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 73: I Want to Be the Same

Chapter 73: I Want to Be the Same

Hiroyo Takanashi arrived at the treatment room on the third floor.

At the edge of the grassland floor, an iron door embedded in a rock stood. The door, an alien presence that did not blend with nature, led to the treatment room.

“Is that thing an ogre?” Hiroyo asked.

A giant over three meters tall stood before the door. The creature, with horns and a muscular, monstrous form, was immediately recognizable as the floor boss of the third floor.

This dungeon increased in rank as one descended to lower levels. The third floor was classified as lower D-rank.

“No problem exists,” Ecoa said. “That creature, born from Master Hiroyo and Asami’s magic power, is like family.”

“No way, that’s kind of… the way you say it feels creepy!” Hiroyo replied.

Most of the magic power belonged to Asami, but some came from Hiroyo. Still, calling a monster born from his magic power “family” felt unsettling to him.

“Then, let us pass,” Ecoa suggested.

Under Ecoa’s guidance, they slipped past the ogre, the floor boss. The ogre remained still and did nothing, but its eyes sharply followed Hiroyo and the others’ movements.

The treatment room, as confirmed earlier through a monitor, was a space with multiple treatment tables neatly arranged. Among them, Hibiki Hayashido, who had somehow fixed her hair, suddenly noticed something.

“I don’t know how many people get treatments at once, but wouldn’t individual rooms be better?” Hibiki said. “Massages usually happen in private rooms, right?”

“You’re right,” Koharu Kushima agreed, nodding. “Himari and Kairi could see each other’s treatments completely. Privacy is necessary, isn’t it?”

Even among close friends, being seen nearly naked felt embarrassing to anyone.

“Master, please decide,” Ecoa requested.

“Yeah, individual rooms sound good,” Hiroyo said. “Partition them nicely.”

“Understood,” Ecoa replied.

At Hiroyo’s command, Ecoa quietly raised her hand, and the ground rumbled. Multiple individual rooms formed instantly. The completed rooms, equipped with doors and inner locks, were simple yet fully functional spaces.

“Oh, right,” Hibiki said. “Ecoa, can you prepare something like this?”

“Yes, I confirmed it,” Ecoa replied, nodding. “I will handle it later.”

Hibiki showed her smartphone screen to Ecoa, who nodded in response. Hiroyo did not understand the details but decided that Hibiki, being knowledgeable about beauty matters, should handle it.

“This will be the shower room,” Ecoa announced.

After inspecting the treatment room, they checked the shower room Ecoa had prepared.

Opening the door to the adjacent room revealed a shower space without a bathtub. The tiled floor, complete with a drain, reminded Hiroyo somewhat of his home bathroom.

“Yeah, this looks fine too,” Hiroyo said.

“The hot spring remains, but that requires another door,” Ecoa explained.

“Got it,” Hiroyo said. “Hot springs take time, don’t they?”

“Yes,” Ecoa replied. “I will start creating it after everyone leaves.”

“Cool, I trust you,” Hiroyo said.

“Then let’s head home!” Hibiki shouted energetically, stretching her arms toward the ceiling. “It’s late already!”

Once the inspection ended, the group returned to Hiroyo’s room via the Master Room and then went their separate ways.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Mom, everyone’s gone,” Hiroyo said.

“Oh, really?” Honoka Takanashi replied. “Dinner will take a bit, so wait a little, okay?”

“Thanks as always—wait, what!?” Hiroyo exclaimed.

After seeing everyone off at the entrance, Hiroyo headed to the living room and spoke to his mother, Honoka, in the kitchen. The moment he glanced at the sofa in front of the TV, he lost his words.

“You…!?” Hiroyo stammered.

“Uh, hi…” the person replied.

Sitting there, holding a coffee cup with both hands, was Rio Kozuka—Aoi Suzukawa’s best friend.

“Mom, why is she here!?” Hiroyo asked.

“On my way back from the supermarket, she was standing in front of the house,” Honoka explained. “I thought she might be another of your friends, so I let her in.”

“Another… seriously?” Hiroyo muttered.

Honoka had grown used to it.

Beautiful girls kept showing up one after another. Even though she had a hunch about who Hiroyo’s favorite was, after over a year of this, she no longer felt surprised.

“She was waiting for you to come down,” Honoka said. “Until dinner’s ready, keep her company properly.”

“Uh, okay,” Hiroyo replied.

He could not ignore her after she came this far.

Hiroyo, holding his head, could not leave Rio alone.

“Um, you’re Kozuka, right?” Hiroyo said. “The living room feels awkward, so could you come upstairs for a bit?”

“No way… you’re not going to do something awful to me, are you!?” Rio exclaimed.

“No, no way!” Hiroyo protested. “Just talk, that’s all! Mom’s home, so nothing like that would happen!”

“That makes sense,” Rio admitted. “But if you try anything weird, I absolutely won’t forgive you!”

Rio boldly voiced a wild misunderstanding.

Yet Honoka, who must have heard it, continued preparing dinner with a smile.

The two moved to Hiroyo’s room, where Rio hesitantly sat at the table.

Hiroyo deliberately kept some distance, speaking from his bed.

“So, why were you in front of my house?” Hiroyo asked.

“…” Rio stayed silent.

Rio, receiving the question, only looked around the room nervously.

“Kozuka?” Hiroyo prompted.

“The first guy’s room I ever enter… and it’s yours, of all people…” Rio muttered.

“Oh, sorry,” Hiroyo said.

Rio, not answering the question, quietly expressed her shock at the new experience.

(She’s the one who followed me here, though…) Hiroyo thought silently, not voicing it.

“You… have nothing!” Rio declared suddenly.

“Huh, what do you mean?” Hiroyo asked.

“I mean, you’re not the awful person I thought you were,” Rio explained. “You have lots of girls around you, but… somehow, they all seem to be having fun.”

(Oh, that’s what felt off. Aoi mentioned something about this too,) Hiroyo realized.

Hiroyo understood that Rio’s actions were to judge him. He also realized that the gaze he had recently felt came from her.

“I told you, didn’t I?” Hiroyo said. “I don’t force Aoi into anything or do stuff like that.”

“I still don’t completely trust you,” Rio admitted.

“I didn’t choose this, you know,” Hiroyo said. “If anything, I’m the one getting dragged around.”

The side effects of his skill and Aoi’s changes—he bore some responsibility. But now, Aoi seemed lively and cheerful, even less troubled than before.

“Give me your weekend,” Rio demanded.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Hiroyo asked.

“You did something to Aoi, didn’t you?” Rio said. “Then do it to me too. I absolutely won’t lose!”

“Hold on, that’s…” Hiroyo stammered.

“Shut up!” Rio interrupted. “Just do the same thing to me as you did to Aoi!”

Hiroyo could not tell if she was serious or joking.

But Rio’s eyes were deadly serious.

“No, Kozuka, this isn’t something light…” Hiroyo said.

“You changed Aoi,” Rio said. “If she can’t go back to how she was, then I… I want to be the same as Aoi.”

Because she wanted to understand everything about Aoi.

Rio cherished Aoi, who had reached out to her when she had no friends. That was why she could not bear the growing distance between them.

“Alright, I’ll talk to Hibiki first,” Hiroyo said. “But think about it for a week. Golden Week is coming, so we’ll make time by then.”

“Okay,” Rio replied.

At Hiroyo’s words, Rio finally showed a slight calm.

The two exchanged contact information—Rio did so reluctantly, saying they could not tell Aoi.

“It’s dark already, so I’ll walk you partway,” Hiroyo offered.

“That kindness pisses me off the most,” Rio said. “I hate you, so stop being nice…”

“I can’t just leave you alone,” Hiroyo replied.

Rio stood up silently, and Hiroyo let out a small sigh of relief.

They walked side by side through the night, and after seeing her partway—

“Phew, this is a new one…” Hiroyo muttered.

Hiroyo sighed deeply in the night breeze and resolved to consult Hibiki about today’s events tomorrow.