Chapter 148: Unwilling Honami

Gabriel looked at Ichinose Ayano, who was stretching out her beautiful and sexy body in the pool with her classmates, shook her head, and shifted her gaze to Ichinose Honami beside her.

Maybe it was an illusion, but just now she felt a fleeting spatial fluctuation over at Ichinose Ayano's side, very subtle. If it weren't happening right in front of her, she probably wouldn't have noticed it.

"With Ayano? Hehe, although Ayano and I are relatives, and I'm staying at my uncle's house, we haven't seen each other for many years, so there's still some estrangement between us," Ichinose Honami smiled and shook her head, her eyes gazing at Ichinose Ayano who was playing in the pool, her gaze incomparably deep.

At noon she had lunch with Ichinose Ayano and eased things up, but obviously, as a relative sent by Ayano's father, she wasn't very welcomed by Ayano.

"If it's just a bit of estrangement due to not spending much time together, then you two should be able to become good sisters quickly," Gabriel thought for a moment, then leaned in toward Ichinose Honami's ear and reminded her softly.

"Ayano's personality is actually quite good. It's just that recently she fell in love with a teacher and seems to be having conflicts with her father, so she was sent to the Service Club for some discipline. Her mood hasn't been great lately, so she wasn't too welcoming of your appearance," Originally, the student-teacher romance was somewhat a secret, but as Ichinose Ayano joined the Service Club and gradually got familiar with everyone, Hachiman no longer avoided talking about it in front of them.

Anyway, Ichinose Ayano came to receive education, and now she even wants to replace her father. There's no need to hide something like that.

"So that's how it is, thank you for the reminder, Tenma-san," Ichinose Honami was stunned for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully and softly thanked Gabriel.

Neither her uncle nor Ichinose Ayano had told her about this matter. She was just called over to Sobu High by her uncle while she was staying at home depressed, to attend high school, and by the way, fulfill her uncle's request. To get along well with the elf princess and Hachiman.

No wonder, even though Ichinose the Main member had his own biological daughter Ayano, he still went to such lengths to get her, who had abandoned her studies and stayed at home, into Sobu High. He even arranged a good job for her mother, who could only do part-time work, and promised that as long as she got along well with the elf princess and Hachiman, he could even arrange for her and her younger sister's futures.

That legendary High-Level Development High School where just graduating guarantees 100% employment in a job you like still required studying for three years.

And she only needed to get along well with the elf princess and Hachiman, and her whole family's jobs could be arranged.

She had interacted with Hachiman, he was a gentle person. She hadn't interacted with the elf princess yet, but since she could be close to Hachiman, her personality definitely wouldn't be bad. Getting along with them could be said to be very simple, no need to rack her brains.

Before coming, she thought she'd have to do something that went against her principles, but it turned out to be so easy. She could even attend a high school like Sobu High and enjoy high school life.

As long as she graduated, even without her uncle's arrangements, she'd probably be able to find a good job herself.

"Tenma-san, were you just thinking about Hachiman?", After imagining a beautiful and happy high school life, Ichinose Honami looked at Gabriel, who also hadn't gone swimming, and suddenly asked.

"How did you know?", Gabriel stared at Ichinose Honami, asking subconsciously.

She hadn't said anything to Ichinose Honami, not even to Yuina and the others. They'd all gone off swimming.

"Secret~", Ichinose Honami blinked, and a faint blush flashed across her jade-like pale face.

She obviously didn't have mind-reading skills, but since she was sitting right next to Gabriel, she could very clearly feel Gabriel's gaze occasionally falling on her chest.

Looking carefully, Gabriel wasn't only paying attention to her, but also to the girls playing in the pool.

'Girls, well... it's normal to care a bit about body shape.'

But Gabriel, who sat next to her in class and didn't even care when she was seated closer to Hachiman, now seemed particularly concerned. Most likely, it was because of Hachiman.

"Um... Honami, what kind of girl do you think Hachiman likes?", Gabriel looked at the sharp-minded and observant Ichinose Honami, hesitated for a moment, and asked softly.

"Huh? Doesn't Hachiman like you?", Ichinose Honami couldn't help but blink again, staring dumbly at Gabriel.

'Didn't Yuina and the others just say that Hachiman likes Tenma-san not long ago? And right in front of her? Why is Tenma-san asking her now?'

"Uh... actually, I'm not in that kind of relationship with Hachiman...", Gabriel saw her reaction, hesitated for a moment, then simply shared her thoughts with Ichinose Honami and asked for her advice.

"Although Hachiman might have a bit of a crush on me, I don't feel that way about him."

"Plus, I'm going to leave here after graduating from high school, so I want to find a girl who's more suitable for Hachiman."

"Hiss...", Ichinose Honami originally thought Gabriel and Hachiman were a mutual youthful romance, but unexpectedly it was just Hachiman's one-sided crush.

"What kind of girl do you think Hachiman would like? Or how should I find a girl who suits him?", Gabriel looked at Ichinose Honami with expectant eyes, hoping she could give a constructive suggestion.

Actually, she could have discussed this with the more familiar Yuina, Minami, and the others.

But they were so close to Hachiman, what if they tried to pair him with her instead?

Ichinose Honami, who had just transferred, hadn't built many relationships yet, and sat right next to her, was obviously more suitable to give advice.

Yes, advice from the perspective of an ordinary human girl.

She'd talk it over later with Vignette and Raphiel too, but she was worried that since they weren't human, they lacked experience living in the human world, and might miss important details. So she needed a human girl's opinion.

"Uh... I don't really know much about love either...", Facing Gabriel's expectant gaze, Ichinose Honami felt her scalp go numb and answered weakly.

She was from a single-parent family and poor. Not only was her mother strict, but she also had to set an example for her younger sister.

Since childhood, she had focused entirely on studying, using scholarships to help with household expenses. She even once considered choosing a high school with lower tuition and more scholarships if she got top grades.

Under such circumstances, she didn't even have male friends, let alone any dating experience.

Gabriel asking her about love... was no different from asking a blind person for directions.

"It's fine, just tell me your opinion of Hachiman. I just need a reference," Gabriel shook her head, reassuring her.

Ichinose Honami's lack of experience was actually perfect. Hachiman hadn't dated either, or else he wouldn't have fallen in love at first sight and then felt unworthy and started self-sabotaging.

"My opinion of Hachiman... I haven't interacted with him much, so I don't know him very well. But for boys, they probably like girls with good figures and good personalities, right? As for grades, it doesn't seem that important," Ichinose Honami was a bit troubled, but since Gabriel had asked, she racked her brains to give some advice.

But as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized that Gabriel, whom Hachiman liked, didn't match the "good figure" criteria, so she quickly added, "Of course, I believe Hachiman isn't that superficial, but I really don't know much about him. Can I get to know him better and give you advice in a few days?"

"Good figure, good personality... I think I found a suitable candidate," Gabriel didn't mind the subtle body-shaming in Ichinose Honami's words. She touched her small, round chin, her eyes fixed on Ichinose Honami.

"Huh?", Ichinose Honami stared blankly at Gabriel, who was staring at her. Then she realized and quickly waved her hands, shaking her head.

"No, no! That's not what I meant!"

"Hachiman is closer to Yuina and the others, isn't he? You can ask for their opinions too!"

She came to study, not to fall in love.

Though her mission at Sobu High was to get along well with the elf princess and Hachiman, she didn't plan to use that kind of method.

"Don't worry, I won't force you. Unless you like Hachiman yourself, I'll just try to set you up and see if you two suit each other," Gabriel reassured her. Since she couldn't decide who to match him with, she'd try everyone. Starting with Ichinose Honami.

Honami sat right next to her, so switching seats would make it easy to set them up.

"Please don't try to match us!", Ichinose Honami was on the verge of tears. If she'd known, she would've gone swimming too. Who'd have thought that Gabriel, who seemed to have a couple-like vibe with Hachiman, would suddenly try to pair her with him?

"What's going on? Little Honami, why aren't you two swimming? What are you talking about here?", At that moment, Yuina, Minami, and Rin, who had gone to play in the pool, walked over dripping wet and curiously looked at the odd expressions on Ichinose Honami and Gabriel.

'Could it be they are fighting because of Little Hiki?'

During the first period this morning, Gabriel had Honami sit between her and little Hikigaya, and then Hikigaya disappeared for the whole morning.

Although Gabriel said Hikigaya had other things to do, he left without saying anything to them. It just felt suspicious.

"You came just in time! Help Tenma-san come up with an idea!", Ichinose Honami saw Yuina and the others like she was seeing her saviors, and quickly ran to hide behind them.

"What's going on? What idea?", Minami was confused, looking left and right, her gaze darting between Honami and Gabriel.

"Gabriel said she doesn't like Hachiman and wants to set me up with him," Ichinose Honami gave a short and quiet explanation. She wasn't going to hide it anymore. If she did, Gabriel would drag her over to be Hachiman's girlfriend.

Hachiman seemed like a really good person, and being able to be friends with the legendary elf princess, he definitely had a lot of great qualities.

But she and Hachiman weren't close enough yet. This was just the first day they met, how could she become his girlfriend so easily?

Love was too early for her. At the very least, she'd have to wait until college.

"Uh..."

Minami and Rin looked at each other, both of their expressions a bit strange.

They weren't very surprised that Gabriel didn't like little Hikigaya. If she did like him, there wouldn't be any need for them to implement any Gabriel conquest plans.

But Gabriel hadn't even waited for them to help with conquering, and instead was thinking of setting up Honami and little Hikigaya, which really surprised them.

Why was Gabriel also helping little Hikigaya find a girlfriend? Shouldn't that be their job?

"Don't mind me, I just think Honami's personality is nice, and she suits Hachiman a bit, that's all," Gabriel saw the expressions of Minami and the others and instantly knew they were overthinking, so she explained with a bit of helplessness.

"There are many girls suitable for Hachiman. You, Tenma-san, also have a great personality. Why don't you pair yourself with Hachiman instead of pushing me?"

"Yuina-san also has a great personality. Tenma-san, you're not going to pair Yuina-san with Hachiman next, are you?", Ichinose Honami pulled on the mostly silent Yuina, trying to find support for herself so Gabriel would give up on pairing her with Hachiman.

However, she was destined to choose the wrong person. Even though pink-haired gal Yuina had a gentler and more generous personality compared to the other two gals, her way of thinking was even more bizarre than Gabriel's.

"Mm, little Honami, you're right. I also support Gabriel and little Hikigaya. Why don't you try pairing them together?"

Yuina tapped her lips with her index finger, smiling broadly at Ichinose Honami, who also thought Gabriel and little Hikigaya were a good match.

They'd already been planning to drag little Honami into their Gabriel conquest group this morning, and they didn't expect the opportunity to come this quickly.

"Huh?"

Ichinose Honami somewhat doubted her ears, blankly staring at Yuina.

"Hmm?"

Gabriel also widened her eyes, looking at Yuina in disbelief.

Yuina lightly brushed away her damp pink short hair sticking to her cheeks, revealing her delicate and fair face. She smiled playfully at the equally stunned Ichinose Honami and Gabriel.

"Since neither of you has feelings for little Hikigaya, and you both think the other is suitable for him, then just pair each other up with him~"

———

In the pool, Ichinose Ayano, who was frolicking with her friends, glanced faintly toward Ichinose Honami on the shore, watching as she whispered secretly with Gabriel, Yuina, and the others.

She had to admit, the Ichinose Honami sent by their father was indeed impressive. She had only just transferred schools and already blended in so well with her classmates.

Although part of it was thanks to the good-natured Gabriel and Yuina, using the advantage of approaching them might actually make it easier to get close to the president than joining the Service Club like she had.

Fortunately, she had made her decision in advance and had already gone to explain her thoughts to the president first.

As long as she could endure this week, and became the one chosen by the president, then Ichinose Honami wouldn't be able to challenge her position no matter what.

"Ayano? What's wrong?"

"If you want to ask Honami-san to come down and play, just go over. You're sisters, what's there to worry about?"

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