Even if she could refuse Raphiel here, it would still be hard to refuse Saki and the others. She had clearly said she had something to do after school, but they already seemed eager to pull her into the Service Club.
"If there's nothing else, then I'll be leaving. Setsuna-san, Fumino-san, Chifuyu-san, see you next time. If Raphiel messes around with you again, just tell me directly. I'll teach her a lesson for you."
Hachiman let out a long breath. He reached out and lightly pinched Raphiel's smooth pale cheek. Seeing that Setsuna Ogiso, Furuhashi Fumino, and Tsukimi Chifuyu were still stuck in their own embarrassment and had nothing else to say, he said goodbye to them.
The three of them were beauties no less attractive than the girls in the Service Club, but Raphiel had practically tricked them into coming here. The atmosphere right now was too awkward and delicate, so it wasn't suitable to suddenly get closer.
Better to let them go back and calm down first. He could interact with them again next time. Right now, it was better to go look for girls where things would be easier and more productive.
There were plenty of pretty girls at Sobu High, but aside from the girls in his own class, he rarely disturbed girls during class hours. A lot of people were still waiting for him to come to them on his own.
For example, Narahashi Miki, who had always wanted to invite him to the girls' volleyball club, and Kei Karuizawa, who also knew the literary girl Shiina Hiyori.
That was also why, even though he knew the literary girl he liked was in the library, he rarely came here.
Sobu High's social circles were only so big. Once he slowly worked his way through everyone, sooner or later it would reach the literary girls in the library. As long as they weren't complete loners, anyone with even a little social interaction would eventually get connected over.
"Ah! How was I messing around? I invited them over so they could help choose for Master Hachiman..."
Raphiel's face turned red. She held a hand to her chest and looked conflicted as she watched Hachiman stand up. In the end, she could only sigh helplessly. Even though she wanted to push Setsuna Ogiso and the others together with him, she had no intention of forcing them. Since nobody was taking the initiative, then forget it.
What a waste. She had sacrificed so much today and even personally served Hachiman, yet achieved nothing at all.
Next time she should let Satanichia do it instead. Satanichia was dumber and easier to fool.
"W-Wait, Hikigaya-kun!"
Setsuna Ogiso had still been hesitating, but when she saw Hachiman really intended to leave, she hurriedly stopped him as he zipped up his pants and turned to go.
"Can I ask... are there really that many dangers in this world?"
"Those evil spirits, demons, and evil groups hiding in human society... are there really that many?"
Although Raphiel had mainly been peeking at Yukinoshita Yukino, Shiba Miyuki, and Saegusa Mayumi serving Hachiman, voices from nearby conversations between Kaede, Iris, Kijou Suzuka, and the others occasionally drifted over as well.
Just being daughters of wealthy families or princesses wasn't something Setsuna Ogiso cared much about.
Whether supernatural powers existed or not, the status of financial conglomerates alone already placed them in a different world from her. As for people from other worlds, they were even more distant and untouchable.
But when she heard about demons from the demon world who could corrupt humans using desire energy, traitors who betrayed humanity and cooperated with demons, and evil groups causing chaos from the shadows, she couldn't stay calm anymore.
There were actually that many bad people hiding in the dark in this world? That was terrifying.
Especially since those people possessed evil powers ordinary people couldn't resist, powers that could even manipulate minds. If she and the others encountered them someday, they might die without even knowing how.
"There really are many evil spirits and monsters in this world, but you don't need to worry, Setsuna. You don't have the kind of constitution that attracts evil spirits, so you're unlikely to run into wandering ones."
Hachiman looked a little surprised as he turned back and explained to Setsuna Ogiso.
"As for those evil groups trying to cause chaos, people are already keeping an eye on them. If something happens, someone will stop them."
"It's natural for ordinary people to feel uneasy after learning about these things, but don't worry, Setsuna."
"If any of you run into danger, I'll appear beside you immediately."
Even though the love list that could give warnings and teleport him around was probably just meant to make dating easier and turn him into a master time manager who could freely move around, in this supernatural world, its most useful function was still protection. The moment someone encountered danger, he could teleport over.
"Appear beside us immediately when we're in danger?"
Setsuna Ogiso, Furuhashi Fumino, and Tsukimi Chifuyu all froze at the same time and stared blankly at Hachiman.
Raphiel was even more shocked. She had no idea how Hachiman could know when they were in danger. He clearly didn't possess remote surveillance abilities like she did.
Even if he had them, he wouldn't have the time. She often saw him staying awake all night, constantly busy beyond belief.
"Could it be... Master Hachiman means that as long as you wear these collars, they'll automatically send a distress signal when you're in danger, and he'll be able to rush over immediately."
Raphiel blinked, instantly piecing together the meaning behind Hachiman's words from the information she already knew. She casually took out three black collars and placed them on the table while grinning at Hachiman and the others.
"Wristbands are enough. Judging by your reactions, Raphiel already explained these things to you, so I won't go into detail."
Hachiman looked helplessly at Raphiel, who somehow had obtained those sympathy collars without him noticing. But he obviously couldn't say he relied on his own ability rather than those items.
Monitoring someone twenty-four hours a day to see if they were in danger didn't really make people feel safe. It would just make him seem like a pervert like Raphiel.
"Alright then. Setsuna, are you sure you want to wear one? As long as you don't press the sympathy button, it's basically no different from a normal wristband. But once you put it on, it's not easy to remove. At the very least, knives and fire won't work."
Seeing this, Raphiel could only take out three pink wristbands and place them on the table, smiling as she watched Setsuna Ogiso and the others make their choice.
Would they wear them or not? Putting them on meant accepting Hachiman's protection.
Protection that looked free on the surface would eventually require a price.
Still, considering how sought after Hachiman currently was, she honestly couldn't tell whether that price counted as punishment or a reward.
"Setsuna... Fumino..."
Tsukimi Chifuyu, who usually lacked confidence in her own decisions, instinctively looked toward Setsuna Ogiso and Furuhashi Fumino. Furuhashi Fumino hesitated for a moment before also looking at Setsuna Ogiso, who had spent more time around Hachiman than she had.
"Then... thank you for your concern, Hikigaya-kun... Ah, right. I heard Kita-san already rejoined Kessoku Band. She's been practicing with Ijichi-san after school every day now. I also got invited by Ijichi-san to watch their next performance."
Now that everyone expected her to make the choice, the pressure on Setsuna Ogiso increased sharply. She looked around at everyone's expressions, bit her lip, and slowly reached for the pink wristband on the table. While putting it onto her slim pale wrist in front of everyone, she smiled and changed the topic.
"If Kita-san hadn't returned to Kessoku Band, would you have continued inviting me to join as the vocalist?"
"Mmm... of course. Even now, I still want you to join the band. Ryo, Nijika's friend, wants to gather a lot of band girls and form a large rock girl group."
Hachiman smiled and nodded at Setsuna Ogiso.
"Your voice really sounds great, Setsuna. Yumiko and the others all said your singing is amazing. Naturally, I'd like you to become the band's vocalist too."
"If you really are interested, you can tell me or tell Nijika and the others. Anyway, I'll be going now."
After saying that, Hachiman greeted them again before leaving.
Yamada Ryo wanted to help him create a band girl party, so naturally the band combination of Setsuna Ogiso and Touma Kazusa tempted him too.
But he had only just begun interacting with Setsuna Ogiso, while he had never even met Touma Kazusa before. If he wanted to gather the White Album band members, it might actually be easier to find Morikawa Yuki and Ogata Rina.
Raphiel watched Hachiman's back with a disappointed look, but there was nothing more she could do. She could only carefully put away Setsuna Ogiso's white cotton handkerchief and prepare to use it to ambush Gabriel next time.
Hachiman was obviously the aggressive type. He never rejected all the girls throwing themselves at him, yet he refused the beauties she personally delivered to him.
Setsuna Ogiso, Furuhashi Fumino, Tsukimi Chifuyu. A beautiful songstress who looked gentle and strong on the outside, a flat-chested literary genius girl, a simple-minded timid pure black-haired beauty. These were several different types of beautiful girls, yet he didn't take even one.
Where exactly had things gone wrong?
Was it because she hadn't prepared maid outfits for them?
But Fumino couldn't wear a low-cut maid outfit. It wasn't seductive enough at all.
"Raphiel... your eyes are being a little rude..."
Furuhashi Fumino looked at Raphiel with a gloomy stare as her gaze kept wandering across their chests.
Now she finally understood why she had gotten dragged into things that day and ended up stuck to Hachiman together with Setsuna Ogiso and Tsukimi Chifuyu because of Raphiel.
So she had been treated as the "most special" one.
That kind of special treatment... really made her angry.
It irritated her even more than having to take turns with Setsuna Ogiso using a handkerchief to wipe Hikigaya-kun.
"Um... Raphiel, could you give me one more wristband? I want to give one to my mother..."
Setsuna Ogiso wasn't paying attention to Raphiel's thoughts. After seeing Hachiman leave, she finally relaxed, but when she noticed that besides the two pink wristbands belonging to Furuhashi Fumino and Tsukimi Chifuyu, there were still three extra black collars left on the table, she hesitated before asking Raphiel for another life-saving wristband.
Although she still hadn't personally verified whether Hikigaya-kun could really rush over to save them during danger, with Raphiel and the others' strength and their relationship with them, they probably wouldn't lie about something like this.
In that case, giving one to her mother might save her life someday if danger ever appeared.
She had wanted to ask Hikigaya-kun earlier, but asking her mother to wear something like that felt too strange, so she waited until he left before asking Raphiel instead. Raphiel seemed to have plenty more anyway.
If her mother never encountered danger, then nothing would happen. But if something really did happen someday, then even if Hikigaya-kun found out about this embarrassing situation, it wouldn't matter much.
"You don't need to worry about your mother, Setsuna. Someone else already gave her one."
Raphiel put away the three extra black collars on the table and gave Setsuna Ogiso a meaningful wink.
"Eh? Someone else?"
Setsuna Ogiso stared at Raphiel in complete confusion, unable to understand what she meant at all.
Her mother actually knew a member of the Service Club and had already received one of those exclusive wristbands representing membership in the club?
How did she not know about this?
Wait, hold on, why would someone give her mother that wristband?
"Nanasaki Ai's friend... I think her name was Kumatsu Yukariko. She suddenly turned into a demi-human, a succubus? This plot feels familiar somehow..."
After leaving the library, Hachiman checked Nanasaki Ai's location on the love list and discovered both Nanasaki Ai and Kumatsu Yukariko were currently in the infirmary. After thinking for a moment, he headed there.
He originally thought he and Raphiel would stay in the library until after school ended. After all, Raphiel had specially invited him over. But since he didn't continue getting tangled up with Setsuna Ogiso and the others, his afternoon suddenly became free.
Remembering that Yukinoshita Yukino had said Nanasaki Ai from the girls' swimming club came to the Service Club for help because her friend had suddenly become a demi-human, yet hadn't informed him, he decided to deal with Nanasaki Ai's issue first.
He could roughly guess why Nanasaki Ai didn't want to ask him for help, but honestly, this was his specialty, especially when it came to succubi.
Although he and Yukinoshita Yukino had agreed to wait until after school for Nanasaki Ai to come to the Service Club, he had been very busy recently. If he could solve it earlier, then earlier was better. If everything got pushed into after-school club time, he might not have enough time.
The girls' swimming club was fine. Hayase Saki and the other top athletes could just come play at the club tonight. But the tennis club's request still hadn't been fully resolved, and the track and field club also needed his help. Just dealing with after-school club activities already kept him busy.
Not to mention that Kirisu Mafuyu and the others still had home visits, while Kei Karuizawa and Kushida Kikyo had invited him to their apartment for a study session beside a gathering of young female teachers.
Today, he should handle as many unfinished requests and tasks as possible. Otherwise, once next week's freshmen flooded in, not only would there be two-dimensional heroines from the underground world, there would also be heroines from supernatural factions. That would definitely trigger a lot of new tasks, and he really wouldn't be able to juggle everything anymore.
Actually, there were already plenty of tasks he could quickly complete. For example, the tennis club task that could unlock a new club function, club training camps. Or the track and field club task that could grant remote training functions. Or the disciplinary committee task involving an exclusive blacklist.
Still, he could understand the club tasks. He just had to train and improve their abilities. But the disciplinary committee task left him confused about how exactly to complete it. Did he really need to deal with every disciplinary committee member?
After all, right now he was the only person on the blacklist. The disciplinary committee members who had actively volunteered to perform adult services on him only included Sakurai Hana, Kitamura Chika, Usui Makoto, and Ryuzaki Hina. But theoretically speaking, every disciplinary committee member had the "authority" to perform adult services on him.
Though there were plenty of black-haired straight-haired girls in the disciplinary committee. There was the perverted lustful type Asai Saki, the serious and rigid Kotegawa Yui, and even Iino Miko, who transferred together with Shinomiya Kaguya and the others, was also part of the disciplinary committee.
———
[Infirmary]
A purple twin-tailed girl wearing Sobu High's uniform lay on a bed. She had fangs, red eyes, pointed ears, and beneath her plaid skirt stretched a heart-shaped tail.
Beside the bed stood a black-haired girl with short neat hair and a cool handsome appearance, along with a mature brown-haired woman with a curvy figure.
"Teacher Mikado, what exactly happened to Setsuko? Is she sick? Why did she become like this..."
Nanasaki Ai looked at Kumatsu Yukariko on the bed. Her symptoms were becoming worse and worse. She could no longer control her own hands and kept twisting around on the white bed while trying to relieve herself. Nanasaki Ai felt deeply worried, but since she had no solution, she could only look toward the school nurse, Mikado Ryoko, for help.
Two days ago, her friend Kumatsu Yukariko had suddenly grown a tail after waking up. Fortunately, she could control it and hide it inside her skirt, so it hadn't caused much trouble.
But apparently both she and Setsuko had underestimated the issue. After arriving at school today, Setsuko completely lost control. She couldn't even continue attending classes normally and had no choice but to come to the infirmary.
"This symptom... right now, Kumatsu-san is turning into a succubus. You can think of it as atavism or as a curse."
Mikado Ryoko picked up the cross pendant hanging from Kumatsu Yukariko's neck and examined it for a while before slowly placing it back on her chest. Looking at the seductive flush that couldn't be hidden on her face and the heart-shaped succubus tail behind her that she couldn't control, she spoke thoughtfully.
"I'm not sure whether Kumatsu-san actually possesses succubus blood, but normally, even if someone did, it would be difficult to awaken. It definitely wouldn't happen this suddenly, with succubus traits appearing out of nowhere without warning. So I believe the symptoms on Kumatsu-san are more likely the result of outside interference causing forced succubus transformation."
"This cross pendant should be the main culprit behind Kumatsu-san becoming a succubus. I can sense traces of special power remaining inside it."
Although she was an alien rather than someone from another world or the demon realm, as a highly skilled and knowledgeable space doctor, it wasn't like she had never seen succubi before.
Not even counting Sato Sakie, who hid among the teachers while covering herself up tightly, or the three Amaki sisters who recently transferred into Sobu High.
Just talking about the final descendant of the most beautiful race in the universe, the Charm people, the most beautiful being in the universe whose charm ignored both species and gender, Princess Sephie.
Her close friend Tearju had once worked for Princess Sephie, yet even she had never seen the princess's true face. Just looking through the veil was enough to feel unmatched charm.
"A cross pendant? I think Setsuko's family mailed it to her as a travel souvenir... Then Teacher Mikado, do you have any way to undo Setsuko's succubus transformation?"
Nanasaki Ai froze while looking at the cross pendant hanging from Kumatsu Yukariko's neck, then hurriedly continued asking.
Now wasn't the time to think about why Setsuko became like this. The important thing was finding a solution.
"Don't you already know the answer?"
Mikado Ryoko stood up and pulled the curtain closed, giving Kumatsu Yukariko some privacy. Then she sat down beside Nanasaki Ai with a smile and asked back.
"I already know? Teacher Mikado, you mean..."
Nanasaki Ai stared blankly at Mikado Ryoko before immediately understanding the hint in her words.
"That's right. Go find Hikigaya-kun, the president of the Service Club. If I remember correctly, one of the Service Club members, Sakurazaka-san, is also a human with a little succubus blood. She unconsciously charms men around her who lack willpower. But after receiving help from Hikigaya-kun, she's now living a normal life."
Mikado Ryoko smiled and nodded, confirming Nanasaki Ai's guess.
"Although I can help suppress Kumatsu-san's succubus transformation, you can already see the problem. I can suppress the transformation itself, but I can't suppress her growing desire."
"If this continues, Kumatsu-san may eventually lose control."
"Actually, many ordinary people would love to become demi-humans with special powers. Succubi are different from normal demi-humans. Their racial traits are only pointed ears and tails, so they don't become ugly. After transforming into a succubus, the body undergoes changes that not only greatly increase charm, but even extend lifespan. You could practically say succubi are one of the demi-human races humans most want to become."