It wasn't very strange that there was a hidden succubus among the teachers; among the students there were also the Amaki sisters and Sakurase Shino, who was a weak succubus.
But Mizuho Kagami fell into a hor*y state just from a brief, momentary touch between hands with Sato Sakie, and even went so far as to secretly seduce him in front of Furuhashi Fumino and Kirisu Mafuyu.
That was leagues stronger than Sakurase Shino's weak succubus ability that unconsciously gives slight temptation to nearby males.
So was Sato Sakie's succubus power that strong? Or did his succubus-attracting constitution amplify the effect of a succubus's charm?
Hachiman pondered for a moment, then glanced again at the system panel's description of the succubus-attracting trait.
[Succubus-Attracting Constitution: Immune to mental control, and physiologically irresistibly attractive to succubus-type females.]
If it really was because of him, then this succubus-attracting trait was far more powerful than he'd thought.
Considering Sakurase Shino, a weak succubus, didn't lose rationality around him, perhaps the purer the succubus bloodline, the stronger their power, the stronger his attraction effect on succubi would be.
No wonder the succubus triplets had never appeared in front of him; at most they'd steal a glance from afar and run off. They didn't dare to talk to him face-to-face, not even make eye contact from a distance.
He remembered the youngest of the succubus triplets, the smallest and cutest, could alter common sense so people would ignore her presence. Even though she could use that ability to sneak up on him, she hadn't done so.
So it wasn't that Ursula didn't want to drag the succubus triplets over to have a match with him, it was more likely the triplets didn't want to be dragged over to be cannon-fodder.
"Hikigaya-kun, Hikigaya-kun—"
Hearing someone call his name repeatedly from behind, Hikigaya stopped his thoughts and turned to see Furuhashi Fumino hurrying to catch up.
"Furuhashi-san, is there something else?"
"Uh, no, nothing... I just figured since we're going the same way, we could walk together..."
Seeing Hikigaya's calm expression as if nothing had happened, and wanting to ask more about Mizuho Kagami's relationship with him, Furuhashi quickly changed what she was going to say, forced out an embarrassed laugh, and fell back a step to walk beside him.
The secret she'd uncovered in the teacher's office had shocked her curiosity so much that she'd subconsciously followed Hikigaya.
But now that she'd caught up, looking at Hikigaya's smile, she didn't know how to bring it up, or how to pry into Mizuho Kagami-sensei's situation.
She was actually pretty good at reading people; from Mizuho Kagami's expression and the way she looked at Hikigaya, Furuhashi could roughly guess what was going on in Seto's mind.
But she couldn't read Hikigaya at all.
Earlier, when Hikigaya sat opposite Mizuho Kagami and was treated like that, his expression and actions were unchanged, just like now when he was talking to her. He seemed used to it.
Forget it. She'd find a chance to chat with Mizuho Kagami and find out what their relationship was.
With the elf princess joining the Service Club, and the Service Club president on the disciplinary committee's blacklist, the Service Club's name had grown. Many students whispered about what the club actually did and what their activities were. Furuhashi at least knew of Hikigaya, though she hadn't seen him in person before.
Now that she had, she realized Hikigaya truly was the only boy who could often interact with the elf princess; she couldn't figure him out at all.
Furuhashi stole a few glances at Hikigaya beside her and planned to say goodbye after walking a bit further.
But as they walked, she suddenly realized she couldn't find a chance to leave.
Whenever she turned a corner, Hikigaya turned the same corner, no, it was more like Hikigaya went down the stairs and she followed.
Because she was a half-step behind him, he always walked ahead of her.
"Is this period PE too for you, Hikigaya-kun? Are you heading to the field like me?"
Furuhashi hesitated and, watching Hikigaya look straight ahead, asked quietly.
"Aren't we going the same way, yoy said so, right?"
Seeing Furuhashi, who'd been peeking at him all the way, Hikigaya smiled and asked in return with a certain meaning.
"Uh, haha... I thought it was just convenience when leaving, I didn't expect we'd be this much the same way...", Hearing Hikigaya's pointed retort, Furuhashi felt embarrassed.
Hikigaya had apparently caught on to her real reason for tailing him, she'd thought she'd hidden it well.
Now she realized he not only spoke calmly while being lectured by Kirisu and the others, but also kept his inner thoughts inscrutable; of course he wasn't simple.
"Do you know Raphiel? Are you close?"
Hikigaya didn't continue teasing Furuhashi; he got down to business.
"Raphiel? Oh! You mean Shiraha from our class D?", Furuhashi paused and then looked like she'd remembered.
"I do know Shiraha, we're fairly close, but Shiraha's better friends with Ogisa and Chifuyu."
"Hikigaya-kun, why are you looking for Shiraha?"
'Why would Hikigaya suddenly look for Shiraha?'
For some inconvenient-to-say reason, being with Shiraha, Tsukimi, and the others made Furuhashi feel a bit pressured. Shiraha had a slightly dark streak, so she wasn't that close with her.
But Shiraha's little group was popular in class; she hadn't heard of Shiraha having any male friends. Shiraha was often seen with that other energetic classmate who yelled during breaks and disturbed class and got scolded, Kutowaze, if she remembered.
"Well, I have a private matter to discuss with Raphiel; two of her close friends asked me to come talk to her. But since you're on good terms with Raphiel, I'll wait for you to change and then we can go together."
Hikigaya nodded. He had Gabriel's permission to come and bring Raphiel, a friend of theirs, to accept a little punishment. But the exact details weren't something he could reveal to Furuhashi.
Actually, class 1-F's period wasn't PE, but Raphiel, who he wanted to mess with, was having PE on the field, so he'd just skip class a bit more.
His romance list could show Raphiel's real-time location, which is why he felt confident that the others couldn't catch Raphiel but he could.
But he hadn't completed Raphiel's fun task, so he hadn't unlocked teleport permission; he couldn't instantly get to her, he had to go look for her himself.
D class... this D class wasn't the first-year D class of the Advanced Nurturing High, it was Sobu High's first-year D class. He'd been to D class once before to find Sakurase Shino.
He hadn't expected Furuhashi, whom he'd met in the teacher's office, and Raphiel, who he planned to drag back for target practice, to also be in D class, convenient to go together.
Apparently at the performance celebration Miura Yumiko wanted to introduce Setsuna Ogiso as lead singer to Ijichi Nijika; Setsuna was also in D class.
"Private matter...", Furuhashi didn't press when Hikigaya was vague.
But she had just seen several girls from different classes with Mizuho Kagami-sensei in the teacher's office, and now Shiraha from her class was connected to Hikigaya too.
No wonder the disciplinary committee thought Hikigaya needed strict supervision.
———
[On the Field]
Not long into class, two classes doing PE had warmed up and were jogging slowly around the track under the PE teacher's lead.
To curb impure cross-sex socializing and preserve study atmosphere, most sports at Sobu High were segregated. Swimming had separate indoor and outdoor pools for boys and girls. The swim club split into competitive women's swim and general swim.
But tennis and running weren't deliberately separated and were done together on the big outdoor field.
As everyone knows, girls with very good figures draw attention when running; those who didn't want to be conspicuous ran slowly at the back of the pack.
Raphiel, whose figure was several levels better than Gabriel's, was toward the back of the running line.
She ran slowly and chatted with other well-built friends beside her.
After running two laps and about to stop and rest, Raphiel noticed Hikigaya outside the field and her expression changed.
She wasn't using divine sight to check on him now, she wouldn't dare if it were truly a class time for Gabriel and the others. Why was Hikigaya here?
Usually Hikigaya was either in the student guidance room, the infirmary, the student council office, the PE storage room, or the locker room during class time.
Hikigaya only had Sakurase Shino as an acquaintance in their class, could he be here to see her?
But this was class time; the chance he'd leave so many others to come find Shino specifically was tiny. Besides, Shino lived next-door to Gabriel and could be found anytime.
So... most likely Hikigaya was here to see her?
Raphiel, who'd been avoiding Gabriel and Vignette lately, was on edge. Seeing Hikigaya, she immediately wondered what his purpose was.
Ever since Gabriel and Vignette had been personally fed by Hikigaya, and each had seen the other's embarrassing feeding, Raphiel had been wary of Gabriel and Vignette, avoiding being dragged down with them.
"Raphiel, are you okay?"
Setsuna Ogiso, tea-colored twin tails, shoulder-length hair and tea-colored eyes, with a striking face, noticed Raphiel's change and followed her gaze to see Furuhashi and a boy.
"Is that Fumino? Who's that boy next to her?"
Tsukimi Chifuyu, with flowing black hair and the most eye-catching figure among the three, also saw Furuhashi and Hikigaya, and thought perhaps Raphiel had simply noticed the boy because of Furuhashi.
"Fumino looks like she needs us. Let's buy drinks and chat while we walk over."
Seeing Hikigaya really looking at her and walking toward where Furuhashi was, Raphiel slowly stopped and led Setsuna and Tsukimi toward the vending machines.
Setsuna and Tsukimi didn't suspect anything and followed Raphiel to wait for the two to come over.
But as Hikigaya and Furuhashi approached and the girls prepared to ask who the boy was, Raphiel silently slipped behind them.
"Ogisa, Chifuyu, sorry! Please block them for me!"
"Huh?"
"What?"
A shove from behind sent Setsuna and Tsukimi colliding with Furuhashi and Hikigaya before they could react.
'Don't worry, Chifuyu, Ogisa, I used divine power. It looks like you collided, but you won't be hurt. You might not get up for a bit, so just hold Hikigaya down for me.'
Hearing Setsuna and Tsukimi's surprised cries, Raphiel prayed silently for them and ran off without looking back.
She had been quite interested in chatting with Hikigaya about how to slack off and how to make Gabriel fall, even wanting Hikigaya and Satanichia to be her buddies.
After all, she ranked second in this year's angel school graduating class; if she couldn't beat top Gabriel and devil Vignette together, was she afraid of Hikigaya, a mere human?
But after discovering Hikigaya could see through holy light, and Gabriel didn't even realize she'd been seen through, Raphiel decided not to confront him directly.
She didn't want to be taken advantage of by Hikigaya like Gabriel and Vignette were, nor taste that kind of thing herself.
She liked watching Gabriel and Vignette's fun from the sidelines, she wouldn't let herself become the joke.
After Raphiel bolted, only Setsuna Ogiso, Tsukimi Chifuyu, Furuhashi Fumino, and Hikigaya remained on the ground.
But what Raphiel didn't know was their fallen positions were a bit off from what she'd expected. Instead of three girls and Hikigaya collapsing and being unable to get up, preventing Hikigaya from dragging three people to find her, this time Hikigaya was lying on his back.
Moreover...
"Um... c-could you please let go of my hand?"
Tsukimi Chifuyu, half her weight pressing on Hikigaya's right hand, looked down at the boy beneath her, her face flushed, and whispered shyly.
"It's not that I don't want to let go, aren't you the ones on top of me?"
Hikigaya looked at the three people pressing on him, his gaze landing on Tsukimi Chifuyu's seemingly innocent but actually somewhat clueless face as he pointed out kindly.
If he were the one on top of Chifuyu, her asking him to let go would make sense. But with the three of them on top of him, why should he be the one to ask them to let go?
"Ah? Oh, right..."
Tsukimi blinked, suddenly realizing Hikigaya was right. They were the ones sitting on him; they should be the ones to scramble up.
But as she tried to climb off him, she found herself still stuck to Hikigaya, her limbs could move, her head could turn, but her torso felt glued to him, impossible to separate no matter how she strained.
Especially with the way they'd fallen...
"What's going on? W-why can't we get up... I don't see any glue..."
Tsukimi tried to push herself up but couldn't separate them. Her struggling made Hikigaya's hand swing with her body. Seeing the awkward situation, she stopped and looked to Setsuna and Furuhashi, who also couldn't get up.
"..."
Furuhashi, in the middle, said nothing. She just lay on Hikigaya's chest, staring at Setsuna and Tsukimi pressed against her face, sinking into long silence.
"Raphiel? Raphiel! Right after Raphiel shoved us it turned into this..."
Setsuna glanced back but couldn't see Raphiel's figure. She turned her head to look at Hikigaya, who had her left hand pinned, bit her lip, and, stifling her embarrassment and awkwardness, whispered a question.