Diary Of Service Club, Helping The Elf Princess

Saki Hayase hesitated for a moment, swallowed nervously, gripped the hem of her skirt tightly on her rounded thighs, and looked at Hikigaya with extreme anxiety.

Previously, the club president had only said that she was a member of the Service Club. But yesterday, the president had risked danger to deal with Miwa and the others for her sake. She felt she could be a bit bolder now.

"...Do you think we're not friends yet? Are you doing this with me without considering me a friend?"

Hearing Saki Hayase's question, Hikigaya remained silent for a long time. He opened his love list and repeatedly looked at Saki Hayase's name on it.

[Saki Hayase, Close Friend, Service Club]

Clearly, his relationship with Saki Hayase had deepened. The level of "close friend" should be higher than "friend," right? Why was this guy still acting like they weren't even friends?

"Huh? Are we already friends?"

Saki Hayase looked at Hikigaya in surprise. Hadn't the president previously said they were just a president and a member? Did she misunderstand?

Then when did she and the president become friends?

"It seems you didn't listen to what I said before."

Hikigaya sighed, got Iris to stand up from his other thigh, and then pushed Saki Hayase against the door.

"Ugh... President... I was wrong... Please calm down, ugh..."

Only when Saki Hayase was pressed against the door did she realize her mistake. To calm her president Hikigaya down, she could only endure another round of admonishment in helpless sobs.

"Hmm?..."

Iris stood nearby, watching Saki Hayase and Hikigaya, blinking in confusion.

Did she misunderstand?

The relationship between the president and Hayase-san didn't seem to be the romantic tension she had imagined—more than friends but not quite lovers. One of them didn't even consider the other a friend?

Iris squatted down slowly, observing Saki Hayase being educated.

Seeing her occasionally turn her head to softly plead for Hikigaya's forgiveness, not daring to speak up but obediently following every word, Iris thoughtfully nodded.

More than friends but not quite lovers—it didn't seem wrong either.

———

As lunchtime was about to end, Saki Hayase, who had finished being educated, tidied her clothes and hurried to the cafeteria to buy food.

Today wasn't like yesterday when there were cookies for lunch—just drinking milk wouldn't do.

"Saki-senpai."

Just as Saki Hayase bought bread and a drink in the cafeteria, she suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her.

Turning around, she saw a short-haired girl with a clean, sharp look and a poker face staring at her.

"Nanasaki?"

Saki Hayase instinctively called out the surname of this short-haired girl.

Ai Nanasaki was a first-year student, a new member of the girls' swimming team. Like Sakura Samachi and Ayano Haruwaka, she was strong and full of potential, highly valued by Captain Sumika.

However, Ai Nanasaki was a quiet and seemingly aloof person. Saki Hayase didn't usually interact much with her.

"Yes, why are you eating so late, Saki-senpai?"

Ai Nanasaki nodded slightly, looking with some confusion at the bread and drink in Saki Hayase's hands.

They had taken some time earlier to test their performance at the swimming pool, but they had all finished showering and changing together.

Now she had already finished her lunch, yet Saki-senpai was just arriving at the cafeteria?

"Uh... I got scolded by the president for a long time..."

Mentioning this, Saki Hayase couldn't help but blush. If there hadn't been afternoon classes, she might still be getting scolded.

She had to admit that the president was quite something. According to Iris, the elf princess, the president had been assisting Iris all morning. Before she and Iris were educated together, Iris had already received a fair amount of help.

But having experienced it personally, she found the president showed no signs of exhaustion, even more intense than yesterday, leaving her unable to get a word in edgewise during the scolding.

"By the president?"

Ai Nanasaki froze, her expression turning odd.

"Uh, um, Nanasaki, I'll head back to the classroom for lunch now. Bye-bye."

Realizing she had let something slip, Saki Hayase quickly greeted her and left, not planning to elaborate further with Ai Nanasaki.

Class was about to start. If she didn't return to eat soon, she'd have to go to class hungry. Having expended a lot of energy swimming, she needed to eat more to recover.

However, despite being scolded by the president for so long today, she was still happy that he acknowledged her as a friend.

Ehehe... She was the president's friend... Doesn't that mean she could be bolder in the future...

When Yuna and the others trained the president, she could help reward him and calm him down.

The elf princess Iris's request for assistance had only just begun. As she continued receiving help from the president, she could experience the same ultimate feeling daily with Iris.

"Saki-senpai, goodbye."

Ai Nanasaki politely bowed slightly to see Saki Hayase off, though her expression remained subtly peculiar.

"Nanasaki, why are you still here? Didn't you say you'd go back to the classroom to study?"

Sayuri appeared beside Ai Nanasaki, looking at her odd expression curiously.

She had eaten lunch with Ai Nanasaki. This new member of the swimming club had yet to integrate with the other members, and since their club activities had affected lunch today, Sayuri wanted to look after her more.

However, because she had been delayed chatting with Saki Hayase in the restroom, she hadn't finished her lunch quickly, so she had told Ai Nanasaki to go ahead.

She didn't expect Ai Nanasaki, who should have returned to the classroom, to still be here.

"I just saw Saki-senpai."

Ai Nanasaki looked at Sayuri beside her, her strange expression returning to calm, though a trace of doubt lingered in her eyes.

"Saki-senpai said she had been scolded by the president until now, but the president had just been eating lunch with her. How peculiar."

"Saki, huh? I'll have a good chat with her later."

Sayuri touched her chin, planning to meet with Saki Hayase and that so-called Service Club president.

The Service Club... Saki's personality was so introverted and indecisive. She hadn't expected the Service Club's president to make Saki so determined to join that club.

If she didn't pull her back, her star member might really belong to someone else.

However, no matter what kind of club it is, they can't just quietly snatch away her star member. She has to find an opportunity to have a proper talk with the other club president.

———

Hikigaya returned to Class 1-F just before the lesson began.

The gazes of Yuna, Yuina, and Rin immediately fell on Hikigaya, who was sitting in his seat.

They really didn't know where Hikigaya had been taken by the Elf Princess.

They had searched for him outside for quite a while but couldn't find a trace of him, almost resorting to checking the boys' restroom.

However, since the class bell had rung, and there was a rigid, rule-abiding disciplinary committee member in the class,

They had to wait until the break, or perhaps after school, to properly interrogate Hikigaya at his house.

They had gone so far as to eat lunch together, even bringing along Gabriel, Hikigaya's secret crush. And yet, he had just up and left without saying a word.

At this moment, Gabriel was also staring at Hikigaya, her blue-violet eyes blinking in confusion.

Why did her deskmate always seem so drained every time he went out at noon?

Yesterday, after he came back, Hikigaya's complexion was a bit pale.

Today, though, he seemed to be in much better condition with no obvious abnormalities. But that was because his aura had grown much stronger, even though the actual consumption was far greater than yesterday.

'Is Hikigaya-san just going out to fight?'

'How could merely doing good deeds drain him so much?'

The pure and innocent golden-haired angel's eyes were full of doubt.

Hikigaya naturally noticed the gazes from Gabriel and Yuna and her group. Currently, the only ones paying attention to him in this classroom were them and another individual, Kotegawa Yui, who for some reason had her sights set on him.

But he couldn't explain it to them either. Should he say he had been striving for the survival of the Elf race? That would be way too shameless.

Rather than explaining to Gabriel, Yuna, and the others what he had been doing at noon, it would be better to think about what to do after school.

If all went as expected, his childhood friend Kaede, after finishing her student council duties, would likely come to inspect the Service Club this afternoon.

Originally, he didn't feel particularly guilty. After all, he had only recently met Yukino Yukinoshita in the Service Club, and Saki Hayase had merely come to the Service Club seeking shelter. Telling Kaede about the two pretty girls in the club wasn't an issue for him at all. He could face her with a clear conscience.

But now things were different. The newly joined Iris had entered into a support relationship with him, and even Saki Hayase had been roped in by Iris.

Even without counting Iris' elder sister and bodyguard, Aegis, two of the three members in the Service Club had connections with him.

Even if Kaede was usually carefree, she'd notice something was up, right? After all, she wasn't a fool—she'd even become the student council president. Not to mention, Kaede had a sharp observer, Suzu, by her side.

And the two of them lived next door to him, able to come over anytime they wanted...

Hikigaya suddenly felt that hunting Minotaurs was simpler—no overthinking, just action.

Bring on more Minotaurs. With the death of the third one, new ones should be appearing soon, granting him more rewards. The Elf Princess Iris and Saki Hayase were both so fierce that without more Minotaurs to grind rewards, he might not be able to handle the people coming later.

Asouki Shiwa, Sakurase Shino, Ichinose Ayano, Horigome Chino, ...

Looking at the unfamiliar names on the Love List, Hikigaya checked their locations one by one, discovering that most of them were students, currently obediently attending classes.

He could confirm that most of the unfamiliar girls were vulnerable to harm, but the system hadn't given him any notifications yet, indicating that no Minotaurs had appeared for now.

In the past few days, there had only been one Minotaur, the third one, that he had discovered. It felt like this world was relatively peaceful—there weren't multiple incidents happening in a single day. If there were, Hiratsuka Shizuka might really bring out her iron fist.

Of course, regardless of the situation, athletic clubs were usually hotspots for incidents.

Hikigaya analyzed the club distribution in the Love List, planning to find time after school to wander around and see if he could catch another Minotaur.

At Sobu High, school let out before 4 p.m., when club activities began, which was likely the peak time for incidents.

With his eagle-eye vision, he could quickly scan the campus, checking places beyond the patrol scope of disciplinary committee members.

Although he felt like he was better suited to being a disciplinary committee member, leading them to disrupt discipline might not be the best idea.

After reviewing the Love List, Hikigaya pondered the currently active tasks, figuring out how to complete them and which would be easiest.

———

Two classes later, it was finally time for dismissal.

As students packed their things, Yuna, Yuina, and Rin were doing the same. Once they were ready, carrying single-strap handbags, they rushed to Hikigaya's desk.

"GOGOGO!"

"Little Hikigaya, are you ready?"

"Today, we're going to train properly and aim to become super handsome guys by tomorrow."

Looking at the eager trio rushing over for their reward, Hikigaya could only smile wryly.

"I still need to stop by the Service Club. The student council president is coming over to the club today. You'll have to come with me first."

"The student council president? Uh… how about we go grab some desserts first?"

Hearing they'd be meeting the student council president, Yuna, Yuina, and Rin exchanged glances, their excitement abruptly vanishing. After a long silence, Rin tentatively suggested.

They were gyarus, bold and free-spirited girls, who didn't want to hang around the student council or disciplinary committee members managing campus order.

If the student council president happened to bring along a disciplinary committee member, they might even get reprimanded for their attire.

"Yeah, yeah! Let's go grab desserts first. We can meet up with little Hikigaya afterward and head home together."

Yuina quickly agreed. Those disciplinary committee members at school were just too annoying. The one in their class, Kotegawa Yui, was particularly troublesome. They always had to watch their behavior around her.

Since it wasn't convenient to do much in school, they decided to head out and have fun first, then meet Hikigaya later at his house.

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