It was the sisters' first time at the Service Club, so they both cleaned themselves thoroughly in the large bath before coming out together.
They didn't put their original clothes back on. Instead, each of them was wrapped only in a thin bath towel. That had been Kushida Kikyo's decision. She had even wanted them to wear it more loosely. Even if they didn't completely bare their chests, she wanted them dressed so that a slight bend forward would reveal their sincerity.
Yakumo Rio didn't dare openly oppose Kushida Kikyo's arrangement. She simply loosened the white bath towel around herself a little more, hoping Hachiman would only take a liking to her.
Although, from the large bath all the way to the central lounge, there were plenty of girls prettier than they were. There was no need to worry that much. Just Fueguchi Hinami and Kanzaki Moemi beside Kirishima Touka were already incredibly cute.
But precisely because Hinami and Moemi were so cute... Rio lowered her head uneasily. Out of the corner of her eye, she could only see the similarly nervous face of her younger sister, Yakumo Miyu.
Neither of them dared look at Hachiman's expression, nor did they know whether they should be afraid or hopeful.
If the two sisters had no value...
Their ending might be miserable as well.
"Don't be so nervous. Just call me Club President. I doubt you two are in the mood to think about those things today, so get some rest first."
Hachiman wasn't staring at Rio and Miyu. Instead, he gently stroked Tohsaka Sakura, who seemed a little unhappy, while his thoughts wandered comfortably.
"Once you and your sister have rested, you can go back and deal with the Yakumo Group. After you've finished, return to the Service Club."
"There are many magical girls in the Service Club, but whether you want to become one is entirely your own decision."
A yakuza boss's daughter...
Aside from the underworld organizations in the hidden world, the one he remembered most clearly was Kirisaki Chitoge, the daughter of the yakuza organization "Beehive" from Nisekoi.
Judging from what he knew about the Tachibana family and Tachibana Marika, "Beehive" and Kirisaki Chitoge should also exist.
He hadn't even met Chitoge yet, and now Kushida Kikyo had already brought him another yakuza heiress.
Well... Compared to Chitoge, Yakumo Rio was on an entirely different level.
"Y-Yes, Club President..."
Rio froze for a moment before answering instinctively.
All the way here, she'd listened to Kushida Kikyo's warnings. She had thought she would be facing a great demon king ready to devour people, where one wrong move would leave her completely consumed.
She hadn't expected the master they talked about to be so easygoing...
He had saved them.
Didn't he want anything in return?
Just an indifferent "Got it"?
He hadn't even taken an extra glance at their bodies.
"Oh, right. Kikyo doesn't have the best personality. If you don't have any objections to her, stay with her for now. If she ever bullies you, tell me. I'll teach her a lesson."
"N-No, that's not true! Head Maid Kushida has treated us very well!"
Hearing Hachiman suddenly say something she couldn't tell was serious or not, Rio hurriedly denied it.
Kushida Kikyo was the one who had introduced her to the Service Club. There was no way she could say anything bad about her in this situation.
"Master, how could I possibly bully them? I already used two Empathy Collars on them this time. I don't even know if I can replenish them."
Inside, Kushida Kikyo cursed Hachiman for deliberately teasing her. He clearly knew she didn't have the courage or ability to do anything bad, yet he still had to give her a warning.
Outwardly, however, she nervously knelt on the floor and shuffled over on her knees until she reached him, looking at him pitifully.
Actually, if Hachiman thought she wasn't obedient enough, it wasn't bad to have him teach her a lesson every now and then.
Some people wanted to be messed with and disciplined but never even got the chance.
Once you passed that stage, getting disciplined meant you had to figure out a way yourself.
Still, it wasn't easy to strike the right balance. If Hachiman ever thought he'd teased her enough and stopped bothering with her, or believed she had already learned her lesson and couldn't be bothered anymore, then it would mean she had fallen out of favor and had no way to climb higher.
No matter how good she was at socializing, she couldn't compete with the daughters of great families and financial conglomerates.
She could only keep working in the "bad woman" niche.
Beside Hachiman, there shouldn't only be girls who obeyed every command. There also needed to be girls who weren't quite so obedient, who liked causing trouble and stirring things up to make life more interesting.
For example, she also had to play the role of someone who could occasionally be a little rough.
"Then when you go to Haruno later to replenish the Empathy Collars, take two more. I'll see how many people you can recruit."
Hachiman reached out and pinched Kushida Kikyo's soft, smooth cheek. Looking at her reddened eyes and aggrieved expression, he smiled and shook his head.
It felt as though he and Kushida Kikyo both understood each other's personalities and were simply playing a master-servant game.
But Kushida Kikyo probably had no idea just how powerful his Absolute Taming ability was.
Her body and mind already belonged to him, yet she still worked hard to deceive herself into believing she didn't like him and was only pretending to go along with him.
He didn't know whether she had always been inclined this way or if it was the result of his Absolute Taming ability, but he genuinely enjoyed watching her curse him nonstop in her heart while remaining respectful on the surface, with her body naturally obeying him.
"Two more collars? Thank you, Master!"
Kushida Kikyo immediately revealed a sweet, adorable smile and obediently rubbed her face against his palm.
Since Hachiman already knew what she was really like, there was no need to pretend. If she needed to kneel, she'd kneel. If she needed to flatter him, she'd flatter him.
As long as she continued cultivating her "bad woman" specialty and pleased Hachiman, one day she would become the Service Club's great scheming minister, the member everyone hated and feared.
"Y-Yes... Club President..."
Hearing her name mentioned vaguely, Yukinoshita Haruno weakly responded.
Lying on the tea table with her head turned sideways, she looked at Tohsaka Touka, who was lying beside her in the same position. Soon, her vision became blurry again.
It wasn't that she had completely exhausted her stamina. Even if she had, transforming into a magical girl would let her quickly absorb magic and recover.
She simply didn't want to move.
She just wanted to stay limp like this and sleep.
Because if she got up, she'd have to face Tohsaka Aoi's deep gaze, a gaze that seemed to see through everything while also seeming to notice nothing.
That calm, profound look felt even more unsettling than facing her mother's imposing stare.
Was Aunt Aoi really mentally ill?
Why did it feel like her illness only appeared whenever it was needed.
———
"Kikyo, what about the investigators? You ran into them by accident, fighting broke out, and you killed them during the battle?"
After finishing with the Yakumo sisters, Hachiman finally asked about the investigators.
Compared to the minor conflicts involving yakuza groups, clashes between ghouls and investigators were obviously much more serious.
Still, with Touka and the others all here safe and sound, he naturally dealt with the sisters first.
"N-No. None of them died. Some of them were seriously injured and will probably need time to recover."
While rubbing her chin against Hachiman's palm like a cat, Kushida Kikyo secretly observed his expression, her gaze drifting between Tohsaka Aoi, Tohsaka Rin, and Tohsaka Sakura.
"Among the investigators we encountered, several of the women are on Sobu High's incoming student list..."
"Mado Akira, Ihei Hairu..."
As Kushida Kikyo spoke, Kirishima Touka, Yoshimura Eto, and the other ghouls all fixed their eyes on Hachiman's reaction.
Since joining the Service Club, they had never seen him angry. At most, they'd seen him become a little more proactive or slightly rough from time to time.
But they were still ghouls. They were different from the other members, and they couldn't help worrying that Hachiman might think they were troublesome because of this.
Although the Service Club revolved around Hachiman and seemed fiercely competitive on the surface, the competition between the different groups was actually kept within limits. By dealing with those investigators on their own, it was easy to suspect they were trying to eliminate future rivals in advance.
"Mado Akira? Ihei Hairu? Were they badly hurt? I remember Iris left quite a bit of Spirit Spring Water at the club. Let them come over and take some of the ordinary Spirit Spring Water back. It should help them recover faster."
After thinking for a moment, Hachiman stood up and patted Tohsaka Sakura's and Tohsaka Rin's heads. He wrapped an arm around the two blushing girls and helped them sit up properly again before looking toward Kushida Kikyo, Touka, and the others.
Getting injured in battle was unavoidable. While Touka and Eto certainly had some selfish motives, who didn't?
They accepted his protection and served him respectfully as their master precisely because they wanted to escape their desperate situation and no longer be hunted by investigators.
Since Akira and Ihei hadn't died and would later attend Sobu High, how they chose to treat Touka, Eto, and the other ghouls afterward would be entirely up to them.
"It's all our fault for troubling you, Club President."
Touka and Eto exchanged glances, and the burden weighing on their hearts finally lifted.
Although they weren't eager to see those investigators recover so quickly, since their master Hachiman had said so, it meant the matter wouldn't have any further consequences. There was no need to worry too much about the investigators anymore.
Well... If investigators and ghouls, mortal enemies, could both join the Service Club without issue, then they probably didn't need to be overly cautious in their daily lives... Competing a little with the other groups should be fine too.
Watching the lively girls around her, each with their own thoughts and trying every possible way to please Hachiman, Tohsaka Aoi picked up another juicy, sweet cherry and placed it into his mouth.
"My lord, is that child called Hinami? Is she attending school now?"
"Hinami? She should be studying at Komachi's school now, right?"
Following Aoi's gaze, Hachiman looked toward Fueguchi Hinami.
Because she was a ghoul, Hinami had never been able to live freely or attend school before.
The Service Club had helped enough members by now that it had become very experienced at arranging things for members with families. Those who needed jobs were placed in companies, while those who needed schooling were enrolled in schools. Ichinose Honami's younger sister had been arranged that way, and naturally Hinami had been too.
However, he hadn't seen Hinami playing with Komachi at the convention, so he wasn't sure whether she hadn't gone or whether there was another reason she still hadn't officially enrolled.
"Yes, Club President. Hinami has been assigned to Big Sister Komachi's school. It's just that she hasn't awakened her bloodline yet, so it isn't convenient for her to enroll officially."
When she heard herself mentioned, Hinami walked forward with a tense little face. Copying Kushida Kikyo, she knelt down and carefully pressed her cheek against his hand.
"Hinami..."
Touka's heart tightened at the sight of Hinami timidly stepping forward, but she bit her lip and endured it.
"You've experienced it yourself. Do you still think it's a bad thing?"
Eto leaned close to Touka's ear and chuckled softly.
"No."
After a moment of silence, Touka slowly shook her head.
If it were something bad, she would never have wanted Hinami to go through it.
It was precisely because it wasn't punishment but a reward that she could only watch.
She couldn't take Hinami's place. If she did, Hinami would only continue suffering hardships she never should have borne.
She herself had once longed for the life of an ordinary person just as Hinami did, even risking exposure to attend school disguised as a normal student.
So she had no right to stop Hinami from obtaining the wonderful life she now had.
From another perspective, they had simply exchanged one way of surviving for another that was much more respectable, without needing to harm anyone.
"You don't have to be so nervous. Didn't I tell you before to call me Nii?"
"O-Okay... Hachiman-nii..."
"As for awakening your bloodline, if you've made up your mind, you can come to me anytime."
Seeing that Hinami had become shy again after only a few days apart, Hachiman pinched her soft cheek, took her little hand, and pulled her into his arms.
Among all the ghoul girls seeking his protection, Hinami was the youngest. Unlike Touka or the Yasuhisa sisters, she couldn't attend Sobu High. Without awakening her bloodline, nobody would feel comfortable sending her to school by herself.
Without awakening, she couldn't eat normal food, making it difficult to make friends at school. She couldn't exactly disappear every lunchtime to return to the Service Club for fruit salad, milk, and black tea.
If she could only play with children from the Service Club anyway, then it was better to wait until after awakening before considering school.
However, after pulling Hinami into his arms, Hachiman suddenly realized something.
Hinami was younger than him, so calling him Big Brother was fine.
But Hinami, Rin, and Sakura would all be attending the same school.
Because Tohsaka Aoi had mistaken him for someone else due to her mental illness, Rin and Sakura were now calling him Father.
Turning his head, Hachiman saw Sakura staring at him with an unreadable look.
"Father just said you liked Rin and me. Now you've already started liking someone else?"
Seeing Hachiman not only tell Hinami to call him Big Brother but also pull her into his arms, taking up the space that belonged to her and Rin, a faint smile slowly appeared on Sakura's face.
"Come to think of it, Sakura, couldn't you call me Big Brother too? I'm not that much older than you."
Instead of answering Sakura's deadly question, Hachiman glanced at Aoi, who was quietly gazing at him with eyes full of affection, and tested the waters.
Little Sakura was very jealous, but she was also very clever. Right in front of Aoi, she had already seen how much of a womanizer he was. Simply hugging Hinami wasn't something worth making a scene over.
She was just taking the opportunity to act spoiled and ask for some promises from him.
But he wasn't falling for it.
Ignoring it was enough.
"No. Father is Father."
Sakura refused without hesitation before turning toward Rin, who was leaning against Hachiman's other side.
"Rin thinks so too, right?"
"Huh? W-What?"
Rin froze. She instinctively lifted her head from Hachiman's shoulder and looked at him and Sakura with a blushing face, her eyes full of nervousness, embarrassment, and confusion. She had clearly been distracted and hadn't heard a word of what they had just said.
Being able to eat together happily as a family had always been one of her wishes.
Big Sister Touka had also been working hard for that very reason, hoping to take over their mother's burden so she wouldn't have to manage the family's business alone anymore.
It was just...
The way that wish had come true...
Was a little strange.
[🎉 Shoutout to Someone's_Nobody, MahSty and Shinto for joining p@treon. Your support will help me bring better stories to you. Thank you very much.🤗]