Although this world is full of dangers, and as ordinary people they can easily run into trouble, if they were really in a serious situation, his System wouldn't be completely silent right now.
The character quest triggered by Kotori Minami could be easily completed just by resolving the school closure crisis. The others haven't triggered any character quests, which means even if they run into some trouble, it's nothing more than minor setbacks that don't require any concern.
Could it really be that they were convinced by the little landlady and came offering themselves up?
Actually, it would be better if they needed something from him. If they're just throwing themselves at him too simply, that would be harder for him to handle.
After all, he just doesn't initiate and doesn't refuse, he hasn't reached the point of shirking responsibility yet.
Hachiman's gaze swept across the women opposite him: Tsubakihara Mira, Takamine Kasumi, Mizushima Marika sitting on a chair by the hot spring, and Takanashi Ouka.
Finally, his eyes settled on Touma Yoko, with her crisp short hair and slender, lean figure.
While the others more or less showed signs of anticipation, nervousness, or shyness, Touma Yoko stood out as especially unusual, her expression remaining completely blank the whole time.
"President Hikigaya, my request... I'd like to entrust my daughter, Kazusa... to you."
Seeing Hachiman looking at her, Touma Yoko didn't hesitate much either. After a moment of contemplation, she slowly voiced her request.
"Although Miyuri said your aid comes free of charge, all of it uncompensated, my request will last a long time and is rather troublesome, so I hope President Hikigaya you would accept some form of compensation."
"I've saved up quite a bit over the years. Aside from the necessary expenses I'll leave for Kazusa, the rest of my assets can be transferred to you, President Hikigaya."
"If that's still not enough... whatever you want, as long as I can do it, I will do it."
"It's not about money. Entrusting your daughter Touma Kazusa to me... does your daughter know about this?"
Hearing Touma Yoko's request that seemed to have almost no limits, Hachiman looked down speechlessly at Asou Miyuri, who was lying limp and powerless in his arms, and saw her playing ostrich, completely ignoring him.
He could only look back at Touma Yoko, his eyes fixed on her slender, well-proportioned figure.
This was his first time meeting Touma Yoko, so why did she sound like she was making a deathbed request?
Was the subtext of this request that something was wrong with Touma Yoko's health? That she was about to die?
"Did the President figure it out? Yoko was diagnosed with leukemia. She didn't pay attention to it before, and by the time she took it seriously, it was already a bit late."
Tsubakihara Mira, with her brilliant long golden hair, dignified bearing, and refined features, saw that Hachiman instantly understood Touma Yoko's meaning and started sizing up Touma Yoko's physical condition. She smiled and explained.
"That's right. Although Yoko's condition hasn't had too much impact yet, it wasn't treated properly before, and now that it's worsened, the situation is somewhat tricky. The treatment options are quite risky, so on Miyuri's suggestion, Yoko is thinking of entrusting her daughter to you."
Takamine Kasumi, equally mature and voluptuous, standing beside Tsubakihara Mira, also chimed in to help explain. Originally, Asou Miyuri was supposed to be the one to explain at this point.
But since Asou Miyuri had just been disciplined not long ago and was now lying limp and weak in Hachiman's arms, it had to be them instead.
That was fine, though. Before coming, they already knew about Touma Yoko's request, including her medical condition.
Or rather, witnessing how Hachiman would fulfill Touma Yoko's request was also one of the reasons they were here today.
"There's no need to go into detail about the specific condition. Right now, I'm just asking President Hikigaya to take care of my daughter Kazusa after I pass, at least until she has the ability to live on her own. I wonder if you, President Hikigaya, are willing to accept this request of mine."
Touma Yoko didn't rush to answer Hachiman's question. After Tsubakihara Mira and Takamine Kasumi helped verbally vouch for her, she looked at Hachiman and continued.
Originally, she hadn't had such thoughts. After being diagnosed with leukemia, she only came back to Japan hoping Kazusa would accompany her through treatment.
But after hearing Asou Miyuri talk about the Service Club, the Magical Girl Headquarters, and seeing the photo of Hachiman that Asou Miyuri showed her, somehow she started thinking that perhaps her inadequate self could leave Kazusa some security in her final moments.
Although she felt she was losing her rationality, as if her head was clouded, the moment she actually saw Hachiman, the President of the Service Club, only one thought remained in her mind.
Yes, it's him. Even if the time is brief, a fleeting parting, that striking impression would occupy a scoundrel's entire life.
Her judgment wouldn't be wrong, and Kazusa has the same taste as her, so Kazusa would definitely fall for Hachiman just like she did.
She didn't know if the others thought the same, but she felt it was very likely they shared the same idea.
"Leukemia..."
Hachiman didn't rush to respond to Touma Yoko. Instead, he pondered her condition and her true thoughts.
He remembered now. In the original work, Touma Yoko seemed to have leukemia too.
However, he was an anime-only viewer and hadn't paid much attention to the original game's story. He wasn't very clear on whether Touma Yoko ultimately died or what the treatment outcome was.
He only remembered that Touma Yoko was a very willful person, even more so than Touma Kazusa.
If Touma Kazusa was a problem child and delinquent girl, aloof and cold, tough on the outside but fragile within, poor at socializing, self-loathing, then her mother Touma Yoko was the root cause of all that: a single-parent household where she abandoned her daughter, leaving her to live alone without any sense of security, completely unreliable.
He hadn't expected Touma Yoko to choose to sacrifice herself at this point.
"Although I don't have two daughters like they do to satisfy your love for sisters, and I don't have their impressive figures either, rest assured, aside from practicing piano, I've taken good care of myself. Whatever you want, as long as I can do it, I'll work hard to satisfy you."
Seeing Hachiman pondering in silence, Touma Yoko's cheeks grew warm, but she didn't hide or show any discomfort. Instead, she proactively swam over to Hachiman, took the hand he'd used to punish Asou Miyuri, and placed it on her own chest, letting him appreciate her better.
The Service Club already had many beautiful girls of various types, but it didn't have a pianist. Hachiman would surely be willing to accept her request.
"Since you're willing to give everything, why not commission me to save your life instead? Your request... it's kind of questioning my abilities."
Hachiman watched Touma Yoko, who was clearly seducing him yet still wore an indifferent expression, as if she wasn't the one with leukemia facing death, begging him for help. He couldn't help but feel speechless.
He did like sisters, sure, but it wasn't like he only liked sisters...
Why would Touma Yoko think about sacrificing herself?
"You mean... leukemia can be cured?"
Touma Yoko was stunned. She hadn't expected Hachiman to be considering whether her value was worth his intervention, but rather that he thought her request was too simple.
"Why couldn't it be?"
Hachiman pulled back his hand that Touma Yoko had pressed against her chest and asked with a smile.
"The one-and-done solution would definitely be becoming a magical girl, but that's not the only option. It could be magic, or it could be medical technology from outer space."
"Didn't Miyuri tell you I have an alien princess fiancee?"
"At Sobu High, there's also an underground space doctor with incredible medical skills. Leukemia isn't a problem for them."
The ordinary elf spring water brought by Ailith might not cure physical illnesses, and he didn't have any direct ability to heal physical conditions either.
But mere leukemia wasn't a difficult issue for Mikado Ryoko, who was unremarkable at Sobu High but actually possessed the number one medical technology in the universe.
He even thought that simply becoming a magical girl would make all of this a non-issue, given the extraordinary constitution of magical girls.
It was normal that Asou Miyuri didn't know about Mikado Ryoko; Ryoko had never visited the Service Club and always lazed around at school.
But Miyuri had become a magical girl herself, why didn't she first try having Touma Yoko become one?
Whether becoming a magical girl could extend one's lifespan was uncertain, but enhancing physical fitness and eliminating hidden health issues were effects Miyuri had personally experienced.
"..."
Asou Miyuri, lying in Hachiman's arms, rolled her eyes but said nothing.
Did Miyuri not understand what it meant to downplay expectations?
If you solve everything right from the start, how are you supposed to drag Touma Kazusa into this later?
First, have Touma Yoko entrust Kazusa to Hachiman-kun.
Then tell Kazusa, "You don't want your mother to die untreated, do you?"
One request, two payoffs, and the Toumas would be the ones begging for it. Just thinking about it felt great.
She hadn't expected Hachiman-kun to think the request was too easy and proactively offer to solve the follow-up problems.
Although she also liked this honest side of Hachiman-kun, she had to admit that messing around like this could easily throw off her plans!
"Magical girl..."
Touma Yoko pursed her lips. Her usually expressionless, cool face was now full of conflict.
She didn't pay much attention to Hachiman's mention of an alien fiancee or an underground space doctor.
In her view, those were just supporting evidence that Hachiman could treat her, the real cure was becoming one of Hachiman's magical girls.
Or rather, to accept Hachiman's aid, becoming a magical girl was practically inevitable.
Without needing Hachiman to explain, she already knew from Asou Miyuri what the process of developing magical girl talent involved.
Originally, with not much time left to live, she'd planned to give up on herself, sacrificing herself for Kazusa's sake.
Even if Hachiman did this or that to her, she didn't care, as long as Kazusa would be alright in the future, would accompany her during treatment, and if the treatment ultimately failed, she wouldn't have to worry about Kazusa's future anymore.
But now that she had a chance to survive, she had to consider how her choices would affect Kazusa's perception of her...
Tsubakihara Mira, Takamine Kasumi, and the others fell silent as well, simply watching Touma Yoko.
Originally, the request to Hachiman wouldn't last long, just long enough to keep things hidden for a while. But if she could continue living, she couldn't follow the original plan. If she didn't proactively come clean to Kazusa, could she hide it forever?
They all guessed what Yoko's final choice would be, but this wasn't something they could decide for her. They could only wait for her to slowly make up her own mind.
Suddenly sensing the mood growing heavy, Asou Miyuri propped herself up against Hachiman's chest with difficulty, turned her head to look at Touma Yoko beside her, and then at Tsubakihara Mira and Takamine Kasumi across the hot spring, cursing inwardly.
'Yoko, what are you hesitating for.'
'You were willing to give everything before. Now that you know you can survive, what's there to agonize over? Hurry up and take my place!'
Although Touma Yoko had talked about her educational philosophy toward her daughter, not wanting to interfere too much in her daughter's life, leaving the choice to Kazusa herself, Asou Miyuri felt this was just Touma Yoko trying to move herself.
Abandoning her daughter to fend for herself while she went abroad to pursue her own career was already a serious failure as a mother.
And now, leaving the choice of whether she lives or dies to her daughter was an even graver failure.
'Would your daughter Kazusa really rather watch you die than have one more father?'
'You've been willful for so many years, and now when you need to be willful the most, you start pretending to be a good mother.'
'And Mira, Kasumi, what are you two playing at, pretending to be refined ladies? What's with the restraint!'
'When you talk privately among friends, you're all so fierce. Sometimes your astonishing remarks are so bold even I can't he'lp but blush.'
'But now that you're baring it all to Hachiman and about to face him head-on, you're playing innocent!'
Sensing Asou Miyuri's exasperated glare, Tsubakihara Mira and Takamine Kasumi exchanged looks, their smiles tinged with awkwardness and subtlety.
They'd brought their daughters here, so naturally they'd already mentally prepared themselves. They believed that aside from Akina, who might have genuinely been coaxed in by Miyuri, the others had more or less considered the worst-case scenario.
With so many financial conglomerates sending representatives, they too had to think of themselves and their daughters, preparing in advance for potential dangers.
Originally, they'd planned to start by teasing Hachiman a bit, or proactively close the distance with him.
Their group of friends was sizable, and the hot spring inn was filled with familiar faces of various statuses, plus plenty of lively, youthful beauties. So why should they fear one Hachiman?
But the moment they entered the room and came to the courtyard, they saw Hachiman in the hot spring disciplining the two hostesses, Matsumae Ohana and Yukino Chitose.
Then they saw Asou Miyuri, normally precocious, courteous to outsiders, but arrogant and domineering with her friends, easily subdued, struggling to control herself just to avoid making noise, completely unable to speak.
Only then did they understand just how powerful the Hachiman that Miyuri had been bragging about really was. None of them dared to recklessly tease him at that moment.
Miyuri had always said Hachiman wouldn't go against their wishes, preferring the passive role over the active one, only taking initiative occasionally for fun.
But... now that they'd delivered themselves to him, if Hachiman made a move on them directly, could that really be considered going against their wishes?
If Hachiman actually did that, it wasn't like they could forcefully refuse, nor could they escape.
If that happened, Miyuri, who currently seemed weak and listless, would probably jump up immediately and help Hachiman pin their hands down.
None of the other friends present would take the fall for them. If anything, they'd be more likely to drag them down instead.
Either they'd help Miyuri pin them down, better a friend than yourself, or they'd hide as far away as possible, delaying the inevitable as long as they could.
'Kasumi, you go first. Push Yoko forward.'
'No, Mira, you go first.'
'I still have to consider Nina and Yuna's feelings. I need to take it slow.'
'I have Ayame and Sayuri too. If neither of us goes, then shall we drag Marika in?'
'Good! Later, find a chance to pull Marika and Ouka from the shore down together!'
Watching Tsubakihara Mira and Takamine Kasumi exchange frequent but useless glances, Asou Miyuri was furious.
But right now, she truly had no way to deal with these women.
Tsubakihara Mira and the others thought she had incredible endurance, managing not to make a sound even when she was almost unconscious moments ago.
In reality, she'd used a soundproofing spell to insure herself, so she wouldn't be too humiliated in front of her friends.
Though she also blamed herself for being so weak, so easily held in Hachiman's arms, molded and shaped however he pleased.
Damn it, damn it, damn it, until she dragged Mira and the others all down with her, this frustration would never subside!
"President Hikigaya, thank you very much for not immediately agreeing to my request and for honestly telling me about the other solutions. Either way, I will properly express my gratitude to you. But right now, my thoughts are a bit muddled... could I give you my answer a little later?"