Listening to Shizue's dying wish, Takumi truly found it hard to refuse.
He had already formed a divine envoy chess piece in his hand, but for the moment, he could only set it aside.
He leaned closer to Shizue, intending to hear what her final wish was.
The moment he approached, Shizue gathered her courage, used the last of her strength to lift her head, and gave him a gentle kiss.
It was a pure kiss, carrying the innocent affection of a young maiden.
Perhaps from the moment she arrived in this world at the age of eight, the girl within her heart had never grown up.
Shizue had always protected herself behind a mature exterior, but this time, she finally allowed that girl inside her to emerge.
After the gentle kiss, a satisfied smile appeared on Shizue's face.
Chloe, who had witnessed everything from the side, felt a little sour inside, but more than anything, she was heartbroken.
"Big Sister Shizue…"
Chloe sobbed softly, unwilling to let Shizue leave like this.
At that moment, Shizue's consciousness had already begun to fade.
"Thank you, Takumi~ I'm truly grateful to you~~"
"It's fine. You're welcome."
As Shizue closed her eyes in happiness, Takumi spoke while pushing the divine envoy chess piece into her body.
Buzz!!!
A tangible glow swept across her entire body, instantly replenishing her depleted life force.
Even the burns covering Shizue's body from the Flame Spirit healed in an instant!
The tattoo-like burn marks beneath her eye disappeared as well.
Takumi found that somewhat regrettable. They had looked quite beautiful and had not resembled burns at all.
Still, seeing Shizue's smooth, pale, oval-shaped face, he quickly stopped caring.
Once the divine envoy chess piece completely fused with Shizue, she continued lying silently on the bed.
"Haa… Haa…"
Her eyes remained tightly closed, with only her steady breathing proving that all her vital signs were intact.
"Hm?"
Noticing that Shizue had not awakened, Takumi revealed a trace of confusion.
He should have healed her already.
He immediately checked Shizue's status panel.
[Name: Shizue]
[Class: Divine Envoy Flame Spirit User]
[Level: Devil King Class]
[Attributes: Divine Envoy (Gold)… Conqueror of Flames (Purple), Elemental Affinity (Blue), Deviant (Blue)…]
[Conqueror of Flames (Purple): You can freely manipulate explosive flames and are immune to fire damage.]
"Everything looks fine. Her attributes even evolved."
After examining the panel, Takumi found that there was nothing wrong with Shizue at all.
Once he removed the Flame Spirit, Shizue should originally have lost the Conqueror of Flames ability.
However, thanks to the divine envoy chess piece, the remaining power of the Flame Spirit had fused into her body and completely transformed into one of her innate attributes.
Not only had Shizue's strength risen dramatically, but all her former weaknesses had disappeared as well.
"In that case… she's pretending to be asleep."
Takumi rubbed his chin and looked at Shizue, whose eyelids twitched slightly even though she still refused to open them.
Chloe also noticed that something was strange.
"Big Sister Shizue is all right now, isn't she?"
"Of course. Your big brother's miraculous medical skills aren't just empty boasting. I can even revive the dead."
"…"
Shizue, still lying there with her eyes closed, heard Takumi shamelessly praising himself.
She secretly opened her eyes a crack and immediately saw Takumi and Chloe chatting.
It seemed… she truly did not have to die.
Just moments ago, she had felt as though her soul was already ascending.
Then Takumi shoved a chess piece into her, and she instantly returned to full health.
Shizue's thoughts were now in complete chaos. She almost wished she had actually died.
Thinking back to how she had stolen a kiss from Takumi while believing herself to be on the verge of death made her want to slap herself.
Poke. Poke. Poke.
Chloe extended one finger and poked Shizue's fair, flushed cheek.
Her beautiful face now looked as red as a boiled lobster.
Even though Chloe was still a little girl, she could tell that Shizue was pretending to be asleep.
"Big Sister Shizue, are you all right?"
Hearing Chloe's sweet concern, Shizue helplessly opened her eyes.
"I'm fine… I actually feel quite good."
She answered with an utterly miserable expression, overwhelmed by embarrassment.
Under Takumi's faintly amused gaze, she almost buried her head between the mountains on her chest.
At the same time, after carefully sensing the state of her body, Shizue was stunned.
Her magicule reserves were incredibly abundant. She had undergone a complete evolution in every respect!
Shizue felt as though she could instantly defeat her former self.
And she knew very well that this was no illusion.
"How does it feel? You've become stronger, haven't you, Shizue?"
"I came to this world of my own accord. How could I have done that without some strength?"
Takumi spoke with a cheerful smile, causing Shizue to grow even more embarrassed.
"Um… About those wishes from earlier… J-Just pretend you never heard them."
"Oh? That wouldn't be very good."
The corners of Takumi's lips rose as he smiled at Shizue.
Even her rounded earlobes had turned bright red and hot.
Her bashful appearance was completely different from the cold beauty she had seemed to be while wearing her mask.
Seeing that he had nearly teased Shizue beyond her limits, Takumi did not continue.
"Shizue, get some rest for now."
"It would be better for you to personally take revenge on Demon Lord Leon."
"As for your final wish… it's not as though I can't help you fulfill it again."
After leaving those words behind, Takumi immediately walked out of the room.
Shizue, who had almost fainted from embarrassment, finally managed to breathe again.
Chloe remained in the room, smiling cheerfully at her.
"Big Sister Shizue looks so cute when she's embarrassed."
"But I think it's understandable that you like Big Brother Takumi."
"He's so handsome and powerful, and he always smells really nice."
As Chloe spoke, she listed everything she associated with Takumi.
In her mind, Takumi was perfect.
Shizue agreed with some of what Chloe said.
For example, he truly did smell very nice.
But when it came to the subject of liking him, Shizue desperately denied it.
"I-I don't like him like that… At the time, I just thought… I was about to die without ever having touched a man, so that's why I…"
"Huh? Big Sister Shizue doesn't like Big Brother Takumi?"
"That's not it… Of course I like him."
"Then why did you say you don't?"
Faced with Chloe's innocent, confused eyes, Shizue felt as though her mind had turned into a pot of tangled porridge.
Her left and right brain were practically fighting each other, and even she no longer understood what she was saying.
Seeing Shizue struggle to speak coherently, Chloe burst out laughing.
Still, the precocious Chloe could more or less understand some of Shizue's feelings.
...
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