Diary Of Service Club, Helping The Elf Princess

"Uh, I guess that's true…"

Kaede froze for a moment before realizing, awkwardly lowering the arms and legs she had instinctively used to shield herself.

It was true—no matter how questionable Hachiman's thoughts might get, he wouldn't dare make such a request in front of so many people.

That kind of thing? She would never, ever agree to it.

"Ahem, so what exactly is this request of yours?"

After realizing her misunderstanding, Kaede coughed twice in embarrassment. As she smoothed down her flipped-up skirt, she changed the topic and asked seriously.

Darn it. Once again, Hachiman had taken advantage of her. However, since this time the misunderstanding was her own doing, she couldn't exactly argue much.

In her mind, it wasn't her fault—Hachiman's sudden hand movements had misled her. But if she brought that up, he would definitely accuse her of not trusting him, and then she'd end up having to apologize to him instead.

As someone who had been his childhood friend since forever, Kaede understood Hachiman's personality well. He'd absolutely do something like that.

Hachiman loved twisting logic to mess with her. Somehow, she always ended up having to apologize or thank him for the times he took advantage of her.

"My request, huh…"

Hikigaya noticed Kaede relaxing her guard, no longer using her arms and legs to protect herself. He suddenly reached out his hands toward her again.

This time, he didn't move slowly, giving her time to react. Instead, his hands darted quickly, landing on her sides as his fingers tickled her ribs and stomach at an incredible speed.

"My request is that you can't refuse my tickling."

"Tickling?"

Kaede only realized what was happening when Hachiman's hands were already under her arms. She instinctively tried to escape his grasp, but his words made her pause in shock.

Of all the things Hachiman could have asked, Kaede never imagined he'd request that she not refuse his tickling.

She thought he'd make her lift her skirt in embarrassment or wear a maid outfit and call him "Master" or something. 'How could this guy waste such an opportunity like this?'

"You actually made that your request? Haha, you're too much. Stop tickling! I—I haven't agreed yet—haha!"

Kaede wanted to criticize Hachiman's ridiculous request, but before she could, she realized that being tickled was, in a way, even worse. By then, she was already laughing uncontrollably, too weak to escape his clutches.

"Well then, how about just this one time? If you can't even handle one tickle session, then your promise is way too cheap, don't you think?"

Hikigaya sat on the couch, pulling Kaede into his arms as she instinctively tried to squirm away. His hands launched slow, deliberate attacks on her most sensitive spots: her underarms, stomach, and neck.

"F-Fine...! Hahaha!"

Hearing his reasoning, Kaede gritted her teeth and ignored the signals her body was sending her to escape. She forced herself to endure Hachiman's tickling assault.

It was just some tickling. She could endure it… right?

However, Kaede's resolve didn't last long.

"Hahaha! Stop! Hahaha… I-I can't take it anymore!"

"I'm begging you! Hahaha... Have mercy! Hahaha…"

Accepting Hachiman's condition of not avoiding him, Kaede soon realized the gravity of her mistake. Hachiman wasn't holding back at all—he continued mercilessly tickling her weak points, ignoring her pleas. Her laughter turned to tears.

"Ahahaha…"

Watching Kaede laugh and struggle in his arms, Hachiman finally stopped.

"Ha… ha…"

Kaede was still laughing weakly, catching her breath. But just as she sighed in relief, she felt Hachiman's "sinful" hands creeping toward her underarms and stomach again.

"You're too... hahahaha! Too sneaky! Ahahaha! Stop already!"

This time, Kaede was genuinely laughing herself silly, tears streaming down her face. Yet she couldn't break free from Hachiman's arms and his relentless "torture."

"What are you two doing over there?"

Kaede's incessant laughter echoed into the kitchen, prompting Vignette to come out and check.

"Nothing, just playing a little game with Kaede," Hachiman replied with a smile.

"A… game…"

Vignette glanced at Kaede, who was weakly struggling in Hachiman's arms, laughing helplessly while pleading. Vignette shrank back slightly.

'How… devilish.'

Asogi Shion followed Vignette out, but unlike her, Shion looked at Kaede nestled in Hachiman's arms with slight envy.

'How nice…'

Although she knew tickling could be torturous, this sweet, playful punishment was clearly something only close relationships could endure.

For her older brother to be so carefree, playing tickle games with Kaede on the couch, even disheveled and wrestling, showed just how close they were.

"I'll let you off this time. Don't think you can keep acting up in front of me," Hachiman said as he noticed Vignette and Shion watching. Feeling it was inappropriate to keep playing, he released Kaede and withdrew his hands, still faintly scented with her presence.

"You… jerk… I told you to stop…"

Kaede lay limply on Hachiman's lap, panting heavily as her chest rose and fell. She glared at him with all the strength she could muster, but her weak, flushed state made her completely unthreatening. In fact, her angry gaze only seemed flirtatious to Hachiman.

Kaede's younger sister, Suzu, quietly approached, crouching in front of the couch. She stared at Kaede, her face red, and poked her soft, supple cheek.

She didn't say anything, nor did she seem intent on helping her sister. Instead, she calmly pulled out her phone and pointed it at Kaede and Hachiman.

"No! Don't take a picture!"

Although Kaede was still out of breath, the sight of Suzu raising her phone gave her a surge of energy. She quickly propped herself up to snatch the phone.

This sister of hers wasn't just unhelpful—she wanted to take a photo of Kaede's most embarrassing moment.

This heartless sibling had to go.

Suzu stared blankly at Kaede, who had snatched the phone from her hand. She didn't say much and silently stood up from the floor, looking down at Kaede, who was kneeling on the sofa.

Kaede, having just grabbed the phone, was busy checking if it had truly captured any embarrassing photos of her.

In the next second, Suzu grabbed Kaede's hands and pulled her away from the sofa.

"Suzu, what are you doing?"

Kaede, with her calves still on the sofa but her upper body hanging in the air, looked at Suzu in confusion. She wanted to free herself from this strange position but realized that Suzu was pulling back harder. If Kaede wanted to continue pushing herself up, she would inevitably fall.

"Suzu, are you saying I should keep going?"

Hikigaya looked at Kaede, who had her butt sticking up and was facing away from him. He reached out to grab Kaede's small foot, wrapped in black mid-calf socks, preventing her from falling because of Suzu's pull. He then met Suzu's expressionless gaze.

If it had been his old self, unaware of his awakened memories, he would naturally be puzzled by what his quiet and reserved little sister Suzu was always thinking. He wouldn't even have understood Kaede's tsundere feelings.

Although both Kaede and Suzu were his childhood friends, Suzu mostly followed silently behind him and Kaede, watching the two of them bicker.

But now, he understood. Suzu likely felt that his and Kaede's playful intimacy was leaving her out. She didn't want the trio to break apart. To ensure that didn't happen, she didn't mind assisting from the sidelines.

Suzu was quite the good sister—almost on par with Komachi.

"What do you mean, 'keep going'? Suzu, let go of me! We're on the same side, aren't we?"

Kaede, unable to move with Hachiman and Suzu each holding one of her limbs, shivered and quickly shook her head at Suzu, urging her to let go.

The tickling torture earlier had made her completely lose control of her body, and she'd had enough. She couldn't go through it again.

If it happened again, it wouldn't just be about tears.

"..."

Suzu silently stared at the anxious Kaede in front of her. She neither spoke nor made any further moves.

"Let's let her off the hook for today. We can play with Kaede again next time."

Hachiman placed his hands on Kaede's round, fair, and slender legs and suggested to Suzu, who was holding Kaede's hands.

A bit of playful teasing for today should suffice. Moderate joking helps improve relationships, but going overboard would turn it into punishment.

Besides, Vignette was still covering her eyes nearby, and both Shion and Komachi were also present. This wasn't the right time for any intense teasing of Kaede.

"Okay."

Suzu seemed unfazed, nodded, and released Kaede's hands without hesitation.

"Hey!"

Kaede, about to grumble about Hachiman's suggestion, suddenly felt Suzu let go. Without support, her body, which had been leaning forward in midair, started to fall.

Seeing this, Hachiman quickly reached out and caught Kaede's falling body, pulling her back onto the sofa.

"Whoo! Ha! Ha! That scared me Suzu, why did you suddenly let go?"

Leaning against Hachiman's chest, Kaede patted her heaving chest and panted heavily.

She was already exhausted from laughing uncontrollably during the tickling earlier. Now, Suzu's scare had completely worn her out. She felt that both her sister and childhood friend were endlessly tormenting her.

Watching Hachiman successfully catch Kaede, Suzu, standing in front of Kaede, didn't hesitate to raise the phone she had taken back from Kaede. She aimed it at Kaede, who was blushing and sitting on Hachiman's lap, capturing both of them in the frame.

The sound of the camera clicking echoed.

"Suzu! Are you secretly taking pictures of me again?"

Kaede suddenly turned to Suzu, seeing her phone aimed right at her. In an instant, she realized why Suzu had let go earlier, leaving Hachiman to catch her.

This little sister was too scheming.

She wasn't at all the quiet and well-behaved person she appeared to be.

Suzu looked at the photo on her phone, then raised her head to glance at Kaede's hands in front of her chest. She silently put her phone away and turned to walk out.

"Suzu, wait! Don't run away."

Kaede hurriedly got off Hachiman's lap, intending to chase after the blackmail-worthy photo.

"It's just a photo. Suzu isn't going to show it to anyone. You don't have to be in such a rush, Kaede."

Hachiman, leisurely watching Kaede hastily adjust her clothes and run after Suzu, said calmly.

"Hmph! You just wait.I'll remember today's events! I'll make you pay for this later."

Kaede shot a fierce glare at Hachiman, who had teased her earlier, and left a harsh remark before dashing off.

Today's chaos was all Hachiman's fault. Next time, she'd find a way to make him suffer.

"Sure, I'll wait for you."

Hachiman shrugged indifferently at Kaede's fleeing figure, unaffected by her threats.

Even in the past, he hadn't been afraid of Kaede, let alone now.

With Suzu, who always sided with him, Kaede couldn't win.

In truth, he didn't even need to make any requests today. If he really wanted to tickle Kaede, he could have done so outright. The reason he deliberately made a suggestion was to give the thin-skinned tsundere Kaede an excuse to back down gracefully. Otherwise, she would've flown into a rage and started swinging her fists at him again.

Hachiman looked at his slender fingers and gently rubbed them, as if the soft sensation of holding Kaede earlier still lingered.

"Hachiman, it's getting late. I should head back. I still have some lessons to review for tomorrow."

In the Hikigaya living room, Vignette, seeing that Kaede and Suzu had indeed left, quickly spoke up.

Like Gabriel, she had transferred schools recently. As a model student with excellent grades and dedication, she was still catching up on missed lessons in private.

"Vignette, you're so diligent. I won't keep you then. Thanks for the dinner—it was delicious."

Hachiman smiled and nodded, sending Vignette to the door. However, he couldn't help but sigh internally about her future circumstances.

Vignette could focus solely on studying only for now. Soon, she'd likely have to start working part-time to supplement her living expenses due to doing too many good deeds and losing her allowance.

After all, devils were supposed to commit misdeeds. A kind-hearted devil like Vignette, who only did good deeds during her human-world internship, would undoubtedly receive negative performance evaluations.

Returning to the living room, Hachiman found the house much quieter now that it was just him, Komachi, and Shion.

"Who's going to take a bath first, Oni-chan or Shion? I just filled the tub with water," Komachi said as she came out of the bathroom, her expression slightly strange.

"Brother… you go first. I'll take mine later."

Shion and Komachi exchanged a silent glance before Shion turned to Hachiman, speaking softly.

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