Including herself, there were almost no ways for the four black-haired straight-haired girls to resist Hachiman.
Thinking of this, Tohsaka Touka's heart suddenly tightened. She quickly patted her face, which had unknowingly flushed red again, and blocked all the thoughts in her mind.
He had already met Tohsaka Sakura, who clung to him at every opportunity, and Tohsaka Rin, who wanted to take care of Sakura but didn't want her to have all the benefits to herself, today was just small stuff.
What really surprised him was Tohsaka Aoi's special attitude toward him. Was she really mistaking him for someone else?
The head of the household could make them support and agree with things, and not oppose his decisions, would that also change how they normally treated him?
Just locking eyes with Tohsaka Aoi's deep, watery gaze, he could feel the scorching heat beneath her dignified, gentle, and quiet exterior, as if it might explode at the slightest touch. But for now, he could only suppress the urge to set off Tohsaka Aoi. He gripped Tohsaka Rin's twin-tails in one hand and pressed Tohsaka Sakura's bob-cut head with the other, turning to look at his little landlady, Asou Miyuri.
"Miyuri, what brings you all to see me today?"
Leaving aside whether Tohsaka Aoi was mistaking him for her husband, he'd tried to get her to change how she addressed him, but it hadn't worked, the fact that Tohsaka Aoi had shown up here today with Asou Miyuri and the others was already very telling.
Tohsaka Touka had always been worried about triggering Tohsaka Aoi. If Touka actually wanted him to meet Aoi, she definitely would have discussed it with him beforehand.
"Don't worry, Father. It's nothing major, really."
Seeing this, Asou Miyuri also spread her arms and hugged Hachiman just like the Tohsaka sisters, giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek.
"Didn't we agree from the start that the Service Club would also take on requests? Yuriko-nee, Saya-nee, and the others wanted to ask Father for a little help."
"Mmm, just like Iris-nee and the girls from the Kiriya family, it'll be a piece of cake for Father."
'Shameless!'
Seeing Asou Miyuri demote herself and shout "Father," Tohsaka Rin and Tohsaka Sakura rolled their eyes before Tohsaka Aoi could even say anything, since Miyuri was right in their faces.
Sawamura Sayuri, Kuraki Yuriko, and Kamishiro Saya, who had been watching the Tohsaka family's warm mother-daughter chaos for a while, all silently complained to themselves.
But they had to admit, Asou Miyuri really did suit playing young. Sawamura Sayuri felt she was still quite young herself, but she couldn't compare to Miyuri.
In the past, Miyuri used to get upset when teased as a younger generation member, but now that she'd thrown all shame to the wind, she'd started dragging her close friends into it too.
No wonder Miyuri was so eager to pull her best friends in, and even strongly discouraged them when they found suitable partners and wanted to find fathers for their daughters.
So this was the kind of bad idea Miyuri was cooking up.
Kuraki Yuriko and Kamishiro Saya's minds raced, and they soon guessed Miyuri's real intention in bringing them here based on the current situation.
However, Miyuri's approach actually suited their purposes. And since they'd just arrived and didn't have a clear understanding of the Service Club's internal dynamics yet, it wasn't the right time to say much. They could only mull over in their heads how to join in.
After introducing themselves along with Irisviel, Kuraki Yuriko and Kamishiro Saya knelt down, bowed their heads to Hachiman, and explained why they had come.
"President, I'd like to request your help in freeing my daughter Kotone from the Kamishiro family's fate. If you don't mind, the entire Kamishiro family would be willing to serve you as our lord."
"President, my request is similar to Saya's. If possible, please find time to visit the Kuraki household, everyone in the club is welcome too. My daughter Suzuna and I will be sure to give you the best hospitality, President."
Before coming, they'd learned from Asou Miyuri about the Service Club's aid operations, or rather, Hachiman's aid operations.
For example, the vampire family seeking refuge, the six Kiriya sisters; the Ghoul girl who voluntarily surrendered; the Snow Woman clan who wanted children; the Elf Princess who wanted to get pregnant; the mermaid singer seeking idol support; and helping the shrine maiden purify the miasma inside her, not to mention all the others.
So many demi-humans and humans had received aid from President Hachiman, so their daughters should be fine too.
Though both their families lived deep in the mountains and rarely went out, their daughters were excellent in looks, figure, and demeanor, no less than daughters of top-tier noble families.
However, with the mentally troubled Tohsaka Aoi now temporarily occupying the position of wife by Hikigaya's side, they were a bit nervous that he might consider Aoi's feelings and politely refuse their requests.
["Ding! Character quest triggered—Mother-Daughter Chaos Mansion."]
["Ding!"]
["Character quest triggered—Moon Without a Face."]
"Aid requests, huh... Sure, no problem. Get up first. We can discuss the specifics later. And you, Ms. Irisviel, what's your request?"
Hearing their requests and the system notifications, Hachiman glanced at Tohsaka Aoi on the next sofa, who wore a calm expression with a faint smile at the corners of her lips. He helped Kuraki Yuriko and Kamishiro Saya, who even in bathrobes looked abundantly graceful and exuded an air of noble elegance, to their feet, seated them beside him, and then turned to look at the beaming Irisviel.
He recognized both triggered character quests. Although he'd only ever been an anime-only fan and didn't know the specific game settings, he knew the Kamishiro and Kuraki daughters were both very pretty. Mother-Daughter Chaos Mansion didn't seem to involve supernatural forces, while Moon Without a Face might involve some spirits or evil ghosts.
Still, fortunately, he'd grown strong enough by now. He probably wouldn't even need to handle these problems himself, just sending Origamine Sakura and the other exorcist shrine maidens should settle things easily.
Only matters that truly required his personal effort needed him to step in.
Compared to the already confirmed Mother-Daughter Chaos Mansion and Moon Without a Face quests, he was more curious about why Irisviel had come here.
"Thank you for your aid, President. We will serve you with all our might."
Seeing that Hachiman's attitude was indeed as Asou Miyuri had said, Kuraki Yuriko and Kamishiro Saya both sighed in relief. They adjusted the bath towels wrapped around their chests, pressed their pale legs together, sat close beside Hachiman, and turned to look at Irisviel alongside him.
The troubles they faced weren't huge, but they weren't small either. With so many factions pouring into the Service Club, there were plenty of forces that could solve their problems. They didn't have to throw themselves at Hachiman for help, yet they still did, naturally because they believed he was the core of the Service Club and wanted a one-and-done solution.
Still, they also didn't know why Irisviel of the Einzbern family had shown up here.
As far as they knew, the Einzberns had no hidden troubles, their finances were fine, they faced no external threats, and Irisviel's two daughters were attending school without any issues.
"My request, huh... I heard that Mister President can give people magical-girl aptitude, letting them transform into magical girls who protect the world. And as it happens, my two daughters, Illya and Chloe, are very interested in magical girls."
Irisviel blinked. Seeing that Hachiman's lap was already occupied by Tohsaka Rin, Tohsaka Sakura, and Asou Miyuri, and that Kamishiro Saya and Kuraki Yuriko were pressed tightly against his left and right, she looked left and right and couldn't find any spot to squeeze in. So she walked behind Hachiman, leaned over the back of the sofa, wrapped her arms around his neck, and cheerfully explained her purpose by his ear.
"Could I trouble Mister President to help Illya and Chloe become magical girls? They really, really want to be magical girls."
"Of course, if I could become a magical girl too, that'd be even better."
Help Irisviel and her two daughters become magical girls?
How was that any different from Kamishiro Saya and Kuraki Yuriko's family requests?
Maybe there was a slight difference, visiting the Kamishiro and Kuraki households might involve enemies he'd need to deal with, whereas developing magical-girl aptitude for the Einzberns was pure enjoyment, no threats, just get it done.
"Irisviel, you might not fully understand how I turn people into magical girls. You know Yukinoshita Touka and the others, you can ask them whether our interactions during the magical-girl aptitude development process are extremely intimate."
Hachiman turned his head to look at Irisviel, who seemed unaware of how close they were, her smooth, lustrous arms around his neck, her pink, glistening lips almost touching his face, and explained with some resignation.
He really liked cool black-haired straight-haired girls, and he also really liked white-haired, red-eyed beauties.
But he'd never liked deceiving people. Playing around with everyone was built on mutual consent and full transparency.
If it were some other underworld heroine he didn't know, he might just think their values were different. But Irisviel wasn't an underworld heroine, he did have some understanding of her.
Clearly, if Irisviel actually knew what he did to help ordinary people awaken their talents and become magical girls, she probably wouldn't be so bold as to say this in front of everyone. And Irisviel's two daughters weren't really suitable.
"No misunderstanding, I know exactly what Mister President's personally conducted magical-girl aptitude development ceremony entails with Illya and the others."
Irisviel's smile didn't waver. Her crimson eyes stared unblinkingly at Hachiman, who seemed completely unaffected by her actions.
"You really know? How old are Illya and Chloe?"
Hachiman looked doubtfully at Irisviel, who was getting closer and closer, her scattered silver-white strands already brushing against his face, yet her expression remained serious, as if she had no ulterior motives.
No matter how flighty Irisviel's personality was or how favorably she viewed him, she wouldn't just give away her two precious daughters to a boy she'd met for the first time.
Tohsaka Aoi acted this way because of his ability as head of the household, but he'd never even seen Irisviel's daughters—there was no way he could affect Irisviel through Illya and Chloe.
"It's not an age issue, it's that Illya and Chloe have physical problems."
Seeing that Hachiman was still skeptical of her intentions, Irisviel narrowed her eyes slightly, pressed her pink, glossy lips together, rested her chin on his shoulder, and whispered softly in his ear.
"How should I put it... Because Illya and the others were born under unusual circumstances, they have congenital deficiencies that need you, Mister President, to make up for."
"Physical problems... Are you saying there are defects in their bodies as homunculi? Short lifespans?"
Hearing Irisviel say that Illya and the others had congenital deficiencies and physical defects, Hachiman's heart stirred, and he fell into thought.
Although Irisviel's skin was fair and flawless, her lips were dewy enough to make one want to bite them, and her hair was flowing and soft, in every way more youthful than a young girl, she wasn't actually a normal human, but an extremely special homunculus. Even Irisviel's daughter Illya was a homunculus.
Though this world had long since diverged from the Illya worldview he once knew, if there was one reason Irisviel would be willing to have her two precious daughters pay such a price to become magical girls, it had to involve the lifespan problem of homunculi.
"Mister President, you do know. Yes, Illya and Chloe are both homunculi, which is why I specifically came to ask you to help them become magical girls, to change the very essence of their lives."
Seeing that Hachiman, though meeting her for the first time, seemed very familiar with her and her daughters, Irisviel's smile grew even brighter, and her arms around his neck tightened.
Another shameless one.
Seeing Irisviel practically bursting out of her bath towel and pressing up against Hachiman's face, Kuraki Yuriko and Kamishiro Saya, who had been seated beside him and hadn't yet had a chance to serve him, couldn't help but silently complain, their gazes darting back and forth between Irisviel and Asou Miyuri.
'Why are all the women outside like this? So brazen!'
They had thought that by giving up their families' independent status and having their entire households subordinate themselves to Hachiman for the sake of their families and daughters, their sincerity was more than sufficient.
Before Hachiman and the Service Club appeared, there were also many factions handling various issues across the land. They could have gone to exorcist shrine maidens for help without any problem.
But with so many factions' eyes fixed on the Service Club, they'd had a sudden impulse to take this opportunity to join the Service Club alongside the other factions, thereby changing the long-secluded status of their families.
After all, evil forces represented by the demon race were growing increasingly active, and most of the time it was magical girls who kept them in check. Staying hidden in the mountains forever would eventually lead to trouble.
Yet who would have thought that even after giving so much, feeling little better than slaves to Hachiman, they still couldn't compete with these outside women?
There was the allegedly mentally unstable Tohsaka Aoi, who claimed a husband on the spot with three daughters calling him father. And Irisviel had even brought her own two daughters into it.
Their daughters had neither numerical advantage nor age advantage.
Had they been living in the mountains so long that they'd fallen behind the new ideas of the big city?
Yukinoshita Haruno and Sawamura Sayuri, who had been standing silently in the background, exchanged glances. Both wore expressions of confusion, bewilderment, and helplessness.
Not to mention Kamishiro Saya and Kuraki Yuriko, who rarely ventured out from their mountain seclusion, even Yukinoshita Haruno, who served as vice president of the Service Club and had witnessed several rounds of "service games," hadn't expected Hachiman to be this popular.
It was right that Hachiman was popular, but it also felt off.
Aunt Tohsaka Aoi could be excused as mentally unstable, with a long-standing illness like Tohsaka Sakura's closed-off heart, mistaking Hachiman for her husband.
But Aunt Irisviel? She'd never heard of any mental illness in her. And now she was talking about homunculi... was that even real?
From Irisviel's expressions, tone, and behavior, Haruno couldn't discern any sign of her seeking out Hachiman for profit. It felt more like... Irisviel had taken a liking to him.
Finding a husband for her two daughters?
Aside from that possibility, she couldn't think of any other. Though it was a bit early.
Only Tohsaka Sakura, still in Hachiman's arms, stared fixedly at Irisviel, who showed absolutely no sense of male-female boundaries with him. But since Tohsaka Aoi on the adjacent sofa remained still, Sakura could only try hard to suppress her own inner agitation.
Just as the various factions within the Service Club competed among themselves, each one racing on their own track, crossing tracks was foolish, even winning wouldn't yield much gain.
Her opponents were Illya and Chloe.
Irisviel would naturally be handled by someone else, Mother would take care of her.
"Homunculi, clones, artificial lifeforms, whatever you call them, Illya and Chloe were born through life modification based on various technologies, and their bodies have serious defects."
Ignoring Tohsaka Sakura's practically tangible burning gaze, Irisviel acted as if no one else was there, arms wrapped around Hachiman's neck. Her delicate, jade-like finger tapped her glossy, translucent lips as she cheerfully continued explaining why she'd sought him out.
"Illya and Chloe's bodies have a built-in lifespan limit. While magic can sustain their lives and stopping their physical growth can extend their lifespans a bit, as congenital homunculi, no amount of extension is enough, eventually their bodily functions will decline significantly."
"This is a problem that existing surgeries and medications can't solve. It requires a miracle beyond conventional means."
"And the magical-girl awakening ability you possess, Mister President, I believe that is one such miracle."
"Through magical-girl development, compensating for genetic defects, and elevating their physical essence..."
"Mister President... could you please give them the chance to experience the beauty of this world's life once more?"
Irisviel whispered by Hachiman's ear, explaining the problems Illya and Chloe faced while keeping her eyes fixed on his expression.
Illya and Chloe weren't young anymore, but their bodily functions were currently healthy and normal. There was still enough time before their lifespans ended, so it wasn't an urgent matter.
There was naturally a reason she was being so proactive in asking him.
["Ding!"]
["Character quest triggered—The Einzbern Holy Grail."]
Hearing the system quest notification, Hachiman didn't even need to hear more to know this character quest was asking him to aid the whole Einzbern family of homunculi. But he didn't dislike Illya and Chloe to begin with.
In fact, he actually liked them quite a bit.
Now that he understood the specific reason Irisviel was asking for his help, he naturally wouldn't refuse.
"Hmm... If it's really as you say, Irisviel, then I'll give Illya and Chloe teleportation access to the Service Club. They can come over whenever they have time for the magical-girl development ceremony."
Hachiman looked at the somewhat suspicious Irisviel, thought for a moment, and directly granted Chloe and Illya teleportation permissions without choosing to meet them first.
Although Irisviel's explanation sounded a bit odd, limited lifespan, declining bodily functions, and if he would just personally handle it.
Pop! And it'd be solved?
Was she really not pulling his leg?
But that seemed like the only possibility. Otherwise, why would Irisviel be so familiar with him from the get-go? Probably because she wanted him to treat Illya and Chloe well.
Wait, if Illya and Chloe, then what about Irisviel herself? Irisviel was a homunculus too.