Actually, compared to Shinomiya Kaguya, whether it was Cold Kaguya or Warm Kaguya, he felt they were about the same. Instead, Shinomiya Kaguya's personal maid, Hayasaka Ai, hit his preferences more.
But he hadn't expected that before even meeting Shinomiya Kaguya, he had already completely taken Hayasaka Ai.
Mm… poor Kikyo. Now there was another obstacle in her path to becoming head maid.
At present, the Rurikawa family was developing rapidly. Tsubaki usually went to school and, together with Kaede and Suzu, dealt with the daughters of major forces and princesses. The one actually managing both internal and external affairs of the Rurikawa family was Shion, who didn't really need to study.
Even if no one was making things difficult for the Rurikawa family and everything was given the green light, a single head maid like Shion definitely couldn't handle it all.
Originally, he had planned to give Kushida Kikyo, who kept selling out her companions, a little benefit, letting her handle matters at Sobu High. Even a rotten apple had its uses, and Kushida Kikyo wasn't that bad anyway. Aside from her ability to push things forward, her social skills were also quite strong.
But now that he had Hayasaka Ai, whom he liked more, he naturally had to consider her first.
Originally, even managing one Shion was already difficult. Now with Hayasaka Ai added, two towering pressures together weighed down on Kushida Kikyo. She would probably hate him to death, though the smile on her face would likely grow even sweeter.
"Master, the next game stage is called Blindfolded Hide-and-Seek."
Hayasaka Ai had no idea that Hachiman had already decided how to use her to suppress Kushida Kikyo. Having just gone through various dazed and absent-minded experiences, she didn't dwell on his intimate actions. She pressed her lips together, carefully slipping out of his grasp, and took out a blindfold along with a red collar tied with a golden bell.
"The rules are simple. Master, you just need to catch the cats who are hiding and leave enough marks on them to eliminate them."
"However, you need to wear a special blindfold made by Lady Lala. Those participating must wear this bell collar, which cannot freely disable the shared sensation function, or other variants like bell anklets or bracelets."
"As you catch more cats, the special blindfold will unlock a certain level of x-ray vision, allowing you to see the bodies of the cats you've marked, even through clothing."
"After marking once, you can see the cat's body through the blindfold. After marking three times, they are completely eliminated."
"The bell collars the cats wear cannot disable shared sensation on their own. When one cat is eliminated, shared sensation can be temporarily turned off for one minute. Master, you can switch the wearer of the shared-sense bracelet once every ten minutes. After switching between two wearers, the next switch requires waiting twenty minutes."
"Tonight's game is limited to the Service Club area, including the large bath, the main living room, and the family dining hall, but not individual rooms. Leaving the game area and returning to one's room counts as automatic elimination."
The rules sounded like a lot, but they weren't complicated. In short, this hide-and-seek game had Hachiman blindfolded, using the shared-sense bracelet to stimulate the cats he had already caught, picking up on sounds, scents, and other clues exposed by uncaught cats, and marking each participant one by one.
If elimination happened in one go, it would depend too much on luck. Those caught early would have no game experience, so everyone effectively had three lives. Only after being marked three times would they be fully eliminated.
The key to hide-and-seek was hiding. With Hachiman blindfolded and unable to see, it came down to who could endure more, holding back from making any sound that might expose themselves.
Demi-humans had obvious advantages. Strong bodies, strong abilities. Without transforming, magical girls couldn't compare to them. But the downside was just as clear. The awakened magic essence attracted demi-humans more strongly, making them easier to expose.
Of course, since mutual interference wasn't forbidden, it could also turn into a confrontation between small groups or factions. A stronger group, when unable to hold back and about to be exposed, could push others who hadn't been exposed forward to block Hachiman and take the elimination in their place.
"There aren't any other rules? For example, how should it be counted if a cat actively comes to me?"
Hachiman thought for a moment. Seeing that Hayasaka Ai didn't continue, he asked curiously.
For him, wearing a blindfold didn't matter much. It only meant losing his vision, not that his body couldn't move.
Not to mention how strong he currently was or how quickly he could catch and mark everyone in the club, even his rarely used Ultra Instinct passive ability would allow him to move at high speed in the Service Club without concern.
However, the key to this blindfolded hide-and-seek game wasn't just him alone.
After all, it didn't matter much if he ate a little less. There were plenty of beautiful girls for him. His motivation to catch cats was limited to enjoying the game. But for the club members participating, it was different. Missing one round meant waiting another day.
If there were no additional restrictions, this game would be more like blindfolded getting caught by cats. He wouldn't need to catch them. A group of cats would pin him down and start eating him.
"The rules for the hide-and-seek phase are just these, but the reward phase has additional rules."
Seeing that Hachiman hadn't started the game immediately, Hayasaka Ai paused briefly before continuing.
"The longer you last in hide-and-seek, the higher your rank when eliminated. In the second half, the reward phase, you'll get more reward opportunities."
"The first eliminated can only enjoy one benefit. The second eliminated gets two rewards, and so on."
A simple game alone lacked motivation, so a reward system was necessary.
No punishment was needed. Watching others have something while you had nothing was the greatest punishment.
Even though Hayasaka Ai had only recently joined the Service Club, she felt she had already grasped its rules. Centered around the club president Hachiman, each faction and small group used their own methods to make him happier, competing to do better.
And his favor didn't just have emotional value, but also material value. It could enhance strength, awaken bloodlines, enable reproduction, and more. It was practically on the verge of becoming the only currency in the Service Club.
As for awakening magic essence, Hayasaka Ai didn't fully understand it. But seeing the attitudes of so many demi-humans toward Hachiman, she could guess a little.
Love growing over time, she might believe. But so many demi-humans coming because of reputation? That wasn't love at first sight. Hachiman had something they all wanted.
"One more rank means one more reward… One night probably isn't enough time. I'll have to distribute the rewards gradually later."
Hachiman calculated the number of rewards for tonight, inwardly amazed that if he didn't have his cheat abilities, he'd probably die several times just from tonight's game.
Given the current number of club members, even without counting the newly joined ladies and demi-humans, the gap between first and last place was still huge.
There was no need to worry about them lacking motivation. The longer they lasted in the first half, the more they'd enjoy the second half… they could even save up some rewards.
"Master, shall we begin? Once you're ready, we can start. Lady Lumaria and the others will return to their rooms to rest first. After resting, they can come back and join the game."
Seeing that Hachiman fully understood the rules, Hayasaka Ai watched as vampires, succubi, elf sisters, goddesses, and angels disappeared one after another after waking up. She also put the golden-bell red collar around her own neck.
Everyone entering the Service Club tonight would automatically wear a bell collar. Everyone had to be caught and marked by the master.
"Little Ai, does that make you the first cat I eliminate?"
Hachiman looked at the blonde, blue-eyed maid cat already in his arms wearing the collar. He lowered his head, kissed her, and smiled.
"I'm just a maid. Being favored by Master is already very fortunate. I wouldn't dare hope to occupy Master's embrace all the time."
Hayasaka Ai placed the blindfold over Hachiman's head. Taking advantage of the moment before the game started, she softly reminded him,
"However, catching me doesn't count as elimination. You need to mark me three times for it to count. After catching a cat, you should mark them promptly to avoid them escaping again."
"Mm, got it. Then let's start the hide-and-seek!"
Hachiman knew he couldn't mark three times at once. After marking once, he'd have to let them go and find others. Still, he just smiled, picked Hayasaka Ai up, and took out a silver shared-sense bracelet to put on her.
Feeling his strong arms holding her tightly, Hayasaka Ai pulled the blindfold down over his eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Ding~ Ding~
As Hachiman began marking the blonde, blue-eyed maid cat in his arms who wore the shared-sense bracelet,
the sound of jingling bells and flustered cries echoed throughout the Service Club.
"Hide-and-seek time~ Everyone, quickly find a place to hide~"
As Hayasaka Ai put the blindfold on Hachiman, those watching the big screen in the main living room also officially began the game under Shion's announcement.
Some people ran toward the large bath, planning to use the sound of water to cover the bells around their necks. Others were bold enough to hide directly in the living room.
Although the living room was spacious and open, as the number of club members increased and gatherings became frequent, bookshelves, cabinets, and tables had been placed around. There were actually quite a few hiding spots.
As long as they could endure better than others, it was fine. Hachiman couldn't catch many people at once. Once he caught those who couldn't hold back, they could immediately run away.
However, even veteran members of the Service Club had never experienced such a tense and thrilling late-night battle royale game, let alone the newcomers.
For a moment, everything fell into chaos, with bells ringing everywhere.
Small groups that had planned ahead split up to hide separately, avoiding being wiped out all at once. Those who hadn't planned were still hesitating about where to hide.
Of course, some people simply gave up and accepted elimination.
"Kamuro, hold out as long as possible. Try to get a good rank."
Delicate like a doll, with slender, pale legs wrapped in white stockings, the white-haired girl Sakayanagi Arisu stood up slowly with her cane. She lightly touched the bell collar on her neck, smiled, and reminded Kamuro Masumi before teleporting away.
Even though the game had already started, leaving meant immediate elimination, making her last place.
But last place didn't mean anything immediate would happen. It only meant she would get just one reward.
She had already been considering when to offer herself, to become one of the many magical girls in the Service Club and no longer worry about her weak body.
But tonight, seeing so many demi-humans, goddesses, and angels unable to last long in front of Hachiman, with each of them seeming drained to the point of collapse, she felt she needed to think carefully and consider feasibility.
Even under normal circumstances, she might not be able to endure it, let alone with someone as strong as him. Acting recklessly could really get her killed.
She didn't want to become the first Service Club member to die in bed and become a joke afterward.
However, Sakayanagi Arisu ran away, leaving behind Kamuro Masumi, whom she had asked to stay. Kamuro felt terrible.
"…"
With purple half-up hair, a hairpin in her bangs, toned pale legs in black knee-high socks, and a curvy figure, Kamuro Masumi stared expressionlessly at Sakayanagi Arisu, who had vanished. She tightly gripped a box of balloons she had bought, trembling with anger.
She really wanted to curse. Normally, Sakayanagi treating her like a Service was one thing. Aside from holding umbrellas, fetching meals, and occasionally mocking her, she didn't actually make her do much. Having someone who could tutor her anytime wasn't bad.
But tonight, Sakayanagi had actually told her to buy this kind of thing. She had thought Sakayanagi would use it herself, so she endured it. Who would have thought it was prepared for her?!
She was told to scrape off the rewards during the reward phase and save them for Sakayanagi.
What the hell was she going to do with that. Use it as a face mask?
This kind of unbelievably perverse thing… she had no idea what Sakayanagi was thinking.
Kamuro Masumi was so angry her chest hurt, but Sakayanagi Arisu was already gone. No matter how harshly she cursed, Sakayanagi couldn't hear her.
"Um… Kamuro, we should hurry and find a place to hide. If others take the good spots, we'll get caught right away."
Seeing what Kamuro was holding and her strained expression, Karuizawa Kei didn't say much, only gently reminding her.
Normally, Master didn't need this kind of thing unless he occasionally wanted to play balloon games or had preferences like Asai Saki or Kamijou Maki.
Of course, Sakayanagi Arisu clearly didn't intend for Kamuro to use it, but to store something clean inside.
In this setting, using anything else would look out of place. This could at least be tied and hung at the waist.
"Kushida, Karuizawa, sorry. I'll stick with you tonight."
Kamuro Masumi let out a long sigh. Her delicate face shifted from expressionless to embarrassed anger, then back again. Her troubled eyes looked at Karuizawa Kei standing beside Kushida Kikyo, her voice strained.
Originally, when she learned that the suddenly much tougher Karuizawa and the socially adept Kushida had secretly become Hachiman's… she had looked down on them.
But now she didn't have the right to look down on them anymore.
Thinking about it carefully, she might even be worse. At least Karuizawa and Kushida chose it themselves. She had simply been sold off by Sakayanagi.
"How could it be trouble? Let's work hard together~"
"At least until more classmates join, we should cooperate well."
Kushida Kikyo and Karuizawa Kei exchanged a glance, both showing polite but slightly awkward smiles, then went off with Kamuro Masumi to find a hiding place.
With their social skills and ability to read people, how could they not see through Kamuro Masumi?
On the surface, she looked angry and disgusted with Sakayanagi, trembling with rage. But in reality, she was quietly enjoying it, trembling with anticipation.
Kamuro didn't seem like someone being blackmailed. After all, Sakayanagi hadn't even fully integrated into the Service Club. If there really was leverage, she could just rely on the master to handle Sakayanagi.
Since she was going to be taken by the master anyway, it would be better to cut out Sakayanagi and not let her profit in between.
But a masochistic personality wasn't anything unusual in the Service Club. There were far more extreme cases, so since Kamuro herself enjoyed it, they didn't bother persuading her.
For example, Karuizawa herself felt she was quite strange. At first, she just wanted the master's protection. Now, being his pet made her very happy, but recently she also wanted him to be a bit rough with her sometimes.
Kushida Kikyo was similar. She would rather get along with people she disliked just to be friends with everyone, enjoying being trusted. That was also a bit twisted.
Just in their class alone, there were quite a few problem girls, not to mention the whole school.
Hayase Saki, the ace of the girls' swimming team who sacrificed herself to secure a competition spot for her childhood friend but ended up leaving her behind; the quiet, timid succubus girl Sakurase Shino who wanted to be bullied by the president as atonement; and even Yukinoshita Yukino, the vice president who still hadn't participated in the Service Club's late-night activities, could all be considered problem girls.
At this moment, a small group of problem girls who had isolated Yukinoshita Yukino. Hayase Saki, her close friend Narahashi Miki, and the quiet, timid succubus Sakurase Shino hid together in the mist-filled large bath.
Their own desires were strong, and they also liked Hachiman a lot. Once the game started, they would definitely make noise and couldn't stay in the living room.
But Hayase Saki had already planned it. The president wouldn't come to the bath area at the beginning.
If they waited until he had caught many people before entering the water, their ranking wouldn't be too low. And she had an advantage in water, after all, she was the ace of the girls' swimming team.
Normally, she would charge in first. But this time, the temptation was too great. With so many participants tonight, every rank higher meant one more reward. Surviving to the end could mean dozens of rewards from the president… just thinking about it made it hard to sleep.
However… their group was still too weak.
Feeling the immersive shared sensation from Hayasaka Ai, which she could completely handle and even found extremely comfortable, Hayase Saki lightly fiddled with the bell collar on her neck. While looking at Ijichi Nijika and others who had also come into the bath, she turned to Narahashi Miki beside her and asked softly, "Miki, did you handle the volleyball club matter?"
Their socially anxious mutual support group had only a few members aside from their advisor Hanamori Kotomi. Although Samurai Rihoko and Uenohara Ayano, who were also introverted and insecure, had been brought in, they usually stayed with the swimming club and were currently with their club president, serving the main president.
As for the newcomers Sasaki Kotone and the even newer Tsukimi Chifuyu, they were also very introverted, and they didn't know how to bring them into the Service Club to serve the president together.
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