Chapter 31: Astounding Cursed Technique Effect
"Yukinoshita, I feel like something very good happened to you this morning."
Hikigaya Hachiman took a sip of black tea and spoke, feigning casualness.
"Ah, is it that obvious?"
Yukinoshita Yukino was slightly stunned, immediately remembering what happened in her dream just now.
Since the person involved was right in front of her, she picked up a small spoon to stir her coffee, not looking up at Hikigaya Hachiman.
"Probably..." she said in a very soft voice, looking at the coffee cup.
"It's because I had a wonderful dream."
Even though Hachiman-kun was small in the dream, he was unexpectedly very reassuring.
He effortlessly accomplished what Yukinoshita Yukino could not do. Watching him hand over the shoe and seeing his face, which commanded unconscious trust, made Yukinoshita Yukino's heart ripple with feelings of warmth and wistfulness even now that she was awake, recalling the events of the dream.
"Only..."
Yukinoshita Yukino's tone sounded a bit forlorn.
"If everything in the dream were real, that would be great."
Yukinoshita Yukino thought that if Hachiman-kun had been at the same school as her back then, she probably wouldn't have ended up having to study abroad later on.
After speaking, Yukinoshita Yukino immediately realized her slip of the tongue and quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I said something strange. Please forgive my nonsense."
Hikigaya Hachiman shook his head, understanding Yukinoshita Yukino's difficulties, and agreed,
"Indeed, having a good dream makes waking up in the morning more pleasant."
Hikigaya Hachiman had only performed what he considered to be a proper emergency response to the Yukinoshita being teased by her classmates, and he was slightly relieved to receive positive feedback.
Mainly, Hikigaya Hachiman always felt that his newly acquired ability was somewhat similar to the Chaos Daemons in the Warp who specialize in manipulating the human mind.
For him, someone who fights on the front line against monsters, it felt a little odd.
It directly pierces through people's psychological defenses, painstakingly seeking out the past they least want to face, and forces them to re-experience the pain and helplessness of that time.
The effect was also remarkable; Hikigaya Hachiman was able to see Yukinoshita's past memories.
With this ability, strictly speaking, other people no longer have privacy from Hikigaya Hachiman.
If he wanted to, he could openly view anyone's unwanted past as an observer, forcing them to recall things they didn't want to face.
From a combat perspective, Hikigaya Hachiman believes this ability has a very high degree of operational flexibility.
It is practically a malicious mental attack and compulsory hard control against others, with the degree of hard control varying based on the target's ability to withstand it.
Hikigaya Hachiman decides how long the painful memory lasts, making this convenient ability almost a simplified version of Gojo Satoru's Domain Expansion.
However, the consumption of Cursed Energy for this [Nightmare Whisper] Cursed Technique is essentially a small fraction for Hikigaya Hachiman, making it a powerful, virtually cost-free hard-control skill.
The accidental effect of using this technique on Yukinoshita, however, showed Hikigaya Hachiman another application of the skill.
Hikigaya Hachiman is quite cautious in dealing with people and is very good at gauging the appropriate interpersonal distance.
He could perceive very directly that Yukinoshita's gaze was distinctly softer today compared to last night.
This speed of transformation is quite astonishing; merely one dream and it had this effect. The technique's result is astounding.
Hikigaya Hachiman wondered if he only needed to use the [Nightmare Technique] more often while simultaneously saving Yukinoshita as a savior.
Similar to the "suspension bridge effect," if Hikigaya Hachiman were to appropriately step in every time Yukinoshita encountered a sense of crisis, it would only be a matter of time before she completely succumbed.
Such coincidences don't happen in real life.
But a dream is different; it is self-initiated by the other party. After all, dreams can be considered a form of self-suggestion and an alternative type of hypnosis.
That's one aspect; the other is its intelligence gathering capability.
Hikigaya Hachiman could use this technique on people he meets who have heavy negative emotions.
Through this method, he could carefully investigate the reason why their negative emotions are so intense.
For example, Nagasaki Soyo, who lives in the same building as him—the heavy negative energy surrounding that girl could not have been cultivated in just a day or two.
It could only be the result of prolonged psychological abuse.
However, Hikigaya Hachiman doesn't particularly like prying into other people's privacy.
He's not a pervert; why should he peek into and intervene in other people's lives?
Therefore, whether an ability is evil or not depends mainly on the person using it. Hikigaya Hachiman, due to his own moral standards, certainly wouldn't misuse this power.
Of course, he will take action when necessary.
As for Yukinoshita's softer gaze, Hikigaya Hachiman can only roll with it.
At least, he doesn't dislike her, right?
Hikigaya Hachiman wiped his lips.
"Thank you for the meal, Yukinoshita."
He suggested,
"I'll do the dishes."
He had already shamelessly eaten a meal and left yesterday. If he were to do the same today, Hikigaya Hachiman would feel bad about it.
Hikigaya Hachiman has eaten two meals prepared by Yukinoshita, so washing the dishes once wouldn't be excessive, right?
"No, it's alright. Hikigaya-kun is my guest."
Hearing Hachiman-kun's offer, Yukinoshita Yukino immediately snapped out of her contemplation and said,
"Besides, didn't you bring me cucumbers?
A delicious breakfast in exchange for cucumbers—I've already made a huge profit."
Hikigaya Hachiman gave the girl a rare smile.
"Let me feel like I'm contributing a little, too."
"Alright then, Hikigaya-kun."
Yukinoshita Yukino didn't insist, handing him her plate and thanking him.
"Thank you."
Hikigaya Hachiman took the two plates and went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Yukinoshita Yukino didn't just sit there. She retrieved the apron she had worn yesterday from the balcony and handed it to Hikigaya Hachiman.
"Hikigaya-kun, be careful not to wet your clothes. You should put this on."
Hikigaya Hachiman didn't refuse.
However, he only put his head through the neck loop of the apron; the knot at the back was tied by Yukinoshita Yukino, who was standing behind him.
"Your hands are dirty from the plates, so let me help you."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Hachiman-kun wore his little cat apron while washing the dishes—a very heartwarming scene.
Yukinoshita Yukino couldn't help but feel a subtle emotion watching this scene.
'If Hachiman-kun were a stay-at-home husband, it might not be unacceptable.
…..What am I thinking!'
Soon, Miss Yukinoshita felt ashamed of her own thoughts.
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