Gotou Hitori, who had already taken off the mango cardboard box half-head helmet, hurriedly nodded, but only sneaked a couple of glances at Inoue Takina and Nishikigi Chisato on the other side, not daring to speak loudly.
Inoue Takina, with her long straight black hair, had a very strong presence, but she did not talk much either. As long as you hid off to the side, it was fine.
But that short blond-haired Nishikigi Chisato was a bit scary. She would directly lift the cardboard box and talk to her. She was even more Nijika than Nijika herself.
"Nijika... if you really do not want me to sell Kita..."
Yamada Ryou was unmoved by Ijichi Nijika's scolding. Just as Nijika was used to her thick skin, she was also used to Nijika's complaints. Besides, she was not dead set on selling Kita anyway. As long as she could make money, selling someone else to Hachiman was not impossible either.
"Then for the sake of Nijika's happiness, I can only sell PA-san and the manager. To form a band for a lifetime, we need the manager and the others—"
Before she could finish speaking, Yamada Ryou saw Ijichi Nijika turn around and pick up her drumsticks, and immediately fled the recording studio.
"Ryou, do not run! What do you mean, for my happiness?"
Ijichi Nijika grabbed her drumsticks and angrily chased after her.
Selling her was one thing, but now she even wanted to sell her sister too. She really needed to give Ryou a proper lesson.
.
.
.
After a round of chasing and horseplay, Ijichi Nijika finally decided to let Kita Ikuyo go with them to the Service Club.
It was not that she agreed with Ryou's idea of selling Kita, but after thinking it through seriously, she felt that it would be better for Kita to become a magical girl together with them.
Because Kessoku Band only had four members in total, and aside from Kita, Ryou, Bocchi-chan, and herself all had unclear relationships with Hachiman.
In that situation, the relationship among the three of them would inevitably grow closer, and many things would subconsciously be kept from Kita.
Over time, even if they did not say anything, Kita herself would start to feel that there was a gap between everyone and would not want to stay in the band anymore.
Of course, if it were only that, she would not have gone so far as to think about bringing Kita along to hang out with Hachiman.
Kita's life was not only the band. There was no need to make her sacrifice so much just for the band.
But if Kita did indeed have some feelings for Hachiman and did not dislike him, then she felt she absolutely had to pull Kita in, let her and Hachiman get to know each other better, and cultivate their feelings.
After all, this was a world that hid many supernatural beings, and danger could appear at any time.
As an ordinary person, Kita had no ability to resist extraordinary phenomena at all. Last time, they had even encountered vengeful spirits, panicked together with Miko and the others, and had no choice but to run to Hachiman's house to stay the night.
She could not watch over and protect Kita at all times. She herself did not yet have enough strength to protect herself and still needed Hachiman to protect her.
Right now, the only way was to let Kita seize the opportunity herself and join them in becoming a magical girl.
"B... but... when you put it that way, it sounds like I would just be getting close to Hikigaya-kun for the sake of power..."
After listening to Ijichi Nijika's attempt to persuade her, Kita Ikuyo's face was full of shyness and inner conflict.
Originally, she had just been greatly shocked by the fact that Nijika and the others had all slept in Hikigaya's room together, and she had not thought too much about it.
She was not averse to romance. She had just never met a boy she wanted to date. If Hikigaya really made her especially like him, she might even go along with Nijika and the others and have a crazy, exciting romance together.
The whole band dating the same boy at the same time, frequently going in and out of Hikigaya's house, being completely open with each other. Just thinking about it felt incredibly thrilling.
But when Nijika and the others learned magic after just one night sleeping in Hikigaya's room, and could even truly become magical girls now, she no longer knew how to handle her relationship with them.
Unlike Nijika, Ryou, and Bocchi, who had first formed an intimate relationship with Hikigaya, she had first learned that Hikigaya possessed special abilities.
No matter what she did, as long as she got close to Hikigaya, it felt like it came with impure motives attached.
"It is fine. Hachiman would not think that way. What Ryou said was just to fool you, so it would be easier for her to ask Hachiman for a reward," Ijichi Nijika knocked Yamada Ryou on the head while helplessly comforting Kita Ikuyo.
"As long as you are sure that you do have feelings for Hachiman, and that you are not forcing yourself to like him, there is no problem at all."
"You do not need to care that your thoughts are not pure enough. Who ever likes someone with a completely pure motive, without even a trace of their own intentions?"
"Nijika, are you and Ryou and Bocchi-chan the same? Are your reasons for liking Hikigaya-kun also not that pure?"
Hearing Ijichi Nijika's explanation, something stirred in Kita Ikuyo's heart. She looked at her bandmates around her and cautiously asked.
Even though asking this was a bit rude, she really wanted to know if everyone thought the same way.
Why was it that even though everyone was so cute and so pretty, they were all willing to like the same boy? And it even seemed like Hikigaya-kun's focus was not really on them, just occasionally coming over to check on Kessoku Band.
"Hachiman said... said he is willing to support me for my whole life, and willing to support my dream of being in a band," Gotou Hitori honestly admitted that her motives were extremely impure.
When Hachiman treated her as a friend, she already liked him very much. Later, when Hachiman said he was willing to support her and that she would not need to go out and work, she felt even more that she could not live without him for the rest of her life.
Even though she had now become friends with Nijika and Ryou in the band, and had even become that kind of super close with Hachiman together with them, the friend who gave her the greatest sense of security was still Hachiman.
"As for me... I do not really have a motive. But after I graduate and inherit my family's hospital, I am planning to hand the hospital over to Hachiman and let him manage it for me, so I can keep playing rock without worrying about the hospital," Yamada Ryou looked at the deeply conflicted Kita Ikuyo and, for once, got serious and spoke after thinking it over.
She did not really want to live according to her parents' plans. She had originally gotten into rock because she did not want to be interfered with by her easygoing parents.
But she had also had worries before. Her parents only had one daughter, and if she wanted to keep playing in a band in the future, there would be no one to take care of the hospital.
Now though... she could just hand the family hospital directly over to Hachiman to manage.
"Huh? There are no other motives?", After hearing the reasons of Gotou Hitori and Yamada Ryou, Kita Ikuyo could not help but stare in shock, her small mouth hanging wide open, not knowing what to say.
'Does Bocchi-chan's and Ryou's reason count as impure motives too?'
One wanted Hikigaya-kun to work and support her, and one wanted Hikigaya-kun to manage her family's hospital.
'Th... this... Even though it sounds a bit strange when put that way, why does it feel like Hikigaya-kun, who is caught in the middle, is actually the one benefiting?'
Managing Ryou's family hospital, making money to support Bocchi-chan... even without the ability to turn people into magical girls, it seemed like Hikigaya could still hold Ryou and Bocchi-chan in his arms at the same time, right?
Thinking of that, Kita Ikuyo could not help but look at Ijichi Nijika, waiting for her answer with complicated feelings.
Then what about Nijika? Did Nijika's motive perfectly match Ryou's and Bocchi-chan's, to the point that the three of them had such a good relationship, and even their first time was the three of them together with Hikigaya-kun...
"Ahem! Ahem! We will talk about that later. Anyway, Kita, you do not need to worry about so much!"
Seeing that things were going in a bad direction, Ijichi Nijika hurriedly changed the topic and did not let Kita Ikuyo continue asking.
"We have actually only each mastered a bit of simple magic. We have not truly become magical girls yet."
"If you decide to join now, Kita, we can completely become magical girls together. Just like what Ryou said, on the surface we are a rock band, but in reality we are a magical girl group."
Who would have thought that she originally did this to help Yumiko?
Now, her relationship with Hachiman had instead become even closer than Yumiko's relationship with Hachiman, which really made it a bit embarrassing to say out loud.
Things were moving pretty fast between the members of Kessoku Band and Hachiman. Over on Marin's side, she was also planning cosplay activities with the spirit princess Lumilia, and it was unknown when she would also have a breakthrough development with Hachiman.
If Yumiko had not said tonight that she was coming to the Service Club, she would have taken the initiative to pull Yumiko over herself.
However, aside from Yumiko's factor, her motives really did align very well with Ryou's and Bocchi-chan's.
Even though that was not why she had developed her relationship with Hachiman to this point, her dream was to form a hugely popular band.
With Hachiman's support, letting Ryou and Bocchi-chan have no worries, her dream band would not die halfway along the road.
Thinking about it carefully, aside from Kita, who still did not know what her dream was, none of the members of Kessoku Band could resist a Hachiman who wholeheartedly supported them from behind.
"Alright... then I... I can go over with you first and take a look? Suddenly saying that I should develop that kind of relationship with Hikigaya-kun, I really am not mentally prepared."
Seeing that Ijichi Nijika was unwilling to say more, Kita Ikuyo could only regretfully suppress her curiosity. After struggling with herself for a while, she showed Ijichi Nijika an awkward smile.
After hearing Bocchi-chan's and the others' thoughts, logically she should have clearly stated whether she was joining or not.
But this was really not something she could decide immediately. She did not want to make a hasty decision now and regret it later.
"It is fine. If you have not made up your mind yet, Kita, there is no need to rush tonight and have Hachiman turn you into a magical girl."
Ijichi Nijika nodded and did not rush Kita Ikuyo to join.
"Later, when we go to the Service Club, I will help you get an empathy bracelet. After you put on that empathy bracelet and seriously experience it, you will know whether you want to join the Service Club or not."
It would be best if Kita could join sooner, but it was not absolutely necessary for her to join today. It was just that as more and more magical girls appeared in the future, competition would become too intense and it would be harder to join.
She could not say much about other things, but letting Kita become a magical girl should still be no problem.
As long as she invited Hachiman to attend their band party and properly asked him, Hachiman would definitely be willing to help them eat up Kessoku Band's last remaining member, Kita, and let Kessoku Band completely eliminate any gaps between them.
"An empathy bracelet? Is it a special item for transforming into a magical girl?", Kita Ikuyo blinked, somewhat confused.
"You will know once you go to the Service Club."
Ijichi Nijika was a bit vague about it and did not want to explain too much on the spot.
In fact, Iris had prepared some empathy bracelets and empathy collars for her, so she could distribute them to close friends she wanted to pull in.
But she was afraid her sister would discover those bracelets and collars. If her sister got curious and put one on, it would be hard to take it off afterward.
Even though Ryou always wanted to sell her sister, saying things like the sisters could both follow Hachiman together without being separated, that Hachiman would support the sisters playing in a band together with no family conflicts and so on, tempting her to the point where she almost felt her heart waver.
She still felt that her sister might not be as accepting as they were. If her sister found out that Ryou, Bocchi-chan, Yumiko, Marin, and the others all had special intimate relationships with Hachiman, she might not even allow her to maintain her current relationship with Hachiman anymore.
"What time are you going? Do not you have exams tomorrow? Is it really fine to go over so late?"
Seeing that the chattering discussion in the corner among Ijichi Nijika and the others had gradually come to a stop, Inoue Takina immediately spoke up to ask.
Although going to the Service Club seemed to only require triggering the thought of entering the Service Club to teleport there.
She did not understand the situation of the Service Club, and for the first visit, it would be better to have someone lead the way.
"No rush. Pulling an all-nighter is fine. Um, actually, pulling all-nighters is pretty much the norm on Hachiman's side. If you are still sleepy in the morning, you can drink a few sips of a specially made energy supplement and you will recover quickly."
Ijichi Nijika shook her head. Last time, her sister had called to ask about the situation in detail, and she had almost exposed the fact that they were all staying at Hachiman's house.
This time, she learned her lesson. They could all stay at her place, and then when it was time to sleep later, they could teleport to the Service Club together. Anyway, Hachiman was usually very busy at this time. Even if they went to the Service Club, they would probably have to wait a long time.
"Then Chisato and I will go back first to take a shower and rest a bit," Inoue Takina nodded, not noticing anything amiss.
Lycoris missions did not distinguish between day and night. When there was a mission, they had to go. But generally speaking, unless something unexpected happened, there would be enough time to rest.
"Wait, Takina. Let me make a group chat. I will add you so it is easier to stay in touch."
Ijichi Nijika looked at Inoue Takina, who was about to leave, and suddenly called out to her. She hurriedly took out her phone, created an extra group chat, and added the current members of Kessoku Band as well as Inoue Takina into it.
Without realizing it, she had been making more and more small group chats lately.
A work group with her sister and PA-san, a girls' group with Yumiko and the others, the club group for the Service Club, the Kessoku Band group at Sobu High, and now this small entry group that was about to join the Service Club and become magical girls.
Every group chat that she had marked with special labels seemed to represent a different kind of gathering.
However, her situation was probably not unique. Hanabi, who had once transferred from Advanced Nurturing High School, seemed to have an even more complicated situation over there.
"Nijika, add me too."
"Chisato? You want to join as well?"
Ijichi Nijika was just about to put her phone away when she suddenly noticed Nishikigi Chisato coming over, feeling surprised and caught off guard.
Chisato had reacted quite strongly earlier to the matter of having to pay a special price to become a magical girl. Nijika had thought Chisato could not accept it. She did not expect that without anyone even trying to persuade her, Chisato would instead want to join.
"Yes! And I want to become a magical girl before Takina!"
Nishikigi Chisato nodded hard. Her face, which was usually full of a lively and energetic smile, was now filled with determination.
She and Takina were partners. She could not just watch Takina enter the Service Club alone.
Paying a special price to become a magical girl... Although she felt that Mr. Hikigaya probably was not a bad person, this kind of thing was still somewhat hard to believe, and she still had her doubts.
What if this magical girl thing was not truly without side effects? What if gaining powerful strength as a magical girl came with the risk of losing one's life?
Since she could not stop Takina, she would pay the price and become a magical girl before Takina. Only after she confirmed that the power of being a magical girl was truly not dangerous would she allow Takina to become a magical girl.
"..."
Inoue Takina looked expressionlessly at Nishikigi Chisato beside her.
She had just told her not to go to the Service Club, and now she wanted to rush ahead and become a magical girl first?
What did this mean? Was Chisato trying to compete with her over who was stronger?
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