"Muscles that stiff mean you need to press harder. And don't just squeeze and release—move your fingers a bit more."
"Mhm… I—I'm very sorry!"
Kozuki's voice trembled. When she heard Rasa's instructions, the strange sensation building in her body suddenly surged stronger.
She nearly let out an embarrassing sound.
Carefully, she glanced up at Rasa—but to her relief, his expression remained unchanged.
Letting out a silent sigh, she focused her attention on the massage, trying to use the motion to distract herself from the sensations flooding her senses.
Meanwhile, Rasa subtly pressed his legs together and glanced sideways to observe Kozuki's expression.
She was focused—completely absorbed in her massage. It was clear she hadn't noticed his internal… reaction.
Her face was flushed, and she was sweating a little—but Rasa figured that was just from the effort.
There was no fan, no air conditioning. It was around the mid thirty degrees celsius indoors.
In this heat, it made sense that Kozuki, exerting herself this much, would be red in the face and breaking a sweat.
Even so, Rasa had to admit—he was sorely tempted.
Kozuki wasn't just beautiful; she was drop-dead gorgeous. And her affection rating for him was already at 80.
If he really made a move right now, she probably wouldn't push him away.
But logically speaking… they'd only just met. It hadn't even been two hours since they had their first proper conversation.
That pace was just too fast for Rasa, even if he considered himself a bit of a pervert at heart.
Back in his old world, he'd consumed his fair share of fanfiction, dating sims, and spicy content.
But turning a casual meeting into something physical in under two hours? Even he wasn't that bold.
He didn't know Kozuki well enough yet. Maybe in a few days things would change.
...Of course, if he had known the state Kozuki's body was in right now?
He probably would've dropped all pretense and gone for it.
To distract himself from the burning impulse, Rasa continued scanning the intelligence report in his hand.
"How is it, Rasa-sama?" Kozuki asked, her voice soft but expectant.
By now, her technique had improved significantly.
As a skilled puppeteer, her hands were already nimble. The only reason her earlier massage was so clumsy was due to lack of experience.
But after Rasa's brief instruction and some practice, she'd caught on quickly.
Now her ten fingers moved expertly over his shoulders, performing six different pressure patterns at once.
"It's good," Rasa said, assuming she was asking about her massage technique. He responded casually.
"Really? That's a relief. I was thinking… if you weren't confident, I was going to sneak into Aoki's place tonight and do something about it."
"Based on the intel, you don't have much chance against him. But if you say you're ready, then I'll trust you."
Her eyes were shining with admiration. Energized by his words, her hands unconsciously applied more pressure.
She'd only known Rasa for about an hour, but her trust in him had already reached something beyond blind faith.
Before meeting him, Kozuki's affection was already at 80—a level comparable to religious devotion.
And now, after just a short while in his presence, though the affection score hadn't increased (since moving beyond 80 in normal interaction was notoriously difficult), her understanding of him had deepened.
To her, Rasa's words were law. The idea of questioning him never even crossed her mind.
"Ah… r-right. As long as nothing too unexpected happens, tomorrow's sparring match should go fine."
Though she'd misunderstood his earlier response, Rasa adjusted quickly, responding smoothly.
Still, her last comment made him uneasy, so he turned and gently warned:
"Kozuki—tomorrow's match, I want it clean. No tricks, no interference."
He wasn't entirely sure how strong Kozuki was.
But for someone her age to already be the vice-captain of the Shadow Guard? She had to be formidable.
Even if she couldn't beat Aoki head-on, a little sabotage behind the scenes wouldn't be beyond her.
"Understood! I promise—tomorrow's duel will proceed without a single soul interfering with Lord Rasa!"
"Right… and another thing. Just call me Rasa from now on, alright? No need for 'lord' or 'sama' formalities—it feels too stiff."
Rasa closed his eyes and exhaled.
He was still adjusting to the customs of this world—and gradually letting go of some of his old-world boundaries.
But Rasa really didn't like it when people close to him used honorifics—it made things feel distant.
At this point, he already saw Kozuki as his woman.
Even though he hadn't fully decided to act on it yet, deep down, Rasa had already made up his mind: give it a few more days, get a little more familiar… and then, if the moment was right, he'd make his move.
His inner scoundrel was starting to show.