Volume 10 - CH 7

Fukamori Mitsuki meets Yoru

Since I can’t conduct my investigation after school, the lunch break is my only chance.

I’m walking down the hallway while having gummies I bought from a convenience store for lunch.

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I want to hear what happened from Tarzan-san, the [Living Legend], since he was the only person who miraculously survived the original HALF DEAD GAME.

I think Tarzan-san is in the same class as Haruka who I became friends with during the time I was monitoring Akechi.

I was walking to her classroom.

And right when I arrived at her class, Haruka herself stepped out.

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“Ah! Yoru-san!”

“Haruka!”

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Seeing me walking her way, Haruka runs over to meet me.

Judging from her attitude, it seems she has some kind of business with me.

Right behind her, there’s also a blond-haired girl who’s about the same height as Yurika.

Who is this…..?

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Noticing my gaze, Haruka immediately introduced her acquaintance.

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“Sh, She’s Fukamori Mitsuki. We have something to ask Yoru-san so we were about to go find you.”

“I’m Fukamori Mitsuki. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“…..Mitsuki.”

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Fukamori Mitsuki……

I’ve never seen her face but I recognize that name.

I see, so this is Fukamori Mitsuki huh?

When I offered my hand for a handshake, Mitsuki casually took my hand.

I don’t really understand it but I can get a feeling that I can trust someone when I shake their hand.

It’s not a Gift, just a survival instinct I picked up in order to survive.

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I can feel a trustworthy warmth from both Haruka and Mitsuki’s hands.

For the time being, I think I can trust her.

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Maybe I ought to try shaking Akechi’s hand once too.

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“So, What do you want to ask?”

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I can’t get to my investigation like this but since I told Haruka to rely on me whenever she has troubles with Gifts, I have to keep my promise.

Besides, I can gather more information by listening to Gift-related problems.

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“Yoru-san, I heard that you’re in the same class as Hideyori and Towa, is that correct?”

“Just Yoru is fine. Yes, I’m in the same class as those two.”

“It, it would be rude to just drop the honorific…….”

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Haruka is still being timid.

She’s the same type as Risa so she probably won’t drop the honorific either, I guess I should not press her.

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“Then, let me get straight to the point…….Do you know Fukamori Misuzu?”

“She’s a classmate……Ahh, I see, you are her sister huh.”

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Their heights are quite different but their faces and hair color are the same.

They share the same last name too so there’s no doubt about it.

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“I want to break her……, my sister’s curse……”

“C, Curse!?”

“……”

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Ahh……

She meant the [Crest of Gift Acceptance] on Misuzu’s face huh……

So they already dabbled in [Crest of Gift Acceptance] huh, that technique is yet to become widespread at this time though…….

That crest on her face is a kind of sorcery that will gnaw at her body until she dies.

It’s a taboo technique because its purpose was to alter the concept of human beings.

Moreover, it later became a crest of the fanatics who named themselves [Gift Believer] despite the fact that none of them possess a Gift.

With that crest on her face, she will probably get hunted down by the Gift Hunters in the not-so-far-off future.

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“Oi, why does she have the [Crest of Gift Acceptance]? Did you use it knowingly?”

“Our father, he used it……”

“Uh, Umm? What’s a [Crest of Gift Acceptance]?”

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Haruka nervously cut in.

Certainly, the existence of sorcery is still not public at this time……..

In the past, I’ve met with people who were suffering from [Crest of Gift Acceptance] and I know that there’s no salvation for them.

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“You know that whether you are Gift Positive or not depends on your constitution, correct? It’s the same as how people gain weight or are born with allergies.”

“Yes.”

“The Gift Negatives are the opposite side of that but it’s still based on the body you were born with.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

“[Crest of Gift Acceptance] is a kind of sorcery, a magic that forcibly rewrites the based constitution of a person that makes them a Gift-Negative into Gift-Positive. It’s a curse that takes form as a crest on the recipient’s face which makes them suffer from a burning pain for the rest of their life…..”

“N, No way……? Is that even possible…….?”

“It’s possible.”

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Mitsuki interrupted me and Haruka.

I had a feeling but I guess I’m right after all……..

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“I’ve experienced it myself. I was originally born Gift Negative.”

“In order words, you’re also a [Gift Maid] huh……..that would make two of us.”

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The term means an artificial Gift Positive person.

It appears she’s like me, a [Gift Maid].

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“B, But Mitsuki-san and Yoru-san don’t have any crest on your faces right!”

“My and Mitsuki’s bodies were successfully rewritten after all.”

“……..th, that means…….”

“The people with the crest on their faces failed to become a Gift Positive, and as their punishment for attempting to touch on the power of Gifts despite their lack of strength, talent, and appropriate constitution, the curse embedded in the crest is activated and they remain Gift Negative while suffering the pain until they die.”

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The crest would do nothing on the natural-born Gift Holders like Haruka and Takeru.

However, on a Gift Negative person, it would turn poisonous and ruin their body.

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“Th, Then how did Yoru-san and Mitsuki-san become Gift-Positive but Mitsuki-san didn’t? Is it also random?”

“No, there’s a measurable factor for that.”

“Eh? There is? I didn’t know that.”

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Mitsuki looked surprised.

I see, so they still don’t know that huh?

I continue to explain.

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“For a person to be diagnosed as Gift-Positive or Negative, they need to have the [Gift Elements] in their body. You two already know that right?”

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The two nodded.

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“But that’s not all. Just because you have [Gift Elements] doesn’t immediately make you a Gift Positive.”

“E, Ehh!? It doesn’t work that way!?”

“……….”

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Haruka seems to be surprised while Mitsuki becomes silent.

It looks like I’m turning their common sense upside down.

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“To give you an example, let’s say you need 100 or more [Gift Elements] count in your body to be diagnosed as Gift Positive. That would make people with 99 or less be diagnosed as Negative. You follow me?”

“Eh? Eh? You can still be a Gift Negative even though you have [Gift Elements]!?”

“Yes. I and Mitsuki are like that. Our condition right now is close to what you’d call a pseudo-positive.”

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Incidentally, the possibility of a person with 99 or less [Gift Elements] is less than zero, so calling them a Gift Negative would be pretty accurate.

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“By fusing our body with the [Crest of Gift Acceptance], we forcibly bring up the number of our [Gift Elements] over the 100 thresholds and get into the state of pseudo-positive. Still, there are people out there with 0 [Gift Elements] in their body.”

“Then….., Misuzu…”

“That’s right. That’s how it works. I can say nothing but that she’s just unlucky…….”

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There’s literally nothing you can do.

That’s pretty much it for [Crest of Gift Acceptance].

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“With how much you know, it seems calling yourself a Gift Researcher is not for show huh.”

“Can you not call me that……….Haruka told me it’s lame so it just feels miserable now……”

“Ehh….. it’s my fault……?”

“Well, yes it is……..”

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Haruka seems unconvinced.

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“S, So! Is there a way to free Misuzu of her curse!?”

“None.”

“……..eh?”

“Unfortunately, there is no such technique. The sorcery itself was already a reckless way to obtain Gifts, why would there be a technique that can reverse that.”

“B, But……”

“……sorry, there really is none……”

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[Gift Elements] contained in a person’s blood would disappear when they come into contact with the blood of another person.

That’s why there’s no point in blood transfusion from the Gift Positives.

The bearers of the crests can only either suffer from the curse and die or be hunted down by the Gift Hunters.

Most of the time it always ends like that.

Even my classmate, Misuzu, probably won’t have long to live either……

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The atmosphere gets awkward.

Mitsuki’s gaze was stiffened.

As though she couldn’t bear that, Haruka attempts to change the topic.

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“By the way, why are you here, Yorusu-san?”

“T, That’s right! I forgot!”

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I was about to walk back to class but I remember that I didn’t come here just to chat with Haruka and Mitsuki.

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“Tarzan-san! Let me see Tarzan-san!”

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Until just now, I completely forgot about the existence of Tarzan Sulsul Methan……