Although the private convention was planned and organized by Lumilia and Kitagawa Marin, neither of them handled the money, nor did they want to.
The idol agency's finances were still being managed by Shion, but now that Kushida Kikyo was in charge of Sobu High's affairs, it was only natural to give her some authority over the budget as well.
Although he enjoyed watching Kushida Kikyo lose her composure, seeing her force herself to flatter him despite hating it, he couldn't push it too far. Every now and then, he still had to give her a little reward.
"I see... Then Karen and I will thank you in advance, President Hikigaya."
Meda Hitomi pursed her lips. Without saying anything else, she pulled Tsukishima Karen along and bowed to Hachiman.
Since this private convention Marin was organizing was invitation-only and not open to the public, she had assumed it would be a very small event. Rather than a convention, she had thought it would just be a gathering for enthusiasts.
It was also perfect because her childhood friend Karen lacked confidence, so they wouldn't be too nervous about cosplaying.
Now, though, it seemed she'd been mistaken.
With Hachiman's influence, organizing a huge convention probably wouldn't be difficult at all. The only reason this one was small was because of personal interest.
"Savior, Hitomi and the others and I are going to look around ahead. From here on, Sister Nina and Sister Lala will keep you company."
After Hachiman finished talking with Meda Hitomi and the others, Lumilia stepped forward, kissed him once, then took a step back and bowed while secretly winking at Nina.
There were simply too many people around the Savior. Sister Nina and the Savior hadn't been able to properly deepen their relationship or take the next step.
"Thank you for supporting us, Hachiman. When the convention starts, Yumiko and the others and I will give you a huge surprise. Make sure you're looking forward to it."
Before leaving, Kitagawa Marin hugged Hachiman directly and planted a loud kiss on his cheek, while also throwing an obvious hint toward Miura Yumiko beside her.
She had always been an especially warm and outgoing person. In the past, she had worried about her good friend Yumiko's feelings, so she had been too embarrassed to do things like this in public.
But now Yumiko had known about everything for a long time. They had even served Hachiman together.
Since Yumiko wasn't proactive enough, Marin would just act on her behalf too. That counted as helping Yumiko.
"...", Miura Yumiko looked at the winking Kitagawa Marin, completely speechless.
'Marin, if you want to cosplay, then just cosplay. Why drag me into this?'
Sometimes she really couldn't understand what her best friend was thinking.
She even used her name as an excuse for something like this. Wasn't Marin simply doing what she wanted?
Marin and Nijika both had much deeper relationships with Hachiman than she did. Who knew how many times they'd secretly gotten ahead already.
If Marin and Nijika weren't such close friends of hers, she'd really be at a loss for words.
"Ryou, Kita, Bocchi, let's go too!"
Ijichi Nijika's face reddened. Afraid she'd also have to kiss him before leaving, she quickly pulled Miura Yumiko, Gotou Hitori, and the others along. After saying goodbye to Hachiman, they hurried after Lumilia and Kitagawa Marin.
It wasn't performance time, when they needed Hachiman's conducting baton.
Nor was it class time, when he taught simultaneous interpretation.
Staying beside Hachiman while everyone else stared at them was honestly pretty stressful...
"Eh? Eh?"
Kita Ikuyo naturally followed Ijichi Nijika without hesitation. Out of the entire Kessoku Band, she had the shallowest relationship with Hachiman, so she felt the most pressure around him.
Unless it was a group activity involving the whole band, she'd rather keep suffering from her empathy collar.
But when Gotou Hitori realized she was being pulled away by Ijichi Nijika, she kept looking back every few steps at Hachiman as he grew farther away.
'Just a little longer... just a little longer, and it would be my turn...'
Once they had put some distance between themselves and Hachiman, Meda Hitomi, Tsukishima Karen, and the others all let out sighs of relief.
Sugahara Fumika, who had barely spoken the whole time and had only greeted him before remaining silent, adjusted her glasses. Her left eye, uncovered by her bangs, looked toward Kitagawa Marin and Lumilia as she quietly asked,
"Who exactly is this President Hikigaya? Why is everyone so nervous around him?"
"You know Princess Iris the elf attends Sobu High, right? President Hikigaya is the president of the Service Club. He's the only boy in Sobu High who's friends with Princess Iris."
Meda Hitomi explained while looking toward Lumilia, "And Princess Iris's younger sister, Princess Lumilia, can prove that."
"A real elf princess?"
Before Lumilia could answer herself, Sugahara Fumika stared at her in disbelief after hearing Meda Hitomi's explanation.
Actually, because of fantasy elements from another world such as elf princesses, mermaid divas, demi-humans, and so on, fantasy-themed cosplay had become extremely common. So although Lumilia was incredibly pretty and adorable, with a pair of lively pointed elf ears, Fumika hadn't taken it seriously.
When Lumilia called Hachiman "Savior" earlier, she had assumed they were just acquaintances role-playing together.
But now, from Hitomi's explanation, this girl named Lumilia was actually an elf? And even the sister of Princess Iris, who often appeared in public.
"Mhm. Big Sister Iris has been a little busy these past few days, so Sister Nina and I are accompanying the Savior for now. If Miss Fumika wants to attend the private convention, you might even get to see Big Sister Iris there."
Lumilia smiled and nodded to Sugahara Fumika.
"I can join too..."
Sugahara Fumika was immediately tempted.
She hadn't spoken earlier because she was an outsider.
Not only was she not especially stunning, she also had no cosplay experience and wasn't even a Sobu High student. She never expected she'd be able to join a private convention that obviously wasn't open to ordinary people.
A private convention with an elf princess participating... Wouldn't that mean there would be lots of real demi-humans there?
"Oh, right, Marin. You're in the same class as President Hikigaya. What exactly is your relationship with him? Have you two... you know?"
Meda Hitomi didn't really care whether Sugahara Fumika, whom she'd only recently met, wanted to attend the private convention. Instead, she suddenly looked at Kitagawa Marin and smiled meaningfully.
Although gyarus generally didn't have the best reputation, Sobu High had strict discipline. Most of them only made small changes to accessories or parts of their uniforms, and very few seriously broke school rules. Marin, whose reputation had always been good, was no exception.
For Kitagawa Marin to kiss Hachiman in front of everyone, she found it very hard to believe the two of them hadn't already ended up in bed together.
"Hehe~"
Kitagawa Marin's face turned red. She didn't answer, simply smiling as she pulled Lumilia toward a booth selling gal games.
"Let's check out the games from this Flower circle. They don't seem too hardcore. After that, let's go to the Egoistic-Lily doujin circle and see if their breastfeeding doujin this time is even better."
"Oh, right! Their circle seems to be all girls. Maybe we can invite them to join our convention!"
"Hitomi, why do I have to cosplay too..."
Tsukishima Karen, who had been timidly standing beside Meda Hitomi with her head lowered, suddenly reached out and tugged at Hitomi's sleeve.
"Otherwise what? Am I supposed to cosplay alone while you just stand there watching?"
Meda Hitomi rolled her eyes at Karen, who only found the courage to quietly protest after everything had already been decided.
"Besides, you didn't refuse earlier, did you?"
"Don't think I didn't notice. Ever since we met President Hikigaya, your eyes were almost never off him."
"Th-that doesn't prove anything... Everyone was looking at President Hikigaya..."
Tsukishima Karen hadn't expected her best friend to have been watching her the whole time. She felt incredibly guilty saying that.
She didn't know why she kept looking at Hachiman.
Even when their eyes accidentally met, she didn't feel the strong urge to look away that she always felt when meeting other people's eyes. Instead, she wanted Hachiman to look at her a little longer.
She didn't dare tell Hitomi about this strange change.
After all, her reaction really did seem a bit lovestruck.
Hachiman didn't pay much attention to the cosplay enthusiasts around Kitagawa Marin.
If he really wanted to play cosplay games, plenty of young ladies would gladly come to him. There was no need for him to search the cosplay community himself.
Well... Marin had just said these girls hadn't cosplayed before, so they should still be fine.
Although they were still a little short of the target of fifty people, the character mission had no time limit. There was no rush. He could take it slowly.
As for convention research and recruiting cosplay enthusiasts, he could leave it all to Lumilia and Kitagawa Marin.
He only needed to enjoy this leisurely trip to the convention.
Once the private convention began, he'd be far too busy.
"Hm?"
Hachiman sensed an unfamiliar presence approaching. He stopped thinking and slowly looked toward the newcomers.
"Savior, please be careful. They're an adventurer party from the Human Kingdom. One of them is royalty."
Nina, who had remained silent for quite a while, suddenly stepped in front of Hachiman. Her expression turned cold as she stared at a group of women who had revealed themselves after entering their barrier. They were dressed as though cosplaying characters from a fantasy world, especially the young woman with the high ponytail.
"They've definitely come because they're after your bloodline, Savior."
'Shouldn't this elf take a look at what the elves themselves have been doing?'
'Not just the older sister and younger sister,.even elves from the same tribe had all joined in. They are using every possible means without the slightest shame, yet she actually has the nerve to accuse someone else?'
Hearing Nina's completely self-unaware remark, not only did Momo, Nana, La Folia, and the others behind her feel helpless, but even the newly arrived party was speechless at this elf princess.
"Ahem! Honorable Lord Hikigaya, I am Princess Falma of the Kingdom of Eos, and also the kingdom's strongest warrior. You may call me Falma."
"I come from the same world as this elf princess. After hearing of your great deeds, I deeply admired you and came especially to pay my respects."
Ignoring Nina's wary hostility, the beautiful young woman with dazzling red hair tied in a high ponytail stepped forward in her boots, bowed, and introduced herself to Hachiman.
"I greet Lord Hikigaya. I am the church priestess Alice, a member of the same Hero's Party as Princess Falma."
"I greet Lord Hikigaya. I am the elf mage Shafi. Together with Hero's Party members Princess Falma of the kingdom and Saintess Alice of the church, I offer our greetings to you, Savior."
As Princess Falma introduced herself, the black-haired beauty holding a staff and wearing a long cloak, along with the blonde pointy-eared elf wearing an exquisite hair ornament, both stepped forward and knelt on one knee to greet Hachiman.
"There's no need to be so formal. Please, all of you, stand up. What did you come all the way to this world to see me for? Don't tell me you're here to ask for my help too, just like Iris?"
Seeing how respectful the three of them were, Hachiman, who had always responded better to kindness than force, raised a hand to signal them to rise. Still, he was somewhat surprised.
Princess Falma merely bowed, yet the church's Saintess Alice and the elf mage Shafi had knelt on one knee. It seemed the church in the Kingdom of Eos held less power than the royal family.
"Well..."
Hearing Hachiman ask so directly, the elf mage Shafi and church priestess Alice, who had just stood up, looked at one another before finally turning toward Falma.
Although they each had their own reasons for coming to this world, as members of the same Hero's Party, they still followed Princess Falma's lead.
"H-help... Actually... it's not necessarily for help..."
With everyone's eyes on her, Falma's fair face quickly became almost as red as her brilliant crimson hair, yet she still found it difficult to explain why she had come to see Hachiman.
They hadn't just arrived in this world. A few days ago, when Nina brought the elves over, their Hero's Party had arrived at around the same time.
Although using magic freely wasn't convenient in this world, Hachiman's life force was as magnificent and blazing as the sun. Even the aura radiating from him was overwhelming. With both a church priestess and an elf mage in their party, finding him hadn't been difficult.
However, Hachiman was either at school or at home, almost always within the activity range of Elf Princess Iris, Dragon Clan Chief Ursula, and the other demi-humans. They had never found a chance to approach him.
Now, they had finally waited until Elf Princess Iris was absent and Dragon Clan Chief Ursula hadn't come with him before they found an opportunity to meet Hachiman.
But this didn't seem like the right occasion to discuss their real purpose...
Seeing Falma's expression, Charlotte, who was hugging Hachiman, and La Folia behind her both became quietly vigilant.
They had crossed worlds specifically to find Hachiman. No matter how one looked at it, the only possible purpose was to seek his help.
Only Lala smiled cheerfully at Falma's group without the slightest hint of tension. She was even a little distracted, thinking about something else.
Originally, she had planned to use the long vacation to take Hachiman and everyone else sightseeing on another planet. But if traveling to another world was this convenient, then spending the vacation visiting Iris's world sounded pretty good too.
"Shafi, come over here. There is no Demon King in this world anymore. You don't need to stay with their Hero's Party."
Seeing Falma hesitate and refuse to admit they had come seeking help, Nina immediately concluded that the group had ulterior motives. She called for the fellow elf Shafi to return to her side while staring seriously at Falma and Alice, making sure they couldn't do anything harmful to Hachiman.
"Um... Princess Nina, Falma and Alice really don't have any intention of harming the Savior. You don't need to be so wary."
Shafi hadn't expected Princess Nina, who had once joined humans to defeat the Demon King, to distrust humans so deeply, and quickly tried to persuade her.
"Can humans like them really be trusted? They'll even kill their own family for power. How much more dangerous would someone with power as great as the Savior be? I have to protect him."
Nina showed no restraint in expressing her contempt for the two humans, Falma and Alice.
"..."
Unable to persuade Nina, Shafi looked helplessly toward Hachiman.
Logically, she should obey Princess Nina. Members of the same Hero's Party were merely companions on the journey to defeat the Demon King, while Princess Nina was her fellow elf. Protecting the Savior was a matter of the elves' survival, far more important than defeating any Demon King.
But it had been Princess Iris's order for her to remain in the Hero's Party. If she completely distanced herself from Falma and Alice now, it would become difficult to keep track of the Hero's Party's movements in the future.
"Nina, calm down first. I don't have any grudge against Falma or Alice. There'd be no reason for them to come all the way to this world just to deal with me."