Tsukahara Hibiki wasn't anyone special to Saki, so why did Saki need her approval to stay in the Service Club? There was no way he was going to the Girls' Competitive Swimming Club to be some kind of manager.
Being a manager sounded nice, but in reality, a club manager at school was just an errand boy. Cleaning up, moving stuff around, handling logistics, and there wasn't even any pay. Tsukahara Hibiki was just trying to get free labor out of him.
But before Hachiman could refuse, a familiar mission prompt rang in his ears.
[Character Mission Triggered—Excellent Manager of the Girls' Competitive Swimming Club]
[The Girls' Competitive Swimming Club at Sobu High is strong, and the club president values its top members who are capable of placing in national competitions. However, these high expectations put enormous pressure on them]
[With intense training, the top members of the Girls' Competitive Swimming Club are accumulating more and more stress]
[The club urgently needs an excellent manager to help the top members relieve their stress and improve their training results]
'This stress… is it even legit?'
Receiving the mission, Hachiman instinctively noticed a few key phrases in the description.
The system had already given him hints when Tsukahara Hibiki and Saki showed up earlier, but it wasn't until now, when he received this mission, that he realized these two were probably the heroines of some swimming-club-themed story.
In the surface world, stress was just stress. But in the 2D world, stress could mean desires. Relieving stress meant satisfying desires.
Uh… if he thought about it like that, it started to sound familiar. So the Girls' Competitive Swimming Club was that kind of club. The one that needed someone to help its top members relieve their stress.
Though he wasn't sure if it was just the Girls' Competitive Swimming Club or if all the clubs were like this, considering Sobu High prohibited impure relationships between the sexes. If the 2D world's rules applied, there should be a male protagonist with maxed-out stamina and energy, going around helping stressed-out athletic beauties one by one.
"Not interested? Saki listens to you so much that she won't return to the club. If you don't want to accept this deal, that's understandable…", Seeing Hachiman remain silent in thought, Tsukahara Hibiki also started contemplating other options.
She had originally wanted to bring Hayase Saki back to the Girls' Competitive Swimming Club. But after stepping into the Service Club and seeing so many girls, along with the unmistakable scent of girls in the air, she immediately realized that Hachiman's relationship with Saki and the others wasn't pure. So, she switched to another tactic.
She would make Hachiman the club's manager.
The Girls' Competitive Swimming Club had no male members, and the guys from the Swimming Club had been eyeing the club's stunningly beautiful and well-built girls for a long time. If it were anyone else, they would have jumped at the chance to join.
But now, it seemed she had underestimated this Service Club president, who had stolen her star member. He was completely indifferent to the girls in her club.
Then again, the Service Club was already full of cute and beautiful girls. No wonder the Service Club president didn't care about the girls in the Swimming Club.
What a shame. If only Hachiman joined the club, Saki would probably follow, and he could help relieve the stress of the club members. It would be a win-win.
"President Tsukahara Hibiki, don't you care about Saki's feelings? You invited me to be the manager, but what about her?", Hachiman looked at Tsukahara Hibiki helplessly, seeing that she had completely ignored Little Saki's feelings.
The fact that she was trying to make him the manager. He had to admit, she was bold. If he weren't already surrounded by girls, he might actually have been tempted by Tsukahara Hibiki's offer and ended up doing manual labor for the Swimming Club. In that case, Saki would probably have followed him back.
But now, he was the president of the Service Club. Even the student council president, the politician's daughter, and the elf princess were obediently kneeling before him. How could he lower himself to a mere club manager position?
Even if the club was full of insanely hot girls, it was still a no-go!
"Saki? Of course, she'll still be the manager," Tsukahara Hibiki was briefly stunned before realizing she hadn't explained herself properly, so she quickly clarified.
"We have a lot of top athletes in the Girls' Competitive Swimming Club. If you were the only one handling their stress relief, it would be too much. I was even considering having Saki help you."
"Huh? So I don't have to quit as manager? That's great! In that case, I'd be happy to welcome you to the club, President Hikigaya," Hearing Tsukahara Hibiki's words, Little Saki immediately sighed in relief and quickly agreed.
Originally, she had been asked by a senior to take up the role of club manager and had ended up there somewhat cluelessly. After a year, she still wasn't getting paid. It was basically free labor.
But her family was well-off, and her parents gave her plenty of allowance, so she didn't need to take a part-time job after school.
After spending so much time in the club, she had grown close to the members and wanted to see them win the national competition as a supporter. She didn't want to just leave.
If it was just about helping President Hikigaya relieve the stress of their training, she could manage. The manager's job wasn't too demanding. Preparing water, handling logistics, and helping clean the pool together with everyone.
"President, are you really going to join the Swimming Club?", Hayase Saki looked at Hachiman expectantly, noticing that he hadn't outright refused.
She hadn't expected President Tsukahara Hibiki to go so far as to target him, and even Saki had no objections to him becoming the club manager.
If he really went, she wouldn't know what to do.
"I'm doing just fine as the Service Club's president. Why would I go be a manager for the Swimming Club?", Hachiman chuckled, shaking his head while patting Hayase Saki's head to reassure her.
"But seeing how much President Tsukahara Hibiki wants you back, even dragging me into a girls-only club, I'll reconsider your situation."
"Eh? President, are you kicking me out?", Hearing his words, Hayase Saki panicked, imagining the worst.
"No, you can stay in the Service Club as long as you want. I won't kick you out," Hachiman shook his head and smiled.
"But since President Tsukahara Hibiki wants you to perform well in the national competition, she can make a request to the Service Club, and we'll lend you to the Swimming Club."
"Eh? You can do that?", Hayase Saki was stunned, 'This is a thing?'
"A request?", Tsukahara Hibiki, unfamiliar with how the Service Club worked, was also confused. What did he mean by "lending" Saki to them?
"Don't rush. Let's sit down and eat first. Otherwise, the food will get cold," Hachiman glanced at Ichinose Ayano and the others, who had been staying silent, and pulled Tsukahara Hibiki to the dining table, inviting everyone to eat.
"..."
Seeing Hachiman so concerned about the food she had made, worried that it might not taste as good once it got cold, Ichinose Ayano bit her lip. She then went to the kitchen to get two more sets of bowls and chopsticks. After scooping a bowl of fish soup for Tsukahara Hibiki and Little Saki, she silently sat down beside Miki.
If he really cared so much about the taste of the food, then he shouldn't have messed with her while she was cooking.
Hachiman glanced at Ichinose Ayano, who was unusually quiet—unlike Miki and Shino, she wasn't the type to stay silent like this. He knew she had something on her mind, but he didn't care. He was going to slowly educate her anyway.
For now, it was more important to settle things with the Girls' Swimming Club. He had already swallowed Saki whole, there was no way he was going to spit her out again.
Saki might have been a bit dumb at first, but after some guidance from him, she had become adorably clueless in a way that was quite endearing. How could he just let Tsukahara, the club president, take her back so easily?
"Ahem, President Tsukahara, you might not know this, but our Service Club is dedicated to helping others. If you're facing any difficulties that you truly can't solve, you can come to us for help," After making sure everyone had started eating, Hachiman took a few bites of Ichinose Ayano's cooking before slowly beginning to explain.
"For example, if you want a member with Saki's level of skill to compete in the national tournament, you could ask our Service Club to lend her to you."
"Saki is talented, has free time, and enjoys swimming. Our Service Club wouldn't even ask for any payment in return. Just a simple 'thank you' would be enough."
"...", Tsukahara Hibiki immediately understood. So what he was saying was—he stole their member, and now he was offering to lend her back to them, and they were supposed to thank him for it?
'No wonder this guy created a club like the Service Club, filled with beautiful girls while living an easy life. Turns out, he is just shameless.'
"So, what you're saying, President Hikigaya, is that as the head of the Service Club, you can't officially join the Girls' Swimming Club as a manager. However, if we make a request, you could be 'borrowed' from the Service Club?", Tsukahara Hibiki stared at Hachiman for a moment before suddenly asking.
"Uh... in theory, yes. But any request made to the Service Club has to be voted on by all members. If you really want to make a request, you'll have to come to our club on Monday and submit it properly," Hachiman was taken aback. This girl was truly relentless. Was she really that determined to get him?
Well, this could actually be a good chance to show Yukinoshita Yukino what he was capable of. On top of spending the weekend counseling Sakura Shino, he had just taken on another request.
If he completed it, he could even put it in the club records. That way, when the student council came to check, they wouldn't find that the Service Club was doing absolutely nothing all the time.
"Then I'll bring my members to the Service Club tomorrow to formally make the request," Tsukahara Hibiki narrowed her eyes and nodded.
Tomorrow, she would visit the Service Club and see who exactly was in it. Then, she'd try to convince them to let both Saki and Hachiman join the Girls' Swimming Club.
They needed Saki, of course. But they also needed a manager. Since Hachiman clearly had questionable relationships with Saki and the other girls present, that meant he wasn't all that serious about his loyalties.
If the girls in the Swimming Club took a liking to him and decided to keep him there, then maybe they could even pull all the Service Club girls into the Swimming Club as well.
If she remembered correctly, the "Elf Princess" was also in the Service Club. While she wasn't as naturally gifted as a mermaid, she was probably quite skilled at swimming too.
"What do you think, Saki? Does my plan sound good to you?", After finalizing things with Tsukahara Hibiki, Hachiman turned his attention to Hayase Saki.
His idea was as he had stated, but the final decision was still up to Saki herself.
If Saki didn't want to leave the Service Club and return to the Swimming Club, he wouldn't force her. After all, he never actually promised Tsukahara Hibiki anything. If the club members voted against her request, then it wouldn't go through.
"President... if I get borrowed, can I still come back to the Service Club?", Saki hesitated for a moment before cautiously looking at Hachiman and asking.
She didn't really understand what the president was planning, but all she cared about was whether or not she'd be able to return.
"Of course you can. You're a member of the Service Club—you'd just be temporarily helping them out. If there are any club activities, you still need to prioritize the Service Club first," Hachiman nodded and explained.
"I figured that since you've spent so much time in the Swimming Club and trained for so long, you might still want to continue swimming. That's why I arranged it this way. But if you don't want to go back, you don't have to," Since Saki was mostly just the club mascot at this point, he figured it would be better to give her some freedom. She could go train with the Swimming Club when she wanted, and return to the Service Club whenever she felt like it.
Even if the Swimming Club's training schedule was packed, he could always teleport to Saki's house to comfort his obedient little pet.
Besides, there was a high chance he'd be going to the Swimming Club himself to help out. If that happened, Saki would probably be even happier.
"Um... since the president put it that way, I guess I'll go back and give it a try," Hayase Saki looked at the hopeful expressions of Tsukahara Hibiki and Little Saki, then at Hachiman, before slowly nodding in agreement.
If she could freely return to the Service Club, then she had no reason to refuse.
After all, she didn't have much to do in the Service Club. Her grades were bad, and she wasn't very smart. But she was at least talented in swimming.
Besides, wasn't this her way of contributing to the Service Club? That meant she could go to the president whenever she had a problem, right? Swimming Club training could be quite stressful—could she ask the president for mental support?
"President Tsukahara, Saki has agreed to return to the Swimming Club to help out. You can relax and enjoy your meal now, right?"
"If we could also get you, President Hikigaya, to help out in the Swimming Club, then I'd truly be at ease."
Hachiman and Tsukahara Hibiki exchanged knowing smiles.
Both of them knew that the other was still scheming to take members away from the opposing club.
But they were both confident that they and their club members would be the ones to come out on top—and in the end, they would successfully merge the other club into their own.
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