Now, looking at Lord Hikigaya, right within reach and being clung to tightly by three mermaid songstresses and two elves begging for his affection, she really didn't feel like letting those other idols come over to bother him.
Lord Hikigaya worked hard every day helping so many people, it was already exhausting.
It was just that she had noticed Lord Hikigaya seemed interested in idols, almost as if he wanted to be a talent agent, so she had suggested whether it might be a good idea to let the idols from the agency meet him.
As long as Lord Hikigaya liked it, her own feelings didn't matter much.
After all, she was a mermaid princess whose bloodline hadn't even awakened, and being able to be Lord Hikigaya's lover was already an immense stroke of luck.
"Meroune, how long until the concert starts?"
As Meroune was once again lost in her own indulgent fantasies, Hachiman let out a small sigh, directing Leticia, Sylpha, and the bubble-blowing Elio and Ayla to change positions, all while looking toward the mermaid princess beside him with those unusually quirky tastes.
"Eh? About three hours left. But we have to change into our outfits half an hour early, show our faces backstage, and coordinate with the staff to see if there are any special requirements during the concert," Meroune snapped back to reality, glancing at the mermaids whose stage costumes had been stripped down to their waists, the one-legged over-the-knee stockings even needing to be cleaned, and gave the matter some serious thought.
Most of the backstage staff were from her own company. They were already experienced in running mermaid songstress concerts and could manage even without a rehearsal. Still, to avoid any unexpected mishaps during the performance, they needed to check in half an hour early.
"So, that's two and a half hours left then… seems more than enough time," Hikigaya nodded, just as Ayla and Elio stretched both hands from behind Meroune and shoved her hard.
Without skipping a beat, he caught the unprepared Meroune and wrapped his arms tightly around her unbelievably soft waist, pressing her fair, smooth little belly against himself, lowering his head toward the mermaid princess's glistening, rosy lips.
"Lord? Mmph?"
Her deep, ocean-blue eyes snapped wide open. Meroune looked up at Hikigaya's slowly descending face, eyes full of surprise, shock, embarrassment, expectation, a mixture of every emotion.
Yet she seemed to forget to struggle, her body completely still.
'Lord… the Lord kissed me?'
As a mermaid princess without an awakened bloodline, she had always felt she couldn't even dream of reaching the tragic ending of a fairy tale, never mind the luxury of bearing Lord Hikigaya's posthumous child.
Just standing far away watching Lord Hikigaya, sometimes getting close enough to feel his scent, that alone had always been enough to satisfy her. She had never thought of competing with the elf princesses and mermaid songstresses for his favor.
But… but now…
Meroune gazed at Hikigaya's face so close to hers, her smooth, snowy arms slipping around the back of his neck, her slender waist and flat stomach pressing up as she rose to meet him, clinging to Hikigaya just like Elio and the others.
If Lord Hikigaya pitied her, surely it was fine for her to just… taste a little of his love?
He was really domineering… not allowing her to refuse, just kissing her outright… and… very handsome.
"Hehe~"
Ayla and Elio, having pushed Meroune into Hikigaya's embrace, glanced at each other with satisfied smiles. They sipped juice from the bedside table to rehydrate, then, along with the well-rested Elusi, surrounded Hikigaya and Meroune.
Although Mermaid Princess Meroune always carried herself humbly, never once acting spoiled despite her status, even treating them with great courtesy, she never joined in. She would just watch from the side every time, which made them feel a bit uneasy.
Meroune had her special tastes, they didn't. If everyone played together it was fun, but having Meroune watch alone while staring at them felt… strange.
Now that they had brought her into the fold, even if they didn't go all the way, once she experienced the president's prowess and understood why they craved his aid so much, they believed she wouldn't sit off alone and "dry out" again.
Leticia and Sylpha shared the same thoughts, though they had no time for the four mermaids upstairs right now.
From here on out, they had to stay close to protect the savior.
When Elio and the others went up on stage to sing, leaving only them and Mermaid Princess Meroune in the room, they would have to guard the savior all the more.
———
[Concert Venue]
The stadium-turned-concert stage was overflowing with a roar of voices.
Although there were still a full two hours before the show began, excited fans who had gotten tickets were already queuing up to enter the seating area.
The mermaid songstresses had an enormous fanbase. Unmatched beauty, voices of magical allure, and many female fans in particular enchanted simply by the way the mermaid songs, like heavenly music, could cleanse the heart.
As time ticked on, more and more spectators found their seats, the atmosphere gradually turning feverish. In the stands, fans took selfies, posted online, and waited eagerly for the performance to start.
Most of the seats in the audience were already filled, even the front rows. Only the ultra-front VIP section remained sparsely populated, with seats reserved for the agency's own idols like Kyoko Kirisaki, who could get internal tickets to sit there early. [T/N: Kyoko Kirisaki from To Love-Ru]
Naturally, Iris and the others would sit there too. But, because of their special identities, appearing too early might cause a stir, so they would wait to quietly slip into the seats and cheer for Elio once the concert began.
On the surface, Iris and Elio were official goodwill ambassadors between demi-humans and humans; behind the scenes, they were inseparable sisters. Not showing up would be unthinkable, and their presence at Elio's concert could later be leveraged for PR.
Thanks to Hachiman's connections, people like Ijichi Nijika, Yuina, Rurikawa, and Hayase Saki were also at the venue, though after meeting up in the VIP passage they hadn't gone to sit down yet.
"This… there are way too many people out there… how many came?"
Hiding behind Nijika, Hitori Gotou didn't dare look at the packed crowd beyond the VIP passage; just hearing the commotion outside made her feel it was a world she couldn't set foot in.
"I forgot exactly how many tens of thousands… but mermaid songstress concerts always have the top-grade equipment and the largest audience, and they're always sold out. Plus, they haven't held an outdoor concert in ages. If it weren't for Hachiman, we wouldn't have gotten a single ticket."
Nijika glanced back at the trembling pink-haired Gotou hiding behind her with helpless expression.
She knew Bocchi-chan's social anxiety was severe, but they had made it all the way here; now, on the verge of walking to their seats, she suddenly said she couldn't move?
Indeed, these ultra-VIP seats were conspicuous. If Hachiman hadn't been close to Elio and gotten a bunch of internal tickets for them, they would never have afforded seats this close to the stage.
"How about turning on the empathy collar? Let Bocchi-chan feel Hachiman's security?"
Yamada Ryou's flat gaze swept across the girls, then she blinked.
Bocchi-chan's anxiety… only Hachiman could fix it.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Kitagawa Marin immediately cut in, remembering how before leaving she'd accidentally hit the button. If she hadn't quickly turned it off, she wouldn't have made it out without changing clothes again.
"I'm not that in favor either…", Miura Yumiko forced a faint smile. Bocchi-chan would probably stop hiding if they turned that on, but then they would have to carry her instead.
She hadn't tried it herself, but seeing Marin's face change instantly and the way she kept trembling even after shutting the switch, Yumiko knew how intense Hikigaya's effect was.
She played tennis often and was in better shape than Marin… but still nowhere near immune. And Gotou's frail build was even worse.
"Not even for a second? Fine, then I'll just drag her," Seeing the disapproval around her, Yamada Ryou resigned herself to forcing Gotou out.
"Oysters, oysters…"
Gotou instinctively tried shaking her head, but Nijika joined Ryou in pulling her, leaving her unable to resist the two of them.
'Uuuu… Hachiman isn't here… and now Nijika and Ryou arw both bullying me…'
"Why is everyone wearing that collar… is it popular or something?", Ijichi Seika hadn't paid much attention to Bocchi-chan's recurring symptoms, but was instead puzzled by the black collar-like accessory around Rurikawa and the others' necks.
She didn't know many here, but it seemed all the girls were Sobu High students, most of them people Nijika knew.
So many Sobu High girls wearing the same collar? Even Rurikawa, who screamed 'pampered heiress', was wearing one?
"Uh-hehe… yeah, it's trending at Sobu High lately. We're even planning to get the disciplinary committee to wear them…"
"Big Sis, you are absolutely not allowed to secretly wear one!"
Rurikawa and Nijika both froze mid-step, exchanged glances, each forcing a polite but awkward smile.
———
Ultra-ultra-VIP special seating at the concert, mermaid princess joins in too.
Ijichi Nijika and Miura Yumiko had already arrived at the venue. Komachi and Shion, who'd been shopping nearby, also entered through the VIP passage with the Tohsaka sisters and Yukinoshita sisters.
They would have arrived earlier than the rest, but being close to the venue they hadn't kept track of time, idled shopping, and only rushed over now as the concert was about to start.
"Komachi, why'd you stop?"
"I think I see Haruka and the others, just behind our seats."
"Haruka-san? They're here too?"
As they headed from the VIP passage toward the ultra-front row to find their seats, Shion suddenly noticed Komachi had halted.
Following Komachi's gaze, Shion spotted three familiar classmates.
Cheerful pink-haired Hanabishi Haruka, demure blue-haired Minakami Sayo, and flat-chested, sharp-tongued blonde Tenkawa Kaoruko. [T/N: 'Gushing Over Magical Girls!']
These three pretty girls sat in the back row in class behind Shion and Komachi, alongside Tohsaka Rin and another gloomy, reclusive girl.
Shion recalled that the three had signed with an agency as idols, in magical-girl cosplay style, though unlike the mermaid songstresses whose merfolk heritage was undisputed, these magical-girl idols had only niche appeal among children.
Komachi had mentioned something about this being their… character setting?
Unexpectedly, she learned Haruka and friends were in the same agency as Elio, and were even seated together for this concert, what a coincidence.
"Komachi? Shion?"
"And Tohsaka-san."
"They're here too?"
As Komachi's group drew near, Haruka and her friends noticed them from their VIP seats.
For Komachi and Shion, who already knew they were idols, it wasn't surprising. But for Haruka's group, it was stunning.
Komachi, lively and cute with apparently ordinary background; the cool, long-black-haired Shion; the gloomy Tohsaka Rin… all seated even closer to the stage than they were?
Given their current modest fame, Haruka and friends weren't really qualified for such coveted seats. They got them only because these were internal agency seats that happened to be unsold.
So how had Rin and Shion gotten theirs? Were they hiding their identities at school to mingle with them?
Suspicion heavy in their hearts, Haruka, Sayo, and Kaoruko wasted no time after Komachi sat down, leaning in to whisper questions about how they'd ended up here.
With the concert yet to start, they had time to ask properly.
"So they all know each other huh? That guy Hachiman… just how many girls has he secretly been hitting on behind my back, he doesn't even spare kiddie-oriented idols."
Already seated for some time, Kaede looked at Komachi's group befriending those cute magical-girl idols and couldn't help feeling annoyed.
She'd been wondering why the agency idols were seated here among familiar classmates and relatives; now it made sense. Those idols knew Komachi too.
Hmm… well, Shion was someone Komachi had brought over to Hachiman's place, and knowing Komachi's record, Kaede suspected that before long these magical-girl idols would be roped in too.
Especially since they worked under the super-perverted mermaid princess Meroune.
"Uh… Hachiman probably doesn't know them yet. If he did, he wouldn't hide it from us," Beside her, noble heiress Rurikawa tried in a soft voice to defend Hachiman.
True, she thought he was too capable. So many of them couldn't resist him, which made it plausible he might seek more girls. But since the mermaid princess had only just moved in and Hachiman spent most of his time at school, these idols wouldn't yet have had the chance to meet him.
He'd never kept secrets from them before, so she felt Kaede's suspicion was misplaced.
"Early or late, what's the difference? Mark my words: not even a week from now, you'll see them in Hachiman's bed alongside you."
Kaede turned back to give Rurikawa a side-eye, shaking her head with a sigh.
"You're too kind, Ruri. Even after he pushes you around so much, having maids serve him with you, you still try to grow your hair to indulge his love of long, straight black hair. And now you're defending him. If he doesn't bully you, who will he bully?"
"Even Makoto-chan, another long-haired beauty roped in recently, didn't get pushed around as badly as you last night. I'm not saying you all have to oppose him, but at least don't follow his every word… otherwise he's just going to get more shameless."
Kaede prided herself on knowing Hachiman better than anyone, having been his childhood friend the longest.
Unlike Iris, Rurikawa, and Suzu who indulged him, she never hesitated to turn down his unreasonable demands.
But now everyone ignored sisterly solidarity to help him, elves, mermaids, Ruri, even his own sister Suzu. She couldn't stand alone against this shameless guy anymore.
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