"Words of thanks can wait. For now, I'll send you home. Get some proper rest. Oh, and tonight's wages, I'll issue them on behalf of the store manager. Your reward for your hard work must not be forgotten," Hachiman waved his hand, then drew a few bills from the cash register and handed them to Hayasaka Yuuko and Miyamoto Madoka.
"Th-thank you…", Miyamoto Madoka and Hayasaka Yuuko stared blankly at the money Hachiman held out, dazedly extending their hands to accept it.
They were scared to death, so terrified they hadn't even thought about wages. Hadn't imagined that this seemingly powerful Hachiman would be more concerned than them about compensation for their labor.
Seeing the emotional changes in Hayasaka Yuuko and Miyamoto Madoka, Ursula standing nearby rolled her eyes in speechless exasperation.
'If you don't know how to thank him, then thank him with your body.'
'Thank this guy with your body, and you'll never have to work part-time again, never have to worry about danger, because he'll definitely take care of you.'
If it were the past, she would've pinned down Hachiman's hands and feet, used magic to control these two girls and made them join the battlefield like Ruri Kuretsuba, causing trouble for Iris and the others.
But after experiencing Ellio and the others turning traitor at the last moment, and herself carelessly putting on the collar now around her neck, she wouldn't act recklessly anymore.
Iris probably wouldn't even spare a glance at these girls who only had looks and figures to offer, so there's no need to stir trouble and end up half-dead from Hachiman again.
She would either do nothing at all, or gather all her strength to crush Hachiman in one go.
Succubi, vampires, oni, yuki-onna, and many other demi-humans and yokai could be used. Mere Hachiman couldn't possibly withstand it.
———
[Inside the landlady's apartment]
"We're home, Hayasaka-san."
After sending Miyamoto Madoka back, Hachiman and Ursula brought Hayasaka Yuuko back to her apartment.
Tonight's mission to eliminate the minotaur was a trivial matter to him. Even if he hadn't acted personally, just dispatching Ursula would've handled it easily. It was only because time was tight and he wanted to prevent Hayasaka Yuuko from being harmed that he teleported immediately.
If it weren't for the fact that the fast-food store's manager was a repeat offender who had persecuted other victims before, he would've just killed the guy and taken the girls away.
Since there was more than one accomplice and more than one victim, he decided to let Councilman Ichinose handle the matter, so all perpetrators would be punished and the victims compensated.
To him, tonight was just a sour mood from seeing bad guys abuse people, and so he lashed out brutally, even intending to burn the manager alive. But for Hayasaka Yuuko, tonight had been terrifying. She and her junior Miyamoto Madoka had nearly suffered a terrible fate.
If she hadn't happened to run into Hachiman while going out tonight, if he hadn't been such a kind person and even insisted she add his contact info...
"Um… Hikigaya-kun, would you like to come in and sit for a while…", The clear, gentle, long-black-haired college student Hayasaka Yuuko opened her door, standing at her home entrance. She bit her lower lip, then suddenly turned to look at Hachiman and Ursula, squeezing out words she regretted the moment they left her mouth.
Not good at socializing, she had no idea how to express her gratitude.
Hikigaya was clearly a big shot, calmly burning a manager alive inside the changing room, calling the Chiba police with just two phone calls. Her decent family background must be nothing in his eyes, and no form of repayment could match sincere gratitude.
But inviting him in for a glass of water to show her appreciation didn't seem right either.
Those words felt ambiguous, and Hikigaya was even accompanied by a dragon clan leader. Asking him in might be interrupting his nightlife.
"Hayasaka-san, get a good night's sleep. Don't overthink. If anything comes up, talk to me tomorrow. My home is right next door. You can see it when you step outside," Seeing Hayasaka Yuuko lost in thought without saying a word, her face revealing her genuine emotions, Hachiman couldn't help but smile, pointing to his own home and gently comforting her.
"Th-this… Hikigaya-kun, just call me Yuuko…", Seeing that Hachiman, younger than her, was so mature and calm, that despite being the one helping her, he still consoled her, Hayasaka Yuuko hesitated, then mustered her courage and whispered.
"Then you call me Hachiman too, Yuuko. Good night," Hachiman nodded with a smile, raised his hand to hold Hayasaka Yuuko's shoulders, and gently pushed her into the room, closing the door for her.
Though Hayasaka Yuuko was a college student, she still felt like a kid who hadn't entered society.
Hmm… maybe that's not wrong. Although many people start working part-time in high school to gain experience and earn living expenses, from her performance today, she didn't seem any different from someone who just entered high school.
If she weren't naïve and bad at social interaction, in the original story, she wouldn't have agreed to her parents' arrangement to marry a divorced man with a child, nor be so lacking in caution toward strangers.
"Hachiman… good night…", Looking at the warm face so close to hers, breathing in the calming scent that reached her nose, Hayasaka Yuuko unconsciously held her breath.
After Hachiman closed the door, she came to her senses, slid down with her back against the door, gently covered her chest with both hands, and whispered the good night she hadn't managed to say in time into the quiet entryway.
'Hachiman is really a good man.'
Though they'd only met twice, he had gone to so much trouble for her.
'Too bad someone like me… isn't worthy to stand by his side…'
Hayasaka Yuuko's eyes lost focus as she recalled the scenes from the two times she'd met Hachiman.
The first time, beside Hachiman was a petite and cute blonde girl, radiating healing aura like a little angel.
She hadn't seen who was with him in the afternoon, but now he was accompanied by another petite, cute girl. This time a dragon girl exuding resentment.
Every time she met him, there seemed to be a different girl by his side.
———
In the hallway outside.
Seeing that Hayasaka Yuuko obediently went inside, Hachiman finally checked the newly arrived mission reward.
["Ding~"]
["Mission 'Late-night Duty Girls' complete."]
["Mission Reward, Dependency Affinity."]
[Dependency Affinity: In the eyes of people with dependent personality disorder, you will be the person they trust the most.]
This "Dependency Affinity" reward… it's really no surprise it came from Hayasaka Yuuko.
She isn't really socially anxious, but rather has a dependent personality. That's different from Bocchi-chan's social anxiety or Hayase Saki's introversion. Though it may seem similar in mild stages, they're fundamentally different.
In severe cases, dependent personality disorder comes with distinct symptoms unlike social anxiety:
Incompetent, helpless. Fearing loneliness, giving up everything to cater to others, becoming someone with no self.
Lacking cognitive ability. Can't understand themselves or others deeply, childish thinking, easily trusting and being deceived.
Self-deprecating. Insecure, exaggerating failures, downplaying achievements, willingly taking blame for others.
Desperately seeking unbreakable interpersonal bonds as a defense mechanism against relational crises and conflicts.
Hmm… though this Dependency Affinity isn't very useful for him personally, he doesn't need this kind of affinity to win over girls.
But as the president of the Service Club, this could be very effective for certain troubled girls, helping them quickly lower their guard and accept his guidance.
Though dependent personality differs from social anxiety and introversion, it should still help a bit. He'd test it on Bocchi-chan later.
Tomorrow, he planned to let Gotou Hitori and Ijichi Nijika make friends and build rapport for the future band party anyway.
"What are you looking at? Plotting something again?"
Hachiman snapped out of his thoughts, turning to see the silver-haired, red-eyed little demon girl silently staring at him. He smiled, wrapped an arm around Ursula's shoulder, pulled her soft body into his embrace, pressed their foreheads together, and gently bit her upper lip.
"Look at the collar on my neck. Do you think I still dare to misbehave?"
Ursula bit him back. Seeing him chuckle and release his bite without letting go of her tightly held body, his hands already playing with her tail behind, she rolled her eyes.
She wanted to misbehave too, but wasn't she bound by the servant collar around her neck? How could she act recklessly in front of Hachiman?
If Hachiman got angry and looked at her, she'd be crawling on the floor on her knees.
If it were just the two of them, that wouldn't be too embarrassing.
But with Iris and those elven pigs next door, she didn't want them to see her disgraced.
"Then what were you just thinking? Haven't helped you for two days, jealous? Mad?"
As he activated "Love Live mode," Hachiman lifted the girl in his arms, cupping her pert butt as he walked downstairs.
"Who'd get jealous or mad? I'm happy you didn't come find me."
Ursula wrapped her arms around his neck, about to kiss him, but stopped, puffing her cheeks at his words.
"I was just wondering why you were so kind to those girls."
"I thought you were close with them, that's why you dragged me to help. But turns out you barely know them?"
"You didn't know I run a mutual-aid Service Club at school?"
Hachiman looked helplessly at Ursula in his arms.
"Isn't that a school club? What does that have to do with helping them now? They're not even from our school, right?", Ursula widened her eyes in disbelief.
"…", Hachiman rolled his eyes, said nothing, and gave her little butt a firm smack.
"Can't win the argument so you hit me? Just you wait!", Surprised by the sudden slap, Ursula stiffened up, her cheeks turning red from pain and anger, glaring at him fiercely.
"Then why do you help Iris and me? You never even asked for payment when you helped us."
Seeing she was keeping mental notes, Hachiman smacked her again without mercy.
"You helped Iris, okay? I was just assigned as bodyguard to Sakurase Shino. During the physical test, you helped her, not me," As Hachiman raised his hand again, Ursula pouted and played nice for now.
But after just a few lines, she got mad again.
'Hachiman is so biased!'
Losing to Iris was fine, they shamelessly brought over elf princesses one after another, even picking out the best ones to curry favor with Hachiman.
No matter how she changed size, she couldn't beat their numbers.
But Sakurase Shino was just a regular person.
Even if she had some succubus blood, she was just a pretty face with weak uncontrollable charm, practically no different from a normal girl.
She couldn't accept losing to a pathetic succubus.
She, a dignified dragon clan leader, reduced to protecting a weak succubus, and not even treated as well as said succubus.
"You weren't obedient. Iris and Shino were obedient, so of course I rewarded them."
Hachiman ignored Ursula's angry face. Seeing her complain while still clinging tightly to him, he relaxed and played with her long tail.
Sometimes he suspected Ursula was a half-succubus half-dragon. What dragon had a long tail ending in a heart shape?
"I'm already under your control. You can do whatever you want to me. What more do you want?"
Seeing Hachiman unmoved, even grabbing the base of her tail while talking, Ursula tightened her grip around his neck and protested angrily.
Damn it, she was the dragon clan leader, the royal of the strongest dragons. Far nobler than some elf princess like Iris.
Yet after falling under Hachiman's control, she'd been tossed aside, made to play bodyguard to a weak succubus, while he frolicked in the softness of the elven girls.
Damn it! Damn it! She couldn't let this go. Not only succubi and vampires, she'd bring in more dragons to teach Hachiman a painful lesson.
"Then how about I take off this collar, Ursula? Will you behave if I do?"
Seeing her complain about unfairness, Hachiman gently touched the exquisite leather collar around her neck with a grin.
Thankfully, Ursula saw the servant collar as a treasure and had stupidly put it on herself. Otherwise, she'd have driven him crazy.
Although she couldn't stir up much trouble one-on-one, dealing with her antics every day would be exhausting.
Hmm… the servant collar really was a treasure. Just its immunity to mental interference alone made it artifact-tier.
But unfortunately, it was his treasure. Once worn, it meant obedience.
Not just Ursula, he was sure even angels like Gabriel or Raphael would be obedient with it on.
"You take it off first, then I'll listen to you afterward," Ursula spun her eyes, dodging the question. She wanted to trick Hachiman into giving her freedom.
Once he removed the collar, she'd flee far away, so he wouldn't have a chance to control her again.
Of course, that didn't mean she was afraid of him. She just wanted to remotely control the succubi and vampires first, then when Hachiman was worn down, she'd show up and make him admit defeat.
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