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 5: Skill Effects

“Well, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Thanks for today—wait, why am I the one saying thanks?”

“Maybe because you did something worth thanking you for?”

“Hibiki…”

“Tehe.”

Takanashi Hiroyo had used his skill on Hayashido Hibiki. After that, he gave in to Hibiki’s persistence and ended up going all the way with her.

Hibiki knew she was cute. On the other hand, Hiroyo saw himself as someone far beneath Hibiki, who was at the top of the social hierarchy. He thought it was a miracle that he had been able to share that kind of moment with her. Maybe that’s why the words “thank you” had slipped out.

It had been Hibiki’s first time too. Afterward, she kept saying her stomach hurt, but she was smiling the entire time. The two of them, still naked, wrapped themselves in a blanket. Hibiki clung to Hiroyo’s arm as they talked about themselves.

Hiroyo had always dreamed of becoming an adventurer, but that dream had been shattered.

When Hibiki heard that, she didn’t say anything to comfort him, but she gently patted his head and said, “There, there.”

Hibiki, on the other hand, had once been mocked for her looks when she was in elementary school. Looking back, she figured it was probably just jealousy, but at the time, it had really bothered her.

After that, she worked hard to change her hairstyle, makeup, and clothing, eventually becoming the cute girl she was today. That was why she had an exceptionally high sense of beauty.

“When your skill takes effect, I’ll thank you properly then.”

“Yeah.”

Hiroyo left Hibiki’s house and went home.

◇ ◇ ◇

And so, twice a week—or rather, in reality, Hibiki invited him so often that he ended up spending nearly half his time at her house, mixing play with their visits.

At some point, Hiroyo realized he could use multiple skills at once, so he started using “Skin Quality Improvement” and “Fat Burning” simultaneously. He continued doing this for about a month.

Then, one morning, a month later—

“Huh?”

Hibiki had just woken up and gone to the bathroom. When she looked in the mirror, she was shocked.

She touched her face, patting it repeatedly. Then, as if trying to confirm reality, she pinched her own cheek. Only after doing all that did she finally realize—Hiroyo’s skill had taken effect.

“My skin is like a baby’s!!”

Her skin had become so smooth and hydrated, it was as if all her skin cells had been completely renewed. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was as soft and plump as a baby’s.

“My pores, my breakouts… even the redness is gone… Maybe that’s why my skin looks whiter too.”

She ran her fingers over her cheek, immediately noticing the difference from the night before.

It was smooth, without any greasy feeling. Her skin had become exactly how she had always dreamed it would be.

“Which means…”

Hibiki quickly stripped off her pajamas, leaving herself in just her underwear.

“I knew it!”

She patted her arms, legs, and stomach, checking for changes.

Even without stepping on a scale, she could tell—her body had gotten slimmer.

“I did it! I did it!”

However, even though she had lost weight, it was within a healthy range.

It seemed that Hiroyo’s thoughts had influenced the skill, preventing extreme weight loss. As a result, Hibiki had kept her feminine curves while achieving a beautifully toned figure.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Hey, Hibiki, what happened? You got way cuter!”

“You look skinnier too… And your skin is so smooth!”

When Hibiki arrived at school, she was immediately surrounded by her close friends, Motoya Himari and Ihara Umiri.

The moment they saw her, their eyes widened. Then, the next second, they started touching her face, legs, and stomach all over.

“Hey, that tickles! Stop touching me so much!”

“But, like… right, Umiri?”

“Yeah, yeah! Did you do something?”

The two of them were extremely curious about Hibiki’s obvious transformation.

All three of them were at the top of the class hierarchy and already beautiful. But Hibiki’s sudden change had taken her beauty to another level. Of course, they were curious.

“You remember, right? I told you I changed my skincare routine… and I went on a diet too. I really worked hard, you know?”

That was a complete lie.

Hibiki had done nothing but lie in bed.

The only thing she had “lost” was her virginity.

And even that—she had willingly given up. She hadn’t spent any money, and she hadn’t even had to restrain herself much when eating.

“No way. Just that wouldn’t change you this much.”

“Wait a sec… Hey, Hima! I think I figured it out!”

“Huh…?”

Just then, Umiri seemed to realize something and shook Himari’s shoulder.

Did they figure out it was because of the Gift? Hibiki started to panic a little.

“—I got it! You got a boyfriend, didn’t you?”

“Huh?!”

Himari and Hibiki both reacted at the same time, but for completely different reasons.

Himari was shocked by the idea that Hibiki had a boyfriend, while Hibiki was caught off guard by the unexpected accusation.

“Hibiki! Is it true?!”

“No, no! I don’t have one! Geez, Umiri, if I did, I’d tell you!”

“But, you know! They say girls get prettier when they have a boyfriend!”

“People do say that… but I don’t have one.”

Hibiki looked away.

She didn’t have a boyfriend. But she did have someone close.

Since then, Hibiki and Hiroyo had been together more than once. Every time he came to her house, they did it. However, neither of them ever said, “Let’s date.” If they had, their relationship would have become official, but for some reason, they couldn’t bring themselves to say it.

“Ah! You hesitated just now!”

“Well, well… Looks like we need to interrogate you properly at the family restaurant today~”

“There’s nothing going on! …Besides, I have plans today, so I can’t.”

“See! You’re going on a date with your boyfriend today!”

“I told you, that’s not it!”

At that point, they had already made up their minds.

Himari and Umiri were convinced that Hibiki was hiding a guy, so they questioned her relentlessly.

All day at school, Hibiki was completely exhausted by their persistent attacks.

◇ ◇ ◇

“I’ve been waiting for you—Hiroyo♪”

After school, Hiroyo visited Hibiki’s house.

Of course, Hibiki was the one who had invited him.

And the reason was—

“Hiroyo, thank you! Your skill worked! How do I look? Did I get cuter!?”

Hibiki was so excited that she was practically bouncing at the entrance.

Seeing her so happy made Hiroyo happy too.

“Yeah. You’re really cute. You were cute before, but now you’re still cute. …And is your makeup lighter today? You still look beautiful.”

“Oh, you noticed? Yeah! Before, I had to use concealer to cover up breakouts and redness, but I don’t need it anymore. My pores are gone too, so I can do light makeup and still look good!”

Himari and Umiri had pointed that out as well.

Both of them were jealous and kept poking Hibiki’s cheeks over and over.

“I see. As long as you’re happy, that’s what matters.”

“Yeah. So… I wanted to give you a reward today…”

“Huh?”

Hibiki took Hiroyo’s hand and led him upstairs to her room.

Once inside, Hibiki silently began to take off her uniform until she was down to her underwear.

“Uh…”

“You’ve seen me so many times, and now you’re acting shy? You’re weird.”

“You didn’t use the skill today. So why all of a sudden…”

“I wanted you to see. Not just my face, but my whole body. It got prettier too.”

“Ah—”

The body in front of him was completely different from before. Hiroyo was mesmerized. Smooth, soft, silky, glossy… There were so many ways to describe it, and her body embodied them all.

“I-If you stare that much, it’s embarrassing…”

“You’re the one who told me to look.”

“Hehe, that’s true. —Hiroyo… thank you so much.”

Then, still in her underwear, Hibiki hugged Hiroyo.

Hiroyo was momentarily surprised but soon wrapped his arms around her, feeling her warmth and the citrus scent of her perfume.

“Now, take off your clothes?”

“Huh?”

“I told you, it’s a reward.”

“Ah…”

It was obvious what was about to happen.

Hibiki removed Hiroyo’s blazer and carefully unbuttoned his shirt.

“You didn’t use your skill today, so you have plenty of energy, right?”

“Now that you mention it… yeah, I guess so.”

Whenever Hiroyo met Hibiki, he always used his skill.

That meant he usually felt the fatigue that came afterward. But today, he hadn’t used it yet.

And there were no plans to use it.

When Hiroyo’s upper body was bare, their eyes met. Their faces drew closer, and they could see the slight tremble in each other’s gaze. —Their lips were about to touch.

Just then—

—Ding dong.

“Ah…”

Right before it happened, the doorbell rang.

“Uh… You should go check it.”

“Aww… Hiroyo…”

Hibiki slumped her shoulders in disappointment.

Hiroyo had been to Hibiki’s house many times, but this was the first time someone had visited while he was there.

“Alright. I’ll go check. Just wait in the room.”

“Okay.”

Hibiki put her uniform back on and headed to the front door.

“Coming~” she said as she opened the door.