Perhaps because Ursula, as a powerful dragon from another world, was accustomed to being domineering, she never considered these things and simply took it for granted that her actions were justified.
But for him, since he had a choice, he would naturally opt for the side that offered more freedom and autonomy.
Could a dragon girl compare to the delicate, tender beauty of an elf girl?
He hadn't heard much about dragons from the 2D world, but he knew plenty about elves. Perhaps when he will visit the Elf Forest in the future, he'd trigger many more quests.
Though the title of 'Dragon Knight' sounded impressive, 'Savior of the Elves' sounds even better.
"Alright, let me go and release Uenohara-san's control too. If you want to challenge me, go ahead. I won't run," Hachiman glanced at Uenohara Ayano, who was coughing again in front of him, and urged impatiently.
Ursula had treated him decently, always bringing him benefits, but at her core, she still looked down on ordinary people. She hadn't considered Uenohara Ayano's limits at all, simply treating her as a tool.
"Are you planning to call Iris and the others to rescue you? I won't give you the chance," Ursula curled her lips, completely unwilling to listen to Hachiman. However, seeing that Uenohara Ayano could no longer swallow, she released control over her upper body, letting her rest for a moment before standing up and slowly sitting down in Hachiman's lap with her back to him.
Giving up control over Uenohara Ayano entirely was out of the question. At most, she'd release control of her upper body.
Since Iris and the others were nearby, any soundproofing barrier would be detected instantly. Thus, she couldn't let Uenohara Ayano and Hachiman make too much noise and had to maintain control over the situation.
What a shame. Iris's enhancement magic was cast using mana, so she couldn't replicate it. Otherwise, she could've made Hachiman experience the same suffocating, mind-numbing sensation she had felt.
"Mmm...", With the control over her upper body released, Uenohara Ayano stared at the open changing room door, her hands tightly covering her mouth to prevent any loud noises.
She never expected things to turn out like this. She had only wanted to discuss ways to improve her performance with the new manager, but now...
'If Hayase-senpai or any other club members see me like this, there'll be no way to explain it...'
Especially since she couldn't hold out much longer. Hachiman's so-called "special method" for relieving stress was indeed... quite intense.
"Heh!", Ursula, the culprit, felt no sympathy for Uenohara Ayano's predicament. After glancing at the struggling girl, she gradually increased the pace under Ayano's disbelieving gaze.
"You've been expending energy all morning and skipped afternoon classes. How much longer can you last?", Ursula stared at Hachiman's relaxed expression, searching for even a hint of panic.
But no matter how hard she looked, she found nothing. It was as if he had been enjoying himself the entire time, never once reaching his limit.
If only she could control him. But for some reason, even though Hachiman was just an ordinary human with slightly better physical fitness and denser life energy, she couldn't exert any control over him.
Logically, since he had no mana, his resistance to magic should've been nearly zero.
"Come to think of it, you're always wearing this collar. Is this how you're immune to my control?", Ursula, practically draped over Hachiman's back, suddenly noticed the elegant leather collar around his wrist. Even while swimming, he hadn't taken it off. A thought struck her, and she swiftly removed it from his arm.
"Wait, that collar. Ugh, never mind..."
Ignoring Hachiman's protest, Ursula mimicked him by slipping the collar onto her own wrist. However, she sensed no magical fluctuations.
"Doesn't seem like a mental resistance-type magical accessory. Am I using it wrong?", Noticing Hachiman glancing at her neck with a complicated expression, she pondered for a moment before fastening the leather collar around her own throat under his watchful gaze.
Click!
"Hmm?", The moment the collar snapped shut, Ursula felt a strange sensation ripple through her body. So fleeting that if not for her keen senses, she might've dismissed it as imagination.
It seemed this exquisite leather collar was indeed the key to Hachiman's immunity.
But since she couldn't control herself, she couldn't test how effective it was against mental domination.
Still, given that she hadn't noticed its uniqueness earlier and Hachiman remained unaffected by her control, this item must've been quite valuable.
Ursula stroked the collar around her neck, a smug smile playing on her lips as she turned her gaze back to Hachiman.
'Now, it is time to make this always-calm guy lose his composure.'
'I'll make him pay tenfold—no, a hundredfold—for all the times he reduced me to a sobbing, begging mess on the floor!'
Yet, even after several seconds of her attempting to exert control, Hachiman showed no signs of obeying her command to pick up Uenohara Ayano.
The changing room remained silent except for Ayano's muffled whimpers.
"Why isn't it working? Isn't this collar how you resist my control?", Ursula narrowed her eyes, touching the collar again in bewilderment.
"Well... it does protect against mental control...", Hachiman, who had been silently watching her put on the collar, nearly burst out laughing. He nodded slowly and explained,
"I've been relying on this Service Collar to avoid being controlled. I wear it all the time. Eating, attending school, bathing, even sleeping, to prevent any underhanded schemes."
If not for having completed Sakurase Shino's quest earlier that day, granting him a charm-attracting physique and immunity to mental domination, he would've teleported away the moment Ursula tried removing the collar.
He hadn't dared to risk being controlled by her. Who knew what she'd do? Despite her bratty appearance, she was still a dragon, with values vastly different from humans.
But now that she'd foolishly put on the Service Collar herself, he no longer had anything to worry about.
He'd never been sure who to give the collar to, as it felt unfair no matter whom he chose. Now that Ursula had willingly worn it, things couldn't have worked out better.
Meeting Ursula's expectant gaze, Hachiman smiled and said, "Ursula, lie down on the floor."
The moment the words left his mouth, Ursula froze. Before she could even react in anger, her body obeyed against her will, dropping flat onto the cold tiles.
Her soft cheek pressed against the chilly surface, and the dampness on the floor even touched the corner of her lips.
'This feeling—'
'How could I be controlled?'
Realization struck instantly. She desperately tried to raise her hand and remove the collar.
But what had been easy to take off earlier now clung stubbornly to her neck, unyielding no matter how hard she tugged. Even when she pulled hard enough to redden her skin, the collar refused to break.
"Y-You set this up?"
Ursula lifted her head in disbelief, 'Has Hachiman's earlier glances at my neck been a deliberate ploy to trick me into wearing it?'
"I don't know whether to call you clever or stupid for putting the collar on yourself," Hachiman watched as Ursula struggled futilely on the ground, then issued a few more commands. Forcing her into a crouch, fists curled like a cat's paws, tongue slightly out.
Gripping her smooth chin under her furious glare, he sighed.
"To be fair, this collar does block mental control, but that's just a side effect. Its real purpose... Ursula, from now on, you can only meow. No human speech."
"Meow? M-Meow! M-Mrrp—"
As Ursula let out indignant, humiliated mewls, her eyes burning with the desire to tear him apart. Yet unable to even bite him. Hachiman played idly with the Service Collar around her neck, marveling at its terrifying power.
Blocking mental interference was merely a secondary function. The collar's true purpose was ensuring its wearer obeyed only his commands.
If it couldn't block outside control, it wouldn't be able to enforce absolute obedience.
The real question was, 'How strong of a being can it restrain?'
'Will angels or demons be bound by it? Or can they overpower and destroy it?'
Ursula was no pushover. According to Iris, if Ursula had been serious, even the combined forces of the elves and mermaid idols wouldn't have stood a chance against the dragon matriarch.
Dragons were inherently magic-resistant creatures. Without exploiting the loophole of casting enhancement magic inside Ursula via Hachiman, ordinary buffs would've had little effect.
Though immune to her mental control, Hachiman's physical abilities weren't extraordinary, just his recovery rate far surpassed hers. Combined with his intimate knowledge of her weaknesses, it made her seem far weaker than she was.
If not for her blunder, he'd have had no way to subdue her and would've remained at the mercy of this bratty dragon.
"Ayano, you're free now, right? How do you want to punish Ursula?", Setting aside the mewling Ursula for now, Hachiman turned to Uenohara Ayano beside her.
With Ursula subdued, Ayano's control had lifted, but she hadn't held out either, collapsing into a "seiza" sit on the floor, still recovering.
"W-Wait... Hikigaya-kun, my legs... I can't stand yet...", Uenohara Ayano felt her legs still uncontrollably slightly trembling, a shy and embarrassed smile appeared on her face, and she said softly.
Having lost Ursula's forced control, the accumulated fatigue from squatting for so long earlier caused Uenohara Ayano's legs to become sore and weak, almost kneeling on the ground again, barely sitting down to rest.
Actually, this was secondary. Under normal circumstances, with her body trained every day, the high-frequency squatting would not have made her unable to stand up.
Mainly, under Ursula's forced manipulation just now, there were also many indescribable stimulations.
Almost suffocating, unable to breathe, as if uncomfortable, yet as if pleasurable.
She felt that she was forced by Ursula, but also seemed to be voluntary, after all, she didn't dislike it, the whole process was only uncomfortable at the beginning, the feeling afterward...
If it weren't that her legs couldn't stand straight, she almost thought just now that she didn't want to stop.
It's just that if it were her doing it herself, she definitely wouldn't be able to be as proactive as Ursula's control, at least, at least like what Hachiman said, she would only be this proactive after falling for him.
"The matter just now, I will take responsibility for you, but you don't need to care too much or be too nervous, for now, rest well first, let's leave here first, it won't be good if someone comes later," Hachiman looked at the eyes of Uenohara Ayano which seemed to be misty again, hazily looking at himself, gently stroked her soft and smooth long brown hair, and softly comforted.
Now the locker room door was broken, anyone coming in could see the scene of him, Ursula, and Uenohara Ayano in the locker room, this situation could not be explained no matter how, so it was better to leave decisively.
"Um, that... what Hikigaya-kun just said... liking me, is it true?", Uenohara Ayano lightly nodded, hands pressing on Hachiman's thighs, looking up at the extremely energetic Hachiman with a completely red face.
'Just now was my first time, but Hayase-senpai is not even Hikigaya-kun's irlfriend.'
Always swimming, never having been in a relationship, she didn't have the courage to ask Hikigaya for any promise.
Now she only wanted to know, the things Hikigaya said just now about her being cute and that he liked her, whether they were just social words because of Ursula.
"Of course it's true, but I just think you're beautiful and cute, I don't have much affection for you. Feelings are something that need to be cultivated slowly in the future, maybe you'll think I'm a playboy and hate me," Hachiman reached out to hold Uenohara Ayano's hands, forcefully pulling the duck-sitting her up from the ground, cupping her crimson cheeks that seemed to be bleeding, gently lifted her damp hair, and kissed her smooth white forehead.
"Mm... Hikigaya-kun and I have only just met not long ago, definitely impossible to fall in love at first sight, Hikigaya-kun sincerely thinking I'm cute and not disliking me is already very good," Feeling Hachiman's intimate and close actions, Uenohara Ayano's face, already extremely red, now seemed to be dripping blood, lowered her head and mumbled softly.
As a pessimist, always thinking of things in the worst direction, she naturally didn't have expectations for something like love at first sight.
Not long ago she found out her friends all got boyfriends, but she didn't even have male friends. At that time, she even thought about quitting the club, anyway, the competition pressure in the girls' swim team was so big, and she couldn't get good results, so quitting the club to try dating seemed better.
She didn't expect that now she hadn't even quit the club, but half her wish was already fulfilled, and if she wanted to improve her performance next, Hikigaya could help her.
Just thinking that she and Hachiman were already in this kind of relationship, just like Hayase and Hachiman, and would accept Hachiman's special stress-relieving and performance-enhancing method, made her heart pound rapidly.
She didn't know what was going on with Hayase, but in such a short time she almost couldn't hold on, if Hayase had undergone long-term training, then having significant improvement in results seemed very normal.
"Then about our matter, can I tell Hayase-senpai? Hayase-senpai progressed very fast with Hikigaya-kun in a short time, was it also because she was controlled by Ursula?", After struggling internally, Uenohara Ayano asked Hachiman her inner doubt, her gaze involuntarily always drifting to the Ursula in front.
It was really hard to believe, that Ursula, who had just wantonly bullied her, the dragon clan's leader, was actually tamed by Hikigaya-kun and obediently squatting there meowing.
"As for Saki... she's not really the jealous type, you don't have to worry about not getting along with her."
Hachiman shook his head upon hearing, don't be fooled by Saki's timidness, not even daring to speak loudly, but she was actually pretty brave, not only dragging her good foodie friend along, but also prepared quite a few clothes to play with him.
Believing that being pulled into the pit by Iris, knowing that he had many girls around, Saki had already mentally prepared.
When she finds out about Uenohara Ayano, maybe Saki would even be happy, after all, Uenohara Ayano was Hayase Saki's junior, and with Uenohara Ayano's personality, she would probably also respect Saki quite a bit.
"As for my relationship with Saki... she was not controlled by Ursula, but the reason for the fast progress is a bit complicated, you can go ask Saki about it later,".Hachiman rubbed Uenohara Ayano's head, and pulled her to stand up from the long bench together.
Speaking of his relationship with Saki, no one would think it started with an accident, the timid and weak Saki, because she was afraid he would leave her alone, forcibly cast a calming spell on him.
Even if he told Komachi and the others, they would definitely think he was joking. If he hadn't experienced it himself, he wouldn't believe it either.
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