A bad woman should act like a bad woman. If she can't wield her bad woman charms in class or around school, then she should focus on the outside.
Everyone was recruiting outside help, so she couldn't just keep her eyes on the students of Sobu High either.
Among those present, aside from Shiina Mashiro, who had dozed off after finishing her Baumkuchen and was leaning against Shiina Hiyori, only Ichinose Honami was unconcerned with the cosplay party that was about to get lively.
She, who had been the least anxious of all, was now the one growing anxious instead.
Shiina Hiyori chose not to join any of them, Kushida Kikyo and Karuizawa Kei didn't mind, since they already had plenty of targets and had only come to see if they could snag one more while they were at it.
But she was different, she hadn't originally planned to recruit anyone.
Was she really going to have to bring in Shiranami Chihiro and the others? Or her own little sister?
"Honami, you're slacking off again. Get over here and work."
Just as Ichinose Honami was feeling troubled, she suddenly saw Ichinose Ayano's delicate, beautiful face appear right before her.
Before she could even ask what was going on, Ichinose Ayano grabbed her with a cold expression and pulled her away from there.
"Huh? Ayano needs me for something, I'll head over first. Talk to you all later."
Ichinose Honami was stunned for a moment, but she could only turn and give a quick word to Karuizawa Kei and the others before obediently following Ichinose Ayano away.
Even though her own abilities had already surpassed Ayano's, she had no intention of forcefully breaking free.
Ayano was acting this way because she liked Hachiman too much. To be fair, the fact that Ayano had turned out like this was partly her fault.
She had originally come to help the Ichinose family, yet she had enjoyed so many benefits and then become a traitor.
In the end, she had gotten even more than Ayano, it was only natural that Ayano was angry. She really needed to bring Ayano along to serve Hachiman more often.
"A-a newcomer? Today's newcomer seems..."
As a guilt-ridden Ichinose Honami was led by Ichinose Ayano into the Ichinose family's room, she saw that the larger Ichinose group was also very lively.
Besides Horigome China, Ichinose Mizuki, Ichinose Riko, Ichinose Anna, and Ichinose Chizuru, who had joined earlier, there were now several more girls.
One of the girls looked very familiar, while the others were less so. This time, the newcomers with the surname Ichinose seemed to be in the minority.
However, whether she recognized them or not, almost all the newcomers had black empathy collars around their necks and their hands cuffed behind their backs, with each of them being monitored.
"Honami, teach her properly how to serve Master. If you teach her badly, you'll end up just like them."
Ichinose Ayano brought a pink-haired girl in front of Ichinose Honami, gave her cold instructions, then immediately turned around to discipline the newcomers sprawled weakly on the floor.
"Ruka, you did well. Remember that feeling of excitement well!"
"Chizuru, didn't you get to be close to Master last time? Look at Ruka, is your dream of being an actress really only this much?"
"Soyo, didn't you say you'd do anything you could? Now's the time to show your resolve!"
As Ichinose Ayano scolded them, she pulled out the Ichinose family's strategic reserves in front of them, handing them to Horigome China, Ichinose Riko, and a few others. She had them turn off the empathy first, then untie the balloon-string knots and drip the contents drop by drop onto their tongues, replenishing their nearly depleted stamina.
Of course, Ichinose Ayano kept one for herself too, because she also needed to activate her own empathy.
"..."
Watching this new member welcome ceremony of the Ichinose family that left one at a loss for words, Ichinose Honami hesitated as if to speak.
But her own usual performance was already poor enough, she didn't dare provoke Ichinose Ayano right now. She could only turn to look at the only newcomer who hadn't been cuffed and forcibly put into empathy.
Short pink hair, an M-shaped fringe, and a long braid over her right shoulder that hung past her shoulder.
A red bow tie rested over her heaving chest, and beneath her skirt were round, fair legs wrapped in white thigh-high socks.
"H-hello, my name is Saku, Saku, Sakurasawa Sumi..."
The pink-haired girl, Sakurasawa Sumi, who looked nervous and shy, quickly greeted Ichinose Honami when she saw her looking over.
However, she had already been frightened by the "welcome ceremony" the other newcomers had received. On top of that, she was naturally introverted and shy, so she had no idea what to say right now.
She had only wanted to change herself and overcome her androphobia, how had she ended up in a place like this? How had it turned out like this.
"Miss Sumi... you seem older than me. Just call me Honami. Don't be nervous, relax."
Seeing this, Ichinose Honami spoke in a gentle, soothing voice. She hesitated, then raised her hand and slowly pressed the hidden button on Sakurasawa Sumi's black collar.
She had no idea where Ayano had found so many newcomers, nor what she was supposed to teach, teach Sakurasawa Sumi how to relax and enjoy herself?
But Ayano really did have a tendency to be too strict. If she didn't listen to Ayano properly, she really would end up cuffed and forced into empathy.
The only slight relief was that Ichinose Ayano had once lain in the infirmary herself, at least she would make sure to give them water, stamina, and energy.
"Eeeeeeeek!"
The moment the empathy button was pressed, Sakurasawa Sumi, who had only been watching Sarashina Ruka, Ichinose Chizuru, Nagasaki Soyo, and the others suffer under Ichinose Ayano's discipline, finally understood why they had ended up like that, now that she was experiencing it herself, feeling it firsthand.
———
It wasn't just the Ichinose family group, there were many small groups in the hot spring inn activating their empathy and experiencing that immersive, impactful feeling.
Or rather, the empathy session was a member benefit that anyone joining the Service Club simply had to try. Not experiencing it meant you'd basically joined the Service Club for nothing.
Although the bar for joining the Service Club had risen, and the empathy intensity was gradually increasing, making it easy for first-timers to get overwhelmed and requiring supervision...
Tonight, most people would only be brought into their respective small groups with empathy ribbons tied around their necks, ribbons that could be untied at any time and had greatly reduced intensity.
Athletic girls, the Snow Woman clan, vampire families, magical girl groups, otherworld hero parties...
Even the beautiful girl idols invited from talent agencies were split into different small groups based on how close they were to each other, staying in different rooms.
However, even though the combined Service Club inn, which had merged several hot spring inns, had plenty of rooms, the Service Club had a lot of members too. A large area was also being set up for a hot spring cosplay convention.
There was no helping it. Just the guest idol groups invited before included A-RISE, Irodorimix, Sweet Bullet, and B-Komachi, not to mention the many solo famous beautiful girl idols and mature idol ladies.
If a newcomer didn't know many official members and hadn't chosen a small group in advance, they could only be taken to another group's room.
"Maki, hang in there. Auntie Mizuki said she wanted me to give you a hand, but this is all the help I can offer. From here on out, it's up to you."
"Kotori... mm, your mother has high hopes for you too. You can't give up so easily."
In one room, in a small open-air hot spring in the courtyard, much smaller than Hachiman's side, Yamada Ryou watched the red-haired girl and the flaxen-haired girl, whose skin had turned flushed from the hot spring steam, and kept cheering them on.
The girl with long red hair draped over her shoulders and violet eyes was Nishikino Maki, daughter of Nishikino Mizuki.
As the heiress of a private hospital herself, she had been entrusted with looking after the newcomer Nishikino Maki.
But how was she supposed to look after Nishikino Maki? Hachiman wasn't even here, she couldn't even push things forward. All she could do was rely on Nishikino Maki to hold on herself.
The other girl, with flaxen hair, amber eyes, and a warm sunny smile, was Minami Kotori, daughter of Minami Hiyoko.
Mm... this one she didn't know, but Nishikino Maki did, she was a student from the same school as Nishikino Maki.
Originally, Minami Kotori, who loved cute clothes, had wanted to go check out the costume prep room where many cosplay outfits were stored, maybe she'd meet friends who shared her interest in clothing there.
But on the way, she had run into Nishikino Maki, and Yamada Ryo, seeing them hit it off, had brought them both along.
Yamada Ryo had originally wanted to bring in some other band girls, but Ijichi Nijika had kept stopping her.
Still, the school idol group "S" from Otonokizaka Academy should be good enough.
Although school idols' abilities were certainly still green and their standards couldn't compare to those ultra-competitive professional idols, that was exactly why they had a perfect excuse to ask Hachiman for help.
"You're already at your limit? Is the empathy intensity really that high this time? Or has Hachiman gotten stronger again?"
Yamada Ryo watched as Minami Kotori and Nishikino Maki both fell silent, gradually even losing their voices. They just lay back, resting their heads on the edge of the hot spring, staring up at the night sky with dazed, distant eyes, their glossy, beautiful hair soaked wet, damp strands clinging to their cheeks. She was a little surprised.
The longer a magical girl awakening ceremony lasted, the stronger the magical girl would become afterward.
She didn't know if it was because Hachiman was getting stronger and more skilled, but newcomers these days could last for shorter and shorter periods.
Even for demi-humans like Iris or Kaede, the magical girls had survived through their recovery abilities and sheer numbers. For newcomers who hadn't become magical girls and whose physiques were still at normal human levels, it was even worse. Without some prior adaptation, they probably wouldn't hold up at all.
But now, with the empathy ribbons set to the same level as Komachi and her friends, the intensity for newcomers had been lowered again and again, so why couldn't they last?
"Is Hachiman not helping newcomers? Hmm... even though they don't seem to be newcomers, the intensity isn't that ridiculously high. It shouldn't be this bad, right?"
Ijichi Nijika hesitated, then raised her hand and pressed the empathy button on her own black collar to test the feeling. She quickly turned the empathy feature back off.
The actual intensity on Hachiman's side wasn't low, but she didn't think it was unreasonable.
Even if Nishikino Maki and Minami Kotori hadn't truly experienced it yet, these empathy ribbons set for Komachi and the others had already reduced the intensity quite a bit. They shouldn't have zoned out that fast.
"Nijika, your sense of it can't be used as a reference. Kita, you go."
Yamada Ryo glanced at Ijichi Nijika, whose body trembled and whose face flashed with a brief blush, then suddenly turned to look at Kita Ikuyo, who was sitting on the wooden floor at the boundary between the room and the courtyard, eating watermelon with Gotou Hitori.
"Huh? Me again? Why not Bocchi-chan?"
Kita Ikuyo was stunned, immediately voicing her displeasure at Yamada Ryo arbitrarily deciding to use her as the benchmark.
Nijika had been eating quite a bit, among the four of them, Nijika alone lasted longer than the other three combined, so you couldn't use Nijika's standard to measure newcomers.
But why her? Bocchi-chan was right here too!
Bocchi-chan didn't eat much either, she even felt that Bocchi-chan had eaten less than she had, and she had been forced by Ryo to eat more than she wanted.
"You and Bocchi-chan are different. Bocchi-chan's standard is even less applicable to newcomers."
Yamada Ryo shook her head. Seeing that Minami Kotori and Nishikino Maki were still fine for the moment, she got up and walked over to Kita Ikuyo.
If Nijika and Hachiman had grown closer over time, gradually and somewhat confusedly falling for Hachiman as their intimacy deepened, then Bocchi-chan and Hachiman were love at first sight. From the moment Hachiman became Bocchi-chan's first friend and said he'd take care of her, Bocchi-chan couldn't leave him.
The reason Bocchi-chan ate so little was purely a matter of personality, Bocchi-chan just had poor recovery. The intensity of everyone else's empathy was lower than what she felt on her own.
If they let Bocchi-chan determine the intensity, she wouldn't be able to tell when they should stop the empathy at all.
"Th-that's how it is... so I don't need to do the empathy then?"
Gotou Hitori had already dropped her half-eaten watermelon and run to the doorway of the room. But when she heard Yamada Ryo's words, she suddenly stopped, shrinking back and turning her head to look at Yamada Ryo.
If it had nothing to do with her, then she didn't need to run.
It wasn't that she was afraid of enduring the "pain" of empathy. It was just that Hachiman wasn't even here, and they were all doing remote empathy from here... she felt it was a bit strange. If they really wanted it, wouldn't it be better to just go find Hachiman? Hachiman wouldn't refuse her.
Even though she wasn't very proactive about these things and rarely went to find Hachiman on her own, when Hachiman helped the band, she would hide behind Nijika, and only after Nijika couldn't take it anymore, and Ryo and Kita and the others were too busy to stare at her, would she step forward as the last survivor.
"Bocchi-chan, keep an eye on the door. Don't let Kita escape. If she gets away, I'll grab you to take her place."
Seeing that even the timid Gotou Hitori had almost run off, Yamada Ryo pounced directly on the less vigilant Kita Ikuyo. Taking her by surprise, she pressed the button on Kita Ikuyo's black collar, then dragged Kita Ikuyo by the feet and threw her into the hot spring.
"No don't!"
Kita Ikuyo hadn't expected Yamada Ryo to play rough. Serving Hachiman together with everyone was one thing, that was a band group activity.
Now she was making her feel the intensity on purpose, what was that supposed to mean?
"Blame Nijika. She wouldn't let me bring newcomers in. Even though you're not a newcomer either, you're the closest thing to one right now."
"Then Ryo, you're coming with me! It won't be accurate if I'm the only one on empathy!"
Splash!
Water sprayed everywhere. Faced with Yamada Ryo's pressure, Kita Ikuyo could only choose to transform into a magical girl, dragging the not-yet-transformed Yamada Ryo into the hot spring pool with her.
However, even now that they were both in the hot spring, they kept their eyes locked on each other, refusing to give the other a chance to turn off the empathy. And even if one of them did manage to turn it off, they'd immediately reactivate it.
Unlike the empathy ribbons, the empathy collars transmitted the wearers' sensations from the sync bracelets directly, with no reduction whatsoever.
If they didn't turn it off right away, they wouldn't get another chance to shut off the empathy later.
"Let go!"
"No!"
"If you... if you keep this up... tomorrow, you're cosplaying Celestial Being... and I won't help you..."
"Who else is going to target me besides you?"
"You two playing around, don't disturb Maki and Kotori."
Ijichi Nijika watched Kita Ikuyo and Yamada Ryo hurting each other, neither willing to let the other go, and couldn't help but hold her forehead with a long sigh, utterly speechless.
Were they starting their roleplay now...
Actually, if she really didn't want to be forced into empathy, Kita could have just transformed into a magical girl and escaped.
At the very least, she could have teleported back to the Service Club to dodge the whole thing, unless Ryo, who was also a Service Club member with the same teleportation privileges, stubbornly chased after her.
Likewise, Ryo didn't want to be dragged down by Kita for the same reason.
Maybe it was that they didn't want to give in so easily, or maybe it was just their usual roughhousing.
Although this kind of play didn't quite fit most people's idea of normal roughhousing, in the Service Club, many normal ideas stopped being normal.
[🎉 Shoutout to Pablo and Ferocious_Beast for joining p@treon. Consider joining to keep the stories going. Thank you very much.🤗]