Ch.43 Complain Session. Lots of Romance Issues

"Umu umu, these foods are delicious."

"Right? We look forward to these gatherings all the time. It's only at these gatherings that we get to eat such high-class foods."

"By the way, it seems like some people come here specifically to eat these."

"I can understand that."

Before listening to each other's complaints, we decided to eat something first, and when we tried some of the food nearby, they were surprisingly delicious.

As expected of a luxury hotel, the food were delicious.

Looking at the ingredients, 'tis clear they use some pretty expensive stuff, which makes me a little hesitant...but then again, I probably will not have another chance to eat here, so that hesitation feels insignificant.

In the end, I ate them normally.

That said, I am a light eater, so I cannot eat much.

I have to think before I eat.

"Well, let us talk while we eat. ...First of all, do you guys have any complaints? I know I am already done with mine, but..."

"Of course I do. I'm... well, as you can see, a pretty girl with a pure image, right?"

"You are saying that yourself?"

"Well, what can I do? This is the kind of person I consider my ideal partner."

"Well, the person who develops the condition takes on the appearance of their ideal partner. So, what is wrong with it?"

"Well, you know..."

What is it ja? she looks like she is lost in thought.

When I looked at the other three, they were all giving wry smiles and saying "Ahh."

"Well, you see, I'm a girl, right? And a pretty girl at that, so, how should I put it... I get a lot of attention from guys."

"I do not believe 'tis something to worry about too much, like just someone staring at you."

"No, no, that's only if you look like Mahiro-kun. As you can see, pretty girls with hourglass figures like me and Mikuto get a lot of attention."

"Fumu... now that you mention it, I felt the same way when I grow up. I did not pay much attention to it back then, though."

But, I do feel like I was left with a slightly unpleasant feeling.

That is certainly something that some people might dislike.

"Grow? Could it be some kind of growth-type ability?"

"Umu. One of the abilities I possess is of that nature ja. Well, the reverse is also possible."

"Hee~. Hey, what kind of ability is it?"

"Is it really okay to say it?"

I was asked what kind of ability I have, but I was not sure if I should mention my ability, so I asked.

"No problem. There aren't many stingy people like that. Besides, look over there."

"Mu? ...Oh, I see..."

When I turned in the direction Toshio pointed, I saw a handsome man breathing fire and people playing real-life Tetris.

Stress relief, huh?

...But what kind of ability is spawning Tetris? Is it even an actual, Tetris?

"So, it's okay for Mahiro to talk about her abilities."

"Fumu, is that so? Well, 'tis not a big deal or anything, so I guess 'tis fine. Basically, it allows me to make my body grow or, conversely, regress."

"Does that mean you can become an adult, or conversely, become a child again?"

"Umu, exactly ja."

"Wow, that's quite an incredible ability, even though it's rather unassuming."

"You think so? They told me that 'tis an ability close to immortality, but 'tis really just the ability to freely control growth and regression, you know?"

"What, immortality?"

"Umu. Immortality. Well, I suppose 'tis more like just being ageless."

It does not mean I cannot die.

...However, I do not really understand the true nature of this ability.

"What are the downsides?"

"During growth, I burn calories to maintain my form, so I get quite hungry. I have not tried the regression part, so I do not know for sure, but I do think there are no downsides in that regard. I have not researched it yet, so I am not sure."

"The downsides are minimal considering the capabilities."

"Well, that might be true. Apparently, 'tis possible to stay in my grown-up form, but I would rather not keep getting hungry. So, I basically stay in this current loli form ja."

"Hee~, what an interesting person to meet."

"Yeah. I was surprised by that ability too. Mahiro, what will you look like when you grow up?"

"I will become a beautiful girl with a perfect hourglass figure."

"Ah, yeah, I guess that would definitely attract attention. Wait, so you've gone out looking like that before?"

"Just out shopping."

I haven't used that form since then.

If it involves burning calories, then 'tis not exactly convenient to use, to say the least.

"So, back to the complaints...go on, Mikuto yo. What is the continuation noja?"

"Oh, that's right. As I mentioned earlier, I have a pretty good physique, so when I walk around town, I sometimes get approached by weird guys."

"I see. Well, there are not many women with your looks, so 'tis only natural, I suppose."

If you consider her to be a pure and innocent-looking beautiful girl with long black hair, it seems like a natural thing to happen.

Actually, there were quite a few guys who said that kind of girl was their type. I know some people like that.

If that guy were here, I bet he would immediately try to hit on her. Though I doubt he would succeed.

"Well, haha... But the troublesome part isn't that, it's the school I'm currently attending. I've been like this since the middle of my first year of high school, you know? Guys are stupid, right?"

"Stupid Indeed."

Because I used to be a man, I can concur.

Men are really stupid, are they not?

"And, you know, nine times out of ten, it's because I'm naturally a very easygoing person that it backfires, and, well... you know, they start saying things like, 'Let's do it.'"

"Uwaa..."

"I know, I know. They said the same thing to me too. Well, in my case, it was simply because they were a pervert."

Toshio said this with a wry smile.

Even if you say someone is a pervert, I think there is a limit to how far they can go.

"So, even if I'm a former man, that's just... you know?"

"Umu. That will not do. If it were a childhood friend you were extremely close to, you could have considered it, but..."

"Yeah, that's it. When people who are more than acquaintances but less than friends say that to you, all you can do is think, 'Huh?'"

"Indeed."

"I always refuse, but some people are just so persistent... It's really a problem because it puts a lot of stress on me on a daily basis."

"I see..."

That certainly sounds stressful.

If I were in that position, I would not hesitate to punch them ja.

"In my case, as you can see, I look around elementary school age, so I did not experience anything like that."

"Well, wanting to do that kind of thing with Mahiro makes you a total pervert. You'll have to carry the title of a total perverted lolicon for the rest of your life."

"...Well, one of my husbands is a hopeless lolicon though."

""""Uwaa...""""

Pity for the second time.

Fuumu, my situation is pretty bad after all.

"...And if there are people like that, then surely there are also people who would do it by force, right?"

"Well, yeah. But, being someone who's been infected, I have two abilities that allow me to deal with rough situations. That comes in handy."

"Hou, what kind of abilities are they?"

"It's about manipulating objects and enhancing one's physical abilities."

"Fumu. The latter is exactly what the name suggests, but the former is psychokinesis, is that right?"

"That's right. Well, even so, I rarely use either of them."

"Is it the side effect?"

"Well, you know. When you manipulate objects, the headache you get the next day is proportional to the weight of the object you used."

"Uwwa, what a subtly unpleasant side effect..."

"The latter may cause muscle soreness in the area used the following day, depending on the degree of use."

"Both of them have pain as a side effect..."

If you use it for something ridiculous, the next day will be a real hell of pain.

Thank goodness... I do not have that kind of painful side effects. I am truly relieved.

"So, that's how I deal with it. But, of course, it would be better if I didn't have to deal with that, but as you can see, this is what I look like. It's like fate."

"I see..."

"Even though it's someone I know, it still feels good to have someone listen to me."

"Umu umu. 'Tis best not to let stress build up."

I am actually quite the type to complain, depending on the situation.

"Who is going to speak next ja?"

"Can I?"

"Shou, huh? What is Shou up to ja?"

"As for me, I simply...get caught up in girls' squabbles..."

He said, as his face showing deep exhaustion.

"What does that mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said. When there's a good-looking guy around, girls start fighting behind the scenes, right?"

"Like something that happens in shoujo manga?"

You know, like, using underhanded tactics to make people dislike you, or spreading rumors to make them hate you...? Especially the kind of thing a group boss would do.

"That's it. Ikemens like me are popular with girls, right? So it seems like there's some kind of conflict going on in the wrong places... It's gotten to the point where my daughter has stopped going to school, and it's a real mess. No matter how much I try to stop it, she just keeps insisting that there's nothing wrong... I don't know what to do anymore, and I'm stressed out every day."

"That is... hell."

"I guess having good looks means you have to be prepared for that kind of trouble."

"That's right... So, I guess I'm in a rather fortunate situation."

...Ah, no. Before that, considering that Miho and Mizuki proposed to me on the first day of the new semester, it might have actually been prevented by that.

"I'm jealous that you have nothing."

"'Tis not like there is nothing going on. In fact, I already have four husbands, you know?"

"That's true. Wow, I guess when you have the disease, you really do have a hard time with things like romance and gender."

"On the contrary, I think it's more likely that there's no situation where we don't have any difficulties."

""""Certainly""""

That is the truth.

Although I only heard their conversation, it seems they have a lot of complaints about romance and gender.

So then...

"You know, those people you often see online who say they want to get infected to do all sorts of things, it really pisses me off. Just looking at them."

"That's right!"

"I know exactly what you mean! They have no idea how hard we go, and they say things like, 'It must be nice to be infected. You get money from the government, right? You're the winners!' It's so infuriating!"

"I've been told that at Comiket and other events too. They say that it's enviable that a writer would contract the disease because it's good publicity in itself, even though we're going through a lot of trouble ourselves."

"Ah, me too. Even though I look like a girl now, guys used to say things like, 'People with this condition have it easy,' and even the most tolerant person would get annoyed by that."

"...It seems like quite a lot of it has been building up ja."

""""Of course!""""

It seems all four of them are told that quite often...

I have not been told anything of that sort of nature so far, but I see it often on the internet.

Seeing that makes me a little annoyed now.

Does that mean the current environment is really stressful?

"Well, what can I say ja? This is supposed to be a gathering, but it really is just a complaining session, so let us have more fun. Let us vent our frustrations and complaints and get it all off our chests. Besides, I would like to learn a lot of things too."

"Yeah! Let's talk all night!"

Umu umu. I like these folks.

After that, a real complaining session broke out among us.

Previous | ToC | Next