The little landlady, Asou Miyuri, hadn't paid much attention when Tohsaka Aoi vaguely mentioned her daughter. She just wanted to catch Hachiman's interest. Too many people in the Service Club thought the same way.
But when she heard Irisviel trying to steal her "job" of dragging people in, she couldn't help rolling her eyes.
Why was Irisviel even more eager to drag people in than she was?
"Getting back" at her good sisters, what was Irisviel's reason?
Asou Miyuri lifted her little head, her gaze passing between Irisviel and Tohsaka Aoi, looking at Hachiman resting his head on Takanashi Ouka's lap. She silently complained to herself, pressing her lips together without saying a word.
Though she really wanted to say "let me handle it," all the wives who hadn't entered yet were her doing, and no one was allowed to steal her credit.
But with her small frame, squeezing in between Tohsaka Aoi and Irisviel was already a stretch, she couldn't waste any more breath.
Originally, she'd only wanted to be Hachiman's little older-sister figure, didn't care how much serving she did, just occasionally tasting things and experiencing that feeling.
But now she had to work hard, too many people she'd dragged in would come back to haunt her later.
She had to keep getting stronger to keep those good sisters she'd tricked in line.
Mm... though right now she was safe only because Tohsaka Aoi, Irisviel, and a few others were on her side backing her up. Otherwise, the moment Tsubakihara Mira, Takamine Kasumi, and Mizushima Marika became magical housewives, she'd have to run for her life.
Logically, newly awakened magical girls were weak and needed continued training from Hachiman to get stronger fast.
But maybe it was natural talent, Tsubakihara Mira and the others lasted much longer than average newcomers.
Or maybe they'd already accepted Hachiman in their hearts. How else could they have such a big change in strength?
Though their strength still hadn't caught up to Asou Miyuri, Tsubakihara Mira, Mizushima Marika, and Takamine Kasumi combined could utterly crush her.
After all, strictly speaking, Asou Miyuri hadn't received all that much aid either, just more than her good sisters. Many students had received more aid than she had.
Asou Miyuri was just silently cursing Tsubakihara Mira and the others for being tsundere and repressed. Tsubakihara Mira, Takamine Kasumi, and Mizushima Marika, lying not far away in the room, overheard Irisviel's "joke" that was clearly no joke at all. Their bodies tensed up instantly, and they were about to beg for mercy.
Wasn't it almost noon already?
At this rate, they'd be lying around all day.
Smack!
"Mmm, since darling said so, we'll let Mira and the others off for now. Next time any of them don't behave, we'll teach them a proper lesson."
They propped themselves up and turned to see Hachiman still with his eyes covered by Takanashi Ouka, only raising his hand to lightly "punish" Irisviel for getting distracted while drinking her morning breakfast. Only then did they slowly relax, lying back on the floor to enjoy their rare rest, though inside they were already cursing Irisviel.
How shameless! How old was Irisviel anyway?
She relied on being an artificial human, with a body even more youthful than a girl's, to act spoiled and cute toward Hachiman without restraint, and even took the chance to throw them under the bus.
Actually, Tsubakihara Mira and the others had had a great, comfortable night, they hadn't been left out for being half-hearted or not enthusiastic enough. But it was precisely too good, so good that they felt like they were being targeted.
Though the most enthusiastic servers had always been Tohsaka Aoi, Irisviel, Minami Hiyoko, and a few others, even Asou Miyuri, who'd orchestrated the whole situation, couldn't compare.
But what was shocking was that Tohsaka Aoi and Irisviel were too weak.
Mm... Tohsaka Aoi and Irisviel, who were still serving Hachiman, were the weakest of the bunch, weaker than Minami Hiyoko, Nishikino Mizuki, and Takanashi Ouka. The kind that shattered on contact.
Only thanks to their magical girl physiques and super-fast stamina recovery could Irisviel and Tohsaka Aoi avoid collapsing onto the futon like Tsubakihara Mira and the others.
Still, weak as they were, there were a lot of them, and with their fast recovery, it worked out that Tsubakihara Mira, Takamine Kasumi, Mizushima Marika, and Asakawa Touka, who'd been half-hearted, actually lasted the longest.
Whenever they wanted to stop and rest, Minami Hiyoko, Yukinoshita Kiyuki, and Ogiso Akina would rotate in and drag them back into it.
This made Tsubakihara Mira and the others suspect they'd been set up by Asou Miyuri, in cahoots with Yukinoshita Kiyuki, Tohsaka Aoi, Minami Hiyoko, and the rest.
Absolutely ridiculous!
Was this how you treat your good sisters?
But against Minami Hiyoko, Nishikino Mizuki, and the others, who were unreasonable and cared nothing for sisterhood, siding with Asou Miyuri, Tsubakihara Mira and the others had no way out.
Tsubakihara Mira, Mizushima Marika, Takamine Kasumi, and the still-unfamiliar Asakawa Touka took turns persuading Hachiman, their bodies weak and aching, and finally got him to tell Irisviel and Tohsaka Aoi to stop targeting the four of them.
Still, not being targeted was one thing.
Without the small faction divisions, when it was their turn, they still had to go.
Though they all felt they'd already been pretty open-minded—playing that big on their first meeting with Hachiman, completely unleashing the instincts they'd suppressed for years...
Seeing Hachiman lightly punish Irisviel, and assuming they wouldn't be called up again for now, Mizushima Marika propped up her limp body, looked down at her translucent pantyhose, and blushed as she changed out of them again.
Tossing them into the pile of "persuasion props" by the wall, she used a cleaning spell to rinse her sticky golden wavy hair. Feeling alive again, she patted her unusually radiant face and turned to look at Tsubakihara Mira, Takamine Kasumi, and Asakawa Touka, who still didn't want to get up, and whispered, "What do we do about this... with President Hachiman?"
Last night seemed to have gone a bit far.
The empathy collars and empathy cuffs could still be brushed off as simulations, not real. But now that they'd experienced the real thing firsthand, there was no lying to themselves anymore.
Though she felt the main reason was her own lack of self-control, how could she have broken all her principles in one night after staying pure for so many years?
Maybe Hachiman really did suit her taste, or maybe having her good sisters around gave her courage.
Still, those after-the-fact thoughts were all empty. Now they had to figure out how to face their daughters.
"My Ayame and Sayuri are fine, they'd only wish me well with President Hachiman-sama."
Takamine Kasumi turned her head and smiled at Mizushima Marika.
"Heh! Heh! My Nina and Yuna won't say anything to me either."
Tsubakihara Mira chuckled softly. She wasn't too worried either.
Unlike the Mizushima household, which was relatively strict and more concerned with a mother's dignity, the Tsubaki and Takamine families had always had open-minded atmospheres.
Tsubakihara Mira and Takamine Kasumi got along with their daughters like friends. Even if their daughters knew their mothers had found a man, they'd happily wish them well.
"Then what would your daughters call Hachiman? Same as Tohsaka's daughters?"
Asakawa Touka looked helplessly at the three companions who'd suffered the same persecution last night, paused, and slowly asked.
Was there something wrong with her, or with them?
How could they just brush something like this off so easily?
"..."
Asakawa Touka's pointed question made the atmosphere among them a bit awkward.
Takamine Kasumi immediately looked away, Tsubakihara Mira gave a wry smile, and Mizushima Marika bit her lower lip tightly.
That was the crux of it. Not blaming them was one thing, but actually behaving like the Tohsaka household, that would require some thick skin.
They weren't mentally ill. It was hard to say whether their daughters would be that accommodating.
"We don't need to rush. We can ask Kiyuki how she feels first, Haruno and Yukino are both vice-presidents highly valued by President Hachiman."
Takamine Kasumi cleared her throat softly, propped herself up, and looked toward Yukinoshita Kiyuki, Minami Hiyoko, and Ogiso Akina, signaling everyone not to rush.
The only crazy one was Tohsaka Aoi, but they weren't the only ones with the same problem.
"Heh! Heh! Don't worry, Kasumi. Even if you can't handle your own daughters, Sayuri and Manami and the others should be happy to take your places."
Seeing that Takamine Kasumi and the others refused to face reality, Yukinoshita Kiyuki casually draped her kimono over herself, got up, and walked over to Hachiman.
She didn't have much power in the Service Club herself. The Yukinoshita family had few members and wasn't influential.
But as Takamine Kasumi had said, Haruno and Yukino were her daughters.
With the elf princess Aegis absent, the alien princess Lala not managing things, the angel Gabriel slacking off all day, and her childhood friend Kaede not interfering much, no one in the Service Club really had more influence than the Yukinoshita family.
The Saegusa, Yotsuba, and Aoe families had huge influence outside, but inside the Service Club, none of them could match the Yukinoshita family.
The Nakano quintuplets sounded threatening, but did President Hachiman really lack for a set of quintuplet sisters?
The Service Club already had plenty of members, and Yukinoshita Kiyuki knew the internal situation very well.
Not counting the Sawamura Sayuri and Katsura Manami she'd just mentioned, nor Lumaria who'd gone back with Aegis, nor Lady Rei who was in the same camp as Aogae Mai and the others.
Kamishiro Sayo from the Kamishiro family, Kuraki Yuriko from the Kuraki family, and Kirigaya Sumi from the Kirigaya family had all already pledged themselves to the Service Club and could be called over anytime to serve President Hachiman.
And it wasn't just them, the Service Club had many more candidates.
Like the discipline committee member Asai Saki, the ghoul girl Hinami Fueguchi, Nonohara Yuzuka recently brought in by Hayase Saki...
Like Reina, the gyaru at Sobu High who hadn't joined yet, Miyajima Sakura from the kendo club, Obata Yui from the girls' basketball club...
Even Yukino's follower Yuigahama Yui... and some girls who hadn't transferred in yet...
Yukinoshita Kiyuki had carefully studied these girls' family situations and knew them well.
Of course, whether she acted or not, the little landlady Asou Miyuri would act anyway.
During her research, Yukinoshita Kiyuki had discovered something surprising.
She didn't know if Asou Miyuri was really that free or just that lucky, but even these girls' social circles had been touched by Asou Miyuri. If Asou Miyuri got serious, she could still forcefully drag them in too.
Though Asou Miyuri seemed to just be playing around and didn't know the specifics, simply wanting to drag people in to play with her "Little Brother Hachiman."
Among all the Service Club members so far, only Irisviel truly puzzled her, even harder to figure out than the mentally ill Tohsaka Aoi.
Could it be that artificial humans didn't count as people? Or clones didn't count? But Irisviel was a magical girl.
Or... did Irisviel just purely enjoy the taboo?
Highly idealistic magical girls who didn't follow rules were indeed hard to predict.
For magical girls representing love and hope, in front of Hachiman, it was perfectly normal for their "love and hope" to become "love and desire."
But either way, the Service Club would never lack people. If you didn't want to work, don't work, plenty of others would.
Now they'd seized the Yukinoshita family's future, and wouldn't allow freeloaders who only wanted benefits without contributing to stay in the Service Club.
"..."
Seeing Yukinoshita Kiyuki cling to the future and refuse to let go, with no intention of understanding them, Tsubakihara Mira, Mizushima Marika, and Takamine Kasumi exchanged glances, a hint of embarrassment on their flushed faces.
They'd all tacitly avoided mentioning that one permanent solution that would eliminate their troubles.
If they didn't want to maintain this relationship, they wouldn't need to worry about any of this. They were worrying precisely because they wanted to keep it going. Or rather, not being allowed to keep in contact with Hachiman was what would really trouble them.
Though at their age, still having expectations of a man like young girls was embarrassing, since everyone was doing it, the ones who got embarrassed were the odd ones out. Not doing it meant you weren't a good sister.
Looking at it another way, they'd just moved their usual meeting spot to the Service Club. Not only was it not a big change, it was even safer.
Their easily broken plastic sisterhood now had someone maintaining it, and would only grow stronger.
Mm... if only they could get some alone time with Hachiman.
Tsubakihara Mira, Mizushima Marika, Takamine Kasumi, they were all thinking the same thing.
Last night had been enjoyable, yes, forced enjoyment where pleasure and torment coexisted, which had actually brought about an extreme, bone-deep liberation.
But they weren't just seeking physical pleasure.
Even if they weren't dating Hachiman, there should at least be some feelings, right? Buying the ticket after boarding would be fine too.
On that point, including Asakawa Touka, they all wanted a chance to be alone with Hachiman, at least to open up and talk quietly with him, slow down the pace and truly feel things.
"Don't overthink it. Time to eat."
"Again?"
"After lunch, I'll talk with Kotori and the others. Don't you want to know how they felt last night?"
"Uh... asking our daughters about their empathy experience... that's a bit..."
Seeing that even after regaining their composure, Tsubakihara Mira and the others still showed no sign of leaving Hachiman, and were instead seriously considering how to maintain this relationship, Touma Youko, Ogiso Akina, Nishikino Mizuki, Minami Hiyoko, and the others exchanged knowing smiles. They went over together to pull them in, letting their nearly broken plastic sisterhood be mended with Hachiman's help.
Last night they hadn't deliberately targeted Tsubakihara Mira and the others for being not enthusiastic enough, not proactive enough, not fitting in well.
They just wanted to see how long Tsubakihara Mira and the others could last. Unfortunately, all they saw was them being dragged in, they hadn't managed to completely convert them over to their side mentally either.
Still, the fact that respectable housewives who'd stayed pure all their lives could be dragged in by them already said something.
It's just that Tsubakihara Mira, Takamine Kasumi, Mizushima Marika, and even the formidable Asakawa Touka from last night hadn't realized it.
One by one, they followed their hearts and accepted the results of their bets, now only thinking about how to handle the aftermath.
And... how to keep their relationship with their young boyfriend Hachiman going.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Master President."
"Let's bond again next time."
"My Yuna and Nina will be enrolling in Sobu High soon, I hope President-sama can look after them."
After finishing lunch in the bedroom, Takanashi Ouka, Minami Hiyoko, Touma Youko, Ogiso Akina, Tsubakihara Mira, Takamine Kasumi, and the others said their goodbyes to Hachiman one by one.
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