Hayase Saki looked at the handsome face of Hachiman, blushing and softly called out.
She never thought there would be a day when she could call the club president's name. Even though she only did so in the girls' competitive swimming club, she was still quite happy.
Just now, she had been a little worried that the president, upon coming to the girls' swimming club and seeing those members who were better and stronger than her, would stop paying attention to her. But now it seemed she was overthinking it. The president was still just as affectionate with her.
"Hehe, Saki, be bolder, you're not bad at all. Although Mikari and the others are amazing, you are my member, so you don't need to worry so much," Hachiman didn't need to think to know what the shy and timid Hayase Saki suddenly running over in front of everyone was for. He immediately raised his hand to pat Hayase Saki's head and smiled as he comforted her.
Saki was, after all, a vice president. Although judging by everyone's reaction, it seemed this vice president didn't have much presence, with her timid and introverted personality being able to become a vice president meant her strength must be considerable.
"Mm! Then, President, um, Hachiman, I'm going to train!"
After being patted on the head by Hachiman for a bit, Hayase Saki's confidence grew significantly. She nodded vigorously, then excitedly ran off to the nearby lane to train.
She couldn't betray the president's expectations. She had to further improve her results.
"President Hikigaya, you really are amazing. Saki's personality is quite hard to deal with, you know," Also wearing a competition swimsuit, but with a light jacket draped over her shoulders, Little Saki watched Hayase Saki so obediently and enthusiastically run off to train and couldn't help but sigh a bit.
Hayase Saki became president indeed because of her strength, but this was the first time Kaori saw her so motivated to train.
Before, Hayase Saki would always passively follow everyone in training, or only train when she knew what to do, she had never taken the initiative like this.
"Saki really likes swimming. I'm not forcing her to do something she doesn't like. Also, here you don't need to call me 'president,' just use my name," Hachiman smiled and shook his head.
He had seen some certificates and trophies at Saki's home. Saki had learned to swim from a young age. It was just her personality. Though she had the strength, she never really stood out.
"Hikigaya-kun, are you used to this? Having you help me share the workload?", Little Saki didn't dwell on the title issue but naturally changed how she addressed him, smiling with concern.
"There's nothing to get used to. President Hibiki and little Saki letting me, a boy, help in the girls' swimming club is a sign of trust," As Hachiman spoke, he glanced toward the pool in the leisure area on the other side. Aside from Iris and the others glancing his way, there were also quite a few girls in various swimsuits frequently peeking at him.
"But I'm also surprised. Your members seem quite bold, not afraid of being seen by me at all."
"They're our members. Now, you're one of the girls' competitive swimming club too~"
Little Saki followed Hachiman's gaze and smiled gently, softly correcting him.
"The girls' swimming club is all girls. With so many of us, are we supposed to be afraid of just one guy like Hikigaya-kun?"
"Sobu High has strict discipline rules. Many of our members don't even have boyfriends outside school. You better be careful~"
Although girls are usually at a disadvantage in such matters, like with swimsuits, they couldn't just wear swim trunks like Hikigaya, but normal interactions could still be quite bold.
If it weren't for the fact that Hikigaya was with the official seed members, and the regular members felt too pressured to approach, he might already have been surrounded and taken advantage of by the girls.
"Is that 'careful' scope including you too, little Saki?", Hearing Little Saki's considerate warning, Hachiman found it amusing and asked back.
Did little Saki not know that Hibiki brought him over to act as manager to help reduce the pressure of Tachibana Mikari and the others?
If it weren't for little Saki being in charge of logistics and thus under less pressure, he might've had to relieve her pressure too.
"Well… I don't have plans to start dating for now, so Hikigaya-kun doesn't need to be wary of me…", Little Saki blushed slightly at the counter-question, averted her gaze to the side, and spoke awkwardly and softly.
Actually, President Hibiki had told her the real reason for bringing Hikigaya into the girls' swimming club and asked her to do her best to assist him.
But she thought what Hibiki said was too ridiculous. How could girls want to relieve pressure in that kind of way? And asking Hikigaya to relieve pressure for so many members, he wouldn't be able to handle it, right?
"Hehe."
Seeing the serious-faced Little Saki blushing, Hachiman chuckled and didn't continue teasing her.
He was only here to help a few outstanding members relieve pressure. The one actually doing managerial work in the girls' swimming club was still Little Saki, he couldn't tease her away.
However, while he was chatting happily here, someone training hard in the water wasn't pleased.
"Huff!", Tachibana Mikari suddenly emerged from the water. Without even wiping the water off her face, she tore off her goggles and swim cap and angrily glared at Hachiman on the shore, who was chatting and laughing with Little Saki.
"I'm working so hard testing in training, and you're over there chatting with little Saki, even forgetting to time me?", Little Saki was serious, gentle, pretty, and elegant. It was said her family background was also quite mysterious, many guys liked her managing the girls' swimming club.
But she herself was also super pretty, okay? There was no place where she lost to little Saki, and yet this new guy, Hachiman, was ignoring her.
He was clearly called over to help with testing results, but instead he was just flirting with little Saki.
Was her charm that low? How was she supposed to steal Hachiman from Minami and the others to take revenge?
Slightly behind Tachibana Mikari, Orizuka Momoka and Uenohara Ayano also reached the wall and climbed out of the water, looking toward Hachiman who was being glared at.
"I did time you. As soon as you touched the wall, I pressed the stopwatch. I also timed Vice President Orizuka and Uenohara's times."
Hachiman was a bit speechless seeing Tachibana Mikari come over and confront him, handing her the stopwatch.
He'd been so busy lately, he was used to multitasking. Just chatting briefly with Little Saki didn't affect him timing Mikari and the others at all.
"Oh, I wrongly accused you. Let me apologize," Seeing the result on the stopwatch being similar to her usual, Tachibana Mikari knew she had misjudged him and quickly switched topics, chuckling.
"How about we go out after club activities end? I heard there's a new milk tea shop nearby, I'll treat you."
"Uh…", Hachiman looked at the instantly smiling and cheerful Tachibana Mikari with a slightly strange expression, unsure of her intentions.
'This situation… isn't it reversed?'
Wasn't he supposed to get close to Tachibana Mikari and find a chance to help her relieve pressure? Why did it now seem like Mikari was trying to win him over?
Even though he was indeed more handsome now, his charm shouldn't be that big. Mikari hadn't even experienced his ability yet, so love at first sight didn't seem reliable.
'Something's off.'
"You can call Minami and the others too. We can go shopping together."
Seeing Hachiman hesitate, Tachibana Mikari realized she was being too forward and arousing suspicion. But she didn't care at all. Instead, she smiled and came closer, hugging his arm and pressing her soft body tightly to his.
Was there any need to hide anything?
She was going to take him directly, even in front of Minami and the others.
However, before Hachiman could reject this obviously ill-intentioned sunny, energetic gyaru, Vice President Orizuka Momoka saw Mikari's excessive behavior and immediately climbed out of the pool, forcefully pulling Mikari away and scolding, "Mikari, stop messing around. The new manager is here to help little Saki with work, not to be pranked by you."
She didn't believe Mikari had really fallen for Hachiman. Her instincts told her Mikari had other motives and intended to mess with him.
Even though she wasn't thrilled about a boy joining the girls' swimming club, now that he had, she couldn't let Mikari toy with him, or it might harm the club's reputation. If the Discipline Committee came knocking, that would be trouble.
"Although I'd be happy to be invited to hang out with Mikari-san, I've got other things today. The others have gone home too, maybe another time," Hachiman smiled and tactfully declined as he looked at the pulled-away Mikari.
Although he did want to get closer to Mikari, and her enthusiasm suited him perfectly, this warmth was too abrupt. He had to be cautious.
He would ask Minami and the others about their relationship with Mikari and what they thought of her before making a decision.
He wasn't here at the girls' swimming club for just a few days. He was only a first-year, and the days ahead were long. There was no rush.
To be honest, the Service Club's room was a bit too small and couldn't compare to the indoor swimming facility here. Moving activities to this location might be worth considering.
After all, Iris could use invisibility magic and soundproofing barriers. Service Club members could do their thing, and the girls' swimming club could train without interfering with each other.
"Tch, coward. It's not like I'll eat you. What's there to be afraid of?", Tachibana Mikari saw how cautious Hachiman was. With Orizuka Momoka present, she couldn't forcibly drag him away. She could only give up, being pulled aside to resume training.
This guy was pretty alert, not just agreeing to hang out because she was pretty and had a great figure.
No wonder Minami, Rin, and even Yuina all liked Hachiman. They all said they were just friends, but it felt more like they were dating, not like they were just playing around.
But she liked high-difficulty challenges. If it was too easy to win over Hachiman, it wouldn't be satisfying enough to make Minami and the others cry with regret.
"Um… Manager Hikigaya… I have something I'd like to ask for your help with, could you spare a bit of time to talk with me over there?", At this moment, Uenohara Ayano, whose condition wasn't good today and had clearly dropped in her test results, hesitated for a moment, then approached Hachiman and softly asked.
"I came to help anyway, so of course it's fine, but…", Hachiman hesitated and nodded, his gaze subtly drifting toward the nearby Little Saki.
If Little Saki weren't beside him it'd be fine, but right now she was right beside him. If Uenohara Ayano had something going on, why didn't she go to Little Saki, and instead asked him, the newly arrived manager?
Definitely suspicious.
Tachibana Mikari's enthusiasm was abnormal, and Uenohara Ayano's initiative was also abnormal.
Could it be, him coming to the girls' competitive swimming club and being around swimsuit-clad beautiful girls wasn't a wolf entering a flock of sheep, but a wolf entering a tiger's den?
Had Hibiki already discussed things with Tachibana Mikari, Uenohara Ayano, and these physically strong athletic beauties, and just waited to pull him into the girls' competitive swimming club?
"Manager Hikigaya, you go help Uenohara first. I'll keep watch over things here," Seeing Hachiman look over, Little Saki immediately understood his meaning and gave a light smile.
Uenohara Ayano must have her reasons for finding Manager Hikigaya. It's not that she looked down on her own ability, Little Saki didn't mind such a trivial matter.
Hmm… even if she minded, there's nothing she could do. If Uenohara didn't come to her, it's not like she could force her, or insist Uenohara ask her for help.
Although she hadn't expected Uenohara to suddenly go to Manager Hikigaya either. Just what was it that couldn't be told to her, and instead needed to trouble Manager Hikigaya?
According to what Hibiki said, although she supported using that kind of method to relieve the pressure on the official and candidate swimmers, she wouldn't tell everyone about it. It was merely to encourage everyone to work together harmoniously for the competition.
"Then let's find a quieter place to talk," Seeing that Little Saki didn't look unhappy, Hachiman nodded, greeted them, and left with Uenohara Ayano.
Since Uenohara Ayano specifically sought him out instead of Little Saki, she probably had something she didn't want others to know about. It was best to find a quiet and empty place to talk properly.
———
[Pool, Non-Training Area]
Iris and Elliot were swimming and chatting in the water while discreetly paying attention to Hachiman doing manager work in the distance.
Although, because of their identities, quite a few girls from the girls' competitive swimming club came to chat with them and they couldn't relax and play freely, with the status of Iris and Elliot, they were already used to the attention of countless eyes and easily handled the enthusiasm of the girls.
Only the socially anxious Gotou Hitori was hiding behind Sakurase Shino, trembling and too scared to talk to the approaching girls from the swimming club.
Gabriel and Yukinoshita Yukino, on the other hand, looked at the beautiful bodies around them that the swimsuits couldn't hide, and fell into a long silence.
"That was the girl the manager came to assist in the girls' swimming club, right? Now the manager has left the poolside with her."
The naturally cute mermaid idol Elusi noticed what was going on near Hachiman, flicked her fishtail, swam over to Elliot and Iris, and whispered into their ears.
Mermaids can walk on land using legs, but once they enter the water, they revert to fishtails. Just a light flick and they can swim far, no need to paddle like humans.
"The manager's assisting again? Let's go have a look together!", The tanned, blonde, gyaru-style beauty mermaid Ayla also noticed what was going on. Hearing Elusi mention it, she immediately encouraged them.
"The manager is doing proper work; it wouldn't be good to disturb him, right?", The smallest mermaid Elliot blushed slightly and tried to stop them in a small voice when she heard Ayla and the others sounding like they wanted to sneak a peek.
'If the manager is assisting that girl, doesn't that mean he's going to do that… that kind of thing…'
Although she'd already witnessed it herself, and even discussed with Elusi and Ayla about receiving the manager's assistance together to continue their mermaid idol career,
She still felt very shy about that kind of thing, unlike Elusi and Ayla who were so bold and even wanted to make the first move.
"Mm, what Elliot said is right. We should give the manager a bit of privacy… is that Ursula over there?"
Iris agreed with Elliot's thinking and was about to persuade everyone to give the manager some space to assist the human girls. If they pushed too hard, the manager wouldn't be able to take it.
But before she could finish, she suddenly saw a familiar figure quietly appear at the poolside, walking toward Hachiman.
Petite figure, bronze skin, a slender tail with a heart-shaped tip, …
"That's right, it's that rude lizard! Is she planning to do something shady to the manager again?"
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