Even though such vulgar behavior shouldn't occur even between lovers, Hayase's incredibly foolish actions infuriated Yukinoshita to no end.
'How could someone be this stupid?'
'How did someone this dumb even survive until now?'
"I'm... I'm sorry..."
Seeing Yukino's face grow increasingly cold, Hayase hurriedly apologized.
"You should apologize to this guy beside me. He's the one who brought me here to help you," Yukinoshita said, folding her arms and turning her head away in annoyance.
"Huh? It was you who helped me?"
Hayase instinctively looked toward Hikigaya. Seeing an unfamiliar face she barely had any impression of, her eyes widened.
She had assumed the boy standing in front of Yukinoshita was her lackey or something, but it turned out that this boy was the one who had helped her.
"Hello, my name is Hikigaya Hachiman. Hayase-san, you don't need to keep apologizing. Yukinoshita-san was just worried about you earlier. She's just a little tsundere and not very good with her attitude."
As Hayase looked at him, Hikigaya calmly greeted her while casually explaining Yukinoshita's attitude, though he didn't specify whether or not he had helped her.
He didn't dare have any thoughts about this "big-chested but brainless" Hayase.
Hayase was indeed beautiful. Her pure and pitiful face, paired with her unbelievably voluptuous figure, created a unique and striking contrast. If her personality weren't so introverted and timid, she would undoubtedly be extremely popular at school.
But it was precisely her timid personality that made him hesitant to approach her.
Hayase's resistance was so weak. Not only was her personality introverted, but she was also submissive to an extreme. If he and Yukinoshita hadn't stepped in, she might've fallen to depravity and become someone else's pawn.
"Tsundere? I was just calling her brainless. I wasn't doing it for her sake."
Yukinoshita shot a sideways glance at Hikigaya, who was speaking on her behalf, and sneered coldly.
'A girl this beautiful yet so dumb—how had she even made it this far in life?'
Initially, Yukinoshita had thought that by high school, Japan's students, who only knew how to huddle together and gossip out of envy, might have matured a bit.
But shortly after starting high school, she realized that high schoolers were just as bad—if not worse—than middle schoolers.
"Yukinoshita, didn't you get bullied in elementary school? You don't need to keep scolding her like this," Hikigaya remarked, somewhat surprised as he looked at Yukinoshita.
He knew Yukinoshita wanted to start the Service Club because she was a righteous girl. But he hadn't expected her to angrily lash out at a stranger like this.
Although he thought Yukinoshita had a point—Hayase did seem pretty brainless.
"That's because I was envied for being cute. Unlike this idiot, I wasn't stupid enough to be swayed by sweet talk and ready to sell my body."
With a blank face, Yukinoshita coldly replied. On the way to the clubroom after saying goodbye to Hiratsuka-sensei, she and Hikigaya had briefly exchanged information about each other.
For example, her childhood story of being so cute that she received love letters and had her shoes stolen—a testament to her past brilliance.
She hadn't expected that the club activities here would revolve around school bullying. Mentioning her past had put her at a slight disadvantage. However, the main issue here was still Hayase's problematic mindset—her excessive timidity and inability to refuse. Yukinoshita wasn't worried about Hikigaya using her past against her in their debates.
"It's all the same—being bullied because of beauty. There's no real difference. You might've just avoided worse situations because your family background made people wary," Hikigaya shrugged.
In his view, luck might have played a bigger role. Even in some manga, powerful women couldn't resist certain predicaments, let alone a regular young lady like Yukinoshita.
"I didn't learn Aikido just for fun," Yukinoshita retorted, glaring at Hikigaya, who seemed to be teasing her.
"Of course, I believe in your Aikido skills. You could probably take on ten of me with no problem," Hikigaya casually nodded.
Aikido, being a martial art that relies on technique rather than strength, was indeed suitable for girls. If Yukinoshita had only learned superficial moves, she probably wouldn't even have mentioned it.
But that was in their original world. In this magical world filled with yokai, spirits, and elves, the utility of Aikido was limited. Even within human society, dangers abounded.
Compared to those who used drugs and coercion, Kenichiro—the guy who tried to manipulate Hayase—was already a relatively minor threat among societal scum.
"In any case, thank you both... really..."
Hayase timidly looked at the two bickering in front of her. After a long pause, she whispered her thanks.
Though her personality was subdued and her willpower weak, she understood that this seemingly mismatched couple meant well, even if their words weren't pleasant to hear.
"You're thanking us a bit too early. We're not helping you for free," Yukinoshita interjected.
"Huh? Payment?"
Hearing Yukinoshita's words, both Hikigaya and Hayase were momentarily stunned.
"Rather than letting her fall prey to that guy again, she can join our Service Club as an errand girl. Besides, we still need another member to officially establish the club," Yukinoshita explained, her arms crossed as she impassively looked at the surprised pair.
"You'll need to join the Service Club first, and only after you find someone to replace you can you leave."
"Ser... Service Club?" Hayase looked at Yukinoshita blankly, her face full of confusion.
"Yukinoshita means that you can join the Service Club to avoid Kenichiro for now. She'll handle the risk for you, and afterward, you can leave without any issue," Hikigaya translated.
At first, he was just as surprised by Yukinoshita's "conditional help." But after thinking it over, he understood her intentions.
Hayase was undeniably foolish—big-busted, brainless, and easily manipulated. Yet she had a pure and innocent face paired with an unbelievably alluring figure, making her a favorite target for scum.
Kenichiro had nearly succeeded earlier. Knowing Hayase's weak resolve, he would likely persist and try again. Staying close to them for the time being would be the safest option for her.
As expected, Yukinoshita—a cold-hearted yet warm-spirited tsundere with her long black hair—was the kind of 2D heroine Hikigaya admired.
Looking at Yukinoshita's dignified, elegant figure, framed by her ebony locks and high-class demeanor, he nodded to himself.
Though her face remained icy and her demeanor serious, Hikigaya found Yukinoshita far more beautiful than the well-endowed Hayase standing beside her.
"Will you refuse?"
Yukinoshita coldly glanced at Hikigaya, who had taken liberties in interpreting her actions, then turned her gaze directly to Hayase.
She wasn't a babysitter and had no obligation to help strangers. But if someone was a club member, she could offer a bit of assistance.
"If... if that's the case, I don't have any issues..."
Hayase cautiously looked at Yukinoshita, who hadn't shown her a single kind expression, and nodded heavily.
She was indeed worried Kenichiro might approach her again. Joining another club for a while seemed like a good idea.
Since Yukinoshita and Hikigaya already knew her situation, she wouldn't need to make up any excuses—just informing the swimming club's captain would suffice.
"Then make sure you come to the Service Club tomorrow at the Special Building to submit your application form. While it was initially my idea to start the club, the current president is actually this guy here—Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita said.
Satisfied that Hayase wasn't ungrateful enough to reject their help, she slightly softened her expression, though she didn't smile. After saying this, she glanced at Hikigaya and walked away gracefully, her black, waist-length hair swinging as she stepped confidently in her small leather shoes.
"President?" Hayase's eyes widened as she looked at Hikigaya, her astonished gaze mixed with a hint of disbelief.
Earlier, she had suspected Hikigaya and Yukinoshita might be a couple since it was said no other boy had managed to converse with the Yukinoshita family's high-class beauty like this.
But she hadn't imagined Hikigaya was actually the president.
'Is it love? Or is president just hiding his true strength?'
"..."
Hikigaya silently watched the graceful figure that had thrown out a bombshell and left, feeling at a loss for words.
'Damn it, why does it feel like she is the president? And now, I have the task of gaining Yukinoshita's acknowledgment of my presidency.'
'Well, there was no rush. I can prove myself to her over time.'
"Yes, I'm the president. Yukinoshita only joined today," Hikigaya said, pretending not to notice Hayase's astonished look as he extended a hand toward her.
"Hayase-san, welcome to the Service Club."
"Y-Yes. I'm happy to join the Service Club."
Hayase quickly bowed deeply, grasping Hikigaya's outstretched hand with both of hers. A faint blush appeared on her shy and pure face.
"Um, what does the Service Club do? What kinds of club activities do we perform every day?"
The term "service" wasn't one she encountered often in daily life. She had only seen it in certain materials where maids served their masters.
Given that the high-class Yukinoshita had joined, it shouldn't be an improper club. Still, the name "Service Club" felt odd and suspicious.
However, with Yukinoshita's cold and intimidating presence earlier, she hadn't dared to speak. Now that Yukinoshita was gone, she felt safe enough to voice her doubts.
"..."
'You've already agreed to join the club, and now you're asking this? Why not wait until you've been sold off to ask questions?'
Hikigaya sighed as he looked at Hayase, who, by maintaining her bowing posture, unintentionally made her already-straining uniform appear even more indecent.
Though the third Service Club member wasn't Yui Yuigahama this time, it seemed the new addition still fit the "big-busted but brainless" archetype.
[Ding~ ]
[Club members have reached three people, unlocking the Love List]
After explaining the situation of the Service Club to the voluptuous and somewhat indecent newcomer Hayase, and reminding her to come to the Service Club tomorrow, Hikigaya parted ways with her.
He slowly walked back to the Service Club, picked up his schoolbag, and headed toward the school gate.
Looking at the system-unlocked Love List, Hikigaya pondered for a moment and found only two names on it: Yukinoshita and Hayase.
[Yukinoshita: Stranger, Service Club]
[Hayase: Friend, Girls' Competitive Swimming Club]
In addition to their names, relationships, and affiliated clubs, the Love List also displayed their current locations.
Hikigaya clicked on their locations, and the system prompt immediately appeared.
[Relevant storylines not triggered; unable to enter new scenes]
Beyond that, Hikigaya didn't notice anything particularly special.
"The list can display their current locations in real time… it seems it can even teleport me near them, but only after triggering relevant storylines. In other words, it happens when encountering events or facing dangers?"
Hikigaya looked at this newly introduced system feature, thought about it for a while, and nodded to himself.
In this dangerous world filled with supernatural creatures like monsters, vengeful spirits, and elves, it seemed like a pretty useful feature. After all, even married couples can't stick together every single day. Having this feature to quickly handle trouble would bring a lot of peace of mind.
However, after contemplating the function of the Love List, he looked at the "Stranger" status next to Yukinoshita's name and the "Friend" status next to Hayase's name, feeling quite puzzled.
It was reasonable for Yukinoshita's relationship with him to be marked as "Stranger" since he hadn't been hit by her family's car. Most likely, Yukinoshita only met him today, not even reaching the level of an acquaintance.
But as for Hayase's "Friend" status...
They barely exchanged a few words earlier. Mostly it was Yukinoshita doing the talking, and Hikigaya only spoke a bit more when Hayase expressed her desire to join the Service Club.
Hikigaya hadn't expected that Hayase would already consider him a friend.
Although it made sense for her to regard them as friends since they had stepped in to stop her from being coerced or lured into a downward spiral, it still felt... well, a little unexpected.
This timid and introverted Hayase really did seem a bit naive.
Thinking of the corrupted ending from the original story in his memory, Hikigaya felt a bit complicated for a moment.
In fact, back when he and Yukinoshita first arrived at the swimming club and took out their phones to record a video, his system had already alerted him, detecting Hayase's character card and prompting him to recruit her into the club for rewards.
Although he didn't have much of an impression of the name Hayase, upon seeing her strikingly voluptuous figure—completely opposite to Yukinoshita's—and keywords like childhood sweetheart and swimming club, he immediately recalled a fragment of memory.
Though such plotlines generally leave little impression on anyone, he had only remembered Hayase because of the appealing art style—a pure-looking swimming club heroine with an indecent figure.
Of course, whether he remembered it or not didn't matter much. After all, these kinds of things always followed the same few classic tropes, ultimately leading to awakening her innate depravity and indulging in carnal desires.
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