"Um... Miss Yukinoshita... does the Service Club always... play this boldly?"
Sawamura Sayuri lowered her flushed face, lightly tapped Yukino's shoulder from behind, and asked in a voice barely louder than a whisper.
When the demonic aura appeared, she was discussing a potential partnership with Yukino.
Even Hachiman, who had just finished helping La Folia and Charlotte, rushed over without hesitation. Naturally, she and Yukino cut their unimportant discussion short and hurried over with everyone else.
But when she arrived with Yukino, she found that the problem had already been resolved. What followed was a scene so shocking that she didn't know whether she should leave or keep watching. She was completely dumbfounded.
Things like Heroes, Demon Kings, and demons weren't particularly surprising. After all, the other world where the Elf Princess came from closely resembled the fantasy worlds found in fiction. The details might not match exactly, but the overall setting was easy enough to imagine.
After the Elf Princess's arrival, isekai-themed ACG(Anime, Comics & Games) works had become more popular than ever. Thanks to the Mermaid Diva, the idol industry had also seen more and more beautiful girls debuting as idols.
The only difference was that the structure of the other world and their own world was different. Powerful magic users from that world would be suppressed if they crossed over here, and various native supernatural organizations would deal with them as well. So there was no need to be overly concerned about forces from another world.
Of course, the elves were one of the rare exceptions. That was why, despite the other world having so many races, only the Elf Princess was so active and received so much attention from every major power.
But Sawamura Sayuri had already known all of that.
What she truly couldn't ignore now was simply what the Service Club members were doing.
The ridiculous scene of Princesses La Folia and Charlotte lying on his desk earlier... wasn't a special case?
They were all noble young ladies from prominent families, yet they were acting however they pleased just because they had magic?
"President, the lady beside me is one of the Yukinoshita family's new allies, Sawamura Sayuri."
Yukino glanced back at Sawamura Sayuri, who was covering her mouth, her eyes full of shock. Instead of answering her question, she stepped forward and stopped in front of Hachiman.
Looking at Hachiman, who was surrounded by Lala and the other two girls, she quietly introduced Sayuri.
"Auntie Sayuri's daughter, Eriri, is a fairly well-known illustrator. Her pen name is Kashiwagi Eri, and she's extremely skilled. Auntie Sayuri was just helping sell her daughter's doujinshi."
"Lumilia and the others still need more creative circles selling their own works for the private convention they want to hold. We might be able to use Eriri's connections to invite more people from the industry and make our private convention livelier."
The alliance between the Yukinoshita and Sawamura families wasn't particularly important. Hachiman normally paid little attention to these small family alliances. Iris, Kaede, Rurikawa Tsubaki, and the others usually handled those matters.
Still, although Sawamura Sayuri's status meant very little within the Service Club, Sawamura Eriri's profession as a doujin artist was worth mentioning.
Based on Haruno's analysis of Hachiman's personality and preferences, Hachiman, much like Marin, was very interested in ACG-related things. However, for various reasons, he rarely went out and had never deliberately attended crowded events like conventions.
Now that Marin and Lumilia had suggested holding a private convention, Hachiman was strongly in favor of it.
By bringing up the Sawamura mother and daughter now, Yukino hoped Hachiman would look a little more favorably on the family alliance centered around the Yukinoshita family.
Introducing her now?
And introducing Eriri's work as a doujin artist?
Sayuri was startled by Yukino's move. Still, she did her best to remain composed, stepped forward beside Yukino, and lowered her head.
"Hello, President. I never expected you to come enjoy a convention."
"If I'd known you were interested in these things, I would've brought Eriri with me."
Her lowered gaze fell upon Lala, Charlotte, and La Folia, who were unconsciously standing on tiptoe in front of Hachiman.
Their slender, shapely legs wrapped in black knee-high stockings were taut, while their raised skirts exposed smooth, fair thighs.
Sayuri quietly introduced herself.
Drip!
Drip!
Just as Sayuri began wondering whether she was really going to witness it with her own eyes, Hachiman finally let go of the blushing Charlotte and La Folia.
Holding the still-clinging Lala in his arms, he looked toward Yukino and Sayuri.
When he had awakened Charlotte and La Folia's magical girl talents, there was naturally no way he would have simply collapsed onto any random booth. He had done it there because he knew Sayuri and Sawamura Eriri.
Still, he had been a little surprised that Yukino had proactively led Sayuri aside.
He certainly hadn't expected the Yukinoshita and Sawamura families to have formed an alliance.
Should he say that Yukinoshita Kiyuki had done a good job raising Yukino? Her initiative had become remarkably strong.
Before, Yukino had wanted nothing to do with his affairs.
Now, even if he told her to wear a maid outfit and meow, she wouldn't object. She would simply act as if nothing were unusual and carry out his instructions.
"President, just call me Sayuri. I was wondering... do you have time tonight?"
"There's a party this evening. Quite a few girls who want to enroll at Sobu High and join the Service Club will be attending. Princess La Folia and the others will be there as well. If you don't mind, I can also introduce Eriri to you in advance."
Hearing how Hachiman addressed her, Sayuri relaxed a little.
With a faint smile, she spoke softly.
In front of Hachiman, even Yotsuba Maya probably wouldn't dare put on airs.
Naturally, she couldn't treat herself as his elder either.
Thinking about the gathering she and Eriri would be attending that night, a party for mothers and daughters, she felt it was worth trying, even if the invitation was somewhat abrupt.
"That's right. We will be attending a party tonight. Most of the guests are either mixed-race or from other countries. There aren't many representatives from local conglomerates."
"I also remember that a world-famous genius painter will be attending, though they're a different type of artist from Miss Sawamura Eriri."
La Folia and Charlotte quietly smoothed down the hems of their skirts that had been lifted earlier. Their faces still carried faint blushes as they nodded and explained.
As princesses, they naturally couldn't spend every day clinging to Hachiman.
They also had relationships with other factions to maintain.
Unfortunately, the daughters of nobles and knights from their own countries hadn't arrived yet. During this convention, they couldn't immediately recruit people and could only temporarily seek help from allies.
"Tonight..."
Hachiman thought for a moment.
Looking at Charlotte, La Folia, and Sayuri, whose eyes held faint anticipation, he eventually shook his head.
"If it had been planned in advance, that would be different. But for a party that came up unexpectedly like this, I probably won't have the time."
Although he was interested in the party they would be attending and wanted to see how many familiar faces were there, there was no rush.
Even if he didn't go, they would still join the Service Club on their own.
Compared to girls he hadn't met yet, he should spend more time with the girls who were always by his side.
"What a pity. They won't have the honor of meeting you in advance, President."
Watching Lala resting weightlessly in Hachiman's arms, Sayuri quietly sighed.
It really was a shame.
If she could have invited Hachiman to the party, it probably would have been a huge help to Eriri.
With so many factions inside the Service Club, getting along well with other groups would help keep them from being isolated.
Still, there was no point forcing it.
Eriri might be quite messy at home, but when it came to presenting herself elegantly among other young ladies, she'd do just fine.
If anything was lacking, Sayuri could always quietly help her behind the scenes.
Even Princesses Charlotte and La Folia had just offered themselves to Hachiman right in front of her, yet they still hadn't gained any overwhelming advantage.
That proved that within the Service Club, where Hachiman stood at the absolute center, outside status and position mattered very little.
As long as someone catered to Hachiman's preferences, they would receive enough attention.
Charlotte and La Folia weren't particularly disappointed either.
If they really brought President Hachiman there, they'd only end up worrying.
They had only just become magical girls.
How could they let everyone else catch up so quickly?
In front of President Hachiman, those girls definitely wouldn't know what restraint meant.
"Savior, I just saw a game circle. Should we go take a look?"
"A game circle? A GAL game?"
"Yep! Lumilia and I want to make a game ourselves too!"
Seeing that Hachiman had finished talking, Lumilia and Marin excitedly dragged him toward a circle where they had bought something earlier.
"Don't rush. We've got plenty of time. Let's head over slowly."
Hachiman smiled helplessly but still carried the limp Lala with them.
He had played plenty of games before, but he'd never considered making one himself.
Still, if Lumilia and the others truly wanted to develop games, he wouldn't stop them.
Setting up a game development club would only require mentioning it to Feng and Tsubaki.
Although Sobu High almost certainly already had a game club, they could probably use a little influence to establish another club with a similar purpose.
Watching Hachiman get pulled away by Marin and Lumilia, Himeragi Yukina, Kasugaya Shizuri, Kuroba Ayako, Ririchiyo Shirakiin, and the others, who had been too embarrassed to stare directly at him, exchanged glances at one another's flushed faces before hurrying after them.
———
"W-Wait... hold on! I'm a little confused right now..."
"Y-You're saying... you want to buy our circle so we can make games exclusively for you?"
At the Flower circle's booth, an adorable girl wearing blue overalls, with a single ahoge sticking up from her head, stood behind the table, staring in disbelief at the group before her.
A lively blonde gyaru.
A silver-haired elegant beauty.
A pink-haired girl with flushed cheeks leaning against a black-haired boy.
Ever since the convention had opened half an hour ago, Sonono Nene had been feeling miserable.
One could even say she was in despair.
Their circle had poured everything into making their first game, but sales had been terrible.
After several hours, they had sold only a handful.
It was obvious that they wouldn't even recover the development costs.
Judging from the reactions at the venue, they didn't think the game would fare any better through other sales channels.
Yet she had never expected the two customers who had bought their game earlier to come back and propose buying their company.
"We haven't made a final decision yet, but we really do want to hire you to make games for us."
Marin nodded before looking at Hachiman with eager anticipation.
"Hachiman, is it okay?"
If cosplaying your favorite character was already one of the greatest ways to express your love, then helping make the game yourself, and afterward cosplaying your favorite character from it, would practically be like cosplaying your own daughter.
It would be an unbelievably amazing experience.
"Savior... maybe in the future we could even make a Service Club GAL game..."
Lumilia also looked hopefully at Hachiman, waiting for him to nod.
She and Marin had already bought plenty of works to help fill out their private convention, doujinshi, games, novels, and all sorts of merchandise.
But after putting in so much effort, they couldn't fill the event entirely with things they had bought.
They also needed actual creative circles.
Reputation and artistic skill weren't the most important factors.
As long as someone had solid fundamentals, that was enough.
The key was meeting the requirements to join the Service Club. They couldn't just recruit anyone.
The all-female creative circle before them, Flower, was a perfect fit.
Their company had failed and was struggling financially, making it possible to buy both the people and the company together.
"Sure. As long as you're happy."
"But you'll need to explain the situation to Miss Sonono first. They don't know anything about what you're planning, so how can they help us make games?"
Holding the completely limp Lala while gently stroking her flushed, warm face, Hachiman looked helplessly at Marin and Lumilia.
The reason they had specifically brought him over clearly wasn't because of money.
They simply wanted his approval.
As long as he agreed, all he had to do was nod.
Everything else would be handled without him.
Making a game just for internal use was admittedly extravagant.
But the Service Club had plenty of members.
Not to mention one game, even making ten or a hundred wouldn't be a problem.
Money wasn't worth mentioning.
There was absolutely no need to worry about funding.
Even Sawamura Eriri, who hadn't officially joined the Service Club yet, was an illustrator. They also had voice actors.
For example, Aoyama Nanami, whom they had just met today, was a trainee at a voice acting agency.
If necessary, they could simply bring over the idols from the talent agency to provide voices.
Most of the idols there were singers and actresses, but there were also quite a few voice actress idols.
The game's background music could also be handled by the agency's idols.
If he had the time and interest, he could even personally coach them with his teaching aura and quickly improve their "acting."
The only thing they might truly lack was a top-tier scenario writer.
But even that wasn't a real problem.
Sobu High had no shortage of literature girls.
For example, Furuhashi Fumino, the "Sleeping Beauty of the Literary Forest."
Having girls like them write erotic content actually sounded pretty good.
"Um... are you really serious? We just made a game that failed."
Unable to help herself, Sonono Nene questioned them after seeing Hachiman, Marin, and Lumilia decide to buy her company after only a few exchanges.
"Of course we're serious."
Kuroba Ayako stepped out from the crowd behind Hachiman, took out a checkbook, quickly wrote a check, and handed it to Sonono Nene.
"Here's thirty million yen. You can cash it at Yotsuba Bank right now and transfer it into your company's account. Other banks are fine too, though the process might take a little longer."
"T-Thirty million? Uh... is this... real? Our circle isn't worth anywhere near that much..."
Nene stared blankly at Kuroba Ayako, dressed in Gothic clothing with fair skin and an elegant presence, then looked down at the check in her hand.
She simply couldn't believe something like this was happening.
They certainly looked wealthy and not like scammers.
But this was still ridiculous.
They had casually handed over a check worth tens of millions of yen.
"The thirty million isn't just for the acquisition. It also includes your future operating expenses."
"Of course, if you think it's not enough, we can keep discussing it."
"As for the acquisition itself, I'll arrange for someone to contact you later. For now, you can simply enjoy this rare chance to relax."
Kuroba Ayako didn't care about such a small amount of money.
She waved her hand casually before smiling brightly at Hachiman.
"President, is this acceptable?"
"All development costs will be covered by the Yotsuba family. Since the game is for internal club use only, the club should also assign someone to supervise the project."
"Mm. Let's do that. Thanks, Ayako."
Looking at the sweet smile on Ayako's face, Hachiman shook his head helplessly.
The Kuroba Ayako sent by the Yotsuba family was truly perceptive and decisive.
Since she was being so considerate, he wasn't going to insist on refusing.
He had wanted to become a househusband from the very beginning.
Wasn't living off his girlfriends exactly what he had hoped for?
"Miss Ayako, thank you so much!"
"I never expected you to buy the whole company outright..."
Marin and Lumilia immediately thanked Kuroba Ayako.
Neither of them had expected the matter to be resolved so quickly.
Lumilia had actually planned to wait until her older sister Iris returned.
"Don't mention it. Helping ease President's burdens is our duty."
Ayako quietly stepped forward in her Mary Jane shoes, stopping beside Hachiman. Her body gently supported his arm.