Chapter 376: The Bet and the Stakes!
"Of course, this bet won't affect the discussion about water-control techniques we agreed on before."
As though afraid Luke would misunderstand, Kiriko explained a little.
"If you truly feel resistant to it, then it's fine even if you don't agree."
"…But I still hope you will."
Kiriko looked at Luke, and a faint, hard-to-describe emotion flickered in her eyes.
"In tomorrow's first-round match, Moroboshi will face Kurogane… If my judgment isn't wrong, you firmly believe Kurogane will win, right?"
Facing Kiriko's question, Luke nodded without hesitation.
Although he had just heard Moroboshi's story and learned that he was a powerhouse with an extremely firm will and something to carry, Luke was still certain Ikki would win.
Putting aside his identity as the original protagonist, the many sword techniques Ikki had learned from Luke alone were not something ordinary people could resist.
Moreover, Ikki had already transformed them into his own things.
As long as he did not encounter an over-standard opponent like Stella or Ouma, entering the top four should be almost certain.
On top of that, body reinforcement was an ability that would be very hard for Moroboshi's ability to nullify.
So Luke was not worried at all about Ikki winning.
"But I believe Moroboshi will win!"
Kiriko looked at Luke seriously.
She was not saying this just to make a bet with him.
She truly believed Ikki could not defeat Moroboshi.
"That will be the bet. We'll bet on which of them wins."
"If I win, please let me research your body."
"Of course, I swear I absolutely won't conduct any research that would negatively affect you."
"I know this condition is very difficult for you to accept. So in exchange, if you win, I can accept any request from you."
"Whether it's my mysteries in water control, the crystallization of my many years of medical skill, or even if you ask me to become your exclusive doctor from now on, I can accept it."
"I won't even limit the number. Two requests, three requests, ask as you wish. In that case… the stakes should be equal, right?"
Luke rubbed his forehead with some distress.
He roughly understood why Kiriko was so obsessed with researching his body.
The way Moroboshi had struggled in pain back then had probably caused some degree of mental trauma to Kiriko too.
However, as a Blazer, Kiriko was clearly much stronger than Koume.
She could adjust to the mental impact herself.
But even if she could adjust, more or less, a knot had still been left behind in her heart.
Moreover, as a doctor, she had chosen to run away from a patient she had personally created, and in the end, the patient had overcome the hardship alone.
This matter had clearly been regarded by Kiriko as a disgrace to her professional career.
She wanted to make up for her mistake, but the past was already past.
For the current her, the only thing she could do was complete the medical technique of reconstructing severed limbs.
However, advancing medical technology required a large number of experiments to support it.
Yet as long as she thought of Moroboshi's screams back then, Kiriko could not muster even the slightest courage to conduct a second experiment.
So she needed another possibility.
She needed a brand-new direction or theory to give herself confidence.
She had searched for so many years, and only in Luke had she seen this hope that was like the first light of dawn.
However, only Luke himself knew that his physical ability was not some kind of mutation.
If one wanted to study it, unless they could understand the mysteries of divine power, there was basically no hope.
But this explanation clearly could not convince Kiriko, who had fallen into obsession.
And honestly, facing a genius who could even develop something like elementalization, Luke really could not guarantee that she definitely would not research something useful.
After thinking for a moment, Luke, who had made his decision, first turned his head and looked at Ikki.
Only after the person directly involved in the bet shrugged to show he did not mind did Luke answer Kiriko.
"I can agree to the bet. After all, from my perspective, I'm certain to win. I have no reason to refuse benefits that are being handed to me."
"I assume Yakushi-senpai also proposed this bet because you believe you're certain to win."
"We'll set the conditions of the bet as you said. Your complete knowledge of water control, as well as the crystallization of your medical skill, will be the stakes."
At this point, Luke paused.
But before Kiriko could say anything grateful, he added a few more points.
"To be honest, handing my body over to someone else for research is a dangerous thing, and I don't particularly want to try it."
"After all, this is only the second time you and I have met. Although I'm confident I won't misjudge people, I also don't want to put myself in an extremely dangerous situation."
"So if you truly win the bet, while agreeing to let you research me, I'll need some corresponding preventive measures on my side."
"If you can accept this condition, Senpai, then I can make this bet with you."
The preventive measures Luke spoke of naturally referred to a certain Valkyrie who had collapsed in bed for an entire day.
With Edelweiss's level of control over the power of fate, as long as she guarded him from the side, Kiriko would not be able to secretly harm Luke.
Moreover, they could also use a contract ability to bind Kiriko and eliminate hidden dangers from the root.
In truth, the fact that Luke was prepared to trouble Edelweiss already revealed his attitude.
No matter what the result of the bet was, he had already formed the idea of helping Kiriko.
Of course, this was not because Luke coveted her body.
He had just entered that kind of relationship with Edelweiss. If he was going to covet anyone, it would first be his own lover.
The reason Luke planned to help Kiriko was because he held some respect for the profession of doctor.
Those who saved lives and healed the wounded deserved help.
As for agreeing to the bet, Luke had only agreed so that Kiriko would feel a little better about accepting it.
When the time came, regardless of the result, both sides could simply treat the stakes as a trade.
That would make it easier for Kiriko to accept than Luke helping her one-sidedly.
For people unworthy of help, Luke would never waste time.
But for those worthy of help, Luke would not be stingy about extending a hand.
He had always done things this way.
"So, how about it? If Yakushi-senpai has no objections, then our bet is settled."
"…Just call me Kiriko. Don't use honorifics with me anymore."
Kiriko looked deeply at Luke.
Her mastery over water manipulation had already reached the peak.
That was not an exaggeration.
By feeling alone, Kiriko could easily detect the flow of a person's blood, as well as every fluid inside their body.
Through sensing the subtle changes in blood and bodily fluids, she could easily achieve observation surpassing the current Ikki and insight surpassing Touka's Reverse Sight.
In other words, so-called pseudo-mind-reading.
Luke's thoughts were seen through by her the instant they appeared, because she had kept her ability active the entire time in order to know whether Luke would accept the bet.
The result was incomparable gratitude.
Although she did not know what preventive measures Luke trusted, Kiriko deeply understood that he had not hesitated at all in deciding to help her.
"Thank you. Truly… thank you very much."
…
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