"Just holding hands is enough." Asakura extended his palm toward the girl.
"Is it really enough to just do that?"
"It's sufficient, because holding hands is also a form of 'completely and closely fitted together' behavior." Asakura nodded in response. Although the efficiency was far inferior to mucous membrane contact and the exchange of bodily fluids (censored), it was still much better than aggressively sniffing the stray mana floating off the girls through the air—that would truly make him look like a pervert.
"...Even though it's such a normal action, why does it carry a inexplicably wretched undertone when it comes out of Asakura-senpai's mouth?" Kaju sighed.
"The famous ancient figure Su Dongpo from Tokai University once said that only those whose minds are filled with dirty thoughts will see everything as dirty." Asakura shot back at the girl with a beaming smile.
"No, wasn't that said by Foyin?" Having quite excellent grades in literature, Kaju immediately corrected him.
"No, what Foyin spoke of was Buddha and excrement." Asakura, who ranked first in the school year, corrected her right back.
"I say..." Anon, who was eating mashed potatoes, glanced at the small box in her hand and helplessly put down her spoon to look at the two of them: "People are still eating here, can you stop saying such disgusting things..."
"Sorry, do you want me to pour some of the leftover curry from lunch onto your mashed potatoes? To enhance the flavor, I even specially added rare enoki mushrooms and corn kernels." Asakura, who was eating his staff meal at the Rabbit House during noon, suggested to the girl.
"Wouldn't that make it look even more like it! No need, absolutely no need! If anything, I've completely lost my appetite now!" Anon pounded the table in complaint, and then she looked toward Yanami: "Anna-senpai, do you want to eat?"
"No."
"Then I'll give this portion of mashed potatoes to you... Eh-eh-eh? You actually don't want it?" Anon, snapping back to her senses, looked at Yanami who was slumped over the table in shock: "Come to think of it, Anna-senpai hasn't touched the french fries and fried chicken nuggets on the table since just now..."
"Could it be that Anna-chan has an upset stomach?" Yui asked with concern: "It's fine, I happen to have some stomach tablets stored inside Napoleon's belly..."
"Why did you immediately assume that I overate! Why is there not a single person objecting to this! Is that really the kind of gluttonous image I have in your hearts!" Yanami continued to protest.
The others shifted their gazes away with perfect tacit understanding, guiltily avoiding the girl's eyes.
"Sorry, I subconsciously assumed it must be related to eating," Asakura apologized, while asking curiously at the same time: "So, Yanami, why aren't you eating?"
"Because I got a ten-thousand-yen allowance from my grandmother, so I plan to have a massive feast! I absolutely cannot waste my precious dessert-eating opportunity here!"
"...Give me back my apology!"
"Eh-eh-eh? Suddenly getting angry out of nowhere, do boys nowadays all have manic-depressive disorders?"
"I think this is mainly Yanami-senpai's problem."
"Suddenly being looked at with an icy stare by little sister Kaju?! By the way, it was Anna-senpai just a moment ago and now it's turned into Yanami-senpai, I feel like my reputation has dropped again in your heart... Ah-re, why did I say the word 'again'?"
"Probably because you're just an unreliable fellow." Asakura responded coldly: "In any case, hurry up and hold hands... Tsk, come to think of it, you don't possess normal mana either..."
"Suddenly being rejected?! Even though I, Yanami, didn't do anything!"
"Yeah, it's my fault for calling you over."
"Even though I'm being apologized to, why does it feel like my personal value as Miss Yanami is being negated?!"
"This one (referring to Yanami), is no longer needed."
"So cruel?! Don't treat a person like an object!"
"Alright, let's end this boring manzai routine here, Anna-chan shouldn't keep pestering Takuma-kun either." Seeing Asakura and Yanami bantering back and forth, Asagumo suddenly interceded with a beaming smile and extended her hand toward Asakura: "What's important right now is still Takuma-kun's matter, just holding hands should be enough, right."
"Even though I'm the one being cast aside, why is it phrased as if I was the proactive one, bullying? Is this bullying?!" Yanami whimpered on the table, and Yui went over with a wry smile, stroking her head to comfort her.
"Then, excuse me." Asakura gently grasped the girl's hand, locking their fingers together. What he touched first was that delicate softness—although it wasn't his first time touching a girl's body, or rather, back when he was entangled with Hitori at the love hotel, the other party was so soft and moist it felt like she was made of water, leaving a deep impression on Asakura—it still allowed him to sincerely appreciate the characteristic frailty and elegance of a girl (of course, this did not include Ayase, who could tear apart tigers and leopards with her bare hands). Afterward, the warmth slowly seeping out from between their fingers spread bit by bit along his palm, like a spring breeze passing through the skin tissue, flowing all the way along his blood vessels to his chest, transforming into a wave of gentle and lingering warmth.
"Um... sorry, my palm is sweating a little..." Asagumo suddenly said with some embarrassment. After all, it was still summer, and even with the air conditioner running, holding hands like this made it easy to sweat.
"It doesn't matter... no, if anything, it's better this way!" Asakura said, and the serious yet pleasant look on his face made one feel that he was absolutely not being polite or joking.
"...Is it just my imagination? Has Asakura-senpai become even more of a pervert than before?" Kaju couldn't help but ask.
"Don't make it sound like I used to be a pervert!" Asakura protested.
Which means you're not denying that you are a pervert now? The young girl complained in her heart.
Asakura didn't actually like a girl's sweat all that much.
As a materialist warrior who had seen evil gods, learned magic incantations, and encountered many supernatural events, even though he would occasionally see the phrase 'dripping with fragrant sweat' used to describe girls sweating when reading novels in the past, apart from a few exceptions, no one's sweat was actually fragrant.
It was just that Asakura had once seen a theory stating that when sweating, a girl's hormones volatilize more easily, causing members of the opposite sex who already have a good impression of them to misjudge. This triggers the secretion of dopamine and oxytocin, biasing their olfactory judgment toward pleasure, which makes them feel that even the other party's sweat is fragrant—this is known as the 'pheromone effect'.
In addition, under conditions of good diet, constitution, and living habits, the odor of sweat is indeed relatively milder and lower in acidity; coupled with the soaps, lotions, and shampoos commonly used by women, it mixes with body odor to create the illusion of a "natural fragrance".
But this didn't change the fact that sweat is also a bodily fluid. As long as it was a bodily fluid, it could achieve the effect of replenishing mana: the blending of sweat, why shouldn't that count as a form of bodily fluid (censored) exchange!
Thus, the fulfilling sensation of mana replenishment made Asakura involuntarily reveal a pleasant expression of 'Ah that's right'.
Unfortunately, Asagumo's mana was very scarce, and this slight feeling of pleasure came quickly and left just as fast—after all, the vast majority of it had been used to pay off her debt bill. In a sense, her mana was roughly equivalent to a squib: stronger than a muggle, but only limitedly so.
Although he knew it wasn't good to think this way at a time like this, Asakura couldn't help but recall how it felt when he completely drained Hitori.
That was truly amazing.
Wait a minute, why does my situation look so much like an evil cultivator demon from a cultivation novel who extracts a young girl's primal yin for replenishment?
Asakura complained in his heart with delayed realization.
Keke, as expected, is it more satisfying to extract replenishment from a sect's holy maiden with great talent?
Gathering his thoughts, which had gradually turned bizarre, Asakura let go of Asagumo's hand.
"Ah..." The girl let out a barely perceptible sigh, her face completely filled with disappointment.
Asakura rubbed her head with amusement. Like a cat, the girl comfortably squinted her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of his palm.
"Then the next one... Chihaya, ah... Anon, could I trouble you?"
"Do our fingers absolutely have to be interlocked?" Anon looked a bit hesitant, "Ah, it's not that I'm rejecting classmate Asakura, it's just that it's still a bit..."
It wasn't that she disliked Asakura; if anything, she liked him a little. It was just that the girl carefully restrained her affection and did not intend to cross a certain line.
She was just afraid that if she really continued to be this intimate with Asakura, she wouldn't be able to restrain the affection in her heart anymore. If that feeling completely overflowed when the time came, what would it turn into? Although the girl didn't know, she was a bit afraid of seeing herself like that...
"Completely and closely fitted together!" Asakura said loudly.
"Why do you have to emphasize that?!" The young girl felt her sweet and sour maiden heart instantly smashed to pieces by the other party's foolish, clownish behavior.
"Completely! Closely! Fitted together!"
"Alright, alright, I'll hold hands with you. Don't press over here looking like you're completely unsatisfied!" Anon instinctively reached out her hand to block Asakura's approaching face, acting like a cat seeing a golden retriever forcing its way over.
Clearly, she was usually the one occupying the canine niche in the ecosystem.
Just as they were about to hold hands, the girl thought of many things all at once.
For instance, she had just picked up a few french fries to eat earlier. Because her fingers were covered in seasoning powder, she had even sucked her fingers—dammit, what a fool I am, why did I do that? Doesn't this make it even more embarrassing! What, I didn't know there would be this step just now? Then I can only forgive myself and come to terms with it!
"Um... wait a moment..."
Anon pulled out a few tissues and wiped her hands carefully, and only then did she somewhat shyly grasp the palm that Asakura had extended long ago.
The young girl's hand was a size smaller than his; holding it gave her the illusion that her entire hand was enveloped by his. While she couldn't help but let the thought 'So classmate Asakura's hand is this big' pop into her mind, she could also feel the calluses on his hand.
Even though they were hard and didn't feel comfortable at all, for some unknown reason, Anon inexplicably felt that the calluses on Asakura's hand weren't unlikable at all, and she even subconsciously let a thought surface that a boy like this must surely be more mature and dependable.
Although she was very shy at first, after holding hands for a while, the young girl inexplicably felt that continuing like this wasn't bad either.
Therefore, when Asakura withdrew his hand, she couldn't help but reveal a look of feeling lost on her face.
Of course, it was just a fleeting moment. After all, having been the student council president back in junior high, she had a considerable amount of experience in managing her expressions. The reason she had always acted sweet and bubbly was simply because there was no need to pretend to be mature in front of everyone from the club.
"Thanks, Anon. Now then, next up..." Asakura looked around: "Yui, sorry to trouble you."
"Mhm. If this can help Takuma-tan, please."
The young girl, who had already prepared herself mentally, smiled beautifully, extending her hand toward Asakura as if inviting a dancing partner to share a dance.
"This posture isn't very easy to grasp, let's change to another one." Asakura said after demonstrating a hand gesture.
"...Takuma-tan, you really are dense." The young girl sighed heavily.
"Ah?" Asakura blanked for a moment.
"Takuma-kun just doesn't pay much attention to matters in this regard... probably. (Asagumo)" "At this point, I don't even want to retort against classmate Asakura anymore. (Yanami)" "Classmate Asakura completely fails to understand a girl's heart. (Anon)" "Pervert. (Kaju)"
"Why does it suddenly feel like this has turned into a denunciation rally against me?" Asakura scratched his face with some embarrassment, "Furthermore, did someone who simply wanted to curse at me mix themselves in?"
"No such thing, I deeply respect Asakura-senpai." Kaju said with a gentle smile, looking exactly like the template of a model top student as usual.
It was probably just that he had misheard. Asakura gave her a suspicious glance but didn't dwell on it further.
Although Yui was warm, cheerful, and like a little sun, her physical constitution felt on the colder side; her small hand felt icy cold to the touch, which possessed a distinct flavor compared to the warm hands of Asagumo and Tokyo Anon.
"Takuma-tan's hand is so warm~"
The young girl asked Asakura in a low voice, "Furthermore, is it really enough to just do this?"
"Mhm, for now this will do." Asakura nodded. Although there were better methods to replenish mana, he always felt that if he went for it right now, it would easily cause a drop in favorability.
In any case, it was just to replenish some mana for an emergency, so there was no need to go to that extent.
"Hey!"
While Asakura was still explaining, the girl suddenly used her finger to tickle the back of Asakura's hand.
Asakura looked at her with amusement.
Seeing her prank completely fail to produce an effect, the girl stuck out her tongue, "I originally wanted to tickle your palm, but with this posture of interlocking fingers, it's completely impossible to reach that far."
"The sensitivity of my palm isn't high; even if you tickled it, it wouldn't make much of a difference compared to the back of my hand."
Asakura extended... found that he couldn't extend his hands, so he changed it to a shrug and said.
"Then if I can tickle your palm and the back of your hand at the same time, it'll be double damage!"
"No, it doesn't work that way, does it?"
After holding hands with Yui for a while, the two broke apart amicably.
"At least... give me the custody of the child..." The young girl wept.
"Keke, then use your body to repay it!" The scumbag grinned ferociously.
"How much longer is this little theater skit going to play out?" The third party, Asagumo, complained dryly from the side.
"Old Ba is completely useless, so the last one left is Nukumizu (Little Sister)."
Asakura looked toward Kaju.
The others also instinctively followed his gaze and looked toward the youngest child in the room together.
All of a sudden, Kaju, who had become the focus of attention, felt an unprecedented sense of shame.
Dammit, it's clearly just holding hands, why is it so embarrassingly bashful!
The young girl cried out in her heart.