Calm Yourself Down Properly

The instant that soft touch pressed against her, Yanami Anna’s tense body couldn’t help but relax, and she directly collapsed into Imaizumi Keita’s arms.

Her mind went completely blank, all her senses seeming to converge on those lips that were being gently explored.

So this is what a kiss feels like.

There was no fierce collision as she had imagined, nor was it as dizzying and overwhelming as depicted in shōjo manga.

There was only a touch tinged with a slightly cool temperature, so gentle it was like a feather brushing the tip of her heart, yet it stirred an indescribable tremor deep within.

That tremor quickly turned into a warm current that made her legs go weak, racing up her spine and into her brain, dismantling her ability to think.

She had always thought she would be afraid, would resist, or would retreat at the last moment out of embarrassment like she did in every previous “practice.”

But she didn’t.

When Imaizumi’s presence completely enveloped her, when that uniquely clean scent of his invaded her nose, the last bit of girlish restraint and caution in her heart unexpectedly melted away with astonishing speed.

She even felt that such a shallow, tentative touch was far from enough.

Not enough, not nearly enough.

Karin’s victorious posture, declaring her claim to the whole world, flashed through her mind once again.

Why should it be…

Why should I be the only one who always plays the role of passively accepting things, receiving tenderness that’s handed out so casually?

This man is someone I found first.

The warmth on his body is something I discovered first as well.

This sense of security that makes my heart race belongs only to me right now!

A powerful impulse mixed with unwillingness and possessiveness instantly overwhelmed all her shyness and hesitation.

Yanami Anna’s arms, which had only been lightly resting on his shoulders, now actively wrapped around Imaizumi’s neck.

She tilted her head up slightly, pressed her body closer to his, and awkwardly yet eagerly deepened the kiss.

This sudden reversal of roles caused Imaizumi Keita’s body to stiffen for an instant.

And at that very moment, Imaizumi Keita felt that he was absorbing far more emotional energy from Yanami than before.

“Hm?!”

The unstable succubus aura was instantly stabilized by the absorbed energy.

The faint, persistent stinging pain that had long lingered at his temples like background noise was completely erased, replaced by an unprecedented clarity and lucidity in his mind.

He immediately sensed that the power within his body had completed its final transformation.

The “succubus aura,” once unstable and sustained only by passively absorbing others’ emotions, had now fully settled, becoming a permanent skill he could freely control at will.

In addition to that, a brand-new ability quietly surfaced in his consciousness.

“Sensory Adjustment.”

He could freely adjust the intensity of his own senses, or those of anyone he touched.

Whether dulling pain or amplifying pleasure to the extreme.

What a… powerful ability.

A dangerous glint flashed deep in Imaizumi Keita’s eyes.

If he wanted to, he could use this newly acquired power at any time to amplify Yanami Anna’s fluttering emotions from her first kiss a hundredfold, making her completely sink into the sensory pleasure he bestowed, never able to leave his side.

He could easily let her experience unprecedented ultimate pleasure and thereby completely conquer her.

Make it so she could no longer tolerate the presence of anyone else, so that all her joys and sorrows would arise because of him.

The thought was filled with fatal temptation.

However, just as he was about to put that idea into practice, an unexpected emotion suddenly surfaced from the depths of his heart.

He looked at Yanami’s face, her cheeks dyed a captivating crimson from passion, her eyes glistening with moisture from lack of air, her clumsy yet fervent demands…

His heart skipped a beat for no reason at all.

Not because of the surge of energy, nor because of physical desire.

This was a kind of fluttering feeling… mixed with tenderness and a hint of panic.

This is… trouble… He seems to have fallen for her.

The alarm bells in Imaizumi Keita’s mind rang loudly.

When he first approached Yanami Anna, his objective had been very clear: she was an “emotional energy source” that wouldn’t bring follow-up trouble, a soul he could meet by chance in this cold world, warm himself with through an embrace, and then part ways from with a wave of the hand.

He enjoyed playing the role of a fake boyfriend, and he appreciated her beautiful appearance, but all of that was built on one premise—he was the one in control of this relationship, and he would never let himself fall into any real emotional entanglement that might bind his freedom.

But now, the situation seemed to be slipping out of control.

His rule of “passing through a sea of flowers without a single leaf touching him” was beginning to face an exception.

If this continued, he might truly get completely entangled by this woman.

No.

Absolutely not.

I’m a scumbag, after all.

Imaizumi Keita snapped out of that dangerous state of immersion in an instant.

He had to end all of this immediately and let Yanami calm down properly… and also let himself calm down.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately used his newly acquired ability to weaken Yanami’s senses.

An invisible ripple traveled along the arms that were holding Yanami and silently flowed into her body.

Yanami Anna, who had been wholeheartedly immersed in the kiss, suddenly felt that something was off.

That intense flutter that had just made her whole body weak and her head dizzy seemed to be diluted by something, abruptly fading away.

The touch on her lips was still soft, his scent was still pleasant, but that happiness that had almost melted her away suddenly felt less real.

Before she could figure out what was happening, an irresistible force came from his arms, forcibly pushing her out of that warm embrace.

“Imaizumi…-kun?”

Yanami Anna lifted her head in confusion and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

She saw Imaizumi Keita’s chest heaving violently, his breathing unusually rapid.

His cheeks were flushed an unnatural red, his gaze evasive, completely lacking the composed ease he had just displayed.

“Let’s… stop here for today.”

Imaizumi Keita threw out those words in a hoarse and stiff tone.

Without waiting for Yanami Anna to react, he quickly turned around and hurriedly walked off in the direction opposite to her home.

“I… I still have something to do, so I’ll go first. You should calm yourself down properly.”

Imaizumi Keita felt that his retreating figure might look rather disheveled, even though he had been the one in control.

By the long bench in the corner of the courtyard, only Yanami Anna remained, sitting there blankly.

The afternoon sunlight was still warm, and the breeze carried with it the constant chorus of cicadas.

She subconsciously raised her hand and repeatedly brushed her fingertips over her lips, which still retained his lingering warmth and scent.

It was as if that intoxicatingly soft touch still lingered there.

But why…

The atmosphere was so perfect just now, and I…

Why did he suddenly push me away?

An indescribable sense of grievance mixed with the loneliness of being abandoned surged into her heart all at once.

Yanami Anna’s eyes reddened uncontrollably.