Chapter 4: Looking for Advice

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“Is that really all you want?”

She—Kamui Hinata-san—nodded quickly in response to my question.

Having made a girl cry, I remembered my sister’s advice, “If you make a girl cry, apologize with all your might and fulfill every request she has!” so, I decided to execute it.

Though I couldn’t quite understand what she wanted me to do, I agreed since it wouldn’t cost me anything.

As I was about to leave, I offered her my hand, seeing that she couldn’t seem to stand up on her own.

That cold atmosphere and chilly air apparently came from her power.

I was relieved that I hadn’t been frozen by her because I had heard that she could freeze people if she wasn’t careful. I was glad that I hadn’t ended up in ice.

From now on, I decided to never go against her wishes. After all, even if I could gain skills, someone with an S-rank innate ability like her could easily freeze me solid in an instant.

Still, it was strange that someone as strong as she was afraid of Gai-kun, but I found that girlish side of her kind of cute.

We chatted as we walked together.

This was actually the first time I’d walked with anyone besides my sister—I’d never had any close classmates before.

Back in my hometown…… no one would come near me.

It made me feel glad that I’d come to high school.

“Ah, Kamui-san. I’m staying at the dorm.”

As we left the school building, I had to head deeper into the school grounds, while Kamui-san, who was going home, would take the opposite direction toward the school gate with the other students.

In the first place, I didn’t even know where she lived.

“Hmm…… see you……”

When she gave a slightly lonely wave—my heart skipped a beat for a moment.

That’s when I remembered my sister’s words: “You can’t let a girl go home alone! You have to escort her all the way!” Wait, was I supposed to walk Kamui-san home!?

The problem was, I had never talked to any girls other than my sister, so I had no idea what I should do.

While I was lost in thought, Kamui-san walked off briskly, leaving the school grounds.

Not knowing what the right thing to do was, I walked back to the dorm with an uneasy feeling.

“Hinata-kun~”

………………

“Hinata-kun?”

A face suddenly popped up beside me.

“Whoa!? Fujii-kun!?”

I hadn’t expected anyone to be calling me, so it startled me.

“You looked like you were deep in thought about something~”

Since we were both heading to the third floor, we walked side by side.

“Uh…… I was just thinking about how I don’t understand girls at all.”

“Girls? Hehe. A classmate?”

“Y-yeah……”

“I might not be able expert but I’m happy to listen if you want to talk about it?”

Judging from his appearance, Fujii-kun seemed like someone who’d be incredibly popular.

But in terms of “manliness,” he’s kind of like an exception. Rather than being masculine, he had more of a cute, little brother kind of look.

Like a small-animal so adorable that you’d want to protect him.

“Ahem, Hinata-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“You were just thinking I’m like a small animal, weren’t you?”

“Huh!? How did you kn—, ah……”

“Sigh, I get that a lor. Am I really that unmanly?”

Well…… yeah, kind of. His mannerisms and expressions were more on the cute side, almost like a girl. But honestly, that’s what made him who he was—it suited him perfectly.

“You might not be the manliest guy around, but I think that’s part of what makes you who you are”

“R-really? Y-you mean that?”

“Everyone’s different. There’s no point in chasing after ‘manliness’ just because you’re a guy.”

“I see…… No one’s ever put it that way before but maybe you’re right. I’ll try to think about it more positively!”

I was glad I could ease his worries.

“No, no. We were supposed to be talking about your problem, not mine. How about we discuss it over dinner?”

“That works better for me actually. I wanted to take a bath first anyway.”

“Got it. Let’s meet in the cafeteria in thirty minutes.”

Once we reached the third floor, we went our separate ways and entered our rooms.

……This just feels like a normal high school life! Wait, did I just make a friend?

No, calm down. This might be some kind of  illusion.

Once he finds out I’m Level 0, he’ll definitely hate me. I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

And if I bring up Kamui-san during our talk, he might end up disappointed and even laugh at me.

So I decided to keep my expectations low and approach the topic carefully.

“Hinata-kun~ Over here!”

When I arrived at the cafeteria after my bath, as promised, Fujii-kun was already there, waving at me.

……But seriously…… is that his loungewear? It’s kind of…… cute. He’s wearing a hoodie with a stuffed-animal-like design and a tracksuit underneath.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I just got here too. Let’s grab our food first.”

“Yeah.”

We grabbed trays from the counter and served ourselves rice, taking as much as we wanted.

“!?”

How does someone with such a slim build manage to eat that much? The human body is really full of mysteries.

“So, what happened with the classmate?”

As soon as we sat down, he got straight to the point.

“We happened to walk home together, but since I live in the dorms, I just saw her off at the entrance.”

“I see, I see.”

“But my sister once told me, ‘You can’t let a girl go home alone! You have to escort her all the way!’”

“Haha, what a cute sister you have! And your imitation was spot on!”

……It seems I’d unconsciously mimicked her tone. Well, we did spend a lot of time together.

“Hmm, your sister’s advice is definitely correct, but there’s one issue.”

“An issue?”

“It depends on whether the girl wants to be accompanied or not.”

Hearing Fujii-kun’s explanation, I felt like I’d been struck by lightning.

“You’re only looking at it from your perspective, Hinata-kun. She might find it bothersome to have someone walk her home.”

……He’s right. From Kamui-san’s point of view, having someone like me tag along would probably just be annoying. I’d assumed it was my duty, but that was just arrogance.

“So, in those situations, you should ask, ‘Would you like me to walk you home?’”

“Huh? Ask?”

“Yup. If she immediately says ‘no thanks,’ then you can just head back. But if she seems hesitant to answer, you should probably offer to accompany her.”

“Is that how it works?”

“Yep! A girl’s heart can be pretty complicated, you know.”

“That’s exactly what my sister always says.”

“Haha, Sounds like your sister and I would get along well!”

“I’m not giving her to anyone.”

“Oh? Don’t tell me you’re a sister-obsessed big brother?”

“Ugh……”

“Haha! I’ve discovered an unexpected side of you, Hinata-kun~”

Fujii-kun finished every last grain of his mountain of rice with a mischievous smile on his face.

The next day after school.

At the silver-haired angel’s request, I found myself at one of the private training rooms.

Seishin High School, primarily focused on supporting Explorers, made these private training rooms available to students pursuing the Explorer path.

There are a total of twelve rooms, each spacious enough to comfortably accommodate up to six people. While you usually need to apply in advance to use one, Kamui-san mentioned that members of the student council have special privileges, allowing them easy access.

I wondered if it was really okay to take advantage of these student council privileges, but I decided to keep quiet as there was always the possibility she’d freeze me solid if I made her angry.

“Shall we begin?”

“Y-yes!”

Her usually expressionless face showed a rare glimpse of emotion. At the same time, an intense cold spread throughout the room, turning the walls and ceiling pure white.

The icy air against my skin sent shivers down my spine, giving me a quick reminder of just how frightening her ability could be.

Wait…… she’s not going to freeze me here today, is she……? She’s not secretly holding a grudge about making her cry yesterday and planning to beat me up where no one can see!?

With these thoughts racing through my mind, I unconsciously took a more aggressive stance toward her.

“Eek!”

She took a step back, clenching her fists and glared at me.

N-no way…… Is she really planning to beat me up here to settle the score for making her cry!?

“Y-yes. That’s good.”

“Huh?”

“I want to overcome it.”

“Overcome?”

“I want to master the Ice God’s Blessing.”

Now that she mentioned it, I recalled her saying that while she usually suppressed the Ice God’s Blessing, if she let her guard down, she’d end up releasing cold air uncontrollably.

“That’s why, Suzuki-kun, I want you to keep glaring at me like that.”

So that’s what she meant by her request.

Yesterday, she had asked me to glare at her for a few minutes after school each day. It seemed she wanted to practice enduring being stared at.

Most likely, she had a traumatic experience with Gai-kun glaring at her. Despite being someone with S-rank potential, she’s still a girl with a much smaller build than him.

Anyone would be scared if a bigger guy glared at them like that.

She went that far just to help me. This is the least I could do.

“Alright. I’ll keep glaring then.”

“Y-yeah! Thank you!”

……Hm?

Her expression, which had been stern and emotionless until we got here, had clearly changed.

Or rather, it had become incredibly expressive. Right now, her smile could put even TV actresses to shame.

“Um…… Suzuki-kun?”

“Ah!?”

“Is something wrong? I need you to glare at me……”

“S-sorry!”

I was captivated by your smile—as if I could say that. She’d probably be disappointed in me.

I quickly went back to glaring at her, and her expression turned grim, likely remembering her trauma.

She clenched her fists tightly, visibly trembling.

“Suzuki-kun…… have you…… gotten stronger since yesterday?”

“Huh? No, not really.”

“B-but……”

Well, I did acquire a new skill yesterday, but that hardly counts as getting stronger. I’m still at Level 0, no matter what I do. My level doesn’t increase, and my strength doesn’t grow.

“Never mind. Sorry for asking something strange. I’ll keep trying my best.”

“Ah, right.”

You can do it……! All I can do is glare, but if it helps her overcome her trauma, I’ll do it for as long as it takes!

After glaring at her for some time, she suddenly collapsed and started crying, bringing our session to an abrupt end.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah…… Sorry for crying again……”

“N-no! There’s no need to apologize! If anything, it’s my fault in the first place.”

“……Hey, Suzuki-kun, why are you so kind to someone like me?”

She looked up at me with her tear-stained cheeks, tilting her head.

“Huh? W-well…… since I made you cry, if I don’t take responsibility, my little sister would laugh at me.”

“You have a little sister?”

“Yeah. An adorable little sister, one year younger than me.”

Even as we spoke, the cold air she continued to emit was astounding.

While I had cold resistance and freeze resistance, the handkerchief I handed her froze in an instant, leaving me stunned.

“Is it always like this for you, Kamui-san?”

“Yeah…… That’s why I always have to keep it suppressed……”

“Must be tough.”

“It is…… I’ve gotten used to it, but the only places I can act normally are either here in the training room or at home.”

Somehow, I could tell.

I felt as though, no matter where she went, she was always alone, constantly suppressing her emotions just to get by.

But here, where she could release her cold energy freely, she was different—she smiled easily, laughed often, and cried openly.

I, too, keep people at arm’s length, and though I don’t admit it, there are times when I too feel lonely. When I go home, my lively little sister and mother are there, but that’s family—different from having friends.

I brought this on myself.

I wouldn’t blame anyone for saying that.

But Kamui-san is different.

Just because she was born with an S-rank potential and received the Ice God’s blessing, she ended up in this situation.

Seeing her face her trauma head-on, trying to control her Ice God’s blessing after that frightening experience—it was almost dazzling. I even felt a bit envious of her character.

After finishing our first training session, Kamui-san suppressed the Ice God’s blessing as usual.

Her face was as expressionless as ever, and I couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

Though her expression hadn’t changed, I could tell she was looking at me curiously.

Somehow, I felt like I could read her feelings now, even when she wasn’t showing any expression.

That aside…… what should we do about this training room?

“?”

“I was just wondering what we should do about all this ice covering the training room.”

“Ah……”

Though expressionless, I could tell she was feeling down.

《Skill Acquired: “Ice Dissolution” (Due to Adversity)》

A new skill! Ice Dissolution, huh? Does that mean I can melt all this ice in the area?

I decided to try it out and activated the skill around me. Nothing happened.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I just thought my power should be able to melt the ice, but it’s not working.”

“The ice from the Ice God’s Blessing isn’t regular ice so it probably won’t melt for a while.”

When she’s suppressing her Ice God’s blessing, Kamui-san gives off a strangely inorganic vibe.

Even her voice lacks intonation, almost as if a machine is speaking.

So the ice created by the Ice God’s Blessing isn’t regular ice…… if someone got frozen by this, they probably wouldn’t come back to life.

Yeah, I really shouldn’t do anything to get on Kamui-san’s bad side.

Still, is it okay to leave this room frozen like this?

“Is it alright to leave it frozen like this?”

“I’ve got permission from the school. This room will be off-limits to anyone but me for the time being.”

So that’s how it is. Talk about abuse of student council authority……

I’d rather avoid her getting resented by others again for making the training room unusable.

《“Ice Dissolution” has evolved into “Absolute Ice Dissolution” (Due to Adversity)》

Evolution? Perfect timing!

Maybe because Ice Dissolution evolved, the ice around us melted in an instant. Surprisingly, the ice didn’t turn into water—it just vanished.

Was this because of my skill? Or is that just how Absolute Ice Dissolution works?

“!? N-no way……”

“This should prevent anyone from complaining when we leave.”

“……”

“Kamui-san?”

“Huh? Oh, y-yes!”

Though she looked surprised for a moment, she quickly returned to her expressionless state.

……I noticed a bit of cold air leaking out just now.

Anyway, we left the private training room.

Outside, we saw several groups that seemed to be parties waiting for a training room to open up.

“Whoa! Hey, isn’t that the Ice Princess?”

“No way…… someone’s actually in a party with the Ice Princess? So lucky……”

“And it’s just the two of them…… man, I’m jealous.”

Their not-so-quiet whispers reached our ears.

When Kamui-san paused for a moment in her tracks and I quietly apologized with a “Sorry……”

She stared at me with her usual expressionless face as if asking “what for?” and left the training area without showing any sign that the comments bothered her.

We walked together from the training area to the entrance. As usual, whispers from other students followed us.

I kept walking beside her, thinking it would be rude to distance myself, even though I felt bad about her possibly getting strange rumors for being seen with a plain guy like me.

“U-um, Kamui-san.”

“Yes?”

We reached the point where our paths diverged. Yesterday, I’d said goodbye to her here.

“Well…… should I walk you home?”

“Eh?”

“I-if you don’t want to, that’s fi—”

“Are you sure?”

“Huh?”

“It won’t be fun walking with me, you know?”

She answered with an expressionless face, suppressing her Ice God’s blessing with all her might.

I knew that was also why she usually spoke so little. That’s exactly why I didn’t think being with her was boring at all. If anything, she probably wouldn’t have fun being with someone like me.

Rather than arguing about that, I thought of a different excuse.

“Well, if you get hit with trauma again, someone might misunderstand the situation, so I should at least take responsibility for that much.”

“!? —O……kay…… Thank…… you……”

The chills!

She suddenly released a burst of cold air, which I quickly dispersed using Absolute Ice Dissolution.

With this, I should be able to stop her cold air even if she lets her guard down.

“See? Looks like my skill can counter your cold air, Kamui-san.”

As her expression shifted from blank to surprised, more cold air poured out, but my activated Absolute Ice Dissolution prevented it from spreading.

This should let her not worry about the cold air anymore.

“Y-yeah…… thank…… youu……”

When Kamui-san spoke in that slightly embarrassed voice, I somehow felt embarrassed too and found it hard to speak properly.

“Y-you’re welcome. Sh-shall we go?”

“Yeah……”

That day, I walked Kamui-san home for the first time, but neither of us said a single word along the way.

Still, I had no idea that Kamui-san normally released such an incredible amount of cold air……