Although looking at the current situation, she simply could not live without Hikigaya and had no way to talk about dating.
After all, you cannot have a boyfriend or be married and still keep running to Hikigaya-kun's house all the time, right?
Could it be that she really had to be like Nijika and the others?
If she could learn magic like Nijika and the others, would she not have to trouble Hikigaya anymore?
Yotsuya Miko thought of that shocking glimpse she caught that night at the door of Hikigaya's room. Her face soaked in the hot water grew even redder and hotter.
"Glug! Glug!"
Yurikawa Hana looked at Yotsuya Miko, who was about to get dizzy from soaking too long. She swallowed hard the bun in her mouth and pulled Yotsuya Miko out of the large bath to rest on the shore.
Although she could not see the invisible ghosts and had no way to truly share Miko's feelings, as a good friend, she would definitely accompany Miko in facing those ghosts.
———
Hachiman changed into the clean bathrobe that had been prepared in advance after passing through the changing room, then slowly looked around at the old apartment that had now been renovated. It could now be called a secret club.
If viewed from the outside, it was just an ordinary, unremarkable old apartment.
But once you teleported in using the secret club's transfer permission, you would find that the inside was a completely different world.
Walking out from the large bath area, you would arrive at a spacious central living room. Looking up, you could see the rotating-style room layout inside the secret club.
Many functional entertainment rooms such as the large bath and the sauna were arranged around it. Just twist the handle and you could open the door and go inside.
The former apartment rooms were now installed along the walls. Whichever room you chose, an intelligent floating platform would send you up. When someone living in a room opened the door, they could see the large central living room right away.
A huge screen hung on the wall of the living room, with many sofas and coffee tables placed in front of it.
Perhaps because of Lala's design, once you teleported into the secret club, you would first enter the large bath, and the clothes on your body would be transferred away for cleaning.
This living room was now shared by everyone. Whatever you did would be seen by others when they came out, so there was not much privacy.
However, that was not really a problem. After all, the secret club's member list was personally added by him. Only the girls he was willing to bring in could teleport into the secret club.
As long as the private rooms ensured privacy, having everyone share the living room for eating, watching TV, and chatting would actually make things livelier.
Hachiman sat on the sofa, leaning against the backrest, looking at the huge display screen in front of him, and nodded in satisfaction.
He did not really care about decoration. With Lala's black technology, there could not possibly be any problems.
Still, he was quite satisfied with this layout. The space was large, and it both ensured privacy and provided shared areas, making sure things would not suddenly feel lonely once someone entered their room.
This living room was visible the moment you stepped out. No matter what was going on, anyone could join at any time, so there was no need to worry about neglecting anyone.
Hachiman opened the love list and checked Shion's real-time location. Seeing that she and Komachi were already at home, he teleported over.
"Welcome home, Hachiman Nii-chan. Dinner won't be ready that soon. How about you go sit in the living room for a while first? Komachi is chatting with Touka onee-san and Sakura and the others."
Shion, who was cutting vegetables in the kitchen at home, felt the familiar presence behind her and naturally leaned into Hachiman's arms. However, her face was still a bit flushed, and she said softly, somewhat embarrassed.
"Mm. Then Shion, you and Gab and Vigne can keep cooking. I'll go say hello to your classmates."
Hachiman lowered his head and kissed Shion, then smiled at Gabriel and Vignette, who were watching him with extreme vigilance, afraid that he might come over and cook with them in the kitchen. He then turned around and left the kitchen.
Seeing that Hachiman had no intention of messing around with them in front of Shion, Gabriel and Vignette both let out a sigh of relief.
However, when they heard each other's big sighs, the two of them awkwardly looked at one another.
'Since when have we become so afraid of Hikigaya-kun?'
'We clearly wanted to save Hikigaya-kun before.'
But now, just smelling Hikigaya's scent made them so scared that they swallowed nervously.
"Father!"
Hachiman had just walked out of the kitchen and entered the living room when Tohsaka Sakura, who had been sitting silently beside Tohsaka Touka with her head lowered, suddenly raised her head and leaped straight at Hachiman from the sofa.
"Father?"
Invited over by Komachi and Shion, Hanabishi Haruka, Mizukami Sayo, Tenkawa Kaoruko, Hiiragi Utena, and the others who were chatting with Komachi and Tohsaka Rin all looked in utter shock at Tohsaka Sakura, who had thrown herself into Hachiman's arms.
'Komachi's brother is Sakura's dad?'
'Then what is Komachi's relationship with Sakura and with Touka onee-san?'
"Ahem! Actually it's not what you're imagining. Sakura doesn't have any blood relation to Hachiman Nii-chan. She just feels that Hachiman Nii-chan's vibe is a bit like her dad's, so she recognized Hachiman Nii-chan as her father."
Seeing Tohsaka Sakura throw herself into Hachiman's arms and the shocked reactions of Hanabishi Haruka, Hiiragi Utena, and the others, Tohsaka Rin did not have time to pull her younger sister out of Hachiman's arms and quickly spoke up to explain.
In fact, regarding Sakura recognizing a father, the most awkward one was not Tohsaka Touka, nor Komachi, but Tohsaka Rin herself, as Sakura's older sister.
Komachi had long gotten used to Hachiman bringing all kinds of strange girls home.
Compared to special big shots like an elf princess, an alien princess, a mermaid princess, and so on, Tohsaka Sakura, a girl who had lacked fatherly love since childhood and recognized her brother as her father, seemed utterly ordinary.
Although Tohsaka Touka, as Sakura's sister, also felt a bit awkward seeing Sakura call a boy younger than herself "dad," it did not really affect her usual social interactions.
She and Yukinoshita Haruno both knew the cause and process behind Sakura recognizing a father, so there was no need to worry about misunderstandings.
Anyway, Hachiman called her Touka onee-san, and she and Sakura could just call him whatever they liked.
The most awkward one was only Tohsaka Rin. Her usual social circle was all at school, and now her younger sister Sakura had recognized Komachi's brother as her father. She did not even know how she was supposed to face these classmates anymore.
"His vibe is a bit similar? A recognized dad?", Listening to Tohsaka Rin's explanation, Hanabishi Haruka and the others froze for a moment, looking at Hachiman and Tohsaka Sakura with half-understanding expressions.
Although Sakura recognizing Komachi's brother as her dad was still strange, at least there was nothing ethically weird about it.
"Mm! Rin is right. It's just Sakura alone recognizing me as her father. If you don't mind, Haruka, you can call me Nii-chan like Rin does."
Hachiman held Tohsaka Sakura's soft, slender body. Seeing that she refused to let go, he hugged her and walked over to Hanabishi Haruka and the others, smiling as he spoke.
"I heard from Komachi that she has a very good relationship with Haruka, Sayo, Kaoruko, Utena, and you all. You don't mind if I just call you by your names, right?"
"We don't mind, we don't mind."
"Hello, Hachiman Nii-chan."
"Sorry to bother you today, Hachiman Nii-chan."
Hanabishi Haruka, Mizukami Sayo, and Tenkawa Kaoruko exchanged glances, bowed slightly, and spoke up one after another.
Komachi's way of saying onii-chan was more intimate, and Sakura's way of saying father was obviously not something they could copy.
Since Tohsaka Rin and Shion both addressed Komachi's brother this way, they also chose this somewhat closer form of address.
Of course, they could also call Komachi's brother boss, because the idol agency they belonged to was managed by the mermaid princess Meroune, and the mermaid princess Meroune had an especially close relationship with Komachi's brother.
According to Komachi, even the mermaid songstress Elio and the others were living at Komachi's house and had an extremely close relationship with Komachi's brother.
It could be said that, unless something unexpected happened, Hachiman would be their future boss.
But this visit was as Komachi's classmates and friends, not as young idols, so naturally they could not bring this up on their own.
"H-Hello, Hachiman Nii-chan!"
Shrinking back at the very edge, looking extremely withdrawn and introverted, Hiiragi Utena saw that everyone else had spoken and hurriedly followed suit.
Although she did not know when she had become very close with Komachi.
In fact, she still did not really understand why she could be invited to Komachi's house together with Hanabishi Haruka and the others. After coming here, she was also not very used to the lively, cheerful atmosphere. But in any case, following everyone and calling him Hachiman Nii-chan could not be wrong.
"Mm, welcome. No need to be polite. Sit down. Just treat this place like your own home."
Seeing Hanabishi Haruka, Mizukami Sayo, and Tenkawa Kaoruko all stand up to greet him when he appeared, Hachiman smiled and nodded. Holding Tohsaka Sakura, he sat down beside Tohsaka Touka and gestured for them to sit as well.
Magia Magenta Hanabishi Haruka, Magia Azul Mizukami Sayo, Magia Sulfur Tenkawa Kaoruko. [T/N: From 'Mahou Shoujo Ni Akogarete'.]
This magical girl group, "Tres Magia," was fairly classic in both hair color and personality, a red, yellow, and blue magical girl combination that suited them very well.
However, the distinctive traits of those three still could not compare to Hiiragi Utena, who looked like a very introverted, withdrawn ordinary girl, transforming into Magia Baiser
Mm… Magia Baiser should probably be called Magia Evil instead.
Training magical girls was indeed a very evil act. It was just unknown whether Magia Baiser, this future supreme commander, had awakened yet. She still looked timid and showed no major changes.
Noticing Hachiman's caring gaze sweeping over her again, Hiiragi Utena, sitting in the far corner, subconsciously shrank her head further and lowered her eyes, not daring to meet Hachiman's gaze.
Even though she knew Komachi's brother was a good person and had heard about him taking in Shion after her family suffered misfortune, having had no friends for a long time and only family members as contacts, she was still very uncomfortable.
If Komachi and Shion had not insisted on inviting her, and if Haruka and the others had not been so enthusiastic, she probably would not have thought of coming to someone else's house to hang out.
"By the way, Komachi, have you taken everyone to see the renovated secret club yet? What do you think of it?"
Hachiman held Tohsaka Sakura and sat between Tohsaka Touka and Yukinoshita Haruno. He did not rush to exchange pleasantries and build rapport with the two older sisters, but instead looked toward Komachi, who was sitting between Hiiragi Utena and Mizukami Sayo.
Before coming back, he had already added Komachi and Shion's names to the secret club's member list. Yukinoshita Yukino could immediately sense the secret club's permissions, so Komachi and Shion should also have noticed that they could instantly teleport to the apartment next door.
"Yeah, we just came back from the apartment next door not long ago. Haruno onee-san and Touka onee-san both thought it was pretty good."
Komachi, who had been silently watching Hachiman use her name to get closer to her good friends, rolled her eyes at him speechlessly and nodded as she replied.
When had she ever told her brother that she had an especially good relationship with Hanabishi Haruka and the others?
Maybe they were on good terms, but that had nothing to do with her brother calling them by their names. Calling everyone by name like that was really sly.
Komachi did not really understand why her brother wanted to invite so many people over to the house.
Hanabishi Haruka and the other three were indeed very cute, had great personalities, and were chosen as young idols at a very young age. Even if they were completely inferior to Elio onee-san and the others in terms of idol status, it was not strange that her brother would like them.
But what about Hiiragi Utena? Whether it was looks, figure, or personality, Hiiragi Utena looked very ordinary.
It was not that she minded such things. When making friends, you did not need to care about the other person's appearance, and she also had some ordinary friends with no special traits like Hiiragi Utena.
But with so many cute girls at home, her brother was already almost overwhelmed. Why would he still notice an ordinary girl from her school?
She could not figure it out. She really could not figure it out.
"By the way, Hikigaya-kun, are you planning to run this apartment as a club?"
While Komachi was still agonizing over what exactly had attracted Hachiman's attention to Hiiragi Utena, Yukinoshita Haruno grew curious about the renovated apartment and looked at Hachiman with a smile.
Although Yukinoshita Haruno's relationship with Hachiman had not progressed that far and she was not a member of the Service Club, so she had not received an invitation to join the secret club,
just seeing the entertainment facilities inside the secret club, as well as the fact that it looked like an old apartment on the outside while hiding an entirely different world inside, made all kinds of ideas spring to her mind.
What was more, when Komachi took them on a tour, she saw Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana suddenly teleport in, and learned that all members of the secret club could directly teleport over.
In fact, for high society, clubs and private lounges of this closed, private nature were very common.
But one with such strong concealment, and one that even allowed members to teleport in at any time, once established, would have unimaginably vast connections and resources.
"Yes, I plan to set up a secret club based on the Service Club, where members help each other. Or you could call it the Service Club? But right now it's just an idea. I haven't figured out the specifics yet."
Seeing that Yukinoshita Haruno was interested in the secret club, Hachiman smiled and nodded, explaining as he rubbed the little face of Tohsaka Sakura in his arms.
"The landlady transferred this apartment to me, and in return, I'll help the landlady complete a few commissions from her close friends for free."
"Considering that there are quite a few students from Sobu High in the club right now, even making up the majority, I originally planned to have Yukino help me take a look at the club."
"But Yukino felt that I was trying to freeload off her again, so she refused."
"Yukino… refused?"
When Yukinoshita Haruno heard that Hachiman had asked her sister Yukino to manage the club, and that Yukino had refused, the smile on her face froze.
She really wanted to say that if Yukino did not want it, she could take it instead. But looking at Hachiman holding Tohsaka Sakura and kneading her cheeks, all she could do was maintain an awkward yet polite smile.
'That idiot Yukino!'
'If you do not take the initiative to curry favor with Hikigaya-kun, that is one thing, but why would you even refuse when Hikigaya-kun asks you to help manage a club?'
'Why do we and the Ichinose family always want to build ties with the elf princess? Is it not just to rely on the elf princess and hold onto her leg to develop our influence?'
This extremely private club might seem unrelated to the elf princess, but you had to look at who owned the club.
This club looked like something Hachiman set up on his own, without the elf princess getting involved, but if Hachiman could not handle it, would the elf princess really stand by and do nothing?
Moreover, the club was located right next to the Hikigaya household, so close to where the elf princess and the mermaid songstress lived with the Hikigaya family.
The venue and decoration of the club were actually never the key points. Whether the venue was high-end or not did not matter that much. Even the best decoration only improved comfort a little.
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