Volume 1 Chapter 21 Gratitude and Retribution – A Beautician’s Chaotic Afterparty
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Summary:
Shishido Asumi, miraculously cured of her fiery curse and reborn with flawless skin, finally awakens. Her quiet expressions of gratitude to her saviors—Hirose and the girls—transition swiftly into a promise of anything they desire. Two weeks later, that innocent promise escalates into a wild, fan-service retribution party masterminded by Hibiki. The A-Rank adventurer Mizuki finds herself a bound target for a mischievous Gift application, turning the reunion into a festival of chaos, cosplay, and ecstatic vulnerability.
—
”Asumi…! Asumi…! Asumi…!!”
”Thank goodness… Oh, thank goodness, Asumi!”
In a private hospital room, two mature-looking girls were weeping, clinging to the black-haired patient lying in the bed.
Shishido Asumi had finally woken up. And what’s more—her entire burned left half was completely restored… no, it was even more beautiful than before.
Just like with Koharu, not a single scar remained; her skin was as clean and newborn as if she had been wholly remade. Hirose’s ‘Skin Quality Improvement’ Gift had outright defeated the ‘Curse.’ While it hadn’t struck a deathblow, the fact that the curse was gone was the same as a total victory.
When Asumi first woke up and was initially discovered, it was quite the scene.
Dragging her IV stand behind her, she had been wandering the hospital corridor alone, looking for food to fill her empty stomach. But after nearly a month confined to her bed, her muscles had atrophied, and she stumbled, falling hard to the floor.
It was almost a comical disaster that a nurse found Asumi ‘downed’ on the floor and promptly let out a terrified SHRIEK, but the commotion immediately alerted Mizuki and the others, who quickly gathered in her room.
Fuyutsuki Saori, who had been busy with her Guild duties, was also present. This time, she was there under formal instructions from the Adventurer Guild: to use her ‘Appraisal’ Gift to officially confirm that the ‘Curse’ had truly vanished.
Even so, Fuyutsuki was mostly on leave right now. She’d been handed several heavy penalties: home confinement, a ban on recording Adventurer information, tablet confiscation, and a bonus cut, among others.
The most dangerous violation that had been exposed was her habit of recording information about non-Adventurers’ Gifts on her personal tablet. While a client’s profile was logged in the Guild’s system, their Gift information was intentionally not registered or shared across the Guild.
Fuyutsuki had recorded the Gift data on her tablet with the best intentions, thinking it might be useful someday. And, in fact, it had proven invaluable in this very case. Still, this wasn’t explicitly forbidden—what was strictly prohibited was leaking the information.
However, in light of this critical incident, the Adventurer Guild had now imposed a blanket ban on the internal recording or preservation of any Gift information. In a way, this meant that up until now, all the Guild staff across Japan were trusted to rely on the honor system while performing their ‘Appraisal’ duties. They’d been lucky there hadn’t been a leak before, but now, they couldn’t risk it.
What truly relieved the Guild about the leak was that Fuyutsuki’s tablet was successfully confiscated before anyone else could steal or find it. Though it was password-locked, a professional could eventually break it.
Since the information had only been leaked to two people who had used it altruistically, the discipline normally wouldn’t have been so harsh. But combining the unauthorized Gift data storage on her tablet with the fact that any information breach—good-natured or not—required an official penalty, her punishment ended up being this severe.
So, when Fuyutsuki applied her ‘Appraisal’ to Asumi’s condition—
”It is gone… There are no abnormal status conditions whatsoever!” she declared, her professional voice shaking with unexpected relief.
”Whaaaat?! That’s great news!!” Mizuki bawled even harder upon hearing the confirmation.
But the person at the center of the fuss still looked bewildered, not quite grasping the situation.
”—I see…” Asumi murmured.
Afterward, she was given a full rundown of what had happened, who had worked tirelessly to save her life, and what exactly they had done to cure the burn curse.
”Thanks, everyone. I’m fine, other than being really hungry,” Asumi stated simply, yet with genuine warmth.
Asumi was a naturally composed type who never raised her voice; this simple expression was, for her, an immense show of gratitude.
An Adventurer-trusted physician also examined Asumi. They confirmed she was completely healthy, aside from a loss of stamina and muscle mass, giving her a clean bill of health.
Unfortunately, the steak she initially requested was off-limits. She’d have to start with hospital food and gradually work her way up to solids. To monitor her full recovery, she was scheduled for two more weeks of observation. If all went well, she would be discharged then.
”All four of you… come here.”
Sitting up in bed, Asumi called for Hirose and the three girls who had saved her. They lined up by her bedside.
”Hibiki… it’s been a while. You look even prettier somehow. Thank you for everything this time.”
”Yeah… and Asumi-chan… I’m so happy you got better,” Hibiki murmured softly, giving Asumi a warm hug.
”I’ll do anything as a thank-you for saving me. Just name it, anything at all.”
”Hmm. I hadn’t really thought about a reward. We just came here because we wanted to help you, you know? But I’ll let you know if I think of something,” Hibiki replied sweetly.
”Understood.”
Next, she faced Koharu.
”Koharu-chan… the other black-haired girl. I heard you eased my pain. I’m so happy. Thank you.”
”I’m just relieved that you’re well now,” Koharu whispered humbly.
Koharu’s efforts had been monumental; without her initial ability to stem the agonizing pain, Asumi could have died at any moment. She hugged Koharu with equal appreciation.
Then came Kirino.
”Kirino-chan, you’re an amazing beauty… I was having a dream. A terrible one where I was trapped in fire, unable to run. But halfway through, I started to feel a chill. I think that was you. Thank you.”
”I wish I could claim it was me… but the gratitude is all ours,” Kirino responded coolly, deflecting the compliment with characteristic modesty.
Asumi reiterated her dream: the heat and misery of burning, the way her escape routes were blocked, leaving her motionless in the inferno. But then, at some point, she’d stopped feeling the heat, even as the flames raged right in front of her.
Whether real-life events could genuinely affect a person’s dream was anyone’s guess, but that’s what Asumi insisted. She hugged Kirino as well.
Finally, it was Hirose’s turn.
”Hirose-kun. I heard my burns were awful… but I was saved and made beautiful because of you. Thank you… Wait, all the girls around you are cute. Are you running a harem?”
After her gratitude, Asumi had zeroed in on the only man in the group.
”Uh, well… how do I put this…” Hirose stammered, flushed.
Since Hibiki had already approved the arrangement, he could call it a harem, he supposed. But since Hibiki was his main girlfriend, and Koharu and Kirino were there with her permission, Hirose thought it wasn’t exactly what you’d typically call a harem.
”I heard you caressed the left side of my body.”
”Y-yes, I did,” Hirose admitted weakly.
”I also heard you touched my boobs.”
”I… what?” Hirose squawked, feeling the conversation take a sudden, alarming turn.
”I’ve decided I have to marry any member of the opposite sex who touches my important parts.”
”HAAAHHH!?!”
”Heh. Just kidding. Let’s just hug.”
”Oh, in that case…” Hirose sighed heavily, relieved that Asumi’s straight-faced joke wasn’t serious. Since it was their first real conversation, he’d been completely caught off guard. He then hugged Asumi.
(Her body temperature feels a bit high, though… is that the Gift’s effect? Now that I think about it, Kirino felt faintly cold.)
Asumi’s warmth was noticeable when he hugged her. She didn’t look feverish, and the burn scars were completely gone. Yet, she felt warmer than normal. It had to be the Gift acting up.
”—Again, thank you all. I’ve earned a lot of money, so I will absolutely give you a proper reward. Tell me anything you want. Even if you command me to wear a perverted outfit, it’s fine.”
Asumi’s closing remark was utterly outrageous, but her expression remained almost unchanged, suggesting a complete lack of resistance to wearing suggestive clothing.
* * *
—And just like that, Shishido Asumi had awakened, and the curse of the burns was completely eradicated.
Two weeks later, she was discharged. After another week of rest, she threw a party to celebrate her full recovery and properly thank Hibiki and the others. However, what transpired at that party was utterly outrageous.
Hibiki, remembering Mizuki’s previous promise of ‘anything at all,’ roped Asumi and Haruka into a scheme where they all wore the racy cosplay outfits Asumi herself had proposed.
Mizuki was forced into an extremely revealing Hi-Leg Bunny Girl outfit, and in this vulnerable state, she became the subject of retribution for having walked in on Hirose’s intimacy earlier.
While restrained in a chair, Hirose used his Gift to apply his ‘Skin Quality Improvement’ with the focus of a special ear-lobe caress.
Mizuki—a beautiful, spirited high school girl and an A-Rank Adventurer often featured on TV—was reduced to a state of ecstatic vulnerability. Her eyes rolled back into her head, drool escaped her mouth, and she was brought to the brink of climax by her ears alone.
Or, to be precise, she was taken to the absolute edge of pleasure by her ears. The moment Asumi suddenly announced a ‘Nipple Target Game’ and pressed the tips of Mizuki’s nipples simultaneously with her two index fingers, Mizuki was sent completely over the edge, collapsing in ecstasy.
On top of that, the celebration coincided with Valentine’s Day, leading to an alcohol panic fueled by high-proof brandy chocolates. Eventually, Hibiki and the others also wanted a turn, donning their own equally revealing outfits. The party descended into a festival of insanity, where laughter and screams of pleasure (and occasional shock) intertwined, led primarily by Hibiki and Asumi.
With Asumi’s recovery celebration and thank-you party finally concluded, the tumultuous events of the past month at last drew to a close.
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.
• 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.
• 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.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply