Haruto shrugged. If there was a simple and quick method, why not use it?
It wasn't that he didn't want to think things through—it was just that deduction and reasoning weren't exactly in his skillset.
He could come up with gentler approaches, but executing them would be a hassle.
"There's not enough to go on. I've never interacted with these three, so I can't make any judgments."
Sona frowned. "Are you sure you haven't offended anyone?"
"Positive."
Haruto was certain. He hadn't even had time to pursue his own targets, let alone bother with others.
"Then why would they target you?"
The suspect was identified, but the motive remained elusive.
For the moment, neither Sona nor Tsubaki had any good ideas.
"No idea. Maybe because I'm handsome." Haruto shrugged. Thanks to his "cuckold protagonist" template, being targeted was nothing new to him.
"If you ask me, we should just round them all up and interrogate them one by one. Starting with that third-year with the dyed blond hair."
Haruto fanned the flames: "Look at his shifty eyes—clearly not a good guy. Even if he didn't do this, he must've broken other rules before."
After spending several days together, Tsubaki had noticed Haruto's strong prejudice against blond-haired boys and had grown accustomed to it.
"Haruto, that's his natural hair color because of his youkai heritage," Tsubaki explained.
Hearing it was natural blond hair only fueled Haruto's enthusiasm.
"It's him, definitely him. He must've been eavesdropping that day, overheard my conversation with Tsubaki-senpai, and got jealous—"
Covering her ears in irritation, Sona snapped, "Tsubaki, escort him out!"
"Yes, President."
Tsubaki covered Haruto's mouth with her small hand and dragged him out of the student council room.
Unable to resist, Haruto settled for leaving a bit of saliva on Tsubaki's palm as revenge.
Feeling the wet, warm tongue licking her palm, Tsubaki's cheeks flushed.
Ugh... this little pervert, always seizing any chance to take advantage.
Noticing her blush, Haruto swiftly wrapped his arms around her and, through her hand, pressed his lips against her petite cherry mouth.
"Mmph—"
With his mouth covered, Haruto could only make incoherent noises.
Tsubaki sighed and lowered her hand. "What did you want to say?"
Haruto had nothing to say—he'd just wanted to catch her off guard.
He swiftly moved one of his hands around her waist, and with the other holding her face he leaned in and sealed her lips with his.
Mission accomplished, he seized the chance to kiss her again.
As their lips met, Tsubaki froze for a second before realizing she'd been tricked.
She instinctively tried to push him away, but remembering their time together and the possibility of a future relationship, she ultimately relented.
After savoring her soft lips for a while, Haruto attempted to slip past her teeth.
Tap, twirl, coil, suck, sip...
He tried every kissing technique he knew, his tongue nearly going numb, but Tsubaki kept her teeth firmly clenched, giving no opening.
He considered stubbornly clinging to her lips, but he was running out of breath while Tsubaki's breathing remained completely steady.
They were in the hallway, so Haruto couldn't resort to his usual "distract and conquer" tactics...
Besides, he strongly suspected that if he tried anything, Tsubaki—in her embarrassment and anger—would promptly teach him a lesson with a wrestling hold.
Demonstrating that without strength, one shouldn't act recklessly.
After a brief stalemate, just as Haruto was about to give up, a slick, warm little tongue actively pressed against his.
Following his tongue, it slipped all the way into his mouth.
Haruto stared blankly at the beauty before him, momentarily stunned.
Tsubaki gave him a coquettish sidelong glance, wrapped her arms around his neck, and slowly closed her dewy, alluring eyes.
As the saying goes, heaven rewards the diligent.
The ancients truly didn't lie.
The surprise came so suddenly that Haruto perked up and tried to guide her earnestly.
Tsubaki's kissing skills were clumsy—or rather, nonexistent.
Once she pressed in, she could only clumsily rub against him.
Fortunately, she was very cooperative. Under Haruto's guidance, the two quickly got into the rhythm.
Entwined, sucking, licking…
Accompanied by the sound of gulping, a delightful chime rang in Haruto's mind.
[Ding, talent detected: Mirror Alice]
[Copying in progress…]
Ten minutes later, Haruto reluctantly released those rosy, delectable lips.
Who would've thought that even kissing required the use of the Basic Body Mastery talent…
All in all, it had been about half an hour. Without activating this talent, he really would have suffocated mid-kiss.
Improving his strength was urgent!
With a silent sigh, Haruto couldn't help but reminisce.
Tsubaki's saliva tasted far better than Reina and the others—it carried a faint, refreshing sweetness.
He wasn't sure if it was because of her formidable strength or her reincarnation as a devil.
When kissing Reina and the others, the taste of their saliva entirely depended on what they had eaten beforehand.
Strawberries meant strawberry flavor, cake meant sweetness, and if they had eaten… Haruto, then Haruto would refuse to kiss them.
"Tsubaki-senpai, one more time, please?"
Haruto didn't know why Tsubaki had suddenly taken the initiative, but with such a rare opportunity, of course, he wanted to try a few more times.
Tsubaki shot him a glare and said irritably, "We're going to be late for class. Don't push your luck—hurry up and get to class. And while you're at it, think carefully about who's targeting you."
"Tsubaki-senpai."
Wrapping his arms around Tsubaki's slender waist, Haruto pressed closer and wheedled, "We've already kissed. From now on, let's just call each other by our names."
In Japan, only those with very close relationships addressed each other by their first names. [T/N: Fuckk. I forgot about this...]
Between a man and a woman, using first names meant they were either family, lovers, or so close they might as well be lovers—like childhood friends.
"You're already calling me that, so why ask?" Tsubaki sighed helplessly. "Fine, consider this an advance on your reward for today. Don't read too much into it."
"If it's an advance, then a few more shouldn't hurt."
Tsubaki: "…"
Somehow, that made sense.
A few more advances might even help secure Haruto's loyalty.
Thus, the two lingered a few more times until Sona, watching from the student council room, couldn't take it anymore and came out to shoo them away.
———
Returning to the classroom, Haruto looked thoroughly pleased with himself.
Today, he had successfully reached second base with Tsubaki—how far could home plate be?
Just as Haruto was fantasizing about his future bliss, his Talent Extraction ability surprised him once more.
[Copying failed.]
[Talent acquired: Mirror Alice (Incomplete)]
[Talent description: Reflects 20% of damage received back to the source]
Only body fluid exchange could successfully copy a talent—in other words, failing to do so would result in failure.
Haruto had considered this possibility before but never had the chance to test it.
Unexpectedly, not only had he confirmed it this time, but he had also gained something in the process.
He had failed, but not entirely.
Haruto checked the time—about an hour had passed since parting with Tsubaki.
This meant that if no further bodily fluid exchange occurred within an hour after the initial one, the system would judge it as a copying failure.
But even in failure, he could still obtain an incomplete version of the talent.
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