Compared to Sakashita Yoshiyuki, that ordinary delinquent you can find anywhere, she was still more worried about Hachiman, planning to stand by and watch Kirisu Mafuyu guide Hachiman so nothing terrible would happen.
"No need. The student guidance room is basically Hiratsuka-sensei's office. I'll take Hikigaya to the main teachers' office and give guidance at my desk. Hikigaya shouldn't be afraid of other teachers watching, right?", Kirisu Mafuyu shook her head, looked at Hachiman who was sizing up Hanamori Kotomi, and asked with a stern face.
Except for special teachers like the nurse or the life guidance teacher who have separate offices, subject teachers all work in the shared main office.
But generally, when giving a student a talking-to you want a place without other people, to protect the student's dignity.
Clearly, Hachiman didn't feel embarrassed by being lectured at all; he even seemed to enjoy being the center of attention.
"Kirisu-sensei, you stay in the student guidance room. I'll help you educate Hikigaya here," Hiratsuka Shizuka still felt uneasy and didn't want Kirisu Mafuyu and Hachiman to leave her sight for private guidance.
"I've already said what I needed to say to Kawasaki. A few more words and she can go back to class."
"..."
Kawasaki, who normally blends into the background, twitched at the corner of her mouth when she heard that, but knowing she could end the lecture early, she held back her urge to complain.
She'd rather get back to the classroom to catch up on sleep; otherwise she'd be out of it in class and at work.
"No problem. It's good to meet more teachers in the office. Maybe in the future I'll have some needs and have to trouble a lot of teachers. Kirisu-sensei, wait for me a moment."
Hachiman didn't hesitate and agreed to go to the main office for the lecture. Before Hiratsuka and Hiratsuka's reaction could fully register, he turned and intercepted Hanamori Kotomi, who was about to leave with a worried look.
"Hello, Hanamori-sensei. I'm Hachiman from Class 1-F, currently the president of the Service Club."
"The Service Club's principle is for the wealthy to lend a helping hand to those in trouble. Our advisor is Hiratsuka-sensei."
"If you encounter something you can't solve—"
"You're welcome to come see our vice president, Yukinoshita Yukino."
"Our vice president Yukinoshita is the daughter of a congressman; she can help with any problem."
"Hikigaya, you rascal..."
Seeing Hachiman actually trying to sell the Service Club to Hanamori Kotomi, Hiratsuka Shizuka was rendered speechless.
'Is Hikigaya not satisfied with taking on girls' requests anymore and now trying to recruit other teachers as clients?'
'And why send people to Yukinoshita Yukino?'
'Does Yukinoshita know you're using her like this?'
"You're saying the Service Club's advisor is Hiratsuka-sensei?"
Hearing Hachiman's pitch, Hanamori Kotomi, who had been feeling gloomy and low, was suddenly surprised, her eyes flicking to the silent Hiratsuka Shizuka beside her.
She'd been busy trying to get the convenience store incident handled fairly and defending students' rights, and hadn't heard of the Service Club's reputation around campus.
But if what this Hikigaya said was true, if the Service Club really was a group that helped people and its vice president was the daughter of a congressman, then maybe she could ask the vice president for help with her case.
She didn't know what to do now and even wanted to beg Sakashita to forgive him and make up for the injustice he'd suffered in the convenience store incident. So Hikigaya's suggestion genuinely appealed to her.
Still, Hikigaya's sudden claim that the Service Club could help made her hesitate; she instinctively looked at Hiratsuka Shizuka, the highly regarded student guidance teacher.
In student guidance, Hiratsuka-sensei was her senior and far more reliable. If the advisor really was Hiratsuka, then the Service Club probably wasn't a sham.
"Uh... I don't know exactly what trouble you're facing, Hanamori-sensei, but unless it's an extremely severe, unsolvable conflict, the Service Club should be able to find a solution."
Seeing Hanamori Kotomi being successfully attracted by Hikigaya's pitch, and that Hiratsuka vouched for it, Hiratsuka Shizuka felt a headache coming on, but she couldn't argue and even had to speak up for Hikigaya.
Hikigaya's attitude was problematic, skipping class, occasionally showing contempt for classroom discipline, openly slacking off in front of teachers, and recently he hadn't been visiting her guidance room; she wondered where he'd been off to, probably scheming with the Elf Princess.
But in terms of capability, the Service Club Hikigaya created wasn't fake.
Setting aside all the girls' problems he'd solved, just looking at the identities of the current Service Club members, solving a major, reputation-damaging convenience store incident should be more than within their capacity.
If Hikigaya wasn't simply a slacker in academics and totally lacking in virtue, the Service Club could be considered Soubu High's biggest underground power.
She still didn't understand why Hanamori Kotomi cared so much about that already-settled convenience store incident, to the point of wanting to seek the Service Club's help. Was there more to it?
Remembering how Hanamori had acted with the delinquent Sakashita, looking less like a lecturing teacher and more like a remorseful student, Hiratsuka Shizuka harbored some suspicions.
"Extremely severe, unsolvable conflicts...", Hearing Hiratsuka's explanation, Hanamori hesitated, unsure whether her trouble counted as that severe.
The convenience store incident itself wasn't terribly serious; she could have handled it and resolved things. But because the student involved got tied into other scandals, the school suppressed the truth before the student council could intervene, and an innocent student was made the scapegoat.
Yukinoshita's family seemed to have donated to the school before; theoretically she might be able to get the school to change its decision. But a congressman is a congressman, and a congressman's daughter is a congressman's daughter.
Even if Yukinoshita Yukino had the power to handle the situation, she might not choose to use her influence to get justice for Sakashita.
"Hanamori-sensei can choose to go to the Service Club activity room in the special building during lunch break or after school. Vice President Yukinoshita is usually there."
Seeing that Hanamori Kotomi, the saintly young teacher, couldn't decide on the spot to entrust the matter to the Service Club, Hikigaya took a step back and suggested she visit the club later when she had time.
He was busy all the time; every matter on his plate was as important as Hanamori's trouble, and he might not have time to personally receive her at the Service Club.
But Yukinoshita, who had few friends, was different. If she had free time, she'd likely be at the Service Club.
"All right, thank you very much for the suggestion, Hikigaya. I hope coming at lunch won't disturb you."
Hearing she could look for Yukinoshita at another time, Hanamori decided and gratefully looked at Hikigaya.
A normal teacher had no means against the school's decision. She'd been about to give up; now hearing someone might help, she resolved to do everything she could to persuade Yukinoshita to help.
"You're welcome. The Service Club was founded so people can help each other when they have problems. Vice President Yukinoshita will definitely be willing to help."
Hikigaya smiled and handed the request off to Yukinoshita, then returned to Kirisu Mafuyu's side.
"My business here is done. Kirisu-sensei, shall we go?"
Given Yukinoshita Yukino's personality, when faced with an injustice and a direct plea she'd be willing to help. But that would be limited to her personally. She wouldn't necessarily mobilize her family's influence on her own.
To avoid Hanamori acting recklessly and getting herself into trouble, Hikigaya decided to add her to his "romance list" first, so if anything happened they'd at least know who to contact.
From what he knew, Hanamori Kotomi really did have a saintly heart.
Although he'd only watched anime and never played the games, so he didn't know the convenience store incident's full details, he knew Sakashita was indeed wronged and the suspension was unjust. Still, Sakashita was also a thoroughly rotten delinquent.
If other teachers knew the inside story, they might at most say a few words, not kick him while he's down. They wouldn't, like Hanamori, feel guilty for not being able to secure fair treatment for a bad student, or think of sacrificing themselves to compensate for someone else's mistake.
Fighting for students' rights is right. Not judging a student solely by their past behavior is commendable. But Hanamori's attitude was a bit naive.
Kirisu Mafuyu led Hikigaya away; Hiratsuka Shizuka could only take Kawasaki in and begin guidance.
Hanamori Kotomi, however, did not leave. She quietly stood in front of the student guidance room waiting for Hiratsuka.
Since Hiratsuka was the Service Club's advisor, she wanted to learn more about the club so she could go during lunch to seek help.
———
[A Certain Large Teachers' Office]
Maybe because Soubu High has many female students and strict discipline, most of the hired teachers were women.
At a glance, this office seemed to be all young female teachers.
["Character Card Detected — Ebihara Urara."]
["Character Card Detected — Kashima Risako."]
["Character Card Detected — Seto Nanami."]
["Character Card Detected — Satou Sakie."]
"..."
Hachiman followed Kirisu Mafuyu into the main office he'd never been to before, and before they reached her desk his ears were already filled with the system's chimes.
Hmm... Hikigaya suddenly realized he had a blind spot.
Until now he'd only carried out Service Club activities at various clubs and taken students' requests in person.
Actually, in the inner world, besides pretty female students, young female teachers were also a major category.
Teacher-student romance, office relationships among faculty, campus bullying, workplace bullying, pressure from parents and school administration or certain high-ranking officials.
However, his knowledge about teachers wasn't that deep; he often only knew names and couldn't recall details.
Kashima Risako was the blue-haired teacher he'd seen with Hanamori, she was the one who knew nothing about common sense.
But... Ebihara Urara... seemed to be the teacher who got into trouble because her fiancé had debts and she'd been made a guarantor and couldn't repay them.
As for names like Seto Nanami or Satou Sakie, relatively ordinary, not particularly special, he couldn't remember who they were unless he switched into sage mode and calmed his brain.
"Seto-sensei, can I borrow your chair? I have a student who needs guidance."
"No problem, Kirisu-sensei, go ahead."
Kirisu Mafuyu led Hikigaya to her desk, greeted Seto Nanami who was chatting with other teachers, and moved the neighboring desk chair beside hers so Hikigaya could sit and talk.
"Hikigaya, sit in Seto-sensei's chair for now. When Seto-sensei needs it, you'll stand up."
"Thanks, Kirisu-sensei~"
Kirisu looked at Hikigaya calmly spinning in the chair and surveying the surrounding teachers, unaffected by her icy expression. After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked about the earlier matter.
"Hikigaya... Is the Service Club you created completely without expecting anything in return? If Hanamori-sensei is in such trouble, it must be thorny. Not something an ordinary student's annoyance would cover."
Although, like Hiratsuka, she didn't know why Hanamori Kotomi cared so much about the suspended delinquent, Kirisu had noticed something.
If Hanamori didn't ask for advice from her or Hiratsuka and instead chose to seek help from the Service Club because Yukinoshita was there, clearly she felt the regular channels couldn't help.
Yukinoshita the congressman's daughter going out of her way to help Hanamori seemed unlikely, but with Hiratsuka vouching for the club, Kirisu had to at least consider it genuine.
Confused! Puzzled!
"Kirisu-sensei, that's what you wanted to ask. Actually, Vice President Yukinoshita's idea is to teach a person to fish rather than just give fish. Normally we brainstorm together to research solutions; only if that fails do we directly offer help."
Hikigaya stopped scanning the room and met Kirisu's gaze with a smile.
"We help people so they can grow and be able to handle similar problems by themselves later."
"As for reward... isn't the client's friendship the best reward?"
He wasn't actually that self-sacrificing or completely without return. The system would give him the rewards he was due. System-granted abilities and items were far more valuable than squeezing a little money from a client.
For him, the client themselves was the greatest reward.
Of course, he was busy and hoped Yukinoshita would pull through. Handle incoming requests so he could get the character quest rewards without lifting a finger.
"So you just hate studying, not that you're morally bad. No wonder you're on such good terms with Hiratsuka-senpai."
After hearing Hikigaya's explanation, Kirisu Mafuyu fell silent and her view of Hikigaya, always skipping class, harassing high achievers, affecting others' study, softened somewhat.
Still, she thought Hikigaya's study attitude needed correcting.
Being a good person and studying well are different. Having a pure personality doesn't let you make full use of your talents and build a life.
"I remember you once said you want to be a stay-at-home husband?", Kirisu's face turned serious as she steered the guidance back to academics.
"Kirisu-sensei, are you trying to change my mind again? The workplace is too brutal for me. I just want to stay home and be a househusband."
Hikigaya shook his head. Even now he didn't want to work or start a company because once benefits and interests are involved, a lot of troublesome things happen.
He thought the easiest environment was the school.
Not that there aren't bad people in school, but the entanglements there are simpler: worries about grades, club performance, interpersonal relationships.
With the right mix of reward and discipline he could handle all those troubles.
"No. Now I'm going to give guidance based on your desire to be a househusband."
Kirisu shook her head, denying Hikigaya's assumption, speaking firmly.