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 19.1: Everything Is For This Moment (1)

Chapter 19.1: Everything Is For This Moment (1)

“Hah, hah…”

Hiroyo and the other three were running through the night streets.

Christmas was almost over, and couples were heading home.

While people were heading to the station, Hiroyo and the others were running in the opposite direction.

Maybe because it was Christmas, they couldn’t catch a taxi, so in the end, they had to change trains and walk to the hospital.

After hearing the story from Hibiki, the three of them understood the general idea. That’s why they were in a hurry. They didn’t know exactly how urgent it was, but it was normal to think that the sooner, the better.

It might have been fine if only Hibiki and Hiroyo went, but after hearing the story, Koharu and Kirino couldn’t stay silent.

None of them had any athletic experience, and they weren’t physically fit. Just running was tough.

“H-Hiroyo… you’re too fast…!”

“Sorry! But we have to hurry…”

Still, as a man, Hiroyo’s legs were faster than the three girls.

The hospital, their destination, was already in sight. Just a little more. That’s why Hiroyo, eager to reach it, was desperate.

“Wait, wait, can we take a break… I don’t know if I can…”

“I… I can’t either… I can’t breathe…”

Koharu and Kirino were both bent over, hands on their knees, gasping for air.

“Then… Hiroyo, just go ahead! You’re the one they need the most!”

“Got it!”

At Hibiki’s words, Hiroyo left the three of them behind and ran toward the hospital alone.

However, it was at that moment.

“—Hey, did you hear a weird sound?”

“…Oh, you’re right. What’s that sound?”

The voices came from the surrounding people.

“What? What’s happening?”

“I think it’s a creaking sound, like squeaking metal.”

Hibiki and Koharu also began to notice the strange sound. As they listened carefully, they heard something that sounded like metal scraping. But no one knew what it was.

“—Hey! Isn’t that it!?”

One passerby shouted, pointing toward the dark sky.

What they were pointing to was—

“Kan, ban?”

A sign with lights, installed on a building’s rooftop, was slowly tipping toward the sidewalk.

“Hey! Run! The sign’s going to fall!”

A man beneath the sign shouted. Then, screams started to rise from the people around, and a space formed on the sidewalk, moving away from the spot where the sign was about to fall.

But there was one person who didn’t notice it.

“———Hiroyo?”

When Hibiki muttered that, the sign’s foot broke, and it fell straight toward the sidewalk where Hiroyo was running.

He didn’t notice. He was only focused on getting to the hospital as fast as possible, and he couldn’t think of anything else. So, he didn’t notice the strange reactions of the people around him.

“Kyahhhhhhh!!”

When Hibiki realized the sign was falling toward Hiroyo, she screamed.

It was too late. The size of the sign made it unavoidable.

—Crunch.

Everyone there thought the boy under the sign had lost his life.

Just before the sign hit the ground, a massive icicle shot through the air at an unbelievable speed, heading toward the sign.

◇ ◇ ◇

“—Is this it!?”

Hiroyo burst through the sliding door to the hospital room, panting but shouting in a loud voice.

“Hiroyo-kun…!”

“Housaka-san… and… Fuyutsuki-san!?”

“It’s been a while. I’m glad to see you’re well.”

In the room were Hibiki’s cousin, Mizuki Housaka, and Saori Fuyutsuki, who worked at the Adventurer’s Guild and was in charge of “Appraisal.”

“Well… that’s fine, but… is there something I can do…?”

“Hiroyo-kun, right? Thank you for coming. Can you come over here?”

“Ah… Akise Haruka-san.”

“You knew about me, too.”

Hiroyo belatedly realized. He should’ve known. Mizuki, Haruka, and Asumi were famous among adventurers—he recognized them immediately upon seeing their faces.

Following Haruka’s instructions, Hiroyo moved toward a bed.

When he pulled aside the curtain, he saw a woman lying on the bed.

“………Shishido Asumi-san…”

“‘Curse’—it’s not a regular burn; it’s a curse.”

Though her body was partially covered by hospital attire, her left side, from her face to her foot, was covered with red-black burns and wrapped in bandages. It was a sight too terrible to bear.

However, she seemed relatively calm, possibly because she was asleep.

“Takanashi-san, I must apologize in advance. I thought your Gift might be able to help with Shishido-san’s ‘curse,’ so I took the liberty of sharing information with the two of them… I’m deeply sorry for leaking this information without permission.”

Saori Fuyutsuki bowed deeply in apology.

“No, no! Please don’t apologize! I came here on my own accord! So you don’t need to do that…!”

“No, according to the Adventurer’s Guild’s regulations, I must face some punishment or be penalized as a criminal.”

“I don’t want that! No punishment, please! And when I first had the ‘Appraisal’ done, I was shocked that it wasn’t a combat-related Gift, but it made me feel just a little bit better. So I wanted to thank you properly someday…”

“Takanashi-san…”

Saori, wearing a tight suit, was so happy by Hiroyo’s words that her clenched fist trembled. However, she knew that revealing information like this was not something that could be forgiven.

“Anyway! My Gift might be able to help Shishido-san, right?”

“Yes. I believe there’s potential in the skill Skin Quality Improvement, which is part of Takanashi-san’s Gift, Beauty.”

“My Skin Quality Improvement, huh…”

Hiroyo felt once again that the Gift Appraisal was truly amazing, especially since it could even name the skill itself. However, the Adventurer’s Guild only had access to the information from the initial appraisal. They only knew about Skin Quality Improvement and Fat Burning.

“Now, I’d like to ask—have there been any recent cases where this skill has shown results?”

“Let me see… There haven’t been many examples yet, but the skin became as smooth as a baby’s, and bruises completely disappeared.”

“Bruises… Regarding Shishido-san’s current condition, it seems like the curse is affecting the surface of her skin. So, if it’s just the skin’s surface…”

“It might disappear—huh…”

After hearing all this, Hiroyo finally understood.

The current details of the Skin Quality Improvement skill were as follows:

< Skin Quality Improvement >

Method: Rub the affected area
Effect: Rejuvenation, skin regeneration, wrinkle removal, hydration, firmness, dark circle removal, pore reduction, blood circulation improvement, waste elimination
Side Effects: Body becomes hot and sensitive for a certain period of time

Based on previous experiences, he had the sense that it erased and regenerated skin cells—almost as if it rewound time and made the skin younger. However, in truth, he didn’t really understand how the skin was changing.

Could it heal burns?

The bruise Koharu got when her father hit her had disappeared completely. If burns are the same type of injury as bruises, then maybe…

“But this burn is a curse, right? Honestly, I don’t know if I can heal it. But—there’s no way I’m choosing to do nothing here… so please, let me try.”

“Hiroyo-kun… thank you!”

“Thank you from me too. Please save Asumi!”

Their eyes welled up with tears as they looked at Hiroyo.

“Oh, right—what about Hibiki?”

“I think she’ll be here any moment now.”

“…? I see. That’s good, then.”

Mizuki had wondered why Hibiki, who was supposed to come with Hiroyo, wasn’t there, but after hearing his reply, she felt relieved.

“But, my skill takes four weeks to show effects, and I have to touch the skin directly. That means I’ll be touching her skin—are you okay with that?”

It’s common to hear stories about men being accused for using AEDs on women. Even though she was unconscious, there was still a risk for Hiroyo.

“Haruka and I give permission. We’ve already contacted Asumi’s parents. Considering Asumi’s personality, I don’t think that’ll be an issue. I can’t speak for her physical condition… but if there’s even a little hope, I want you to try.”

“—Understood. Then, could you remove her clothes and unwrap the bandages?”

“Got it.”

Mizuki pressed the nurse call button, and a nurse arrived shortly after, undressing Asumi completely.

“U-Um!”

“Is there a problem?”

“No! But, if you could at least cover her right side with clothes…”

“Oh—sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I’ll cover her now, so wait a second.”