Chapter 116

Under the eye of a club member, Asa warns that few of the aquarium's starfish can be eaten and questions whether Denji truly means to try this. He counters that no other food works since she cannot stomach fish, and she gives in, noting that raw starfish are poisonous and must be boiled. Back in the common room he produces a pot he scavenged, and because he swiped the 'glass licker,' a heat source is finally on hand to boil them.

Settling down to eat, Asa spots a pile of school caps, which Denji admits he meant to sell. When she wonders why money fixates him so, he confides that he is putting away funds for the college tuition of a girl living with him, someone like a little sister, because his own life was never normal and he wants hers to be. Touched, Asa joins him in eating the starfish; Denji gags at the flavor while she clears her plate and complains it leaves her still hungry. Spotting the salt-cured fish Denji kept, she asks to sample one, bites in, and instantly retches, sending Denji into laughter as he admits that although her talk bores him stiff, her company is enjoyable.

Emboldened, she presses him to repeat that, and Denji says her sudden boldness recalls an old friend. Studying the caps, Asa hits on an escape plan rooted in gathering as much cash as possible, and a walk through the hall nets them a full million yen. She asks for the money; Denji refuses at first but caves once she offers him anything he likes in return. Recalling Yoru's earlier lesson about the workings of her power and what it means to truly own something, Asa spends the million to 'purchase' the entire aquarium, letting her reshape it into a spear.

Denji opens up about saving for the schooling of the girl in his care, deepening his bond with Asa over a meal of boiled starfish. The chapter closes on Asa weaponizing Yoru's rules of ownership, buying the aquarium outright so it can become a spear in her hands.

Carrying the title Hitode no Aji, or 'Taste of Starfish,' the chapter sits in Volume 14 during the Dating Denji arc. It deepens the Denji and Asa relationship through shared hardship and reveals his motive for hoarding money, while showcasing how Asa converts owned objects into weaponry.