"Ryo, are you all really going to stay over at Hikigaya-kun's place?"
Kita Ikuyo stared blankly at Ijichi Nijika, Yamada Ryo, and Gotou Hitori as the three of them, while joking around with Hachiman, decided on a sleepover, leaving her completely unsure what to do.
Including Hikigaya-kun, there were only five people in their band. Now four of them were going to stay together, and if she didn't go, it would seem a bit awkward.
But if she did go... honestly, she had just spoken to Hikigaya-kun for the first time tonight, and now she was suddenly going to stay at his house.
"Rock is about freedom. It's about being different from everyone else. Don't be bound by common sense," Yamada Ryo, seeing the hesitation and conflict in Kita Ikuyo's heart, spoke calmly.
"But since you only met Hachiman today, and you're not afraid of things like Ghosts, you don't have to come with us to his place if you don't want to."
"Rock...", Kita Ikuyo looked at Yamada Ryo's cool, unrestrained composure, her eyes flickering with hesitation.
The main reason she joined the band in the first place was because she admired Ryo, her aloof, independent figure walking a path unlike anyone else's in school.
Life in the band was so much more exciting than her own boring, normie lifestyle. Maybe... maybe she should follow in Ryo's footsteps and try living differently for once.
"Then I'll stay too! I'll call a friend and ask her to cover for me!"
"...", Yamada Ryo blinked, staring at Kita Ikuyo, who had suddenly made up her mind to stay. She could see the struggle in Kita's heart, but hadn't expected her to actually go through with it.
After all, Kita Ikuyo didn't have as much contact with Hachiman as they did, nor did she know him well enough to not worry about anything bad happening.
Suddenly, Yamada Ryo turned her head toward Hachiman and held out her pale little hand.
"Money."
"Huh?"
Kita Ikuyo froze, staring blankly at Ryo, who had suddenly demanded money from Hachiman.
"Nijika, look at Ryo," Hachiman, unmoved, poked the soft cheek of Ijichi Nijika standing in front of him and softly called out the name of the golden-haired angel, trying to summon her to punish the shameless Yamada Ryo.
Ijichi Nijika rolled her eyes at Hachiman teasing her, brushed his hand away, and ignored the two jokers teaming up to make fun of her.
Ryo had no shame, and Hachiman wasn't any better, always dragging her into handling Ryo when he could do it himself.
He was so assertive when asking for his "bullying" reward, even when he was soaked through and still wouldn't stop.
But since Ryo always sold her out, she'd have to find a way to get back at her sometime.
Yeah, together with Marin.
While secretly plotting how to deal with her mischievous friends, Ijichi Nijika tried explaining to her older sister, Ijichi Seika, about the sleepover, but it wasn't going well.
"Sis, the shop shouldn't be too busy tonight, right? Can I go hang out at Ryo's place?"
["I've already got Nanami helping part-time today, so it's not busy. But why do you suddenly want to go to Ryo's place? Usually, it's Ryo who comes to ours."]
Ijichi Seika's big-sister radar went off instantly, full of suspicion at her younger sister's unusual behavior.
["You're not pretending to go to Ryo's, when really you're going to sleep at Hikigaya's, are you?"]
["Nijika, put Ryo on the phone right now! I want to make sure you're not lying!"]
Sure, Hachiman might be amazing, the guy who took Nijika to front-row VIP seats at the Mermaid Diva's concert, even friends with the Elf Princess herself, but there's no way she'd allow such a womanizing boy to be her sister's boyfriend.
"...", Holding the phone to her ear, Ijichi Nijika cast a silent glance toward Hachiman and Yamada Ryo beside her.
She hadn't even said anything yet, and her sister had already jumped to that conclusion.
Was her special relationship with Hachiman really that obvious?
She thought she'd hidden it so well.
In the end, the sisterly guardian Ijichi Seika was persuaded and agreed to let Nijika stay out overnight.
Because Yamada Ryo, after receiving a dessert bribe from Nijika, calmly took the phone under Nijika's urging and explained that she had exams this week, so Nijika would be tutoring her and staying over that night.
Ijichi Seika didn't suspect Ryo of lying.
It was late already, and since Ryo and Nijika were still together, she assumed Nijika really would be staying at Ryo's house.
No matter how shameless or unreliable Ryo could be, she wouldn't let her good friend Nijika spend the night at Hachiman's house alone.
"Understood. I'll keep an eye on Nijika and make sure she doesn't get tricked by that Hachiman guy."
After calmly assuring Seika and hanging up, Yamada Ryo handed the phone back to Ijichi Nijika, then spread out her little hand again and rubbed her fingers together.
"Nijika, you know what to do."
"You still want money?"
Ijichi Nijika glared at Ryo, who had the expression of "pay up or I'll spill everything," blushing furiously with frustration. She nearly wanted to pin Ryo down right there and make her experience Hachiman's "power" firsthand.
She hadn't even gotten mad yet about Ryo selling her out, and now the girl wanted money just for making a phone call!
"So you don't have cash... Hachiman, what about you? You don't want your shop manager finding out, do you?", Having failed to extort Nijika, Yamada Ryo immediately turned her gaze toward Hachiman, who was far wealthier than Nijika.
"Pause right there, Ryo. If you keep talking, it's not going to be you selling Nijika, it's going to be Nijika selling you," Hachiman shook his head, pressing down Ryo's greedy little hand to stop her from making more trouble.
He could already tell Nijika wanted to sell Ryo off at this point. Still, though he'd wanted to throw a band celebration party, that wasn't happening tonight with Kita Ikuyo, Yotsuya Miko, and Yurikawa Hana around.
No rush, no rush. He could take his time building rapport with Kita and the others. They'd have plenty of chances to celebrate after more performances.
"Tch! Then we'll talk next time."
Yamada Ryo sighed regretfully at Ijichi Nijika, whose pretty face was flushed as she clenched her little fists in embarrassment, clearly ready to swing. Ryo quickly ducked behind Hachiman, using his body as a shield against Nijika's tiny pink punches.
Actually, she had wanted to ask Hachiman how much he'd pay her to play wingman and help him make progress with Nijika.
But since Nijika refused to admit her feelings for Hachiman, if Ryo did that, Nijika would probably turn her wrath straight on her.
"Next time...", Ijichi Nijika's eyes darkened as she glared at Ryo, who was hiding behind Hikigaya like a human shield.
Taking Hachiman's money, accepting her desserts, and now already thinking about the next payday, so this was how Ryo operated, huh?
'Just you wait, Ryo! Let's see who's bribing who next time!'
"Alright, enough messing around. The car's almost here. I'll take you all to my place now."
Hachiman reached out and patted Ijichi Nijika's side ponytail of golden hair, watching her blush shyly but still cling close to him out of fear of spirits, glaring up at him in flustered annoyance. Her cute expression making him smile as he withdrew his hand, reminding everyone to get ready to go.
"The car's almost here? Hikigaya-kun, didn't you say you'd use teleportation magic?", Yotsuya Miko, having finished her phone call, blinked in surprise at his words.
"Well, about that... with this many people, I suddenly realized it's not convenient to teleport. But don't worry, this is a private car."
Hachiman looked a bit awkward. He had forgotten that teleportation had its limitations.
He could return home anytime thanks to Komachi's presence there, but bringing others along required enough intimacy points, otherwise, it wouldn't work.
Nijika could, Bocchi too, but Yotsuya Miko, Yurikawa Hana, and Kita Ikuyo definitely couldn't teleport with him yet.
"Private car? Hikigaya-kun, that's," Yotsuya Miko hesitated, wanting to say that wasn't the issue, if the car got dirty, what would people think?
But with everyone watching, she couldn't say that out loud now.
Besides, she and Hana had already covered for each other, saying they were hanging out at each other's houses. Even if they wanted to go home now, there was no escaping those spirits.
Even if it was a little embarrassing, she'd rather stay at Hikigaya-kun's house tonight with Hana.
Before long, a black sedan rolled to a stop in front of them.
The driver's side door opened, and a young woman in a black-and-white maid uniform, with delicate features and waist-length pink hair, stepped out.
"Good evening, Master. Maid Saya apologizes for being late."
Stepping lightly in her maid shoes, Saya approached Hachiman with a radiant smile, bowed deeply, and her smooth pink hair flowed down over her shoulders.
"No need for formality, you were quick enough. Is it you driving again this time, Saya?", Hachiman waved his hand, a little surprised to see her.
She had driven him last time too, had Shion assigned Saya as his personal chauffeur?
"Maid Chief Shion originally wanted Akira to come, but since Akira's still struggling with household chores and her driving's not great, it's me again this time."
When she mentioned the clumsy Akira who still broke dishes while washing them, Saya's soft smile stiffened a little. She really worried that Akira, who couldn't seem to handle maid work at all, might get fired.
But as the future head of the Rurikawa family, and the man of Lady Rurikawa Tsubaki, Hikigaya's questions had to be answered honestly.
"Why do you ask, Master? Are you dissatisfied with my service?"
Saya's tone wavered slightly as she looked at him uncertainly.
She wasn't sure if she had said something wrong, she hadn't spent much time with him yet and didn't know his preferences or taboos.
But with so many maids in the Rurikawa household, and even more trainees coming in, if her master disliked her even slightly, she could easily be replaced.
And it had taken her so long to find a job where her coworkers were kind, her boss was gentle, and the atmosphere was good. If she got dismissed again, she didn't know what she'd do.
"It's not that I'm dissatisfied, Saya. I was just worried that with your maid duties at the mansion and also driving for me, it might be too tiring for you."
Hachiman shook his head, meeting Saya's anxious gaze as he explained.
"If your workload's too much, I can ask Shion to handle my transport personally instead."
He didn't need a chauffeur often, usually he teleported home himself, only using the car when out late with several girls and needing to drop them off.
Still, the Rurikawa family had plenty of resources. Keeping Saya employed was no issue, let alone having her as his personal driver.
"I see... then please don't worry, Master. Maid Chief Shion already considered that. I only help with light chores now, so it's not busy or tiring."
Realizing Hachiman was expressing concern rather than criticism, Saya exhaled in relief, pressing a hand to her chest before smiling warmly again.
"Once Akira finishes her maid training under Miss Shion, we'll take turns on duty, it'll be even easier then."
"As long as you're not overworked, that's good. Sorry to trouble you, Saya, please take us home."
Seeing that Shion had already arranged everything perfectly, Hachiman smiled and nodded.
Shion was always reliable, pure on the outside, scheming inside, fond of pranking Lady Tsubaki. Saya, on the other hand, seemed sensible and kind.
Still, since she'd be driving the girls around often, he needed to be considerate of her feelings as well.
"Please don't be so polite, Master. Serving you is a maid's duty."
Seeing how gentle and thoughtful her master was, even in giving orders, Saya smiled happily, pinched the hem of her maid skirt, and gave a graceful curtsy before walking over to open the car door.
"Please, Master and young ladies, get in~"
Once Ijichi Nijika, Yamada Ryo, Gotou Hitori, Kita Ikuyo, Yurikawa Hana, and the others had climbed into the car one by one, Saya closed the door, returned to the driver's seat, and started the engine.
Before pulling away, she glanced into the rearview mirror and thought silently to herself.
'As expected of my Master, every girl around him is so adorable.'
Suppressing the quiet admiration welling in her heart for Hachiman, Saya started the car, smoothly driving toward the Hikigaya residence.
Inside the car, as Ijichi Nijika, Yamada Ryo, Gotou Hitori, Kita Ikuyo, and Yurikawa Hana all settled into their seats, they turned to look at the last two to get in, Yotsuya Miko and Hachiman.
"Yotsuya-san?"
"Miko?"
"..."
Yotsuya Miko sat silently on Hachiman's lap, lowering her head as everyone's eyes turned toward her.
'Could it be... she is jealous?'
They all recalled the way Ijichi Nijika and Yamada Ryo had been teasing and bickering with Hachiman just moments ago.
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