Hanamori Kotomi felt Yukinoshita Yukino's attitude was a bit subtle and not quite what she had imagined; Yukinoshita didn't seem to have a very good relationship with Hikigaya.
But since she had no other way, she told Yukinoshita the whole truth in a low voice and explained the convenience store incident.
The convenience store incident wasn't actually complicated, nor was it extremely secret.
A group of students from the soccer club had done something extremely malicious at a convenience store off campus; besides the people directly involved, a few teachers also knew about it.
At that time there were rumors that demi-humans like the Elf Princess and the Dragon Clan Chief might attend Sobu High, so the school, to avoid causing a worse negative impact, had let the delinquent Sakashita take the blame alone.
Completely erasing all traces was impossible, so Sobu High could only try to minimize the damage, turn a group incident of a more serious nature into the misconduct of a single student.
And that student happened to be the delinquent Sakashita Yoshiyuki, who was present at the scene.
The innocent delinquent Sakashita Yoshiyuki bore a suspension he didn't deserve.
"Yukinoshita-san, would you be willing to help?", After explaining, Hanamori Kotomi looked at Yukinoshita Yukino with eyes full of hope.
She had asked other teachers before, but when those teachers heard the student who'd been framed was Sakashita, they lost interest in helping. Only Risako Kashima was willing to think of a solution with her.
From Hanamori's point of view, although Sakashita was a delinquent, he was still a student they had to educate; he wasn't beyond help, and in this matter Sakashita hadn't committed a wrongdoing and shouldn't be punished for nothing.
"Hanamori-sensei, do you want me to help overturn Sakashita's punishment? Or to punish the students who actually did it? Or to accuse the school of acting capriciously?"
Yukinoshita Yukino frowned, expressionless, and asked Hanamori Kotomi, who was expecting an answer, slowly.
Hanamori running around for a delinquent student, even risking being dismissed by the school and making it harder to find a job later, was something Yukino wasn't sure whether to approve of or not.
If Hanamori had been the direct cause of the delinquent being unfairly punished, Yukino might sympathize, but this matter didn't seem to have much to do with Hanamori.
In such a situation… if it were her, she might not be able to guarantee she would put in more effort than Hanamori. After all, she couldn't be sure she would be willing to go out of her way to save a poorly behaved delinquent and wait for him to reform.
"I'm not trying to accuse the school. I just want this handled more fairly. Please have the school withdraw Sakashita's suspension."
Hesitating when Yukino asked, Hanamori Kotomi nervously twisted her hands together in front of her and mumbled with her head lowered.
She was just an ordinary teacher, not looking to fight the school. She only felt that one shouldn't pin other people's crimes on an innocent student because of the student's delinquent past.
That would be too cruel for that student. As a teacher, she didn't want such a thing to happen.
"Please wait a moment, Hanamori-sensei. I'll go make a phone call first."
Looking at the naive young teacher, Yukinoshita Yukino was silent for a moment. Her gaze swept past the four who were stuffing their faces in the corner, expressionless, and she stood up and left the clubroom.
When Yukino went out to make the call, Hanamori Kotomi let out a small sigh of relief and nervously waited in place.
She wasn't sure if Yukino could help, but since Yukino didn't refuse outright and went to make a call, it meant she might be inclined to help Sakashita.
Whether she could actually help was another matter, Yukino might not be able to handle it alone.
"Hanamori-sensei, want something to eat? Yukino might be on the phone for a while, let's eat while we wait," Yuigahama Yui, seeing Hanamori Kotomi standing alone in the clubroom, hesitated a bit, then stood and walked over to break the awkward silence.
"No, thank you. You're Yuigahama, right? Thanks for your concern, but I'm not hungry," Hanamori hurriedly waved her hand to decline. Although she hadn't eaten lunch yet and had rushed over after class, she wasn't in the mood to eat.
Besides, Yukino, who had gone out to call, also hadn't eaten; she felt awkward sitting down to eat.
"Don't worry, Hanamori-sensei. Even if Vice President Yukinoshita can't handle your request, the President will definitely help."
Hayase Saki, seeing that the fearsome Yukino was out of the room, set down her lunch and whispered boldly.
"The President? You mean Hikigaya? Is he stronger than Yukino?", Hanamori was surprised to see how much Hayase trusted Hachiman and tentatively probed.
Before coming, she'd asked the Service Club advisor Hiratsuka Shizuka and learned that Hikigaya had a good relationship with the Elf Princess, and the Service Club had more than a couple of demi-human members.
But she hadn't seen any demi-humans in the clubroom, nor had she seen Hikigaya, so she began to doubt what Hiratsuka had said.
She'd asked Hiratsuka about the specifics of Hikigaya's relationship with the Elf Princess, why the Elf Princess had joined the Service Club, and Hiratsuka had only said the relationship was deep; when pressed, Hiratsuka had stammered.
She didn't know whether it involved something Hiratsuka couldn't disclose, or whether the truth was not as Hiratsuka implied.
"Yes, of course. Right now, most of the Service Club's requests are handled by the President. Princess Iris and the others listen to him. If the President is willing to help, there's absolutely no problem!"
Seeing Hanamori so timid, Hayase puffed up proudly, chest out, and in a senior-student attitude tried to coach her on how to ask Hikigaya for help.
Although Hayase joined the Service Club because of one of those rare requests, she had been "forced" to join by Vice President Yukinoshita and accepted the club's protection, Yukino was the vice president who stayed in the clubroom and accepted in-person requests when Hikigaya wasn't there.
So even if Hayase knew the President never took Yukino along for fun, she wouldn't be rude to Yukino to her face; she only acted bold behind Yukino's back.
"I see..."
"But the President doesn't like people of bad character. He might refuse to help that delinquent," Just as Hanamori began to feel reassured, Hayase shook her head regretfully.
Hayase had thought that getting Hanamori to join their little shy-and-introvert support group would be perfect. Hanamori's gentle, kind temperament would help them recruit more introverted students. But considering the content of Hanamori's request, she realized it might not be possible.
From her experience and that of those around her, Hikigaya can tolerate fools' stupidity and patiently handle issues caused by extreme social anxiety. He didn't get angry at them casually and didn't demand much, as long as they listened, he'd even be willing to support them later if they couldn't work.
But he could not tolerate people who deliberately behaved immorally. That applied to students and teachers alike.
Previously, the delinquent and their accomplices who tried to threaten her were taken care of by the President off-campus; apparently the manager of a fast-food place who tried to m*lest a quiet-looking female university student in the neighboring apartment was burned to death by the President; a few boys in the track team who had bad intentions were sent to the crematorium by Ursula.
If it weren't for a teacher who tried to threaten Ichinose Ayano being handled by Ichinose's father, the President probably would have dealt with it personally.
In this convenience store incident, although Sakashita was framed, his own reputation was poor; he likely had done many annoying bad things.
If the President encountered someone doing bad things, it would be one thing if he didn't step forward, but why would he be willing to help such a delinquent?
"I'll try my best to persuade Hikigaya. Although Sakashita is a delinquent, he's innocent in this matter. If the President is willing to help, I'll do anything," After Hayase's explanation, Hanamori bit her soft lips and decided in a small voice.
If someone committed a wrongdoing, they should accept punishment; she wouldn't argue if that were the case.
But the problem was that Sakashita had been framed despite committing no crime, and she couldn't bear to see an innocent student suffer.
If she could clear Sakashita and restore his innocence, she would do anything.
"Really? Hanamori-sensei, you'd do anything?"
Seeing Hanamori's resolve, Hayase's eyes lit up. She immediately thought she had an opportunity to recruit Hanamori into their shy-and-introvert mutual aid club.
She, Miki, Bocchi-chan, and Shino weren't good with strangers. Bringing in a gentle, kind teacher like Hanamori, with high affinity, might actually let their imaginary mutual aid club expand across Sobu High.
Let every shy introverted beautiful girl be guided by the President.
"Um, Hayase, do you have any plan? If you do, please tell me, I'll repay you properly."
Hanamori nodded earnestly, looking at Hayase and asking sincerely.
Although Yukino hadn't yet made it clear whether she could help, her expression suggested she might be troubled by it.
She should think of how to ask the President for help if Yukino failed.
"Of course there's a way, hehe~ But you don't need to repay me, repay the President instead."
Hayase chuckled and beckoned Hanamori over to whisper.
"Hanamori-sensei, come here. I'll tell you. The President is actually kind-hearted and soft. Sometimes he gets angry when we act foolishly, but if you come with us..."
Although getting the President to clear a delinquent might upset him, their "cheering magic" could probably get him in a good mood.
After all, Hanamori only wanted the delinquent's false accusation removed; if that delinquent later did something bad and the President dealt with it, no one could blame him.
Whether this plan was good or bad, whether the President would reward or punish them, remained to be seen.
"..."
Narahashi Miki, quietly eating, watched her close friend's excited expression and Hanamori covering her mouth in shock, shame, and disbelief, and felt like she was seeing a reflection of herself.
She'd been recruited by Hayase once before, forced into two sets of maid outfits she couldn't wear outside and inviting the President to play at her house.
Although she didn't regret being tricked by Hayase, the President's guidance had brightened her up, now Hayase was bold enough to try to drag Hanamori in, and Narahashi couldn't help admiring the President's influence.
Narahashi muttered about her friend, then joined in, moving to either side of Hanamori to give advice with Hayase.
If Hanamori's problem could be solved, they'd all get the President's reward, why not help~
Seeing Hayase and Narahashi drawing Hanamori in for whispers, Yuigahama Yui hesitated, she had a bad premonition.
Would the in-person request be snatched by the President?
After all, the President wasn't here; it was supposed to be Yukino handling it.
But with Yukino outside on the phone and their numbers in the club being small, Yui didn't know whether she should tell Yukino the request might be taken.
Even if she did, Yukino probably wouldn't be able to do anything about the President.
Sakurase Shino, as always, sat elegantly with chopsticks in hand, slightly parted lips, eating her lunch gracefully.
She lived next to Hachiman's apartment and often attended Service Club activities. To outsiders she seemed an ordinary human; among demi-humans she hadn't awakened any bloodline, aside from a little uncontrollable charm ability, she was almost no different from an ordinary, timid succubus.
Although she spoke little, Sakura participated in many service activities.
Her life now was much better than when she used to keep distance from everyone.
The only trouble was that recently her body craved her master more and more.
She didn't dare activate the sympathy collar in class; if she couldn't sense her master it was okay and she could endure some discomfort. But once she sensed her master's aura, she couldn't calm down unless held and soothed.
Thinking of something, Sakura's beautiful eyes misted; she bit her chopsticks for a long time, then slowly put them down and resumed picking at her lunch while watching Hayase and the others egging Hanamori on with their "schemes."
———
Outside the Service Club Activity Room—
"Sister... that's the situation. What do you think?"
Yukinoshita Yukino walked to the end of the corridor and called her elder sister Yukinoshita Haruno, telling her the truth about Hanamori's request, including that Hachiman had told Hanamori to come to Yukino.
The Service Club accepts requests from within the school; Hanamori's teacher status wasn't special, since Hiratsuka Shizuka had also had requests about problem girls.
The key point was that Hikigaya could handle it himself yet had deliberately passed it to Yukino without telling her, whether to tease her or because of some deeper meaning.
They had once competed over requests, and now Hikigaya had assigned one to her, it obviously wasn't harmless.
["First stabilize the teacher with the in-person request. I'll look into the backgrounds of the soccer club students involved and see whether Sobu High has any reason to protect them."]
After hearing the situation, Yukinoshita Haruno's expression stiffened; after a moment's thought, she decided to be cautious.
["Yukino, also check with Hikigaya what he means. We don't want to misunderstand his intention."]
She understood this might be Hikigaya giving them a chance to show the Yukinoshita family's stance and capabilities, and to build a bridge with the Elf Princess.
After all, this sort of thing would be impossible for an ordinary teacher to solve, but for people like them it only required checking if there were powerful connections behind the incident.
If there were no powerful ties, families like Ichinose or Rurikawa could deal with it cleanly.
Although she thought it would be a good opportunity to get in with the Elf Princess, the immediate priority was to check the students' backgrounds and clarify Hikigaya's attitude so they could act accordingly.
Yukino had been Vice President in the Service Club for a long time with little reaction from Hikigaya; yesterday Touka's little sister Sakura recognized Hikigaya as her "father," and today Hikigaya had given the Yukinoshita family a chance.
This obvious contrast made Yukinoshita Haruno reflect on life's unpredictability.
She'd only wanted Touka to find a good match and not have the Takamine family swallow her friend's business, leaving Mrs. Tohsaka with daughters helpless; she hadn't expected Hikigaya to pay more attention to the Yukinoshita family because of that.
Too bad the Yukinoshita family didn't have a younger sister like Sakura; they only had Haruno and Yukino.
Otherwise she would have thought of letting their younger sister recognize Hikigaya as "father" or "older brother."
The more she interacted with Hikigaya, the more she felt he wasn't simple.