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 22.2.1: Epilogue - Koharu Kushima

Chapter 22.2.1: Epilogue – Koharu Kushima

“You bastard! You dare talk back to me?!”

It all started on a certain day.

The day I stopped being able to laugh genuinely.

“Stop it! Don’t bully Mom!”

My beloved mom and my much younger brother. And—Dad.

It was probably the stress from his job.

When he drank a lot, he couldn’t control himself and took it out on the family, raging wildly.

I never thought Dad was that kind of person.

Because until then, he was so kind, the ideal father.

At first, it hurt so much I couldn’t stand it.

But I wanted to protect Mom and my brother, so I stepped forward willingly.

The change in my body happened soon after the domestic violence started.

“Huh… it doesn’t hurt?”

Even though he hit or kicked me with full force, for some reason, I stopped feeling pain.

Did my feelings reach someone?

Did my strong desire to protect Mom and my brother give me this power?

I heard about adventurers on a TV program.

As I listened, I thought this must be my Gift activating.

Some people’s Gifts activate without them realizing, and I understood I was one of those special cases.

As I consciously used it, I gradually learned to turn the skill on and off properly.

“You’re not scary or terrifying at all.”

I realized that if I didn’t feel pain, I had nothing to fear.

So, I kept putting myself forward, letting my body get hurt more and more.

Until elementary school, I liked wearing bright, girly clothes.

But after Dad started hitting me, I didn’t want anyone to see my bruises, so I wore dark, inconspicuous clothes that covered my skin.

Because of that, when I entered middle school, I deliberately avoided making friends.

That’s how it was supposed to be—

“Sorry! I’m looking for a book in the library. Can you help me find it?”

A super cute girl spoke to me.

Well, she only spoke to me because I was on duty at the checkout counter as a library assistant, not because it was about me personally.

Still, when this sparkling peach-haired girl talked to me, even though we were both girls, I felt oddly excited.

“Which book are you looking for?”

“…Wait, now that I look closely, you’re cute! What class are you in?”

Finding the book was put on hold, and we ended up talking about unrelated things.

She even complimented my appearance, and I found myself secretly pleased.

I later realized she was one of the most popular girls in our grade. I even saw her getting confessed to a few times.

But after we started talking in the library, she began coming by regularly whenever I was at the counter.

According to her, I was easy to talk to.

The more we talked, the more I realized our hobbies and personalities were different, with no reason for us to get along. Yet, I gradually found it fun to talk with her.

“Hey, don’t you ever take off your glasses? You’d totally look cute with contacts!”

When she said that, I hesitated.

We’d already become close, and I was starting to trust her.

But I hadn’t told her why I intentionally wore glasses.

If I had to say one thing, it’s that girls can be cruel and scary.

Showing even a single weakness could be used against me easily. I’d read manga where bullying started that way, so I thought I might become a target.

I didn’t understand why a bright, cute girl like her would talk to someone like me.

I could never understand the thoughts of someone so dazzling… but—

“I’m being abused by my dad. That’s why I use makeup and glasses to hide it.”

I decided to trust her and told her with resolve.

“…”

She probably didn’t expect me to say something like that. She went quiet for a moment, taking time to choose her words.

“Yeah! You did great! Koharu, you’re amazing! I’m on your side!”

It wasn’t the response I expected.

I thought she’d say something like, “Oh, really…” or “Your dad’s unforgivable.”

But no matter what she said, I would’ve been happy.

This person wasn’t the type to bully others. So I decided to open up more and become friends with her.

That’s my best friend now—Hibiki Hayashido.

When I entered high school, Mom and Dad’s divorce was finally finalized.

The child welfare services didn’t work well, so it took time, but we finally started living separately.

“You… what the hell are you?! Why don’t you feel pain, you monster?!”

Those were the words he said before the divorce was finalized and we separated.

I won.

It was my complete victory.

The impact knocked me back, but thanks to my skill, I felt no pain.

At some point, he became scared of me, who kept standing up and coming at him. In the end, he said that and left somewhere.

After that, the three of us hugged and cried.

Mom apologized to me over and over.

She said she should’ve been the one to step forward, that she couldn’t forgive herself for doing nothing.

But it was fine. The thing I hated most was Mom or my brother getting hurt.

That was when I first told Mom about my Gift and the effects of my skill.

I thought it would reassure her, but it didn’t.