Chapter 40: Pleasure Without Excess
Time flew by, and the three of them returned thoroughly satisfied. On the bus ride back, all four sat in the very last row this time—Nao on Takumi's left, the Akizuki sisters on his right.
"Hey, hey, Kouichi, are you the older type or the younger type?"
"Hm? I'm in second year of high school, so same grade as Nao."
"Ohhh, so you're older than me, but younger than big sis. Which high school do you go to? Private or public?"
"Seiran High Academy."
"Never heard of it. Isn't it around town?"
"Yeah."
Airi was about to keep firing questions when Marina couldn't stand it anymore.
"Airi! That's way too rude. Are you some kind of household registry detective or what?"
Airi giggled and latched onto her sister's arm.
"Fiiiine, I'll stop. But just one last question—between big sis and Nao-senpai, who do you think is prettier?"
The sudden bullseye of a question left Takumi completely frozen. Nao squeezed his hand, waiting expectantly. Marina panicked a little.
"Airi, that's super rude! Why would you ask something like that?!"
"Because I think Nao-senpai and you are pretty much tied in looks and figure, so I wanna know who a guy thinks wins."
Marina sighed helplessly and stole a quick glance at Takumi. As a girl, she secretly wanted to know too—who would a really outstanding guy pick between her and Nao? At the school, first-year songstress Airi, second-year Nao, and third-year Marina were collectively nicknamed the Three Golden Flowers by some gossipy students. Fights over "who's the most beautiful flower" broke out constantly.
Even though Marina and Nao were friends, and she'd never really cared about that stuff before… today, for some reason, she really wanted to hear the answer.
Seeing all three girls staring at him, Takumi went blank. What the hell?! How did a normal conversation suddenly turn into a battlefield?!
His brain spun at high speed before he coughed lightly.
"If we're talking pure rational analysis, all three of you have your own unique charms—you're completely even. But y'know… humans are emotional creatures. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me, my girlfriend is naturally the most beautiful."
He slipped in a clever little trick—never actually saying Nao was the prettiest outright, just "my girlfriend." It made Nao beam with happiness, while still leaving room for the Akizuki sisters to not feel completely shut out since he didn't name anyone specifically.
Airi pouted.
"Cheater! That answer's way too slick. And hey, I only asked you to compare big sis and senpai—don't drag me into it!"
She complained, but her eyes sparkled and a tiny smile tugged at her lips. Clearly pleased. She wasn't quite the classic tsundere like Shana or Taiga, but Airi's mouth-vs-heart disconnect suited her blonde twin-tails perfectly.
Nao snuggled happily against Takumi's side with a blissful smile.
Marina, meanwhile, felt a small pang of disappointment at not getting a real verdict. Watching Nao look so content made her suddenly think of her own boyfriend. In his eyes… was she the most beautiful too?
Marina had been dating a boy from the same year for almost a year now. He came into her life right when her parents' divorce had left her heart in pieces—a gentle, kind high-schooler. Dating him felt… nice. But Marina was very reserved. Even after nearly a year, they'd only ever held hands.
Her boyfriend was patient, but recently when he tried to hug her and kiss her, she panicked and pushed him away. It upset him badly. They'd been in a cold war for a few days.
She knew her reaction was unfair. Being this conservative might make people think she had androphobia. But aside from her personality, the sudden divorce of her extremely loving parents had left her terrified of romance and marriage. The more you loved now, the more it would hurt later. So she kept hesitating, unable to take the next step.
Maybe… when they got back, she should apologize to Masato-kun. Compared to other guys, he really had been incredibly patient. A kiss wasn't the same as… going all the way, right? It should be fine…
"You okay, Marina?"
Takumi noticed her expression shifting and thought maybe she was upset about his answer.
"Ah!" Marina snapped back. "I'm fine."
A little while later, she couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Kouichi… what do you think about being conservative? If you'd been dating Nao for a year and hadn't done anything too intimate yet… would you get angry?"
Only then did Takumi remember—right, she has a boyfriend. Crap, he'd been so focused on how to eventually deal with that scumbag stepfather Akizuki Kozo that he'd overlooked it.
He straightened up and answered seriously.
"There's a famous line from ancient Book of Songs: 'Arise from feeling, but stop at propriety.'"
"You haven't done anything wrong. If you're still uncertain in your heart, if you haven't truly confirmed your feelings, then it's completely fine to firmly refuse any requests that go too far. 'Pleasure without excess' is a virtue. Intimate acts can wait until you're absolutely sure of your emotions—until after marriage, even."
After he finished, Takumi felt like the world's biggest hypocrite.
Nao shot him a weird side-eye. A guy who'd lock a girl up just because he liked her… talking about "pleasure without excess"? Really?
But his words seemed to give Marina courage. She let out a relieved breath.
"You're right, Kouichi. I've been worrying myself sick over this for no reason."
"Marina-chan, I heard you have a boyfriend too~ How's it going?"
Nao's womanly instincts sensed something off about Takumi's earlier speech, so she deliberately brought it up—making sure he knew Marina was already "taken."
Marina didn't answer. Instead Airi happily spilled the beans.
"Don't even ask. Big sis and that Masato guy have been dating for a year and they've only held hands. Even kindergarten kids know what a kiss is! At this rate you're gonna stay a virgin forever, sis."
Marina's face instantly turned scarlet. She slapped a hand over her sister's mouth.
"What are you even saying?! Geez!"
Takumi let out a quiet breath of relief and smiled.
"It's good for a girl to treasure herself. Staying pure for the true love you'll meet someday isn't wrong at all."
"Didn't expect you to be the conservative type. You were pretty bold at the pool earlier though. Did you… 'embrace' Nao yet?"
In Japanese, "embrace" was a very direct euphemism for sex.
Nao's face flushed crimson remembering their wild antics. Takumi, however, answered calmly.
"Nope. I'm still studying in another city. Once I transfer here in a while, that's when Nao and I will share our wonderful first time."
Hearing him say it so openly and shamelessly, conservative Marina turned beet red all over again. Airi, meanwhile, had every comeback completely blocked.
Nao, however, lit up at one specific part.
"Kouichi… you're moving here?"
"Yeah. Just need to wait a bit longer. I'm handling the paperwork."
"That's amazing!"
Nao practically sparkled with joy.
Eventually the bus stopped. Their stop.
"Bye-bye!"
The four parted ways. Takumi walked Nao all the way to her front door.
"Nao, I've got something to do, so I'm heading back. If you miss me, just text me."
"Okay. Kouichi… sure you don't want me to walk you to the station?"
"No need. You've had a long day—rest up."
He smiled, pulled the girl into his arms, and gave her a tender goodbye kiss. Then, under Nao's reluctant gaze, he strode away.
Once she was out of sight, Takumi pulled out his phone and activated the magic of the Demon Engraving.
In the next instant—he appeared in a park. In the distance, the Akizuki sisters were walking slowly home.
By expending a bit of mana, Takumi could instantly teleport to within proximity of any target in this 2D world. So the moment he left Nao, he tailed right aft
By expending a bit of mana, Takumi could instantly teleport to within proximity of any target in this 2D world. So the moment he left Nao, he tailed right after the sisters. With another pulse of magic, their conversation came through crystal clear.
"No matter what, Airi, you were way too rude today."
"Which part, sis?"
"A lot of parts! Have some awareness! Today was your first time meeting Kouichi, and he's Nao's boyfriend. The things you asked were really embarrassing. Don't you know it's our first meeting?"
"What's the big deal? Honestly… I'm kinda interested in that guy."
"Huh?! He's Nao's boyfriend!"
"I didn't say interested in that way. And they're just dating. Even someone as conservative and loyal as you can't be 100% sure you'll marry Masato-kun, right?"
"W-Well…"
"See? Nao-senpai may be a beauty, but I'm not losing to her. And we're both blondes. Maybe Kouichi's secretly a blonde fanatic, hehe."
"Wait—hold on, Airi, that's getting dangerous."
"I know, I know. But you guys are so sneaky! All called one of the Three Golden Flowers, yet both of you already have boyfriends. So it's not weird if I get one too, right? But the guys in Japan these days are either herbivore wimps like your boyfriend… or total sadistic creeps like that trash Akizuki Kozo. A guy who's manly, strong, gentle, and doesn't even try to hide his desires? That's literally the first time I've ever seen one. Hey sis, why don't you dump the herbivore and fight Nao-senpai for him?"
"You're getting more and more shameless! What are you even saying?!"
"Fine then. If you don't want him, I'll take him."
Marina's eyes widened in shock. She opened her mouth to reply—
—but at that moment, a sudden gust of wind blew past. Her hand felt empty.
The bag containing their swimsuits, phones, and other belongings had been snatched right out of her grip.
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