Volume 1 Chapter 19 Everything Has Led to This Moment ①
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
TL summary:
Hirose and his friends race to the hospital but are delayed by their physical exhaustion. Hirose sprints ahead and narrowly escapes a lethal accident, saved by a secret ally’s hidden power. Upon reaching the hospital, he learns the true nature of Shishido Asumi’s ‘Curse’ and his gift’s potential to heal it. Treatment complications arise, but two of his friends arrive in the nick of time with crucial, newly revealed powers to stabilize the situation.
—
”Huff, huff…”
Hirose and his three female companions sprinted through the city streets beneath the cloak of the night. Christmas was winding down, and couples were already retreating back to their homes. Past the ebb tide of people heading toward the station, Hirose and his friends were the only ones running in the opposite direction.
Snaring a taxi on Christmas Eve was impossible, so they’d settled for a frantic rush of train transfers and a desperate, pounding run toward the hospital. Hearing the full story from Hibiki had clued the other three into the gravity of the situation. The precise level of danger was unknown, but the consensus was clear: the sooner, the better. While logically, maybe only Hibiki and Hirose needed to go, Koharu and Kirino couldn’t stand by and wait once they’d heard the desperate plea.
None of them had any real athletic experience or stamina to speak of, so the sheer effort of running was already torturous.
”H-Hirose… you’re too fast…!” Kushima Koharu gasped, struggling to keep pace.
”Sorry! But we really gotta hurry, don’t we?” Hirose puffed back, though his male physique naturally gave him an edge over the three girls.
The hospital, their destination, was already visible. Just a little further. His heart was hammering, driving his anxious feet forward, full of an urgency he couldn’t contain.
”A little break… maybe not… I can’t…” Koharu wheezed, hands braced on her knees.
”I-I can’t keep this up either… I’m running out of breath!” Kirino murmured, also bent over and fighting for air.
”Then… Hirose, you go on ahead alone! You’re the one they need the most!” Hibiki urged him, pushing him forward.
”O-Okay!”
Leaving the three girls behind, Hirose broke into a final, desperate dash toward the hospital entrance. But that was the exact moment the surrounding noises changed.
”—Hey, did you hear some kinda weird sound?” a passerby wondered aloud.
”…Oh, you’re right. What is that?”
”What, what’s going on?” Hibiki worried, immediately noticing the disturbance.
”I don’t know… it sounds like… a grinding, squeaking metal sound, maybe?” Koharu murmured, trying to discern the strange noise. As they strained their ears, the sound of iron scraping against iron grew clearer, though its source remained a complete mystery to everyone.
”—Look out! Isn’t that it!?” a pedestrian screamed, pointing a finger up toward the dark sky.
Above them, fixed to the roof of a tall building—
”A… sign?”
It was a massive, illuminated billboard, and it was slowly beginning to topple over onto the sidewalk below.
”Run! The sign’s gonna fall!” a man directly beneath it bellowed. Screams erupted from the surrounding crowd, and an empty space immediately opened up on the pavement where the sign was projected to land.
But one person was still running directly into that empty space, totally oblivious.
”—Hirose…?” Hibiki breathed out, her voice a terrified whisper.
In that instant, the massive sign’s supporting legs snapped, and the whole thing plummeted straight down onto the very stretch of sidewalk where Hirose was sprinting. He hadn’t noticed a thing. His mind was entirely fixated on reaching the hospital as quickly as possible, incapable of processing any surrounding distractions. He never noticed the crowd’s weird behavior, only—
”KYAAAAAAH!?” Hibiki shrieked, watching the sign fall toward Hirose’s location. It was over. That size was simply impossible to avoid.
—CRUUUNCH.
Every soul standing there surely thought the boy beneath the sign had met his end. Up until the moment a gigantic icicle¹ shot past Hibiki from behind, traveling at an unbelievable velocity, just before the sign slammed into the ground.
* * *
”Is this it!?”
Throwing the sliding hospital room door open, Hirose burst into the intended room. His voice was loud and clear despite his ragged breathing, a desperate sound carried on a gust of wind.
”Hirose-kun…!” Mizuki Housaka gasped.
”Housaka-san… and wait… Fuyutsuki-san!?” Hirose stammered, surprised.
”It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m relieved to see you well,” Fuyutsuki Saori, the Adventurer Guild staffer in charge of ‘Appraisal,’ replied formally.
”Um… that’s great and all, but… what can I do…!”
”You must be Hirose-kun. Thank you for coming. Could you step over here, please?” Haruka Akise asked softly, gesturing him closer.
”Oh… Akise Haruka-san,” Hirose finally noticed, belatedly. Of course he knew them. Mizuki, Haruka, and Asumi were famous adventurers—he recognized them the moment he laid eyes on them.
Following Haruka’s guidance, Hirose approached one of the beds. She pulled back the privacy curtain, revealing a woman lying in the bed.
”………Shishido Asumi-san…”
”It’s a ‘Curse’… they say it’s not a normal burn, but one caused by a ‘Curse’,” Haruka explained. Though she was partially covered by a hospital gown, her left side, from her face to her foot, was covered in reddish-black, horrific burns and bandages. It was too terrible to look at. Currently, she seemed relatively calm, likely asleep.
”Takanashi-san, I must apologize in advance. I took the liberty of sharing information with both of them, believing your Gift might be able to heal Shishido-san’s ‘Curse.’ I am deeply sorry for the unauthorized disclosure of information based solely on my personal judgment.” Fuyutsuki bowed her head deeply, her voice tight with professional guilt.
”No, no! Please don’t apologize! I came here entirely on my own free will! You don’t have to do that…!” Hirose insisted, waving his hands frantically.
”No. It is stipulated by the Adventurer Guild’s regulations; I must face some form of disciplinary action or be punished as a criminal,” Fuyutsuki countered formally.
”I don’t want that, so no punishment! Besides, the words you gave me when you first appraised my Gift… I was disappointed that it wasn’t a combat-type Gift, but your words made me feel a little better, genuinely. I always thought I’d properly thank you someday…”
”Takanashi-san…” Fuyutsuki, whose suit was pulled tight across her full chest, trembled as she clenched her hands, touched by Hirose’s sincerity. Still, she knew that releasing information without authorization was unforgivable.
”R-Regardless! My Gift might be able to help Shishido-san, right?” Hirose pressed.
”Yes. We believe the skill ‘Skin Quality Improvement’ within your ‘Beauty’ Gift has the potential,” Haruka confirmed.
”My ‘Skin Quality Improvement’…”
To have the skill name stated so accurately made Hirose appreciate just how incredible the ‘Appraisal’ Gift truly was. However, the Adventurer Guild only knew the initial information from his first appraisal: only ‘Skin Quality Improvement’ and ‘Fat Burning’ were registered with the Guild.
”So, we need to ask: are there any recent examples where that skill has shown a distinct Effect?” Fuyutsuki inquired.
”Well… the examples are few, but it’s made skin clear like a baby’s, and it completely erased a bruise.”
”A bruise… Shishido-san’s current condition is such that the ‘Curse’ seems to be layered on the skin’s surface. Therefore, if it’s just the surface…” Haruka mused.
”It might be able to erase it…?” Hirose finished, finally grasping the connection.
The current information on the ‘Skin Quality Improvement’ skill was as follows:
[Skin Quality Improvement]
[Method: Rubbing the affected area]
[Effect: Rejuvenation, Skin Regeneration, Wrinkle Removal, Moisturization, Firmness, Dark Circle Reduction, Pore Contraction, Blood Flow Promotion, Waste Product Excretion]
[Recoil: The body heats up and becomes sensitive for a fixed duration]
Based on his practical experience, Hirose suspected the skill either erased old cells and regenerated new ones or somehow reversed the skin’s biological clock through rejuvenation.
The exact mechanism, however, was still unclear. Could it heal a burn? Koharu’s bruise from her father’s assault had been erased completely. If a burn was considered a type of wound just like a bruise, then perhaps…
”But this burn is a ‘Curse.’ To be honest, I don’t know if I can cure it. But… I can’t choose not to try right now. Please, let me do it.” Hirose stated, his voice firming with conviction.
”Hirose-kun… thank you!” Mizuki cried out, her eyes welling up and her brows furrowed in worry and gratitude.
”Thank you from me, too. We have to save Asumi!” Haruka pleaded.
”Oh, speaking of which, where is Hibiki?” Mizuki suddenly asked.
”She should be along in a minute, I think,” Hirose replied, glancing toward the door.
”…? I see. Well, that’s a relief.” Mizuki’s initial confusion at Hibiki’s absence dissipated upon hearing Hirose’s explanation.
”However, there’s a problem. My skill takes four weeks to show the full Effect, and I have to physically touch the skin. Since I’ll be touching her skin, is that going to be an issue?” Hirose asked, worried about the social risks involved, recalling cases where men using life-saving measures like AEDs on women were sometimes sued.
”Haruka and I give our full permission. We’ve already contacted Asumi’s parents. Given Asumi’s personality, you can assume this won’t be an issue. Her physical condition… I don’t know about that, but if there is even the slightest hope, you have to try…” Mizuki insisted.
”…Understood. In that case, could you help me remove her clothes and bandages?”
”Alright,” Mizuki nodded, immediately hitting the nurse call button. The attending nurse arrived swiftly, and Asumi was quickly undressed.
”W-Wait, please!” Hirose suddenly blurted out.
”Is there a problem?” Haruka asked.
”No! Just… could you cover her right side with the gown?” He hadn’t meant to stare. The whole left side was terribly exposed, a state too gruesome to look at directly.
However, the right side was perfectly fine, and Asumi’s exceptionally large bosom was completely visible. Mizuki quickly draped a cloth to cover the exposed right side. With the distraction of ‘unnecessary worldly desires’ out of the way, Hirose could focus.
The nurse quickly withdrew, leaving only the four individuals who understood Hirose’s skill in the room.
”…Alright. Here I go. Skill: ‘Skin Quality Improvement.’”
A faint, white light glowed on Hirose’s palms. He carefully placed his hands on Asumi’s burnt face.
”Guh… what is this…? The feeling of my entire magical energy being sucked away like never before…!”
”Takanashi-san! Are you okay!?” Fuyutsuki cried out.
”I-I’m fine! I can sense that the Curse isn’t transferring to me… but the drain is incredible… it’s being sucked out!”
This level of ‘Skin Quality Improvement’ was incomparable to anything he’d done before. The powerful ‘Curse’ was putting an enormous load on Hirose’s body.
”Hold on…”
”What is it?” Mizuki pressed.
”…Her skin is hot. It’s so hot… I might get a low-temperature burn myself if I keep touching her.” The heat wasn’t enough to scorch the bandages or the hospital gown, but touching it for long periods felt like he’d be branded. It was a miracle Asumi was still alive in this state. Perhaps her Fire magic Gift granted her a resistance to heat, allowing her to survive. Hirose could only assume that.
And then, at the worst possible moment, it happened.
”AAAAAAAH!?”
”Wha!?”
Suddenly, Asumi began to writhe and contort her body in pain, eyes still closed, suffering a major flare-up. Shocked, and also due to the burning heat, Hirose snatched his hands away from her face.
”Gasp! Asumi…! But we just gave her a sedative… we can’t give her another one right away…” Mizuki stammered, panicking.
”What do we do, what do we do!” Haruka wailed, equally flustered. Their respectable A-Rank adventurer composure was gone. In that moment, they were just two eighteen-year-old girls, worried sick about their precious friend—a reaction anyone would have.
”…’Affliction Mitigation.’”
At that precise moment, the hospital room door slid open, and a black-haired girl stepped in, holding her hand out and activating a skill.
”Ah, ah…”
Asumi immediately calmed down, ceasing her violent movements and slipping back into a quiet sleep.
”Koharu…! And Hibiki and Kirino, too!”
Three beautiful girls had arrived, slightly late.
”Oh, you are…” Fuyutsuki blinked, startled.
”I’m a friend of Hibiki-chan and Hirose-kun. My name is Kushima Koharu. When Hibiki-chan told me what happened, I couldn’t stand still, so I came as fast as I could. If I wouldn’t be in the way, please let me help with whatever I can!” Koharu declared, her voice earnest.
”No, no, we’re the ones who should be thanking you! I’m Housaka Mizuki, and this is Akise Haruka…”
”Of course I know. You’re famous,” Koharu acknowledged politely.
”And Koharu-chan, that skill you just used…” Mizuki trailed off, everyone curious about Koharu’s new power, which even Hirose and Hibiki hadn’t known about.
”I actually learned it recently; it’s called ‘Affliction Mitigation.’ It allows me to apply my personal skill, ‘Pain Suppression,’ to others,” Koharu explained.
”Koharu…! That’s amazing!” Hibiki exclaimed, jumping joyfully behind her friend.
”Oh, Hibiki… sorry for bringing you here so late.” Mizuki apologized.
”Don’t worry about it, Mizuki-nee. Haruka-chan and Asumi-chan have done so much for me. Besides, all I could really do was bring Hirose here.”
”Thank you. I owe you so much, Hibiki.”
”Seriously, forget about it. Asumi-chan is what really matters. Let’s get back to the plan, yeah? It looked like something went wrong just now?” Hibiki pressed.
Following the exchange between Hibiki and Mizuki, the group gathered to review the situation and discuss how to proceed with Asumi’s treatment. Hirose’s ‘Skin Quality Improvement’ skill consumed too much magical energy, and the burning heat of Asumi’s wound prevented prolonged, necessary contact. On top of that, Asumi was clearly in extreme pain, risking shock and death. They needed to solve these two critical issues first.
”I’ll suppress Shishido-san’s pain with ‘Affliction Mitigation.’ I can sustain the skill’s Effect for several hours, even now. If I use all my magical energy, I should be able to cover half a day at a time, so I’ll continue to come here as often as necessary,” Koharu volunteered.
”That… would be a huge help. It’s truly a blessing you came here,” Mizuki breathed, a wave of relief washing over her. Without Koharu arriving at that moment, Asumi’s treatment would have been impossible.
”But the heat of the burn…”
Hirose’s hands simply couldn’t withstand prolonged contact, and since ‘Skin Quality Improvement’ required direct physical touch, there seemed to be no workaround.
”…I can take care of that.”
The girl who volunteered, raising her hand unexpectedly, was the overwhelmingly beautiful Kirino Hidou. Since entering the room, she had only offered a brief bow, and while Mizuki and the others had been curious, they’d simply assumed she was another one of Hibiki’s friends and hadn’t asked.
”Kirino-chan… does this have something to do with what happened just now?” Hibiki wondered.
”Yes, it does… I’m sorry for hiding my Gift all this time. When I heard Hirose-kun was aiming to be an adventurer, I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it,” Kirino admitted, her voice slow and deliberate.
”Kirino…”
It was a kindness on Kirino’s part. She had never wanted to be an adventurer despite receiving a combat-type Gift; she felt it was unnecessary and could live without ever using it. But what had just happened forced a change in her perspective: this Gift was absolutely necessary now.
”…So, that pillar of ice was yours, Kirino,” Hirose realized, finally putting the pieces together.
”Yes, it was me.”
* * *
The timeline reversed by about thirty minutes.
It was the moment the giant sign plummeted from the rooftop, just before it crushed Hirose beneath it. Hibiki had screamed, certain it was all over.
”…Pierce it through!”
Kirino extended her hand, and in an instant, a colossal pillar of ice materialized before her. She unleashed it with tremendous force, sending it hurtling toward the falling billboard. The speeding projectile perfectly struck the sign directly above Hirose’s head. The impact launched the sign high into the air, and the subsequent absolute zero invasion from the ice pillar flash-froze the billboard instantly.
”…Shatter.”
With that final word from Kirino, the frozen sign hanging in the air exploded into a shower of ice crystals. The ultra-fine particles fluttered down from the sky.
”…It’s snow,” someone gazing up at the sky whispered quietly.
Indeed, the ice had broken down into minuscule fragments, gaining enough buoyancy to drift and sparkle as they fell, creating a magical scene that felt like a blessing upon a Christmastime Tokyo that had otherwise received no snow. Many passersby filmed the phenomenon on their phones, posting on social media that ‘It Snowed in Tokyo!’
”Kirino… you…”
”Kirino-chan… amazing.”
Hibiki and Koharu were speechless, stunned by the sheer spectacle. But Kirino’s gaze remained fixed on her target.
”Hirose-kun! Go!” she yelled, waving her hands and urging his running back forward. Hirose’s life had been saved from the crushing sign purely through the power of Kirino’s Gift, ‘Icy Vigor.’
* * *
”Kirino… thank you,” Hirose whispered gratefully.
”There’s no way I’m losing you here, Hirose-kun. I swear, from now on, I will absolutely protect you,” Kirino affirmed, her eyes set with a strong, unwavering resolve.
”U-Um, I apologize for interrupting this moment, but… you said your name was Kirino-san, correct?” Fuyutsuki asked tentatively.
”Yes.”
”And might your family name be Hidou?”
”Yes, that’s correct,” Kirino confirmed.
Upon hearing this, Fuyutsuki’s face instantly paled and began to tremble as if struck by a sudden chill.
”Wait just a moment…! Hidou Kirino-san… could you possibly be related to the former Chairman, Hidou Genroku, who founded the government-certified Adventurer Guild—formally the ‘Adventurer Guild Association’—thirty years ago, right after the first Dungeon appeared in Japan!?”
”He’s my grandfather,” Kirino stated simply.
”!! And… the current president of Japan’s most famous Dungeon-related corporation, ‘Japan Dungeon Guild, Inc.,’ Hidou Gori, who is said to be the one who popularized the distribution and sale of dungeon items to the public!?”
”He is my father.”
”…………”
Silence descended upon the hospital room as if time itself had stopped.
””EEEEEEEEEEEHH!?”” In the next instant, everyone in the room let out a unified cry of shock and amazement.
—
Notes/Endnotes
1 An icicle, or tsurara in Japanese, is the specific weapon here. The text uses a descriptive, metaphorical translation to emphasize the immense speed and size rather than a literal object name. ↩
2 The power of ice or frost generation as a combat gift is common in Japanese media. The name ‘Icy Vigor’ (Synthesized from the context of ‘Ice/Coldness Spirit’) follows established fan convention for powerful, elemental combat gifts. ↩
3 Takanashi is a common alternate romanization of the same surname as Hirose (高梨). Fuyutsuki uses this more formal, full surname when speaking to Hirose. ↩
Notes:
• Shishido Asumi – Calm, beautiful fire mage and model (F, 18yo, 163cm, long straight black hair, F-cup). Suffering burns in the past, Asumi is healed by Hirose, symbolizing the skill’s healing and beautifying powers. She’s mature and quietly supportive.
• Kirino – Strikingly beautiful with blue long hair (F, 168cm), Kirino is gifted with ice magic and feels isolated because of her appearance. Hirose’s Beauty skill helps her improve her self-image and social comfort, directly affecting Kirino’s relationship with her family and classmates.
• Kushima Koharu – A reserved, literature-loving girl (F, 156cm, G-cup, black braid) who struggles with family problems, including bruises and emotional stress. She experiences dramatic physical and emotional improvements after Hirose’s skill use, revealing a hidden wild side during explicit nighttime encounters.
• Fuyutsuki Saori – A guild staff member who possesses the ‘Appraisal’ Gift. She is called in to assess Asumi’s critical condition, identifies the injury as a magical curse, and reveals that Hirose might be the only one who can cure it, despite the professional risk to herself.
• Akise Haruka – Thunder mage caught between energetic allies (F, 18yo, 157cm, short gray hair, C-cup). A background party member using a staff, Haruka adds depth to the magical world and shows the variety of personalities and powers in Hirose’s orbit.
• Housaka Mizuki – A famous, admired model and A-rank adventurer (F, 18yo, 162cm, long blonde hair, E-cup). With intimidating skills and high appeal, Mizuki complicates Hirose’s situation, representing the broader implications of beauty and strength in-universe.
• Genroku – Kirino’s grandfather (M, 74yo, short white hair, 182cm), president of the Adventurer Guild. Though intimidating, he is deeply caring for Kirino, protecting her throughout the narrative. His character signals the balance of authority and affection.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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