had come here out of concern for her daughter, was quite surprising.
Not to mention Nishikino Mizuki, who ran a private hospital and had little ambition for many things, even Takanashi Ouka, whom she and Takamine Kasumi had dragged into the water together, why was she clinging to Hachiman?
These few had been hesitant at first, if they hadn't been forcefully pulled in, they probably wouldn't have joined in on their own, but later on, every single one of them became more proactive than they were.
Even Asakawa Touka and Mizushima Marika, who had approached Hachiman first, were startled by them and stopped competing for favor with Minami Hiyoko and the others, coming ashore to rest instead.
Takamine Kasumi's gaze swept between Tsubakihara Mira, Mizushima Marika, Asakawa Touka, and Minami Hiyoko's group still in the hot spring. Blinking, she suddenly noticed a strange pattern.
Those on shore all had two daughters, while those in the hot spring who were unusually close to Hachiman almost all had only one daughter.
Aside from Tohsaka Aoi, who had a history of mental illness and already treated Hachiman as her master, the only exception was the rather special Irisviel mixed in among them.
"Irisviel, how are you so experienced?"
Asou Miyuri narrowed her eyes at Irisviel, who kept wrapping her arms around Hachiman's neck from behind, feeling something was off.
Wasn't Irisviel a homunculus?
Even her two daughters were homunculi, how was she more composed than Miyuri, who had been taught so much by Hachiman?
"I became a magical girl many years ago, so of course my physical fitness is better than yours."
Hearing this, Irisviel kissed Hachiman again. Her fair, jade-like arms wrapped around his neck as she clung to him without letting go, playfully winking at Asou Miyuri.
"If you don't believe me, Miyuri, you can ask the magical girls in the club. They should have all heard of the Winter Saint, the magical girl."
"It's just that after I had Ilya and the others, I didn't go out to eliminate evil forces as much. I only started being active again after Ilya and the others grew up a bit."
"Actually, there are many heroes, shrine maidens, and magical girls in this world. Transcendents from other worlds all suffer a significant decrease in power when they come to this world, and some even have trouble replenishing their energy. Even evil forces make quite a commotion when they try to absorb negative emotions to replenish themselves. Only Iris's elf clan can come to this world without restrictions, so Miyuri, you don't need to worry too much."
"Mm... although I feel safest when I'm by dear's side. Thanks to dear working so hard every day to help the magical girls improve their strength."
In the end, Irisviel couldn't help but kiss Hachiman again.
"..."
Seeing that Irisviel was even better at acting young than she was, calling Hachiman "dear" even though she already had two daughters, Asou Miyuri was a bit speechless.
Irisviel did seem to have vaguely demonstrated magical girl abilities before, she'd used cleaning magic when they'd soaked in the hot spring.
But there were so many magical girls in the Service Club, and Irisviel had performed it so naturally that she'd subconsciously overlooked the fact that Irisviel hadn't yet been aided by Hachiman.
This Irisviel... had become a magical girl so many years ago...
That meant this magical mama Irisviel was actually the strongest in the Service Club?
She'd thought she was the top of her friend group, able to bully her good sisters with her strength, making them work hard to please Hachiman and desperately catch up to her if they wanted to teach her a lesson.
Now the one they had to catch up to was actually her? Irisviel had hidden it way too well!
"Akina, about Setsuna and..."
[🙇🏻 You Can Support through P@tr3on—AmbitiousTranslator. It also has 40+ advanced chapters of all the novels and fanfics. It gets updated daily. Thanks for reading, have a great day~]