"...Haaah..."
After a held breath, Utaha Kasumigaoka raised her head, separating her lips from Shin's.
"How was it? Do you understand what kissing feels like now?"
Shin smiled as he looked at Utaha, whose face was flushed red as she straddled his lap.
Earlier, after entering the Paranormal Research Clubroom, Utaha had initiated their intimate contact under the pretense that "a romance novelist shouldn't be ignorant of what kissing feels like."
Though Utaha's figure was more mature than most girls her age, physical maturity didn't equate to experience.
Judging from the kiss just now, she was clearly inexperienced—undoubtedly her first time.
After all, Utaha was almost always alone at school and never interacted with other boys, so it was impossible for her to have any prior experience with kissing.
Thus, even though she had taken the initiative, Shin had ultimately seized control.
Now, as she pulled away, Utaha's expression was dazed. It took her a while to snap out of the trance-like state from the kiss.
"...Shin-kun, your kissing skills are incredible. You must have kissed a lot of girls, huh?"
Once she regained her senses, Utaha shot Shin a resentful look, clearly aware of the vast difference in their experience.
This had been her first kiss, so she was naturally clumsy, but Shin's practiced movements made it obvious he was a seasoned veteran.
Shin merely smiled without denying it—he was an expert in this area, and he had no intention of hiding it.
"Also, your hands were on my legs the whole time... What? Do you like them that much?"
Seeing Shin's lack of denial, Utaha felt a little deflated. It seemed trying to fluster him with words was nearly impossible.
But soon, she changed the subject, glancing down at her legs—Shin's hands had been stroking her thighs the entire time, sending tingling sensations through her.
Utaha's legs, clad in black stockings, were longer and more alluring than most girls her age, making them particularly eye-catching.
So, noticing Shin's lingering touch, she decided to press further on this point.
However, Shin simply smirked and gave her thigh a light pinch.
"Wrong. Shouldn't it be that your legs are the ones who like me?"
"Nngh—!"
The sudden pinch drew a muffled gasp from Utaha, her face turning even redder.
She knew the truth—while it sounded like Shin was the one obsessed with her legs, she was the one who secretly longed for his touch.
Ever since he had played with her legs at the restaurant last time, she had begun to feel like they had become some kind of strange erogenous zone.
She often found herself reminiscing about the peculiar sensations Shin's hands had elicited.
But when she tried touching them herself, it never felt the same.
That was because Shin had used ki to stimulate her body—something Utaha, of course, couldn't replicate on her own.
"Go on, tell me what you want me to do."
Shin tilted Utaha's chin up with a finger, gazing at her flustered expression.
Seeing her like this, he knew she was craving the same sensations he had given her back at the restaurant.
In the original story, Utaha Kasumigaoka was a fiercely strong-willed girl—but once her weaknesses were exploited, she became the one unable to resist.
"..."
Utaha hesitated, staring at Shin's face so close to hers.
But soon, she surrendered to her desires—the lingering memory of Shin's ki-infused foot massage was too vivid to ignore.
---
By the time Shin stepped out of the Paranormal Research Clubroom again, Utaha was leaning against the wall nearby, her legs still trembling.
They hadn't gone all the way—it was just that Utaha had nearly collapsed from exhaustion after merely using her feet.
Shin hadn't expected that his casual ki massage at the restaurant would leave such a deep impression on her.
"Really... I feel like I can't go back now."
Utaha covered her face, too embarrassed to face reality—she couldn't believe her own feet had become that sensitive.
She had mentally prepared herself to go all the way, since Shin was the first boy she'd ever been interested in like this.
But in the end, just using her feet had nearly wiped her out. The humiliation was unbearable.
It was like a guy psyching himself up for a grand battle, only to lose steam after foreplay.
"Don't worry, at least I got my release."
Shin chuckled—though he'd done plenty of unusual things before, this was his first time experiencing something like this with feet.
Honestly, he was starting to understand foot fetishists. It was a unique sensation.
"But didn't you come here to 'experience romantic behaviors for your novel'? Are you sure what we just did can be written into your story?"
Kissing was one thing—it could reasonably fit into a romance light novel.
But everything after the kiss? There was no way any of that could make it into "Love Sync".
After all, it was a all-ages light novel, not some ecchi fanservice series. The tone was completely different.
"...The latter part was just for me. Not research."
Utaha's face burned red as she reluctantly admitted that everything beyond the kiss had been purely her own desires.
There was no helping it—she knew Shin had many girls around him, and she was a latecomer. If she wanted to compete, she had to be bold.
She just hadn't expected the outcome to be so different from what she imagined.
Instead of Shin being overwhelmed, her feet had been the ones utterly defeated.
"Anyway, I won't lose next time."
Though her legs were still shaky, Utaha forced herself to stand straight before turning to leave.
This time, she had lost—but next time?
She was sure that with enough practice, she'd eventually turn the tables on Shin.
To be continued…