The tense atmosphere was instantly broken by a blushing Mei as she shook her head and flailed her hands quickly, speaking with an embarrassed tone.
"W-what are you saying!?"
"Well... I mean, you look really worried about him, furthermore, I can see that he's not avoiding you, after all, Kouro has Gynophobia."
"Eh?" x3
Hearing Ayame's words, confusion filled their faces, they couldn't imagine 'that' Kouro, who wasn't afraid of facing dozens of Honkai Beasts, was instead afraid of women.
It's even more for Mei and Kiana, after all their first impression of Kouro when they first met him was that he was an easy going and carefree person who liked to joke around, they also didn't see any irregularity from Kouro that expresses he has Gynophobia such as nervousness, anxiety and so on.
Mei suddenly recalled the time when Kouro said that she was his girlfriend. (Chapter 31)
Mei immediately blushed and shook her head to get rid of the thought.
Ayame stared at Mei with a look that says 'are you his girlfriend or not?'
Noticing Ayame's gaze, Mei answered in a low voice, "...I... N-not his girlfriend."
"Thank goodness! Eh, no. I mean, really?"
Herrscher Mei clicked her tongue inside of Mei when she heard her answer, if it weren't because she couldn't control their body as she pleases, she would have locked Kouro in a room and shower him full with affection everyday.
Mei looked at Ayame again and spoke with a smile, "You know, Kouro often mentions you in our talks, he often says that he's sorry for leaving his first friend."
"Re-really?"
Mei nodded her head and added, "Yes, moreover, as his first friend, you must be more familiar with Kouro and know a lot about him."
Mei spoke with a beautiful smile and a dazzling light seem to appear behind her.
'Ma-Mabushi! (Dazzling!). '
This is the first time that Ayame has met someone with such a kind and gentle personality.
'She's completely different from the rumors, alright. Damn it, my heart hurts for believing those filthy rumors! I hereby swear to never believe in rumors until I confirm it myself!'
Ayame then waved her hand and replied quickly, "No, no. Compared to who only reunited with him after all these years, those of you who had been with him now are definitely more familiar with him."
Mei and Ayame complimented each other as if they were long time friends.
Himeko watched the situation with an interested look, besides, it's not everyday you get go see girls fighting over a boy, although I did hurt because she remembered that she is almost in her thirties, yet still doesn't have a boyfriend.
Bronya just watched in silence while donning a strange expression.
While Kiana just tilted her head at their conversation and spoke with an innocent tone.
"Well, I've lived with Kouro in the same dorm, we had fun together, had dinner together, and he also promised to spend time with me until I'm satisfied. But, Hah, it's a shame that promise couldn't be kept because of the Eruption that happened."
Mei and Ayame, who were in the middle of praising each other, stopped and they looked at each other before turning their heads to Kiana after reaching a silent consensus.
"You name is Kiana, wasn't it?" Ayame smiled with the sweetest smile in the world to Kiana.
"...Kiana-chan." Mei called out with the same smile even though the black aura surrounding her made it less convincing.
They started to approach Kiana slowly, "...Mei-senpai, why are looking at me like that? Mei-san, no, Mei-sama! Can you guys please stop looking at me like that!?"
Kiana turned her head to Himeko with a look that says 'please help', Himeko returned a smile that says 'it's your own fault, don't drag me. Kiana looked at Bronya next and gave her a pitiful look, asking for help.
Seeing that, Bronya felt pity and opened her mouth to say something, but Mei's words made her hesitate.
"Bronya-chan..." Mei turned her head to Bronya.
So Bronya decided to keep her mouth shut and cupped her hands together 'I hope you get out of there safely.'
Kiana was then persuaded (dragged) by Mei and Ayame to a secluded place.
"NOOOOOOO!!!" A scream of a frightened young girl is the only thing that could be heard.
__
Meanwhile, the man who is the source of this disaster is currently changing his clothes.
Kouro just took a quick shower before using his 'status recovery' to rejuvenate himself, and after that, he put on the clothes her had prepared.
Kouro wore a plain white t-shirt with a black blazer on top, he wore black cargo pants and paired that with blue sneakers.
After finishing changing, he opened his Quest interface.
[Main Quest]: End the Third Eruption.
Quest Rewards:
1. Coupon: Ability Upgrade (Intermediate) x5
2. Gold coins 50,000
3. Skill [Power Strike]
"Receive all rewards."
[Coins:69,518]
Seeing his coins that has increased, Kouro then moved the interface to his abilities to see what he could upgrade.
Skills:
Cooking(Intermediate), Stealth(Intermediate), Weapon Mastery(Advanced), Parkour(Master), Martial Arts(Advanced), Mechanical Mastery(Intermediate), Riding(Beginner), Swimming(Advanced), Acting(Master), Singing( Advanced), Painting(Advanced), Learning(Advanced), Survival(Beginner), Hacking(Intermediate).
Kouro chose to level up his Riding and Survival skills to intermediate level, and after his upgrade, he could feel his knowledge and experience of related skills increase.
Skills:
Cooking(Intermediate), Stealth(Intermediate), Weapon Mastery(Advanced), Parkour(Master), Martial Arts(Advanced), Mechanical Mastery(Intermediate), Riding(Intermediate), Swimming(Advanced), Acting(Master), Singing(Advanced), Painting(Advanced), Learning(Advanced), Survival(Intermediate), Hacking(Intermediate).
Kouro then looked at his final reward.
[Power strike]
SP require to Active : 150
Cooldown: 10 Second
You are reading story Honkai Impact : The Rise Herrscher of Shadow at novel35.com
Increases next attacks for 190% for 5 seconds.
Kouro smiled happily while reading the description, he finally have a very strong offensive skill.
Too bad Kouro couldn't try this skill for now, he fear that if he did use it, his house would end up being destroyed.
All of his actions from taking a shower, to changing his clothes, to upgrading skills, only took less than 8 minutes.
Just as he came out of his house, he heard a faint scream that made him pause.
"Hm? Was it just me?" Kouro shrugged his shoulders and decided not to think too much about it, he quickly ran towards where he left Mei and the others.
Upon returning, the first thing that Kouro took note of was Mei and Ayame who are talking with each other very intimately, and Kiana who is crouching in the corner while muttering something.
Seeing Kiana like that, Kouro turned and asked Mei and Ayame, but the answer he got is only smiles.
Somehow, his Enhanced Intuition is telling him that if he kept on asking, it would bring great danger.
So he turned to Himeko and Bronya, but they answered him with vague answers like 'get mentally hit' 'Karma' and so on.
Seeing that he wouldn't get any clear answer from everyone, Kouro decided to finally approach Kiana who is the victim, he patted her on the shoulder.
Kiana felt a hand on her shoulders and turned to see Kouro, she held his hand tightly as if clinging to her only hope.
Kouro felt his hand gripped tightly by Kiana and he felt pain as if his hand would be crushed so he pried his hand off Kiana before asking.
"Wait a minute, what really happened here?"
"That..." Kiana stood up and wanted to explain, but then she saw Mei and Ayame staring at her, and as if she remembered something scary, she shook her head quickly.
Kiana thought hard for moment and used her brain for the first time to think.
"That... I'm just sad because I remembered that we haven't had a party to join us to St. Freya academy."
Kouro didn't expect Kiana to mull over that.
Ayame heard Kiana's words and exclaimed, "A party? Good idea Kiana!"
Mei and Bronya nodded their heads in agreement with the idea.
"Hey! If you guys want to have a party, I, as a sensei, will definitely come." Himeko added.
She actually just wanted to use the party as an excuse for drinking.
Kiana heaved a sigh of relief when the idea magically popped into her head and gave her a chance to save herself, even so, she also wants to celebrate.
Seeing that everyone seemed to agree to have a party, Kouro then asked them.
"That's a good idea, but where are we going to hold the party, from what I can see, Himeko-sensei's house hasn't been completely cleaned yet."
After hearing Kouro, for some reason, Mei and the others suddenly turned their heads to him, "W-what?"
"We will use your house instead, your house is empty anyways, so please..." Kiana said while giving Kouro a pitiful look.
"..."
"Pleasee."
"..."
"Pleaseee"
Seeing Kiana acting 'cute' like that, Kouro then sighed then said.
"Fine I allow it."
After getting permission, Kiana then hugged Kouro spontaneously, "Hooray, you're the best, Kouro." But after realizing that she's hugging him, she quickly separated from Kouro.
[Time skip]
__
Afternoon at St. Freya Academy, inside Kouro's house, specifically the living room.
"Kanpai!"
*Ting!*
Kouro and the others could be seen toasting together.
*Gloup! *Gloup! *Gloup!
Kouro, Kiana and Bronya drank milk, while Ayame and Mei drank orange juice, only Himeko herself drank beer, Theresa is also invited an she herself drank her self-made bitter gourd juice.
"Thanks everyone, for inviting me." Theresa said with a smiling face
"Kyaah! It's best to drink beer after work." Himeko exclaimed as she put down her empty glass.
"You don't even work."
Ayame looked at Kouro in wonder, "Kouro, I didn't expect you to still drink milk. I thought you would drink beer just like Himeko-sensei."
"What's wrong with drinking milk? Isn't drinking milk good for growing kids? After all, I'm still underage to drink alcohol."
'Growing kids?'
Ayame and the other completely forgot that Kouro was just a 16 year old teenager.
Well, it's not their fault, after all, Kouro can always be relied on at critical times and the composure he displays when going against Honkai makes him look like a veteran who has been on the battle field for a long time.
Mei and Kiana tightly gripped their glasses they were holding and swore in their hearts to become even stronger in order to aid Kouro who always bears the burden alone.
Kouro looked at the surface of his empty glass in his hand while pondering.
'One more week before school starts. It's time to revise my plans.'
"Kouro! What are you doing there? Come here, let's eat together." Kouro raised his head and saw everyone sitting in the chairs waiting for him
Kouro smiled slightly 'But first let's enjoy the party. '
That day, Kouro's quiet house was finally filled with everyone's laughter.