160 - Then Offer Loyalty to Kirari?
After delivering her brief opening speech as the leader of the Great Bloom Festival, Momobami Kirari left the stage, and it was now the student council secretary, Igarashi Sayaka, who took over to host the upcoming activities.
Kirari descended from the platform and disappeared into the shadows.
...
The vibration of a message came from Hikigaya Hachiman's phone. When he checked it, he saw it was a text from Momobami Kirari.
[Kirari: Come backstage, alone~]
Backstage? Hikigaya Hachiman furrowed his brows slightly, unsure of what kind of trick Kirari was planning this time.
But since the Empress of Hyakkaou herself had given an order, as a loyal subject, he naturally had no reason to refuse.
He casually made up an excuse to Yumeko and slipped away.
A short while later—
Lifting the backstage curtain, Hikigaya Hachiman saw Momobami Kirari and Juraku Sachiko, both wearing their luxurious formal attire, sitting side by side at one end of a long table.
Kirari's small feet, clad in white socks, swung back and forth, looking particularly adorable.
"So, President, you called me here for...?"
"It's at Sachiko's request~," Kirari's seductive and noble empress-like voice echoed in the small preparation room. "Because I owed Sachiko a favor, I agreed to a rather excessive request."
"This is a reward, Hikigaya," Juraku Sachiko slowly said, her vertical pupils seeming to see straight through the ambitions hidden within Hachiman's heart.
For an ambitious person like him, those desires would always simmer beneath the surface. The more he saw the flourishing world around him, the more he endured an ascetic-like life in pursuit of advancement.
The imbalance between reality and ideals inevitably caused psychological distortions, making people extreme in certain aspects. This wasn't something sheer willpower could control; as long as one was human, such subconscious thoughts would always exist.
And indeed, before he met Yumeko, Hachiman truly regarded everyone apart from his family as tools to climb upward, living like a machine — calculating, scheming, and calculating again.
As someone who had led Hachiman onto his path, Juraku Sachiko knew this all too well.
She and Jabami Yumeko — one as a lover, the other as a confidant — were the two women who understood Hikigaya Hachiman better than anyone else.
For this reason, Sachiko didn't hesitate to use up the favor Kirari owed her to stage this performance — a perfect way to relieve Hachiman's mounting stress.
"Holding it inside isn't good, Hikigaya. You need to release it," Sachiko spoke lazily.
To her, Hikigaya was both her most valued junior and her precious plaything. If he were to crack and break, she would be deeply displeased. Even if there was only the slightest chance of that happening, Sachiko would not allow it.
Sachiko looked dazzling in her formal outfit. The two women exchanged glances, sharing a spark of excitement and the thrill of a gamble.
This was a secret gamble between them.
"Come here, Hikigaya~"
Hachiman braced himself as if facing a great enemy. His slight abnormal feelings had been completely seen through by Sachiko, and now he was cornered in this tiny prep room, facing humiliation?
Having been pampered by Naoko and Sakura recently, Hachiman suddenly facing the task of serving the two most powerful women at Hyakkaou felt like a reversal of status, stirring a subtle shift in his mindset.
"So, how did Sakura taste?" Kirari suddenly asked.
Hachiman's heart skipped a beat. Without showing any change in his expression, he replied, "Not bad."
As expected, nothing could be hidden from this woman. Unless someone from his side had secretly reported to Kirari... which meant there were surveillance cameras in the activity room that he had failed to notice?
Kirari slowly raised her foot, clad in fragrant white socks, and placed it flat before Hachiman.
"Do you want it?"
"To serve the woman who just stood atop the high stage, speaking before over three thousand heirs of power, ruling over the future of Japan~"
"To serve it, to hold it in your hands and defile it — how many people would dream of such an opportunity yet never attain it~"
"Suck it, lick it, offer up your loyalty, Hikigaya-kun~"
That little white sock, exuding a faint fragrance, seemed to emit a kind of magic, compelling one to kneel and worship it.
But this time, Hachiman did not yield. He took a barely noticeable step back. Without the binding rules of a gamble, he would never voluntarily commit to such an act of humiliation.
"Sorry, President Momobami. I don't want to do that. If you called me here only for this, please allow me to leave."
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
There are things one should do and things one should not. It was not yet time for Hachiman to abandon his pride for extreme flattery.
"Heh—"
Kirari withdrew her small foot and glanced at Sachiko beside her.
"I lost this gamble, Sachiko."
Gamble? Hachiman's eyes flickered. So the two women had secretly made some kind of bet to test him.
"Looks like when it comes to understanding Hikigaya, I'm still better," Sachiko said playfully, tilting her head and twirling a lock of her white hair with her slender fingers.
Kirari cupped her face with both hands, her deep blue pupils staring straight at Hachiman:
"I thought Hikigaya-kun would turn into a little pervy dog just from seeing a foot. What a surprise."
"..."
"What made you misunderstand me like that, President Momobami?"
"Well, whatever. Since I lost, I'll accept my defeat."
Kirari smiled charmingly.
Then, from a drawer below, she retrieved a brand-new collar. Under Hachiman's shocked gaze, she slowly fastened it around her own neck.
"According to the bet, for the next five minutes, I am Hikigaya-kun's personal pet."
"In these five minutes, you can do whatever you want to me~"
"No matter what it is, I won't get angry."
Kirari sat gracefully on the chair, hands folded elegantly over her abdomen.
This was the wager between her and Sachiko:
They had bet on whether Hikigaya Hachiman would fall to his knees before the feet of the noble-boosted Momobami Kirari.
The loser had to serve as Hachiman's private pet for five minutes.
Kirari squeezed her legs together.
She had lost — she had actually lost! It was the first time in her gambling life she had ever been defeated.
The strange flavor of defeat — it was her first time tasting it.
'As expected, Hikigaya Hachiman is special! Only he can defeat me! Only he can make me feel this bliss!'
Kirari leaned forward, picked up the leash attached to her collar, and placed it in Hachiman's hand.
Whispering seductively in his ear, she said:
"Come on, Hikigaya~"
"Before you stands the woman who rules Japan's future~"
"For these five minutes, you can do anything you want. Experience the supreme sensation of absolute power~"