But the problem now is precisely that she had such good relationships with everyone.
No matter how popular she was outside, she was still a member of the Ichinose family group.
When other little groups needed people to make up the numbers, they would ask her for help, and when she ran into trouble, they could also lend her a hand.
But when it came to internal matters within the Ichinose family group, her connections were useless.
In Ayano's eyes, Ichinose Honami was now an unruly troublemaker. Although she wasn't betraying the group for outside interests, she spent all day eating without doing any work and often secretly enjoyed special treatment without bringing Ayano along.
It was only because she was also rather favored by Hachiman that Ayano couldn't settle accounts with her.
She suspected that if she didn't make some contribution soon, Ayano would tie up her hands and feet and turn on the shared-sensation switch.
As long as it didn't go too far, Hachiman probably wouldn't be able to interfere with this kind of forced shared-sensation punishment.
Ayano herself often played around with shared-sensation punishment, so she didn't care about suffering some forced shared-sensation punishment again. And if she asked Hachiman to personally punish Ayano, Ayano would probably get excited and keep looking for trouble with her...
Hmm... She had already become a magical girl, so she should be able to endure a whole night, although it would probably still be pretty miserable.
After all, the magical girls who could share sensations with them through the shared-sensation bracelets were basically all extremely fond of Hachiman. Each one was more obsessed with him than the last, and each one wanted his affection more than the last. That was an intensity a newcomer simply couldn't withstand...
Now that Hiyori had taken the initiative to join the Service Club, someone else would recruit her even if Honami didn't. So she could only swallow her pride and give it a try, making some contribution to the Ichinose family.
"Then why don't you bring Chihiro and the others in? They admire you so much. They should be willing to help you."
"And what about your little sister? Becoming a magical girl isn't a bad thing. Why haven't you brought your sister in?"
After hearing Ichinose Honami's halting explanation, Karuizawa Kei and Kushida Kikyo weren't convinced.
Ichinose Honami's good relationships with everyone were partly because she had a good temperament and personality, but another reason was that she genuinely didn't compete or fight for anything. She was only brought in whenever other little groups needed someone to make up the numbers.
But what did Ichinose Honami mean by coming here to compete with them for people?
Even if she really had to recruit people because of the pressure from Ichinose Ayano, there was no need to compete with them for Shiina Hiyori.
Ichinose Honami had originally been the class representative of Class B. People like Shiranami Chihiro, Mako Amikura, Himeno Yuki, and the others all trusted Ichinose Honami greatly, especially Shiranami Chihiro, who was practically Ichinose Honami's follower.
Besides those people, Ichinose Honami even had a younger sister.
Although she wasn't as outstanding or pretty as Ichinose Honami, she was still cute. Besides, the master liked sisters, so Ichinose Honami could simply bring her own sister in.
"..."
Ichinose Honami fell silent, mumbling without knowing what to say.
She didn't really understand why Shiranami Chihiro had become such a devoted fan of hers and was so determined to bring people over to follow her. They weren't even in the same class anymore. And Chihiro shouldn't know about the Service Club's situation.
If she turned around and brought a classmate who admired her onto Hachiman's side, wouldn't that be a little too cruel?
And as for her younger sister... it wasn't that she didn't understand how much becoming a magical girl could guarantee her sister's safety. As long as her sister was willing, she wouldn't object to her becoming a magical girl. She simply felt there was no need to rush.
If she really brought her sister in, and her sister went to hang out with Komachi later, she wouldn't feel at ease unless she kept an eye on her. But if she shamelessly went over to her sister's place to eat and drink for free, Ayano would also write it down in her little notebook.
However, no matter how many reasons Ichinose Honami had, they obviously weren't enough to convince Karuizawa Kei and Kushida Kikyo. They weren't going to listen either.
"Forget it. I haven't decided yet..."
Shiina Hiyori held onto Shiina Mashiro while looking at Karuizawa Kei and the others. Seeing the little dispute among them caused by recruiting people, she suddenly didn't really want to join them anymore.
As Kushida Kikyo and the others had guessed, she did indeed want to join a little group.
The exact situation of the Service Club was hard to explain, but every member could understand the general situation after joining.
She knew very well that if she didn't join a little group now, she would have to join one sooner or later. Otherwise, if she really wanted to attach herself to the Service Club, enjoying the benefits without doing anything, the others would look down on her. More importantly, the real benefit of the Service Club was awakening as a magical girl. There was no way to obtain it without integrating into the group.
So she had quickly figured out what she wanted to do in the future. Joining a little group made up of acquaintances was fine too.
But seeing Karuizawa Kei and the others like this now... Why did they all seem to have problems?
If she brought Mashiro in with her, wouldn't they end up using them as cannon fodder or shields?
As far as she knew, opportunities to serve Hachiman were considered rewards within the Service Club. There was no way Karuizawa Kei and the others would casually give such "good things" to other people.
Karuizawa Kei, Kushida Kikyo, and Ichinose Honami had all joined early and were so eager to recruit people. She didn't really know what motives they had...
"If you don't want to join them, can you join my side?"
At this moment, a petite girl in a yukata, with fair skin, a cute appearance, and extremely lustrous silver hair, slowly walked over with a cane. She looked at the sisters Shiina Hiyori and Shiina Mashiro and smiled slightly.
"Class President Sakayanagi... Why are you here too? You were also... by Hikigaya?"
Seeing Sakayanagi Arisu, Shiina Hiyori couldn't help freezing before suddenly becoming shocked.
Wasn't Sakayanagi Arisu's health particularly poor? Could she really handle that kind of thing?
"Not yet. I'm still thinking of ways to improve my physical condition."
Seeing that Shiina Hiyori's first reaction upon seeing her was that she couldn't handle it, the smile on Sakayanagi Arisu's face stiffened slightly, but she still tried to keep smiling.
"Heh!"
Kamuro Masumi, who was quietly following beside Sakayanagi Arisu, wanted to laugh when she saw her like this. No, she was already laughing, just holding it back so she wouldn't make a sound.
She wasn't Sakayanagi Arisu's dog anymore. The only reason she was staying beside Sakayanagi Arisu was because she wanted to see how exactly Sakayanagi Arisu would get close to Hachiman.
Sakayanagi Arisu's body, with its congenital heart condition, was terribly weak. Even walking a little faster could leave her short of breath, and she couldn't even run, let alone do other high-intensity activities.
Although there was a very simple way to treat Sakayanagi Arisu's illness and restore her health, she only needed to become a magical girl, the awakening ritual required to awaken magical-girl talent involved enduring strenuous physical activity.
Therefore, although Sakayanagi Arisu had known about Hachiman's special nature for a long time, and even knew about the miraculous power of magical girls that could easily change her current situation, she still didn't dare approach Hachiman too proactively.
She was afraid that Hachiman might accidentally lose control and cause her to suffer the consequences of getting too carried away.
Sakayanagi Arisu had originally wanted Kamuro Masumi to arrange things for her, but although Kamuro Masumi had agreed fast enough, once Kamuro Masumi became a magical girl, she immediately turned her back on the idea.
Only by Sakayanagi Arisu making the effort herself and spending time serving him would she have a chance to receive some of the benefits afterward.
Whenever she thought about how this proud and aloof Sakayanagi Arisu, who looked down on her in her heart, could only hope for whatever was left over from them, Kamuro Masumi couldn't control her expression, and the corners of her mouth kept rising.
If she weren't afraid that Sakayanagi Arisu might desperately push herself and eventually develop beyond her expectations, she would even want Sakayanagi Arisu to handle the cleanup after she had finished serving Hachiman every day.
Hmm... Sakayanagi Arisu was cautious and careful, afraid she wouldn't be able to withstand the impact of awakening as a magical girl. But Kamuro Masumi was also afraid that Sakayanagi Arisu really would be able to withstand that power.
Last time, Sakayanagi Arisu had stayed nearby for quite a while, and her body had already changed somewhat. She didn't become short of breath as easily anymore.
Once Sakayanagi Arisu's physical condition became strong enough to undergo the magical-girl awakening ritual, and she truly became a magical girl and completely eliminated her physical problems, she would definitely catch up with Kamuro Masumi.
Kamuro Masumi really disliked Sakayanagi Arisu, but she had to admit that Sakayanagi Arisu was indeed very beautiful, like a delicate porcelain doll that made people want to bully her a little.
Someone like Sakayanagi Arisu, who worked hard to serve Hachiman, was far better at it than someone like her, who wasn't good at socializing or pleasing people.
Although Hachiman didn't need her to flatter him. He only needed her to act naturally and make a look of disdain...
But sometimes, going against one's natural instincts and putting on a look of disdain was difficult too...
"Hiyori, what do you think? In my condition, I can't force you to do anything."
Sensing Kamuro Masumi's openly mocking gaze, Sakayanagi Arisu kept her expression unchanged and continued trying to recruit Shiina Hiyori.
"Of course, you don't have to worry that joining me won't give you any benefits. My father will send people over to help, and when necessary, he can also provide various resources."
At first, she hadn't intended to reveal that her father had once been the school's chairman of the board, but later she stopped caring. She needed support now too, and saying this would make people believe that she really would have people to help her.
"I'm not considering it for now. I'll wait and see whether Mashiro will transfer here before deciding."
Shiina Hiyori didn't know about the conflict between Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi. Sakayanagi Arisu was now essentially a lone commander, but she still shook her head.
She wasn't entirely sure what their purpose was in recruiting her, but she wasn't stupid. Anyone recruiting people would say nice things at first. Who could guarantee what would happen afterward?
Thinking about the literary-girl qualities that might make her valuable, she gradually came up with some other ideas.
There were so many beautiful girls in the Service Club. Hachiman probably didn't dislike them, nor did he dislike literary girls.
It was just that girls who liked reading basically spent all their time in the library, or had very few friends, so they had little chance to interact with Hachiman. Hachiman wouldn't specifically go looking for them either.
The vampire girl Tsukishiro Sayo spent all day in the library. Although Tsukishiro Sayo read light novels and manga, there were also librarians such as Sagisawa Fumika and Serizawa Yukiha who often stayed in the library.
Speaking of which, just like the Discipline Committee, the Library Committee also had a librarian in every class...
The problem was... if she really developed a little girlfriend group made up of librarians, their headquarters would become the library...
Thinking about how she might become the head of a little group that dragged people into this, making librarians and literary girls crawl around the bookshelves every day looking for books and defiling the sacred, quiet library, Shiina Hiyori's cheeks became hot and flushed, and her breathing involuntarily quickened.
She didn't want to think in that direction either, but anyone who understood the Service Club's membership would know what Hachiman, who skipped class all day, normally did at school.
At the Service Club's hot-spring inn, she had already seen many Sobu High students that night, including members of the women's swimming club, tennis club, volleyball club, the gyaru group, and even several Discipline Committee members...
There was no need to think too hard about the truth behind being "watched by the Discipline Committee" and frequently being called to the office for a chat!
But Shiina Hiyori felt she was still a little better than Karuizawa Kei and Kushida Kikyo.
She wasn't deliberately trying to corrupt the literary girls of the library. She had simply discovered that when Sagisawa Fumika and Serizawa Yukiha talked about Hachiman, they both seemed to have quite a favorable impression of him.
That's right! She wasn't dragging people into this. She was simply giving them a chance to approach Hachiman and express their feelings.
"It doesn't matter if Hiyori doesn't join us. We're still classmates. What about you two, Kei and Kikyo? You've been in the club for so long. You should know that we have to work together to stand against the others, right?"
Seeing that Shiina Hiyori really wasn't considering joining, Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't angry either. Ignoring Kamuro Masumi's amused gaze beside her, she turned to Karuizawa Kei and Kushida Kikyo.
Although another path had been cut off, it wasn't a big problem.
Actually, she wasn't worried about her physical condition. Since she had joined the Service Club, she would eventually have to truly serve Hachiman. It would be difficult not to. Her physical problems would naturally be resolved then.
She simply had her own pride and wanted to take the initiative and do more things.
"The master doesn't care about the little squabbles between our groups. As long as we serve the master well, that's enough."
Karuizawa Kei shook her head and instead took the initiative to offer Sakayanagi Arisu some advice.
"If you want to quickly resolve your physical problems, you can participate in tomorrow's hot-spring convention. The master will give us plenty of room to perform this time. If you do a good cosplay, you can spend a long time by the master's side serving him. That should completely resolve your physical problems and let you become a magical girl directly."
Although her little group was very harmonious now, Sato Maya and the others were cute, Matsushita Chiaki was also pretty, and Hasebe Haruka and Sakura Airi had great figures, their aggressiveness was completely inferior to that of the other groups.
It would be nice if Sakayanagi Arisu could become one of their outside allies.
The little groups weren't actually enemies. Working together was perfectly normal.
"Cosplay? Kei, do you have any suggestions? I've looked into it, but there are too many game characters to choose from."
Sakayanagi Arisu thought for a moment before asking directly.
With so many people gathering here for tomorrow's hot-spring convention, there was no way she wouldn't pay attention.
But with this kind of role-playing, it wasn't just about appearance. The chosen character had to be suitable, and the character's overall image had to match one's own presence.
There might even be cases where two people cosplayed the same character. Then whoever's portrayal didn't fit would be embarrassed.
This wasn't just a casual hobby outside. This was a clash between many different forces! If she embarrassed herself, it could even affect future recruitment!
"I can help you, but you'll have to help me in the future too."
Karuizawa Kei didn't hesitate when she heard this. She immediately took out her phone, opened the cosplay materials she had prepared, opened her chat with Sakayanagi Arisu, and sent them to her.
"It looks like you prepared this a long time ago."
Looking at the character information Karuizawa Kei had sent, along with the photos of the prepared costumes and props, Sakayanagi Arisu's expression shifted slightly.
Whether it was the weapon prop resembling a cane or her petite, cute body, everything suited her. Even the hair color was very similar to her silver-white hair.
It wouldn't be exactly the same, but with a few adjustments to the hairstyle and color, plus a small blue hat on her head, she could cosplay the character perfectly.
"This character really suits Sakayanagi... But it looks like the hair needs some highlights..."
Shiina Hiyori leaned over to take a look and found that it was indeed the case.
If everyone were as similar to Sakayanagi Arisu as this, then they really had put a lot of thought into their preparations.
"Class President Sakayanagi, you really are cute, and the master likes you too, so of course I had to prepare in advance."
Karuizawa Kei looked at Sakayanagi Arisu with a grin before inviting Shiina Hiyori as well.
"Hiyori, you can participate too. I can find a suitable character for you. You don't need to worry about the costume changes or makeup either. Our Princess Lala prepared the transformation props a long time ago. By then, we might even be able to switch between several characters we want to cosplay."
If Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't be properly favored by the master because of her physical condition, that would be a regret for him too.
She really hoped Sakayanagi Arisu could become the master's pet. If Sakayanagi Arisu could also become a loyal and obedient pet to the master, she believed the other people in the class wouldn't be worth worrying about.
Of course, someone like Shiina Hiyori would be good too.
"..."
Kushida Kikyo looked at Karuizawa Kei, who had somehow developed a sense of pride from being a pet, and couldn't help curling her lips. She wanted to scold these people for not being united at all. They clearly didn't want to become one group, yet now they were working together.
But after thinking about it, if they really merged together, these people would also compete with her for the master's favor.
Forget it, forget it. Competition at Sobu High was already so fierce. It wasn't just their own class that was difficult to deal with. There were also plenty of factions and little groups spread throughout the other classes. No one could say what the future all-out class battle at Sobu High would look like.
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