By then, what the drummer held wouldn't be drumsticks, what the lead singer murmured wouldn't be singing, what the guitarist plucked wouldn't be a guitar.
However, unlike the worried Ijichi Nijika, Yamada Ryou, who wanted to make a big move, had a different idea.
"Nijika, I think we can try for it. Next time, let's hold a concert at the manager's shop."
"Huh? Ryou, what are you talking about?", Ijichi Nijika froze for a moment.
"Since we're already holding concerts here anyway, why not pull the manager into the club? Then in the future, the club's small concerts can be held at the shop."
Yamada Ryou explained that although the club had quite a few members, compared to the size of the space, it still felt rather empty.
A concert of this scale was more suitable for a smaller venue, and the live house called "STARRY" run by Nijika's sister was just right.
"But there's no need to make my sister join the club."
Hearing Ryou bring up the manager, Nijika immediately realized she was targeting her sister again.
If business had been bad before, she might have thought Ryou was helping bring in customers.
But although STARRY was small and usually only run by her sister and the sound engineer PA-san, with occasional help when they got busy, business was actually quite good. There was no need to specially rent it out for club concerts.
"Right now is the perfect reason to get your sister into the club. Wouldn't it be good for her to understand Hachiman a bit?", Yamada Ryou replied confidently.
"Or do you not want your sister to become a magical girl? Even though you've already become one yourself."
"It's not that I don't want to… it's obviously because you took money from Hachiman!"
Ijichi Nijika was momentarily at a loss for words, but quickly stared straight at Ryou.
She knew about Ryou asking Hachiman for money, and she also knew that Ryou lent money to other rock bands, making them sign contracts that said if they couldn't repay, they'd sell themselves to Hachiman.
It wasn't something she could really stop. The drunk bassist Hiroi Kikuri, who borrowed money from Ryou, was someone she knew well. Not only was she the leader of a band Ryou liked, she was also her sister's junior from university, and often came to her house just to take a bath.
More importantly, it was all voluntary. There was no real binding force, and Hachiman never forced anyone. It felt like whenever Ryou asked for money, Hachiman just handed it over, indulging her to play however she wanted.
But she never expected Ryou to target her sister?
Ryou really was a "great" friend.
"Whether I take money or not has nothing to do with whether you let the manager become a magical girl. You should be the one explaining the magical girl situation to her. Right now, you're the one hiding it from her."
As if she didn't see Nijika grinding her teeth, Yamada Ryou spoke matter-of-factly.
It wasn't like she was secretly selling Nijika's sister. Wasn't she discussing it with her right now?
Besides, based on her understanding of the two sisters, they wouldn't be willing to separate.
The manager was already an older single woman who couldn't take care of herself. Nijika couldn't leave her alone. As long as she pushed a little more, Nijika's home could become one of the service club's activity locations.
"…"
Hearing that, Nijika fell silent.
Her sister had always been childish, even needing to hug a stuffed toy to sleep. If she found out she could become a magical girl, Nijika honestly couldn't say she wouldn't be tempted.
But one thing was certain, she herself would have a massive headache.
If her sister found out about her relationship with Hachiman, she would definitely go after him. But it wasn't really his fault, and she'd have to find a way to convince her.
"Fine, let's not talk about my sister for now. What about PA-san? I think she'd be willing to join. The club benefits are so good, it suits her perfectly."
Seeing the situation, Yamada Ryou immediately changed the topic.
She only needed to test Nijika's limits again and let her start imagining the idea of both sisters becoming magical girls and ending up together. The rest didn't require her involvement.
She didn't recruit people randomly. If she talked about contracts, lifelong bands, or selling oneself outright, people would be scared off. She needed to guide things step by step, letting others come to her willingly for loans and solutions to maintain lifelong bonds.
But Nijika and her sister were different. They were easy targets.
After all, Nijika was already in Hachiman's circle, and neither sister could let go of the other.
If Hachiman simply made the manager a magical girl and let her re-debut on stage alongside Nijika, the two sisters would be secured.
"PA-san?"
Hearing Ryou shift her attention to the shop's only employee, Nijika narrowed her eyes.
The sound engineer PA-san was a mature woman with long black hair. She looked cold on the outside but was actually gentle, often acting as the voice of Nijika's tsundere sister.
She had only attended high school for one year before dropping out due to poor attendance. Now she worked nights at the shop and spent her free time gaming and posting commentary videos.
Unlike her sister, who needed to think about her future, PA-san was younger and didn't seem to have any interest in that kind of thing. It was unlikely she'd join the club, especially since it required staying up late every night.
Had Ryou heard something? Otherwise, why would she think PA-san would want to join?
If PA-san really joined, then when her sister found out, she might feel like everyone was hiding things from her. In a moment of impulse, she might join as well.
"Don't worry, Nijika. I'll help you. Hikigaya will definitely like your sister."
Before Nijika could press Ryou further, Yumiko Miura suddenly spoke up.
Her smooth blonde hair draped over her flushed shoulders, the ends floating in the water. Her lips parted slightly as she took occasional deep breaths, her already beautiful face now glowing with heat.
The hot water blurred the shared sensations enough for her to endure, but hearing the topic of Nijika's sister made her unable to hold back.
"Huh? Yumiko, you don't need to help me. My sister doesn't like Hachiman."
Nijika turned her head, puzzled.
Why was Yumiko suddenly siding with Ryou? Ryou didn't have that kind of social skill.
"Weren't you and Marin supporting my relationship with Hikigaya before? Now I'm supporting your sister's relationship with him. Right, Marin?"
Seeing Nijika deny it just like she once had, Yumiko felt a bit better, even the discomfort in her chest easing slightly.
At first, stepping on him as part of a "bullying game" had been her own issue. But later, Nijika and Marin misunderstanding her feelings and trying to push her together with him had been a real headache.
Things had gotten too complicated to explain as mere misunderstandings, but now she wanted Nijika to experience that same headache.
"…"
Nijika looked at Yumiko's faint smile, speechless.
'Are you in elementary school… why are you so childish?'
People with tsundere personalities really were naive in a way. Her sister was like this, and so was Yumiko.
Though, on the flip side, they were easy to coax and often did strange things out of pride.
"By the way, have you thought about the 'bullying game' Yuna and the others mentioned?"
Seeing the mood shifting, Kitagawa Marin stepped in to change the topic.
She also found Yumiko a bit childish, but there was no need to argue now.
Misunderstandings aside, if Yumiko got upset and started crying, they'd have to comfort her again.
Thankfully, she didn't have sisters herself, or she'd be worried about getting dragged into this situation too.
"The bullying game…"
"Can we even bully Hachiman? With our stamina, it's impossible, even if we add more newcomers."
"I don't mind if Reina and Ruri join, but Nogami and the others… I think handling our relationship with them would be difficult."
As the topic shifted, everyone began sharing their thoughts.
The "bullying game" wasn't unfamiliar. Yumiko had started her relationship with Hachiman through it.
Nijika had even sacrificed herself for her friend, and Ryou had gotten involved as well.
The only one unfamiliar with it was Bocchi, who was too timid to even use force, afraid of hurting her friends.
"Everyone makes good points. Let's skip Nogami's group. If we want to expand, we should find nicer girls. There will be plenty of new transfer students next week, surely some cute ones too."
Ikuyo Kita rubbed her forehead helplessly.
When they recruited her, it hadn't been like this at all. They had taken turns persuading her.
But now they hesitated over recruiting Nijika's sister?
Still, she was already part of the club now.
Although she was also a gyaru, she didn't like dealing with Nogami's group either.
The school discipline committee had become stricter, and with more elite students around, Nogami's group had toned things down at school, but outside was another matter.
"Are you sure about not recruiting them? I've seen Karuizawa and Kushida approaching girls around school. If Nogami's group gets pulled in by them, we might end up in a real 'bullying showdown.'"
Marin hesitated as she spoke.
She didn't want those girls either, but she was concerned.
Karuizawa Kei and Kushida Kikyo, who had transferred from Advanced Nurturing High School, were discipline committee members. On the surface, they opposed bullying.
But Karuizawa, who acted sweet only in front of Hachiman, was usually quite assertive. Maybe she wanted to gather Nogami's group as "pets."
Compared to them, she played far more boldly.
While they played "bullying games," Karuizawa played "pet games."
As for Kushida Kikyo, who also acted as a personal maid, she might be planning to train them as maids.
Three good girls, three bad girls.
They'd all get pulled in eventually, it was just a matter of who got to them first.
If Kushida's side took them, their "bullying game" might turn into a group-versus-group confrontation.
"Bullying showdown…"
Ikuyo Kita twitched at the corner of her mouth.
What even was that?
Was it about who could bully Hachiman better?
Would the winner be the side that made him feel more pain, or more pleasure?
Life now was definitely more exciting than before, school during the day, rock at night, parties late into the night. They met all kinds of people, even transformed into magical girls to save the world.
But things were clearly escalating.
Compared to the wealthy young ladies, Nijika's Kessoku Band group and Marin and Yumiko's gyaru group had much simpler concerns.
They only needed to worry about relationships at home and school, not complex interests.
Even though they knew many powerful figures had appeared at Sobu High, vampires, succubi, elves, even aliens, and they themselves had become magical girls, they didn't have to worry about their future careers anymore.
With so many wealthy girls in the club, any one of them could provide more money than they could earn in a lifetime.
But because of the club's atmosphere, it was hard to imagine those elite girls in a serious light.
Even they would probably end up forming small groups sooner or later.
"Hey, they… they can't hold it anymore, right?"
"They're going to find Hikigaya-kun? Or did they teleport away?"
Ikuyo Kita suddenly gasped.
Over on Kaguya's side, Fujiwara and Maki seemed to have been overwhelmed, sinking beneath the water.
"Th-they probably left… otherwise… they wouldn't stay under so long…"
Marin said, watching the surface where the bubbles had stopped.
With ordinary bodies, they couldn't hold their breath that long.
"What a pity… I wanted to see how they'd face Hachiman…"
Yamada Ryou muttered regretfully.
Girls from families like hers were the closest in status to Kaguya's group among them.
She had wanted to see how those top-tier ladies would act.
But they had simply left.
Now it seemed they lacked even the endurance of Marin and Yumiko.
Even when Marin begged for mercy, she hadn't run away. Yumiko had endured embarrassment without leaving.
Yet these elite girls gave up so quickly?
Or maybe they just hadn't adapted to the club's atmosphere yet, choosing to follow their instincts once someone left first.
'Haa… Ha… Hachiman… this guy…'
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