Volume 8 - CH 25

Compensation for Weakness: Invitation

“I’m home~.”

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I returned home while holding down my excitement.

The moment I stepped inside, my pet cat coincidentally walked across the hallway.

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“Oh, Nekosuke! It’s been so long~”

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My Gift was also affecting animals.

That’s why I tried to not touch Nekosuku as much as possible but now that I can turn off my Gift, I don’t have to worry about it anymore.

[[Nyan Nyan]], Nekosuke squirms in my hands.

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“I’m going to translate okay.”

[[Nyah]]

“I see, you were imitating a Persian huh.”

[[Nyah Nyaah]]

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I don’t know if it was affirming me or not but it’s been a while since I last held Nekosuke so it’s very fun.

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“Persian is a cat too right…….”

“What, Kazuma~? Are you defying me? You’re going to get a taste of Nekosuke missile for that you know.”

“Rather, is this okay? Touching Nekosuke I mean.”

“Yeah, I can control my Gift now. I’m totally fine now! V!”

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“Eh?” My brother let out a voice in surprise.

Kazuma had also suffered from anemia because of me before so his reaction is no surprise.

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“See, you don’t feel anything even when I’m this close to you right?”

“…….it’s true. I can get close to Aneki just fine now……”

“Take this, Nekosuke missile!”

[[NYAHH!]]

“Uwah, getaway from me Nekosuke!?”

“Ahahahaha! You’re so strong Nekosuke.”

[[Nyaah!]]

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I played tag with my brother using [Nekosuke Missile].

Since entering high school, I couldn’t play a fun prank like this on him at all.

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“Haruka?”

“Ah, Okaa-san.”

“You….., are you okay?”

“Yes! I finally got my Gift under control.”

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I might get sick again because I turned off [Energy Drain] but that’s just how I used to be.

I’d rather get sick myself than cause pain to people around me.

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“Is that so? That’s great!”

“Yep! I’m really sorry for all the troubles I put you through.”

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I lowered my head to my mom and my brother.

With or without Gift, I’m still a daughter who caused nothing but trouble for my family so I feel truly sorry……

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“But this is good for you right. If you can control your Gift then!”

“Yeah! My time has finally arrived!”

“……..I mean, will Aneki really shine just because she can control her Gift though?”

“What did you say!? GO, NEKOSUKE MISSILE!”

[[NyaNya~h!]]

“UGEH!?”

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I laugh as Nekosuke jumped on my brother.

At last, the daily life that I’ve always wanted has returned. I’m so happy that I’m about to cry.

I have Akechi-san to thank for this.

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Until this morning, I couldn’t even stand close to my family and I had to rush past Nekosuke when I spotted it.

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“Nekosuke~~!”

[[Nyahh!]]

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It’s been so long since I was last healed by Nekosuke’s fluffiness.

With my life back to how it was, I was filled with joy.

The weekend is over and I can now control [Energy Drain.]

I still can not get used to this new me yet so I just silently read a book in my classroom.

The rumors finally subsided and all my classmates who took sick leaves returned.

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But I’m still alone.

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I can talk normally with Akechi-san when we meet but since we are in different classes, I don’t think we will be able to see each other that often.

When I saw Akechi-san this morning, I was a little depressed seeing him whispering something to a girl with pigtails and a girl with green hair.

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Since he’s so handsome Akechi-san must really be popular huh……?

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While I was thinking about such a thing, my eyes stopped focusing on the book I was reading.

If I was in the same class as Akechi-san, would I be able to get closer to Akechi-san? Or so I jealously thought after seeing those girls walking with him.

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“Hey, Mishima-san.”

“Eh? Y, Yes. ………Mishima, that’s me.”

“Ahaha, [Mishima, that’s me] huh, you’re funny.”

“H, How embarrassing……”

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It seems like I’m being made fun of because of my weird reply.

Two girls came to talk to me.

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“Come on, it’s because you suddenly called out to her, Emi……”

“Sorry, sorry, Mishima-san. You just seem so fun to tease.”

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A serious-looking girl and a friendly-looking girl were standing in front of me.

I knew that my Gift was already deactivated but I’m still worried that it might activate again because of how nervous I am.

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“I’m Fukamori Mitsuki. We are in the same class.”

“Y, Yes……”

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One has eye-catching blond hair and a mole above her lips.

The other is a girl so beautiful I can feel the heat building up in my body.

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“I’m Emi! Nice to meet you!”

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Do they have some kind of business with me?

Unable to tell what Fukamori-san and Emi-san want, I blanked out.

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“Come on, you don’t have to be so nervous. There’s a rumor that people will be cursed if they come too close to you so we are just trying to find that out for ourselves.”

“I, I see……”

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So there’s a rumor like that going around huh……..

I can’t believe that people would treat the effect of [Energy Drain] as a curse…….

So that’s why nobody tried to approach me.

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“I don’t feel any change at all though. Everyone probably just happened to get sick at the same time. That’s the truth of the curse.”

“………..eh?”

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Can a person really be this optimistic…..?

Shocked, I stare at Fukamori-san and Emi-san.

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“Do you want to be friends with us?”

“We’re all left out loners. Let’s get along.”

“………I, I will be in your care.”

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I don’t know if the two really are loners like Emi-san said but I was happy that they would offer me such a kind invitation.

TLN: Yes, that was Emi 2.0 from the sequel.