Volume 6 - CH 13

The Strongest Siscon’s Hypothesis

“Listen Hideyori. I will not interfere with your business so don’t you interfere with mine okay?”

“Yes, I understand.”

.

.

My training took place at a martial art hall-like place(Budoukan) that Tatsuyuki-san rented.

And just like Tsugaru, we started out with an agreement to not pry into each other’s personal life.

.

.

“……..I said that but I always end up sticking my head in before I know it so you don’t have to worry about it too much though.”

“Wait!? Which one is it then!?”

“I always do whatever I want you see.”

.

.

He said that and turned away with a wry smile.

Even if I try to pull a surprise attack on him when he’s turning away like this he would just casually avoid it. That’s why this person is so scary.

.

.

“……so? Since you said that you want to get stronger no matter what, I guess your reason is Gift-related right?”

“Eh? You can tell?”

“I have a lot of Gift Holder acquaintances after all. You all make pretty much the same kind of face so I can tell.”

.

.

It’s also scary how this person shows no opening at all.

He acts like he couldn’t care less about others but he must be pretty observant to be able to tell that much.

.

.

“I will tell you this first. I do not think that Gift is some holy power of God. On the contrary, I think such a thing can only come from a devil.”

“……I see.”

.

.

I also share his opinion.

To be honest, I do think that life would be happier without Gifts.

The same goes for the game’s story……

.

.

“So don’t go around using your Gift for bad things alright.”

“That might be–……, absolutely.”

“Alright. Then I’d like you to tell me about your Gift now.”

.

.

Without hesitation, I told him about my Gift that can [Command Others].

Hearing what kind of power it is, Tatsuyuki-san went “Good grief.” and let out a sigh.

.

.

“……..that’s some rare and powerful ability you’ve got there.”

“I suppose so……”

“Can you use it on yourself? What about animals?”

“As far as I know, it seems I can’t use it on myself. I’ve also tried using it on a stray cat but it doesn’t seem to work then either. That’s why I think my ability only covers other people.”

“I see. What a Gift can affect always varies from person to person huh. This is complicated.”

.

Tatsuyuki-san said that and typed something on his smartphone.

He’s probably making notes about my Gift.

After a few seconds, Tatsuyuki-san puts his phone back in his pocket and continues speaking.

.

.

“Alright, first I want you to try using that Gift on me.”

“Ha?”

“I mean, I won’t know what I’m dealing with unless I experience it first hand right.”

.

.

He’s looking at me with excitement in his eyes.

Well, there’s no disadvantage for me here so I guess using it is fine huh.

.

.

“Okay, Hideyori, take out a 10,000 yen bill from your wallet.”

“Is this a shakedown!? Also, I’m not carrying around that kind of money okay!” (TLN: Reminder, Tatsuyuki came from a family that runs a world-class conglomerate)

“I’m not that desperate for money that I would shakedown a middle school kid you know. 1,000 yen or whatever is fine, just take something out.”

“Okay.”

.

.

I reluctantly took out a 1-yen coin from my purse.

.

.

“There’s no trust here at all huh.”

“It’s just in case.”

“Well, place that coin on the floor in front of me.”

“Sure.”

.

.

I placed the 1-yen coin at Tatsuyuki-san’s feet.

I still have no idea what he’s going to do though.

.

.

“Alright, now order me to [Pick up that 1-yen coin from the floor.]”

“I see. Understood.”

.

.

I shut my eyes for a few seconds.

I always get a little nervous whenever I try using my Gift.

.

.

“[Pick up that 1-yen coin from the floor].”

“Oh! Ohhh!?”

.

.

Tatsuyuki-san seemed surprised as his body moved to pick up the coin.

“I see, I see.” He muttered to himself with great interest.

.

.

“Your Gift has some amazing power, Hideyori. I tried throwing a tantrum in my mind but I couldn’t resist it at all.”

“A tantrum?”

“[[Ehhh, No way! I don’t want to pick it up! No, no, no, no!]] the kind you often see kids do when things don’t go their way.”

“So lame!”

.

.

I don’t know if he was actually serious or was it only a joke but Tatsuyuki-san laughed it off.

He then throws the 1-yen coin up to the air, catches it, and places it on the floor again.

.

.

“Now let’s try it one more time.”

“Eh? That would be meaningless right?”

“Oi, Oi, There’s nothing in this world that’s meaningless you know.”

“Then what about how you threw the coin up earlier? You could just place it directly on the floor right?”

“……….there was no meaning behind it.”

“See! What the heck were you on about then!?”

.

.

He’s so eccentric that it’s funny.

.

.

“My bad. This world is filled with meaningless things. I just tried to sound cool……..”

“Now it’s an honest reply!?”

“That’s not important right! Come on, quickly use your Gift!”

“Fine.”

.

.

It’s so confusing dealing with this person……

I take a breath and pause for a moment.

Then I exhale again.

.

.

“[Pick up that 1-yen coin from the floor].”

“…………”

.

.

Although he lowered his posture, Tatsuyuki-san’s body froze midway through.

Woah, he’s actually resisting it!?

After he paused for a few seconds, he looked a little exhausted but he managed to stand back up straight.

.

.

You’ve got to be kidding me…….?

.

.

“Alright, I’ve won against your Gift.”

“Ha? No way, how…….?”

“See, I’m fine. I can even do a backflip right now.”

.

.

Just like that, he jumped back, performed a flip midair, and splendidly landed on the floor.

It was a brilliant backflip so I applauded.

.

.

“That was surreal.”

“Now then, you can pick up that coin now.”

“Eh? Why me? Why don’t you pick it up, Tatsuyuki-san.”

“If I pick it up then it would be like I lose to your Gift right!”

“I see.”

.

.

Thinking that he has a point, I retrieved the coin myself.

When I did, Tatsuyuki-san did not try to pick it up himself at all.

He truly resisted obeying my Gift.

.

.

“……how did you do it? Did my Gift get weaker?”

.

.

I just can’t believe what I saw.

In the game, other than [Anti-Gift] there was no other way to break my Gift.

Did it get weaker because I don’t use it frequently?

No, it’s not like the original Hideyori went around using his Gift left and right either. There’s no way that’s the case.

.

.

“No, your Gift was certainly strong. Its power was no different than when you used it on me earlier.”

“Then how…….?”

“Your Gift didn’t work on me because I’m a Siscon.”

“…………..Ha?”

.

.

[Dominating Decree] lost to a Siscon?

Unable to process that, I went speechless.

Was Takeru’s [Anti-Gift] also originated from his sister complex? Such thoughts are rampaging in my mind and my head just stopped working.

.

.

“I have 5 younger sisters. Koi, Youko, Non, Ruri, Meguri, they are more important to me than my life.”

“Eh? 5? Younger sister?…….Ha?”

.

.

With total seriousness, he continued.

Honestly, it’s all so confusing that I don’t even know where to begin.

.

.

“When I was about to pick up that coin, I made a resolve that I would go and murder all my little sisters.”

“……….eh?”

“When I set a condition like that I just couldn’t do it you see. I desperately held on because I didn’t want to kill my sisters. I focused my mind entirely on that. And in the end, my Siscon side won.”

“Kill……?”

“Good thing I avoided becoming the headline of tomorrow’s newspaper right. Man, that sure gave me a scare.”

.

.

Said Tatsuyuki-san as his body lost strength in relief.

He was not joking.

He actually resolved himself to kill all his little sisters if he yielded to my Gift……

“Remember, Hideyori. Your [Feelings] are the strongest power of all.”

“[Feelings]…….?”

“No matter how hard you train, you will definitely lose to someone whose [Feelings] are stronger than yours. In fact, a strong enough [Feeling] can even break the power of Gifts. I just proved that to you. The [Feelings] I have for my sisters are second to none after all.”

“………..”

.

.

Siscon is so stron~~~g……….

.

.

What eluded my eyes when I decided to become this person’s disciple……

Was the fact that this person is truly insane.

.

.

“What’s wrong, Hideyori?”

“Nothing……, I was just thinking about a person I’ve met recently. He’s even a bigger Siscon than you……”

“Seriously!”

.

.

Takeru screamed in astonishment.

He’s a Siscon that surpassed this Siscon Protagonist after all……

.

.

“Nii-san, Akechi-kun! Let’s eat our ice creams at the bench over there!”

.

.

While sitting on a bench in the park, I enjoyed the ice cream that Takeru treated me today.

Author note: the power of [Feelings] is the main theme of this work.

This story is leaning a lot toward the playful side but that’s the message I want to convey the most.

Regarding, Hideyori’s Gift, [Dominating Decree].

The ability itself is triggered by his [Voice].

Unlike a certain Geass power, Hideyori does not need to establish eye contact as his voice alone can carry his command.

Since the power was put into his voice, when Hideyori uses his raw voice to issue his command, the subject will obey it even if he/she is not conscious of it.

It doesn’t matter if the other party can understand the language he’s using.

However, unlike a certain Onigiri-senpai from Jujutsu Kaisen, his Gift is not effective over a phone call. The target has to be someone who can directly hear his voice.

Still, even if the target is on the phone, as long as he/she can faintly hear his voice directly, the Gift will activate.

Even if it’s so far away that you can only hear an echo, it will work as long as the target is within the range of his voice.

However, he will have to set the target of his Gift in his mind. Using it indiscriminately without any specific target will not work. (In cases where random passersby hear his voice.)

Even so, despite the fact that he has to set his target, he can target multiple people at the same time.

.

.

I don’t think that many people will be interested in the training part so I didn’t describe it in detail.

Hideyori’s training with Tatsuyuki takes place around 2-3 times a week.

He’s learning Kendo, Brawling, and such real-world fighting techniques from him.

At the moment, Tatsuyuki is the only Siscon who can break the power of Hideyori’s Gift through his feelings alone.

One can say that he has stronger protagonist correction than even Takeru and is more of a cheat than Hideyori.

He’s one of this world’s bugs.

.

.

For the original inspiration for Touno Tatsuyuki, please read Kindaichi: Broken Heart Lake Legend Murder case and the Graveyard Island Murder case.

The original inspirations were the strongest siscon.

He was Jason after all (TLN: Spoiler?)