"..."
After hearing Hachiman's "reminder" before leaving, Gabriel and Vignette, who had been keeping their heads down and pretending not to hear anything, couldn't help looking at each other.
The moment their eyes met, both turned their faces away with faintly red cheeks.
The reason they had been avoiding Hachiman was because they wanted to avoid the group outing to the convention this weekend, as well as the private cosplay convention.
Because they knew that Iris and Raphiel would use this chance to drag the two of them into it no matter what.
They hadn't expected Hachiman to remember them anyway.
"We already agreed on this. We can just use our angel halos as disguises for our cosplay. I'll be Ushio Noa, and Vigne can be Yuuka Hayase."
Raphiel smiled as she looked at Gabriel and Vignette, who couldn't use force against Hachiman and could only compromise little by little.
"As for Little Gab... should she be Nagisa Kirifuji, who looks more elegant and quiet? Or should she be Seia Yurizono, who fits Little Gab's small and cute image better?"
There was no way she could take on both of them by herself, especially when Iris and the others would help Gabriel and Vignette.
But now she was standing on Hachiman's side, and Gabriel and Vignette couldn't join forces against her either.
"No rush! Tomorrow we're only going to a large convention. Once Tsubaki finishes setting up the private cosplay convention at the mansion, I can decide then."
As soon as Gabriel saw Raphiel trying to mess with her again, she immediately used a delaying tactic.
The chances were slim, but what if it worked?
What if another angel happened to appear in front of Hachiman and kept him too busy to bother with her?
"Vignette, you don't have any objections, right? What are you thinking about?"
Seeing this, Raphiel turned toward Vignette, who had been quiet and seemed a little distracted.
As long as they all agreed, Gabriel wouldn't be able to avoid it by herself.
"Uh, I don't have any objections... I was just thinking that we didn't invite Satanichia over for dinner today. Should we call her tomorrow..."
Vignette hesitated before honestly saying what was on her mind.
Raphiel and Iris had already set their sights on her. Even Gabriel wouldn't let her run away. What else could she do?
Hachiman treated her very well, and she didn't dislike him. They had already done so many things together. Putting on a cosplay outfit to make him happy wasn't really that excessive.
What she was considering was something else.
The angels and demons at Sobu High weren't just the three of them. There was also Satanichia, another demon who had come to the human world for training just like her.
But since Satanichia knew nothing about those things, they had almost never brought her to Hachiman's house to hang out. They had only brought her there for a meal once.
Now that they spent time with Hachiman every day, if they still didn't include Satanichia, it would feel like they were excluding her.
After all, Satanichia couldn't really make any friends besides them.
"I already thought of that. We'll have Satanichia join the private cosplay convention. She can cosplay the same game character as us, Aru Rikuhachima."
Raphiel immediately smiled and assigned a character to Satanichia.
"This is a very cool ultimate villain who commits one evil deed every day, a really bad character. Satanichia will definitely like it~"
"..."
Hearing Raphiel's description, Vignette fell silent.
She already knew a little about the characters they were planning to cosplay. If Raphiel was saying that, she was definitely tricking Satanichia.
But she had to admit that a character who loudly proclaimed herself a great villain while actually looking like a complete fool really did suit Satanichia.
———
[Kirisu Mafuyu's Room]
Hachiman arrived there with Kirisu Mafuyu, Hiratsuka Shizuka, and the others.
Previously, he had needed to teleport through the romance list to Kei Karuizawa, Kikyo Kushida, or someone else before coming to Kirisu Mafuyu's room.
But now that he had fully mastered teleportation magic and had visited Mafuyu's room before, he could directly teleport to her location.
"Little Mafuyu, aren't you wearing a maid outfit? Why is your room still such a mess?"
Looking at the cluttered room, Hachiman suddenly turned toward Kirisu Mafuyu, who was still wearing the maid outfit.
There wasn't much trash in the room, and there was no strange smell, but clothes were scattered across both the bed and the floor.
"I was busy leaving this morning and didn't have time to clean up... I'll start cleaning right now..."
Kirisu Mafuyu's face was burning as she quickly picked up the underwear scattered around the room.
The reason so many clothes were lying around was because she had spent the morning struggling over whether she should wear more layers so nobody would notice she was wearing a maid outfit.
But later she discovered that while she could wear clothes over the maid outfit, she couldn't stuff extra fabric underneath it.
If she really wanted to do that, she might as well wear the maid outfit as underwear. But then it would be difficult to wear thinner outer clothing.
After trying various things, she finally thought of the winter gym uniform, with its long sleeves and pants and relatively thick material, making it harder for anyone to notice the maid outfit underneath that was practically underwear.
But by then she was already running late for work, so she didn't clean the room.
She had planned to come back and clean up immediately after the home visit, but who would have thought they'd all be dragged to the Hikigaya house for dinner?
Chabashira Sae and Hoshinomiya Chie were probably already back at the apartment waiting for her.
"Hiki... Hachiman-kun, can you wait a moment? Could you not do anything to me in front of everyone..."
While Kirisu Mafuyu was cleaning, Mizuho Kazami swallowed nervously, walked over to Hachiman, hugged his arm, and pleaded quietly.
Even Kirisu Mafuyu, who had always wanted to teach Hachiman a lesson, had now been taught so thoroughly that she didn't dare raise her voice at him.
Mizuho was truly worried she would become the same way.
"I'm not charming you right now, Mizuho. Do you know what'll happen if you beg me like that?"
Hachiman looked at Mizuho Kazami, who had approached him on her own, and teased her with a smile.
"If Hachiman-kun really wants to... I can give it to you..."
Mizuho's face reddened, but she still lowered her head and held onto his arm. Her chest was pressed tightly against him as she spoke in a small voice.
"But I hope you can come to me privately... doing it in front of everyone is a little..."
Actually, it wouldn't be impossible for Hachiman-kun to be her boyfriend.
When Ebihara Urara and Shizumi Suzune saw how close she and Kirisu Mafuyu were to Hachiman, neither of them had shown any prejudice toward it.
The only thing she needed to worry about was that she might just be one of many girlfriends.
But even an elf princess obeyed Hachiman completely, which somehow seemed like a good thing.
Hachiman-kun never needed her care or attention. In fact, he was the one taking care of her.
Only when she happened to get caught by him at school would she need to satisfy him a little.
"Suzune-senpai? Urara-senpai? Urara-senpai, didn't you have a fiance?"
Mizuho Kazami was waiting for Hachiman's answer, but after receiving no response, she looked up.
Only then did she realize that Ebihara Urara and Shizumi Suzune had both attached themselves to him.
The others were one thing, but how had Urara ended up like this too?!
Urara had a fiance. Everyone knew she was engaged.
"Well... my fiance is dead. I don't have an engagement anymore..."
Ebihara Urara's white-stockinged leg was hooked in Hachiman's arm. She wrapped her pale arm around his neck from behind, buried her face against his neck with red ears, and spoke shyly.
"Right now, I'm Master's personal maid... It's just that I don't need to stay with Master very often at school..."
To her, that fiance now only served as the reason she had met Hachiman.
Any feelings she once had for him had long since disappeared through Hachiman's care and affection.
In the end, it wasn't that she had wronged her fiance. Her fiance had wronged her.
Fortunately, she had met Hachiman, escaped the cult's trap, and found her real happiness.
"Th-then... what about Suzune-senpai?"
Looking at Ebihara Urara's hazy eyes and flushed cheeks, Mizuho swallowed and turned toward Shizumi Suzune, who was kneeling silently on the floor.
"I was only... asking Hachiman to help increase my strength... so I can save... save more..."
Shizumi Suzune didn't really want to talk and simply kept her head down.
Her identity in the human world was only a disguise. Her real purpose in coming here was to eliminate demons from the Demon Realm.
'To eliminate demons and save innocent humans, sacrifices are necessar... mm...'
"..."
Seeing that Shizumi Suzune seemed even more absorbed in Hachiman's presence than Naruse Maria, Mizuho Kazami could barely look at her.
In her impression, Shizumi Suzune, Ebihara Urara, and Kirisu Mafuyu were all on the same level.
Shizumi Suzune showed no interest in men and often disappeared after school.
Ebihara Urara was gentle and refined, but she was also engaged and had already met her fiance's parents.
As for Kirisu Mafuyu, she was difficult to approach in every sense. It seemed as though work was the only thing in her life. It was impossible to imagine her dating anyone.
Even if Mizuho had guessed that a certain older unmarried woman might eventually make a move on Hachiman because she wanted to get married too badly, she never would have expected Shizumi Suzune and the others to become involved with him.
And it even looked like Shizumi Suzune and Ebihara Urara were the passive side in the relationship, letting Hachiman do whatever he wanted.
"???"
Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had also been pulled into Hachiman's arms and had her mouth blocked, noticed from the corner of her eye that Mizuho Kazami only looked shocked by Ebihara Urara and Shizumi Suzune.
She really couldn't take it anymore.
'What kind of look is that?'
'Why does it seem like Mizuho thinks this is exactly how I should be?'
'I was forced into it! Hachiman came off too strong, so I had to give in!'
'At most, my will to resist was a little weak! Why does it look like I have been the one chasing after Hachiman?'
At this moment, however, there was someone in the room who felt even more resentment than Shizuka.
"..."
Kirisu Mafuyu raised her head and expressionlessly glanced at Hiratsuka Shizuka, Ebihara Urara, Shizumi Suzune, and the others before lowering her head and continuing to clean up the clothes scattered on the bed.
Only, her movements became even faster.
She was trying to clean the place up for a gathering, and what were these people doing?
Of course, despite feeling speechless and even somewhat annoyed, she didn't dare make any noise that might attract Hachiman's attention.
From another perspective, Ebihara Urara, Hiratsuka Shizuka, Shizumi Suzune, and Mizuho Kazami could all be considered sacrifices who were helping keep Hachiman occupied.
Listening to them while cleaning was still better than cleaning while serving Hachiman herself.
———
Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~
"Is Mafuyu not home? I've been ringing the bell for so long and there's no response."
[Apartment Hallway]
Hanamori Kotomi, whose cute face contrasted with the full figure barely concealed by her white blouse and whose crimson hair was tied into a high ponytail, pressed the doorbell again.
Looking at Kirisu Mafuyu's closed door, she couldn't help feeling puzzled.
She clearly remembered seeing Mafuyu leave school by car much earlier. Why hadn't she returned yet when everyone else had already arrived?
"Could they have gone shopping? Maybe they haven't come back yet."
Standing in front of Chabashira Sae's neighboring apartment door, Kashima Risako immediately guessed that Kirisu Mafuyu and the others had gone shopping for supplies for the gathering and hadn't returned yet.
Although it was getting late, they might still be out buying things. After all, quite a few people would be attending tonight's gathering.
Takamine Ayako, who had accepted their enthusiastic invitation, held a bag in one hand and adjusted her glasses with the other, remaining silent.
She wasn't particularly close to Kirisu Mafuyu, Hoshinomiya Chie, Chabashira Sae, Hanamori Kotomi, or Kashima Risako, so she didn't really have any place in the conversation.
Like Kirisu Mafuyu and Kisaragi Miyuki, she usually focused on academics and was viewed by students as a cold-hearted teacher who never showed mercy. Once class ended, students tended to keep their distance.
If it weren't for wanting to learn about the future personnel changes at Sobu High and find some solidarity among colleagues, she might not have attended this gathering at all.
"Kotomi~ You're here. Sorry, sorry. Chabashira and I noticed you hadn't arrived yet, so we went out and bought some more beer."
Just as Hanamori Kotomi and the others were wondering, Hoshinomiya Chie and Chabashira Sae came around the corner carrying a large bag of chilled beer and prepared food.
Seeing everyone gathered outside their doors, Chie immediately waved and explained with a smile.
"Mafuyu and Shizuka-senpai went on a home visit with Hikigaya-kun."
"Even though Mafuyu's car isn't downstairs and they haven't arrived yet, they should be here soon."
As hosts of tonight's gathering, the three of them had originally planned to prepare the drinks together.
But Kirisu Mafuyu had something to do and couldn't help, so she had informed them in advance.
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