Shin looked at Hitori Goto, who was already on the verge of collapse after just one round, and couldn't help but complain:
"Your stamina is way too lousy, you know?"
But thinking about it carefully, it made sense. Hitori Goto was a shut-in with social anxiety who usually just stayed at home; the most intense exercise she'd done in her entire life was probably playing guitar for hours on end.
In the original series, there were even scenes where Hitori got exhausted after just running a few steps. From that angle, the fact that she could endure one full round of Shin's "assault" was already pretty good.
"I–It's because Shin is just too strong… right…?"
Hitori was slumped over the desk, heat radiating off her entire body, her voice weak — she gave off the impression of a lost wanderer who'd been walking in the desert for days.
If Shin couldn't clearly sense from her ki that there was nothing seriously wrong, he would probably have thought Hitori was about to die.
"The other girls don't get wiped out this easily."
Shin said helplessly, then extended a finger toward Hitori — his "Bestow" ability activated, and in an instant the maid-uniform Stand belonging to Ai Hayasaka was put onto Hitori's body.
As soon as the maid outfit settled on her, Hitori felt her stamina gradually returning, which made her let out a surprised sound:
"Eh? This maid outfit is…?"
"It's a Stand ability from another girl. It boosts the wearer's stamina and energy, and it can also help them recover the physical strength they use up during 'maid work.'"
Shin explained briefly. He didn't bother hiding the fact that this Stand came from another girl — he knew full well that even if Hitori found out, she wouldn't get jealous.
He had to admit, this maid-outfit Stand came in handy at times like these way too often. He couldn't help wondering what kind of expression Ai Hayasaka would make if she learned how it was being used.
"Maid work… S-So that's why you kept making me call you 'Master' just now?"
Still panting lightly as she felt her strength slowly returning, Hitori gave Shin a somewhat complicated look.
During their "exercise" just now, Shin had repeatedly made her address him as her Master. Even though Hitori had been so embarrassed she could barely stand it, she had still ended up calling him that in the end.
"You seemed pretty into calling me that, though, Bocchi."
Shin chuckled and reached out to rub Hitori's cheek as she lay sprawled on the desk — "Bocchi" was a nickname often used for pet dogs in Japan, and yet Hitori accepted that nickname surprisingly easily.
Part of it was because "Bocchi" was the first nickname anyone had ever given her, but it also indirectly showed that Hitori actually didn't mind being treated like a pet.
Sure enough, when Shin started rubbing her face, Hitori couldn't stop a contented smile from appearing. This was the kind of reaction she almost never showed in front of other people.
By the time Shin and Hitori left the clubroom and returned to the classroom, the lunch break had already completely ended.
The moment they walked into Shin's classroom, Megumi Kato, unsurprisingly, glanced over at him — that meaningful look in her eyes said nothing out loud, but it was obvious that she already knew what had just happened.
After all, if Shin had only kept Hitori back to talk about something, it definitely wouldn't have taken an entire hour.
And since she experienced Shin's stamina firsthand every night, Megumi could basically guess what he and Hitori had just been doing purely from the time they'd been gone.
"Is Goto-san okay?"
Once Shin sat down in his seat, Megumi immediately turned around to look at him and asked in a somewhat subtle tone.
Given how Hitori's stamina never looked very good even at school, Megumi really was a little worried Shin might have pushed her to the breaking point.
As for jealousy… Megumi had long since made peace with that. She'd already mentally prepared herself for every member of the Occult Research Club to be completely devoured by Shin sooner or later.
"Of course she's fine. We've got the maid outfit, don't we?"
Shin replied with a smile — Megumi obviously knew about the maid-outfit Stand as well, since they practically used it every night.
"If you already had to bring out the maid outfit, Goto-san must've been put through the wringer."
Megumi snorted lightly. She could easily picture how exhausted Hitori must have been — after all, during PE at school, Hitori got tired just from running a few steps.
But once she knew Hitori was otherwise okay, Megumi didn't keep pressing the topic. Instead, she brought up something else:
"…Asking for flowers… (If you want over-the-top爽快 novels, go read on Feilu Novel!)"
"Anyway, while you were out of the classroom just now, Miura-san came looking for me."
"Hm? Miura was looking for you? Didn't think anyone would actively seek you out."
Shin blinked in surprise, then let a playful smile rise to his lips — thanks to Megumi's low presence, almost nobody in class ever approached her on their own initiative.
Even when teachers called on students to answer questions in class, they had literally never called Megumi's name before. Not even Shizuka Hiratsuka, who was famous for caring about her students more than anyone else, was an exception.
"Don't change the subject."
Megumi shot Shin an exasperated glare, then continued:
"She asked me whether I'd noticed anything about you and Yuigahama-san. She wanted to know if the two of you had been having any one-on-one contact lately."
"Oh? So that's what she was asking?"
Shin froze for a moment. He hadn't expected Yumiko Miura to go to Megumi specifically just to ask about his relationship with Yui Yuigahama.
Looked like even someone as dense as Yumiko had noticed that Yui's behaviour had been a bit off lately — she must have realized that Yui's feelings for him had changed.
Yui had probably not told Yumiko about what was going on between them yet, which was why Yumiko was trying to gather some intel from other classmates.
And since Megumi sat in front of Shin and had a relationship with him that was clearly not simple, she naturally became Yumiko's first choice to question.
"Miura-san seems very interested in you — that much I could already guess."
Megumi glanced over at Yumiko Miura, who was sitting at her own desk, then looked back at Shin and asked curiously:
"But this is the first time I'm hearing about Yuigahama-san… You and Yuigahama-san really…?"
Since Yumiko and Yui were both in the same class, Megumi was of course very curious about Shin's relationship with them.
"Well, that's…"
Shin only let out a small chuckle and didn't answer her question directly.
But just from seeing his smile, even without an explicit answer, Megumi had already gotten the confirmation she wanted.
She sighed softly, feeling utterly helpless in the face of Shin's seemingly endless ability to attract more and more girls.
To be continued…