The more ashamed she felt inside, the more Kaede realized how real the stimulation she could sense was.
Yes, stimulation, whether psychologically or physically, it was incredibly stimulating.
However, before Kaede could manage to hide her emotions and thoughts, she discovered something that made her eyes widen in disbelief.
"The vice president isn't feeling well, so we came back to rest. We've already taken a leave from the teacher."
"W-Wait! That bracelet on your wrist, Tsubaki…", Kaede stiffly interrupted Usui Makoto's explanation, her gaze fixated on the silver bracelet on Rurikawa Tsubaki's wrist, her eyes slowly shifting to Suzu's smooth and white wrist, her tone incredibly complicated.
The silver bracelet that was supposed to be on Suzu's wrist had somehow ended up on Rurikawa Tsubaki's wrist.
That empathy bracelet could share senses with each other, clearly and vividly transmitting the feelings of the two people wearing it. And right now, she was sitting with that guy Hachiman.
Which meant…
"Mm~hm!", Feeling Kaede's burning gaze, Rurikawa Tsubaki finally realized that Iris had set a trap for her. Choosing to come to the student council office wouldn't let her escape Iris' clutches. The bracelet she couldn't take off was immediately recognized by Kaede, who instantly understood the situation.
However, at this point, she couldn't argue or explain. The sensation being transmitted from Kaede, who was emotionally stirred, made her instinctively cover her mouth, not daring to speak.
"Hachiman… you'd better explain this clearly…", Kaede suddenly turned her head, her eyes glaring straight at Hachiman, speaking through clenched teeth in a low voice.
There was no need to ask. The current terrible situation definitely had something to do with Hachiman. After all, it was he who had given the empathy bracelets to her and Suzu. Now that the bracelet had ended up on Tsubaki's wrist, there was no way Hachiman could wash his hands of this.
'Just when did this happen? This guy Hachiman actually seduced Tsubaki?'
She wasn't sure when Tsubaki put on the bracelet, but right now her sensations were being continuously transmitted to Tsubaki, and Tsubaki didn't say anything but was clearly enduring it.
There was no way she could believe Tsubaki had no idea.
Tsubaki must have known Hachiman was up to something and silently endured it because of that.
"Th-That… Kaede, don't blame Hikigaya-kun, it's all my fault," Seeing that Kaede had discovered her secret with Hachiman, Rurikawa Tsubaki could no longer endure and hurriedly opened her mouth to explain her relationship with him.
She didn't want her presence to negatively affect the relationship between Hikigaya and Kaede.
That night was ultimately her own fault. Hikigaya had told her to leave early, but she didn't. When Ursula forcibly took control of her, it was too late to leave.
Hikigaya wasn't at fault at all. He even helped her resolve the Poiman family situation, yet now her mistake had negatively affected his relationship with Kaede…
"How could this be your fault, Tsubaki? That guy Hachiman has wanted a harem for a long time. He must have had impure motives toward you, that's why things turned out like this," Seeing her good friend Rurikawa Tsubaki still trying to defend Hachiman at a time like this, Kaede frowned and scolded her, then turned expressionlessly to Hachiman.
"Don't you have anything to say in your defense?"
She was fuming inside. Even now, she was still in Hachiman's arms, and suddenly she discovered Hachiman and her best friend Tsubaki seemed to have an improper relationship. She was completely stunned.
"What do you mean by defend… Are you sure you want to talk about this here?", Hachiman looked around thoughtfully, then countered Kaede's question.
He didn't mind, this whole harem thing would be discovered by Kaede sooner or later.
But right now, Usui Makoto, the unrelated disciplinary committee member, was still here.
"...", Kaede glanced at Usui Makoto, who still didn't understand the situation and looked confused. She wanted to complain about Hachiman but, after taking a deep breath, held back with resignation.
Hachiman was indeed a big problem, but Makoto was a disciplinary committee member. If something outrageous was said, it would be troublesome.
Even though she knew Hachiman wasn't someone who would use force, she still couldn't understand how his relationship with Tsubaki ended up like this.
If it really was Hachiman who did something bad, and Makoto found out, then whether she asked her to keep it secret or not, both options were hard choices.
Rurikawa Tsubaki didn't say anything either. She had gotten along well with Usui Makoto just now, Makoto had a good personality and cared for her.
But she and Makoto weren't close. She had no idea whether Makoto would choose to keep the secret if the truth came out.
"...Um, if you have something inconvenient to tell me, then I'll just leave for now," Sensing the awkward atmosphere and noticing Kaede, Hachiman, and Tsubaki were all subtly watching her, Usui Makoto, though unaware of the reason, smiled as she stood up.
She really saw Kaede as a good friend. Since her presence was making her friend uncomfortable, she would just leave.
"W-Wait! Makoto-chan, please wait a bit!", Seeing Usui Makoto sensibly standing up to leave, Kaede looked at her slightly lonely and isolated back, bit her lip, and hurriedly spoke to keep her.
"Makoto-chan, it's okay if you want to listen to Hachiman's excuses too, but this matter might involve Tsubaki's privacy, so I hope you can keep it confidential."
"Tsubaki, is it okay if Makoto-chan stays and listens? If it's not convenient, then forget it," As Kaede spoke, she looked to Rurikawa Tsubaki for her opinion.
Because Usui Makoto only had her as a friend, she didn't want Makoto to feel isolated or rejected because of this. But even more, she didn't want to solve things selfishly and end up hurting Tsubaki.
Usui Makoto was her good friend, and so was Rurikawa Tsubaki. She didn't want to hurt either of them.
"If you don't mind, and it won't trouble you all…", Usui Makoto looked at the kind and thoughtful people before her and smiled as she agreed.
Kaede was always so caring. Even if others disliked her, she would still befriend them. The only flaw she had was her pride, she easily got emotional in front of Hikigaya, letting her moods swing so clearly from anger to joy.
"This… probably isn't really a private matter. It's just a little… embarrassing to talk about…", Rurikawa Tsubaki nodded awkwardly, her expression incredibly subtle.
She had originally thought they could talk it out in private, but now it seemed there was no chance. She'd have to awkwardly and shamefully confess her mistake.
"Should I be the one to explain?", Hachiman looked at the embarrassed and shy Rurikawa Tsubaki and asked in a low voice.
"I-I'll explain… Let me start with why I was preparing to drop out of school before…", Rurikawa Tsubaki took a deep breath and slowly recounted how her family had been targeted by the Poiman family, how she had no choice but to drop out, how Hachiman saved her, and how she was later controlled by Ursula.
Honestly, she had always been worried about her close behavior with Hachiman, constantly thinking about when and under what circumstances it might be exposed.
But now that it was finally time for it to be revealed, she suddenly found herself not all that worried anymore.
Worrying had been pointless. There was no way to hide it forever. Something bound to be exposed, worrying about it was a waste of energy.
"Threatened by the Poiman family head to drop out…", Hearing Rurikawa Tsubaki's explanation, Kaede suddenly understood why her friend had been acting so strange lately. Suddenly saying she wanted to take leave or drop out, and then soon after changing her mind and returning to school.
Her improved relationship with Hachiman had only started a few days ago. No wonder she hadn't noticed anything between them before, they were just ordinary acquaintances.
"Because Hikigaya-kun proactively helped me, and also because I had been controlled… our relationship gradually improved…", Rurikawa Tsubaki said in a small, embarrassed voice.
She didn't explain the details of how she had been controlled, nor did she plan to. Though Kaede and the others had already guessed something must've happened during that time with Ursula, otherwise, she wouldn't act so shy around Hachiman.
"Tch… So it's the classic hero-saving-the-damsel trope? Tsubaki's a noble young lady, and you got a huge bargain here," Kaede looked up at Hachiman, who was still holding her while listening to them, clicked her tongue twice, and squinted at him with a smile.
"Don't get all sarcastic. Tsubaki didn't even dare to tell you this. She's not going to steal me from you," Hachiman rolled his eyes at Kaede. The fact she could talk like this meant she wasn't really mad at Tsubaki. Though… she was probably still jealous.
"Yes, yes! That situation really was just an accident! Kaede, you don't need to worry, I won't compete with you for Hikigaya-kun. I'll keep my distance from him in the future!", Rurikawa Tsubaki nodded repeatedly, fully agreeing with Hachiman's words.
"I didn't mean that… I just think Hachiman took such an advantage of you, and you even endured it just now, letting him mess with you," Kaede shook her head and smiled helplessly.
What could she do? Tsubaki wasn't at fault. Compared to some random capitalist taking advantage of her best friend, she'd rather let her childhood friend Hachiman do it.
Still, it really did feel strange.
'Tsubaki has been eaten by Hachiman, Iris is also after Hachiman, this guy… is he really going to start a harem?'
"It's not like it's random…", Rurikawa Tsubaki moved her lips, but didn't dare to say that the elf princess Iris had also come over.
Kaede and she were good friends, very forgiving toward her mistakes, but Iris was Kaede's love rival. If Iris didn't show up, it'd be fine, but if she did and Kaede found out, she'd definitely be in a bad mood and get upset and start a fight.
"Um… if this empathy bracelet really does share each other's senses, and you two still haven't taken it off yet… does that mean you're still sharing Hikigaya-kun now…", Usui Makoto silently looked at Kaede and Rurikawa Tsubaki, slowly raising her hand, blushing and biting her lip as she asked in a soft probing voice.
She didn't particularly care about the entanglement between Kaede and Rurikawa Tsubaki; even they themselves hadn't started arguing.
But there was one thing she did mind. Just now she and Rurikawa Tsubaki had been outside watching Kaede and Hikigaya. They came in too suddenly, Kaede clearly hadn't separated from Hikigaya.
So, right now, Rurikawa Tsubaki sitting on the sofa and Kaede sitting on Hikigaya's lap being hugged, were they sharing sensations?
They weren't even thinking of separating for a moment?
Or had they already gotten used to Hikigaya, so they forgot about this thing?
"Hiss…",nUsui Makoto's words made the slightly eased atmosphere become incomparably awkward again. Kaede and Rurikawa Tsubaki looked at each other in unison, and in the next second both shifted their gaze with flickering eyes, biting their lips without saying a word.
Did she think Kaede and Rurikawa Tsubaki didn't know what she was talking about?
Let alone Rurikawa Tsubaki and Hachiman only having that one time, Kaede had more experience, but she still couldn't get used to sitting on Hachiman's lap and chatting with everyone like nothing happened.
It's just that Rurikawa Tsubaki had tried, but still couldn't remove the silver bracelet on her wrist. She didn't know what magic Iris had used on her.
Kaede also couldn't just lift the air-conditioning blanket on her lap in front of everyone, get up from Hachiman, and extract herself from this awkward situation.
"Um… did I say something I shouldn't have again?", Usui Makoto looked at Rurikawa Tsubaki and Kaede who had once again fallen silent, and couldn't help but softly ask.
She only had Kaede as a friend. As someone with little experience in friendships, she sometimes didn't quite know how to interact with people, and could easily offend others.
But she really just wanted to help Kaede solve the problem. She didn't mean to embarrass her.
"...", Rurikawa Tsubaki.
"...", Kaede.
They didn't know how to explain it either.
Didn't you see they deliberately didn't bring up this matter?
Did she want them to explain the awkward situation where they couldn't pull away?
"Miss Usui, President Kaede and Vice President Rurikawa are being 'hugged' by Mr. Hikigaya and can't sort things out properly. I think we should go for a walk and come back after they've tidied things up," Seeing that Kaede and Rurikawa Tsubaki were too embarrassed and kept silent, the always quiet Maid Shion, who stood nearby, leaned in and whispered a reminder to Usui Makoto. When she said "hugged," she deliberately paused.
She hadn't worn the empathy bracelet herself, and didn't understand what kind of black technology could make a bracelet that shared senses, but since elves from another world existed in this world, maybe magic could achieve this.
If that was really the case, then her young lady might currently be suffering through the torment of the student council president Kaede's childhood friend, Hachiman.
Hmm… although from the reaction of Miss Rurikawa Tsubaki, she didn't seem to show rejection or disgust, only awkwardness and shame, not daring to face Hachiman and Kaede.
But as Miss Rurikawa Tsubaki's personal maid, it was still necessary to help ease her burden, so that she wouldn't have to endure such awkwardness while trying to keep up a conversation.
"Ah? I—then I'll go out for a bit first!", Usui Makoto froze, then quickly reacted, shot up, cheeks burning, and frantically ran out of the student council office.
She didn't have many friends and no dating experience, but she definitely understood the meaning of "hugged."
Right, Kaede was Hikigaya's childhood friend, the two were lovers, so doing this was just a bit embarrassing. But Vice President Rurikawa and Hikigaya didn't have that kind of relationship at all.
She knew that although Rurikawa Tsubaki was Hikigaya's classmate, their relationship wasn't much closer than her own with Hikigaya.
[T/N: To Love-Ru is entering in the mix starting chapter 206, are you all har—excited? Also, I changed the cover and used 🍑 to censor some heavy assets because WN wasn't letting me upload them otherwise. The uncensored one is on my Patreon book cover. Have a great read~]
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