My Gift Is “Beauty”. I Think It’s Useless, but It Seems to Be an S-Rank Gift With the Strongest Buff Effect for Beautiful Girls - Chapter 18.2: A-Rank Adventurer

Chapter 18.2: A-Rank Adventurer

Mizuki’s face fills with despair.

Haruka covers her mouth, tears spilling from her eyes.

“—Gaaaaaaah!?”

That’s when it happens.

Asumi, who was supposed to be asleep, suddenly lets out a loud cry and starts writhing in pain.

“Asumi! Asumi! W-What do we…!”

“Let’s call the doctor for now!”

A few minutes later, the doctor administers anesthesia, and Asumi falls back asleep.

But the atmosphere in the room is awful.

“There have been cases of monsters casting ‘curses.’ However, only a handful of beings with gifts that can fully heal a ‘curse’ exist. As far as I know, none are nearby right now.”

“T-Then where is that person now—!”

“In England.”

“Ah…”

A dry breath escapes Mizuki’s mouth.

“…Is Asumi beyond saving? Is there nothing we can do…?”

Her clenched fist grips her clothes so hard that the fabric seems ready to tear.

“…Wait a moment.”

In this despair-filled situation, a single thought crosses Fuyutsuki’s mind.

“Let me check Shishido-san’s condition one more time.”

“W-What…”

Fuyutsuki activates her skill “Appraisal” again.

She examines Asumi’s body closely.

“I’ll tell you the result. There might be a slight chance she can be saved.”

“Huh!? What kind…!”

“Looking closely, the ‘curse’ on her burns seems to be surface-level only. If it had reached deeper—into her body—the chance would be zero. But—”

Fuyutsuki pulls a tablet from her bag and starts searching for something.

“—If it’s just the surface… there’s probably… a possibility she could recover.”

Hearing this, Mizuki stands and approaches Fuyutsuki.

“Then! How can we heal Asumi!?”

That’s the one thing she most wants to know.

“Please! We… don’t want to lose her…!”

Haruka stands too, stepping closer to Fuyutsuki and pleading.

“…If I reveal personal information, the guild will punish me. But seeing someone in danger of dying right in front of me, I’d gladly accept that punishment. Though I do feel sorry for him…”

Fuyutsuki turns the tablet, which she’d been using to search, toward Mizuki and the others.

“If my guess is right, he might be able to heal Shishido-san’s ‘curse.’”

“A… ah…”

Seeing the information on the tablet, Mizuki’s voice trembles.

And then, Fuyutsuki says,

“The name of the one who might be able to heal Shishido-san’s ‘curse’ with his gift is—”

◇ ◇ ◇

“—Hiroyo! Go a little easier on me~~!”

“I don’t go easy in games. That’s my rule.”

December twenty-fifth.

On this Christmas day, Hibiki is visiting Hiroyo’s house. Right now, they are in the middle of playing a fighting game in Hiroyo’s room.

“Hiroyo-kun is already giving you a handicap, so it’s just that Hibiki-chan is too weak.”

“Ten losses in a row is a bit much… Hibiki-chan, it’s about time to switch.”

Koharu and Kirino are also at Hiroyo’s house, and the four of them are holding a Christmas party together.

Yesterday, Christmas Eve, Hibiki and Hiroyo spent it just the two of them. Today, Christmas, they had originally planned to hang out as a group of four.

During the day, they went out and played around, but at night, they ended up coming to Hiroyo’s house to hang out like this.

Hiroyo’s mother and father are there too, but they never expected three beautiful girls to show up all at once and were totally shocked. Only Hiroyo’s mother, Hoka, had met Hibiki a few times before, but she certainly didn’t think her son would bring two more beautiful girls over.

So now, the four of them are thoroughly enjoying their Christmas party.

“Ugh~~~. From now on, the winner has to take off one piece of clothing!”

“What’s that!?”

“A strip game!”

“Why does the winner have to strip!?”

“So if Hiroyo loses on purpose, I’d have to take off my clothes, right?”

“No… that’s… wait, you’d be happy if I lost on purpose!? Is that okay with you, Hibiki!?”

“Oh, you hesitated just now. You imagined it, didn’t you… Hiroyo, you perv♡.”

If they did something like that, it might eventually lead to going further.

But even Hibiki wouldn’t dare do that in a house with Hiroyo’s parents around. She was just teasing Hiroyo, that’s all.

“Oh… but it’s already past nine. I should head home soon…”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Then is it okay if I just stay over?”

“No way that’s allowed!”

“If Hibiki-chan says so…”

When Koharu mentions the time, Hibiki reluctantly agrees and stops playing the game. But Kirino is fully intent on staying over, so Hibiki stops her. Kirino reluctantly gives in.

“It’s like… staying over alone on Christmas is unfair! Even yesterday, I went home properly, you know.”

“Shouldn’t you have just stayed over yesterday?”

“No… staying over is kinda embarrassing… I mean, whether it’s my house or yours, parents are there.”

“Oh, I should’ve told you about my place. If I’d given word at my house, no one would come near the room, and we could indulge in some lovemaking slowly.”

Once before, when Hiroyo visited Kirino’s house, no one passed by even when they walked naked from the room to the bathroom. Kirino was pretty loud too, but no one said anything.

“Seriously…!? But Kirino’s there, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then we can’t be alone together!?”

“It’s fine. I’ll just watch.”

“That’s totally the type to jump in halfway through, isn’t it!?”

There’s actually a separate guest room, but even so, Kirino would probably use the master key and barge in.

“Jeez, Kirino…”

“Hehe, thank you.”

“I wasn’t praising you at all just now!?”

Lately, Hibiki has fully taken on the role of the straight man because of Kirino. It seems Kirino is a little offbeat.

“Oh well… for now, I guess—huh?”

Hibiki stands up to get ready to leave.

That’s when her phone vibrates.

“Huh… it’s Mizuki-nee.”

Wondering what she could want on Christmas day, Hibiki presses the call button.

“Mizuki-nee, Merry Christmas!”

As soon as she answers, Hibiki gives a Christmas greeting.

But the reply that comes back isn’t Merry Christmas.

“H-Hibiki! I’ll do anything, just please help me right now!!”

“Huh?”

Hibiki is shaken by the desperate voice.

“Asumi… Asumi collapsed! If this keeps up, she might really die…!”

“Asumi… you mean the Asumi-chan who’s in your party, Mizuki-nee…?”

“That’s right! Please… you know, don’t you!? —Hiroyo-kun’s contact info!!”

The moment she hears the name, Hibiki looks at Hiroyo’s face in front of her.

Hiroyo, being stared at, looks puzzled.

“I know… I mean, he’s right in front of me…”

“!! Sorry… it’s Christmas today, and I’m not close enough to Hiroyo-kun to ask something like this… Plus, I think he got a bad impression of me when we met before. But… please… I need help right now… I’ll do anything, anything…!”

Hibiki hears Mizuki’s sobbing voice through the phone.

“—Okay. Mizuki-nee… I’ll convince Hiroyo, so send me a message with where we need to go.”

“Hibiki… th-thank you…!”

It’s the first time Hibiki has heard Mizuki sound like this.

Mizuki is always stylish, cool, strong, and a little annoying. She and Hibiki, her cousin, grew up like real sisters.

Sure, Mizuki barging in while they were flirting once left a bad feeling, but it didn’t ruin things with Hiroyo. So it’s pretty much not a big deal now.

Hibiki ends the call and turns to Hiroyo.

“—Hiroyo… please lend me your strength. I’ll even beg your parents… please.”

Normally, when Hibiki asks for something, she uses a cute expression and tone.

But this time, she speaks with a serious look and a sincere tone.

“Hibiki… I’m always on your side. I’ll help you with everything I’ve got anytime—so use me.”

Even without hearing it all, Hiroyo answers calmly, as if it’s obvious.