Those schools, aside from Shuchiin Academy, they're basically all girls' schools, and most of them are private schools that only rich young ladies can get into.
If she agreed to these schools' exchange student applications, a lot of people who wanted to get into Sobu High would probably enroll in those schools first, then come to Sobu High as exchange students.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Even though she really wanted to expand her own side's influence to defeat Iris, she also didn't want to suddenly let too many human girls come over.
Even though there were already a ton of beautiful girls around Hachiman, and Hachiman was still very good to her without chasing novelty, she felt it would be better to ease Hachiman's burden a bit and not put too much pressure on him all at once.
Besides Kaede, Suzu, and Rurikawa Tsubaki, there was also a demon girl wearing tabi socks and wooden clogs, her chest stretching the white shrine maiden outfit with red trim, a pair of oni horns on her head. She was the oni clan girl, Origamine Ouka.
"On my side, there are actually quite a few demi-humans who want to join Sobu High through me. I turned them all down, but I filtered out a list of demi-humans who aren't strong and have gentle temperaments," Seeing Kaede troubled by the human factions, Origamine Ouka hesitated for a moment, then took out a small notebook and handed it to Kaede.
"If you're planning to balance the number of demi-humans and humans at Sobu High, you can choose some demi-humans here who haven't awakened their bloodlines. I also lean toward letting those demi-humans who don't have much self-defense ability and usually need to hide their identities join Sobu High and receive protection."
She wasn't just an oni clan shrine maiden. She was also a member of the student council.
Invited to join the student council as vice president, she normally didn't come to the student council office very often. She mainly handled maintaining order between demi-humans and humans on campus, preventing violent conflicts caused by discord between the two sides.
With so many snow women and vampires coming to Sobu High today to handle enrollment procedures, even though many of them were incomplete awakenings and not particularly strong, they were still extraordinary beings. As vice president, Origamine Ouka naturally had to go along to support Kaede, Suzu, and Rurikawa Tsubaki.
That idea itself wasn't wrong. The other student council members were all ordinary people. Managing ordinary students was fine, but when facing demi-humans with extraordinary powers, it was still necessary to have demi-humans help.
However, Kaede, who had now become a magical girl, was faintly regretting it.
Not only did she regret having Origamine Ouka come help today, she even regretted letting Origamine Ouka join the student council in the first place.
"Mhm! Thank you, Ouka. Today, Shion had the maids prepare quite a lot of delicious lunch. Let's have a good meal together, then go welcome the afternoon exams."
Kaede looked at the notebook full of demi-human profiles, kept a smile on her face as she thanked Origamine Ouka, and silently sighed inside.
Were there really this many demi-humans in this world? She hadn't seen a single one before.
Though, to be fair, she also hadn't seen many rich young ladies before either. Before seeing those stacks of enrollment applications, she had no idea there were so many rich people in this world.
Those private girls' schools full of young ladies from wealthy families, any random student there was richer than her family.
But right now, what she cared about and felt conflicted over the most wasn't the demi-human issue, nor was it worrying about those exchange students who wanted to climb into Hachiman's bed.
She had asked Hachiman to come to the student council office at noon. Originally, she was thinking she couldn't let Iris and the others monopolize Hachiman all day, and at the same time, she could try dealing with Hachiman after he'd already been worn down all morning.
But because Origamine Ouka had been discussing how to deal with the increasing number of demi-human transfer students and human transfer students at Sobu High, they couldn't just use teleportation magic to return directly to the student council office.
Even now, when they were almost at the student council office door, they still didn't know how to get her to leave.
Origamine Ouka was also a student council member, and on top of that, she didn't really have demi-human friends at school. After finishing work together, it was perfectly natural and reasonable for everyone to go to the student council office to eat together. There was simply no reason to refuse.
They couldn't exactly say that they were planning to throw a party in the student council room and tell Origamine Ouka, an outsider, not to interfere and hurry up and leave.
"..."
"..."
Kaede and Rurikawa Tsubaki silently exchanged looks. Both of them showed troubled expressions, not knowing how to subtly hint for Origamine Ouka to leave.
Although in private they played very hard, and without realizing it they'd all been dragged down by Iris, the elf princess, to the point that every day they couldn't fall asleep unless Hachiman had been completely drained.
At least on the surface, in the eyes of others, they still maintained their original appearances.
It was one thing to embarrass themselves in front of Iris and the other demi-humans. Iris was only a bit stronger than them, and when facing Hachiman she was no different either. She just recovered stamina faster and could enjoy a few more rounds.
But now, in front of Origamine Ouka, who was upright, serious, and meticulous in her words and actions, they couldn't possibly destroy their own image.
The only one who wasn't afraid of embarrassment, Suzu, had no intention of speaking up. She just quietly watched her sister and Rurikawa Tsubaki being awkward.
Because if it were her handling things, she wouldn't try to persuade Origamine Ouka to leave. She would choose to drag Origamine Ouka down with them.
They were all student council members. No matter how much they hid and schemed, it would eventually be exposed.
The only way to solve it once and for all and stop worrying about this kind of thing was to let Origamine Ouka join them, and get used to being honest with Hachiman just like they were.
However... Origamine Ouka was an oni clan shrine maiden. They couldn't just treat her as one of their own simply because she was the vice president of the student council and helped maintain harmony between demi-humans and humans.
Public matters were public matters, private matters were private matters. They couldn't be mixed together.
The service war between humans and demi-humans was incredibly brutal.
Thinking of last night, when so many magical girls formed a group and fought together, until in the end they were all bleeding, barely breathing as they lay by the edge of the bath, yet still couldn't break through even Hachiman's remaining sliver of health, Suzu suddenly felt that this service war would only end in mutual destruction.
However, before Kaede and Rurikawa Tsubaki could struggle to speak up and persuade Origamine Ouka to leave, as they were about to reach the student council office, the oni shrine maiden Origamine Ouka suddenly felt that something was wrong. She halted her steps, her hands unconsciously clenching beneath the long sleeves of her shrine maiden outfit, her eyes fixed straight ahead on the wooden door of the student council office not far away.
In a realm beyond what ordinary people could perceive, waves of surging, overflowing life energy were pouring out from the gap in the door.
'This aura... Is clearly an extremely pure life energy aura...'
Yet the feeling it gave Origamine Ouka was even stronger, even more terrifying, than the obscene aura she faced when exorcising the most powerful aberrations.
She hadn't even seen the true form. Just a little bit of the aura leaking out was already this terrifying.
'This Hachiman... just how did he train himself? It has only been one night, and the intensity of his life energy has actually skyrocketed again...'
"Ouka, what's wrong? You don't look quite right."
Kaede turned her head and looked at Origamine Ouka beside her, who had suddenly stopped walking, her face flushed with an abnormal redness, her body trembling uncontrollably. Something stirred in her heart as she asked with concern.
She had already prepared to behave herself today at lunch and just have a proper meal, not letting Hachiman give her, Suzu, Tsubaki, and Shion any special treatment.
She hadn't expected Origamine Ouka to be acting strangely, as if she had noticed something.
Hachiman couldn't already be playing around in the office with Shion and the other maids, right?
"N-no, it's nothing. I think I sensed Hachiman-san's presence in the office. I thought it was just the few of us eating lunch together at noon."
Origamine Ouka quickly formed hand seals inside her sleeves and cast several spells, using talismans to firmly suppress her body that was starting to stir again. She forced out a smile toward Kaede, though the unusual blush on her face was impossible to hide.
She was feeling some regret now as well.
To avoid being affected by that massive life aura on Hachiman, to avoid sensing his overflowing life energy from afar and triggering the accumulated obscene energy inside her body into a riot, she had sealed her senses immediately after entering Sobu High.
There wasn't really any problem with that. Sealing her senses wasn't the same as sealing her strength. Sobu High was enveloped by Hachiman's overwhelming life aura. That blazing life presence kept all vengeful spirits and monsters away from Sobu High. Only the school buildings at the back weren't fully covered yet, so there was no need to worry about vengeful spirits entering the school.
But Kaede, Suzu, and Tsubaki hadn't told her that Hachiman would be in the student council office at noon. That was why she only discovered his presence now, when she was already so close...
She herself had said earlier on the way that she was free at noon. She was the one who had suggested eating lunch together with Kaede, Suzu, and Tsubaki.
Now they were already at the door of the student council office. To suddenly say she wasn't going because Hachiman was inside.
That change in attitude would be far too obvious and abrupt. It would definitely make Kaede and the others misunderstand and think she had something against Hachiman.
But it wasn't that she disliked Hachiman. She was afraid of coming into contact with him. She was afraid that when the time came, she wouldn't be able to hold herself back, and would lose control in front of Kaede and the others.
"Actually... we didn't expect those snow women and vampires to arrive early. We'd already arranged with Hachiman to eat lunch together in the office," Kaede stared at Origamine Ouka, who was breathing rapidly, her body trembling, her gaze unconsciously drifting toward the office door. Her tone was subtle as she explained.
She hadn't reacted at first. Origamine Ouka was an oni, and also a shrine maiden from a demon-exorcising lineage, righteous and serious. No matter what, she wouldn't have immediately thought in that direction.
But in reality, they had seen too much around Hachiman. They'd heard the decadent songs of a mermaid diva echoing in their ears, and had even seen an angel's white halo defiled. How could they not recognize Origamine Ouka's current state?
Although she didn't know why Origamine Ouka had suddenly become like this, even someone as evil as Iris wouldn't start getting aroused in public from such a distance, without even seeing Hachiman.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. They seemed to be able to take advantage of this opportunity to truly pull Origamine Ouka over to their side.
Origamine Ouka was the strongest shrine maiden of the oni clan. Even when facing the elf princess or the dragon clan leader, she wouldn't fall behind. If she joined them...
"Ouka, let's go in and eat together. You'll definitely like it."
Seeing that her sister was already preparing to act, Suzu also spoke up, something rare for her, and together with Kaede, supported Origamine Ouka from either side as she was already having trouble standing.
"W-wait... don't go in..."
Origamine Ouka looked at the Kaede and Suzu sisters holding her and slowly walking her toward the student council office that was emitting a terrifying aura. Her face changed drastically, but her whole body was already soft and powerless. She couldn't muster any strength to refuse Kaede and Suzu's enthusiastic invitation.
"..."
Rurikawa Tsubaki had noticed it too. She also knew that Origamine Ouka's loss of control at this moment might require Hachiman's help, just like Iris and Elio. But she didn't join in pulling her along. After hesitating, she simply stepped forward and pushed open the door to the student council office.
She herself had once been pressed down onto Hachiman by Ursula. She hadn't been angry. She'd just felt very guilty about having taken that step first, behind her good friend Kaede's back, with Hachiman.
With the values she'd been raised with since childhood, she could only support and approve of Maid Shion spending money to buy maids.
Having household servants who served the family for generations was one of the symbols of aristocratic status. Lifetime maids who had essentially signed themselves away naturally had to serve Hachiman wholeheartedly and obey his words.
Although buying up those maids' debts was somewhat of a loss, since properly cultivating lifetime maids wouldn't cost that much under normal circumstances, she didn't mind as long as it made Hachiman happy. After all, the Rurikawa family's current prosperity was all thanks to Hachiman.
As Rurikawa Tsubaki thought about whether the maids Shion had recruited were serving Hachiman well, she pushed open the door to the student council office.
However, when she saw Ebihara Urara inside, wearing a white-stocking maid outfit, both hands covering her face as she dared not look toward the door, Rurikawa Tsubaki opened her mouth wide in shock.
"Ebihara-sensei... y-you... why are you here?"
She never could have imagined that Ebihara Urara-sensei, who had originally just been an ordinary maid, had actually become one of Hachiman's exclusive maids as well?
Didn't Ebihara Urara-sensei have a fiance?
Why was she here?
Honestly, Ebihara Urara wanted to ask herself the same question.
Coming to be Hachiman's exclusive maid to repay her debts, she herself could accept some relatively intimate contact.
A maid serving her master couldn't keep a proper distance, much less an exclusive maid personally serving Hachiman. Some awkward brushes and skin contact were normal.
She even... after learning that her fiance had been deceiving her from the very beginning, felt her heart turn to ashes, and deep down she vaguely had a self-destructive mindset.
The line she had always wanted to hold until marriage didn't matter anymore. She didn't want to mess around casually, but if Hachiman-kun really wanted it, she wouldn't reject him too forcefully either.
After all, if Hachiman hadn't gone to eliminate the cult organization at Black Iron Academy, even with Hiratsuka-sensei's obstruction, she very likely would still have gone to teach at Black Iron Academy with a lucky mindset, and in the end been dragged into that cult organization.
But... but this kind of teacher disqualification now... was completely different from what she had imagined.
From now on, in front of Student Council President Kaede and Suzu and the others, there would never again be any teacherly authority.
"Master, are you satisfied? Not only does our dorm apartment house Chabashira-sensei, it also houses Hoshinomiya-sensei and Kirisu-sensei. If Master wants, I'll work hard to make them all your exclusive maids."
Kushida Kikyo, wearing a maid outfit, had taken off her shoes. Her black-stockinged feet stepped onto the sofa as she knelt between Hachiman's back and the sofa. While pressing her hands against Ebihara Urara's rounded, delicate long thighs, she used the rebound of the soft sofa to gently massage Hachiman's back. With her lips slightly parted, she leaned close to his ear and whispered softly.
The four student council members lingering and pulling at each other outside the office door, not coming in for so long, naturally didn't escape the notice of Kushida Kikyo, Ebihara Urara, and Hachiman inside the student council office.
Hearing that someone was about to come in, Ebihara Urara's body stiffened. She immediately wanted to get down from Hachiman in a panic.
But would Kushida Kikyo let Ebihara Urara escape?
After finally getting Ebihara Urara to accept the punishment, how could she possibly let her run away just like that?
She directly pressed down on Ebihara Urara's tense thighs, forcing her to sit in Hachiman's arms, making her watch helplessly as the office door was opened.
Letting Rurikawa Tsubaki, Kaede, Suzu, and the others who opened the door see Ebihara Urara's dark past.
"Kikyo, for now you should stick to recruiting students as maids. Chabashira-sensei and the others don't have debt pressure, and you don't know them well enough. They won't be easy to handle."
Hearing Kushida Kikyo not only dragging Ebihara Urara down with her but already setting her sights further, Hachiman turned his head to look at her cute, energetic face and sighed inwardly at this girl's execution ability.
Although Kushida Kikyo was a bad woman, and wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice others to achieve her own goals, she undeniably understood people very well.
Back in middle school, she could become friends with so many people around her, to the point where they'd even confide their unspeakable secrets to her. That alone was enough to prove Kushida Kikyo's ability.
After all, some people, even if they were richer or more elegant, would still be isolated and bullied.
If Kushida Kikyo hadn't cracked under the pressure and vented online only to be exposed, she probably would still be that sunshine, considerate little angel Kikyo, with no dark past, surrounded by classmates and friends.
"Mm, Kikyo will listen to Master~"
Kushida Kikyo really wanted to say she could do it, but seeing that Hachiman didn't strongly support her, she didn't argue further. She lightly kissed the corner of his mouth and sweetly responded.
Looking down on her? Thinking she couldn't do it? Then she'd do it and show him.
She alone might not be able to drag those three teachers down with her. After all, her individual strength was limited.
But things she couldn't do alone could be done by calling more girls to help.
Her class was full of girls, and their looks were all pretty good.
Setting aside the gyaru group that was very likely already infiltrated by Karuizawa Kei, who probably had something going on with Hachiman, there was the literary girl Shiina Hiyori, the athletic girl Ibuki Mio and many more.
Mm... the porcelain-doll-like Sakayanagi Arisu, fragile and delicate. Her body might not be very good, and she probably couldn't do any intense activity, but maybe Hachiman liked that sort of thing.
She could even have Horikita Suzune, who had come from the same middle school as her and was very likely to expose her middle school dark history, become Hachiman's maid as well.
As long as she made Horikita Suzune become Hachiman's maid and serve him together with her, then in the face of this even bigger dark history, Horikita Suzune definitely wouldn't expose her middle school past anymore, right?