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 26.1: Hot Spring Trip

The story goes back to the middle of Golden Week.

On this day, Hiroyo, Hibiki, Koharu, and Kirino were at a fancy hot spring inn.

“I never thought we’d get hot spring tickets!”

“Yeah, to think we could come to such a beautiful and stylish inn.”

“It’s my first time coming with friends, so I’m nervous.”

A little while ago, the four of them had received hot spring tickets as a gift from Asumi Shishido.

Since their days off happened to align during Golden Week, they came together for a one-night, two-day stay at this hot spring inn.

Asumi said she could never fully repay them for saving her life, and she still tries to give them gifts like this.

They’ve received other gifts too, but some were too expensive, so they turned them down. However, the hot spring tickets made Hibiki and the others’ eyes light up, so they accepted them.

By the way, Asumi had been hospitalized for a while but graduated high school successfully and went on to the same university as Mizuki and Haruka.

“Wow! The room is huge!”

When they arrived at the inn, the room they were shown to by the staff was a spacious one where all four could stay together. It was a beautiful, modern Japanese-style room with two connected spaces, a wooden table with floor chairs, a cushioned bench by the window, and even a big TV. And then—

“There’s an open-air bath too!”

“Really…!”

Outside the window, on the balcony, was a large cypress bath big enough for all four, so they could enjoy bathing without going to the main bathhouse.

The girls’ eyes sparkled with excitement at the luxury.

“Let’s use the open-air bath later… but first, how about we go to the big bath to wash off?”

“Sounds good!”

“We’ll be separated from Hiroyo-kun, but… wait for us, okay?”

“Yeah, got it. Have fun.”

So, they split up by gender and headed to the baths.

◇ ◇ ◇

After bathing, the four met back in the room, but—

“Everyone… your yukatas look so pretty!”

Seeing the three girls in their yukatas, Hiroyo widened his eyes and gave them compliments.

“Hehe. Right?”

“When was the last time I wore a yukata?”

“I even tied up my hair.”

Since the three usually wore their hair down, showing their napes like this was a first in front of Hiroyo.

“Love it! Your hairstyles suit you too!”

“Hiroyo, you’re more excited than usual.”

“Because… seeing all of you looking so cute in yukatas feels like a dream!”

“Aren’t you praising us too much? I’m happy, though.”

“You can praise me even more!”

The group grinned, clearly pleased.

Then Hibiki changed the topic, saying, “Oh, by the way—”

“They have table tennis here, so how about we play some until dinner and then explore the inn?”

“Sounds fun!”

So, they decided to head to play table tennis.

“—Take that! Hiyah!”

“Not yet!”

“Here!”

“Eek!?”

Hiroyo and Kirino teamed up against Hibiki and Koharu for doubles in table tennis, but as they played, Hibiki and Koharu’s yukata necklines loosened, drawing Hiroyo’s gaze to their breasts.

As they swung their rackets, their cleavage bounced with each move. Hiroyo tried to return the ball but ended up losing the point.

“Hiroyo-kun… you’re staring at our breasts too much.”

“Uh… sorry.”

“You really like big ones, huh…”

“That’s part of it, but… Kirino, you’ve got nice ones too. I love your boobs, you know.”

“N-No way! Mine don’t bounce like that when I play…”

Kirino had always been self-conscious about having smaller breasts than the other two. She wanted Hiroyo to be happy with her body, but there was nothing she could do about it.

“Kirino, your face is super cute, you know.”

“You’re tall and have a great figure. The prettiest girl in school, right?”

“But…”

Even with Hibiki and Koharu saying that, Kirino wasn’t convinced.

“Kirino, it’s okay. Like I said, I love your boobs. They’re beautifully shaped and colored…”

“Fine. I’ll stop whining about it—but if we lose next, there’s a penalty game.”

“Huh?”

Hiroyo had been distracted by Hibiki and Koharu’s breasts, leading to their loss. Kirino wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again. The game resumed.

In the end, Hiroyo and Kirino’s team lost.

“What’s the penalty game?”

“Wait, Kirino, you were on my team too, right!?”

“It’s a penalty game!”

Her tone left no room for argument.

“…I can’t think of anything, so just buy us drinks.”

“That’s easy enough…”

“I want cola!”

“I’ll take tea!”

“Water for me, please.”

“Why are Hibiki and Koharu in on this too… oh well.”

Hiroyo gave them a side-eye but, having lost the game, quietly agreed to do it.