Aegis's eyes swept across, confirming that the fleeting petite figure over there was indeed the dragon clan chief Ursula who had been constantly causing trouble for them, and immediately wanted to draw the longsword at her waist to rush over and stop Ursula.
Even in the swimming pool, she still carried her sword, in order to be able to fight quickly in case of unexpected situations.
"Wait a moment, Aegis, don't be in a hurry, let's follow and see first," Iris hurriedly held down Aegis's hand that was about to draw the longsword and explained in a low voice.
'Ursula knows that she alone can't handle the President, but she still showed up here at the girls' swimming club approaching the President, so there must be a reason.'
She planned to first see what Ursula intended to do, then consider how to deal with Ursula.
Ursula, as the dragon clan chief, was indeed very strong, but their side had the advantage in numbers and strength, Ursula was no match at all, so there was no need to worry about Ursula playing tricks.
What's more, Ursula now still wanted to stay here and play, unwilling to return to Dragon Island so soon. The reason she showed up here was very likely simply to get back at the President for playing with her before.
"…Fine," Hearing Iris's persuasion, Aegis slowly relaxed her grip on the sword hilt, lightly nodded, but her eyes still stared at the direction where Hachiman and Ursula disappeared.
Although she really wanted to go over and chop off that lizard's tail, to make that fellow stop being so arrogant, she knew her actions had always been reckless, and Iris's words were the correct approach.
Countless facts had already proven to her that Iris's opinions were more farsighted than hers.
So even if Iris made her do something embarrassing with the President, she would agree first, then ask Iris the reason afterward.
"Then let's hurry over, don't let other women steal the President," Ayla and the others were already too impatient, hurriedly pulled Elliot to swim, wanting to rely on the mermaid's speed advantage to get ashore one step ahead, then rush to Hachiman's side to secure their spot.
In the morning, they had just changed from being enemies trying to steal Hachiman, to the ones being helped by him. Plus, being a little shy, although they tried hard, they only managed to drink a bit of soup in the end, the rest all got taken by Ursula.
But now, they couldn't keep being like this. Drinking soup only slowed down their transformation process. If they really wanted to end the transformation period and maintain their female forms, they still had to get closer to the President, and eat until their bellies were full.
"Wait, don't be in such a hurry! Don't forget Yukinoshita. Are we bringing her along?", Gabriel saw that Iris and the others were also preparing to go over, and quickly pulled back the anxious Elusi and Ayla, signaling them to look at Yukinoshita Yukino beside her.
"Uhh…", Iris was stunned, and exchanged glances with Aegis, the stopped Elliot, Elusi, and the others, falling silent for a long while.
If Gabriel hadn't said anything, they really would have forgotten Yukinoshita Yukino's existence. They subconsciously thought that since everyone was a service club member, they should all be familiar already.
For the few demi-humans who came from another world, that went without saying. They had been aided by the President, and had already learned clearly about each other's relationships in private.
Among the rest, Sakurase Shino was a withdrawn girl who had just been guided and educated by the President this afternoon, and was still emitting the President's faint scent from her whole body;
Gotou Hitori, the extremely socially anxious girl, had just been recruited into the service club by the President. But previously, Iris had brought Gotou Hitori to the student guidance room via teleportation to see Hachiman. It's just that Hachiman didn't take the chance to directly claim Gotou Hitori at that time.
Sakurase Shino and Gotou Hitori, one introverted and one socially anxious, didn't understand a lot of things, and didn't know about the aid matter, but at least they had witnessed the President's extraordinariness, and knew what the girls were doing with the President in private, so they wouldn't spread rumors or interfere.
But what about Yukinoshita Yukino?
Among all the service club members present, it seemed that only Yukinoshita Yukino didn't have a close relationship with the President. But Yukinoshita Yukino was the Vice-President, the second person to join the service club.
Could they abandon Yukinoshita Yukino at this time and all rush to find the President?
If they didn't abandon her, and let Yukinoshita Yukino see what they were doing with the President, how would she react?
"Why are you all looking at me like that?", Yukinoshita Yukino looked at Iris, Elliot, Gabriel, and the others all staring at her, her face full of confusion.
'Since just now, they have been whispering something?'
'Why are they staring at me with such strange eyes?'
———
Girls' locker room, entrance.
"…Um… Uenohara-san, are you sure we're going into the locker room to talk? There's no other place?", Hachiman looked at Uenohara Ayano, who was barefoot and standing in front of him, then glanced at the empty locker room inside, hesitating visibly.
Although there was no boys' locker room here, because the indoor pool had long been allocated to the girls' competitive swimming club, and the boys' locker room had already been converted into a girls' one.
Only the men's restroom wasn't specifically remodeled, but when the women's restroom was full, the girls would run to the adjacent men's restroom.
But none of that was a valid reason to come talk in the locker room.
Right now, there were only two possibilities: either Uenohara Ayano was full of lewd thoughts, had fallen for him at first sight, and wanted to do something exciting in the locker room. Or she was trying to trap him, lure him into the locker room, then call others in.
Hmm… Given how unusually enthusiastic Tachibana Mikari was toward him too, the possibility of Uenohara Ayano trying to trap him seemed a bit more likely.
"Hikigaya-manager, don't worry. Everyone's in the pool right now, no one will come to the locker room. We'll just say a few words and leave," Uenohara Ayano clearly knew her actions could be misunderstood. Her fair, delicate face reddened slightly, her fingers entwining nervously, as she looked down and softly explained.
She had also thought about finding another suitable place, but other than the wide-open, crowded pool area outside, the pool only had restrooms, shower rooms, and locker rooms. There weren't many places suitable for conversation.
She couldn't exactly take Manager Hikigaya to the restroom or shower room to talk. That would cause even more misunderstanding.
"…No need to call me manager. Just call me Hikigaya or Hachiman. If there's no other place, then fine, here it is. Just make it quick," Hachiman carefully observed Uenohara Ayano's shy and nervous expression and body language. It didn't feel like an act, so he nodded and stepped in first.
Well, although he had previously had a long, deep conversation in the restroom with Iris and Hayase Saki, that time Iris had made all sorts of preparations: cleaning magic, soundproof barriers, invisibility spells. Who normally wants to chat in a restroom?
Whatever. He wasn't afraid of Uenohara Ayano locking him in the locker room or trying to ruin his reputation.
If that really happened, he could just teleport away, then deal harshly with Uenohara Ayano for trying to mess with him.
Though even if Uenohara Ayano wasn't trying anything, a guy in swim trunks and a girl in a skin-tight racing swimsuit alone together in the locker room, if discovered, would be hard to explain.
"Mm! Hikigaya-kun! Thank you very much for your trust!", Seeing Hachiman enter the locker room, Uenohara Ayano hurried in after him and immediately closed the door behind her.
However, she completely failed to notice a petite figure quietly appearing around the corner. After she shut the door, the figure silently walked to the outside of the locker room door.
"Uenohara, now that no one else is here, you can say whatever was inconvenient to say before," Inside the locker room, Hachiman saw that Uenohara Ayano didn't seem like she was trying anything, but genuinely wanted to talk, so he asked directly.
Fortunately, he was long used to being alone with pretty girls. Otherwise, faced at such close range with a beautiful girl in a form-fitting racing swimsuit, water droplets on her snow-white skin, blushing face, and himself only in swim trunks, he might not have been able to control his physiological instincts.
"Um… Hayase-senpai said recently she was feeling a lot of pressure and wanted to quit the club to rest for a few days. Although the captain didn't say anything, I know she went to your Service Club," Uenohara Ayano clearly hadn't thought that far. She stood in place hesitating for a moment, then softly revealed her true reason for seeking out Hachiman.
"I noticed that after Hayase-senpai came back, her condition and performance improved significantly. She also smiled much more than before. So… so I wanted to ask, Hikigaya-kun, how did you guide her? How did her performance improve so much?"
"Lately my training results have been poor too, and I've been under a lot of pressure… If possible, could I ask you to help me relieve some pressure and improve my training results too?"
Maybe others hadn't noticed Hayase's situation, but Uenohara Ayano, a pessimistic person with a sensitive heart who often doubted herself, paid close attention to everyone's state.
Not only did she keep an eye on rivals in her grade, she also watched over the upperclassmen stronger than her, because the girls' competitive swimming club emphasized ability. If Hayase, a full member and vice-captain, wasn't strong enough, it was entirely possible for a first-year to replace her.
Previously, Hayase was strong, but only slightly stronger than them. Today, Hayase was clearly far stronger, even the gap with Tachibana and her had widened.
Even though Hayase had recently been at the Service Club and rarely trained, how did her ability suddenly grow so much?
She had noticed that usually shy and unpopular Hayase had started smiling more and often looked toward Hikigaya, so she immediately guessed that Hayase had gained something from the Service Club.
Perhaps the captain also knew that Hikigaya was good at counseling. Why else would she invite a boy to be manager of the girls' swimming team, when there were so many girls in the school and finding a female manager would be easy? Clearly the captain knew the real reason Hayase improved.
"Uh…", Hachiman was stunned as he listened to Uenohara Ayano ask how he had guided Hayase Saki and relieved her pressure.
Should he say that Tsukahara Hibiki and Uenohara Ayano were really spiritually connected? He hadn't even said what he came here for, and now he was being asked directly. In this area, he was indeed an expert. He had already counseled and educated problem girls like Sakurase Shino, Ichinose Ayano, and Hayase Saki.
Except for Yukinoshita Yukino, even the toughest problem girl, Sakurase Shino, could be "handled" in just a few days.
But did Uenohara Ayano misunderstand something? Saki's swimming performance improvement had nothing to do with his guidance, right?
He didn't do anything to Saki. At most, had her do a lot of intense physical activity.
But that shouldn't be the key to her improved performance, right? It had only been a few days. Uenohara Ayano must know Saki's abilities well. If Saki hadn't clearly improved from her time in the Service Club, she wouldn't have come to ask him this while alone together.
Hmm… then the only possibility was that he and Saki had become too intimate.
According to Iris, his body contained very concentrated life energy. The aura it emitted was extremely attractive. It was precisely this rich life energy that made them choose him at first sight, thinking he was the savior who could bring prosperity and revival to the elf race.
Although girls like Saki were still young and didn't have the same urgent desire as Iris and the others to produce high-quality offspring, even if they couldn't absorb it as efficiently, even a little leftover life energy was good for their bodies.
Hmm… basically, their physical attributes, like stamina, recovery, flexibility, improved a bit. In terms of swimming, that translated into better breath-holding, longer sprint times, farther sprint distances, etc.
"Can't say? I overstepped, Hikigaya-kun. Just pretend I never asked," Seeing Hachiman hesitate for a long time without answering, neither denying nor agreeing, Uenohara Ayano thought he was in a difficult position. She quickly waved her hands to show it didn't matter.
'Ugh… I just can't compare with Hayase-senpai, who has a great figure and is adorably shy like a little animal…'
She was always swimming, had no free time, wasn't cute, wasn't popular, and had only just met Hachiman. Of course he wouldn't want to help her. It was normal.
'Ugh ugh ugh…'
"It's not that I can't say. It's just that the method is too… special, and not suitable for use on you. I'm also not sure it really works."
Seeing Uenohara Ayano say "it's fine" while pouting like she was about to cry, Hachiman sighed and tried to reassure her.
Looks like Tsukahara Hibiki didn't set him up. Uenohara Ayano really was that pessimistic and sensitive. He hadn't even said anything yet, and she'd already jumped to her own conclusions, full of resentment and on the verge of tears.
But compared to social-anxiety-stricken Bocchi, who was basically mentally ill, the pessimist Uenohara Ayano was already pretty easy to handle.
In fact, she might even be easier to deal with than the introverted Sakurase Shino. As long as you firmly and consistently encouraged her, it should be fine.
"A method too special… not suitable for me?", Uenohara Ayano stared blankly at Hachiman, completely unaware of what method Hayase Saki had used to improve her performance.
"Simply put… my communication with Saki was… rather intimate. So you might not be able to accept my way of relieving pressure," Hachiman thought about it and decided not to mention the life energy stuff. Instead, he referred to what Tsukahara Hibiki had sent him here for. Relieving pressure.
If his guess was right and his life energy truly did enhance their performance, he wouldn't object to using it on Uenohara Ayano.
But since he wasn't sure yet, there was no need to use that explanation to deceive her.
Although both relieving pressure and absorbing life energy seemed the same on the surface, he didn't need to lie to Uenohara Ayano using something uncertain.
This kind of thing had to be based on mutual willingness. He came to the girls' competitive swimming team to assist them, not to deceive or manipulate.
"Rather intimate? With Saki? Don't tell me…", Hearing that affectionate nickname, Uenohara Ayano's pupils widened in shock as she looked at Hachiman, unable to finish the sentence.
"Yes, it's what you're thinking. So you need to consider it carefully," Hachiman nodded.
"Sorry! I was too forward! I didn't know you and Hayase-senpai were lovers," Receiving the confirmation, Uenohara Ayano's ears turned red. She bowed at a ninety-degree angle and apologized repeatedly.
Though she didn't quite understand why relieving stress required lover-level intimacy, Hikigaya had no reason to lie to her. Especially since she had already said to pretend she hadn't asked.
No wonder… Hayase left the club to go to the Service Club, and a boy like Hikigaya was specially invited to the girls' swim team as manager. It might all have been because of that.
Maybe Hayase had requested it, wanting to be with her lover.
With her status as vice-captain and her now obviously improved skills, the captain probably agreed to her request.
Still, she never expected that Hayase and Hikigaya were lovers.
Clearly the introverted and timid Hayase had been just like her. Too busy training to even hang out with her childhood friends.
And lately there were plenty of rumors linking Hikigaya with an elf princess, a political heiress, and a mermaid idol. It was just that the identities involved were too sensitive, so no one dared say it openly. Only whispered among close friends.
Just the mermaid idol's male fans would tear apart anyone spreading fake rumors. Let alone the far nobler elf princess.
Even Hikigaya, the one with the most ordinary background, had the student council president as a childhood friend. Talking nonsense at school would get you caught by the discipline committee.
If Hikigaya hadn't told her, she never would have connected Hayase and him. After all, the Service Club was full of elite beauties, and the introverted Hayase was probably the least noticeable among them.
'…Huh? Wait a minute!'
As she apologized and processed this shocking news in her mind, Uenohara Ayano suddenly realized a serious problem.
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