Chapter 127: Can You Help Me?

Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!

In front of the Hayase household, Sakurase Shino and Ichinose Ayano each carried a bag, standing side by side quietly waiting.

The two of them came together, but not because they were close enough to arrange it privately. Instead, Hachiman had instructed Ichinose Ayano, the daughter of a council member, to use her family's car to pick up the reclusive girl Sakurase Shino and bring her along.

Sakurase Shino possessed the constitution of a weak succubus that easily attracted others. Although nothing serious had happened over the years, and he would receive a system alert in time to intervene if something did, it was better to avoid trouble. Using Ichinose Ayano's help was more convenient.

After all, the Ichinose family, like the Yukinoshita family, had a private car for transportation. There was no harm in making use of it.

Ichinose Ayano had no objections; it was just a detour. Her father was very pleased when he learned she was going out today to participate in the Service Club's activities and even had the driver pick her up first.

However, her father didn't know that the Elf Princess wouldn't be participating today, only a few girls and the president of the Service Club.

Ichinose Ayano slightly tilted her head, quietly observing Sakurase Shino, who stood beside her, matching her in both demeanor and figure.

Everyone said Sakurase Shino was reclusive and needed guidance, but she didn't see what exactly needed to be treated.

Sakurase Shino seemed mentally normal, living alone without issues in studies or daily life, just solitary and quiet.

However, she had been assigned by her father with impure motives to join the Service Club for education, so she didn't feel in a position to judge.

Today, coming to Hayase Saki's house, Sakurase Shino was to receive guidance from the president, while she was to be educated by him.

Although... she didn't know the difference between guidance and education.

Today, Yukinoshita and the Elf Princess weren't present, and the president hadn't revealed how the Service Club's activities would proceed.

Ichinose Ayano took a deep breath, dispelling the miscellaneous thoughts in her mind.

She had her own plans for coming here today.

Since she had to contribute to the Ichinose family no matter what, why not make a choice that would allow her to take control of her own future?

'Come on, Ayano! You can do it!'

BANG!

"President? Good morning, President."

As the door to the Hayase household opened, Ichinose Ayano was momentarily stunned to see Hachiman walking out, but she quickly reacted, slightly bowing to greet him.

Clearly, Hachiman had arrived at the Hayase household before her. She hadn't expected that even arriving by car so early, they still hadn't beaten Hachiman.

"Good morning, Ichinose, Shino. I didn't expect you to come so early; I thought you'd arrive after lunch."

Hachiman stepped out of the Hayase household, opening the door and looking at the bowing Ichinose Ayano and the motionless Sakurase Shino beside her, who was just staring at him, and nodded with a smile.

Ichinose Ayano wore a fitting and beautiful dress, her long legs beneath the skirt glowing with a pearly sheen. Sakurase Shino was dressed in a short skirt, her black mid-calf socks outlining her elegant legs. Both were exquisitely dressed.

Compared to the timid and busty Hayase Saki and Miki, Sakurase Shino and Ichinose Ayano's demeanor far surpassed that of the two sporty girls. Perhaps the biggest advantage of those two shy, timid girls was their size.

But in reality, Sakurase Shino and Ichinose Ayano couldn't be considered small either. If not compared to sporty girls like Hayase Saki, Sakurase Shino and the others were already well-proportioned, very good, and excellent. Not to mention the original Sobu High, even in this magical version of Sobu High, few could significantly surpass Sakurase Shino and the others.

'Not bad, not bad. White stockings, black stockings, bare legs—today have it all,' Having just enjoyed the double-layered white stockings, Hachiman nodded to himself, pondering how to arrange the four of them.

"Originally, we planned to come after eating, but considering we're guests at Saki's house today and we haven't spent much time together, we're not very familiar with each other. It would be better to get to know each other while preparing lunch together, which would also facilitate your guidance and education in the afternoon, President," Ichinose Ayano lifted the bag full of premium ingredients, explaining softly to Hachiman.

Hayase Saki had privately reminded her that if they were to cook and eat together at noon, they could come closer to noon and didn't need to arrive so early.

However, since she didn't know how good Hayase Saki's cooking skills were, or even Sakurase Shino's, she decided to come to Hayase Saki's house a bit earlier to allow more time for trial and error.

"Ichinose, can you cook?", Hachiman looked somewhat surprised at the bags in the hands of Ichinose Ayano and Sakurase Shino.

Ichinose Ayano's idea wasn't bad; dividing tasks to cook together would help everyone get to know each other. However, his guidance and education today weren't ordinary methods, so he hadn't considered this.

'It seems Ichinose Ayano's brain only short-circuits when it comes to love; other times, she's quite capable.'

"Although I'm not sure if my cooking will suit your taste, President, it shouldn't be too bad. If all else fails, I can make some desserts for you. I'm quite confident in desserts," Ichinose Ayano nodded, speaking softly.

To increase her value for marriage, her father naturally didn't neglect this skill, having hired someone early on to complete her bride training at home, including housework, flower arrangement, calligraphy, dance, etiquette, and more.

However, with maids and chefs at home, she didn't cook often, only occasionally making something to pass the time.

"Then come in, and we'll taste your cooking later," Hachiman nodded with a smile, taking the bags from Ichinose Ayano and Sakurase Shino, stepping aside to let them in.

Thinking about it, although the children of politicians and the wealthy aren't very free in marriage, easily entangled in various interest relationships for alliances, unless they're particularly spoiled, receiving elite education is quite normal.

Of course, elite education teaches knowledge, skills, and experience, but it doesn't guarantee the character or intelligence of those who receive it.

But for someone like Ichinose Ayano, who is undoubtedly meant for marriage alliances and exchanging interests, being beautiful is enough; other abilities are just icing on the cake.

"Excuse us..."

Ichinose Ayano closed the door and followed Hachiman into the Hayase household with Sakurase Shino.

She changed into the spare slippers Hachiman had placed on the floor, following behind him while silently observing the layout of the Hayase household.

'Come to think of it, is this my first time visiting a classmate's home?'

If not counting the 'relatives and friends' homes her father had taken her to, purely visiting someone's home as a classmate, this could be considered the first time.

Although her relationship with Hayase Saki wasn't particularly close or familiar, it was mainly because of the Service Club's president that they had significant interactions.

"Um, President... where is Saki?", Ichinose Ayano looked around the living room, feeling something was missing, and after a moment's hesitation, suddenly remembered she was at Hayase Saki's house, not the home of the Service Club's president—Hachiman.

Why was it Hachiman who answered the doorbell and now only he was in the living room, with no sign of Hayase Saki.

"Saki? Saki's friend came over today, but they accidentally spilled a drink on themselves. She and her friend are upstairs changing clothes and will be down soon," Hachiman placed the ingredients brought by Ichinose Ayano and Sakurase Shino in the kitchen, refrigerating what needed to be kept cold, without turning his head.

These clearly expensive ingredients were obviously brought by Ichinose Ayano. Sakurase Shino, living alone, couldn't afford such extravagance.

It seems he should involve Ichinose Ayano more in Service Club activities; this way, he wouldn't need to buy ingredients.

Hmm... although starting today he would be very wealthy, since Councilor Ichinose had previously offended him, having Ichinose Ayano bring more delicious food and drinks to offer him would improve his mood, and he wouldn't bother Councilor Ichinose.

"Spilled a drink and went to change clothes?", Hearing Hachiman's explanation, Ichinose Ayano looked around the sofa with some confusion, noticing a pair of beautiful silver bracelets on the sofa and a few drops of liquid on the table in front of the sofa.

'Is it milk? The smell seems a bit off...', Slender fingers lightly brushed over it, Ichinose Ayano frowned and sniffed lightly.

She took a tissue to wipe her fingers clean, then took a few more tissues to wipe the sofa, which also seemed to have some milk stains, making it look a bit white and greasy, before pulling the motionless Sakurase Shino, who was like a delicate doll, to sit on the sofa and wait.

On the way here, she had already understood. Whether Sakurase Shino was truly reclusive was hard to say, but she was indeed very slow to respond, taking a while to react when spoken to.

Just like now, after she and Hachiman had spoken so much, Sakurase Shino showed no reaction, just silently followed and watched.

Ichinose Ayano didn't pay much attention to Sakurase Shino, just looked at the pair of silver bracelets on the table

This pair of silver bracelets looked quite beautiful, but they also seemed to have some milk spilled on them.

"What's wrong, Ayano, do you like my bracelets? If you like them, try them on, but I accidentally spilled some drink on them earlier, so you'll need to wipe them clean before wearing them," Hachiman, after putting away the ingredients and returning to the living room, saw Ichinose Ayano staring at the empathy bracelets and couldn't help but laugh.

Earlier, time was too tight, and both Hayase Saki and Miki were too weak to get up. He alone managed to hurriedly clean up the living room and open the windows for ventilation, which was already quite good. The Empathy Bracelets they had taken off to avoid another overwhelming resonance naturally ended up on the sofa.

Perhaps he really needed to learn magic from Iris.

Although according to Iris, learning magic in their world is not an easy task, and most elves cannot master very powerful magic, his requirements were not high; at least he could learn a cleaning spell.

This way, in the future, he wouldn't have to struggle over whether safety or experience is more important. After filling up, he could just cast a cleaning spell, and he wouldn't have to rush to clean up the mess after being busy.

"Are the bracelets yours, President? They are indeed quite beautiful, but the chain seems a bit long…"

Ichinose Ayano was startled, seeing Hachiman speak up, she then took a few tissues, picked up the silver bracelets, wiped them clean, and put them on her wrists to examine.

This lightweight silver bracelet that could wrap around the wrist looked very beautiful, but wasn't the spacing between the two bracelets too large? She noticed that the chain between the bracelets could allow her to spread her arms, which felt incredibly strange.

'What exactly is this thing? It doesn't look like handcuffs or toys, nor does it quite resemble an ornament.'

"Haha, actually, this bracelet is meant for two people to wear together," Seeing Ichinose Ayano put on the Empathy Bracelet herself, Hachiman smiled, reached out to remove one of the Empathy Bracelets from her hand, then sat down on the nearby sofa and beckoned to Sakurase Shino.

"Shino, come here, sit with me."

"Hmm…", Sakurase Shino, who had been sitting next to Ichinose Ayano with an expressionless face, immediately got up and sat next to Hachiman upon hearing this, allowing him to grab her hand and put on the silver bracelet.

"…", Ichinose Ayano was still puzzled about how two people could wear a pair of bracelets when she saw Sakurase Shino's obedient and docile demeanor, and couldn't help but fall silent.

'This girl doesn't seem autistic at all.'

If she hadn't heard Sakurase Shino speak, she would at most think that Sakurase Shino was mute and couldn't speak, and would never consider her autistic.

'Could it be that Sakurase Shino is brought into the Service Club by Hachiman to trick Yukinoshita Yukino?'

'It seems that Hachiman and Yukinoshita Yukino had a bet? The loser has to agree to a not-too-outrageous condition from the winner?'

Ichinose Ayano suddenly had some doubts, but she dared not speak or ask.

After all, her real purpose for coming here today was Hachiman, and Yukinoshita Yukino is still the daughter of Councilor Yukinoshita. Although the conflict between the two families is not deep-seated rivals, they are not on good terms due to belonging to different factions.

She had no reason to offend Hachiman over Yukinoshita Yukino's matters and make him dislike her.

"Ichinose, I think you know why your father sent you to the Service Club, right?", Hachiman was not in a hurry to train Sakurase Shino. After putting the empathy bracelet on Sakurase Shino, he gently played with her slender and long hand, while also looking at Ichinose Ayano, who was also wearing an empathy bracelet on the adjacent sofa.

"Huh? This…", Ichinose Ayano, who had just felt a slight itch in her hand, was startled, not sure what Hachiman was referring to.

"I'm talking about you coming to get close to Iris. Do you really think I would believe that your father sent you to the Service Club to receive my education because you made a mistake?", Hachiman slowly kneaded Sakurase Shino's small hand, gently stroking her plump thigh.

In front of Ichinose Ayano, he didn't have to worry about her or Yukinoshita Yukino or her father saying anything. If she dared to speak out of turn, he would have to properly educate this love-struck politician's daughter.

"Hmm… So, President, are you saying… you don't allow me to get close to the elf princess Iris?", Ichinose Ayano, watching Hachiman and Sakurase Shino's actions, was extremely surprised, but hearing Hachiman's words, her heart tightened, and she asked softly.

"I'm not saying you can't get close to Iris. In fact, Iris also wants to be good friends with you," Hachiman explained with a smile.

"But if you're just planning to use Iris, I suggest you leave the Service Club now, otherwise her guardian knight Aegis will be angry and might just chop you down."

Iris, being an elf from another world, doesn't have much feeling about teacher-student romances, but if Ichinose Ayano simply wants to use Iris, Iris is not a soft persimmon to be used by others. Without her saying anything, Aegis would directly take action against Ichinose Ayano.

"…Actually, I came here today not to use Iris, but to find you, President…", Ichinose Ayano silently glanced at the stairs, seeing that Hayase Saki and the others hadn't changed their clothes and come down yet, she tightly clasped her hands together, staring at Hachiman and speaking softly.

Perhaps the thing she was about to say made her too nervous, she felt her heart pounding, and strange sensations gradually spread throughout her body, making her heartbeat accelerate.

"Looking for my help?", Hachiman was startled, looking subtly at Ichinose Ayano, who was breathing rapidly and blushing.

'Is this a roundabout way to get close to Iris? You really have a good eye, Iris does listen to me, but I'm not easy to talk to either. I was just thinking about how to trouble Councilor Ichinose.'

"Yes, President, that… could you help me…", Ichinose Ayano looked at Hachiman's face, stammering softly.

"Help you with what? Help you rescue that so-called teacher from your father's hands? Save your breath, they're probably almost dead if not already," Hachiman waved his hand, cutting off Ichinose Ayano's words. When he had inquired with Councilor Ichinose, he casually asked and knew that the so-called… he couldn't remember their names, but both the victim and the perpetrator were not dead.

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