He refrains from answering her question, as the resulting answer may have come out worse than he probably would have wanted it to. But at the same time, with the way he was being scolded, he couldn’t help but feel like he was a child. And while he was a respectful person most of the time…
Damn, this was actually starting to piss him off.
… Wait, she wanted him to burn it?
Staring at Maribelle incredulously, still with a bit of pink in his cheeks slowly draining from his face, Koyomi exclaimed, “What? Burn it—?”
Alright, what he had done was pretty terrible. But he had paid for that! With his own money! He couldn’t just burn it. And, most importantly, he hadn’t even finished reading it. Quickly cooling down, face now back to it’s regularly broadcasted complexion, Koyomi began to speak.
“I really am sorry, but… aren’t you taking things to far? Let’s be reasonable here. Actually, let’s put things in to perspective first.”
“It’s normal for the victim to scream and call the person who got caught— let’s call them ‘Offender X’— a pervert. It’s even more normal for Offender X to get slapped as a result. But burning it? You sound a bit more like a pyromaniac than a victim, Miss.” A pause. “No offense.”
Alright, some offense was meant.
“It doesn’t come off good for either party. And in the first place, if you hadn’t been so pushy, this wouldn’t have happened. Also, to take something someone purchased and hold it away from them, forcing them to burn it… is probably a small crime, you know. Anyways, I don’t have a lighter, no. Just to show that I do have some humility, however, I’ll burn it for you right before your eyes as soon as we get one. But… one last thing…”
“Isn’t it embarrassing for you to be seen walking around holding that? A dignified and proper lady such as yourself, holding pornography? That won’t look good for your image, Miss.”
