Chapter 85: Club Activities (Part 1)
The dark, ornate magic circle gradually brightened under the infusion of magic, glowing a deep crimson.
As more energy poured in, the paper disintegrated, and the black-red magic circle hovered midair, bursting into dazzling radiance.
Haruto narrowed his eyes, shielding his forehead with his hand as he strained to observe the magic circle's movements.
The red light twisted, and from the intricate projection of the magic circle, a doorway formed. A long, straight leg clad in black thigh-high leather boots stepped through the magically constructed portal.
Tap, tap, tap—
Amid the crisp sound of heels striking the floor, the owner of those long legs gracefully emerged, her vibrant crimson hair swaying as if caught in an unfelt breeze.
Haruto's eyes widened in shock as he took in that delicate, beautiful face.
"President Rias?!"
Before his surprise could settle, two more familiar figures appeared from the portal.
"Akeno-senpai… and Koneko?!"
As Koneko stepped out, the magic circle in the air began to fade, its blinding crimson light dimming until it vanished entirely.
Haruto stared blankly at the trio before him. So the so-called "use in an emergency" meant calling for backup directly…
"Haruto, it's been a while."
Rias smiled warmly at him. "I just heard from Akeno that you took an emergency support scroll. I didn't expect you to use it so soon."
When he saw Sona return, Haruto had guessed Rias might be back as well—but he never imagined meeting her under these circumstances.
"President… it's been a while."
Haruto gave a wry smile. "Sorry to trouble you right after you got back."
"You're my servant. Your problems are my problems—no need for formalities."
Rias pulled Haruto into a tight embrace, her soft, ample chest pressing against his face in what could only be described as a "face massage."
Boom—!
Just as Haruto was losing himself in the bliss of suffocation, the ground suddenly trembled. A dark tide of figures surged through the gymnasium entrance.
"President, now might not be the best time for reunions."
Akeno observed the crowd of people charging toward them, their eyes vacant and frenzied. "It seems Haruto really is in serious trouble."
"Mmmph—!"
Haruto struggled free from the assault of the twin "white rabbits," finally managing to pry his face out of Rias' chest.
"President, Akeno-senpai, Koneko."
His expression turned serious. "The situation is complicated, but in short—these people are hypnotized. The target we need to deal with is the one who hypnotized them."
Akeno used magic to electrocute the people charging at them while remarking, "Trying to hypnotize so many people at once... Haruto must have encountered quite a troublesome opponent this time."
The white-haired loli expressionlessly flung a tall male student who lunged at her, sending him crashing into a crowd behind.
"Haruto, you owe me another ice cream after this."
"Another?"
Rias spread her wings and flew into the air with Haruto in her arms, ignoring the red-eyed crowd below. "Koneko, when did Haruto treat you to ice cream before?"
The white-haired loli's already blank face seemed to stiffen further. Oops, she'd accidentally let it slip.
Refusing to answer Rias's question, she buried herself in the crowd, using combat as an excuse to avoid the topic.
Haruto wrapped his arms around Rias's slender waist, too preoccupied to enjoy the thrill of flight, and sighed. "President, now isn't the time to worry about that."
"Besides, I'm more concerned about whether you might be exposing yourself."
He knew exactly what color underwear Rias and Akeno wore each day of the week, and he was well aware neither of them had a habit of wearing safety shorts.
Rias chuckled playfully. "What? Are you jealous, Haruto?"
"A little."
Haruto nodded honestly. Though it was less about jealousy and more about possessiveness.
Rias froze momentarily, caught off guard by his candid response. Her usual mature demeanor faltered, revealing a rare hint of shyness.
"Ara ara~~" Akeno watched the scene with a tinge of envy. "President, we're busy fighting down here. How can you still find time to flirt?"
Her jealousy was directed at both Haruto and Rias. Seeing them so lovey-dovey gave her the strange feeling that her 'girlfriend' had stolen her boyfriend...
Haruto seized the chance to steer the conversation back to business. "President, the person behind the hypnosis should still be in the broadcasting room..."
He briefly recounted the earlier events and his speculation that the glasses might be a Sacred Gear.
To avoid misleading Rias and the others, he emphasized that the Sacred Gear theory was just a guess.
Being a freeloader was indeed comfortable. With Koneko and Akeno handling the fighting, Haruto only needed to hold onto Rias's soft, fragrant body and play commentator.
By the time he finished explaining, no one in the gymnasium was left conscious. However, more teachers and students under the broadcast's hypnosis were flooding in from all over the campus.
The four of them left the gymnasium, avoiding the swarming crowd as they headed for the broadcasting room.
Along the way, Akeno sent her familiar imps to scout other areas—including Kuro.
The little creature hadn't paid Haruto any attention since Akeno appeared.
When they pushed open the broadcasting room door, it was empty. Only the messy desk and the open microphone proved the sleazy fat man had been there.
"Akeno, seal this place first."
Following Rias's order, Akeno began setting up a large barrier.
A minute later, a pale yellow dome enveloped the entirety of Aiho Academy.
From a distance, it looked like an eggshell.
Many supernatural beings noticed the anomaly and were about to investigate when Rias infused the barrier with her own aura and the Gremory family crest.
"Tch... the Gremory family..."
"Hehe, making such a big commotion... must be quite the trouble this time..."
There were looks of disdain, disappointment, and even schadenfreude, but no one approached any further.
"Alright, now we can take our time resolving this incident."
Akeno wiped the sweat from her forehead—maintaining such a large barrier was no small drain on her energy.
Haruto supported Akeno, his voice laced with concern. "Let's just hope that guy hasn't already escaped…"
"Whether the one who cast the hypnosis is still here or not, the barrier is necessary," Rias explained to Haruto. "Undoing the hypnosis on so many people here won't be a simple task."
Haruto nodded. Indeed, if these hypnotized individuals went around spreading rumors outside, it could easily cause an even bigger uproar.
Even if they didn't go around talking, they couldn't just be left in this state.
After resting for a while, Akeno had mostly recovered. She straightened up and gave Haruto a slight nod of gratitude.
"President, should I search for the target first, or undo the hypnosis?"
Rias pondered for a moment. "Let's search first. While I do know some mental magic, I'm not particularly skilled in it."
"I also think we should find the person first," Haruto added. "There's a chance that once we retrieve the Sacred Gear, the hypnosis will resolve itself."
"But everyone else on campus rushes at us the moment they see us. It's really inconvenient to move around like this."
The white-haired loli glanced at her torn little dress from the close combat, her mood far from pleasant.
"That's true…"
Just as everyone was struggling to decide, a familiar Little Kuro flew in through the door.
After fluttering around Akeno for a moment, she smiled and clasped her hands together. "Ara ara~~ No need to worry anymore, everyone. The target has been found."
"Well done." Rias praised the little familiar before asking, "Akeno, where is the target hiding?"
Akeno blinked and uttered four words.
"The girls' locker room."
Haruto instinctively glanced at the small black orb—so it had been hiding here. No wonder the little creature had found it so quickly.
The small black orb had been monitoring Aiho Academy for quite some time, as Haruto had ordered it to follow Sakura and the Takamine Sisters. Aside from the classrooms and gymnasium, the most frequented locations were the girls' locker room and restroom.
Of course, before making this decision, Haruto had confirmed the orb's gender.
The little familiar currently had no gender. Only when its strength reached a certain level and it took on a humanoid form would it choose one.
Though he didn't know when the little creature would gain that level of power, Haruto had already warned it about which gender it must choose.
If the little one disobeyed, he would have no choice but to personally perform a gender reassignment surgery on it.
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