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 26.2: Hot Spring Trip

Chapter 26.2: Hot Spring Trip

Still, it seemed like things could get messy if they didn’t act.

“—Fine. I’ll do it. But it’s a five-point match.”

“Oh? The cutest one’s our opponent? Heh, you know there’s a penalty game if you lose, right?”

“Yes. I understand.”

And so, Kirino faced off against the sleazy guy in a table tennis match.

“Here we go—Hah!”

“—Here.”

“That weak-ass shot—huh?”

Kirino lightly returned the ball, and the overconfident guy missed, losing a point.

“Come on, what’s with the holding back?”

“Play properly, man!”

“Y-Yeah…”

The guy didn’t understand what happened.

No one noticed that Kirino had used her ice control to subtly alter the ball’s trajectory.

Kirino kept scoring, reaching four to zero, match point.

“You’ll take the penalty game.”

“Huh? It ain’t over yet.”

(If I lose, I’ll just talk my way out of it.)

The sleazy guy clearly intended to make them do what he wanted, win or lose.

“Last one.”

“Bring it.”

“—Here.”

“Hiyah!”

But the ball didn’t touch the guy’s racket, and Kirino’s serve ended the game.

“…That’s our win. You’ll take the penalty game.”

“Pfft. Who cares? You better do what we say, or things’ll get ugly.”

The moment the sleazy guy said that—

“Ughhh!?”

One of the other guys, who wasn’t playing, suddenly screamed.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“M-My crotch…!”

“Aghhh!?”

“You too!?”

Then the second sleazy guy screamed and rolled on the floor in pain.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you say things would get ugly?”

“Y-You did something—arghhh!?”

The last guy couldn’t finish his sentence, clutching his crotch and collapsing.

“K-Kirino… did you?”

“I froze them… Well, it’ll melt in about thirty minutes. I don’t know if they’ll work after that, though.”

“That’s… wow.”

Kirino then snatched the room key from one of the guys.

“I memorized their room number. I’ll report this to the front desk.”

“G-Gahhh!”

The sleazy guys were in too much pain to hear Kirino’s words, writhing on the ground.

“Let’s go.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Wait for me!”

The three left the table tennis area. Just then, Hiroyo came back with drinks for everyone.

“Hiroyo-kun!”

“Whoa!”

Spotting Hiroyo, Kirino leapt into his arms, causing the plastic bottles to scatter on the floor.

“W-What’s this about…?”

“Uh, stuff happened. I think Kirino was a bit scared.”

“Yeah, but Kirino-chan was super cool!”

“I see… there, there.”

Not entirely sure what happened, Hiroyo gently patted Kirino’s head. Her face melted into a happy smile.

“Here you go.”

Hiroyo picked up the fallen bottles and handed them out.

“Thanks! I’m thirsty from table tennis, so I’ll drink now!”

“Wait, Hibiki, if you open it like that—”

—Fssshhh!

“…”

The moment Hibiki twisted the cap, the fizzy cola sprayed out, splashing her face. She had seen the bottle fall but opened it anyway.

“It’s all sticky…”

“Should we borrow another yukata?”

Hibiki had to take another shower.

Afterward, they explored the inn, looking at souvenirs. Hibiki bought some, not to take home but to eat in the room.

Back in the room, a lavish kaiseki meal was brought in.

“Wow, what’s this? So cool! Juicy shrimp! Sashimi! Hot pot!”

The table was filled with delicious-looking seafood, making their mouths water.

Sitting on floor chairs, they started eating, savoring the melt-in-your-mouth flavors. The chawanmushi was especially rich, and everyone agreed it was delicious.

“If we were adults, maybe we could’ve had sake and enjoyed it even more.”

“Maybe. I wanna be old enough to drink soon.”

“But if we did, it might end up like last time…”

“Alcohol panic…”

They recalled Asumi’s recovery party, where everyone except Hiroyo got embarrassingly drunk after eating brandy-filled chocolates. It was a lesson in the dangers of alcohol.

◇ ◇ ◇

“—Alright, let’s get in.”

After the meal was cleared and they relaxed a bit, the four took off their yukatas, wrapped themselves in towels, and opened the door to the balcony. There was a double-structured room—not quite a balcony, but designed so they could enjoy the open-air bath while taking in the outside view.

After rinsing off, they all soaked in the same cypress bath.

“Ahhhh~”

Each of them let out a sigh at the comfort of the open-air bath.

It felt different from the main bathhouse. It was the first time Hiroyo and the three girls bathed together like this. They’d bathed one-on-one before, but having everyone together was a different experience.

“What’s wrong, Hiroyo? Nervous bathing with all of us?”

Hibiki grinned mischievously.

“N-No… it’s just… this is an amazing sight.”

How many high school guys get to bathe with three beautiful girls?

All of them had gorgeous hair and baby-soft skin. Koharu, who used to go unnoticed, had become celebrated as a beauty since switching to contacts. Their environments must have changed, but they still stayed close to him.

“Right, Koharu?”

“Hiroyo-kun’s a harem king.”

“It’s not like that… we’re all in this together, right?”

“As long as Hibiki-chan allows it, I want to stay with everyone forever.”

“If you say that, I can never say no!”

“Then I’ll keep saying it. Hehe.”

Their relationship existed because Hibiki allowed it. Sure, they all wanted to have Hiroyo to themselves sometimes, but they’d grown used to this dynamic and found it comfortable. Hibiki, too, had come to love this relationship the most.

“Move over a bit.”

“W-Woah…”

Hibiki scooted closer to Hiroyo, and Koharu, on the other side, did the same. Then Kirino stood up and moved behind him.

“How’s it feel, surrounded by naked girls?”