Diary Of Service Club, Helping The Elf Princess

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Hiratsuka Shizuka's student guidance room was empty; only the window behind the desk was open, and the faint sounds from the playground drifted in through it.

"We've already set up a soundproof barrier here, and the magic to ward off idle people is in place too. President, you don't need to worry about strangers barging in."

Iris looked at Hachiman, who had just been teleported, a sweet and gentle smile gracing her face.

"...Iris, you and Aegis planned this all along, didn't you?"

Hachiman looked at Iris and her elder sister-cum-guard, Aegis, feeling utterly speechless.

Soundproof barrier magic, magic to ward off idle people, and this decisive teleportation—every single thing made it clear that Iris and her sister had been prepared to bring him here all along. It wasn't done out of concern for strangers.

Iris claimed she wanted him to help counsel Sakurase Shino and Gotō, but in reality, she wanted them all in the guidance room together for some joint "counseling."

Aegis, the elf princess's bodyguard and former princess herself, blushed slightly when Hachiman saw through their intentions. She silently averted her gaze, not daring to meet his eyes.

From the start, they hadn't considered which girls were around Hachiman. They'd simply thought it was during P.E. class and decided to seize the chance to bring him along.

That way, after the counseling, they could even have lunch together at noon.

And if there was still spare time after lunch, they could work harder together before afternoon classes began.

However, bringing others along wasn't initially part of the plan. Iris had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to bring Sakurase Shino and Gotō to the prepared counseling room.

"President, there are no strangers here to disturb us anymore. Isn't this okay?"

Iris approached Hachiman, lightly wrapped her arms around his, stood on her tiptoes, kissed him on the cheek, and gave a playful smile.

"..."

Hachiman remained silent.

No strangers were going to disturb them now, true—'but for the socially anxious and introverted Gotō, you people are the biggest strangers here.'

Hachiman raised his hand to gently stroke Iris's silky golden hair. He didn't respond to her playful remark but instead looked at Sakurase Shino and Gotō, whom Iris had brought to the guidance room.

Sakurase Shino remained expressionless, simply sitting quietly on the sofa and gazing at him.

Compared to the calm and composed Sakurase Shino, the socially anxious Gotō—suddenly teleported to the guidance room—was in complete panic.

Her expression was a wreck, her eyes darting everywhere. The moment she spotted Hachiman, she kept trying to hide behind him.

But since the elf princess who brought her to this unfamiliar place was also by Hachiman's side, she didn't dare to approach him.

At this point, Gotō's mind was a mess, and she trembled in place, utterly at a loss.

Her very first friend seemed... a bit different from what she'd imagined.

She hadn't expected that her newly made friend, Hachiman, would also know the famous elf princess transfer student.

The fact that the legendary elf from another world could teleport her from one place to another didn't surprise her much.

Such things were probably common for elves, though she'd never seen it herself—just heard about it.

What truly frightened her was the content of the conversation between her new friend Hachiman and the elf princess Iris.

Counsel together? Avoid being noticed by strangers?

Now it seemed she'd been dragged into some bizarre situation. If she didn't go along with them, wouldn't they kill her?

No! She didn't want to die.

"Eh? Gotō-san? What's wrong?"

Iris was about to persuade Hachiman further, urging the President to hurry up and finish counseling Sakurase Shino and Gotō so they wouldn't delay the assistance.

But she suddenly noticed Gotō lying on the floor nearby, limbs curled up, belly facing the ceiling.

"I-I'm just trying to show my obedience... Please... spare me..."

"Pfft!"

Hearing Gotō's ridiculous reasoning, Iris froze for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Was she really that scary earlier?

Did she actually make someone think she intended to kill them?

What kind of thought process could twist her words into a death threat?

"Ahem, Bocchi-chan, get up. Iris didn't mean it that way. You're not in danger."

Hachiman felt equally exasperated but understood Gotō's peculiar thought process. She tended to overthink. He immediately crouched down to help her up.

After all, it was largely his fault that Bocchi-chan got dragged to the guidance room. If not for him, Iris wouldn't have brought Bocchi-chan here.

"Gotō-san, don't you like the President?"

Iris, laughing, also helped pull Gotō up with Hachiman. Noticing the lingering panic on her face, she couldn't help but ask.

"Like! I like him! Like, like, like!"

Gotō's body trembled like a leaf. After being helped up, she immediately hid behind Hachiman, clutching his clothes and frantically nodding, desperately trying to show she liked him just like they did.

"Bocchi-chan, you misunderstood. Iris was joking and didn't mean to force you into anything."

Hachiman patted Gotō's head, smiling helplessly as he reassured her.

Although he did have thoughts about Bocchi-chan—he'd even entertained the idea of keeping her at home—he didn't want her to like him in such a way.

What he wanted was to be her good friend, earning her trust and affection gradually.

"Really? Uh... um, I-I like you too..."

Hearing his words, Gotō instinctively responded with excitement but quickly corrected herself when she noticed Iris watching her.

No way! She couldn't let herself be deceived.

Saying it was a joke? She didn't believe it. The elf princess wouldn't teleport her here just for a prank.

That must be an absolute lie.

"..."

Hachiman covered his face, unsure how to respond.

It seems that his hidden ability of Absolute Taming doesn't directly make people unconditionally convinced; it just makes it relatively easier to gain their trust.

This readily obtained trust, under normal circumstances, would be acknowledged by someone with social anxiety. However, now Gotō was in a panic, making it naturally harder for her to trust him.

Perhaps only when she completely calms down can the ability of Absolute Taming continue to function.

Although this trust wasn't the real ability of Absolute Taming, if he wasn't planning to tame someone, the true capacity of Absolute Taming wouldn't be revealed.

After all, it wasn't like he could actively decide to tame something. If not for the task reminding him of the true thoughts behind Sakurase Shino's expressionless face, he wouldn't have thought to try out the taming ability on her.

Beautiful, pure, someone he liked, and someone who willingly desired to be trained—

The conditions required were exceedingly rare.

Iris, noticing that Gotō wasn't quite up for it, decided to abandon her effort. Blushing slightly, she walked over to stand in front of Hachiman. Resting both hands on his shoulders, she turned her head toward Sakurase Shino, who was sitting calmly on the sofa, and softly reminded her, "Ahaha, since Gotō-san is quite shy, let me demonstrate first. Sakurase-san, you should also observe how it's done."

She had initially intended for the two of them to proceed together, but since one was uncooperative and she had miscalculated, she could only continue with the other.

As for giving up and letting Gotō leave, that was absolutely out of the question.

Even though she knew Gotō's claim of liking the president was false, she could sense her growing attachment to him. Given their extremely introverted nature and fear of strangers, it was only a matter of time before Gotō genuinely fell for him.

She was merely too impatient, pulling her over before that affection had fully developed.

This guidance counselor's office would eventually have a place for Gotō.

"...Mm."

Sakurase Shino stared at Iris for a while before slowly nodding, responding briefly in an unusually concise manner.

She got up from the sofa and knelt on the floor, observing Iris's actions and mimicking how she should look up at Hachiman.

No one knew what she was thinking or why she decided to follow Iris's lead.

To some extent, this timid and silent Sakurase Shino was even harder to understand than the socially anxious and panicked Gotō.

"That's enough for today. Iris, don't do anything unnecessary. I'll handle their counseling myself."

Hachiman reached out and gently pinched the soft, smooth cheeks of both Iris and Sakurase Shino, looking at them with a complicated expression as their faces gradually turned red.

He had originally planned to counsel Sakurase Shino over the weekend, after Yukinoshita Yukino had failed in her attempts. He already knew the correct method to counsel her and didn't feel the need to rush.

But now, it didn't make much of a difference. Yukinoshita Yukino wasn't going to succeed anyway. She didn't understand what Sakurase Shino was truly struggling with, nor did she know that Sakurase Shino felt deeply guilty and thought she needed to be punished.

Only after a thorough and intense counseling session would Sakurase Shino open her heart to him.

As for Bocchi, who had been innocently dragged into this, he decided to put her aside for now. Given her personality, she wouldn't dare to talk about what happened here. Besides, she didn't have any friends she could confide in about such matters.

Although he hadn't started counseling Bocchi yet, experiencing this should make her a bit bolder. When the time came, he could introduce her to Hayase Saki.

The two shared similar personalities—introverted, timid, and self-conscious—and both had rather striking figures. They should get along well.

Sakurase Shino, being reserved and quiet, was another possibility. However, considering how little she talked, becoming friends with Bocchi might not be so easy.

Leaning back against the sofa with his eyes closed, Hachiman quietly contemplated Bocchi's future arrangements.

After a while, he felt something was off and suddenly opened his eyes.

"Wait, Bocchi, you don't have to join in on this!"

"Iris, stop corrupting Bocchi!"

What could he even say about Bocchi?

Even though he hadn't planned to involve her yet, Bocchi had taken the initiative.

Given her personality, all she needed to do was cower quietly on the sidelines. Why did she decide to get involved in Iris and Sakurase Shino's guidance session?

Hachiman opened his eyes to find Gotō kneeling on the ground, sandwiched between Iris and Sakurase Shino, stammering nervously. He couldn't help but feel helpless.

"Didn't I just tell you they were joking? Why did you still join in?"

"Uh…uh…"

Tears welled up in Gotō's eyes as she knelt on the floor. However, feeling the stares of Iris and Sakurase Shino on her, she didn't dare relax, maintaining her current posture while muttering incomprehensibly.

It wasn't like she wanted this.

But after seeing the Elf Princess Iris and Sakurase Shino act this way, could she really do nothing and survive?

Ever since being suddenly teleported here from the tennis court by the Elf Princess, Gotō's body had been trembling uncontrollably, completely unable to calm down.

Especially after discovering the special relationship between her first friend, Hachiman, and the Elf Princess, and seeing her bringing along someone even quieter than herself, Sakurase Shino, she felt like escape was impossible.

Although she had thought about resisting, seeing that Sakurase Shino didn't put up any resistance, she completely lost the courage to struggle.

From what she gathered, Sakurase Shino wasn't even that close to them. But judging by her behavior, it seemed she had already been "trained." Otherwise, she wouldn't obediently follow the Elf Princess's actions.

If she were the only one to resist here, her fate would surely be miserable.

Perhaps Sakurase Shino would even join in bullying her.

"Ugh…"

"Iris, what about you? Why did you let her get involved when she's like this?"

Seeing Gotō lost in her thoughts, Hachiman suppressed his urge to intervene, turning instead to Iris, who was watching with interest.

Gotō must have lost her mind to act so absurdly. Yet, Iris had been right beside her and could have stopped her at any point.

Instead, Iris had even placed Gotō between herself and Sakurase Shino, clearly encouraging her to join in.

"President, she's already seen everything. If we let her leave without doing anything, she'll just get more scared."

Iris stood up and, after responding to Hachiman's question, snuggled close to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his arm and whispering softly in his ear.

Gotō's timid nature was evident. If they didn't drag her into the water now, she'd only overthink things on her own.

She could understand the president's cautious approach. Forcing Gotō to join wasn't the most prudent course of action. But since she already knew what was going on, there was no point in hesitating anymore.

The best way to ensure Gotō kept everything to herself was to include her, letting her enjoy the president's presence and the aura he exuded.

"Fair enough, but we're not villains. There's more than one way to handle things. Can't we just explain everything properly?"

Hachiman looked at Iris's adorable expression, brushing aside her golden locks as he spoke with a complicated tone.

This matter wasn't too serious, nor was it trivial. What concerned him most was that Iris had once again taken it upon herself to drag someone into the mix.

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