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 22.1: I Can’t Fight, but My Gift Is “Beauty”. And to Beautiful Girls, It’s Apparently an S-Rank Buff

Mid-March.

As spring approached and the temperature began to rise—

At school, it was already well-known among classmates that Hiroyo and Hibiki were dating, making them an officially recognized couple in the class.

Many boys looked at Hiroyo with envy, but they couldn’t say much with three overwhelmingly beautiful girls always around him. The only time they might say anything would be during P.E. class, when boys and girls were separated.

Compared to when he first entered high school, Hiroyo’s situation had completely changed.

Girls other than Hibiki, Himari, and Mairi had started talking to him, and though he still felt a bit shy, he found it comfortable now.

All of this was thanks to Hibiki.

He had gone to the Adventurers’ Guild with high hopes of becoming an adventurer and finding out what his Gift was. But the result was “Beauty,” a non-combat Gift deemed unsuitable for adventurers.

At the time, he was so crushed he slumped his shoulders in disappointment. But since Hibiki found him, he had come to feel confident in his Gift.

He had been caught up in many things, lost his virginity in the process, and through Hibiki’s connections, started solving people’s problems. That led to him meeting Koharu and Kirino.

He never thought the side effects of his skill would make the skin hot or sensitive, and that had also thrown him off. In a way, if it weren’t for those side effects, he might not have gotten as close with them as he did.

Over the past six months, a lot had happened, but Hiroyo was satisfied with his current life.

Still, even Hiroyo had worries.

One day after school, as he walked down the sidewalk alone with Hibiki—

“Hey… is it okay for me to say ‘I like you’ to someone other than you?”

They were officially a couple, but he was also close to Koharu and Kirino.

He wasn’t dating them, but their relationship wasn’t simple either.

And during sex, they would ask him—”Say you like me.”

At first, neither Koharu nor Kirino said such things. But as they spent more time in bed together, they began to want it.

When Hiroyo said he liked them, he wondered what Hibiki thought of that.

Of course, the level of affection he felt for Hibiki was different from the others. But he had been through so much with Koharu and Kirino that it wasn’t just about sex anymore—he really did like them.

“Hiroyo, you’re asking that assuming you like Koharu and Kirino, right?”

“Yeah… at first, it just happened naturally, but now, after spending time with them, I’ve grown attached. Of course, you’re still number one.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I mean, I was the one who got this whole thing started.”

Hibiki wasn’t angry or disappointed.

Normally, anyone would be upset.

“Hehehe. Hiroyo-kun, there’s actually a simple solution to this.”

“Huh?”

Hibiki suddenly started talking weirdly.

When Hiroyo asked the question, he expected a darker reaction or at least some struggle. But Hibiki answered immediately, almost like she’d had the answer ready all along.

“Just say ‘I love you’ only to me!”

It was a love confession far too heavy for high school freshmen.

He understood what it meant to like someone, but love was still a fuzzy concept for Hiroyo.

If there was love he could relate to, it would be family… But love for a family member and love for a girl he liked felt completely different.

“Love… huh.”

“I love you.” It wasn’t a phrase Hiroyo was familiar with.

Then Hibiki stepped forward and turned around to face him.

“Do you remember when that sign almost fell on you?”

“Of course. If Kirino hadn’t been there, I—”

It was a memory burned deep into both their minds.

It had only been a month ago, but it was unforgettable.

“Back then, I thought you were going to die. After that, something inside me changed. I didn’t just want to treasure you—I decided I would treasure you. Just liking you wasn’t enough anymore.”

“So… that’s why you say ‘I love you’?”

“Yep! …Well, I don’t really know what love is either! But if you think of me as your number one and treat Koharu and Kirino differently, then I think this is the best way.”

It was true. If they defined it this way, it was easy to make a distinction.

Between love and like, love was the deeper, stronger feeling.

“I don’t know about Koharu, but I think Kirino might feel something close to what I do… But I want you to say ‘I love you’ only to me.”

Since that day, Kirino’s Gift had become clear.

And she had said, almost like convincing herself, that she would protect Hiroyo.

Those words had a strength Kirino never showed before, and Hibiki had sensed that too.

“Think about it, Hiroyo. What if I had been standing where that sign fell—”

He didn’t even want to imagine it—

“No way…”

“Hehe, thanks.”

Hibiki smiled shyly at his answer.

Hiroyo’s face darkened slightly, probably from imagining it.

“I don’t want to lose you. I want to be with you forever. I don’t know if that’s love or more than just liking you. But if you want me to say it, maybe I’ll start to believe it… So—”

Of course he’d say it.

“Hibiki, I love you.”

“Wha—?!”

It looked like steam came out of Hibiki’s head. Her face turned completely red.

She was the one who asked for it, but being told that made her incredibly embarrassed.

“…Aren’t you going to say it too?”

Hiroyo asked, as Hibiki could barely cover her face from the embarrassment.

“I love you too, Hiroyooo!! Kyaha!”

Hibiki jumped into his arms and shouted it, hugging him tightly.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Hey, Hiroyo… Use your skill?”

This had become a common request between them.

It meant, “Make me feel even better.”

Every time they got intimate, they used it, though it wasn’t its intended use.

Recently, Hiroyo had learned that the “Skin Quality Improvement” skill had its limits and features. No matter how many times he used it on Hibiki and the others, their skin wouldn’t get any clearer. It seemed like their skin was already at max beauty, so there was no room for improvement. Either way, it had limits.

And there was something on the skin that wouldn’t disappear—moles.

Unlike burns, bruises, or scars, moles wouldn’t go away. Even though they should have if the skill really improved the skin. But for some reason, they stayed. In fact, Hibiki still had a small mole on her face. This suggested things like freckles might not disappear either.

Anyway, even using “Skin Quality Improvement” to the limit wasn’t a problem, and the only side effect left was the physical reaction. While Hiroyo felt it was wrong to use it for sex, it had already become a habit.

When Hiroyo activated the skill, he sat behind Hibiki on the bed and wrapped his hands around her from behind, cupping her breasts.

“Ah… This is… too much… ♡”

It was right after they had confessed their love. They were in Hibiki’s bedroom, alone. No one would interrupt them today.

Just rubbing gently while using the skill gave an intense pleasure that wasn’t normal.

No one ever got used to the side effect, and even Hibiki reacted the same way every time.

“Ah… Ah… I can’t enjoy this with anyone but you anymore… ♡”