Hachiman rolled his eyes at Elsie and Ayla, who were again using the mermaid seduction technique, and said helplessly.
Ayla had the bold gyaru style, and her way of doing things was quite like that. But why did it feel like Elsie, who looked soft and cute in pink, was just putting on a surface persona, having not a trace of restraint?
Class hadn't started yet, and many students were still wandering around campus. Their mermaid identities were already eye-catching, not to mention they were clinging so intimately to him.
If he weren't already on the disciplinary committee's exclusive blacklist, where only designated members could discipline him, there would probably already be someone from the committee coming to cause trouble.
"Does that mean the club president has agreed? Hee hee! Ayla, we did it!"
"Mm! We're moving into the president's house tonight!"
Elsie paid no mind to Hachiman's eye-roll or the gazes from the other students around them. Hearing the implied agreement in his words, she and Ayla each gave him a strong kiss on the cheek and cheered together.
They weren't idols who relied solely on their looks. They were mermaids, mermaid songstresses who won with their vocal power.
Rather than worry about trivial things, they should focus on how to please and get close to the club president.
Even the elf princess had moved into the president's house and brought a bunch of elf girls into this world. If they didn't work harder, the president wouldn't have time for them, and they really would turn male.
Seeing this, Ellio blushed and tiptoed up to kiss Hachiman's cheek too.
But after the kiss, she didn't make any further moves, lowering her head and hiding between Elsie and Ayla to block the view.
Ellio could be very forward in private, but in public, she still didn't have the courage to act too boldly.
"Ellio and the others need assistance, that's why they want to move into my house. But what about you, Meroune? You shouldn't need assistance, right?"
Hachiman smiled wryly at the three mermaids with their distinct personalities, then turned his gaze toward the silent mermaid princess Meroune.
There were already so many people at his place; a few more mermaids didn't make a difference. With Lala there, it would be easy to add another room full of water.
However, Ellio and the others could freely shift between mermaid and human forms. Meroune only had the mermaid form and no human form, which would be more troublesome.
"Yes, my lord, I do not require assistance, but I still wish to live together with Lady Ellio and the others in your house."
Seeing that Ellio and the others had received Hachiman's permission, Meroune's eyes showed a trace of envy, but she quickly answered seriously.
"The merfolk of our world are not as mobile as Lady Ellio and the others. My mother did not allow me to enter the human world at will, but after hearing that the elf princess was already boarding at your home, she finally allowed me to come out."
"If my lord finds me troublesome, you may drive me away, but I still ask for your permission to live at your house first."
As she spoke, Meroune lowered her head slightly and asked softly.
The merfolk had beautiful appearances, but they lacked the ability to protect themselves. On land, they had difficulty walking, so no merfolk dared leave the ocean to experience the world on land.
If it weren't for the deeds of the elf princess and the mermaid idol songstresses, which convinced her mother, she wouldn't have had the chance to act freely in the human world.
"I see, I understand. But we're still in school now. The official welcoming ceremony can wait until tonight after you move into my house."
Hachiman nodded thoughtfully. Right now, he could be said to be the center for many demi-humans. Meroune wanting to come to his house made sense; there wasn't a more suitable place than his.
"My lord, you've agreed? Don't you want to consider it a bit more?", Meroune was stunned by how readily Hachiman agreed, without giving her any need to beg.
"Of course I agree. Why would I have a reason to refuse? It's you who should consider more carefully, Meroune. This is our first meeting," Hachiman shook his head with a smile. The triggered quest required him to help Meroune awaken her bloodline, and having her live at his house would make it easier to study how to help her awaken it. There was no way he'd push her away.
"Thank you for taking me in, my lord," Hearing Hachiman's words, Meroune blushed slightly and didn't argue further.
"By the way, what about this period's class? Isn't it Ellio and your group's turn?", Hachiman looked around just as the class bell rang. The students who had been watching quickly returned to their classrooms, and soon it was just him and the four mermaids left.
"Hee hee, how about we go to the pool today? I asked around, no one has swimming class until noon," Hearing Hachiman bring up class arrangements, Elsie lightly tapped her pink lips with her index finger and gave him a sweet, cute smile.
"...What about Meroune?", Hachiman rolled his eyes at Elsie's pink-haired tsundere behavior, then looked at the equally expectant Ayla and Ellio before turning to the newly arrived mermaid princess Meroune.
He could play around with Elsie, Ayla, and Ellio and give them full support, this was what his assistance entailed. But he didn't have that kind of relationship with Meroune, and he couldn't just throw her aside.
Seeing Hachiman looking at her, Meroune's pink face turned red, and she bit her lip, clutching her skirt at the knees, shyly whispering:
"Um... May I watch, my lord? I'm a little curious about the assistance given to Lady Ellio and the others..."
———
Inside the indoor swimming pool.
Hachiman came to the pool for swim class with Ellio, the three mermaid idol songstresses, and the mermaid princess Meroune.
There were no other classes scheduled to use the pool, and it wasn't the girls' swim team's club time either. The large pool was empty, with only the shimmering ripples of water reflecting under the fluorescent lights.
Ellio and the others had changed into half-piece bikini swimsuits in the locker room before coming to the poolside.
White, blue, orange, and purple, different colors of swimsuits set off their already fair skin to look even more radiant.
Mm, it wasn't like they couldn't wear competitive swimsuits or other styles. They could wear school swimsuits to swim class and wouldn't immediately change into mermaid form upon touching water.
But if they wanted to freely shift between human and mermaid forms and play various water games, other swimsuits would be inconvenient. Bikinis were the most convenient.
"President~ I've been holding back these past few days! If you don't assist me soon, I'm going to enter my conversion period!", The natural-cute idol Elsie was the first to dive into the pool, instantly swimming ten meters. She swam up to Hachiman and suddenly leapt from underwater, throwing herself onto him, her pale arms wrapping tightly around his neck.
Actually, over the past few days, they had avoided crowds and only handled idol affairs without holding a concert. Hachiman had also assisted them heavily, so their conversion period wasn't coming that soon.
But as soon as she saw Hachiman, Elsie couldn't suppress the longing she had been holding back. She wanted to be close to him.
Just a few days apart, she felt like the president's life aura was even stronger. Even more alluring. Even if they didn't need assistance to worry about the conversion period anymore, she still wanted to continue getting his assistance.
"Hee hee~ President, you've heard our songs before, right? How about a personal concert for you~? We don't have music equipment here, but our a cappella is very good too~"
The tanned gyaru mermaid Ayla followed behind Elsie, swimming to the other side of Hachiman and kissing him hard. Her rosy lips leaned into his ear as she giggled softly.
She shared the same thoughts as Elsie, but her style was bold, so it didn't seem abrupt.
Though they weren't worried about fan backlash, if they weren't with someone like the president, whom both the elf princess and dragon tribe leader liked, their tribe would never allow them to so freely and openly date a human male.
But now that the elf princess and dragon tribe leader were both circling the president, their tribe was dying to send even more mermaids over to ple*se him. They only held back out of fear of offending the others.
"The one who most needs my assistance is Ellio, right? She has the highest magic power and is the most susceptible. You two are just craving it, aren't you?", Hachiman rolled his eyes at Elsie and Ayla, both clinging to his sides with water droplets all over them.
These two mermaid idols were always unusually forward. He still wasn't sure whether that was their true nature or if they had just held back too long and now sought excitement with him.
But he did like these two proactive mermaid idols. After all, they were undeniably adorable, sweet-talking, and had good personalities, worthy of being top national idols.
Elsie, the natural-cute type, and Ayla, the bold gyaru type, weren't much less popular than Ellio among fans. But the three of them together as an idol group had the highest combined popularity.
Don't be fooled by how they stuck to him the moment they met. They were simply using this method to draw his attention. With Iris and Ursula already by his side, Elsie and Ayla didn't have enough time to slowly play the long game, they had to be bold.
"Hee hee, we saved a spot for Ellio, didn't we? Ellio, you agree, right? You're the one who gets to monopolize the president's embrace~", Elsie and Ayla clung to Hachiman without concern, each extending a hand toward Ellio, who had just swum up, and pushed the shy, introverted, adorable mermaid into his arms with a giggle.
"Ugh... You're teasing me again...", Ellio's smooth, white face turned red like an apple. She kept her head down, unable to look at Hachiman, but her arms hugged his waist tightly and didn't let go.
Among mermaids, the one with the highest magic power was the one who would convert into male. In an environment lacking magic power, Ellio was the most worried and fearful.
If something happened to her, it would be too late to seek assistance from the president.
So she could only long for the president's help even before her conversion period began, hoping to suppress it successfully.
"It's okay, Ellio. They're teasing you now, but in a bit, you'll be the one teasing them. Let's see who ends up weaker," Hachiman looked down at Ellio, adorable and inviting like a small animal, and smiled. His arms wrapped around Elsie and Ayla's soft, slender waists and gently hugged Ellio's small belly, drawing her cute little body into the center.
Mermaids generally had great figures, shaped by constant swimming and no excess fat. Their bodies were graceful, and their chest sizes were due to subcutaneous fat for warmth.
Elsie, Ayla, and even Meroune the mermaid princess were all like this.
Ellio might still be young, so she wasn't as developed as Elsie and Ayla, making her a bit more petite.
But this petite frame made her even cuter, perfectly matching her shy, small-animal-like personality, thus winning even more favor from the public.
———
By the poolside—
Mermaid princess Meroune didn't join the fun. She had changed into a swimsuit and entered the pool, quietly watching Hachiman surrounded in the center by the blue, pink, and yellow mermaids.
The elf race was stronger than the mermaids. The elf princess naturally had a higher status than both the mermaid princess and mermaid idol songstresses. Besides, she was only an unawakened mermaid princess without bloodline power.
However, the famous mermaid idols Ellio and her group were about as well-known in human society as elf princess Iris. Originally, one was in the entertainment industry, and the other in politics, and the two had no overlap.
Now their point of overlap was Hachiman, a human who could assist many demi-humans at once.
If the merfolk didn't have population issues, and Meroune didn't have to worry about the conversion period due to her lack of magic power, she would've begged Hachiman for help just like Ellio and the others.
But now, all she could do was watch silently as the human male she liked was surrounded by Ellio and the others.
This feeling... wasn't so bad.
Meroune's eyes gazed upon Ellio, Elsie, and Ayla, who stirred waves in the pool as they received assistance. She listened to their magically infused voices singing tunes capable of charming the heart and gently touched her chest, where turbulent emotions swirled, blushing as she quietly enjoyed this feeling of unfulfilled longing.
———
[Noon]
"Miki, Miki, let's go eat lunch at the service club today."
In a second-year classroom, the ace of the girls' swim team, Hayase Saki, stood up as soon as the teacher left. She quickly walked over to a tall, short-haired brunette girl and urged her in a low voice.
The tall girl had a pure look and a voluptuous figure, with fabric at her chest stretched to bursting. But sitting down, she unconsciously slouched, making her tall frame look a bit bulky.
"Huh? The president will be at the service club at lunch today?", Narahashi Miki had just taken out her bento box and looked up blankly at Hayase Saki's urging.
After being tricked by her friend into being the president's one-day maid for the service club, she often reminisced alone at night about that day.
But lately, the service club had many unfamiliar people, and since Saki's president rarely came, she hadn't dared visit during lunch.
"Yup, hurry, hurry. If we're late, there won't be any seats left!", Hayase Saki nodded repeatedly. Seeing Miki already holding her bento, she directly pulled her along.
Actually, the last period was supposed to be her turn with Sakurase Shino and the others. Iris had even told her she'd use soundproofing and invisibility magic to ensure nobody would see them in class.
But timid Saki wasn't as bold as Iris or Lala, who could ignore the disciplinary committee and teachers to skip class.
She hesitated for a long time and still didn't dare skip class to eat meat. She could only hurry to the clubroom after class ended.
Mm, this time she had to bring her favorite lunch partner Narahashi Miki with her. She had eaten meat several times lately, and Miki had been complaining that Saki dragged her into this mess but then went alone without sharing.
"No seats if we're late...", Hearing Hayase Saki's deeply meaningful words, Narahashi Miki's heart suddenly jumped. She followed closely behind her.
She knew Saki's president was popular, but she hadn't expected him to be this popular. Now they had to fight for seats just to have lunch?
But thinking about the identities of those club members, each more powerful than the last, she and Saki were just athletic scholarship girls with no real advantages. If they wanted to get close to President Hikigaya, they had to seize every opportunity.
Especially her. Saki had many cute, attractive girls in the swim team, all wearing nice swimsuits.
But she was tall like a giant and sweated all over in the volleyball club, not exactly appealing.
At the very least, President Hikigaya went to the girls' swim team as a temporary manager, but he never once said anything about wanting to visit the volleyball club.
"Hayase-senpai, Narahashi-senpai, um... about Manager Hikigaya recently...", Just as Narahashi Miki was pessimistically contemplating her future, she heard someone greet them. Looking up, she saw a black-haired, black-eyed first-year girl with a cold expression bowing toward her and Hayase Saki.
"Nanasaki? I've got something urgent, let's talk during club time after school!", Hayase Saki saw it was her junior from the swim team, Nanasaki Ai. She didn't have time to stop and chat, so she replied quickly and dragged Miki away without turning back.
"...", Nanasaki Ai watched Hayase Saki, who usually stammered and spoke nervously, suddenly act with such urgency and decisiveness. She raised her hand slightly, not knowing what to say.
The new temporary manager had promised to help with her training, but for some reason, nothing had been arranged. He didn't even come to club activities yesterday.
When she asked seniors who had received training and quickly improved, like Saki and Mikari, they replied vaguely, saying that "this kind of training isn't suitable for you.
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