"Um..."
"Airi, can I call you that? What Kei said just now wasn't wrong. I really do like your type, Airi."
"Eh? Y-you really like me?"
The courage Sakura Airi had just managed to gather completely collapsed the moment she met Hachiman's gaze. All that remained was overwhelming shyness and panic. She stared at the smile on Hachiman's face in disbelief, wondering if she had misheard him.
She had also heard Karuizawa compliment her earlier, saying she was obedient, sweet, and cute.
But in her view, that was simply girls comforting each other, just basic social courtesy.
Now that Hikigaya himself said he liked her, she genuinely felt like she was hallucinating.
"Do you really have no awareness of your own looks, Airi?"
Looking at the surprised and stunned Sakura Airi, Hachiman smiled and asked back.
Most of the time, he liked being on the passive side, lying back and enjoying things. But that didn't mean he was never proactive, or absolutely refused to be.
When dealing with girls who had passive, timid personalities, he would take much more initiative.
Even though he knew that girls like Sakura Airi, who were weak-willed and followed their hearts, were very easy to get close to under his dependent, friendly presence. He didn't need to rack his brain to lower their guard to gain their trust.
But with their personalities, even if they trusted him, they would still get nervous and shy and wouldn't dare take the initiative.
If he didn't take the initiative, he would have to wait a very long time for them to do so.
Of course, Sakura Airi, who followed her heart, was different from Bocchi-chan, who had social anxiety.
Bocchi-chan genuinely thought she was ugly and unattractive, and was deeply insecure from the bottom of her heart.
Sakura Airi, on the other hand, knew her own level of looks. She even had a completely different, dazzling side online. It was just that because of her personality, she didn't dare to communicate with people in real life.
"Mm..."
Hearing Hachiman's question, Sakura Airi's lips moved slightly, but she didn't know how to answer.
Because she was afraid of interacting with people and hated drawing attention, she did her utmost to dress herself as inconspicuously as possible.
Since everyone couldn't tell, she almost subconsciously believed that in everyone's eyes, she must already look quite bad. She never expected that Hikigaya, whom she had only met a few times, would notice that side she had hidden away.
On top of that, the especially reassuring feeling of staying by Hikigaya's side.
An indescribable feeling surged up in her heart.
"Um, I..."
"Did Hikigaya-kun really come?"
Just as Sakura Airi was about to gather her courage once again and ask Hachiman about that pet thing, to see if letting herself be a pet was also real, a girl with slightly wavy brown long hair pushed open the door from outside and hurried in.
"Maya came over that fast?"
Seeing Sakura Airi shrink back again, Hachiman shook his head helplessly with a smile and turned to look at the newcomer.
He could tell what Sakura Airi wanted to say, but Sato Maya's arrival immediately scared her back.
Forget it, no rush. There wasn't enough time right now to eat Sakura Airi anyway.
If he said too much, Sakura Airi might replay it all in her head afterward and chicken out again.
Going straight to the point later might actually be better.
With Sakura Airi's personality, she would probably feel more comfortable playing together with Bocchi-chan and the others.
Considering that Sakura Airi's photography skills should be quite good, when he and Bocchi-chan and the others held band parties, he could have Sakura Airi help take photos on the side as keepsakes.
"I was just taking a shower. After I finished, I saw the message Kei sent, dried my hair a bit, and came over. The others should be coming soon too... Huh? Where's Kei? Sakura-san is unusually proactive today, huh?"
Wearing a cool camisole nightdress, her fair, long legs extended from beneath the skirt at her thighs. Her still slightly damp brown long hair fell over her snow-white, round shoulders. The gyaru Sato Maya greeted Hachiman cheerfully.
But as she got closer, she suddenly noticed something was off. Sitting next to Hachiman wasn't Karuizawa Kei, but Sakura Airi.
This was Kei's room, right? Why wasn't Kei here, and instead Sakura Airi was?
Usually Sakura Airi dragged her feet with every class activity and was almost always the last to act. Yet today she was so proactive about remedial lessons. Was it because her grades were especially terrible and she was worried?
"Kei is still in the bathroom changing."
Hachiman smiled and pointed toward the bathroom, without explaining why Sakura Airi had arrived earlier than Sato Maya.
Sakura Airi lowered her head and didn't answer. With her bangs and glasses blocking her face, Sato Maya couldn't even see her expression clearly.
But she was already used to Sakura Airi's timid, silent demeanor. She directly ignored her reaction, glanced toward the bathroom, then immediately sat down on Hachiman's other side and smiled as she said:
"So that's how it is. Sorry for making you come out so late at night to tutor us, Hikigaya-kun."
"Oh right, while the others aren't here yet, is it convenient for you to tell me what your relationship with Kitagawa and Kita and the others actually is? They all seem to have pretty deep connections with you. But your relationship with Kei is also especially close."
With only the inconspicuous Sakura Airi present, Sato Maya couldn't hold back the curiosity she had been suppressing for so long.
She actually had some guesses in her heart. The things Kitagawa Marin and the others chatted about in the gyaru group weren't as explicit or direct as what Yuina and her group talked about, but they still revealed plenty of intriguing information. Still, she couldn't quite understand it.
Well... most gyaru didn't have great grades. Gyaru with good grades were rare. And Hachiman wasn't just handsome, his personality was good too, completely matching gyaru tastes. On top of that, he had teaching skills that made people unable to stop. It was totally normal for many gyaru to like him.
She herself couldn't deny that she had quite a bit of affection for Hachiman. Who wouldn't want such an excellent boyfriend?
But that was in one-on-one situations, or at least when there weren't many people competing.
Now in the gyaru group, aside from some lurkers who rarely spoke, it seemed that most of the active, nice-personality gyaru were very familiar with Hachiman.
Some gyaru were already complaining about how once again today the topic was Hikigaya, and those who didn't have a deep relationship with him or didn't understand him at all couldn't even get a word in.
If Hachiman weren't on good terms with so many people and so popular, those few gyaru with well-off families and rather nasty personalities would probably already be looking for trouble with him, trying to see what kind of charm he had that attracted so many people like Kitagawa Marin.
This wasn't just one or two people. It was a whole bunch of gyaru. And there wasn't even any tearing each other apart. At most, they occasionally talked big and showed off to each other about their own experiences with Hachiman.
Sato Maya had never seen anything like this. Now that Karuizawa Kei was in the bathroom and there was only Sakura Airi beside them, she couldn't hold back her curiosity anymore.
"There's nothing inconvenient to tell. Everyone is my good friend."
Hachiman glanced at Sato Maya and smiled noncommittally.
"Hikigaya-kun, you know that's not what I'm asking."
Hearing Hachiman brush her off with such a vague answer, Sato Maya couldn't help puffing out her cheeks. But she also knew she couldn't force him to say something he didn't want to.
Considering how complicated the situation with so many people was, Hachiman probably wouldn't tell her directly. After hesitating a bit, Sato Maya propped herself up and leaned close to his ear, asking in a low voice.
"I mean, um... have you and Kei gone all the way? And how many gyaru have gone all the way with you?"
Given the level of intimacy where Kei could call Hachiman over late at night to tutor them, even if it hadn't reached that stage, it should be pretty close. But something like this had to be confirmed properly.
"Wouldn't it be easier to ask Kei about that? Aren't you embarrassed asking me specifically?"
Hachiman looked at the gossip-loving Sato Maya with some amusement. He had thought she was interested in him, but it turned out she was just being nosy.
"If Kei were willing to say it, I wouldn't need to ask you."
Sato Maya rolled her eyes helplessly. She really had asked. But Kei asked her if she wanted to join in and play together, and said she would only explain clearly if she joined too.
Join in together... How ridiculous that sounded.
She did want a relationship. If Hachiman hadn't been involved with so many gyaru, she might have even taken the initiative to pursue him.
But the problem was that the number of people in the gyaru group who had some kind of relationship with Hachiman was definitely not small. There might even be some quiet gyaru who hadn't revealed themselves yet.
Putting aside her own feelings, if she dared to get close to Hachiman without saying anything first, those gyaru in the group might dare to bully her. Maybe even Kei would exclude her.
After all, everyone knew Kei came first. If she made a move on her good friend's man boyfriend, then even if she got bullied, many people would think she deserved it.
"Since Kei won't say it, then I won't either."
Hachiman looked at Sato Maya with a cheerful smile.
He didn't care about these things. Reputation didn't affect him at all. After all, he had Iris and the others backing him up. Now even the government had to look at his mood when sending people into Sobu High.
But since Kei didn't tell Sato Maya, he wouldn't casually reveal their relationship either.
Either he wouldn't say anything, or he wouldn't lie.
In the eyes of ordinary people, the idea of Kei becoming a pet and accepting care and protection was still very hard to understand, and would inevitably draw strange looks.
Unless someone had already become his person and gotten used to all the outrageous phenomena around him, calling him Master would just be seen as a normal, everyday thing.
"..."
Sato Maya looked at Hachiman speechlessly.
Was it because she wasn't close enough to him yet?
Why did he feel a bit different from how Yuina, Oaki Kikuka, Kitagawa Marin, Kita Ikuyo, and Momigaoka Risa described him in the group?
"What's wrong? Maya, what were you and Hachiman talking about?"
Karuizawa Kei had already changed clothes and came out of the bathroom. Seeing Sato Maya in the room didn't surprise her. She just pretended to ask curiously.
"Nothing. I was just wondering why Sakura came so fast."
Seeing Karuizawa Kei come out, Sato Maya, who was sitting beside Hachiman, quickly stood up, wanting to give up the seat next to him.
At the same time, a burst of playful noise came from outside the room. It seemed like the remaining members of Karuizawa Kei's little group were arriving together.
"You guys came way too late. The spot in Hachiman's arms has already been taken by Maya."
Hearing the familiar voices approaching, Karuizawa Kei's heart stirred. She suddenly pushed the just-standing Sato Maya hard, knocking her into Hachiman's arms, then turned to look at Matsushita Chiaki, Hasebe Haruka, and the others who were walking in from outside, a regretful smile on her face.
"Eh?"
"Maya is sitting in Hikigaya-kun's arms?"
"Do you like Hikigaya-kun that much? Maya actually took the initiative?"
"Kei, you're just watching this?"
The moment they entered, Matsushita Chiaki, Mori Nene, Shinohara Satsuki, Hasebe Haruka, and the others heard Karuizawa Kei's words and couldn't help but focus their gazes on Sato Maya, who had fallen into Hachiman's arms. Their suspicious eyes darted back and forth between her and Karuizawa Kei.
It wasn't that they hadn't noticed. Recently, Sato Maya had been paying special attention to Hachiman, occasionally asking them about their opinions of him.
But they never imagined she would be this bold. At today's study session, right in front of Karuizawa Kei, she directly sat in Hachiman's arms.
"..."
In Hachiman's arms, Sato Maya had both hands pressed on his shoulders, turning her head to stare blankly at Karuizawa Kei. Her whole mind had gone blank.
'No, you were the one who pushed me, okay? How did it suddenly turn into me stealing someone from you?'
Even though she had thought about it a tiny bit in her heart, she hadn't actually done anything.
'Is it not even allowed to think about it in your head?'
Just as she thought Karuizawa Kei was about to use this excuse to frame her and eliminate a potential rival, Karuizawa Kei smiled and spoke again.
"Don't misunderstand. There's no conflict at all between Maya and me."
"She's sitting in Hachiman's arms just to take a better learning position."
"Haven't you noticed? The closer you are to Hachiman, the more intimate the contact, the better the learning effect will be."
"If you don't believe it, later you can all take turns sitting in Hachiman's arms and try it out."
Although she didn't have Kushida Kikyo's affinity and social skills, nor Sakayanagi Arisu's methods,
she could still use her Master's powerful, abnormal teaching ability to let everyone deeply taste the wonderful experience of knowledge being poured straight into their brains.
As long as everyone became as dependent on Master as she was, unable to leave him, then the kind Master would surely come often to pamper them obedient pets, right~
Still, the number of people here was a bit small. It couldn't compare to those rich young ladies or demi-humans. She had to find a way to turn Sakayanagi Arisu, Kamuro Masumi, Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, Shiina Hiyori, and the others in the class into Master's pets too.
"The closer you are to Hikigaya-kun, the more intimate the contact, the better the learning effect?"
Hearing Karuizawa Kei explain Sato Maya sitting in Hachiman's arms like this, Hasebe Haruka, Matsushita Chiaki, and the others couldn't help but exchange doubtful looks.
They had thought the two were about to argue. After all, they all knew that Karuizawa Kei was the one closest to Hachiman, and it was only because of her that they could invite him to help with pre-exam tutoring.
Who would have thought... Karuizawa Kei would actually say that sitting in Hachiman's arms was normal, and even suggest everyone take turns.
"Mm... yeah. Didn't we get tutored by Hikigaya-kun in the library last time? The closer you are to him, the clearer you can hear, and the better the effect. Hikigaya-kun's arms are definitely the best spot!"
Sato Maya couldn't really refute Karuizawa Kei, so she could only steel herself and go along with it, putting on a smug look like she had seized the advantage.
"Uh hahaha... of course, I won't hog Hikigaya-kun all by myself. You'll all get your turn later."
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