As her closest friend, she knew a little more than the others in their circle. Karuizawa Kei wanted to get all of them into Hachiman's bed and let Hachiman do as he pleased.
But she had never figured out what kind of relationship Karuizawa Kei and Hachiman actually had. Was there really a need to lower herself this much?
Karuizawa Kei was pretty cute. Even with so many beautiful girls at Sobu High, no one could say she wasn't attractive.
Even if Karuizawa Kei had fallen in love with Hachiman at first sight, there was no reason for her to go this far and cling to him like this.
"I'm Master's pet. There, now you know. Happy, Maya?"
Before Hachiman could answer, Karuizawa Kei raised her head and rolled her eyes at the overly curious Satou Maya.
'Join if you want. Don't join if you don't want to. Why ask so many questions?'
"A p-pet?"
Looking at Karuizawa Kei eating without even wiping her mouth, Satou Maya stared at her.
She had considered many possibilities, but this was not one of them.
"Then what about Kitagawa and the others? Are they Hikigaya-kun's pets too?"
"They're not Master's pets, but their relationship with him isn't much different from mine. Anything you can imagine couples doing, they've already done with Master."
After saying that, Karuizawa Kei stopped again. After a moment of hesitation, she asked Satou Maya, "Come to think of it, did Kitagawa and the others invite you to join that game? Did you join? Do you know how many people they've recruited?"
Kitagawa Marin and Ikuyo Kita were gyarus. Satou Maya was a gyaru. She was one too.
The only difference was that she never posted intimate photos with Master in the gyaru group chats.
She wasn't like Minami or Yuina, taking close-up selfies with Master. What was there to show off about that?
Wouldn't it be better to bring more people over to serve Master and receive more affection from him?
Still, she knew a little about the game that Yuina and the others were planning.
She knew they wanted to develop new ways to play within the gyaru scene.
Well...
There were so many groups, and everyone had their own ideas. She had no interest in getting involved.
"Um... there are actually quite a lot of people... If it's just playing a game... I think I'd be okay with it..."
Having it stated so directly by Karuizawa Kei made Satou Maya blush.
Her gaze drifted to Hachiman, and she spoke awkwardly in a low voice.
Within the gyaru circle, someone had secretly created another group chat for the service competition game.
Because she had been added to that chat, she had learned many things.
That was why, when Karuizawa Kei started serving Hachiman right in front of her, she was the first one to crawl over.
Getting used to it in advance wasn't a bad thing.
That way she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of the other gyarus.
And when the time came, the more intimate she acted with Hachiman, the more it would prove her own charm.
But after hearing Kei's confession, she began to suspect that everyone in that game group except herself might already belong to Hachiman.
Otherwise, how could such a ridiculous game even exist?
Besides her, there were actually so many gyarus willing to join a school game with such a huge scale.
They had even gotten next week's list of incoming students and had already started planning how to invite the gyarus among the freshmen to join.
"Chiaki? Why did you come over too?"
Satou Maya was still embarrassed when she suddenly felt the bed shake slightly.
She looked over and saw Matsushita Chiaki climbing onto the bed as well.
She wrapped herself around Hachiman's other arm.
"If Maya can hold onto Hikigaya-kun's arm, why can't I? Kei doesn't mind."
Matsushita Chiaki looked at Hachiman.
She took his hand and pulled it in front of herself.
Her face reddened slightly, "Should I just call you Master directly, Hikigaya-kun?"
"I thought Kei was serving you as your personal maid."
"I didn't expect that she isn't even a maid."
She had noticed long ago that Karuizawa Kei had special feelings for Hachiman.
She just never imagined that Kei was actually his pet.
Although this kind of relationship seemed a little unusual, there was no denying that Kei truly liked Hachiman.
She wasn't being threatened or manipulated.
"The pet thing is just what Kei calls herself. You don't need to take it seriously. To me, they're all girls I like."
Looking at the eager Matsushita Chiaki, Hachiman lowered his head and lightly bit Satou Maya, one of Kei's close friends.
Then he smiled and explained to them.
Although Karuizawa Kei, Gotou Hitori, Hayase Saki, Ichinose Ayano, and the others all called themselves his pets, it wasn't as if he didn't treat them as people.
They simply liked that role and chose it because it made it easier for them to interact with him naturally and intimately.
Calling him Master was just roleplay.
Whether they were pets, maids, or something else, they all responded to his requests anyway.
Calling him Master a few times didn't make much difference.
If they were talking about people with unusual tastes, then those girls who enjoyed pushing the limits of exposure were on another level.
"Chiaki, what do you want to be? A maid or something else? I still don't know enough about you."
After thinking for a moment, Hachiman gently squeezed and played with Matsushita Chiaki's smooth, round face.
Then he continued.
Compared to Satou Maya, who had already been influenced by the gyaru group and Karuizawa Kei, Matsushita Chiaki had spent very little time with him.
She barely had any opportunities to get to know him, even indirectly.
Yet she had climbed onto the bed together with Satou Maya.
Her slightly intimate behavior during the last study session could have been considered testing the waters.
But this time she was being very direct.
It couldn't be called a test anymore.
"I didn't expect things to turn out like this either."
Matsushita Chiaki shook her head with a red face.
She raised a hand and brushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen across Hachiman's hand.
"But somehow my parents heard about you, Hikigaya-kun. After learning that I attended your tutoring sessions, they started urging me to spend more time with you."
Her family was fairly well-off.
Better than Karuizawa Kei's and many others'.
She was also very attractive.
Because of that, she had her own dreams and goals.
But after coming to Sobu High, her plans for the future gradually changed.
Not only was the school full of beautiful girls.
There were more and more young ladies and princesses.
Even demi-humans kept appearing one after another.
Her parents had originally paid little attention to this sort of thing.
But even they couldn't help urging her to get closer to a boy like Hachiman, despite how flirtatious he seemed.
"So now, Chiaki, are you here because your parents forced you to please me?", Hachiman asked calmly.
His other hand remained busy as well.
He wrapped an arm around Satou Maya, who looked like she wanted to say something, and stopped her from interrupting.
Although his ability couldn't solve every social situation, at least when a beautiful girl came to him on her own, he didn't have to worry about her pretending.
Words could deceive him.
Bodies could not.
Whether it was dislike or affection, he could clearly feel it.
"N-not entirely..."
Matsushita Chiaki studied Hachiman carefully.
Seeing him divide his attention between several things at once, barely affected by her looks, she sighed inwardly.
Then she straightened herself a little more and moved closer.
"I just think... I can't find a better partner than you, Master," She spoke honestly.
She didn't dare lie to Hachiman.
And she truly wasn't here because her parents forced her.
The conflict between ideals and reality wasn't absolute.
For example, she wanted a stable life.
At the same time, she also wanted excitement.
Someone like Hachiman, who possessed mysterious abilities, was exactly the kind of person she should pursue.
Though after taking the initiative to get close to him, whether she could win him over, and whether she could leave afterward, were no longer things she could decide.
"..."
Beside the bed, Hasebe Haruka looked at Satou Maya and Matsushita Chiaki gathering around Hachiman without caring that Karuizawa Kei was still trying her best.
She brushed back her bangs, revealing her clean forehead.
She was speechless.
Wasn't this supposed to be a celebration party?
Now Maya and Chiaki had both climbed onto Hachiman.
What about her and Airi?
What about Satsuki and Nene?
And what about the next study session?
Surely they weren't going to kick everyone else out and hold a bed study session just for Maya, Chiaki, and Kei?
Still, she couldn't really complain.
Hachiman tutored them for free.
Even if he stopped helping them entirely, there would be nothing wrong with that.
Actually, she didn't mind very much.
Her parents weren't concerned about her grades.
Good or bad, it didn't matter.
And Sobu High wasn't a boarding school.
Even if money became tight, she could always get a part-time job.
'But...'
Hasebe Haruka glanced at the girl beside her.
Sakura Airi.
She wore red-framed glasses and had long pink hair tied back.
She looked no different from usual.
Shoulders hunched.
Head lowered.
Eyes downcast.
But the person sitting in front of her now was Hachiman.
Whenever Haruka tried not to talk about Hachiman, Airi would always ask when Hikigaya-kun would tutor them again.
When would they celebrate?
Had Karuizawa-san gone to see Hikigaya-kun again?
And so on.
Even Haruka, who had never been in love, knew perfectly well that Airi had a crush on Hachiman.
Yet now, Airi didn't even dare look at him.
Not once. She didn't make a sound either.
"Um... Airi wants to be your pet too, Hachiman!"
Hasebe Haruka couldn't watch anymore.
She shoved Sakura Airi onto the bed.
Then she pulled off Airi's glasses and grabbed the collar of her pajamas with both hands.
With one hard tug, she pulled it downward and outward.
"E-E-E-EH?"
Sakura Airi had just pushed herself up in panic after landing on top of Karuizawa Kei.
Then she found Hachiman's face right in front of her.
The face that often appeared in her dreams.
Before she could react, she felt a chill across her chest.
At that moment, she clearly felt Hachiman's warm breath.
She never imagined that she would actually kiss Hachiman.
And she certainly never expected it to happen this way.
'Why didn't Haruka tell me first?'
'H-Hikigaya-kun, d-don't kiss...'
'Don't look!'
In truth, Hachiman had known about Sakura Airi's feelings for a long time.
Dependency Affinity only made Airi trust him and feel safe around him.
But for someone like Sakura Airi, who was shy, socially anxious, and had very little confidence in herself, simply providing that sense of security was enough for her to treat him as a close friend.
Even though they hadn't spent much time together.
Most of their interactions happened during tutoring sessions.
They had only spoken a limited number of times.
Yet Bocchi, who was equally shy and withdrawn, already considered him her best friend.
When he said he wanted to take care of her, Bocchi confirmed he was serious and agreed without hesitation.
Sakura Airi wouldn't react much differently.
Come to think of it, both of them were girls whose appearance contrasted greatly with their personalities.
Both had pink hair...
And...
"Cough... Um... Isn't this... enough already?"
Seeing that Hachiman had no intention of pushing Airi away, and seeing Airi remain frozen while staring helplessly at him in her arms, Hasebe Haruka couldn't help speaking up quietly.
She had only wanted to give the indecisive Airi a push.
To give the shy girl a chance to express her feelings directly.
She hadn't expected Hachiman to be so straightforward.
He had immediately gone for it.
Chiaki and Maya were already holding onto him tightly on both sides.
Kei was still lying against him...
And besides, she had only pulled on Airi's pajamas.
How had her bra clasp come undone too?
Now Hasebe Haruka had no idea what to do.
She didn't know what to say.
She didn't know what action to take.
She was the one who pushed Airi over there.
Pulling her back now felt wrong.
And Airi herself wasn't refusing.
But she couldn't just leave Airi there forever either.
It looked like the shy girl was about to faint from the stimulation.
"You don't need to take the pet thing seriously, Airi. But you can be my maid like Kei. You'll receive a salary every day. Normally you can just attend school as usual. Only occasionally will I need your help," Hachiman slowly pulled back.
Looking at Sakura Airi's round, fair face, now lightly pink from nervousness and embarrassment, he spoke gently.
"Ah? A maid? W-What does a maid do?"
Airi stared blankly at Hachiman.
Her mind couldn't keep up.
Wasn't Hikigaya-kun just... a moment ago?
She didn't want to keep discussing it.
It would be best if everyone pretended nothing had happened.
But why had he suddenly started talking about being a maid?
"I remember you mentioning that you own a digital camera and sometimes take pictures."
Hachiman pulled his hands free from Satou Maya and Matsushita Chiaki.
He helped the hard-working Karuizawa Kei sit up.
A faint glow of cleansing magic appeared at his fingertips.
At the same time, he cleaned the moisture from both Kei and Airi.
Then he continued calmly, "I have a friend whose personality is very similar to yours."
"Recently she made some friends and started playing in a rock band."
"Next time I'll take you to one of her performances. I think the two of you could become good friends. You can also help take photos of their show."
Although talking about this right after taking advantage of the situation felt a little out of place, Sakura Airi was the kind of girl who lacked confidence and always put herself down.
If he directly told her that he needed her help, she would actually be happy.
Airi wasn't very independent.
Even going out and speaking with strangers was difficult for her.
But he didn't need her to be independent.
Taking care of one person was the same as taking care of two.
He was already looking after Bocchi, Saki, and Miki.
One more Airi wouldn't make a difference.
"Mmm... O-Okay..."
Sakura Airi's head was still spinning.
She had no energy left to wonder how Hachiman knew these things.
She didn't think she had ever told him about her camera.
But feeling him comfort her personally, she lowered her head.
Her face turned red, and she didn't dare speak.
Yet inside, she felt a little happy.
She had thought that with so many beautiful and talented girls around him, someone plain like her would never catch his attention.
After all, girls like Karuizawa-san, Kushida-san, Horikita-san, Sakayanagi-san, Shiina-san, and many others in her class were all so pretty.
Looking across the entire school, there were too many to count.
She never expected Hikigaya-kun to kiss her for so long just now.
Did that mean she was actually somewhat attractive in his eyes?
And he had even invited her to become his maid.
He was going to pay her under the excuse of helping take photos.