[T/N: 🎊 HAPPY NEW YEAR chaps! 🎊 May this year be Healthy and Productive for you! Enjoy~]
But she was actually very good at studying, she just never showed it. She never expected that she herself would get completely absorbed into Hachiman's rhythm of explanation.
When listening seriously, she did not really feel it, but once she recalled it carefully, she realized that Hachiman actually spoke very fast, almost constantly flipping pages, only occasionally stopping a little so they could digest things before continuing.
Yet it was precisely like this, and he could still explain things in a simple, easy to understand way that completely mesmerized them.
This was no longer just the level of a famous teacher in the usual sense.
"Um... after this exam, can we, can we still ask you, Hikigaya-kun, to tutor us?"
Even Sakura Airi, who was the most introverted and shy, and had no confidence in herself at all, gathered her courage at this moment. She stared at Hachiman with intense longing, hoping he could continue teaching them in the future.
She was afraid of interacting with people, and afraid of other people's gazes. Even being looked at a few extra times by others made her feel uneasy and panicked.
But when facing Hikigaya, she did not feel any of that at all.
Especially when listening to the lesson and locking eyes with Hikigaya, she even forgot to lower her head and avoid his gaze, blankly meeting his eyes.
By the time she snapped back to her senses, Hikigaya had already shifted his gaze away and lowered his head to look at Kushida.
However, even though she knew she was not as capable or outstanding as Kushida, even though she was hopeless at studying, hopeless physically, someone who could not do anything... she still wanted to be friends with Hikigaya.
Seeing this, Karuizawa Kei could not help blinking, feeling very surprised and confused.
She had always spoken well of her master in front of Sakura Airi, but the introverted and self-conscious Sakura Airi had not shown much reaction, just nodding timidly.
She never expected that before she even finished helping her master properly guide Sakura Airi, Sakura Airi would take the initiative to get close to her master the moment she met him.
"Of course there's no problem. If you need help in the future, talk it over with Kei, find a time to hold a study session. As long as I have time, I'll come over."
Looking at Sakura Airi, who seemed to be drawn in by his reliable and gentle charm and actually dared to speak up in front of everyone, Hachiman smiled and nodded. While stroking Amaki Lily's head with one hand, he looked at Kushida Kikyo, who still had not gotten up from the floor.
"Kushida-san, sorry for making you sit on the floor the whole time this time. Next time, let's find a more comfortable place."
"Gulp! Uh! Hehe! Yeah, next time let's find a place where everyone can listen to Hikigaya-kun's lesson together."
Sneaking a glance out of the corner of her eye at Amaki Lily, who had no chance to speak and only cast a faint glance at her, Kushida Kikyo swallowed hard and did her best to maintain a kind, sunny smile on her face.
'I'm dead, I'm dead. It feels like I've been targeted by a succubus.'
This time she had almost embarrassed herself to death. Next time... next time who knows how many tissues she would need to prepare.
"A place where everyone can listen to Hikigaya-kun?"
Hasebe Haruka was startled when she heard Kushida Kikyo's words. Although she also really wanted to receive Hachiman's tutoring again, they could not skip classes all the time.
Today, since the library was full of just their group, they could let Hikigaya talk for a while. But if there were other students around, it would not really be appropriate to have Hikigaya teach in the library.
But where could they find a place for everyone to listen together? This time, Sato Maya and the others had to kneel on the tables, and Kushida Kikyo even sat on the floor.
"How about... next time we invite Hikigaya-kun to our dorm?"
Seeing everyone hesitate, Kushida Kikyo lightly let out a breath, pulled herself together, and cheerfully made a proactive suggestion.
"At school we still have classes, so it's not very convenient. After school, Hikigaya-kun can come to our dorm to teach. We can also properly host Hikigaya-kun and thank him for tutoring us."
Now that she knew the secret between Amaki Lily and Hachiman, she strongly suspected what kind of treatment she might receive.
The others could not even see Amaki Lily. That meant if Amaki Lily wanted to do something to her, she would have no way to resist at all.
However, if everyone suffered together, then she would not have to worry about being discovered by others. Everyone dying together was better than her dying alone.
'Invite Hikigaya-kun to their dorm for a study session?'
Kushida Kikyo's sudden suggestion left Hasebe Haruka, Sakura Airi, Sato Maya and the others stunned. They looked at each other, at a loss over whether they should agree or refuse.
Even though they had just been immersed in Hachiman's teaching and desperately wanted him to come again, to let them experience that top student feeling in depth once more.
Yet they had not thought about letting Hachiman teach inside their dorm.
Although as a dormitory apartment, each of them had her own room, the students and teachers living in the apartment were all girls. Inviting a boy over could be troublesome if there were misunderstandings or any incidents.
Especially now that the discipline management at Sobu High was even stricter than at their previous schools. Bringing the opposite sex into the apartment arranged by the school, if discovered, might even result in expulsion.
However, Karuizawa Kei, who knew exactly how deep Hachiman's connections with the student council and the disciplinary committee ran, reacted immediately and quickly voiced her support for Kushida Kikyo's suggestion.
"Kushida-san is right. Hikigaya-kun's tutoring ability is so strong. Not having a suitable place would just limit his performance. Besides, Maya, weren't you uncomfortable just now listening while lying on the table?"
"How about inviting Hikigaya-kun to my room next time? Let's hold a study session together. After studying, we can also properly repay Hikigaya-kun."
"Anyway, Kirisu-sensei, Chabashira-sensei, and Hoshinomiya-sensei all live together with us. We just need to report it to them beforehand. Nothing will happen."
No matter what Kushida Kikyo's purpose was, this was the first time she found Kushida Kikyo so pleasing to the eye, actually taking the initiative to invite her master to their dorm to hang out with everyone.
Although she had no intention of pulling all the girls in the class over, not everyone needed her master's affection, the more people she could pull in, the better. The more people her master liked, the more time he would spend on them.
As for the few young, pretty, well-built teachers living with them in the apartment, hee hee~
"Going to Kei's room..."
"That actually sounds pretty good. After studying, we could even have a little tea party or something."
"But our rooms aren't very big. With so many people... we'd probably have to hold the study session by the bed. Hikigaya-kun would sit on the bed, and we'd sit below and listen."
Seeing Karuizawa Kei also speak up, the leading opinions of the two small groups aligned. Sato Maya, Shinohara Satsuki, and Mori Nene could not help seriously considering the feasibility of this suggestion.
If they reported it to the teachers in advance and explained things, they probably would not receive warnings or disciplinary action from the school.
With so many people gathering together, it would be a bit crowded. The good thing about the dorm was that it was more convenient and relaxed, without having to worry about not even daring to speak loudly.
"Then does Hikigaya-kun have time after school today? Most of us who transferred here haven't joined any clubs yet, so we're usually pretty free after school."
Seeing that everyone was not opposed and agreed to inviting Hachiman to their dorm apartment to hang out, Sato Maya asked impatiently.
She also wanted to be like everyone in the gyaru group and get to know Hikigaya, to maintain a good relationship with him.
As a gyaru, if you can't even keep up with the gyaru group's topics, what kind of gyaru are you?
She could not find the same collar that was recently popular on campus. When she asked where they bought theirs, they all said they forgot.
Wasn't that clearly excluding them transfer students? How could everyone forget where they bought it?
She did not know how Kei got to know Hikigaya, but their relationship seemed really good. She needed to ask Kei how to build a good relationship with Hikigaya, so she could show off her connection with him in the group later.
"Today... I might be a bit busy. After school I need to help out the girls' competitive swimming club, the tennis club, and the track and field club. And there will be guests at home tonight."
Hachiman did not know that Sato Maya was being "bullied" by her gyaru group. After thinking about his schedule for today, he replied thoughtfully.
"Tomorrow then. I should be free tomorrow night. What I taught you today will be enough for tomorrow's exam. After that, we can do two more nights of last-minute cramming. You should all be able to get pretty good results."
Ever since the girls' competitive swimming club became a branch of the Service Club and gained the ability to conduct club training sessions, training them had become much easier.
In fact, just with the boost from the Service Halo, their strength was already sufficient. The daily training was more about releasing their pressure and satisfying them.
However, the tennis club's training had not yet gotten on track, and the track and field club was showing only a little promise. He had not officially agreed yet to help train the track and field club's ace, Shinonome Shizuku.
After finishing the club activities, he also had to go home in the evening to have dinner with the three Tohsaka sisters. Yukino might even come along.
Normally, it was fine if he went home a bit late, as long as he went back and slept with them. If he was really busy, he could make up for sleep at school the next day.
But his relationship with Tohsaka Touka and the others was not that close yet. They were coming over to thank him, so how could he let them stay too late?
"Girls' competitive swimming club, tennis club, track and field club..."
"Hikigaya-kun, you can teach all of those?"
Hasebe Haruka and Sakura Airi looked at Hachiman in surprise when they heard that he still had to help several clubs after school.
Hikigaya taught them academics so well. Could it be that he was also amazing at sports? Otherwise, how could so many clubs ask him for help?
"Hehe, I just know a bit of everything. I can help everyone improve their training results a little."
Seeing the admiration in Karuizawa Kei and Sakura Airi's eyes grow even stronger, Hachiman smiled and did not explain much.
In the past, he was not very comfortable admitting it, since he relied purely on the Service Halo to improve training results by enhancing physical fitness.
The improvement in results was real, but the method of improvement was not easy to explain.
But now, with the Teaching Halo, he truly could call himself a master teacher. Temporarily enhancing learning aptitude, he could easily help people get started in anything and raise their original ceiling in a short time.
Both the Service Halo that improved strength and the Teaching Halo that improved talent were extremely powerful abilities. Combined together, they were even more overwhelming.
Plus the subtle Absolute Taming ability, he did not even need to worry about causing any negative consequences by teaching people recklessly. Even if Inoue Takina, a Lycoris who was like a killing machine, wanted to learn magic, he would not hide anything.
Just problem girls. He had plenty of experience. Getting them away from the DA organization was only a matter of time.
If it were not for the fact that he lacked such grand ambition, he felt he could even go spread faith and become a god.
Of course, being a demon king also seemed not bad. He wondered how Komachi was getting along with the few magical girls in the class and the future Supreme Commander of Tres Magia.
Tonight, maybe he could have Komachi bring them over to play at home, get familiar with each other first, and then decide how to deal with them in the future.
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow night we'll prepare food and drinks and wait for you to come hang out in Kei's room, Hikigaya-kun~"
Sato Maya did not think as much as Sakura Airi and the others. She decisively confirmed the study session plan for tomorrow, and did not even say it as inviting Hachiman to tutor them, but rather invited him over to hang out as a friend.
If Hikigaya could attract so much attention and even have such a good relationship with rare demi-humans in society, then having some abilities they could not understand was only natural.
Unfortunately, Hikigaya was very handsome and totally her type, but she had no confidence at all that she could win him over, not to mention the courage to express her feelings.
Not to mention the elf princess, the mermaid idol, the student council president, the politician's daughter. Just among the gyaru group alone, there were Kitagawa Marin, Kita Ikuyo, Yuina, and more.
There were already plenty of gyaru who liked Hikigaya and had close relationships with him.
She thought she was fairly pretty herself. Back in middle school, quite a few boys had confessed to her, but competing with one or two people was already hard enough. With that many rivals, what was there to compete for? The hope was too slim.
Kei's relationship with Hikigaya was really good. As long as she maintained a good relationship with Kei, that was enough. If Kei wanted to compete, she could help come up with ideas. She herself definitely would not compete.
"Alright then, I'll be leaving first. See you, everyone. If anything comes up, Kei, contact me."
Hachiman smiled and nodded, firmly patted the still-snacking Amaki Lily, and stood up while reminding Karuizawa Kei.
Actually, the library study session this afternoon had lasted a long time. Now there was still almost half a class left before school ended. Sato Maya had rarely experienced that feeling of knowledge pouring into her brain, so it felt like time flew by and she was left wanting more.
Yet he had not wasted any time at all. Not only had he built good relationships with Sato Maya, Hasebe Haruka, and the others, making thorough preparations for a future surprise home visit to Kirisu Mafuyu, the hopeless-at-housework teacher.
He had even gotten a white-stockinged succubus shorty who came to him on her own. With the succubus little sister here, were the remaining two succubus older sisters far behind?
It was just a pity that situations like today, where Karuizawa Kei's entire class held a study session together in the library, were rare. By the time they came to the library next time, there would probably only be the literature girl Shiina Hiyori still soaking in the library.
Sakayanagi Arisu, that sickly white-stockinged shorty, probably would not come to the library to wander around either.
Before leaving, Hachiman smiled and waved in the direction of Sakayanagi Arisu and Shiina Hiyori, then glanced once more at the lonely black-haired straight-haired girl sitting in the corner, completely immersed in studying, before truly leaving.
Hmm... aside from the black-haired girl, in terms of having no friends, Horikita Suzune and Yukinoshita Yukino were really quite alike.
In the corner of the library, a cold beauty with waist-length black hair, a bow on the right side and a long braid, and an aura that screamed "don't talk to me," seemed to sense Hachiman's undisguised gaze. She slowly lifted her head from her workbook, blankly watched the receding figure, picked up the water bottle by her hand and took a few sips, then took a deep breath and lowered her head again to continue solving problems.
She had to get good results. She was not an idiot placed into Class D.
Even though she had been temporarily assigned to Sobu High, Chiba's number one school with tons of top students and intense academic competition, she would definitely prove that she was more outstanding than her peers.
Sakayanagi Arisu, while recalling Hachiman's seemingly meaningful look before he left, got up with her cane and slowly walked over to Kushida Kikyo, who was still sitting on the floor, frowning slightly as she asked.
"Kushida-san, just now, was it really low blood sugar?"
"Uh... of course it was..."
Kushida Kikyo blankly looked at Sakayanagi Arisu towering over her, then glanced at Karuizawa Kei beside her, who had a very good relationship with Hachiman. Thinking of how everyone had been completely immersed in Hachiman's tutoring and had not noticed any movement from Amaki Lily under the table, she fell silent for a moment, chose to keep the secret, and changed the subject.
"By the way, Hikigaya-kun is coming to Karuizawa's room tomorrow after school to tutor us. To avoid misunderstandings, could you, Class President Sakayanagi, explain it to the teachers?"
Up to now, she still did not know how Amaki Lily managed to disappear in front of everyone. How could she dare to casually expose the secret of Hikigaya and Amaki Lily?
When Hikigaya left just now, Amaki Lily, who had been kneeling on the floor the entire time, suddenly climbed onto Hachiman's lap. Her slender, fair arms and her straight legs wrapped in white over-the-knee socks tightly clung to Hachiman like an octopus, and then she could no longer see Amaki Lily.
No one could really see Amaki Lily. It was not that they could see her and pretended not to.
The reason she could see Amaki Lily kneeling on the floor earlier might have been because Amaki Lily touched her, and because she was sitting on the floor right next to Hikigaya, letting her see Amaki Lily whom no one else could perceive.
"It seems Hikigaya's teaching ability is very strong. No wonder you were all so engrossed just now. I will talk to the teachers about this."
"But Kushida-san, you also need to pay attention to balancing work and rest. Don't push yourself too hard studying. Having a healthy body is something to cherish. I'm quite envious of you for having such healthy bodies."
Confirming that Kushida Kikyo was clearly hiding something, Sakayanagi Arisu did not continue to dig deeper. She smiled and expressed some concern before returning to Kamuro Masumi's side.
"Kamuro, let's go back."
"Huh? So early? School's only just about to end, there's no rush to leave. Besides, Sakayanagi, you'd just be idle when you go back anyway. Why not stay here and teach me a bit more?"
Kamuro Masumi, who was still working on her problems, looked up when she heard Sakayanagi Arisu's words, feeling rather reluctant about the unfinished exercises in front of her.
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