CH 108

Chapter 108 – Appearance of Another Skill User

“Ah, but if they’re from another world, what are Yofel-san and Ior-chan going to do from now on?” (Koine)

“I’ll take them in. That was what we agreed on after all. Right, Yofel?” (Bouchi)

“Yeah, that’s right.” (Yofel)

Seeing Yofel nodding her head, Totoki questioned further.

“Is she going to live in your house with you?” (Koine)

“Why? Is there something wrong with that?” (Bouchi)

“T-There’s nothing wrong with that! It’s just that…” (Koine)

While looking down abashedly, Totoki glanced fleetingly up at Yofel

“I mean, that means you’d be… living together… And besides, if I recall correctly, your parents aren’t around anymore…” (Koine)

She seemed to be muttering something, but I could hardly make out what she was saying. Then, Totoki’s older sister gave a wry smile and stepped into the conversation.

“Hey, Bouchi-kun. I don’t know if you’ll answer me, but I want to ask you something.” (Aika)

“What is it?” (Bouchi)

“…I’ve heard a lot about you from Koine. Back when you were in school, too…” (Aika)

“…….” (Bouchi)

“About how strong-minded of a person you are. I can respect you as another human being.” (Aika)

What in the world is she trying to say…?

“But given that was the case, why did you continue to take the bullying in silence? With how powerful you are, you could do anything you want to others, couldn’t you?” (Aika)

It was natural for her to treat me this way. Regardless of what Totoki told her, this was her first time meeting me. And that first time she actually saw me was when I happened to be mowing down monsters with ease.

Besides, I had told them myself that I had killed Ohsaka—another human being. It was understandable for her to be wary of me. Rather, I did say that to put her on guard against me.

“….It’s simple. Back when I was going to school, I didn’t have the power to defeat monsters yet.” (Bouchi)

“…So you’re saying in the past few months, you’ve become capable of defeating monsters like that?” (Aika)

“That’s right.” (Bouchi)

“That’s a bit too much of a stretch, don’t you think?” (Aika)

“I’m telling the truth. Well, it’s fine even if you don’t believe me.” (Bouchi)

As I met the gaze of Totoki’s older sister, a steely silence passed between us. In the meantime, Totoki was at a loss for what to do, while Yofel was sitting there quietly, watching over the situation.

Then, Totoki’s older sister let out a sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

“Even if that was really the case, you’re a normal human, aren’t you? Not actually an otherworlder… or something like that…?” (Aika)

“I’m a natural-born Japanese person. As I said before, I was a pathetic person who was constantly bullied until not long ago.” (Bouchi)

“Y-You’re not pathetic at all! After all, no matter what happened, you absolutely never ran away, Bouchi-kun! You didn’t even skip school once! Everyone in the class…. No, everyone in the school was against you, and you stood up against them all alone… That’s why…” (Koine)

Suddenly, Totoki started speaking to defend me in a fervent manner.

“…I don’t know how you suddenly got the power to defeat monsters. But that doesn’t matter.” (Koine)

“Koine….” (Aika)

“After all, I know that you’re a truly kind person at heart, Bouchi-kun. You might get mad at me for speaking as if I know everything about you like this, but I feel that you’re someone I can trust!” (Koine)

She’s really come a long way. The timid, frightened girl she was back in school was nowhere to be seen here. Back then, she wasn’t the kind of person who could clearly express her opinion like this.

“…I see. Sorry, Koine. To you too, Bouchi-kun.” (Aika)

“….No, it’s natural to be wary of me for the sake of protecting your younger sisters. Besides, I said it myself, that I was a murderer.” (Bouchi)

“…Thank you.” (Aika)

She was thanking me for some reason, but I was just telling the truth. No matter the reason, it was a natural reaction to be wary of someone who both a stranger and a murderer.

“Then can I ask you one more thing?” (Aika)

Well, I could predict exactly what this question would be, so I asked her to fire away.

“How did you obtain your powers?” (Aika)

“What are you hoping to get out of asking me this?” (Bouchi)

“I have a duty to protect my family.” (Aika)

I see. In other words, she’s trying to look for a means to protect her family.

Well, I could tell her about skills. On the contrary, if they already possessed skills, I would be able to gain the information about their skills and become able to purchase them. Even one skill was extremely expensive, but I was planning to buy them one day to increase my versatility, once I had the financial means to do so.

Personally, I want the skills these people might potentially have, but let’s see…

“…It would be a simple matter for me to see if you guys have powers.” (Bouchi)

“Yeah, the way to find out is simple. You just have to say one word—’Skill’.” (Bouchi)

““Skill…””

Both sisters said the word at the same time.

“Well? Did you see any strange words appearing before your eyes?” (Bouchi)

“Nope. There’s nothing…?” (Aika)

“Me neither. By skill, do you mean those skills? Like in games and stuff.” (Koine)

Damn it, it seems these two don’t have skills.

“Yeah, that’s right. I have such a skill.” (Bouchi)

“…! W-What kind?” (Koine)

“….A skill that increases your physical abilities.” (Bouchi)

Yofel’s gaze wavered slightly at my comment, but she wasn’t out to divulge any insider information.

“Physical abilities…?” Totoki muttered to herself. It was a pretty vague ability, so it made sense for her to be a little unsure.

“Well, I can crush a rock with one hand now.” (Bouchi)

“Eeh?! That’s amazing!” (Koine)

“So I can fight against monsters with this power.” (Bouchi)

With this, the explanation shouldn’t be too unnatural. If they ended up asking me to show them, I could actually do it.

“Then does that mean we don’t have skills, Bouchi-kun?” (Aika)

“….! Could it be that Ior-chan’s power is a skill?” (Koine)

At Totoki’s question, I looked over at Yofel, but she just returned a blank gaze at me. Ahh, right. She can understand my words, but she can’t understand Totoki’s words.

When I relayed to Yofel what Totoki had asked, she said that she didn’t mind if I told her and gave me her permission. Well, Totoki and her sisters had actually suffered at the hands of this skill, so she might have felt obliged to tell them about it.

“Yeah, it is. Almost all elves are skill users. I’d only recently heard about that myself.” (Bouchi)

Hearing my answer, Totoki said, ‘ah, I see’, and directed a somewhat envious gaze at Yofel.

“Hey, hey, what’s a sk-ill~?” (Mahina)

Mahina, who was playing with Ior, came over to us. But she suddenly stopped, stared into the air, and tried to reach out with her hand to touch something, even though there was nothing there.

“W-What’s wrong, Mahina?” Totoki asked on behalf of everyone else, who was watching her perform such an inexplicable action.

“Uhh, there’s something floating here.” (Mahina)

“Floating? …! Just now, Mahina said ‘skill’, didn’t she, onee-chan?!” (Koine)

“Y-Yeah…! No way?! Mahina, are there words floating in front of you?” (Aika)

“Words~? Yeah, I can’t read them though….” (Mahina)

…Well, this is a surprise. To think Mahina had a skill…

No, come to think of it, Mahina could understand Ior, an elf, even without a [Translation Earring]. If that was due to the power of a skill, I could understand.