@feha I find that you overreacted when you qualified the spank as sexual harassment, sure it was not the most gentlemanly thing to do, but I do not think that it is that much of a problem, given the overall personality of the mc and that the "victim" herself did not mind it, effectively removing any sexual innuendos.
I also think, like Kaarme, that, had she known about the bead, she would have most likely left it home, as she did not wish to bother them. And then again, perhaps it was only done so to bring about fan service/ to speed up the completion of the manuscript/ because the author needed a Deus ex machina right here, as a story needs perturbations to remain entertaining, we cannot have characters behaving sensibly, lest the story became redundant. That aside you cannot decently expect the mangaka to draw different clothing for his characters, the deadlines are sufficiently impossible as is (cf. any mangaka manga out there)
Nonetheless, there is no need to wave about overly defensive feminist flags around here, seeing as this is all fiction. I would of course equally condemn any occurrence of machismo, however as I mentioned earlier, I do not think that the actions in this chapter fit in that category.
Also as mentioned by Kaarme, he as three equally beautiful ladies in his team that are openly interested in him, however he, so far, has been respectful and did not seek to bank in those feelings. Pray tell then for what reasons would he harass this young lady ? His character development has not included any form of deviant lust as I recall.
And the only obvious reason for the slap to be on the butt rather than the back is fan service. And also, in my very own opinion, to keep their (mc and "victim") relationship more "romantically oriented" as opposed to "buddy oriented".
And even if I am mistaken, which could very well be, the author is only a man, and thus fallible, mistakes happen.
