Sett Chapter 13: More Work (Patreon)

In an instant, an even more powerful surge of energy coursed through Higashino Tadashi’s body. His strength, endurance, speed, explosiveness, stamina, and recovery all doubled!

At the same time, a wealth of techniques and insights flooded into his mind. He instantly mastered the new skill—*Facebreaker*!

‘Wasn’t it supposed to be *Haymaker*?’ Tadashi raised an eyebrow, a bit disappointed, but quickly calmed himself.

‘No rush.’

‘Sett only has four skills total, and now I’ve got both the Q and E skills. The next one should be *Haymaker*.’

‘Once I have the three base skills, I can unlock the ultimate—*The Show Stopper*.’

Tadashi thought to himself as he assigned the skill point he had earned earlier in the morning to his newly acquired *Facebreaker*.

His personal status panel updated:

...

Template: Sett

Level: 2

Skills: Battlefield Bravery (Passive), Knuckle Down (Level 1), Facebreaker (Level 1)

Skill Points: 0 (I think there should be one here. I don't know where it goes hahaha)

...

‘Not bad,’ Tadashi thought, satisfied, as he dismissed the system panel.

Simultaneously, he released Yukino’s hand. All of this happened in a fraction of a second, so quickly that neither Yukino nor Hiratsuka Shizuka noticed any time had passed.

From their perspective, Tadashi had simply held her hand for a brief moment before letting go—polite and gentlemanly, without any inappropriate behavior.

"That’s it?" Hiratsuka asked, surprised. It had ended far too quickly. Based on her experience reading shounen manga, she expected a drawn-out battle that would span several chapters, with the protagonist barely overcoming the enemy in the end.

But a simple handshake had resolved everything?

"As I said, it wasn’t a big deal." Tadashi shrugged. "Yukino should be able to tell if the problem is resolved."

Hiratsuka turned to look at Yukino.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, it really is gone," Yukino said, astonished.

The moment she had shaken Tadashi’s hand, she felt a surge of powerful, righteous energy wash over her, like a wave. The cold, sinister aura that had clung to her vanished instantly, like snow melting under a blazing sun.

The discomfort she had been feeling disappeared. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her, leaving her feeling light and refreshed.

The change was obvious. Yukino was certain that the problem had been resolved.

"Thank you, Tadashi-kun." Yukino bowed deeply in gratitude.

For ordinary people, dealing with supernatural events was nearly impossible. Without Tadashi’s help, she wouldn’t have known what to do.

"That’s great," Hiratsuka sighed in relief, seeing the brightness return to Yukino’s eyes and the color come back to her face. It was clear that the issue had been resolved.

"You must be exhausted. You should rest," Tadashi said with a gentle smile.

"Rest?" Yukino hesitated, then yawned suddenly, feeling a wave of drowsiness wash over her.

With the problem solved, her tense nerves began to relax, and the fatigue she had been suppressing for days finally surfaced, making her eyelids heavy.

"Yes, Yukino, go get some sleep," Hiratsuka said softly, patting Yukino’s head with concern. "Don’t worry about school."

"Alright." Yukino nodded, realizing she truly needed rest.

She followed Hiratsuka to the guest room and lay down to sleep.

...

After settling Yukino in, Hiratsuka quietly closed the door and returned to the living room. Not seeing Tadashi there, she grabbed two cans of cold beer from the fridge and headed to the balcony.

As expected, Tadashi was out there, leaning against the railing, smoking.

"Thanks for helping with Yukino," Hiratsuka said, placing one of the beers in front of him.

"No need to thank me," Tadashi replied with a smirk, his eyes filled with hidden meaning. "After all, I’ve already been compensated, haven’t I?"

Hiratsuka’s face flushed as she recalled the ‘terms’ she had agreed to over the phone. She shot Tadashi an angry glare and turned away in embarrassment.

"Don’t be mad, Shizuka," Tadashi teased, wrapping an arm around her waist. "A little fun between us just makes everything better."

"Fun? Your mind is always in the gutter!" Hiratsuka huffed. "And you’re still underage! How can you smoke?"

"I drink too!" Tadashi replied, taking a sip of the beer.

"…" Hiratsuka was momentarily speechless.

After all, it was she who had given him the beer.

Tadashi might look 16, but his maturity was far beyond that of a normal teenager. Combined with his mysterious origins and powers, Hiratsuka had long stopped seeing him as a typical student. After all they had been through, they even smoked and drank together, acting recklessly.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance, feeling like she had let herself become far too indulgent.

It wasn’t a good look for a teacher.

She needed to rein herself in!

Shaking her head, Hiratsuka changed the subject. "Is Yukino’s issue completely resolved?"

"Not quite," Tadashi answered.

"Oh, not… wait, what?" Hiratsuka was caught off guard, then asked in shock, "Didn’t you say it wasn’t a big problem? And she’s sleeping just fine now!"

"Don’t worry, it’s just a loose end," Tadashi said calmly.

"A loose end?" Hiratsuka looked at him in confusion.

"Yes. I got rid of the aura from the cat spirit, but there’s still the source of the aura—the cat spirit itself. If we don’t deal with it, it might come back to bother her again," Tadashi explained.