But in the current situation, if she didn't put in some effort, Eriri would only end up as a serving maid character in the Service Club, and getting to be eaten herself would depend entirely on luck.
Sawamura Sayuri was actually quite similar to Asou Miyuri, she spent her days idly hosting tea parties and pursuing her hobbies, so she didn't need to play the game of major powers forming strong alliances. But she still had to consider that if she couldn't compete later, she'd need to continue developing new members from her new members' networks.
Mhm... thinking it over carefully, this restriction measure was actually a good thing for the Sawamura family.
After all, the Sawamura family only had one daughter, and couldn't resort to unscrupulous methods like other factions by sending in a bunch of sisters from the main and branch families to join the Service Club. Now that everyone was subject to member limits, the Sawamura family's disadvantage wasn't as pronounced.
It might even turn out that because there weren't enough synchronization devices, some people wouldn't be able to get the essential ticket to join the Service Club and would proactively contact the Sawamura family, which would work out well as companions for Eriri.
Sawamura Sayuri felt reassured and suddenly realized that the ones who should be most anxious right now weren't her, but those families that wanted to compete through numerical advantage.
The girls' academies and idol agencies that had already been decided on definitely wouldn't be affected, but those who hadn't entered the game yet were a different story.
———
[The Einzbern Residence]
"Mom?"
"Wh-what's going on? Mom, why aren't you wearing any clothes?"
The two silver-haired girls who looked very similar, only differing slightly in skin tone, had been sitting cross-legged on the sofa eating fruit and watching TV. Illya and Chloe couldn't help but cry out when they saw Irisviel suddenly appear before them naked.
"Madam, are you injured?"
The silver-haired, red-eyed maid Sella, with her hair in a neat ponytail, was busy in the kitchen. When she heard the commotion from the living room and turned to see Irisviel in that state, her expression changed dramatically. She dropped her spatula and hurriedly fetched clothes and medicine.
Leysritt, the short-haired maid who had been curled up in the corner of the sofa snacking, also put down her food and stood up, fixing her gaze intently on Irisviel.
"Don't worry, I wasn't in any danger. I just went for a soak, and when I came back, I threw away my yukata and forgot to change back into my own clothes."
Seeing that everyone was startled by her teleporting back naked, Irisviel still smiled cheerfully as she reassured them.
However, even though she didn't mind, seeing all of them worried that she might have encountered danger, she still did a little spin before putting her clothes back on.
"Soak? Where did you go to soak, Madam?"
The silver-haired, red-eyed homunculus maid Sella, with her neat ponytail, had already looked Irisviel up and down. She didn't see any wounds on her flawless white skin, and she sighed in relief that it didn't seem like she had run into danger. But immediately, new doubts arose in her mind.
It was almost mealtime, and Madam had suddenly disappeared. They thought some evil force had appeared and she'd rushed off to help deal with it, but she went to soak in a bath? And came back naked after soaking?
Even though she fully trusted Madam's abilities, she was still flustered and worried.
"By the way, Illya, Chloe, I've found a way for you to become magical girls. I also took a bath over there before coming back."
Seeing this, Irisviel directly changed the subject and pulled out two pink wristbands and two black collars, handing them to Illya, Chloe, and the silver-haired maids Sella and Leysritt.
"Put these on, all of you. From now on, you can become magical girls too."
"Are these the magic transformation items? They don't look like magic wands, though?"
Illya and Chloe took the pink wristbands with both hands and looked up at Irisviel with some confusion, examining the pretty but seemingly unremarkable pink wristbands.
Their mother was a magical girl, that was common knowledge in their household, and a secret that couldn't be spread outside.
Ever since they were little, Mother often had the maids take care of them while she went around dealing with evil forces, even going abroad.
However, unlike Mother, they had never been able to become magical girls.
Mother had said that the only thing they lacked to become magical girls was something crucial, but she would tell them when they grew up. Did that mean they were grown up now?
"Not at all. This is just a special item that you can't use yet. You can keep it on you for now."
"Special item..."
Sella, who had no wariness toward Irisviel at all and had eagerly put the black collar around her neck, immediately deflated.
She had also assumed it was a magical transformation item... but it wasn't...
Leysritt, on the other hand, didn't seem down at all, she just expressionlessly explored the black collar she'd just put on.
"Mmm..."
"Liz, what's wrong?"
Hearing the strange sound, Sella turned to look at her sister unit Leysritt, who was made from the same template.
"N-Nothing..."
Leysritt pressed a hand to her chest and bit her lip, not voicing her strange feelings. Her legs tensed as she pressed on the black collar around her neck again, experimenting with and studying this strange magical item while experiencing its effects.
'This... this kind of thing, how can I like it...'
She didn't believe Madam would harm them, if Madam wanted to hurt them, she wouldn't need to use items at all. But what was Madam giving them this kind of thing for?
Did Madam think she and Sella were old enough and wanted to provide them with a bit of intimate life? But that didn't make sense—Illya and the others had them too.
"While this isn't a magic wand or a magical girl transformation item, it is indeed somewhat related to becoming a magical girl."
Irisviel watched Leysritt trying to hide her physical reactions and smiled more broadly.
"Don't overthink it. You'll understand tomorrow."
"There's a role-playing game being held at a hot spring inn tomorrow to see whose portrayal is the most accurate and authentic. The winner gets to make a wish to become a magical girl. I've already signed up Illya and Chloe. If you don't object, you'll have a chance to become magical girls tomorrow."
"Really? Then we want to participate!"
"Where's this hot spring inn? Can we make it in time?"
Illya blinked her ruby eyes, not quite understanding how magical girls related to role-playing, but upon hearing there was a chance to become one, she exchanged a glance with Chloe beside her. The surprise on their faces was unmistakable, and they immediately responded in unison that they wanted to join the game and become magical girls.
This was a magical girl. What girl wouldn't want to become one.
Although they'd always known magical girls were real and even longed to become magical girls who secretly protected the world like their mother, they'd never had the ability.
Now that they had a chance to become magical girls, they absolutely had to seize it.
Just like Mother, transform into a magical girl and protect the world.
"No need to rush. We can teleport there. First, take a look at these and see if you'd like to play them in the game. If you decide, we'll need to notify the event organizers quickly so they can make the costumes in time."
Not surprised at all, Irisviel just smiled and handed Illya and Chloe the role-playing materials she'd prepared in advance.
"A witch? Not a magical girl?"
Illya took the role-playing materials and was startled when she saw the information for the Gray Witch.
She'd only just learned about this, so naturally she preferred to use the materials Mother provided. But she'd thought they'd be playing magical girls, why a witch?
Although magical girls and witches did seem pretty similar... this Gray Witch did look quite cute.
"Elaina? Illya? That could work, but the clothing sizes would need to be smaller. Mom probably wouldn't have to worry about it so much, she could just transform and successfully play the part."
Chloe looked at the Gray Witch character setting and nodded.
[Elaina: A genius beautiful girl who achieved the highest rank of witch, the title of "Witch." Her witch name is "Gray Witch." She has grayish-white hair, wears a black robe and a witch's hat...]
[Victoria: A powerful witch who once used the name "Gray Witch," now living under an assumed name as a housewife and Elaina's mother...]
At a glance, this mother-daughter witch setting really suited them well.
Although they had silver hair rather than gray, the difference between gray and silver wasn't that noticeable, and in the misty environment of a hot spring inn, the distinction would be even smaller.
The only thing that might be an issue was that they were slightly younger than Elaina and a bit shorter, ten... or maybe ten-something centimeters? But cosplay didn't require being exactly identical anyway. If they could have the costumes custom-made, being a little bigger or smaller wouldn't matter at all.
"Wait, what about me?"
Chloe looked at this Gray Witch script and suddenly froze, spotting a blind spot.
Illya could play Elaina, and Mother could play Elaina's mother Victoria.
But Victoria only had one daughter, Elaina. Who was she supposed to play? She couldn't just play another Elaina, and the other characters in Gray Witch didn't really match her image either.
"Hmm... maybe Chloe could try this one? How about playing together with someone else? Three people playing together would be too easy to recognize, it'd be better if we split up."
Irisviel flipped a few more pages through the materials she'd given them, pointed at the image of a silver-haired twintailed girl on the page, and explained with a smile.
"Of course, Chloe, you could also play Elaina and have Illya play a different character, that would work too."
"A disciplinary committee member who uses a gun? No need to change, I'll try this one!"
Seeing the character who had silver hair, red eyes, and even wheat-colored skin just like her, Chloe decided immediately.
A believing heart is magic, actually, someone who uses a gun could also be a magical girl.
Magical girls weren't bound by ordinary conventions; they could carry swords or guns and still be magical girls.
With her disciplinary committee member setting, she might even be able to interfere with others' role-playing by strictly checking those with substandard costumes.
"Sella, Leysritt, you can also think about what characters you'd like to play. We'll all go together then."
Irisviel was about to say something else when she suddenly sensed the pink wristband on her own arm tighten sharply. Her expression shifted, and she turned to look at the two maids, Sella and Leysritt.
"Madam, can we really become magical girls too? Wouldn't that be a waste?"
Sella looked at Irisviel with some hesitation, finding it hard to believe.
Madam had said earlier that this item wasn't a magical transformation device, and she'd given pink wristbands to Illya and Chloe but black collars to her and Liz, she'd assumed they were different things.
"Of course it wouldn't be a waste. As long as you want to become a magical girl, Sella, I'll do everything I can to help you."
Irisviel raised a hand to gently stroke the black collars around Sella and Leysritt's necks, then smiled toward the kitchen.
"But right now, Sella, what you should be thinking about is our lunch."
"Oh no! Please rest for a bit, Madam, I'll have lunch ready very soon!"
Sella suddenly remembered she'd been in the middle of making lunch and hurriedly ran back to the kitchen.
"Leysritt, come sit here too. Let's look together at what characters you could play in the game."
Watching Sella flustered because of her, Irisviel smiled faintly and sat back on the sofa with Illya and Chloe in her arms. But when she noticed that Leysritt seemed to have instinctively immersed herself in the synchronization, her face flushed and her breathing erratic, she could only turn off Leysritt's synchronization and subtly remind her.
Becoming a magical girl didn't require many resources, just a magical girl awakening ceremony.
Short-lived homunculi weren't robots; they were genuine human beings. If Illya and Chloe could awaken, then naturally Sella and Leysritt could too.
However, becoming a powerful magical girl required sweat and tears, they'd need to train regularly.
Train until soaked through. Train until they... really, really liked it.
It wasn't just the Sawamura and Einzbern families, every member wearing either a pink wristband or a black collar had learned about the hot spring convention and the membership restrictions.
Young ladies of the financial clique level, like Nanakusa Mayumi and the others, became more cautious in considering their quota allocations while also trying to contact other Service Club members.
Just as Sawamura Sayuri had thought, ordinary members didn't have many suitable friends they could pull into this, so once new member numbers started being restricted, it was those with broad connections and strong backing who could bring in many people at any time who would feel anxious.
Mhm... actually, there were people even more anxious than them—the financial cliques and families who knew about the Service Club but hadn't joined for various reasons.
But since ordinary members didn't need as many slots, that would definitely leave several slots left over... more precisely, several synchronization wristbands and collars.
Since the restriction was on devices issued rather than on how many new members each person could recommend, transfers should be allowed, right?
Club members who hadn't joined any financial clique small group could use this opportunity to get financial compensation from those groups.
Once there was a vested interest, the financial clique groups could also hire "outside support" during competition to get more club members on their side.
Reading between the lines of the announced measures wasn't difficult for people like Saegusa Mayumi, and money was even less of an issue. Some people might not necessarily want money, but they could still provide help using their own resources.
The real problem was that many people would definitely also be contacting club members, and those extra synchronization wristbands and collars would likely be reserved by someone else if they were even a step too late.
The number of young ladies in the Service Club was almost greater than the number of ordinary people now.
"Kushida-san, do you happen to have any extra exclusive wristbands?"
"Another one of these calls? I don't have any extra exclusive wristbands. They're all taken."
"They've all been reserved?! May I ask who you gave them to, Kushida-san?"
"I didn't give them to anyone! I need them myself too!"
Kushida Kikyo hung up the "harassing" call expressionlessly, exasperated by these rude people.
Did they look down on her social skills and think she had no friends?
Ordinary people aside, wasn't it easy for her to develop a few friends who'd share hardships with her?
Although joining a financial clique's circle through this would be a good choice, those young ladies also had to curry favor with Hachiman.
Rather than bickering with those young ladies, she might as well continue being Hachiman's dog.
"Kushida, the Inanami-gumi people have all been dealt with, but these two sisters don't seem to be from the Inanami-gumi. What should we do with them?"
Just as Kushida Kikyo was thinking, a blue-haired girl with her bangs covering one eye walked over in leather boots, pointing with a flat expression at the two trembling girls hugging each other not far away.
Behind the blue-haired girl, several other girls were standing or crouching, looking toward Kushida Kikyo.
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