After leaving the arcade, Hakuto kept his promise—after taking out the money he and Nao had spent, he sent almost all the remaining money to the director of the orphanage where he had stayed as a child.
On a park bench by the river, Hakuto and Nao sat together, with Iori sitting between them.
The crimson sunset cast its glow on the three of them, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
"When did little Iori awaken this mind-reading ability?"
"A few days ago, I think... My childhood best friend started distancing herself from me and playing with others..."
"This must be my fault. Even when I asked her, she wouldn't tell me anything. At that time, I wished I could hear her inner thoughts... and then I got this ability."
As Iori recounted her experience, her face was full of sadness and pain.
"If your ability manifested because of a wish, then you should be able to control it—to at least reach a state where you can turn it on and off at will."
"Your Nao-nee is right. Abilities are a part of oneself. Everyone can control them, just like controlling their own arms..."
Hearing Hakuto's words, Iori looked slightly surprised.
"Shiratori-nii seems to know a lot about these things..."
"Because I have a special ability too... But now's not the time to show it. Look behind you."
"Huh? What's behind me?"
Iori instinctively turned her head upon hearing Hakuto's words, only to find that, at some point, Nao, who had been sitting behind her, had suddenly disappeared.
"Huh? Where did Nao-nee go?"
"I'm right here."
As soon as the words fell, Nao's figure reappeared in front of Iori.
"Huh?! She disappeared? And then reappeared? Is this invisibility?"
"Something like that."
"So, little Iori, you can definitely control your ability. But for now, just stay at my place."
Just as Nao finished speaking, Hakuto pulled a stack of cash from his pocket and handed it to Iori.
"Here, little Iori, take this fifty thousand yen."
"Huh? Why is Shiratori-nii giving me money?"
"You're still running away from home, aren't you?"
Hakuto smiled, then patted Iori's head and continued.
"Your ability has been troubling you all this time. I don't know how much longer you'll be away from home, and I won't force you to go back."
"But at the very least, we need to solve the issue of food. You can't go two days without eating like today."
Before Iori could refuse, Hakuto placed the fifty thousand yen directly on her lap.
"Th-this... Shiratori-nii... this is too much..."
For a twelve-year-old girl, pocket money usually ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand yen.
Receiving fifty thousand yen all at once was something she had never experienced before.
"Consider it a loan. When you're able to earn money in the future, you can pay me back."
"But this isn't from the winnings at the pachinko machine just now. This is straight from my own pocket."
"Even though I won a lot earlier, that was only because of my ability. You should never get involved in gambling..."
"Okay, I understand," Iori nodded.
[I already said little Iori should stay at my place. Giving money like this isn't really your style.]
[None of your business. I'm not asking you to reimburse me... Oh, speaking of reimbursements, you need to cover the money spent on the claw machine today.]
[Since you did so many good deeds today, I guess I'll reluctantly cover it for you.]
[Thanks, President. That'll be a total of one hundred thousand yen. Cash or transfer?]
Hearing the number, Nao nearly spat out the soda she was drinking, almost spraying it all over Hakuto's face.
Without even thinking, she blurted out, "How much?! One hundred thousand?! You're telling me you spent one hundred thousand yen on a claw machine?!"
"? Yeah. If you don't believe me, ask little Iori."
"Ask my ass! You're asking for a beating!"
"Beat me if you can!"
...
That night, Hakuto and Nao arrived at the entrance of an apartment.
"Is little Iori settled in?"
"Yeah. She seems to be a fan of Nishimori and got really excited when she saw him."
Hakuto glanced at the apartment in front of him and scratched his head.
"I thought you'd go talk to little Iori's parents first, but you came here instead?"
"This is the home of the friend little Iori mentioned. If we want her to control her ability, we need to understand the trigger first..."
With that, Nao stepped forward and rang the doorbell. After a moment, a girl with purple hair slowly opened the door.
"Coming..."
"You must be Honoka."
"I am... Who are you?"
"We're Iori's friends."
Upon hearing Iori's name, Honoka's expression visibly changed. She immediately opened the door wider and anxiously asked, "You're Iori's friends? Have you found her?"
"She's fine now."
"That's a relief..."
Seeing Honoka let out a sigh of relief, Nao frowned slightly and asked, "You were worried about little Iori? Then why did you deliberately distance yourself from her?"
Honoka clearly hadn't expected this question.
She hesitated for a moment before putting on a resolute expression and responding, "Because... I don't want to have anything to do with her anymore!"
"Why?"
Under Nao's persistent questioning, Honoka stammered, unable to come up with an answer for a long time.
Seeing this, Nao instinctively glanced at Hakuto behind her and signaled him with her eyes.
"I told you getting this was pointless. I had to put in a lot of effort to get it from Professor Shizuka..."
Sighing, Hakuto unlocked his phone and handed it to Nao.
"What I'm about to show you needs to be kept secret..."
"W-what do you mean?"
Nao pulled up a video stored on Hakuto's phone.
In the video, Hakuto held a crowbar, surrounded by a group of people.
But within moments, the people around him were writhing in pain on the ground, groaning in agony. The scene looked like a battlefield of the fallen.
"W-why are you showing me this?"
Honoka instinctively stepped back, recognizing the man in the video as the one standing just a few feet away.
"To be honest, the guy behind me is a mafia boss. He took a liking to Iori and wanted to recruit her into the underworld..."
Hakuto clicked his tongue in annoyance but didn't refute it. After all, this was necessary.
If they didn't do this, they would have to explain the supernatural abilities instead.
And it wouldn't be good for a normal girl to learn about such things, so Hakuto had to play the role of a mafia boss.
But his annoyed expression only made Honoka even more terrified. Her body instinctively curled up slightly.
"Why would they target Iori?"
"No idea. Our boss just took a liking to her and wanted to ask her closest friend if she had anything to say to her. After all, even the mafia has some sense of humanity."
Oh no... Not only was he solidifying his image as a mafia boss, but now he was also confirming himself as a chibicon.
"That's... that's impossible! Iori's body—there's no way she could join the mafia!"
Seeing Honoka waver, Nao seized the opportunity.
"Her body? What's wrong with Iori's body?"
After hesitating for a moment, Honoka finally confessed.
"Iori... she won't be able to move in the future. She'll be bedridden..."
Hearing this, Hakuto furrowed his brows.
"ALS? That explains it..."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"When I activated my ability at the pachinko machine earlier, I could sense something wrong with Iori's body. But I didn't expect it to be ALS..."
"Can you cure it?"
"If I don't mind the consequences, maybe..."
ALS—an incurable disease. Patients could only watch themselves become paralyzed, helpless and hopeless.
If Hakuto ignored the risks of his ability and focused on researching the disease, he might be able to develop a cure.
But it was uncertain whether the cure would come first—or if he would die from the side effects of his ability.
"I found out from my mom and Iori's mom talking… so I deliberately distanced myself from Iori…"
"Rather than watching my best friend end up bedridden and paralyzed, it's better to cut ties from the start… That way, it's easier for everyone! Isn't it?"
Hearing this, Hakuto found it utterly absurd.
"If this were in the past, I swear I would've beaten some sense into you for that ridiculous mindset…"
"You don't have to. I'll do it myself…"
Nao's face twisted in rage as she glared at Honoka in front of her. She casually tossed her phone behind her to Hakuto, then grabbed Honoka by the collar.
"You call yourself a good friend?! You little brat!"
"Saying you cut ties because you didn't want to see your friend turn into someone who can't move…"
"Did you ever think about this?! While you were off avoiding little Iori and playing with other people, she was being eaten away by her illness!"
"A double attack on both her body and mind—can you even imagine the pain she went through?! You bastard!!"
"And now, after all this time, you tell me she's more important to you than anyone else? Don't you think that's hypocritical?!"
With that, Nao exerted force, and Honoka, still in her grasp, was thrown straight to the ground!
Nao roared in fury, as if she were venting all of Iori's suppressed pain on her behalf!
"You talk big, but in the end, you just ran away! If you were really her best friend, there were things you should have done instead!!"
"You're going to regret this for the rest of your life!! Mark my words!!"
___
Read 20 Advanced Chapters on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics
Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you!
Don't forget to leave a review too~
Check out the other translations too
___