She just wanted to bring them over to play the game together.
That way, out of the five of them, only Yui and Emi needed to become magical girls, and even if other cliques came over to compete, there would still be plenty of awakening time.
"Huh? I, I agreed to that? Magical girl... Just let Yui go, I don't need to..."
Looking at Irisviel, who had sent up a spray of water, Yuigahama Emi wiped the drops off her face. She was completely baffled, and hurriedly turned down the "chance" to become a magical girl once more.
Her head was hot and fuzzy, but she could tell something about this wasn't quite right.
She hadn't agreed to anything, had she? So how had it come to her dragging Yui along to play the Cosplay Game with Hikigaya, the president of the Service Club?
Yui was one thing. She was Hikigaya's classmate, and she seemed to like him a little, so if she really did start going out with him, Emi wouldn't say anything even if he was a bit of a womanizer.
But she was this old, and playing a children's game like this didn't seem right.
"Don't worry. Come soak in the hot spring at the Club more often, get a little more development aid, and ten or twenty years from now you'll be as young as you are today. No, even younger than you are now."
Irisviel rubbed her own round cheeks, showing Yuigahama Emi how plump, soft and springy her skin was.
Once you became a magical girl, it was like evolving. Not only did your physical strength increase, your skin became a lot more tender too.
And that was before counting the development training day and night, which made a magical girl's power grow stronger by the day.
In a way, the name Magical Girl Awakening Ritual was not wrong at all.
Even if some of them were already mothers of two or three children, they could still be magical girls.
"Even younger than now..."
Yuigahama Emi looked at Irisviel, who was even more full of vitality than many lively young beauties, and couldn't help believing her claim that being a magical girl could make a person younger.
But even now, when she went out with Yui, people easily took them for sisters.
If she got any younger, wouldn't she end up Yui's little sister?!
She was sure she must be drunk. How else could she be hearing something so ridiculous?
"Haah..."
Yukinoshita Kiyuki watched Yuigahama Emi get coaxed into the water by Irisviel and suddenly sighed.
Going by the relationships among their daughters' generation, Yukinoshita Kiyuki was the one closer to Yuigahama Emi.
But in temperament, Irisviel and Yuigahama Emi were more alike. Both were girlish and full of energy, even innocent and lively, and the two of them would get along better.
Once Yuigahama Emi got used to the atmosphere of the Service Club and stopped being jumpy, nervous and shy, she might start teasing newcomers and luring them into playing with them, just like Irisviel.
Oh well. Everyone's personality was different, and so were their tastes, so it was normal for some relationships to be closer than others. Besides, they all belonged to the same clique, so there was nothing wrong with letting Irisviel and Yuigahama Emi pull people in.
Personally, she preferred dealing with Aoi, who was calmer. Loyal, devoted. Even her daughter Touka was a lot like her own Yukino.
Sakura and Rin were both very close to Master Hachiman and didn't need any worrying about.
Yukinoshita Kiyuki looked at Tohsaka Aoi, the black-haired, long-straight-haired wife who was like a Yamato Nadeshiko come to life.
"Hiyoko, I'm counting on you this time. For Suiren and Aoi's sake, Touka will surely find a way to keep Master in the countryside."
Noticing Yukinoshita Kiyuki's gaze, Tohsaka Aoi nodded and smiled at her, then went on instructing Minami Hiyoko on a few things to watch for on her trip to the countryside.
"Master won't stay in the countryside the whole time, but Touka has been influenced by us and will surely use some special methods. You'll be the one to deal with that when it happens."
"Also, if you come across suitable girls, you can have them attend Otonokizaka."
"On this point, Kiyuki, Irisviel and the others will all support you."
"...Otonokizaka Academy isn't mine alone. I can't do that."
Looking at Tohsaka Aoi's gentle smile, Minami Hiyoko felt a headache coming on.
She'd already had her daughter Kotori cosplay Firefly and join the fray, and she never expected Aoi to still not be satisfied, asking her to recruit lots of girls on her trip to the countryside with Kotori and get them into Otonokizaka Academy.
Even without Aoi saying so, she would certainly recruit plenty of girls. Otonokizaka Academy was a girls' school, so it couldn't take boys anyway, okay?
But what Aoi wanted those girls recruited for was what gave her the headache.
This was a school, not one of those places!
"I'm not asking you to force anyone. I just want you to have them mentally prepared ahead of time, and give girls who are willing to serve Master a little better treatment, so they don't have to worry about the trivial details of daily life."
Tohsaka Aoi shook her head and said softly.
The competition was getting fiercer by the day, and even she had to prepare early to avoid being caught in a frantic scramble she couldn't handle.
"...Aoi, are you doing this on President Hachiman's orders?"
Minami Hiyoko fell silent for a moment, then couldn't help asking.
For now she'd only had Kotori cosplay Firefly in the Service Game, and she hadn't made any particular arrangements even for the other girls who formed the school idol group with Kotori.
And now she was supposed to think about future students who hadn't even joined Otonokizaka Academy yet?
She was almost afraid to recruit anyone.
"No. Master has never interfered with our lives on his own."
Tohsaka Aoi shook her head and added right away.
"But I think Master would like it."
"..."
Minami Hiyoko looked at Tohsaka Aoi, who had the air of a model wife and mother, and her head throbbed.
She had only figured out last night what was wrong with Tohsaka Aoi's mind, but there was nothing she could say about it, was there? All she could do was go along with everyone else's madness.
Compared with deciding in a feverish haze to sacrifice herself in a muddle to buy her daughter's future and save the school's enrollment, this way, with everyone happily losing it and playing together, was more likely to keep a friendship going for a lifetime.
"I support Aoi's opinion, Hiyoko. If you have any difficulties, tell us, and we'll help you solve them!"
Seeing this, Yukinoshita Kiyuki spoke up on her own to state where she stood.
Rather than keep competing in the rat race at Sobu High, it would be better to open up another battlefield.
They might not be able to hold Otonokizaka Academy for themselves, and if it grew big like Sobu High, other people would want a piece of it, but at the very least it could be a home turf for their own people.
"..."
Minami Hiyoko glanced at the beaming Yukinoshita Kiyuki and smiled helplessly.
Even if she really did it, it wouldn't be Aoi's or Kiyuki's home turf, would it?
They were just some kids. Couldn't she and Aoi handle them? And if it really came to it, she could pull in the other seven members of the school idol group μ's.
...
The wives' clique was bustling, and the mood in the clique of women who'd once been left on the shelf was cheerful too.
Mizuho Kazami, Kashima Risako, Hanamori Kotomi and the others were welcoming Ryoko Mikado and Tearju, who had just arrived.
"Doctor Ryoko, I never expected you to join the Service Club too."
"A space doctor?! So you're an alien like Princess Lala, Doctor Ryoko?!"
"Tearju, where's your child? Little Mafuyu said she's very cute but doesn't talk much."
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