Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Day Ends
However, she still covered Sakurase Shino with a small soundproof barrier, allowing Sakurase Shino to hear their movements.
Sakurase Shino now had no parents and lived alone. She and the club president should show her some sympathy and care.
"Uh... Iris, are you okay? You look a little tired."
As the movie's ending credits were about to finish, Gabriel looked at Iris, who had used cleaning magic but still exuded the life aura of Hachiman, and hesitated to speak.
"N-No, nothing's wrong. President, let's go eat together. I'm a bit hungry," Iris, who had just eaten her fill, shook her head, stood up, and showed a sweet and adorable smile to Hachiman.
"Then let's go eat. After eating, we can stroll around a bit, and then it's about time to go back and end today's club activities," Hachiman nodded with a smile, meaningfully looking at Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Hah, I can't win, and you won't win either," Yukinoshita Yukino snorted coldly, not showing Hachiman a good expression.
She naturally understood what Hachiman meant. He was implying that today was the last day, yet she still hadn't successfully guided Sakurase Shino, so it was better to go home early.
Actually, she felt her arrangement had some effect. After the movie ended, she saw that Sakurase Shino, who had always been expressionless, had flushed cheeks and rapid breathing, as if she had been excited by the thrilling action scenes, causing significant emotional fluctuations.
Unfortunately, the stimulating action scenes that made people feel immersed only lasted a little over two hours and couldn't continuously stimulate Sakurase Shino. The remaining activities of eating and shopping today were too plain and completely lacked the strong impact needed to guide Sakurase Shino out of her introversion.
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.
.
'They... actually did that, and no one noticed...?', Sakurase Shino followed behind Hachiman and Yukinoshita Yukino with a blank expression, walking calmly beside them.
However, beneath her calm exterior, her heart was pounding violently. The breeze brushing against her cheeks brought a slight coolness to her feverish body.
She had no thoughts of resisting Hachiman. If Hachiman wanted to do something to her, she felt it would be her deserved punishment.
But she had never imagined that Hachiman and the others would be so bold...
'Elf princess... magic... Hayase Saki...'
It seemed that only she could see and hear what they were doing beside her, while others felt nothing at all.
'Could this be their way of tormenting me...?'
Sakurase Shino didn't know if this was the truth, but since Hachiman hadn't actively pulled her over, and she had been enduring the torment in silence, a small, uncontrollable longing emerged within her.
However, she had remained silent in the theater, quietly enduring this torment of unfulfilled desire.
Yukinoshita Yukino didn't know what Sakurase Shino had experienced in the theater. Watching Sakurase Shino, whose expression had changed slightly, gradually calm down after leaving the cinema, she understood that she had lost the bet with Hachiman and couldn't take away his position as the club president.
Even if she took Sakurase Shino to watch another action movie, it probably wouldn't have such a good effect again.
Ultimately, she didn't have many methods she could use on Sakurase Shino, and none of them could create as intense an emotional fluctuation as this action movie had.
"Tomorrow is my turn, Yukinoshita-san," After everyone finished eating and wandered around the shopping district for a while, Hachiman checked the time and smiled at Yukinoshita Yukino.
"It seems like you have to go home tomorrow. Do you still have time to witness how I successfully guide Sakurase Shino?", He had originally been thinking about how to secretly "train" Sakurase Shino, but now that he knew Yukinoshita Yukino was being called home by her parents, he could openly train Sakurase Shino tomorrow.
"Gabriel and the others will be there, so I don't need to supervise," Yukinoshita Yukino, seeing Hachiman's slightly smug expression, responded coldly.
If it were just Sakurase Shino alone facing Hachiman, she would naturally be worried. But with so many people around, even if Hachiman had bad intentions, he wouldn't dare act recklessly.
As for whether Hachiman would succeed, she didn't believe he would.
As a male, Hachiman had even fewer means to guide Sakurase Shino than she did. He couldn't even offer warm concern properly. She felt that Hachiman was just bluffing.
But Sakurase Shino's introversion wasn't an urgent matter. Letting her stay in the club was fine. Hiratsuka Shizuka probably thought the same.
"Sorry, I couldn't provide any useful advice," Gabriel whispered, looking a little too comfortable.
Yukinoshita Yukino trusted her, yet she hadn't helped at all today.
She had wanted to help, but what happened with Iris and the others in the theater had left her shaken. She had only just recovered and hadn't been able to assist Yukinoshita Yukino during the later shopping and dining.
"It's okay. Tomorrow, please help supervise our club president, making sure he focuses on guiding Sakurase and doesn't think about unnecessary things," Yukinoshita Yukino shook her head. She hadn't expected much from others, and even she wasn't confident about solving Sakurase Shino's problem today—it was just a try.
But she trusted Gabriel and wanted her to help keep an eye on Hachiman.
Iris was close to Hachiman, Hayase Saki had unknowingly sided with him, and the new member Ichinose Ayano seemed to have her own motives.
In such a large club, she could only rely on the newly joined Gabriel to restrain Hachiman from abusing his position.
Well... Gabriel, although brought into the club by Hachiman and sitting next to him in class, had an aura that suggested she wouldn't fall into his schemes.
"Uh... okay. Actually, Hachiman is a good person. Yukinoshita-san, you can be good friends with him," Gabriel glanced at Hachiman beside her and saw that he was smiling without speaking, making her feel awkward.
Yukinoshita Yukino and Hachiman kept badmouthing each other right in front of each other, leaving her unsure how to respond.
"On the contrary, I'm worried that you, Gabriel, might be deceived by him," Yukinoshita Yukino shook her head, looking at Gabriel with serious eyes.
Although she wouldn't report Hachiman, she was still somewhat concerned about how he had killed without hesitation back then.
Helping Hayase Saki this time was for the sake of others, but what about next time? If he kept disregarding the law and solving problems with violence, he might start treating violence as the norm.
From his current behavior, Hachiman seemed quite good—helpful, easygoing, and friendly—except for having too many girls around him and his habit of bickering with her, which annoyed her a little.
However, she felt that his true nature wasn't as laid-back as he appeared.
"Yukinoshita, shouldn't you worry about whether you'll have to buy a white silk cat-ear maid outfit and admit defeat to me if I succeed in guiding Sakurase?", Hachiman chuckled and didn't really care that Yukinoshita Yukino was speaking ill of him to his face.
"We seem to have a bit of a bet, don't we? Even if you refuse to call me 'Master,' making you 'nya~' shouldn't be an overly excessive request, right?"
"...", Yukinoshita Yukino.
She took back her previous words—Hachiman's fondness for provoking her was truly annoying.
As expected, only she was fit to be the president of the Service Club. This guy simply treated people according to his own whims.
That coward Hayase Saki was probably being manipulated by this guy through some childhood friend nomination quota or something.
Although Yukinoshita Yukino knew this thought was quite unreliable, based on Hayase Saki's frequent attempts to approach and please Hachiman, it seemed more like she had a crush on him.
Even if there was something wrong with Hayase Saki, surely Iris and the others wouldn't be coerced and manipulated as well? She even felt that they treated Hachiman exceptionally well.
Well… maybe that's exactly why. She was the only one in the Service Club who didn't show Hachiman any courtesy, so he was targeting her.
"Let's put this topic aside for now. Should we go somewhere else, or are we heading back?", Noticing the sharp tension between Hachiman and Yukinoshita Yukino, Gabriel quickly changed the subject.
'How did it turn out like this? Aren't Hachiman and Yukinoshita the original two members of the Service Club? Why does their relationship seem so hostile?', She could tell that both of them were kind people. They clearly worked hard together on Service Club requests, yet they constantly antagonized each other.
"That's enough for today. I'm leaving first," Not wanting to breathe the same air as Hachiman any longer, Yukinoshita Yukino turned around and left without hesitation.
At this point, she no longer wanted to dwell on the request regarding Sakurase Shino's guidance.
She needed to go home and ask her sister properly—just what was going on that required her to return so suddenly?
Seeing that even Yukinoshita Yukino, who was sent by the parliament faction, had left, Ichinose Ayano hesitated for a moment before looking at Hachiman and softly asking,
"Um… President… do I need to come tomorrow as well?"
"You can come if you want to, Ichinose-san. If you're busy, it's fine not to. But I haven't decided where to take Sakurase tomorrow yet. I'll think about it tonight and let you all know in the group chat," Hachiman looked at this problematic politician's daughter and smiled.
Tonight, he was going to deal with the Poiman family. After that, he would see how to handle both Ichinose Ayano and her father, the Ichinose politician.
He had decided to support the politician Ichinose under the name of Princess Iris of the Elves, but that didn't mean he was going to let the guy get away without paying any price.
He still remembered that one-million-yen matter. Expecting him to do so much work for such a small amount—wasn't that just looking down on him?
Now that they were going to collaborate, if they didn't send over more money as a sign of goodwill, he would have to collect a bit more interest.
As for Ichinose Ayano, she wasn't beyond saving. His little coward Hayase Saki had been pretty dumb at first too, and now she was adorably dumb. However, guiding Ichinose Ayano wasn't going to be as satisfying as helping a socially withdrawn girl like Sakurase Shino. He wasn't interested in throwing himself at someone who would just ignore him.
"This… alright… I'll be leaving as well," Seeing that Hachiman didn't actively invite her to participate in the Service Club activities, Ichinose Ayano didn't know how to react. She bid farewell to everyone with complicated emotions.
Her father had asked her to get close to and win the favor of Princess Iris, but after a whole day, she hadn't made any progress at all. Iris seemed amicable and kind, but when it came to her, Iris maintained a polite distance.
Even someone as dense as her could see this. After all, she usually treated people who tried to approach her in the same way.
Only when facing Hachiman did Iris completely drop her social smile and reveal a genuinely sweet one.
This was difficult… As an ordinary politician's daughter, what value could she possibly have to an elven princess from another world?
The only thing she learned today was that Iris had told her Hachiman had helped her a lot. Apparently, that was why Iris liked him so much.
But she hadn't had any opportunity to ask Hachiman exactly what he had done for Iris.
Tomorrow… she would attend the Service Club activities again and find a chance to ask him.
If Hachiman could tell her what Iris liked and what Iris truly needed, then she could work hard to get those things for Iris.
That way, Iris should come to like her too, right?
"What about you guys? Are you going home, or do you want to keep playing?", Hachiman looked at the remaining girls.
It was still early, around two or three in the afternoon, but they had been out shopping, eating, and watching movies all day. It was about time to go home and rest.
Faced with Hachiman's question, everyone exchanged glances. Naturally, Shion and Komachi didn't need to answer; they would just follow their brother home.
Iris simply smiled without saying anything. Tonight, she still had to join the president in dealing with the Poiman family's trouble. After taking care of that, she, Aegis, and the president would have another sleepless night.
Sakurase Shino was even less likely to speak. She rarely talked, and now was certainly not the time she'd take the initiative.
"Uh…," Hayase Saki hesitated. She wanted to say that she had already prepared a white silk cat-ear maid outfit, so the president didn't need to look for Yukinoshita Yukino—he could just ask her.
But looking at the atmosphere, she didn't dare speak.
Iris had just invited her to hang out today. How could she do something so selfish in front of Iris?
She had two sets of white silk cat-ear maid outfits, but they obviously wouldn't fit Iris's figure—at best, they could be used by Aegis.
If Iris thought she was trying to sow discord, that would be a grave injustice.
To avoid losing Iris's favor and missing out on future invitations, she figured she should find the right time to invite her good food buddy, Miki, over to play with the president. She was sure Miki would enjoy this.
Seeing that no one spoke up, Gabriel hesitated for a moment before stating her request, "If you're not too tired, Hachiman, can you help me move?"
"Move? Didn't you just transfer schools? Why are you moving again?", Hachiman was surprised.
"Well… I'm moving into the apartment next to yours. But I don't have too many things, so if you're busy, I can handle it myself," Gabriel explained. Since she was moving in next door, she didn't plan on hiding it. If she kept it a secret, she'd have to avoid Hachiman and Vignette, which would make it impossible to protect Hachiman.
As an angel, how could she possibly avoid a demon?
"Huh? I mean, I have time, but I'm just curious—why the sudden decision?"
Hachiman was puzzled, 'Why is Gabriel suddenly moving in next door?
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