However, for now, they were probably overthinking it.
Nothing had happened to the idol singers who were called to perform at the private concert last time. They simply sang for a whole night without any audience, and afterward received some preferential allocation of resources.
The same was probably true this time when they were called over to bathe in the hot springs and do cosplay.
After talking with some members of the Service Club, they learned the general situation of the various factions within the Service Club, as well as the Service Club's rules regarding "service."
The service in the Service Club was indeed not simply about serving others without asking for anything in return. It also carried a somewhat improper meaning.
But here, it was exactly the opposite of the kind of unspoken-rule pillow business they had imagined.
It was not the producer who was also their producer, Mr. Producer, who wanted to exploit them through unspoken rules. Rather, the Service Club members were the ones who wanted to exploit the producer through unspoken rules.
As the club president and producer, Mr. Producer worked from morning until night every day, constantly responding to other people's requests and commissions, helping the members of the Service Club without complaint.
Even people who were not members of the Service Club could request his help. In fact, many of the current members had joined this way.
Although as the number of members continued to grow, their producer had already become extremely busy and could no longer respond to everyone's expectations one by one.
Under normal circumstances, if a Service Club member wanted to sleep with their producer, club president Hachiman, they had to produce a certain amount of achievements or results. Unless they had a special relationship and could take a backdoor route, in most cases they could only participate in the late-night service games, with very few opportunities to have Hachiman accompany them alone.
Even the elven princesses could not have Hachiman accompany them every day, while the daughters of the various zaibatsu families were all eagerly waiting for Hachiman's favor.
Mm... It was certainly a good thing that they were not being forced into pillow business, but after Takagaki Kaede and the others understood what service commissions, service games, and service wars in the Service Club actually meant, they all felt a little strange.
Why was it like this?
Was the Service Club simply keeping them around as decorative flowers, as long as they were pretty and attractive?
Was it because the Service Club was too high-end, too elite, with the real protagonists being those young ladies from wealthy families, while beautiful idol girls like them were merely there as background entertainment, only fit to stand to the side and watch...
Of course, what Takagaki Kaede and the others did not know was that just because they were not being forced into pillow business did not mean their existence was truly meaningless.
Among the various small groups in the Service Club, their idol agency's idol members were actually the largest in number.
To be precise, their agency had always been an entertainment agency. It did not only have idols, but also actors, hosts, voice actors, and so on. It simply recruited more idols, with many beautiful girls who had no prior experience being trained as idols from scratch. That was why the mermaid princess Meroune and the maid Shion regarded it as an idol agency.
The agency already had many beautiful female entertainers. On top of that, several agencies had been acquired, merged, and reorganized, bringing the female entertainers from those other agencies into the idol agency. Now, the beautiful idol group in the idol agency was definitely the largest small group in the Service Club.
But apart from the mermaid songstresses, almost none of these idols had close relationships with Hachiman.
So although the beautiful idol group was the largest in number, its status and influence were the lowest.
Although they would not be discriminated against in the Service Club, where the influence of outside power could not directly reach them, they were actually very popular.
The ordinary members of the Service Club knew these idols better, were more familiar with them, and felt closer to them. The young ladies from the zaibatsu class also liked them more.
Compared with digging for promising candidates themselves and using up their own recruitment slots to bring them in, wouldn't it be much more convenient to recruit people directly from within the Service Club?
In theory, these beautiful idols were all free agents. They had only signed employee contracts and had not sold themselves to the idol agency, so recruiting them into their own small groups should not be considered too much of an overstep.
However, the newly arrived daughters of zaibatsu families were still slowly testing the boundaries of the service wars permitted by the club.
Once they became accustomed to the unspoken rules of the Service Club, quite a few of them would probably try to win over these beautiful idols who could be combined into various groups, bringing them into their own small groups to compete against other small groups.
Idol groups all had song-promotion stages, didn't they? They performed songs from their new albums on certain programs so that fans and passersby could learn about their songs.
They could also have the beautiful idols put on their performance outfits and start a song-promotion service mode in the Service Club.
Whichever idol group sang better and danced better would receive more and more substantial assistance from the club president.
"There are so many singers and idols here... I wonder if they'll perform. Being here feels like an even better experience than going to a concert."
In the central reception hall, Ogiso Setsuna gazed at a brown-haired twin-tailed singer in the crowd whose hairstyle resembled hers and sighed with mixed feelings.
"It's a shame only we came. I wonder how much it costs here, and whether we can bring other friends..."
Although Furuhashi Fumino and the other girls in her class did not follow idols, so Furuhashi Fumino naturally did not know them, Ogiso Setsuna was looking at the singer Ogata Rina whom she liked. Seeing so many idol singers who were even more impressive than Ogata Rina remaining unknown here, with only her and the others paying attention to them, left her with extremely complicated feelings.
The Service Club president, Hikigaya-kun... It was hard to imagine that a boy like him actually attended the same school as them, and that she and Fumino had even served him with their handkerchief before...
"Young ladies, you can come to the inn to rest anytime. You don't have to pay. However, this place currently only provides services to Service Club members. Unless your friends are also members of the club, they probably can't come here."
Hearing Furuhashi Fumino and Ogiso Setsuna's conversation, the maid Oshimizu Naoko, who had just returned to the reception hall, hurriedly explained.
The hot spring inn was an exclusive entertainment facility that was not open to the public. All members could eat and bathe in the hot springs without paying anything while at the inn. All expenses were covered by the Kijou Group.
However, the maids still had something called "performance bonuses." If they did a good job and received the approval of these young ladies, they could receive more pay.
Mm... The highest level of "performance" was naturally approval from their master, Hachiman. But that kind of approval was too difficult for Oshimizu Naoko. The moment Kijou Suzuka told her to go serve Hachiman, she had wanted to run away.
"No, no, you misunderstood. We're not young ladies. We're just Hachiman... Hikigaya-kun's classmates."
Furuhashi Fumino was stunned. She had not expected the maid beside her to go out of her way to explain it to her. After realizing what had happened, she hurriedly explained.
"Yeah, our relationship with Hikigaya-kun, with the club president, isn't that close either."
Ogiso Setsuna was also a little embarrassed. Hearing this, she took the initiative to introduce Furuhashi Fumino and Tsukimi Chifuyu beside her.
"My name is Ogiso Setsuna. These are Furuhashi Fumino and Tsukimi Chifuyu. We might be coming here often in the future."
"Does Miss Oshimizu live at the hot spring inn? Or do you go back to your own home after work?"
Perhaps because of her good appearance and manner, classmates at school often assumed that she came from a wealthy family and was also a rich young lady. But compared with a real young lady, she was nowhere close.
"Yes, I'm a part-time worker at Kisuisho. After Young Lady Suzuka acquired Kisuisho, she still let me continue working here. I'm very grateful to Young Lady Suzuka, although..."
Realizing that she had used the wrong form of address, Oshimizu Naoko nodded with a flushed face and quietly began explaining her situation. Suddenly, she heard Ogiso Setsuna's voice, which was even more shocked than Furuhashi Fumino's had been moments earlier.
"Mom, Mother? Why are you here?"
"Eh? Ehhh? Setsuna, your mother?"
Oshimizu Naoko blinked blankly. Following the gazes of Ogiso Setsuna and Furuhashi Fumino, she saw a group of more than ten people being led over by a girl who looked especially petite.
Among this small group was a brown-haired woman with a gentle, homemaker-like air, a warm smile, and features very similar to Ogiso Setsuna.
"Setsuna? I knew you'd be here."
The brown-haired woman whose face closely resembled Ogiso Setsuna's heard the commotion. Her conversation and laughter with her friends gradually stopped. When she saw Ogiso Setsuna ahead, she immediately walked over in surprise and looked at Ogiso Setsuna, Furuhashi Fumino, and Tsukimi Chifuyu beside her.
"You're all Setsuna's friends, right? Hello, I'm Setsuna's mother. Mm, you can call me Akina-nee."
"Akina... nee?"
Furuhashi Fumino and Tsukimi Chifuyu had not expected to meet Ogiso Setsuna's mother here. For a moment, they were both at a loss, unsure whether they should actually go along with calling her "nee."
"Mom... you, this..."
Looking at the black collar around Ogiso Akina's slender, fair neck, Ogiso Setsuna's voice sounded strained.
Last time, she had obtained two empathic devices from Raphiel. However, after learning about the Service Club, she had never made up her mind whether she should give one to her mother as a safety precaution, so that she could receive rescue from the Service Club if she encountered danger.
Joining the Service Club did not necessarily mean having to do that kind of thing. For example, she, Fumino, and Chifuyu had joined several days ago, but today was their first time formally coming to the club. There was no problem at all if they normally did not come.
But once it was put on, it would be impossible to take it off for a long time, and accidentally triggering it was also very possible.
But she had not expected that before she could make up her mind to tell her mother about it, she would see her mother being brought into the Service Club.
"Setsuna, I'm taking Akina to soak in the hot springs. You just have fun here with your friends. Don't worry."
Before Ogiso Akina could explain, the little landlady Asou Miyuri directly interrupted with a cheerful smile, pulling Ogiso Akina toward the hot springs.
"Miyuri really is something, so eager to soak in the hot springs. Then, Setsuna, have fun with your friends for now. We'll have a good talk when we get home tomorrow."
Hearing this, Ogiso Akina shyly touched her cheek with one hand. But she did not struggle. She turned back to remind Ogiso Setsuna before letting Asou Miyuri take her to the changing room to change clothes, bathe, and soak in the hot springs.
"Wasaka, you play with Akina's daughter. Akina and I are going to talk business with Mr. Hikigaya."
"Nina, Yuna, you two play here for a while too. Mom is going to enjoy the hot springs first."
"Ahem! Kaede, take a look around yourselves."
"Suiren, Aoe, don't go over there yet either."
Behind Asou Miyuri and Ogiso Akina were several mature, voluptuous, tall, and sexy women.
Following their calls, several girls around Ogiso Setsuna's age were left behind. Apart from one girl with long black straight hair, there were also three pairs of sisters.
Some were serious, some expectant, some embarrassed, and some expressionless. After leaving their daughters behind, the several wives all followed Asou Miyuri and Ogiso Akina toward the hot spring pool.
"..."
Ogiso Setsuna watched Ogiso Akina being led away by Asou Miyuri. Looking at the wife who likewise wore a black collar around her neck, she suddenly turned toward the girls who had been left behind, biting her lower lip tightly without saying anything.
Does Mom... know what kind of place this is?
Or does Mom know exactly what kind of place this is and still came here with the others?
Just like Ogiso Setsuna, the black-haired girl with long straight hair named Kazusa was also staring at the backs of the departing wives.
However, she was expressionless, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Apart from the black-haired girl, the other three pairs of sisters hardly cared about their mothers leaving and enthusiastically moved over to Furuhashi Fumino and Tsukimi Chifuyu.
"Hello, I'm Tsubakihara Nina, and this is my older sister Tsubakihara Yuna."
"I'm Suiren, and this is my younger sister Aoe."
"What's your relationship with Hikigaya, the president of the Service Club? Can you tell us about him?"
After briefly introducing themselves, Tsubakihara Nina and the others could not help taking the initiative to ask Furuhashi Fumino about her relationship with Hachiman.
Compared with their mothers' group of close friends, they were more interested in girls of their own generation.
Furuhashi Fumino and the others did not look like young ladies from wealthy families, so they seemed easier to get information about Hachiman from.
"I'm Furuhashi Fumino. You can call me Fumino. These two beside me are Ogiso Setsuna and Tsukimi Chifuyu."
Faced with their undisguised intentions, Furuhashi Fumino hesitated for a moment and subconsciously glanced at Ogiso Setsuna. Seeing that Ogiso Setsuna had no reaction, she swallowed and quietly explained,
"My relationship with Hikigaya-kun...? Actually, Setsuna, Chifuyu, and I are just ordinary classmates of Hikigaya-kun. As for how much we know about Hikigaya-kun... not much..."
If they brought up the time when Raphiel had tricked them, their relationship with Hikigaya-kun really was a little unusual. Ordinary classmates would not do that kind of thing with each other. Even though there had been a reason for what happened, it could not hide the fact that they had felt Hikigaya-kun's true self through the handkerchief.
But when she thought about all the members of the Service Club, she was no longer so sure.
Compared with the close relationships between so many girls in the Service Club and Hikigaya-kun, she, Setsuna, and Chifuyu had really only rubbed against him. They were probably... just ordinary classmates, right?
"We really don't have any relationship with Service Club president Hikigaya. We only heard that President Hikigaya is very, very gentle, and that he's very patient when guiding people who are introverted and socially anxious..."
Tsukimi Chifuyu, who had always stayed beside Ogiso Setsuna and Furuhashi Fumino, lowered her head with her face flushed and carefully described the image of Hachiman that she had heard from Hayase Saki and the others.
Although it had almost gone too far at the time, it was Ogiso Setsuna and Furuhashi Fumino who had been involved. She had only stuck to Hachiman along with them, slightly felt the burning body temperature of a male high school student, and for some reason, the somewhat pleasant scent of a male. Nothing else had anything to do with her. But... she had now been pulled into Hayase Saki's Introvert and Social Anxiety Support Group.
In the group's chat, she saw Hayase Saki and Narahashi Miki's chaste and timid appearances hiding their perverted and yandere personalities every day. The two of them were constantly thinking about how to please Hachiman. Sasaki Kotone and she did not even dare offend them, while their supervising teacher Hanamori Kotomi was even less willing to say anything.
She could even foresee that if she dared refuse or say no, Hayase Saki and Narahashi Miki, who desperately wanted Hachiman's attention and affection, would immediately tie her up and send her to Hachiman's bed together.
But sometimes, she could not help deceiving herself into thinking that Hayase Saki and the others were also introverted like her, so they would not be that cruel to her... If it could be delayed, then let it be delayed...
"Your relationship is ordinary?"
Tsubakihara Nina, Kaede, and Aoe exchanged glances, all feeling that Furuhashi Fumino and Tsukimi Chifuyu were hiding something.
They really were not completely ignorant of the Service Club.
Although the official member who brought them into the Service Club had not described things quite so explicitly when introducing the Service Club, they were all wearing black empathic collars around their necks, so they naturally understood that the relationship between Service Club members and club president Hachiman could not be explained with a simple "ordinary."
If they had just been brought in by their families like themselves and were still on the sidelines observing, that would be one thing.
But Ogiso Setsuna was clearly not like that. She had not even known beforehand that her mother would join the Service Club. As for Furuhashi Fumino and Tsukimi Chifuyu, there was even less need to mention them. Just from their tone and expressions, the three girls could tell that these two had more or less developed feelings for Hachiman, and might even have had some special intimate contact with him.
Their small group had joined a Service Club consisting entirely of girls, with Hachiman as the only male member, and now they claimed they were not familiar with Hachiman? That their relationship was ordinary? Who would believe that?
Did they simply not want to reveal their relationship with Hachiman to them?
Or... were they Hachiman's pursuers?
"Uh, our relationship with Hikigaya-kun really isn't what you think... Wait, we really aren't that close with Hikigaya-kun, and we don't know that much about him. But that doesn't necessarily apply to them! Nijika! Marin! Yumiko! Over here!"
Furuhashi Fumino glanced at the somewhat absent-minded Ogiso Setsuna beside her and the completely clueless Tsukimi Chifuyu, who was just waiting for her fried. She was about to find an excuse to take them and slip away when she suddenly saw a familiar small group passing not far away and hurriedly raised her hand high.
She was not in the same class as Miura Yumiko, but because of Ogiso Setsuna, Miura Yumiko had once gone out singing karaoke with them. Sometimes, when Miura Yumiko got into minor conflicts because of her hot temper, Kitagawa Marin and Ijichi Nijika, who were lively and popular, would help resolve them.
As time went by, Ijichi Nijika and the other two often came to their class to chat with familiar classmates and friends. Furuhashi Fumino had become quite familiar with them, although the only one she was particularly close to was Ijichi Nijika.
"Huh? Fumino, Setsuna, Chifuyu? You guys are here too...?"
Ijichi Nijika blinked. Hearing someone call her, she changed direction and came over with Kitagawa Marin, Miura Yumiko, and the other members of Kessoku Band, but when she arrived in front of Furuhashi Fumino, her little face was still full of confusion.
Ogiso Setsuna, Furuhashi Fumino, Tsukimi Chifuyu... When had Hachiman gotten together with them? Or had someone brought them in?
It seemed that they and Ogiso Setsuna's group were the only people in the Service Club who were close to each other, but they had not brought them in.
They had a good relationship with Ogiso Setsuna and the others, but they were nowhere near close enough to hang out together for something like this.
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