It wasn't that Asakura wanted to put off Chihaya Anon or intentionally mess with her; he genuinely had things to do recently.
For example, the pot of Essence of Dittany had reached a critical stage of brewing. If he didn't want the smell of rotten vegetable leaves to fill the entire club building again, he truly couldn't leave for a short while—Asakura had even planned to pack up and sleep in the Clubroom.
Furthermore, he was also somewhat concerned about the request from Yukinoshita Yukino.
After all, the male protagonist of the original Oregairu, Hachiman Hikigaya, did exist. Although he had inexplicably joined the tennis club and there were recent rumors about his sexual orientation, these could all be explained by the butterfly effect.
If that was the case, then Kawasaki-something-or-other should still be at Soubu High School. Heaven knew where a guy named Togawa Sakiko popped up to take over her storyline…
Although Asakura had already asked Yanami Anna to go in his stead to see if she could solve the other party's problem according to the original Oregairu method, this unexpected situation still made him feel somewhat unsettled.
Hopefully, he was just overthinking it and it could be resolved smoothly. Asakura said in his heart.
"Um…can't we solve it a little earlier?"
Chihaya Anon asked nervously, holding her pumpkin juice.
She originally thought it was just an illusion, and even if she saw the most terrifying scenes, the relatively carefree girl wouldn't be too scared. After all, at that time, she thought everything would be fine as long as the source of the pressure could be resolved.
It turned out that what she saw was not an illusion at all, and so what was originally a coming-of-age story about 'reconciling with oneself' suddenly began to gallop towards the development of a horror film.
And Japan happened to be a major country for horror films. Even if she didn't have a preference for them, she had seen movies like "The Grudge—" "The Ring—" and "Toilet Bound Hanako" on TV to some extent.
So Chihaya Anon felt that her whole being was not well, and she desperately wanted to be free from this terrifying situation.
"Hmm, I also need to make some preparations…"
Asakura stroked his chin.
"Then, do you have energy stones or pots with mysterious powers that you can sell to me?"
So Chihaya Anon put the pumpkin juice back on the coffee table and asked again, settling for a compromise.
"Those are all scams, right?"
Asakura sighed: "Wait a moment."
He turned to a cabinet, fumbled for a moment, and then took out a silver pendant from inside.
"Wear this on you. It doesn't matter if it's a pendant for a necklace or bracelet, or if you put it in your wallet."
"This is…"
The girl looked at the silver pendant, her expression a little strange: "A twist?"
Asakura's mysterious and profound smile froze.
"No, it's an Ouroboros."
He smiled kindly and said, "I made it myself."
"S-sorry… If I look closely, it's actually quite cute…"
The girl, feeling an inexplicable pressure, quickly tried to salvage the situation.
"…Cute, huh."
Asakura, who had put effort into making it look mysterious, solemn, and terrifying, sounded a bit complex.
"It-it's also very cool!"
The girl hurriedly praised, holding the pendant with both hands.
"…Hmph."
Asakura didn't say anything more, but the atmosphere around him gave off a feeling of 'You pass!'
So Chihaya Anon carefully placed the pendant into her small pink wallet, and only then did her tightly furrowed brows relax slightly.
However, she still asked curiously, "Um, with this, I don't have to worry about being attacked by anomalies anymore, right?"
"Not exactly."
Asakura said casually, "It will just notify me after you've been attacked."
"…What about my personal safety then?"
"Please try to stay alive until I arrive."
"You're, you're kidding, right…?"
The girl's eyes were blank, and her voice was a little desperate.
"Yes, I'm kidding."
Asakura nodded.
"Seriously, don't scare me—!"
Chihaya Anon slumped onto the sofa, letting out a sigh of relief: "Asakura is unexpectedly quite mean."
"After all, it's Azkaban."
"What's that?"
"Professional jargon, you don't need to know."
Asakura said seriously.
The girl nodded, half-understanding.
"Oh, by the way, is it okay if other people see this?"
The girl shook the wallet in her hand and asked Asakura, "Or rather, is Magic supposed to be a secret? Many movies show it that way…"
However, as she spoke, she became uncertain herself, because earlier, when Asakura was leading her, he had very frankly told her about the Magic Club. Looking at it this way, could it be that Magic in reality was actually quite common, and she just hadn't encountered it before because she was in the wrong circle?
"Because some Magic can cause quite terrifying effects and can easily be exploited by ill-intentioned people for bad purposes, it's kept secret for now."
Asakura said.
"Eh, then Asakura told me all this so easily…"
Chihaya Anon couldn't help but look at Asakura with a strange gaze. Remembering some shoujo manga she had read, the pink-haired girl's maiden heart suddenly throbbed fiercely, as if a little deer was running wild—
"Because I'm super strong. Even if you leak it, I can control the situation."
Asakura said, "Specifically, by directly setting it on fire."
Chihaya Anon: "…"
The little deer died.
"Why fire?"
After a moment of silence, the girl couldn't help but ask.
Asakura glanced at her, "Drink the pumpkin juice."
"Eh?"
The girl was a bit confused, but she still followed his words and chugged down the remaining pumpkin juice.
Asakura reached out and tapped the empty mug in front of her. A ball of white flame instantly enveloped the cup.
A moment later, the flames receded, and the cup inside seemed perfectly intact.
But for some reason, Chihaya Anon always felt a strange sense of incongruity, as if the object in front of her was not a cup, but a basin or some other kind of vessel.
"Want some more pumpkin juice?"
Asakura pointed at it and asked.
"Should I drink it with this? Would it be better to switch to a cup… Eh?"
The girl instinctively responded, but as she spoke, she felt something was wrong.
Isn't that a cup in front of me? Then what happened to the cup I just used to drink pumpkin juice? Wait, what exactly is going on, this strange feeling…
The girl's mind was in a mess.
"Just now, the concept of this mug as a 'cup' was burned away by me."
Asakura snapped his fingers, refilling the girl's 'not-a-cup' with new iced pumpkin juice. "Although the essence isn't the same, in terms of human 'memory,' it's actually a similar situation."
"…I don't even know whether to say it's amazing or terrifying."
The girl hadn't fully recovered from her confusion, only staring blankly at the pumpkin juice.
Asakura smiled slightly.
"This is Magic."