[Dinnertime]
"Huh? The President hasn't come back yet? Or is he resting upstairs?"
Iris and Aegis returned to the Hikigaya household and saw Vignette and Gabriel busy in the kitchen. The aroma of food wafted into the living room, but in the living room, there were only Shion and Komachi, the two younger sisters, with no sign of Hachiman.
They, along with Rurikawa Tsubaki, had been busy all day receiving the assets of the Poiman family. The President had only gone to enlighten and educate Sakurase Shino today, it shouldn't take him that long, right?
After all, even they could barely last a day. No matter how much time Sakurase Shino, along with Hayase Saki and Ichinose Ayano, took, it was impossible for the President to spend that much time on them.
"Onii-chan went next door... Oh, he's back," Komachi was just about to explain that her brother had gone next door to flirt with the twin sisters, but seeing her brother's figure appear behind Iris and the others, she immediately shut her mouth and said no more.
'Onii-chan is really ridiculous. The transfer student neighbor comes over to cook, and he goes next door to his childhood friend's house. Now that the elf princesses have returned, Onii-chan still hasn't come back.'
'How come Iris and the others haven't fought yet? They went shopping together and got along so harmoniously. It's way too peaceful, making me, feel like I have no presence at all.'
"The President is back?"
Hearing Komachi's gaze shift behind her, Iris immediately turned around.
Seeing that there was no sign of Kaede and Suzu behind Hachiman, she happily pounced into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and habitually hanging onto him.
Now that Vignette, Gabriel, Shion, and Komachi all knew about her relationship with the President, and since the President's childhood friends hadn't followed him over, there was no need for her to hide anything.
From yesterday until now, she hadn't felt the President's presence for a full ten-plus hours. She needed to replenish her President energy properly.
"Mm, good work today, Iris. And of course, Aegis too," Hachiman reached out to hold Iris's slender and petite body, spun her around twice before setting her down, then smiled at Aegis, who was staring at him intently, and opened his arms.
Although Iris was the princess destined to inherit the position of Elf Queen, Aegis and Iris were both elf princesses and had a deep sisterly bond. He had to treat them equally without discrimination.
After all, they were never ranked above or below each other; their differing personalities and areas of expertise simply led to one becoming the princess and the other her guardian.
"Uh, I'll pass," Seeing Hachiman's gaze land on her, Aegis quickly shook her head and pulled Iris in front of her as a shield.
Although she was a bit envious of Iris and the President's relationship, Iris's fated supporter was not only the savior of the elf race but also the person she loved, which was an ideal situation.
Still, envy was one thing, but if she had to do the same, she just couldn't accept it.
Her figure wasn't quite suited for such embraces. Just imagining the scene made her unbearably embarrassed.
However, Iris had no intention of being her shield.
Standing between Aegis and Hachiman, Iris suddenly crouched down. Hachiman reacted quickly and caught Aegis in his arms.
"Ah? Iris?", Caught off guard, Aegis hadn't expected her sister to betray her like this. She instinctively dropped the honorific and called out Iris's name directly.
"This isn't something you can just refuse, Aegis," Squatting on the ground, Iris propped her chin on her elbow, smiling as she watched Aegis being spun around just like she had been.
Her elder sister, Aegis, was really worrisome. Even though they were both contributing to the elf race, Aegis felt guilt over not being competent enough, bound by her duty as a guardian, and had lost the liveliness and cheerfulness she once had as a princess.
That wouldn't do. Though she didn't know what things would be like when they returned to the Elven Forest, as long as they were with the President, they should enjoy themselves properly.
Hmm... once Aegis, with the President's help, contributes to the prosperity of the elf race, she should regain her former confidence.
Tonight, she'd have to trouble the President a bit more to take better care of Aegis.
"President, that's enough, right? It's been more than two spins—hurry up and put me down!", Aegis, unaware of her good sister's plans to 'take special care' of her tonight, was currently being spun around in Hachiman's arms with her legs lifted into the air. She could feel the scorching gazes of Asougi Shion and Komachi beside her and desperately wanted to escape.
But she didn't dare struggle too much.
She knew she was quite strong, and if she accidentally hurt the President, that would be terrible.
"Well, that's what you get for being disobedient earlier."
Looking at Aegis, whose face was flushed red as she pleaded with him, Hachiman blew lightly against her stomach before finally letting her down.
As soon as Aegis landed, she quickly took a few steps back, afraid that Hachiman would suddenly pull her into another embarrassing spin.
Once she felt she had reached a safe distance, she looked at Iris, who was smiling mischievously, with a face full of grievance.
"Ugh... Princess, you and the President are teaming up to bully me again...", It was one thing to tease her in private, but now they were doing it in front of others too.
Although Komachi and Shion weren't exactly strangers, she wasn't that close to them either. She didn't want them to see her in such an embarrassing state.
"You were the one who used me as a shield in front of the President. I didn't do anything. If you want to blame someone, blame the President. Oh, don't worry, tonight I'll help hold him down so he won't move or say anything unnecessary," Iris grinned at Aegis. Tonight was the key. Aegis had already reached this stage with the President. She couldn't keep holding back forever.
"What do you mean by 'helping me'...", Aegis stopped talking. She wasn't good at arguing and couldn't outtalk Iris at all.
Iris always held her hand to keep her from running away, but now she said she was restraining the President for her?
After some playful banter, Hachiman pulled Iris and Aegis over to the sofa, seating them next to Komachi and Asougi Shion.
Since the sofa wasn't very big, squeezing five people in was a bit tight. Iris simply sat directly on Hachiman's lap, while Aegis sat beside him, blushing furiously.
"President, were you just at Kaede and Suzu's place?", Iris sniffed Hachiman's scent and easily picked up the faint traces of Kaede and Suzu, as well as residual traces of Sakurase Shino and Hayase Saki.
A normal bath couldn't completely remove lingering scents, and their way of detecting scents wasn't just through smell.
Just as she once observed the life force aura of Hachiman, she could now see that his aura was mixed with many girls' scents.
"Just went to teach that tsundere Kaede a lesson. I just finished the Service Club's activities and came back," Hachiman, not hiding anything, pulled out a Empathy Bracelet and put it on Iris.
Kaede and Suzu weren't as resilient as he was. Plus, her parents would be coming back soon, so naturally, he wouldn't go too far with her.
However, while she could escape capital punishment, she couldn't avoid suffering. That tsundere Kaede knew how strong he was, yet she still dared to provoke him. There was no way he was letting her off easily.
He carried her to the room only because he was worried her parents might suddenly return. If they happened to see Kaede, 'tormented' by him to the point of laughing and crying helplessly on the sofa, it would be hard to explain.
"I see, no wonder Kaede and the others didn't come for dinner," Iris suddenly understood. It seemed Kaede had been bullied by the club president again, probably due to her thin skin and unwillingness to admit defeat.
She could smell Kaede and Suzu's scent on the club president, but it was very faint. That meant they hadn't engaged in deep intimate contact.
But that was fine. With Kaede and Suzu around, she wouldn't have much opportunity to get close to the president anyway.
Even though everyone here knew she was close with the president, in front of his childhood friends, she still had to restrain herself a little to avoid making things difficult for him.
"Ahem, um, Iris, could you come help for a bit?", In the semi-open kitchen, Vignette, who was busy with Gabriel, suddenly turned her head, her expression slightly unnatural as she softly called out to Iris.
Iris was about to ask Hachiman about the bracelet he had just put on her when she heard Vignette calling her. She paused slightly, turned her head towards the kitchen, and saw both Vignette and Gabriel looking a little off. She immediately understood what they meant.
"Okay, I'll be right there."
"President, wait a moment. I'll go help out real quick. Dinner should be ready soon," Iris kissed Hachiman on the cheek, winked at Aegis, then got up and walked into the kitchen to help.
It seemed that her previous behavior with the president had given Vignette and Gabriel a deep misunderstanding. Now, whenever she and the president got too intimate outside, they were afraid she might use a soundproof barrier to do something crazy.
But honestly, that was their fault for hiding their true identities. That made her seem bolder than she really was. It wasn't like she enjoyed exposing herself in front of others.
Although she had gone almost an entire day without being close to the president, and she had indeed lost control a little just now. Acting more passionately than usual. His younger sister Komachi was right there. And now that she knew Gabriel and Vignette could bypass her soundproof magic, how could she dare to act recklessly?
However... if Gabriel and Vignette could ignore her soundproof barrier, that meant they were quite powerful. Maybe she could ask them for help in dealing with Ursula.
Iris suddenly thought of Ursula, the dragon clan leader who had caused trouble last night. Several ideas popped into her mind.
Although Ursula had been taught a lesson by the president and left empty-handed after throwing some harsh words, she was still very strong.
Unless Ursula arrogantly exposed a weakness tomorrow and got caught by the president again, Iris and Aegis didn't have absolute confidence in defeating her.
But if they had Gabriel and Vignette, who could ignore her magic, things would be different.
"Vignette, Gabriel, I'm here to help~"
"Huh?"
"Uh...", Vignette and Gabriel exchanged looks when they saw Iris, who had just been getting cozy with Hachiman, suddenly running over to help with an even brighter smile. A sense of unease welled up in their hearts.
This smile... seemed familiar. It was the same smile they'd seen on Raphiel before.
Thinking back to their previous misunderstanding, Gabriel suddenly became wary.
'Could Iris be planning to ask for our 'assistance' again?'
Helping out by keeping watch while Iris and the president weren't disturbed was already her limit. There was no way she would personally participate in any kind of 'assistance'.
———
[In the Living Room]
Not far from the kitchen, Hachiman, who was sitting with his back to the semi-open kitchen, didn't feel disappointed at all when Iris left.
If his younger sister Iris was gone, wasn't his older sister Aegis still here?
Before leaving, Iris had hinted at Aegis. All he had to do was pull Aegis over.
"President... this isn't really appropriate, is it...?", Aegis, pulled onto Hachiman's lap and hugged tightly around the waist, whispered shyly.
Of course, she had noticed Iris's meaningful gaze before she left. But Iris, as a princess, had gone to help in the kitchen, while she, as a guard, was sitting here enjoying herself.
"What's inappropriate? You also went out to do things for me. Isn't it fair for me to reward you a little?", Hachiman buried his head into Aegis's soft chest and muttered.
"Don't worry, I have invisibility magic. Komachi and Shion can't see us."
"...", Hearing Hachiman's blatant lie, Komachi, who was pretending to watch TV nearby, rolled her eyes.
Invisibility magic? If her relationship with Aegis were just a little better, she would have demanded that Hachiman perform his so-called invisibility magic right now. She wanted to see how he could possibly get affectionate with someone in front of her without her noticing.
Only Shion, who had firsthand experience with Hachiman's 'love live mode,' felt her heart pounding. Her flawless, delicate face was quickly dyed with a shy blush.
She knew that her brother Hachiman could really use magic.
He could make a ruckus at midnight without waking Komachi. He could even lie beside Komachi's bed, right next to her, without waking her from her sleep.
"President...", Held tightly in Hachiman's arms, feeling his firm grip around her chest, Aegis was both embarrassed and flustered.
She knew the president indeed had abilities similar to invisibility magic, but he wasn't even using them right now. How was she supposed to pretend no one could see them?
"Oh, right. Aegis, let me put this bracelet on you too," Hachiman suddenly lifted his head and reached out to put the remaining Empathy Bracelet on Aegis's wrist.
"Is this bracelet some kind of magical artifact?", Aegis blinked in confusion, looking curiously at the exquisite silver bracelet on her wrist.
Although she couldn't sense any magic within it, she could feel an invisible, intangible connection between this silver bracelet and Iris.
"This bracelet strengthens emotional bonds. You two should try wearing it today," Hachiman gazed at Aegis's slender, fair elven ears, then gently nibbled on them while whispering in her ear.
Even though Iris and Aegis weren't twins, they were still a pair of sisters. He definitely had to do some research on the "Compatibility Effects of the Empathy Bracelet Between Sister Pairs."
Later, there were also topics like "The Development of Maids and the Practical Application of Spatial Magic," "Empathy Bracelet Magic Crash Course," and more to study with Iris and the others until dawn. It was going to be a busy night.
———
"Mmnh?", In the kitchen, Iris suddenly dropped the ladle into the pot. [T/N: Hehe, boye]
"Iris, what's wrong? Did you get too tired from going out today?"
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