[In the Bedroom]
"Yami, what do you think I should wear to work next week? And what hairstyle should I prepare?"
"Would business attire be a little too ordinary? There seem to be a lot of new coworkers too, although I only know Ryoko."
While her good friend worried about her lifelong happiness, Tearju happily chatted with her daughter Eve in her arms about going to work at Sobu High next week.
Actually, she knew there was a gathering of her future coworkers outside in the hallway. She had wanted to go out and greet them, but Eve would not let her.
After thinking it over carefully, she felt Eve was right. They were drinking outside. If they insisted she stay and join them, refusing would seem rude. If she did not refuse, she had no idea how long the gathering would last.
There would be many opportunities to spend time together in the future anyway, so there was no need to rush. For the next few days, she would spend more time with Eve.
Next week she would start work, and Eve would start school. They might not have as much time together after that.
Although she was a little reluctant, Ryoko was right. Eve was at the age where she should go to school and make friends. She could not keep Eve at home forever.
Even Princess Lala went to school, so naturally Eve could not be an exception.
"Mm... Tearju looks good in anything..."
The petite, adorable blonde girl Eve smiled sweetly in Tearju's arms as she answered, but her eyes wandered. The ends of her long golden hair, which reached her hips, curled up from time to time as if trying to block her ears.
"Mm... If Eve makes friends at school, she can bring them home to play. I'll cook a nice meal... If that doesn't work, I'll invite Kirisu-sensei over to cook for us."
The two had only just finished bathing. Tearju did not notice the unusual blush on the girl's face in her arms. As she spoke, she became embarrassed and blushed herself.
Her cooking was a little unreliable. She was clumsy in the kitchen. She should find more time to learn cooking from Kirisu Mafuyu next door.
Although the other woman's hobby was a little unusual, wearing a maid outfit at home, her cooking was undeniably excellent. Kitchen utensils that gave Tearju a headache were handled with ease by Kirisu Mafuyu, and she could quickly make dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful.
"Mm... I'll make friends properly..."
Eve obediently nodded, paying no attention to Tearju's embarrassment over her poor cooking. She had long since gotten used to it. Even if it did not taste good, it was still edible.
What concerned her more now were the awful sounds from Karuizawa Kei's room that had not stopped at all.
That's right. She could hear the sounds from Karuizawa Kei's room.
Actually, she did not want to hear them. Even though her hearing was sharp enough, she would never deliberately listen to something like that.
But there was someone in that room whose strength was unbelievably powerful, someone who felt like a formidable enemy capable of posing a serious threat to her. It instantly awakened the instincts she had once possessed as a biological weapon and an assassin of the universe. She could not stop herself from constantly paying attention to that immense, powerful life force.
She wanted them to stop, or drive them away.
But they were just doing whatever they were doing in their own room. Ordinary people could not even hear the sounds. If she went over and asked them to stop after secretly listening in, she would be the one in the wrong.
She could almost feel that the room was filled with something that could evolve the body. A faint, uncontrollable craving arose inside her.
'Damn it...'
'I hate... those H things...'
Eve buried her bright red face against Tearju's full chest.
Before she had even officially met him, she had already formed a deeply rooted bad impression of Hachiman.
———
[Outside the Room, in the Hallway]
"Where did everyone go..."
"They all went to the bathroom and never came back..."
The drunken Chabashira Sae and Hoshinomiya Chie looked around blankly at the many empty seats.
How had everyone disappeared while they were drinking?
Never mind making others drink, they could not even find anyone to drink with.
"They probably all went to sleep..."
"Cough! Cough... Suzumi left because of something urgent..."
Hearing Chabashira Sae and Hoshinomiya Chie's words, Hiratsuka Shizuka and Kirisu Mafuyu, who were still accompanying them at the table, became a little awkward and instinctively felt guilty.
Aside from Shizumi Suzune, who seemed to have left because of an emergency, everyone else who had left the table was probably in Karuizawa Kei's room now.
They did not know exactly what was happening over there or why so many people had not returned, but they both immediately assumed it had something to do with Hachiman.
After all, they had only come out to drink after serving Hachiman tonight, so they naturally knew where he had gone.
Of course, Kirisu Mafuyu had not personally served him tonight either. She had only been cleaning nearby, acting as part of the background for now.
"They went to sleep? I remember... they all went to Karuizawa's room to look for someone. Could Hikigaya be in Karuizawa's room?"
Hearing that, Hoshinomiya Chie sobered up a little. Looking toward Karuizawa Kei's half-open door, she wanted to get up and take a look.
Recently, these girls had been acting mysteriously.
She knew their grades had improved rapidly, but Karuizawa Kei and the others had originally been poor students from Class D. Most of them had never had good grades. She simply did not believe that several of them could suddenly score perfect marks in such a short time.
Yet she had no evidence and could only infer from what they said that the famous Hachiman had been tutoring them.
She was also curious how exactly Hachiman had managed it.
But tonight was their private gathering. Even if Hachiman was in Karuizawa Kei's room, would Hanamori Kotomi and the others really be that dedicated to teaching students?
Unlike the other older single women who had little luck with men for various reasons, Hoshinomiya Chie was the mature version of Kushida Kikyo. Not only was she very popular with men, she also enjoyed being admired by them.
Precisely because she could easily keep many men interested, she did not think Hachiman could be seducing her coworkers.
It wasn't that those men had never wanted to pursue Hanamori Kotomi and the others. Those women simply looked down on them and never gave them a chance. She could believe Hachiman might win over one or two innocent female teachers, but all of them at once?
"Hoshinomiya! I advise you not to go in!"
Seeing Hoshinomiya Chie recklessly trying to get involved, Kirisu Mafuyu quickly grabbed her.
Perhaps because of constant exposure, she had slowly begun to accept Hachiman. Now she could even do something as rebellious as interfering with her master's plans without feeling restrained.
"Why? Mafuyu, do you know something?"
Hoshinomiya Chie froze and looked suspiciously at Kirisu Mafuyu, her gaze lingering thoughtfully on the especially eye-catching black-and-white maid outfit she was wearing.
"Well..."
Kirisu Mafuyu was left speechless and could not help looking toward Hiratsuka Shizuka.
She simply did not want Hoshinomiya Chie to go in. If she really had to explain why, she had no idea what to say.
Among the young, attractive female coworkers she knew at school, apart from Satou Sakie, who never joined private gatherings and never had any physical contact with them, almost everyone was already here.
In theory, many new coworkers would arrive next week, but they had all been specially recruited. Most of them would probably end up like the indebted teachers Shizuka had mentioned and be won over quickly.
Once everyone around her had been won over, it would definitely be her turn.
Even though she knew Hachiman was so confident that he allowed her to watch from the side instead of asking her to serve him, and even though she knew she probably could not avoid it anymore, she still wanted to delay it for a while.
"Cough! Hikigaya is probably staying in Karuizawa's room tonight to tutor them. Chie, don't go disturb them."
Hiratsuka Shizuka looked helpless under everyone's gaze, but after thinking it over, she still spoke and mentioned Hachiman.
She also did not want Hachiman's progress to be too fast.
Although she was already on Hachiman's side and introducing people to him, she still felt that everyone falling to him was not quite appropriate.
With outsiders around, these people who had been single for many years would still hold themselves back somewhat. But if everyone became one of their own, they might completely let themselves go.
"Really? Hikigaya is actually staying overnight in Karuizawa Kei's room? Is he that amazing?"
However, hearing Hachiman's name, Hoshinomiya Chie's eyes lit up. Before Hiratsuka Shizuka and Kirisu Mafuyu could persuade her further, she got up and walked straight toward Karuizawa Kei's room, wanting to see for herself.
But just as she reached the door, the half-open door suddenly slammed shut.
Seeing it close, Hoshinomiya Chie was not discouraged. She immediately rang the doorbell.
She refused to believe they could hide inside forever. If nothing else, she would move her things over tonight and sleep in front of the door to block it. They did not have work tomorrow anyway!
Ding! Dong~ Ding! Dong~"
"???"
Looking at Karuizawa Kei's room, from which she could faintly hear the voices of Tachibana Hina, Matsubara Miria, and Takamine Ayako, Hoshinomiya Chie's gentle, adorable face revealed a chilling smile.
These people who forgot their friends as soon as they saw a handsome guy, instead of drinking with her, they ran inside to drink with Hachiman?
Naturally, Hoshinomiya Chie knew about Hachiman, the infamous king of skipping class at Sobu High.
Student council president, politician's daughter, childhood friend, elf princess, disciplinary committee member, when all these keywords were connected to Hachiman, anyone would know he was impressive.
With major changes coming to Sobu High next week, it was only natural that some people lacking strong resolve would want to side with Hachiman.
She just had not expected these little... girls to stop halfway through drinking and all rush onto Hachiman's bed.
'This is too shameless!'
There were so many students inside too.
"Chie, do you really want to go in? Once you go in, there's no turning back. Besides..."
Seeing that Hoshinomiya Chie looked surprised after hearing the sounds inside but showed no intention of leaving in embarrassment or anger, Hiratsuka Shizuka sighed helplessly and tried once more to persuade her.
"If we all go in, Sae will be the only one left here."
"Right now... am I the only one left?"
Before Hiratsuka Shizuka had even finished speaking, Chabashira Sae's voice came from behind her.
The tall, sexy Chabashira Sae shook the beer can that was still half full, tilted her head back, drained it in one gulp, tossed the empty can back onto the table, and looked dreamily at the tightly closed door ahead. Her lips parted slightly as she murmured softly,
"Tonight... if I don't vote in favor... if everyone goes in together... does that mean I've lost..."
"Huh? Sae, you're going in too?"
Seeing the alcohol-flushed Chabashira Sae walk over while muttering strange things, Hiratsuka Shizuka and Kirisu Mafuyu exchanged glances.
Chabashira Sae had always been cold and indifferent. She taught in a proper, unremarkable way, with no enthusiasm at all. She was the most passive among them.
Apart from those who were already on the same bed and part of the inner circle, they had actually thought Chabashira Sae would be the hardest to win over.
Tonight, so many of them had been drinking, chatting, and playing games together. Even the usually stern Takamine Ayako, Matsubara Miria, and Kirisu Mafuyu had spoken more under the lively atmosphere and shown faint smiles.
Only Chabashira Sae had spent almost the entire time quietly eating and drinking.
Whenever she lost a game and was supposed to answer truthfully, she simply opened a can of beer and drank it in one go, never giving Hoshinomiya Chie, Itashiro Kurumi, and the others any chance to egg her on with sensitive questions.
If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would never have known Chabashira Sae drank even more heavily than Hoshinomiya Chie and Tachibana Hina.
"Hehe~ You know we came from the Advanced Nurturing High School, right? We were students there too."
Seeing that no one in Karuizawa Kei's room was opening the door, Hoshinomiya Chie turned around and explained Chabashira Sae's unusual behavior to Hiratsuka Shizuka and Kirisu Mafuyu.
"Advanced Nurturing High School used a class promotion system. There were all kinds of evaluations every semester, even every month. Only the class with the highest points at the end could graduate as Class A and receive the generous benefits the school promised."
"Back then, Sae was a student in Class B. In the final exam, Class B was about to replace Class A, but she made a mistake, and everyone's efforts came to nothing."
"Maybe she's remembering the version of herself that fell short at the last moment and wants to make up for that old regret."
"Mm... This time, Sakayanagi and the others have ranked near the top of the grade as a class. Maybe that's given Sae hope of leading the entire class to first place."
"Sakayanagi and the others are working hard inside. Even Kotomi and Risako have joined them. Naturally, Sae doesn't want to hold Sakayanagi's class back."
Although Hoshinomiya Chie thought Chabashira Sae's thinking was a little absurd, the Advanced Nurturing High School had already been abolished, so where was this class competition for her to redeem her regrets?
Did having the highest class exam scores count as winning? Even if it did, just look at how many poor students their class had. There were a great many former Class D students, while former Class B and Class A students were in the minority.
Honestly speaking, competing through actual academic performance was even harder than the struggles at Advanced Nurturing High School. Everyone's academic ability had its limits. It was not something Chabashira Sae could solve.
But as her longtime "friend," Hoshinomiya Chie knew that Chabashira Sae had indeed never forgotten what happened back then.
Perhaps she simply wanted to let all those pent-up feelings out this way.
"So that's how it is..."
Hiratsuka Shizuka hesitated after hearing the explanation. Kirisu Mafuyu had not expected that the seemingly unmotivated Chabashira Sae had such a reason behind her behavior.
Although information on everyone around Hachiman had already been thoroughly gathered by all the different groups within the Service Club so that anyone suspicious could be removed in time, or at least watched and made use of.
Kirisu Mafuyu had only just half joined and had not yet had the chance to enter the Service Club, while Hiratsuka Shizuka, who could have joined long ago, was too embarrassed to show up there often. Otherwise, she surely would have learned about Chabashira Sae's lingering regret from Iris and the others and known how to tempt Chabashira Sae into joining them.
After all, when the elf princess Iris first came to the school, it was Hiratsuka Shizuka who had received her. During Iris's first intimate contact with Hachiman, she had even stood outside the guidance room together with Aegis, keeping watch.
At the time, she had thought Iris's request for assistance was utterly ridiculous.
She had never imagined that one day, she too...
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