The late afternoon atmosphere in the Sobu High School Service Club room felt incredibly tense. Three students—Hachiman, Yukino, and Yui—sat stiffly, staring blankly at the center of the room.
"Hikki... are they really going to come now?" Yui asked, breaking the silence, her voice sounding nervous.
Hachiman looked down at the screen of his flip phone. The countdown timer on the screen now only showed ten seconds left.
"Just a little bit more," he muttered.
"Now we can no longer back out," Yukino sighed while massaging her temples. "At the very least, we have already divided the lodgings where they will stay."
"Mhm. I will host Kuroneko, then Yukinon will host Miku, and the rest..." Yui let her sentence trail off as she looked pityingly at Hachiman.
Hachiman immediately grabbed his own hair.
"Is this arrangement really impossible to change?! I strongly object to this one-sided decision!"
"Of course it can't be changed," Yukino cut in sharply. "This all started because you foolishly pressed that strange phone! As the main culprit, you must take full responsibility. Just consider taking care of those two as your absolute punishment."
Hachiman scratched the back of his head in frustration.
"I already apologized for that multiple times! But does the punishment really have to be this severe?! Why do I have to be the one to host those two terrifying monsters in my house?!" he wailed.
Right as Hachiman finished his protest, four pillars of light suddenly descended and illuminated every corner of the club room. From behind the glowing light, four figures slowly began to materialize.
Yukino narrowed her eyes.
"They're here," she whispered tensely.
The first thing that broke the tension was an incredibly cheerful greeting.
"Yahallo~! Yui, Yukino!" Miku exclaimed with a wide smile, waving her hand cheerfully.
Yui, who was suddenly greeted so familiarly, was instantly startled.
"Y-Yahallo...?" she replied in confusion.
"Hello, my dear students! How are you doing today? Wow, it's been three days since we last met, hasn't it?" Zelretch greeted with a joyful tone, stepping toward the three of them.
Hachiman gulped.
'Damn it, his way of speaking is exactly like a friendly grandpa coming to visit his grandchildren. Even though his true nature is a monster,' Hachiman thought, shuddering.
"Stop right there!" Yukino cut in sharply, staring cautiously at the old man. "The three of us still refuse to accept your coercion to learn magic from you."
"Hoho, what a pity, Young Lady. That is not a decision you get to make," Zelretch chuckled with a relaxed smile that actually looked threatening. "If you truly refuse to be my students, go ahead and defeat me here. Of course, that is if you are even capable of doing so."
'That's the same as telling us to commit suicide, you Crazy Old Man,' Hachiman screamed in his heart, his rational courage completely shrinking.
"Yukinon..." Yui gently tugged the edge of Yukino's uniform with a pleading face. "It seems our fate has reached a dead end. We can't run anywhere anymore."
Amidst the one-sided intimidation, Yuuto stepped forward.
"That's enough playing around, Zelretch. Let's postpone the matter of training the three of them until the main issue with that trash transmigrator is resolved," Yuuto interrupted, taking control.
"Hm... alright, alright. Since you are the leader of this group, I will comply with your wishes," Zelretch chuckled as he pulled up an empty chair in the club room and sat back comfortably.
The three Service Club members simultaneously let out a sigh of relief, as if they had just been freed from the gallows.
Yuuto then pulled up a chair and sat facing the three of them. His face turned serious.
"Now, let's discuss the main mission. Have you found any student candidates suspected of being a transmigrator in this school?"
Hachiman let out a long sigh.
"Regarding that, we've tried tracking him using the criteria Kuroneko gave us yesterday. But to be honest, we didn't find a single clue."
"Eh? You really didn't find even one?" Miku asked, also curious.
"Yeah, it was absolutely zero," Yui complained. "Hikki and Yukinon were even willing to stay up all night just to check the yearbook and match the faces of all the students at Sobu High School. But everyone looks like your average high school student. There's not a single young man with absurd criteria like Kuroneko mentioned... whatever it was called, 'peerlessly handsome radiating a divine aura' or 'having smooth skin as clear as jade'. Give me a break!"
"To be honest, if we only look at physical criteria... the person who best fits that nonsensical description is you yourself," Yukino retorted while pointing her index finger directly at Yuuto.
"Eh? Me?" Yuuto pointed at himself with a confused look.
The Oregairu trio simultaneously nodded firmly.
"It's impossible for there to be a guy or girl in this world more handsome or beautiful than you! I bet even straight guys would instantly turn if you intentionally flirted with them!" Yui exclaimed with full conviction.
"Wow, thank you so much for the compliment. Hearing that makes me want to just marry the three of you," Yuuto teased casually.
The young man then turned his head, focusing his mischievous gaze on the only male there.
"Then, what about you, Hachiman? Did my charm manage to make you go crazy for me too?" he whispered while leaning his body and bringing his face closer to Hachiman.
Hachiman instantly jolted stiffly. He hurriedly turned his face away with a red flush that immediately spread across his cheeks.
'Damn it, why does he smell so good?! Is this scent still within the normal limits for a guy?! Am I still sane?! Totsuka, please protect me!' Hachiman screamed in his heart, experiencing a momentary identity crisis.
Seeing that panicked reaction, Yuuto immediately burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Your reaction is so easy to predict! Wow, if it's like this, Totsuka will definitely be very sad, you know," he teased again.
'Damn it, why did he have to bring up Totsuka's name?! All of a sudden I feel like I'm cheating and feel guilty! Wait, why do I even have to feel guilty?!' Hachiman thought, getting increasingly frustrated with his own train of thought.
"Yuuto!!" Miku reprimanded from the side.
Without mercy, the girl directly landed a deadly pinch on her husband's waist.
"Stop flirting with boys!!"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Have mercy, Miku, I'm sorry! Yes, yes, I'll stop!" Yuuto grimaced in pain.
Hearing that groan, Miku finally released her pinch. With a dark expression, she pointed right at the tip of Yuuto's nose.
"Listen here, Yuuto. If you ever dare to switch your orientation 'that' way, I assure you that you will deeply regret ever being born into this world. Understand?" Miku threatened in a very cold tone.
"Y-yes, Ma'am," Yuuto squeaked, swallowing hard. He was truly given chills seeing Miku could get so terrifyingly angry. This was the second time he had been surprised by the scary mode of his wives—the first being Belfast's anger.
Amidst that comedic tension, Kuroneko's voice finally broke the atmosphere.
"Ahem. So, can we continue the main discussion?" Kuroneko cleared her throat, trying to draw the room's focus back.
"Ah, alright. Sorry, my attention was distracted for a moment," Yuuto chuckled. His face then turned serious again.
"But to clarify one thing: I am not a transmigrator. Even though my appearance might look striking, I have nothing to do with those parasites."
"Don't worry, we don't suspect you of being a transmigrator. We're purely just curious why a guy can have such a beautiful appearance," Yui admitted honestly.
"Well... you could say it's purely due to fate and luck," Yuuto answered, scratching his cheek. "Later I will tell you in more detail about my origins. But for now, let's focus our attention on this transmigrator first. How can we track and find him?"
Kuroneko tapped her finger on the table.
"Actually, with the combination of my eye's ability and Yuuto's Fae Eyes, looking for someone in this city should be an easy thing. However, the story will be very different if this transmigrator is equipped with a cheat from his system that can hide his existence. If so, magic tracking will be very difficult."
"Eh? It turns out there's such a troublesome thing too, huh?" Miku muttered, shivering.
"If he really has a hiding ability like that, the situation will become quite confusing. We will have a hard time finding him," Yuuto complained.
"Speaking of this transmigrator..." Zelretch's deep voice suddenly cut in, instantly diverting all the attention in the room to him.
"Any ideas, Zelretch?" Yuuto asked.
The old man smirked craftily.
"Look here. The absolute fact is, those parasites must know our true identities because they have watched the anime or read our stories in their previous lives, right?"
"Exactly. Why do you ask?" Kuroneko responded.
"Logically, when they see our faces directly, they will instinctively show a surprised reaction, right? Well, if that's the case... what if we ourselves step forward as bait to lure him out of hiding?" Zelretch grinned.
Kuroneko's eyes instantly widened brightly.
"Ah! That's right! Why didn't I think of that method?!"
"Wait, Kuroneko. Have you thought of a plan from what the old man said?" Yui asked curiously.
"The plan is very simple. We don't need to bother hiding or tracking him in the dark. Instead, we should act out in the open!" Kuroneko exclaimed enthusiastically.
The chuunibyou girl then stared straight at the other three people.
"Yuuto, Miku, and Zelretch. If the three of you intentionally reveal yourselves and wander around in the public view of this school, that transmigrator will definitely have a heart attack! He must think this world is just a normal Oregairu world without superpowers. But if there's a character from Fate and a Vocaloid who suddenly got lost in his school... he will definitely panic and react immediately!" Kuroneko explained at length.
Kuroneko then pointed her index finger dramatically at the girl beside Yuuto.
"And out of the three of you... the deadliest bait must be you, Miku!"
"Me?" Miku repeated while pointing at herself.
"Yes, you," Kuroneko nodded.
The girl in the gothic dress then turned to the three Sobu High School students.
"This is just to make sure. Does this world have a Vocaloid franchise featuring a character named Hatsune Miku?" she asked.
The three of them looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Miku.
"As far as I remember, there is no such thing here," Yui answered confidently. "What do you think, Yukinon?"
Yukino shook her head slowly.
"There isn't," she answered short and concisely.
"See, the situation is perfect! That transmigrator will definitely recognize Miku's face. If by chance he meets Miku directly, he will definitely act like a know-it-all and try to approach her. We will use Miku as bait for—"
Kuroneko spoke passionately, but her words were suddenly cut off sharply by Yuuto.
"No."
A deep and cold voice suddenly interrupted Kuroneko's words.
"I absolutely do not permit such a thing," Yuuto stated.
The face of the young man who usually always smiled casually at Kuroneko had now turned very serious and sharp.
Kuroneko instantly fell silent and stiffened. For the first time, she saw a sharp gaze and intimidating aura from her husband directed at her. The atmosphere in the room suddenly felt tense.
"Y-Yuuto...?" Kuroneko squeaked in a stuttering tone with a frightened expression.
Beside the young man, Miku also turned her head, feeling uncomfortable seeing her husband's suddenly frightening expression.
Realizing that Kuroneko was genuinely frightened by his gaze, Yuuto hurriedly discarded his serious aura. His face instantly relaxed again, and the familiar warm smile returned to his lips.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. Don't put on such a scared face," Yuuto chuckled in a relaxed tone, trying hard to calm the atmosphere.
He then looked at his two wives gently.
"Besides, there's no way I would be willing to let my beloved wife be used as live bait just to attract the attention of an ugly monkey like that, right?"
Hearing that sweet and possessive reasoning, Miku's anger and tension instantly evaporated.
"Darling..." she murmured softly, her face blushing bright red.
"I-I see. If you've said so, then it can't be helped," Kuroneko squeaked, slowly trying to calm herself down again.
Realizing that Kuroneko was starting to recover from her shock, Yuuto took over the conversation again.
"Because of that, you guys don't need to worry. I have already thought of an alternative plan," he said with a confident smile.
"Oh? What kind of plan? Do you intend to use yourself or perhaps make me the bait?" Zelretch asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I must remind you, if that monkey realizes my true identity, he will definitely run away in fear."
"Hehe~ don't worry, Old Man. You will definitely love this particular plan of mine."
Yuuto raised his hand and snapped his fingers in the air.
Click!
Whooosh!
Suddenly, a spatial distortion twisted and opened right behind Yuuto's back. From behind the portal, four human silhouettes stepped out, standing frozen in silence.
Zelretch narrowed his eyes. As soon as he recognized the details and magical structure of the four figures, the old man's eyes instantly widened in amazement.
"My, my... what an incredible surprise. I never expected you to be able to store high-tier items like this in your inventory. Let me guess, is this also one of those absurd rewards from your chat group?"
Yuuto nodded casually.
"That's exactly right. I got these five 'Touko Puppets' as my daily login reward."
"Five, you say? But there are only four standing behind you. Where did the other one go?" Zelretch asked curiously.
"Oh, I already used the other puppet to perfectly replace my position in my home world while I'm away doing this mission," Yuuto explained.
Hearing that explanation, Zelretch couldn't hold back his loud laughter.
"Hahahaha! I see! Goodness... if the woman who made those puppets found out her masterpiece was treated like a free giveaway like this, she would definitely go on a rampage and be absolutely furious!"
"Then, what are you going to do with these empty puppets?" Yukino asked sharply.
"Seeing the surprised reaction from that old vampire just now, these things are definitely not just ordinary puppets, right?"
Click!
Instead of answering, Yuuto snapped his fingers again.
In an instant, the four puppets were enveloped by a bright glow of light. Slowly, their figures began to change and manifest highly detailed human forms.
The first figure transformed into a tall woman radiating a cold and elegant aura, with beautiful flowing platinum blonde hair.
The second figure was a petite girl with pale silver hair.
The third figure turned into a girl with bright pink hair and a captivating outfit of a matching color.
And the final figure manifested into a tall, muscular, upright woman with grayish light-brown hair.
Kuroneko's eyes widened so much they almost popped out of their sockets. As someone who knew many fictional stories very well, she clearly recognized who those four women's forms were!
Kuroneko's body instantly trembled violently. Her courage completely shrank when her gaze met the flat and cold face of the platinum blonde woman.
"Y-you... this can't be possible, right?! W-what exactly are you planning to do with the forms of those four?!" Kuroneko shrieked with a voice trembling in fear.
Yuuto chuckled softly. He stepped forward and gently patted his wife's shoulder to calm her down.
"Hehe~ don't worry, Ruri. These four are just empty puppets. They aren't the real ones, so you don't need to tremble like that."
Yuuto then turned his head, staring at the replica forms of the queen and her knights with a faint grin.
"Now, the question is... have you all ever heard the term honey trap?" he asked with a smirk.