But who would've thought that Ayano had apparently misunderstood her recent behavior, assuming the newbie Chizuru might also be the type to secretly oppose them while pretending to cooperate. She immediately cranked up the pressure on Chizuru, giving her none of the adjustment or consideration time she herself had once received.
"Chizuru."
"Ah? Mm, y-yes..."
Ichinose Chizuru's face was burning red as she watched Ichinose Honami personally demonstrate what she was supposed to do. Regret flooded her heart. Sure enough, money from the Ayano household wasn't easy to earn.
But after coming here and discovering so many secrets that even high society might not know, there was no turning back now.
At the very least, following Ichinose Honami couldn't be wrong. For the sake of her dream.
Ichinose Chizuru took a deep breath, forced away distracting thoughts, and desperately hypnotized herself. Tilting her head up, she stole glances at Ichinose Honami from the corner of her eye and slowly copied Honami's gentle movements as she kissed Hachiman.
She was only undergoing actress training, after all. She had no professional experience whatsoever. In fact, the only remotely relevant practical experience she had was at the start of tonight's blindfold game, when she and the Shinomiya family maid Hayasaka Ai had worn maid outfits and helped bathe Hachiman, washing him clean with their bodies.
Besides, Hachiman was blindfolded and couldn't see them anyway. She only needed to imitate the movements, not perform subtle expressions or emotions.
"Chizuru, huh..."
Feeling the mixture of practiced and clumsy kisses from the two girls, Hachiman let out a quiet breath and wrapped an arm around Ichinose Ayano beside him, thoroughly rewarding this jealous yet obedient little pet.
Since Ichinose Chizuru existed, then Sakurasawa Sumi and Sarashina Ruka probably existed too.
Honestly, the Ichinose family really produced talents in abundance. At this point, even if Ichinose Soyo suddenly appeared among the extended Ichinose family, he wouldn't be surprised at all. Of course, Ichinose Soyo might also be called Nagasaki Soyo.
"Mmn~ Master~"
Ichinose Ayano was overjoyed. As expected, bringing more people to offer themselves to Master would earn her rewards from him.
However, she had only just closed her eyes to enjoy it for a short while, when she suddenly felt a cool, silky arm wedge itself between her and Master.
"..."
Ichinose Ayano's eyes snapped open. She whipped her head around toward Hachiman's back and glared viciously at the long black-haired snow woman interrupting her moment of Master's affection.
The long black-haired snow woman grinned at Ichinose Ayano, completely unconcerned by the resentful hatred in Ayano's gaze. She simply wrapped both arms around Hachiman's neck and kissed the other side of his cheek.
"Onii-chan~ Guess who I am~"
"That voice... Yukari?"
Hachiman lightly brushed through the snow woman's beautiful black hair, then slowly slid a hand into her embrace. After pondering for a moment, he answered hesitantly.
Her body felt cool to the touch, and with that voice, it was obviously the long black-haired snow woman Yukari. None of the other snow women matched.
Yet after he spoke, the black-haired snow woman said nothing. She only leaned forward to kiss his lips and giggled beside his ear.
"Hehe~"
Did he guess wrong? Then wouldn't the Yukari behind him actually be...
A bold thought had just surfaced in Hachiman's mind when he suddenly realized another girl had appeared in front of him.
The position originally occupied by Ichinose Honami and Ichinose Chizuru had been squeezed into by a petite girl.
Slender, soft arms wrapped around his waist as she buried herself deep in his chest and planted a big kiss on him.
"Onii-chan~ Guess who I am~"
"Hiss!"
Hearing Yukari's voice again, Hachiman immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
They were actually pulling a fake-and-real Yukari routine on him?
Could it be that the mermaid princess Meroune had recruited a voice actress-type idol? Or maybe someone from the original Service Club whose voice resembled Yukari's had learned voice acting techniques?
He really didn't know whether Iris had arranged this hide-and-seek game or someone else had, but whoever it was truly understood his tastes.
While secretly praising the greatness of the blonde elf princess and the others, Hachiman carefully compared the differences between the long black-haired Yukari behind him and the short black-haired Yukari in front of him.
The two Yukaris sounded extremely alike. Both had little fangs, and both wore identical kimono styles made from the same fabric. Honestly, they were really hard to distinguish.
Although he received system notifications whenever new members joined, if they were heroines from the Underground 2D World, they were still difficult to identify even if he knew their names.
After all, 2D-world heroines mostly only appeared for one or two episodes, maybe three, sometimes only dozens of pages. Meanwhile, Surface 2D World heroines usually got twelve episodes, twenty-four episodes, and so on. Naturally, the Underground 2D World heroines left far less of an impression on him.
Still, these two Yukaris probably weren't new members.
Even though neither was clearly inexperienced at playing this sort of game with him, the Yukari behind him seemed less experienced based on her skill level. She was proactive, but not very smooth. In contrast, the Yukari in front of him had mastered many of the techniques commonly used by the veteran members.
One had long hair, one short hair.
One had a curvy figure, the other saved a lot of fabric.
'Mm... this... impossible to guess... How the hell am I supposed to figure this out?'
Since when was there a black short-haired snow woman Yukari with an ahoge in the Service Club?
While stroking the short-haired Yukari's ahoge, Hachiman leaned against the long-haired Yukari, alternating his affection between her and Ichinose Ayano on either side.
However, while he was enjoying himself, Momo and Nana, who were still lying on the dining table, were suffering miserably.
Watching Ichinose Chizuru constantly choke while only the short-haired Yukari and Ichinose Honami handled things with perfect skill and without wasting a drop, the thirsty Momo and Nana desperately swallowed saliva, screaming internally in complete collapse.
'Is this Big Sister's punishment for us running away from home? This is way too torturous!'
'We won't run away anymore! Big Sister, please come back already!'
They didn't want to keep watching their brother-in-law fool around with women anymore.
———
["Ding~"]
["Character mission 'Tohsaka Family Household Affairs' completed."]
["Mission reward, Head of the Household."]
Tonight's Service Club service game, hide-and-seek, finally came to a gradual close during the real-and-fake Yukari segment.
Even later, when groups like the gyaru gang, band girls, athletic girls, ghoul girls, and others joined in, Hachiman still couldn't identify which Service Club member had been playing the short black-haired ahoge Yukari. He could only confirm the identity of the long-haired Yukari.
But that result didn't affect everyone's excitement in the slightest. When Nijika and the others joined, the little mouths that let out cries of surprise were quickly blocked by Hachiman as well.
Aside from the newbie members who couldn't endure the overwhelming shared sensations and automatically withdrew, everyone who managed to participate until the final stage, regardless of rank or order, gained tremendously. Once again, Hachiman heavily boosted their strength.
Still, this kind of all-night training mixed with play consumed enormous stamina. If the girls present weren't magical girls or demi-humans, they probably would've collapsed completely after only a few rounds of this level of physical exertion.
Even so, everyone was utterly exhausted after the entire night.
Ijichi Nijika, Kita Ikuyo, and the others who still lived with their families had to hurry back home via teleportation after eating and drinking their fill.
Even if they skipped breakfast, they still needed to pretend they had just woken up, wash up properly, and head to school like normal.
For Ijichi Nijika, if she could bring her older sister Ijichi Seika into this too, the two sisters could happily spend entire nights together, and she wouldn't have to go through all this trouble anymore.
Before teleporting away, Ijichi Nijika couldn't help glancing at the short black-haired ahoge Yukari leaning together with Shion, then thought of Leticia and Tsukishiro Sayo's older sisters, Lady Lumaria and Lady Riya.
After staying around Hachiman long enough, maybe the issue of sisters really wasn't a big deal anymore.
If her sister liked Hachiman too, then she and her sister really could become what Ryo had described, never worrying about each other, never separating, staying sisters together forever.
Although she still hadn't made up her mind to bring her sister into things like she had, if her sister only discovered her relationship with Hachiman after becoming intimate with him herself and got angry about it, then perhaps she would end up comforting and persuading her sister instead.
The girls from the human faction teleported away one after another, while the demi-humans living in the rear school building behind Sobu High remained completely unfazed.
They could simply lie around in the clubroom and continue sharing their overnight gaming experiences together before teleporting straight to school when the time came.
As for non-club members like the idol groups B-Komachi, A-RISE, Sweet Bullet, Different Color Starlight, along with popular singers like Kujou Sakura, Himemiya Elisa, and Morikawa Yuki, they were all escorted home, or back to their agency dormitories, in chauffeured cars arranged by Maid Shion.
Although they had only served as background music performers throughout the entire night, doing nothing besides singing and dancing on stage, and didn't even know Hachiman's identity, Shion still informed their agencies to allocate more resources toward these idol singers.
These idols, who were still pure and carefully maintained their chastity, might worry their agencies would demand casting-couch arrangements from them. But in reality, the Service Club's service games were completely different from the entertainment industry's casting couch culture.
At this point, even daughters of wealthy families with exceptional looks, figures, and temperament required recommendations just to enter the Service Club. These little idols weren't remotely qualified to offer themselves to Young Master Hachiman yet.
That said, these idols weren't entirely without opportunities.
Although Young Master Hachiman adored traits like long black hair and twin sisters, the more other attributes, the better. She needed to develop more new "tracks" of beautiful girls to offer him. Only then would Young Lady Rurikawa become even more favored by Young Master Hachiman.
President Kaede was already thinking about pulling in Young Master Hachiman's childhood sweetheart from the countryside, so naturally Young Lady Rurikawa needed her own faction too.
After all, the maid groups and idol units the Rurikawa family had built could easily be copied by others later, which would only start another round of competition.
From school maids to amateur maids to professional maids.
From professional idols to school-raised idols to amateur campus idols.
From unprofessional to professional, from professional to unprofessional.
College students, high schoolers, dropouts, Young Master Hachiman had to experience every type.
"Miss Arima, please rest well after you return. The agency will arrange your future training and promotion plans. As for your transfer procedures, I'll have someone handle them for you as well."
After seeing off the final B-Komachi member, Arima Kana, who looked hesitant and repeatedly stopped herself from speaking, Shion returned to the Rurikawa estate.
She no longer needed to attend school, only occasionally appearing there to follow Young Master Hachiman's instructions and satisfy his needs.
While the young lady was attending school, the external affairs of the Rurikawa household required her, the head maid, to oversee them.
Obedient maids could receive rewards and be arranged to serve Young Master Hachiman, but disobedient maids needed punishment too. They had to understand that the Rurikawa family did not raise maids for free.
Both Young Lady Rurikawa and Young Master Hachiman were kindhearted. Even when maids performed poorly, they usually wouldn't hold it against them.
But she wouldn't show mercy.
Not only did she need to manage the various enterprises under the Rurikawa family, she also had to pay special attention to things that pleased Young Master Hachiman, maid groups, idol agencies, private comic conventions, and more.
If the private convention was eventually held at the Rurikawa estate, she would naturally be the one organizing it.
After all, the gyaru Kitagawa Marin and the youngest elf princess Lumilia only had the idea on a whim and barely knew any cosplayers. That meant she would have to arrange for maids, agency idols, and even school teachers to participate so the private convention wouldn't end up awkwardly deserted.
"Head Maid, there's currently a girl outside seeking employment who wants to meet you."
Just as Shion was preparing to go discipline the Rurikawa household maids again, she suddenly saw Maid Sayo hurrying toward her.
"Seeking employment on her own initiative... Is she applying to be a maid? How old is she?"
Shion paused slightly before immediately heading toward the estate entrance together with Sayo.
Although the Rurikawa family was recruiting maids, they shouldn't have posted recruitment advertisements nearby. So how had someone suddenly come here to recommend herself?
Was she someone with ulterior motives, or just a girl trying to take a shortcut?
"Yes, she said she's applying to be a servant, though being a maid is fine too. She's around my age, maybe twenty. She doesn't show much expression on her face, but she's very pretty, and her temperament seems excellent."
Sayo hurriedly explained while walking. She didn't know why the woman had come here on her own either.
The maids of the Rurikawa family now had to pass through multiple layers of screening before they could be hired, unless they were JK part-time maids introduced through Young Master Hachiman's connections.
But she knew Head Maid Shion was currently building a maid group to please Young Master Hachiman. Given the woman's looks and figure, Head Maid Shion would definitely want to recruit her as Young Master Hachiman's personal maid.
"Apologies for intruding so suddenly."
"May I ask if you'd be willing to hire me as a servant here?"
At the gates of the Rurikawa estate, Shion looked at the black-haired woman with braided hair who had come to apply in person. She immediately sensed the impressive physical capabilities hidden beneath the woman's tightly wrapped clothing. But after seeing her delicate beauty and indifferent expression, Shion quickly made her decision.
She wasn't afraid of maids trying to take shortcuts.
She was only afraid they weren't beautiful enough.
As long as they were pretty enough, it didn't matter even if they had ulterior motives after being hired.
If anything, it would simply give Young Master Hachiman something to properly "train".
Their Service Club was the kind of place where even angels would flee in terror upon encountering it.
———
Every magical girl and demi-human had gained plenty, so naturally Hachiman himself had received considerable rewards as well.
After helping Tohsaka Touka protect the Tohsaka family and completing the Tohsaka Family Household Affairs mission, he received a special ability called "Head of the Household."
[Head of the Household: The person in charge of the family. Important decisions are made by you. When more than half of a family's members support you, the entire family will sincerely obey your decisions from the bottom of their hearts. (PS: Requires a substantial relationship with the family. Merely joining in name will not activate the effect.)]
Hiss... honestly, this "Head of the Household" ability was a little overpowered.
Half the votes counted as unanimous approval, and it even made people genuinely follow his opinions from the bottom of their hearts.
For large clans with many members, as long as he controlled half the family, he could overturn the rule of the original patriarch or clan leader.
Even for small families, it was still extremely powerful. For example, if a family consisted of one mother and two daughters, then as long as he won over the two daughters, the remaining mother would also obey his opinions. If it were a family with more sisters, then controlling half the sisters would already be enough.
The only troublesome part was that the ability required his direct involvement to activate. He couldn't just use it remotely out of thin air.
How was this the "head of one household"?
It was clearly "head of many households."
Still, despite how powerful the ability was, he currently didn't have any place to use it.
After all, nobody opposed his decisions to begin with.
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