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 24: Going Wild with the Brain

“—Everyone, can I have a moment?”

After using her skill on the girl called Yaginuma and confirming that Hiroyo was glowing, Hibiki told the three of them about it during lunchtime.

“It means she reacted to one of Hiroyo-kun’s skills, right? Which one could it be?”

“He currently has four skills: ‘Skin Quality Improvement,’ ‘Fat Burning,’ ‘Hair Removal,’ and ‘Hair Quality Improvement.’ So, it’s one of those, perhaps?”

While spreading out their lunchboxes on the rooftop, Koharu and Kirino thought about it.

“I… think I know.”

At this point, Hibiki hadn’t yet told them what kind of person the girl was.

“Her hair was super curly, probably natural… I mean, unless she’s aiming to be a comedian, I can’t imagine a girl choosing that hairstyle on purpose—”

“—‘Hair Quality Improvement’… is that it?”

Hiroyo reached the answer from Hibiki’s words.

“But what do we do? Should we talk to her?”

“With Koharu and Kirino, it turned out well… but we won’t know unless we talk, right?”

“Yeah. Let’s start by talking to her.”

Since Hibiki’s skill made her glow, it was already certain that the girl needed Hiroyo. So, not talking to her wasn’t an option.

Even if it seemed meddlesome, the skill had greatly improved major concerns, so aside from the backlash, it was all benefits.

◇ ◇ ◇

That day, Asami Yaginuma, who was on cleaning duty, held a chalkboard eraser, stretching on her tiptoes to clean the upper part she couldn’t reach.

But because of her short height, she couldn’t reach at all. So, she grabbed a chair and stood on it, slowly cleaning the board—

“Aba!?”

Looking up, she lost her balance, and the eraser slipped from her hand, flying into the air.

As she was about to tumble off the chair—

“Asami-chan, watch out!”

A female classmate, who happened to see the moment, threw her broom to the floor and rushed to help.

—She wouldn’t make it in time.

That’s when it happened.

Asami, who should’ve fallen headfirst, somehow spun in midair and miraculously landed on both feet.

(Phew, that was close.)

“Asami-chan, are you okay!?”

Even though she landed, her worried classmate came closer to check on her.

“…I’m fine…”

“Really…? If you think it’s dangerous, just tell me, and I’ll help, okay? Also, your bangs seem to block your view… I personally think you should cut them a bit, but that’s none of my business, right?”

The female student looked at Asami’s bomber-head hair and gave a bit of well-meaning advice.

“Aba… I’ll think about it.”

“Okay! Let’s get back to cleaning!”

And so, the two returned to cleaning—

“Asami-chan! You’ve got visitors! Looks like second-years!”

Another girl on cleaning duty called Asami’s name from the classroom’s back entrance.

“Aba…?”

“We’re almost done, and I’ll handle the blackboard, so go ahead!”

“Tch, thanks…”

With a question mark above her head, Asami headed toward the classroom entrance.

“—Nice to meet you, Yaginuma-san!”

“Abaa!?”

(It’s the person with beautiful hair I passed during lunch break…)

Asami looked surprised at the person calling her.

“Um… sorry for being so sudden. I just want to talk for a bit… can you spare, like, ten minutes? Just to chat.”

“Abababa… m-me? I don’t know what this is about, but… ten minutes is fine.”

Since starting at this school, it was the first time a senior had spoken to Asami.

Trembling with nerves but not the type to refuse requests, she agreed to hear the senior out.

◇ ◇ ◇

After school, on the rooftop. This time, at a spot lined with benches, Hibiki Hayashido and Asami Yaginuma sat together alone.

On another bench, Hiroyo, Koharu, and Kirino sat, watching Hibiki and Asami from a distance. They figured surrounding her with all four of them might scare her, so they arranged it this way.

“I haven’t introduced myself, right? I’m Hibiki Hayashido, a second-year! Nice to meet you!”

(Sh-she’s… dazzling… cute… beautiful… abaa…)

Seeing Hibiki’s radiant smile up close, Asami couldn’t look directly at her and kept facing forward.

“I-I’m… Asami Yaginuma…”

“Thanks. Is it okay if I call you Asami-chan?”

“My classmates call me that, so it’s fine…”

Despite her hesitant gaze, Asami answered properly.

“Then let’s get to the point. I have a gift called ‘Wish,’ and it includes a skill that finds people who can fulfill others’ wishes.”

“‘Wish’… that’s an amazing gift.”

“So, I’m sorry for checking without asking, but… Asami-chan, do you have any worries?”

“Worries…”

At Hibiki’s words, Asami fell silent, thinking for a while.

Then, the words that slipped from her mouth were—

“—My height, maybe.”

“ZUKO—!!”

Hibiki dramatically flopped on the bench.

“Y-yeah, you do seem a bit short… is it that much of a problem?”

“When I was cleaning the blackboard earlier, I couldn’t reach the top and almost fell off a chair…”

(It’s true that could be an issue, but Hiroyo’s skills don’t include bone extension or height growth…)

Hibiki thought about it.

Bringing up a sensitive topic directly might not be the best idea.

So, she made eye contact with Hiroyo before explaining his skills.

“You see that guy sitting over there?”

“Y-yeah…”

“His name’s Hiroyo, and he has several skills from his gift… ‘Skin Quality Improvement,’ ‘Fat Burning,’ ‘Hair Removal’… and ‘Hair Quality Improvement.’”

“—!?”

The moment she heard the last one, Asami jolted up from the bench.

Seeing this, Hibiki realized a keyword had struck a chord.

“I’ll just say it… Asami-chan, are you worried about your hair?”

“A-ah… abaa… yes.”

Holding her head, Asami sank back onto the bench.

“With Hiroyo’s skill, he can adjust everything from hair volume to the texture of new hair growth. Look at my hair, see?”

“Ah…”

In front of Asami, Hibiki ran her hand through her smooth hair like a comb, showing off its sleekness.

“Pretty, right?”

“Yes… it’s too pretty…”

“My hair was decent before, but this is beyond that—it’s exactly how I wanted it.”

“That’s… amazing.”

Asami gazed at Hibiki’s hair with envy.

“If you’re struggling, we want to help. So, tell us what you think—”

Asami looked forward again and began speaking in a small voice.

“—My hair… it’s been like this since I was born… by the time I started kindergarten, it was already this shape.”

Meaning, a curly, round bomber-head.

“All the other girls had beautiful hair, and I was always so jealous… but there was nothing I could do…”

“What about straightening treatments?”

“If it’ll just go back to normal, I never bothered…”

Straightening treatments are only temporary.

You’d have to keep going back, and for hair as curly as Asami’s, it’d be really tough.

“I see…”

“But… if it could be fixed from the root… if the volume could be reduced… I’m interested.”

Hibiki smiled.

“This isn’t about hair, but look at the two girls next to Hiroyo.”

“Yes—”

“They both had different worries. But Hiroyo’s skills fixed them. They say life’s been super fun since then.”

Noticing her gaze, Koharu and Kirino waved at Asami.

Asami gave a small nod back.

“I’ll say it again. If you want it… let’s improve your hair!”

“…Yes.”

As Asami answered, a spring breeze blew across the rooftop, lifting her hair and exposing her forehead.

“Abaa!?”

“—Eh?”

Embarrassed to be seen, Asami quickly pressed her bangs back down with both hands.

But Hibiki had seen it.

(Her eyes… her eyes… they’re so beautiful…)

Asami’s eyes, which Hibiki saw.

They were large, with distinct double eyelids… and her irises were a stunning turquoise blue.

“Asami-chan… do you have any foreign ancestry?”

“Aba… my grandfather’s British, so I’m a quarter…”

“I knew it!!”

(Once her hair’s improved, she’s gonna look like a doll-like beauty!)

Hibiki felt a thrill of excitement inside.

“So, assuming you’re in—there’s actually a backlash to activating the skill…”

Saying this, she began telling Asami about her own experience.

◇ ◇ ◇

Three weeks earlier.

“—Alright, Hibiki, here we go.”

“Okay.”

“—‘Hair Quality Improvement.’”

Hibiki lay on her bed at home.

With her head on Hiroyo’s lap, he activated the skill.

His hands, glowing with a faint white light, touched Hibiki’s scalp.

“Ah, ah, ah… ♡”

Almost immediately, the backlash appeared, and Hibiki started making sounds.

Hiroyo’s ten fingers parted her beautiful hair, touching her scalp directly. Slowly, he massaged with his fingertips, stimulating the hair roots.

“It feels… so good… ♡”

Hearing Hibiki’s voice, he worked evenly across her forehead, sides, back, temples, and nape. The scalp stimulation spread throughout, making her body hot and sensitive.

But about a minute later—

“Gh!?”

Suddenly, Hibiki let out a strange sound, completely different from before.

Her eyes rolled upward, almost white, and her face looked wild. Her body began twitching and convulsing.

“Is… is this okay?”

“Hibiki-chan’s making quite a face…”

Koharu and Kirino, watching to see how the treatment would go, noticed this backlash was different from previous ones.

Maybe because he was touching her head directly.

Hibiki’s head trembled as if her brain was being stirred, her eyes wide open.

And even though there was still time left in the treatment, it happened.

“Gh… gh—ghu!? ♡”

After a loud cry, Hibiki suddenly stopped moving.