Vol 1 Chapter 10: The Hand Wrap and Miyayuri’s Scent? (Prologue: Encounters Arrive with a Sense of Déjà Vu)

“Ah… Ah, yeah. That’s right.”

I got it from Rurei, but I had a bad feeling about it, so I lied.

“Really? Sniff sniff There’s a scent coming from the hand wrap that reminds me of Miyayuri-chan…”

“Whoa… I also smell the same as Miyayuri-senpai on that hand wrap!”

“Are you a dog or something?!” I thought—but then even my junior, the busty Ootomo Shizue, started saying the same thing.

Now that I think about it, even Shizue—the most sensible member of the team—turns a bit perverted when it comes to Miyayuri.

“Hey, hey… If even a pervert like Katsuko is saying that, and you’re the only one among the members who seems normal, that’s not good… Ouch!”

Katsuko’s fist sank into my head, and I heard a whooshing sound as heat vapor rose.

“Ha! Could it be that you—did you steal the hand wrap that Miyayuri-chan used?!”

Katsuko, babbling in her sleep as she woke up, didn’t even give me a chance to retort. She grabbed my collar firmly and swung me around.

In my fading consciousness, I recalled that not long ago, I had experienced something similar with a woman whose personality was much like hers.

“Ugh… This is… so painful! You should just… ask Miyayuri… shouldn’t you…?”

Barely managing to protest, I heard Miyayuri examine my hand wrap and comment.

“Let go of him, Katsuko. This hand wrap is just a bit different from the one I used to use.”

“Really? I was sure it was the hand wrap stolen by that pervert, and I thought you were sniffing Miyayuri-chan’s scent all over it.”

Chastised by Miyayuri, Katsuko tossed me aside as if I were a broken toy a little kid had lost interest in.

“You’re not some extreme pervert—I wouldn’t do something like that… Wham!”

Her absurdly fast return counter, a left hook from the unreasonable Great Demon King, twisted my neck as if it were about to be cut off.

“The hand wrap I used to use, I wrapped magic tape around my wrist, right? This is a new-model hand wrap, so it doesn’t have any magic tape. Besides, you can put it on quickly during a fight, which makes it more convenient than an open-finger glove.”

Miyayuri looked at the hand wrap with clear interest.

“That’s right… Also, back then, since Takeru’s punch power wasn’t very high, I recommended simple bandages to maximize damage. But with his current punch power, it might be better to at least use hand wraps so his fists get proper protection.”

Thanks to Miyayuri, Katsuko—who had regained her composure—was also analyzing my hand wrap.

If we consider the damage delivered to the opponent, the ranking would be:

  Open-finger glove < Hand wrap < Simple bandage

However, when considering fist protection, it would be:

  Simple bandage < Hand wrap < Open-finger glove

Well, since simple bandages are meant to be used with gloves, it’s natural for their defensive capability to be inferior.

Taking both the damage inflicted and the protection provided into account, hand wraps might offer the best balance.

After all, being able to put them on immediately in a sudden fight is a huge advantage.

By the way, Katsuko seems to protect her fists a bit by wearing a thin simple bandage underneath her open-finger gloves when she throws a hard punch.

“But if you stop using the simple bandages that Katsuko gave you, is that really okay?”

“It’s fine. They’re just consumables anyway. Besides, I was already thinking of recommending open-finger gloves soon, so these hand wraps are convenient enough—they’re just right.”

“But I still can’t figure out why the hand wrap smelled like a girl… Could it be that you’ve gotten a girlfriend~?”

With her short black hair accented with red highlights and those striking, lively eyes, our junior—and faux beauty—Azuma Kazuki casually let his comment ripple through the conversation.

“No way… Could it be that Takeru, who’s determined to remain a virgin until he becomes a great magician, actually has a girlfriend?!”

“No way! Takeru, who’s practically painted as a lifelong virgin, having a girlfriend?…”

“Heh, congratulations, Takeru-kun♪ Don’t worry about Miyayuri; leave everything to me♪”

“Seriously… Kosutake-kun used to suit the cute nickname ‘Skin-on Cherry’ so well…”

“Ugh… I can’t believe it! Takeru-senpai is so filthy!”

“Um… Takeru-senpai, congratulations.”

…Aren’t they all being a bit harsh?

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I got a good sense of what everyone really thinks.”

Defeated by Megumi and already feeling down, I didn’t even have the energy to retort.