The moment she saw Miaoyue, Kaila instinctively dropped into a combat stance.
“Hum—”
A pure white light condensed in Kaila’s hand. The Hero’s instincts activated automatically the second she laid eyes on the Witch; even while on vacation, muscle memory was a step ahead of reason.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait!”
Sophie, having anticipated this, jumped in front of Kaila.
“Don’t draw your sword! Whatever you do, don’t draw your sword!” Sophie said urgently. “Look at her, she’s just sitting there munching away. Isn’t she adorable? She’s not a threat at all, right? Miss Hero wouldn’t strike down someone who has zero hostility and not a single bad intention, would she?”
“Snacks? Where are the snacks?” Miaoyue asked, poking her head out.
Without looking back, Sophie tossed a Honey Almond Cookie over her shoulder.
A flash of crimson moonlight zipped through the air, catching the mid-flight snack before the sound of crunching followed.
Kaila’s gaze peered over Sophie’s shoulder, coldly staring at the New Moon Witch—the source of all curses and the creator of countless calamities—who was currently being labeled as “no threat at all” by Sophie.
Furthermore, the feedback from the Hero’s Eye showed that Sophie genuinely believed those words.
“She is a Witch,” Kaila stated matter-of-factly.
“I know she’s a Witch, but right now she’s just a spectating Witch. Didn’t we agree that today was for our date... I mean, our inspection commission?” Sophie blinked her red eyes frantically, trying to move the Hero with her sincerity. “Besides, if a fight breaks out here, what will happen to the citizens?”
Kaila stared at Sophie in silence.
The light in the Hero’s hand dissipated.
Phew—
Sophie let out a long, relieved sigh.
Having two women together is so hard to manage...
Well, maybe it would be easier if there were eight of them?
After all, one monk carries two buckets of water, two monks carry one bucket together, and three monks have no water to drink. If there were eight, they might just dig a canal and divert a whole river.
Sophie estimated optimistically.
With the crisis averted, the Galgame Master, Sophie, immediately reclaimed the initiative.
She straightened her slightly wrinkled gray-blue short cloak and cleared her throat.
“Since this is a date,” Sophie began, “how about we hold hands now?”
As a Galgame Master, Sophie’s history of romance simulations spanned seventy-eight developers, three hundred and twenty-six titles, two thousand one hundred and forty-seven individual routes, and nine thousand eight hundred and sixty-two event nodes.
Her database stored thirteen thousand classic dating scenarios, forty-six thousand romance-starting lines, eighty-two thousand landmine options, one hundred and seventy thousand heroine attribute classifications, and as many as three hundred and ten thousand CG unlocking methods.
Among them, hand-holding was the most basic introductory scenario.
Sophie tilted her chin up, her eyes sparkling with confidence.
Based on her understanding of Miss Hero, Kaila would definitely show a confused expression, remain silent for a few seconds, and then ask with a slight frown: “Why?”
Immediately after, she could throw out an ironclad “Date (Inspection) Disguise Theory.” Using powerful logic and irrefutable reasons, she would overwhelm this emotionless girl with a gap moe charm. Finally, through the four classic tsundere stages of shyness, hesitation, blushing, and stubbornness, she would naturally take her hand.
Perfect! A textbook combo!
This was how Galgames were played.
“Okay,” Kaila nodded calmly, short and to the point.
Sophie: “...”
Huh?
Why so agreeable?
You’re supposed to shift your gaze from my face to my hand, then back to my face, frown by about three to five degrees, and enter a neutral standby state of “unable to comprehend but not rejecting.” Then, you should ask me in a flat but slightly wavering tone, “Is this also part of the commission?” to which I would play the universal disguise card, “Of course, this is to prevent getting separated in the crowd and is a necessary procedure for inspecting the implementation of the Companion System.” Then, you should point out that “That is a lie,” but because a Hero cannot ignore the safety of the citizens and cannot deny that the Companion System has practical significance, you would fall into a logical conflict for two to three seconds. Finally, after I add, “Does Miss Hero hate holding hands with me?” you should enter a high-difficulty emotional check. If you were the tsundere type, you’d say, “It’s not that I hate it, it’s just unnecessary.” If you were the emotionless type, you’d say, “I don’t hate it.” If you were the orthodox Saintess type, you’d say, “Please don’t make such jokes.” If you were the hidden yandere type, you’d ask, “If we hold hands, can I never let go?” Regardless of the branch, it should be accompanied by a slight head tilt, red ears, curled fingers, the background music kicking in, the street ambient noise fading, the edges of the screen softening, and an extremely important system narration saying, “She doesn’t seem to truly want to refuse.” Then, based on the specific feedback, I would choose one of four offensive routes: “Gently grasp,” “Take her hand naturally,” “Purposely brush fingertips then pull away,” or “Disguise sincerity with a joke,” finally completing the first trigger of the hand-holding event. At the very least, you should say, “Sophie, stop fooling around,” so I could reply, “A date is only fun if you fool around a little,” and smoothly enter the flirting round. But what is this? Okay? Just one okay? No wind-up, no check, no options, no branches, no event confirmation window—just direct agreement?
This isn’t how Galgames work!
My database has nothing on this.
Is it because our favorability isn’t high enough, so the special options didn’t trigger?
A flash of bewilderment crossed Sophie’s face.
But the words were already out there. Sophie had no choice but to bite the bullet and extend her right hand, wearing the 【Right-Hand Glove That Also Says No to the Right Hand】, toward Kaila.
If I have to take the lead, I’ll take the lead.
Sophie’s fingers had just touched the gray sleeve of Kaila’s nun’s habit.
“Slip—”
An indescribable sensation of slipperiness occurred. Sophie felt like she was trying to grab a loach slathered in butter; her fingers slid right off the fabric.
【Log: [Right-Hand Glove That Also Says No to the Right Hand] triggered [Anti-Slip: This effect is strictly to prevent the Elder Brother from slipping and falling.]】
Sophie grit her teeth.
Hah, a mere equipment mechanic.
She immediately adjusted her angle, flipping her wrist in an attempt to grab Kaila’s fingers from the side.
“Clap.”
The surface of the glove exerted force again. Sophie’s hand, which was meant to grab fingers, veered off in a bizarre direction mid-way, ending up merely pinching the wide sleeve of Kaila’s habit.
【Log: [Right-Hand Glove That Also Says No to the Right Hand] trait triggered; the hand-holding action has been successfully converted into [Grabbing the Sleeve].】
Kaila looked down at her pinched sleeve, then up at the frustrated Sophie, her eyes full of confusion.
“What are you doing?” Kaila asked.
“I’m... testing the material of the fabric!” Sophie said seriously, then took a deep breath. “This time for sure!”
She abandoned all technique and lunged with her left hand, aiming straight for Kaila’s palm.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch that cool skin—
“Hum.”
A wave of mana surged from within the 【Left-Hand Glove That Says the Companion Leash is Just a Legal Requirement, Not a Token of Love】 Sophie was wearing. The glove’s lining thickened weirdly within 0.01 seconds, acting like an inflated air cushion to stubbornly isolate the body heat between the two.
【Log: [Left-Hand Glove] triggered [Constant Temperature] trait; heat transfer has been blocked. This effect is absolutely not to prevent hearts from connecting.】
Stinking little sister.
Then the left hand is pointless.
Sophie gave up on trying to force a breakthrough against the left glove’s temperature check. She was about to withdraw her left hand and try again with her right.
Kaila watched her with confusion. After waiting for a moment, she spoke.
“Is Sophie... shy?”
Sophie: “...”
She was not.
“I’m just...”
Before she could finish, Kaila took the initiative and reached out.
She didn’t touch Sophie’s right hand, which had already lost its dignity to the 【Right-Hand Glove That Also Says No to the Right Hand】. Instead, she directly grasped Sophie’s left hand before it could be withdrawn.
“Clap.”
Kaila’s palm covered hers, locking Sophie’s left hand firmly in her grasp.
In that instant, the mana circuits inside the 【Left-Hand Glove That Says the Companion Leash is Just a Legal Requirement, Not a Token of Love】 flared to life, attempting to thicken the lining again to block the heat and create a polite, proper, and entirely non-ambiguous safe distance.
However, it was useless.
Kaila’s hand seemed to penetrate that lukewarm yet stubborn mana barrier, firmly holding Sophie’s left hand.
A faint warmth traveled from the palm; the isolation had failed.
Sophie was stunned.
She stared blankly at their joined hands.
How did she do that?
Sophie instinctively pulled up the system log.
【Log: Due to [Kaila] having total resistance to Disarm, this grip cannot be evaded; [Kaila] used [Hero's Mark], this grip ignores temperature barriers.】
【Hero's Mark: A Hero's hands are born to save. When the palms touch a target, they can transmit their own life warmth, heartbeat rhythm, Holy Light residue, and the presence of “I am here” to the one being touched. This effect is not considered ordinary heat transfer and is unaffected by gloves, fabric, light armor, shields, or low-tier isolation spells. If the target is in a state of cold, hypothermia, undeath, vampirism, Solitude's Consumption, or unstable presence, this state is suppressed.】
Sophie: “Huh?”
What did that mean? What did that have to do with holding hands?
Wait a minute...
Sophie’s mind raced.
She knew what Disarm meant, obviously.
But the problem was, why did holding hands trigger a Disarm check?
Miss Hero couldn’t possibly have thought of her as a...
Weapon again, right?!
Was Miss Hero still holding her like a weapon even during a date?
That was a bit hurtful.
Though, they were holding hands...
A second later, Kaila’s fingers moved slightly.
The posture changed from a simple palm-to-palm press. The Hero’s long fingers slid along the gaps of hers, one by one, unhurriedly locking in.
Sliding in, closing together, filling the spaces between their fingers.
Interlaced fingers.
Miss Hero is so practiced...
Wait.
So this is what interlaced fingers feel like?
In my database...
Sophie thought she knew this action inside and out.
After all, she had seen too many CGs.
In those meticulously drawn 2D images, interlaced fingers were nothing more than the outlines of two hands overlapping, accompanied by a line of inner monologue about a racing heart and a piano BGM. That was enough to make her give a shippers’ grin in front of the screen.
But reality—
Reality was nothing like that.
First, there was the texture.
She wasn’t a stranger to Miss Hero’s hands; or rather, she had clearly touched them many times already.
But the moment Kaila’s fingers slid into the gaps of hers, it felt completely different from previous touches.
There was indeed a thin layer of calluses on the pads of the fingers, but they weren’t rough; instead, they carried a faint, lingering sense of friction.
Yet the skin on the inner side of the knuckles was unexpectedly soft.
And they were so slender.
Long, symmetrical, and well-defined.
When those five fingers embedded themselves between hers, Sophie clearly felt the protrusion of every knuckle, the curve of every inch of skin, and that completely unignorable sense of presence after being firmly locked in.
Fitting together, communicating, holding each other.
Then, there was the temperature.
The gloves had failed to block the influence of the Hero’s Mark.
Perhaps it was because she needed Kaila.
Perhaps it was because Kaila was indeed actively transmitting her presence.
The girl’s body heat seeped in without any hindrance through the thick fabric of the gloves.
Like warm water slowly poured into a cup that previously had no temperature. Starting from the palm, the heat spread bit by bit to the base of the fingers, climbed up the gaps, and finally settled at the webbing of the thumb.
Kaila’s temperature was higher than she had imagined.
Or rather, because of her cold-blooded racial trait, that bit of warmth was exaggerated to a noticeable degree.
Even though this Miss Hero always looked cold and expressionless, even though her entire being radiated a “do not approach” aura—
Her hands were warm.
It was a living, breathing, reassuring warmth.
Sophie’s database didn’t have this.
The character sprites in Galgames never had a parameter for temperature.
Next was the scent.
This was what caught Sophie most off guard.
Because the distance had been closed.
It wasn’t an icon distance, nor a numerical distance, nor a pixel-level distance between 【Character Sprite A】 and 【Character Sprite B】.
It was a real, physical distance that could be measured by the body.
The act of holding hands caused Sophie to unconsciously move half a step closer to Kaila. Previously, there had been an arm’s length of space between them; now, it was so close that she could even feel the faint movement of air when the other person breathed.
And then she smelled it.
The scent on Kaila.
It wasn’t perfume, nor floral, and certainly not the ethereal concept of “Maidenly Fragrance [Fantasy] Series: Holy Version” written in the database.
It was just the fresh scent of a nun’s habit dried in the sun after being washed, a hint of leather lingering from a scabbard, and beneath all those smells, the clear and clean aura that belonged to Kaila herself.
Mixed with a bit of the soap scent she had gifted her.
It was a scent like morning mountain spring water with a faint floral hint.
Sophie’s nose twitched slightly.
Her database instantly retrieved all entries related to maidenly scents.
Match rate: 0%.
My database... doesn’t have these?!
Finally, there was the distance.
She finally realized how close she was to Kaila.
Even though they had been together for a while...
No, it had only been a few days.
Kaila was about half a head shorter than her. Usually, when they spoke from a few steps away, Sophie could look down at her from a superior posture.
But at this distance, Kaila only needed to lift her eyes slightly for those clear eyes to look straight into the depths of Sophie’s own.
For some reason, a flashback of being pinned against the wall by Kaila in the dungeon flickered through Sophie’s mind.
And it was so close.
Close enough—
Close enough that she could even hear Kaila’s heartbeat.
No, maybe that was her own heartbeat.
Maybe it was both of theirs.
No, no, no, she was a vampire; how could she have a heartbeat?
No racing heart, absolutely not.
But that slight tightening sensation in her chest—what was it?
Sophie stood dazed on the spot, her left hand held by the Hero, fingers interlaced.
Thump, thump, thump.
She couldn’t tell whose heartbeat it was.
Sophie lowered her head, looking at her hand being held, her cheeks heating up with a delayed blush.
This is... really bad.
Am I shy?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Could it be that the reversal of the Heart of Yin made her too sensitive to this kind of warmth?
As a Galgame Master who had cleared seven full blackening ending routes, a heartless king who had passed through screen-based flower thickets without a single real leaf touching her, how could she possibly feel nervous because of a mere hand-holding!
Sophie took a deep breath, instinctively wanting to maintain her composed and aloof persona.
But when she adjusted her facial expression and prepared to look at Kaila with a slightly teasing smile, she realized something.
This physical proximity didn’t just affect her vision.
What volume should I use to speak at this distance?
At a distance where even their breaths could mingle, she couldn’t use her usual speaking volume, could she?
And why am I the only one who’s nervous.
So unfair.
Isn’t Miss Hero nervous at all?
There was absolutely no expression on that face; she was as calm as if she were holding an actual sword.
Wait, no, her sleeping posture was supposedly bad. When she slept at night, Kaila had let her hang onto her like an octopus for half the night.
Maybe she had long since grown accustomed to this distance and touch.
This is so unfair!
“Miss Hero,” Sophie said in a low voice, trying her best to sound like an old hand. “This grip of yours is very professional. You must have practiced it a lot before, right?”
Kaila tilted her head slightly, looking at their joined hands, and answered naturally:
“It is the same as holding a sword.”
Don’t kill the conversation like that.
Sophie was momentarily choked up.
Database...
What does the database say?
She quickly activated her Galgame Master brain.
But her thoughts, usually so rapid, were very sluggish today.
Miaoyue, who had finished her cookie while watching the drama from a distance, looked up at Sophie and remarked:
“It turns out my Saintess is just a little virgin after all. Good luck.”
Sophie: “...”
Don’t interrupt her thinking!
Seeing that Sophie didn’t answer.
A genuine look of confusion flashed in Kaila’s eyes.
“You do not like this?” Kaila looked at Sophie’s slightly reddened earlobes.
She looked down at Sophie’s stiff hand again, seemingly thinking seriously for two seconds.
“Then... I will change the way I hold you.”
Before Sophie could react to what “change the way I hold you” meant.
Kaila’s hand, which had been interlaced with hers, let go. Immediately after, the Hero’s long, powerful arms passed through Sophie’s knees and back with lightning speed.
With a slight exertion of force.
A sudden sense of weightlessness hit her, and Sophie’s feet left the ground.
The non-slip and silent features of the 【Soft-soled Leather Boots】 from the Mythic set were useless against absolute strength.
Because the 【Corset Vest】 judged this as an offensive action of “attempting to embrace from the front,” the vest dutifully and automatically tightened by half an inch around Sophie’s waist.
Sophie felt her waist tighten, and her entire body was forced into a more fitting posture, nestled tightly in Kaila’s arms.
Even though she’s just a mount, how can she be so arrogant.
“Ugh—No way—Put me down!” Sophie cried out.
I’ll... I’ll be conquered at this rate.
On the street, the citizens tied together with companion leashes only cast glances full of kindness and understanding.
In Solitude, close contact to avoid the moonlight had long since become a common sight.
“Ah... a New Night Companion rehearsing for the evening, I see. Hugging right in broad daylight,” a middle-aged woman pushing a vegetable cart said with a smile.
“Yeah, I really envy the passion of young people,” her husband beside her agreed.
“Mmm, the sweetness has thickened.”
Not far away, Miaoyue chewed on a cookie, making a judgment on their situation.
She solemnly gave a thumbs up.
“Yes, shockingly delicious!”
Rate on N.U.
