Of course, there didn't seem to be any requirements for bringing people into the Service Club. It depended entirely on the members' own abilities, so she would have to think carefully before inviting anyone.
She couldn't bring in someone too capable or too outstanding. Otherwise, her position within the group might be replaced, and all her effort would be for nothing.
But she also couldn't bring in someone of too low a quality. Otherwise, what would be the point of bringing them in? They wouldn't be able to do anything and might even become a joke to the others.
Yuigahama Yui even suspected that Sobu High had been created for Hachiman. Otherwise, how could there be so many beautiful girls with great looks and figures?
Even among the disciplinary committee members, quite a few had close relationships with Club President Hachiman and openly wore the black empathy collars belonging to him.
However, the tense service activity time left her no room to think for long. The black empathy collar around her neck had its empathy button gently pressed.
"Miss Yui, to keep you from not knowing how to use the empathy collar after you go back, experience it first under Master's control."
Looking at the cold black-haired beauty who had also been picked up and pressed against her, wearing a silver empathy bracelet on her wrist, Yuigahama Yui, who had still been thinking about how to please Hachiman, suddenly changed expression.
Only now did she realize that everything before had merely been an appetizer. The main course was only beginning.
Seeing Yukinoshita Yukino's usually cold face covered in blush, her eyes half-rolling upward, and deeply experiencing what Yukinoshita Yukino was feeling now, Yuigahama Yui completely fell apart.
'No wonder Yuki repeatedly warned me to be careful before joining...'
'Mom! I can't handle this at all!'
Hayasaka Ai looked at Yuigahama Yui, who, like her young lady, soon became weak-limbed and drenched in sweat, and quietly shook her head while calmly watching her.
She still hadn't passed out. Once she did, Hayasaka would stop the empathy for her.
After all, the magical girl awakening ceremony had not officially begun yet. Receiving a little more harsh training might increase her strength further. At that point, Yuigahama Yui might be extremely grateful to her instead.
"President, a few guests came to my house today. They want to form an alliance with us. President, do you have any opinions?"
Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at Yuigahama Yui, who couldn't even turn off the empathy herself. Breathing heavily, she rolled over and switched positions with her. Passing both arms around Yuigahama Yui, she wrapped them around Hachiman's neck and spoke softly.
Although she didn't really understand how to serve people, she had already seen how many girls in the Service Club discussed serious matters with Hachiman.
Including Rurikawa Tsubaki and Kaede. Even the elf princess Iris and the others were probably the same. They absorbed awakening magic essence while asking for Hachiman's opinions.
She didn't know whether it was one of Hachiman's preferences or whether he genuinely had no time and could only handle things whenever he found a moment, but this method really did distract her enough to keep her from collapsing immediately.
Sigh... She didn't know whether she was too nervous or simply hadn't learned how to relax. The moment Hachiman held her, she felt like she was finished.
Not only did her body lose strength, even her mind felt overheated. If she didn't force herself to think about serious matters, she felt she would become someone who only knew how to enjoy herself.
But she really couldn't ask her sister or Mother about something like this.
Even though she had already been completely honest with her sister.
"Yukino, if you want to form an alliance with someone, then do it. I won't interfere that much. Though I'm curious, how many allies does your family have now?"
Hachiman gently stroked the black thigh-high stockings on Yukinoshita Yukino's long, shapely legs. Looking down at Yuigahama Yui, whose skin appeared even fairer by contrast, he smiled and reached out to play with her pink bun hairstyle.
There weren't many girls in the Service Club who liked styling their hair. Most had fixed hairstyles that were easy to manage, such as long straight hair, ponytails, hime cuts, twin tails, and so on, with only slight personal touches added. The bun hairstyle seemed unique to Yuigahama Yui.
"The Katsura family, the Asagami family, the Nakano family, the Tachibana family..."
Hearing that Hachiman had no intention of interfering with the Yukinoshita family, just as everyone had said, Yukinoshita Yukino relaxed. Still hugging him tightly, she spoke the surnames of the Yukinoshita family's current allies into the ears of the dazed Yuigahama Yui.
She had taken leave at noon and returned home. She only came back to school shortly before classes ended and waited for Hachiman in the Service Club. Because of that, she knew quite a lot about the allies who had visited throughout the day.
Some allies were prestigious families who knew the cruelty of the 2D Underworld or knew a little about the Yukinoshita sisters serving as vice presidents and had taken the initiative to seek an alliance.
Others knew nothing about the 2D Underworld at all. Some even had very poor living conditions and were ordinary families facing hardship whom Mother had personally approached to form alliances with.
In the eyes of many people, the Yukinoshita family had long since gained Hachiman's favor and held a special position within the Service Club.
But she, Mother, and her sister all knew very well that their family's relationship with Hachiman wasn't actually that close.
Well... it couldn't compare to families like the Rurikawa family or the Ichinose family, where masters and servants, as well as sisters, were all deeply involved.
The Yukinoshita family had few members and limited influence, so they needed allies capable of standing against other forces. They also needed allies with many sisters who could compete together for Hachiman's affection.
However, Hachiman remained the most important factor. To avoid making mistakes, they first wanted to be open with him and see which families he knew better or found more interesting so they could manage those relationships more effectively.
"The Katsura family, the Asagami family, the Nakano family, the Tachibana family..."
Listening as Yukinoshita Yukino listed one surname after another, Hachiman took a light breath. Looking at her flawless face, no longer cold and now covered in blush, he thought for a moment before continuing.
"What is the name of the Asagami family's heir?"
He knew the Katsura family, the Tachibana family, and the Nakano family, but he wasn't certain about the Asagami family.
Why had the Asagami family allied with the Yukinoshita family?
If it was the Asagami family he knew, why weren't all four demon-hunting families forming an alliance together?
Although, according to the original story, the four great demon-hunting families had mostly declined, and some had even been wiped out.
"The heir's name is Asagami Fujino. She's the daughter of the family head. But the Asagami family has already gone bankrupt and fallen... The main family has now become part of the branch Asakami family..."
Yukinoshita Yukino had never expected Hachiman to pay attention to the already fallen Asagami family. She froze briefly, then quickly recovered and explained while taking a deep breath.
"Although Asagami Fujino hasn't awakened any demon-hunting abilities and even has physical problems, after learning that you have the ability to develop and awaken other people's bloodlines and talents, the Asagami family wants to ask you to help develop hers."
Personally, she felt that the former demon-hunting family, the Asagami family, wasn't as useful as the warrior-family-descended Katsura family, nor as useful as the Tachibana and Nakano families, who had many sisters.
Now the Asagami family was just like the Rurikawa family in the past. It had declined. Asagami Fujino possessed the title of a young lady but not the reality of one. No matter how hard she tried to revive the family, it had accomplished nothing.
But with Hachiman's abilities, perhaps he really could restore the Asagami family to glory.
Although many people still didn't know why Hachiman could strengthen so many girls, after studying successful examples, they had already formed guesses about his abilities.
Since Hachiman could awaken demi-human bloodlines and turn human girls into magical girls, then he could very likely strengthen mixed-blood individuals as well, whether by awakening bloodlines or turning them into magical girls.
After Yukinoshita Kiyuki and Aoe Mai left the student council office that morning, they met again and discussed many things. When Yukinoshita Yukino returned home that afternoon, she also learned some related knowledge about the 2D Underworld.
Demi-humans were not humans, but mixed-bloods were not the offspring of humans and demi-humans either.
Mixed-blood referred to the human-demon race born from unions between demons, monsters, and humans. The so-called demon hunting performed by demon-hunting families was the hunting of these human-demon hybrids.
However, after some human-demon hybrids joined the human side and integrated into the upper levels of society, and the demon-hunting families gradually declined for various reasons, human society was left mainly with shrine maiden demon hunters who dealt with supernatural beings and evil spirits.
Now the Asagami family had probably learned about President Hachiman's abilities and wanted to return to prominence. If they obtained obvious results from him, the other demon-hunting families might rush to send people as well.
Even the Tohno family and other human-demon hybrids might send people to oppose the demon-hunting families and suppress them again.
Among the four great demon-hunting families, the Nanaya family, which inherited supernatural abilities through bloodline, had already been wiped out.
The Asagami family had gone bankrupt, and the main family had merged into the branch Asakami family.
The Kugen family of shrine maidens had declined after breaking a taboo.
Only the Ryougi family was still doing fairly well.
Well... that was why Yukinoshita Yukino was surprised that Hachiman paid attention to the Asagami family, which had the fewest people.
The title of demon-hunting family sounded impressive, but in reality they were all in terrible shape. The Ryougi family, supposedly the leader among demon-hunting families, had even gotten involved with the underworld.
Instead, among the demi-humans, the oni race served as the main force among the demon-hunting shrine maidens. The strongest demon-hunting shrine maiden was the oni princess shrine maiden, Origamine Ouka.
The strongest oni family head among the demon-hunting families, Origamine Ouka, had long since submitted herself before Hachiman. No matter how one thought about it, there seemed little reason to care about a fallen demon-hunting family.
"Handle those matters however you see fit. I won't meet them specially. This weekend, if you want to bring them into the club or have them join the convention activities, that's fine."
After learning about the current state of the four great demon-hunting families from Yukinoshita Yukino's fragmented explanation, Hachiman decided not to think too much about it.
Whether demon-hunting families or human-demon hybrids, it all sounded complicated, but simply put, they wanted to awaken bloodlines and become stronger.
Although he wasn't sure whether awakening magic essence would work on them, he wasn't deceiving anyone. If they wanted it, he would give it to them. It cost him nothing anyway.
"O-Okay, President..."
Yukinoshita Yukino looked deeply at Hachiman, who was holding her legs. After receiving his attention, she could only answer quietly.
Perhaps influenced by Hachiman's example as club president, she no longer wanted to think about things so much. Whatever happened, happened. The president had more than enough energy and could support whoever he wished.
Besides, no matter how impressive demon-hunting families were, could they compare to magical girls? Magical girls were the strongest now.
Magical girls fought demons, aliens, and evil forces. Things were far more complicated than human-demon hybrids.
Rather than worrying about demon-hunting families and human-demon hybrids, it was better to think about the Nakano family quintuplets.
Five sisters, and identical quintuplets at that, everyone knew Hachiman liked sisters, especially twin sisters. His childhood friends Suzu and Kaede were among the best examples.
But now there were quintuplet sisters, and they were extremely difficult to tell apart.
If the Nakano quintuplets let down their hair, removed their accessories, and wore identical clothes, Yukinoshita Yukino believed she would have no idea who was who.
Perhaps she could tell after getting familiar with them, but at a glance it would still be difficult.
She felt that Hachiman would definitely like the Nakano quintuplets. But if he liked them too much, she didn't know what consequences it would bring to the Yukinoshita family.
The Yukinoshita family was currently stuck in an awkward position. They wanted allies good enough to win Hachiman's favor, yet feared those allies becoming even more favored and stepping over the Yukinoshita family.
The only comforting thing was that Mother had said Aunt Reina had no intention of having her daughters seduce Hachiman.
The alliance between the two families existed purely because of the friendship between Mother and Aunt Reina. It mainly depended on whether the five sisters liked Hachiman.
That gave the Yukinoshita family room to maneuver. At least they wouldn't see the relationship they had only just begun developing with Hachiman instantly surpassed by an allied family's quintuplets.
"Um... Yuki... Just now, we... Uh, where's the president?"
Who knew how much time had passed. Yuigahama Yui, experiencing a service activity for the first time, slowly woke up and gradually pushed herself up from the table.
She lowered her head and looked at the school uniform covering her body. Her fair, soft face immediately turned red. One hand grabbed the clothing over her chest while the other reached toward her neck.
The moment she touched the black collar around her neck, she looked around and fixed her gaze on the long black-haired girl sitting upright by the window.
Black over-the-knee stockings outlined her slender, straight legs.
Her waist-length hair was smooth and dark, and her fair, flawless face remained as cold as ever.
If her clothes weren't still half-unworn, her limbs weren't still sore and numb, and the collar wasn't still around her neck, Yuigahama Yui would truly have suspected that it had all been a dream.
But that dream had actually been Yuki's dream. She had been caught between Yuki and the president and had shared Yuki's feelings.
She had become Yuki and been thoroughly bullied by the president.
"It's over. The president finished the club activity and already left the Service Club to support other people."
Hearing Yuigahama Yui wake up, Yukinoshita Yukino, who had been staring at the steaming milk coffee on her desk, slowly raised her head. Her gaze swept across Yuigahama Yui's round pink buns before she softly asked, "Yuigahama, welcome to the real Service Club."
"Although it's a little late to say this, now that you've learned about the Service Club and the Service Club Association, you should understand that competition around the president is fierce and there are many small groups."
"If you don't want to compete, you can ignore all that. The club won't force you to take part."
In fact, the others were very supportive of newcomers not competing. The fewer competitors, the better.
But members who joined the Service Club Association usually either had family interests involved or personally liked Hachiman.
To raise a handsome guy, to have children, to avoid becoming male, to awaken bloodlines, to pay off debts for a former fiancé, to support a close friend's romance, to maintain public morals, and so on...
The members joined for all kinds of reasons, but very few truly fought for nothing. Even Hayase Saki and the others were trying to recruit people to gain more favor from the president.
Only a handful of people, such as Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana, had no urgent need for the president. Even so, they didn't dislike him and occasionally joined everyone else in experiencing the service games.
"Well... Yuki, you're the one who brought me in. Of course I'm joining your side."
Although Yukinoshita Yukino hadn't directly asked her to join, Yuigahama Yui knew very well that she had nearly been kicked out of the Service Club and quickly answered.
But thinking about the experiences that had left her unconscious, she hesitated. Quickly putting on her clothes, she dragged her weak legs over to Yukinoshita Yukino and carefully asked, "Still, I have one small question. After joining the club, do I have to do service activities like today's every day?"
She admitted that President Hachiman felt wonderful. In fact, she still wanted a little more.
With so many girls liking the president, she believed that feeling was part of the reason.
But if things were this intense every day, she really didn't think she could endure it.
"Of course not."
Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at the overly imaginative Yuigahama Yui and replied calmly.
"Normally, every newcomer gets special treatment their first time. Even if you don't actively seek it, your turn will eventually come."
"But after that, if you want more, you'll have to find a way yourself."
"In the Service Club Association, receiving more favor from the president means gaining more strength, though many people aren't pursuing strength alone."
At first, she had also thought those people had impure motives and would do anything for benefits. But after getting deeper into things, she realized many of the girls had been suppressing themselves for too long and had instead become very enthusiastic about these matters.
Especially the elf princess Iris, who was famous for her purity. Under all kinds of excuses about needing Hachiman's support, she constantly looked for ways to seduce him.
"Oh, oh, oh."