[Clang--]
[An Operator available for recruitment has been detected.]
[Recruit?]
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Youzi tapped recruit.
Sakai Miho was quite a pretty and delicate girl. When she had previously broken out of her anomalous state and fallen into Su Youzi's arms... as she held the girl tightly, Su Youzi had also felt the astonishing potential in her chest.
Perhaps she still couldn't compare to Saotome Yukina.
But... as a martial-arts-type Ability User, Sakai Miho's upright, perfect figure was something Little Rabbit could never match.
Raising Little Miho was definitely a profitable investment.
What's more... Sakai Miho's resilience and kindness really did make even a bad woman like Su Youzi feel sorry for her.
[Clang clang clang clang--]
Sakai Miho's character illustration appeared before Su Youzi.
[★★★★★]
This was somewhat beyond Su Youzi's expectations.
She had thought that the girl she had casually picked up might only be a 1-star Operator like POI or Yamabuki Nanako, or perhaps a 2-star Operator.
But... she was actually a Golden Legend.
Su Youzi felt the joy of getting a grand prize for free.
The world instantly turned into dark-colored blocks.
Sakai Miho, her hair tied into twin tails, bent down and knelt halfway on the hospital bed, with only a plain white hospital sheet draped over her body.
The girl's right hand twisted the sheet and lifted slightly. On the left... the plain white sheet slid down her frail shoulder.
The illustration froze.
"Senior Youzi's sleeping face... is... really pretty."
"Ah!"
"Sorry."
"I seem to have stared for too long without realizing it."
Gulp--
Su Youzi swallowed instinctively.
Th-this sheet is so white.
No, this sheet is so round.
Martial-arts-type Ability Users really are different.
She had gotten a grand prize for free?
This was an ace!
An ace!!!
[Operator: Sakai Miho]
[★★★★★]
[Level 10—Physical Restoration Ability User]
[Talent: Perfect Proxy]
[Talent: Unyielding Will]
[Innate Ability: Abyss Return]
[First-year student at Shiritsu Megumi Garden Academy and a victim of the "Insight" Project. A girl who seemed somewhat insecure, she would absolutely obey her commander's orders on any battlefield.]
[Initial Affection Points: 51 (Favor)]
The color of the girl's Affection Points was the exact same bright red as Soga Toyura and Teacher Unohana Chiyo's.
Looking at Sakai Miho's illustration, Su Youzi immediately set the assistant on the system interface to the girl without the slightest hesitation.
"Eh..."
"Is it me?"
"Senpai..."
"Would you really choose me?"
The girl's voice was timid and soft, and the illustration looked as though she wanted to prop herself up.
Su Youzi was so moved that tears were nearly dripping from the corners of her mouth. Wuwuwu... she's so obedient.
Then... Su Youzi looked at the illustration, which had stopped moving again, and the plain white sheet that had settled firmly at the girl's elbow.
She silently gave the system a bad review.
She was far too alluring.
But... tilting her head, Su Youzi looked at Sakai Miho's rarity.
[★★★★★]
The stars were dark gold.
Su Youzi opened the "Operator Compendium" and checked again at Little Rabbit, who was also a 5-star Operator.
[☆☆☆☆☆]
The golden stars shone brilliantly.
It wasn't her imagination.
Sakai Miho was a completely different kind of Operator from Little Rabbit and the others.
Su Youzi carefully examined Sakai Miho's abilities.
[Physical Restoration] needed no explanation.
It meant exactly what it said.
As for "Perfect Proxy"... it meant that as her ability improved, the girl would constantly become more perfect in every aspect.
Including... her figure.
That was excellent.
In the game, it was merely an ability that comprehensively and evenly improved her attributes. In reality, it was simply too wonderful.
No matter how hard she trained, she would never develop the powerful muscles of the protein queen in her textbook.
But her strength, flexibility, speed, stamina, and beauty of figure would all continue to improve.
Sakai Miho really was an ace that could only be found through sheer luck.
"Unyielding Will" would grant the girl tenacious determination, and every injury she suffered would make her stronger.
Combined with "Physical Restoration" and "Perfect Proxy," it was practically the perfect combo.
None of that was a problem.
Then the problem had to lie with... "Abyss Return."
Su Youzi opened the description of "Abyss Return."
[Abyss Return: A girl who returned from the abyss of anomalous states. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇; all abilities will receive a massive boost.]
The problem really was here.
"Sen... Senpai..." Her voice was timid and soft.
Feeling Senpai's fingertips tracing the calluses in her palm, Sakai Miho nervously tried to pull her hand back.
She didn't know whether it was because she was embarrassed... or because she didn't want Su Youzi touching her ugly parts.
Su Youzi tightened her grip on Sakai Miho's hand.
"There's nothing to hide..."
"These are all proof of how hard Classmate Sakai has worked."
"Eh?" The girl's beautiful light-green eyes suddenly lifted.
She carefully studied Su Youzi, as though she wanted to burn the girl's smile into her heart.
[Clang--]
[Comfort: Sakai Miho Affection Points +1]
[Received Affection Boost Reward: Girl's Recipe Notebook.]
"Working... hard..."
"Everyone has always seen how hard Classmate Sakai has worked." Su Youzi gently held the girl's hand.
Teacher Unohana Chiyo had said that Sakai Miho often trained until after eleven at night.
During the entrance examination, the girl had so many injuries that the teacher in charge of the test had nearly thought Sakai Miho was being abused by her family.
It was only after observing the girl for over a month and discovering that those injuries really had been left by the girl's own training that the teacher relaxed.
The girl trained far too crazily.
So crazily that even "Physical Restoration" couldn't erase the injuries and calluses covering her body in time.
"So gentle..."
"Senpai... you're really so gentle..."
Tears seemed to swirl in the girl's light-green eyes.
But--
The gentler this Senpai was, the more she praised and spoke of the effort she had put in, the closer Sakai Miho's heart came to collapsing.
"There isn't any chance left."
"There isn't any hope left."
"I..."
"After becoming anomalous... I no longer have a future."
Biting her lip tightly, the girl did everything she could to keep herself from crying.
But the tears slowly began to spill despite her efforts.
"Unfortunate, unfortunate, unfortunate, unfortunate--"
Her unfortunate fate had nearly knocked her down.
The girl could only force her little head upward, preventing the tears from spilling out of her eyes.
"M-Mom... Mom said... when you're about to cry, just look up and smile, and you won't cry."
At the hospital-room door, Kujo Ryuko sneered as she watched Su Youzi.
"Your kindness... is merely poison that lets her drink poison to quench her thirst."
"And you... will pay the price for your kindness and recklessness. You'll kneel before me like a dog, stripped of all dignity."
"If you want to cry..."
"Then just cry." Su Youzi gently embraced Sakai Miho.
She pressed her chin against the girl's little head.
The body in her arms... was truly so soft.
And so slender.
It made her heart ache.
"Ugh..."
"Waaah..." No longer able to hold herself back, the girl hugged Su Youzi around the waist and burst into loud sobs.
"Goddess of Destiny..."
"She will watch over strong girls." Su Youzi whispered into the girl's ear.
"Could you stop spouting such meaningless inspirational drivel..." Kujo Ryuko's expression suddenly turned cold.
"Goddess of Destiny?"
"Someone actually believes in that bitch?"
If there really were some Goddess of Destiny in this world, why had she treated the Kujo family so unfairly?
Hadn't the Kujo family sacrificed enough for this world and the fate of humanity?
Why did she have to... curse the Kujo family again and again?
Kujo Ryuko's scarlet eyes fixed on Su Youzi.
"Su Youzi--"
"I originally thought you would at least be an interesting person like your sister, but I never expected..."
Holding Sakai Miho tightly, Su Youzi listened to Kujo Ryuko.
Then... she gently tapped [Raise].
After hooking that glittering emblem, Su Youzi pressed confirm.
The dark-gold runes suddenly burst into light, pushing Su Youzi, who was tightly embracing Sakai Miho, away. They began circling Sakai Miho ring by ring.
Kujo Ryuko stopped mid-sentence.
She stared blankly at Su Youzi and Sakai Miho, holding it in for a long while...
"nmd."
Before you continue