Although she somewhat wanted to explain why she had done that, being stared at like that made the petite black-haired girl with the ahoge feel a bit awkward. Before she could finish speaking, she lowered her head with a flushed face, hugged the notebook filled with collected autographs in both hands, and hurriedly ran off.
"Uh… thank you…"
Arima Kana blankly watched the other girl's figure disappear into the darkness. She raised her hand slightly, then put it down again, lips pressing together as her expression grew a bit conflicted.
She didn't think there was anything strange about the girl saying she had grown up watching her.
That's just how child stars are. Even if Kana might be older, for someone who debuted as a child star, their years in the industry are basically their age. For someone that age, it really was true that they had grown up watching her.
Still, even though she once had the title of a genius child star, with strong acting talent and the ability to cry in ten seconds, she should have been the kind of child star who flashed by briefly and disappeared. Even back then, her reputation wasn't very good. After her popularity declined, very few production teams invited her to act. She hadn't gotten any meaningful roles for a long time. It could be said her career had gone completely dim.
Even her mother and manager had left her. So how could someone like her have a fan who liked her for so many years?
Could it be that, because she was that girl's favorite child star, the agency specifically signed her at a high price?
Aside from hair color, she really did resemble that girl just now. Same bob cut, same little tiger teeth, same… petite build.
But after signing with the agency and joining an idol group, they had her perform at a place like this right away… was that girl really her fan?
From what that girl said, it seemed the boy wearing a blindfold and playing hide-and-seek below the stage was her older brother… and also the true master of this club.
Arima Kana, who had suddenly felt needed and acknowledged, was happy for just a moment before falling into deep confusion.
What exactly was this Service Club playing at? It couldn't be some deliberate prank on her, right?
———
[Family Restaurant]
"Pfft!"
"What does B-Komachi have to do with Komachi? Why did Komachi suddenly run off to ask for an autograph?"
"What is Komachi doing? Asking for an autograph to boost her courage?"
"Arima Kana… actress, former genius child star… looks like she really is a child star the club president grew up watching."
Even though they were also participating in the hide-and-seek game, Ursula, Iris, Lala, Meroune, and the others, who were hiding inside the family restaurant, couldn't help laughing when they saw Komachi run off to get an autograph instead of hiding.
They all knew Komachi's special position in the Hikigaya household. As demi-humans, their views were also somewhat different from the general norms of this world, so they supported Komachi in many matters.
The true masters of the Hikigaya household were Hachiman and Komachi. Including Shion, Naruse Mio, and Naruse Maria, the others were all temporary additions.
But what was Komachi doing right now? Asking a child star that both she and her brother liked for an autograph to build up her courage?
After laughing, Iris began to think carefully about whether she had overlooked anything.
"Meroune, this Miss Arima doesn't have a boyfriend, right?"
"Please rest assured, Princess Iris. The idols invited here are all pure idols who aren't even in relationships. Both Shion and I have confirmed that."
Caught off guard by Iris's question, the mermaid princess Meroune froze for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
With the booming idol trend sparked by the mermaid songstress, along with the support of the Love Live school idol competition, it was easy for them to find many beautiful and cute idol girls.
But for a condition like entering this club, how could she possibly not take it seriously?
Although many of the idols tonight weren't brought by her alone—there was also the Rurikan family's contribution, and Tsubaki's head maid Shion had helped acquire agencies and secure their idols—
they hadn't deliberately separated the idols into factions or set them against each other from the start.
On this point, she and Shion, and in fact everyone, shared the same view. No matter how they competed, it should only be minor disputes. They couldn't let things get truly out of hand.
"Then if they want to keep being idols, let them continue. Give them some support. Also arrange for them to enroll together with this batch of transfer students. That way, if the club president wants to experience being an idol manager again, he can do so anytime."
Iris nodded in understanding. As she spoke, she looked toward Kaede at the table across from her.
"With this large-scale enrollment at Sobu High, it can't just be rich young ladies. There should also be ordinary people. Kaede, you think so too, right?"
"You're already saying it like that. Do you think I can object?"
Hearing that, Kaede, who was sitting at the same table as Tsubaki and the others, rolled her eyes and replied irritably.
"Still, if their popularity grows, studying at other schools would cause quite a few issues. At Sobu High, they won't stand out as much."
"There are already enough pretty girls at Sobu High. Hmm… we'll need more disciplinary committee members. I'll have each class recommend another one later."
The Service War between the human faction and the demi-human faction was extremely brutal.
As the leader of the human faction, she didn't reject demi-humans joining, but the core members would definitely still be humans.
Even though many rich young ladies had joined now, Kaede, who came from an ordinary background, naturally had to promote more ordinary people. She couldn't treat the forces behind those rich girls as her own.
These idol girls from ordinary backgrounds had popularity, ability, and dreams of being idols. Give them more resources, and they could be fully occupied with work during the day, not taking up Hachiman's time, and then be called over at night when needed. They were practically the best choice for the human faction.
"Miss Yukino, I'll leave it to you. Since those human noble ladies couldn't endure the stimulation from the club president and left midway, we don't need to wait until the middle of the night to begin."
After finishing with Kaede and the others, Iris turned to the long black-haired snow woman, Yukino, and smiled meaningfully.
"Your Highness, there's no need to be polite. It's my honor. I'm also curious what kind of reaction Lord Hikigaya will have."
Yukino replied with a cheerful smile. After greeting everyone, she turned and went to find Komachi, the human girl whose voice was extremely similar to hers, to play with her.
'So it's starting… Yukino's voice as a snow woman is quite unique.'
Standing behind Tsubaki, Shion understood Komachi and Yukino's special situation. But she was more concerned about the idol agencies she managed.
Seeing that everyone was generally satisfied with the newly recruited idols, Shion exchanged a glance with the mermaid princess Meroune. Both of them came up with several new ideas.
There were pet games, bullying games, master-servant games, little-sister games. Shion also had a maid group, but a simple maid game could get boring.
The servant game could be played every day, but the theme changed each time. This time it was hide-and-seek. In the future, they could occasionally try idol games too, like idol showdowns.
The two agencies could each train their own idol groups and have them compete in turns. They could compete outside during the day, and also compete in the club at night.
Hmm… if they win during the day, should they get rewards at night? Or if they win at night, should they get rewards during the day?
Hachiman didn't know that Meroune and Shion were already planning to squeeze in another idol showdown game for him.
But he was very clear about the competitive atmosphere within the Service Club. The reason idols like A-RISE were brought here was definitely not just to perform.
Although he hadn't been doing character quests lately to gain new skills, let alone time-stop abilities, and had been busy from morning to night without much rest, Iris and Kaede wouldn't and couldn't force others to compete for his time.
Still, any girl selected and brought into the Service Club had undoubtedly obtained an entry ticket and would become a reserve member in future Service Wars.
Originally, he didn't like this kind of behavior that wasn't much different from "pillow business." But thinking about it carefully, the servant games in the club were far more intense than that, on a completely different level from the entertainment industry's unspoken rules.
Besides, he really did like these idols. He couldn't bring himself to refuse Iris and the others' "arrangements."
If they weren't in the middle of a game right now, with everyone waiting for him to catch them, he would have wanted to slip away and take a look at A-RISE, the rivals of the "washed-up girl group" μ's, and also check out B-Komachi, where both Hoshino Ai and Arima Kana existed.
Of course, μ's might have just been formed. The nine-member group that became idols to save their school might not even get the chance to grow in this world.
At the same time, he wondered whether B-Komachi, which had a similar name to Komachi, could also have both Hoshino Ai and Hoshino Ruby as "sisters."
If they could add the genius actress Kurokawa Akane too, that would be even better.
"Touka-san, why did you bring Sakura to join the game?"
While being distracted by A-RISE's rhythmic singing, Hachiman slowly moved on his knees, following behind the literary vampire girl Kiriya Fujino, and arrived in front of the Tohsaka sisters.
Tohsaka Touka had been the first to transform into a magical girl. There was also the "Tohsaka Family Household Affairs" task to help her protect the Tohsaka family.
However, unlike others, Touka didn't want to drag her close friends into it. She wanted to shoulder everything alone. So the Tohsaka family had only ever had one magical girl, Touka. He only needed to focus on developing and training her to complete the task.
So what was going on now?
The Takamine family, which had once been engaged to the Tohsaka family, had already been targeted and carved up by the Rurikan family, the Ichinose family, and others. Touka shouldn't have encountered any trouble. So why had she suddenly brought her younger sister Sakura to play this game?
Even though Hachiman hadn't marked the Tohsaka sisters and couldn't see them due to the blindfold, he could tell with a simple reach that the girl beside Touka, who was about Komachi's age, wasn't the tsundere twin-tailed Tohsaka Rin.
It was Sakura, who had lost her father at a young age, withdrawn into herself, and called him "Father."
"Um…"
Tohsaka Touka slowly opened her eyes and saw that Hachiman had already arrived with Fujino. She could only awkwardly push herself up from the ground with her weak, trembling hands. The faint redness on her face had just faded a little before returning again. She pressed her lips together, unsure how to explain.
She couldn't exactly say that she had tried to take Sakura away, but Sakura refused to leave. She didn't dare use force and risk hurting her, so they ended up lingering there until both of them collapsed and failed to escape in time.
Since they hadn't managed to leave earlier, taking Sakura away now would seem impolite, unless they were marked once by Hachiman.
But if they were marked anyway, what difference would leaving or staying make?
"Father… what is this big sister doing? Is she playing a game with you?"
Tohsaka Sakura stared fixedly at Kiriya Fujino, who was lying beside Touka, stretching her slender body. The bat-like wings on her back lifted her kimono slightly, and her long tail wrapped around Hachiman's waist.
Suddenly, Sakura pounced onto Hachiman and wrapped her slender arms around his neck.
"That's right. Miss Kiriya is playing a game with Hachiman. Sakura, come back. Don't disturb them."
Before Hachiman could speak, Touka's heart tightened, and she hurriedly explained.
Even though she knew things might already be unavoidable, seeing Sakura's innocent, unworldly expression still made her reluctant to let her be exposed to all this.
She had long decided to protect her mother and her sisters Rin and Sakura. She would do anything for that. But if Sakura also ended up like this, then her sacrifices would lose all meaning.
"Then does big sister play games with Father every night too? Is that why you're wearing the same jingling collar as big sister Kiriya?"
As if she didn't notice Touka's strange expression, Sakura continued to hug Hachiman, looking at Touka with bright, clear eyes, her gaze drifting toward the bell collar around Touka's neck.
That collar was clearly identical to the one on Kiriya Fujino's neck.
"Uh… Sakura, what are you talking about? I sleep alone in my room every night."
Touka froze, a bad feeling rising in her chest. But she could only try to remain calm.
However, her forced composure was useless.
"You're lying! Recently, when I woke up in the middle of the night to find you, you weren't in your room at all!"
Sakura looked at Touka expressionlessly as she continued to deny it.
"That time Rin and I stayed at Komachi's house too. You wouldn't let me stay with Father, but you went to sleep with him yourself."
"You hog Father's arms all to yourself! Big sister is selfish!"
"..."
Touka looked at Sakura, who was clearly jealous. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
She wanted to say that she hadn't monopolized Hachiman at all. Even the elf princesses couldn't monopolize him, so how could it be her?
But once she said that, she would have to explain why other girls were in Hachiman's bed too. She fell silent.
"..."
Hachiman also fell silent.
Even though he could only see Fujino, hearing Sakura accuse Touka of not bringing her along made him feel a bit helpless.
There was no need to dwell on how Touka got exposed. She wasn't exactly a professional at hiding things, and with how often she stayed overnight at the Service Club, it was normal for her family to notice.
'But Sakura, why are you opening your sister's bedroom door in the middle of the night?'
Logically speaking, Sakura should have grown up with a rather twisted personality.
He had a kind of dependency-based affinity. To people with dependent personality traits, he appeared as the most trustworthy person, giving them a strong sense of security.
He had already confirmed this. Even someone like Bocchi, with extreme social anxiety, didn't lose control in front of him.
If Sakura had truly become withdrawn after losing her father, it was indeed possible she would see him as her father figure—someone even more reliable than a real father, someone who gave her complete security just by being near.
But judging from how she had clung to him earlier, Sakura wasn't some pure, blank-slate good girl. She had plenty of her own little thoughts.
Still, maybe Touka had a filter when it came to her younger sister. She clearly believed Sakura was just a cute, innocent girl who lacked affection.
"Sakura…"
Touka looked at Sakura, who thought she was competing for Father's affection, and felt deeply embarrassed. But after hesitating, she still didn't explain what she actually did at the Service Club every day.
"In any case, Hachiman isn't our real father. You don't need to worry about me competing with you. And my relationship with him isn't what you think."
"I'll explain everything else tomorrow. It's already late. Sakura, you ran here instead of sleeping. If Rin sees you missing, she'll worry."
"Hachiman, I'll take Sakura back to sleep first. I'll come back later to accept the punishment for failing to escape."
As she spoke, Touka tried to get up and take Sakura away from the late-night servant game she had barged into.
"Rin is already asleep. She won't notice I'm gone. Big sister, you can't keep Father all to yourself!"
Seeing Touka try to separate her from Hachiman again, Sakura shook her head frantically and hugged him tightly, refusing to let go.
She had finally managed to join the game while her sister wasn't paying attention. There was no way she would go back to sleep obediently.
"Sakura!"
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