Volume 8 - CH 21

Mishima Haruka Smiles

“Ugh……..”

“A, Are you okay……!?”

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Just after she arrived, I was already short of breath.

Am I okay?

Seriously, I’ve to start to wonder that instead of worrying about how not to get killed by Takeru or Yoru I should be more worried about getting killed by Mishima.

What Gift Resistance, you bastard……

I’m going to die at this rate right…….

It was when my thoughts were dominated by such negative feelings.

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—–sense the feeling of power in your throat when you activate the Gift and spread it to your entire body, you idiot.

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Those words sounded directly in my mind.

As instructed, I stopped my Gift just before its activation and imagined dispersing the power to my entire body.

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“Oh……?”

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I can feel that the effect of [Energy Drain] has weakened.

Does this make it a pseudo [Anti-Gift]?

…….no, that’s not it. After all, I can still feel my strength being taken away little by little. Still, I can sense a thin defensive membrane wrapping around my body.

So this is Gift Resistance.

It really is a thing huh?

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………you, are you Hideyori?

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No matter how much I tried to call him, there was no reply.

So it’s a one-way thing huh, sly bastard.

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“It’s okay, [Energy Drain] should affect me as much as it did others. I will tell you when it gets tough so don’t worry.”

“Akechi-san……”

“Don’t look so worried, Mishima. See, I’m fine.”

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I hold Mishima’s hand.

I can even touch her directly now.

Until just a little while ago, I developed anemia just by being close to her but now I only felt a little fatigue.

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“Akechi-san…….I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize. Your Gift is causing you pain right? I know. I’m the same after all.”

“Akechi-san’s Gift too……..?”

“Something like that. But don’t worry about my Gift, let’s focus on controlling yours first.”

“……yes.”

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Mishima blushes and hangs her head down.

[What’s wrong with her?] When I was wondering so, I noticed that I still haven’t let go of her hand yet.

I, I did it again…….

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Emi, Sakuya, and even Yurika, recently there were a lot of clingy girls around me so my sense of distance was messed up.

I see, so she’s recoiled by the touch of a stranger huh.

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“S, Sorry……your hand……. It must have been uncomfortable huh……”

“Ah……”

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Mishima and I both blushed.

When I played the original game, I went with Risa first.

The next route I played through was Mishima.

At that point, I was itching to get to Mitsuki, Towa, and Yoru as soon as possible.

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During the first run, I sat down and played Risa’s route but on the second run onward, I just skipped all the scenes that I have already unlocked.

Because players want to get to the other heroines [Compensation for Weakness] was not such a memorable route unless you take your time with it.

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I was the same but when I talked to Mishima Haruka in person and got to know her, she’s surprisingly cute.

The figure of the blushing Mishima with her short pale blue hair is something that really tickles a man’s heart.

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“But how do I control it?”

“Ahh, first I will teach you how to detect the flow of your Gift’s power. Do you remember the solar glasses? My elementary school used to give it out for when we have to look at the sun, did Mishima’s school have something like that too?”

“Ah! Yes, there was. The sunglasses-like thing.”

“Yeah, so this may look like solar glasses but if you use this, you will be able to see what your Gift looks like. I borrowed it from the school.”

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Originally, it was a teaching material that our school will eventually distribute but I begged one of the teachers to lend one to me.

The original Hideyori said that he stole one from the school but I just didn’t have the courage to try something like that……

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“I see. You’re so knowledgeable, Akechi-san.”

“Nah, not at all.”

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Yurika told me that she could sense Gifts just from the presence alone but neither I nor Mishima is capable of such a thing.

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“It’s called Gift glasses. I’m going to try looking at you now, okay.”

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The moment I put it on, I could see an ominous power swirling around Mishima.

People called Gifts the power of God but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that her power came from a grim reaper…..

A Gift that siphons energy and life force from others and converts it into the user’s life force, huh…….

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“Ahh……, seeing how it looks really put things into perspective huh……..”

“Uu……, I’m sorry. I will do my best to follow your guidance, Akechi-san.”

“Yeah. I’m with you. I won’t go anywhere until Mishima can control it. You will have to put up with me until you can manage your power on your own, alright.”

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I hand over the Gift Glasses to Mishima.

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“You’re going to stick with me even though I still couldn’t make any friends from my class……?”

“I will, Mishima. And it will be alright. You just can’t make friends yet because of your Gift. If you can control it then you will be able to make friends in no time. Mishima is cute after all, it wouldn’t be strange if you can even get a boyfriend.”

“A boyfriend too……?”

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She looked uneasy when she said that so I patted Mishima’s back to encourage her.

When I did, she turned toward me.

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“You can do it. Be more confident! Don’t think of it just [Compensation for Weakness]! There will be someone who doesn’t mind your Gift and straight up says that you’re cute, I’m sure of it.”

“B, But I……the way I talk and how I dress are so boyish, no one would find me cute……”

“You can’t really tell how a man feels as a girl right? Personally, I think your boyish look is very cute you know.”

“C, Cu–….!?”

“See, you’re so cute when you’re blushing.”

“……!?”

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Mishima blushes and starts fidgeting.

I mean, you are a heroine you know?

Of course, you’re cute.

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Even Takeru was praising your cuteness all the time when he was flirting with you in the game.

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“D, Do you have a girlfriend, Akechi-san……?”

“………nope.”

“I see…….”

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Right now, Mishima is probably thinking [What, so you don’t have one?] or [That’s not convincing at all].

It felt awkward to look at her so I turned my face away.

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“Aha! I see, so Akechi-san doesn’t have a girlfriend!”

“……….”

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Mishima’s smile and voice just dealt me 999 mental damage.

Does she have to make fun of me like that?

While she was laughing at the fact that I still don’t have a girlfriend, Mishima looked very happy.

TLN: This man…….