Fumblingly pulling down her top to hide her chest, Arthur turned around with a red face. I understood. It’s only natural for someone who isn’t in a relationship to feel embarrassed after having their chest groped by a man – only non-virgins wouldn’t feel this way.
However, I couldn’t stay silent forever, so I cautiously opened my mouth.
“Since when were you a woman?”
“…Since I was born.”
“Ah.”
Even I thought it was a dumb question. Since when were you a woman? Obviously, she had been female since birth.
I thought she was fine, but apparently, she was quite drunk.
After a brief silence, contemplating what to ask next, I managed to come up with a decent question.
“Why did you hide it?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, why did you hide being a woman?”
In this world, surprisingly, there is no gender discrimination. Whether male or female, once you master Aura or Magic Power and gain special abilities, the innate physical differences become negligible, making this situation rather understandable.
So—Arthur didn’t need to hide her gender out of fear of female discrimination. There must be another reason…
“Well, now that I know one of your secrets, Kail, it’s only fair you know one of mine, right?”
“Oh, a secret?”
“Where should I start?”
“We have plenty of time. Take it slow.”
“The place where I was born is…”
At my words, Arthur paused as if deep in thought before starting an ancient tale. That wasn’t exactly what I meant by taking it slow.
Summarizing Arthur’s incredibly boring story:
She had a dragon’s heart within her, and organizations were after it. The person who recommended her to the academy polymorphed her into a man to conceal her identity.
After hearing her entire story, I tilted my head.
‘Was that part of the setting?’
When I played Diaros Academy, Arthur died at Damian’s hands. Naturally, I never thought to explore any hidden backstory and assumed she was just an extra character since the game continued despite her death.
But to think she had settings like the dragon’s heart and being a cross-dressing woman—I had no idea.
‘Wait, so this over-the-top character died, yet the game still continued?’
Suddenly, I realized anew how much of a god-tier game Diaros Academy really was. No wonder my childhood friend got so worked up about it.
I didn’t pay attention to the story, focusing solely on battles, but how many named NPCs might have died because of my actions?
“—That’s how I’ve been living as a man until now.”
Finishing her long tale, Arthur bowed her head deeply, waiting for my reaction. She looked like a criminal awaiting judgment.
She probably thought I’d be angry about her hiding her gender.
But I wasn’t angry at all. Of course, the fact that she deceived me could have made me mad—but—
“Lift your head, Arthur.”
“…Okay.”
“I understand. Yeah. That can happen. It was a dangerous situation, right?”
“Kail…!”
Arthur looked up at me, moved. I nodded back at her. Sure, that can happen.
However, Arthur soon realized something was off and quietly lowered her voice.
“…Hey, Kail?”
“Yeah.”
“Can you stop staring at my chest?”
As she spoke and covered her chest, I widened my eyes as if to say, ‘When did I ever do that?’ and stared at Arthur’s chest.
I never looked at her chest. Her chest just happened to be in my line of sight by chance.
“It’s not like it’ll wear out. Besides, you saw my naked body at the bathhouse.”
“…It feels like it might wear out. And you saw my naked body too.”
“What’s wrong with guys seeing each other naked?”
Seeing that my gaze showed no signs of faltering, Arthur sighed and started muttering a spell.
Soon, her body began to shrink slowly. Her chest flattened, and her lower body became more pronounced.
“What? You could turn back?”
“Yeah. The uncle who sent me here cast a spell on my body.”
“So why did you turn back into a woman earlier?”
“Well, it seems… when my rationality weakens, I return to my original form.”
In other words, drinking alcohol weakened her rationality, and the spell unknowingly unraveled. A side effect she hadn’t known about since she’d never drunk alcohol before.
Hearing this, I smirked and said to Arthur,
“Let’s have these kinds of gatherings often.”
“Eh? Kail? What do you mean?”
“You heard right.”
Though it felt awkward to say it—Arthur as a woman was exactly my type.
I wanted to see her again, multiple times.
‘This really is a god-tier game.’
I was wrong. Just as my childhood friend said, this world truly was a god-tier game.
* * *
As the sun rose, we gathered in the dining hall after a quick wash-up.
Yuri appeared in the dining room, trying hard to hide her decaying expression as she took her seat.
“Yuri, are you okay?”
“…Yeah.”
“Looks like you’re suffering from a hangover.”
Come to think of it, I almost died from a headache this morning. I burned away all the alcohol inside me using Aura, which is why I’m fine.
And—there was no way Yuri, a sorcerer, could burn off alcohol like I did. There might be spells to purify alcohol, but it was unlikely Yuri would have learned them.
Eventually, Yuri caused a scene during the meal.
“Ugh-!”
“M, My Lady!?”
Ignoring the faint screams of the maids, Yuri clamped her hand over her mouth and dashed to the bathroom. The belatedly aware maids followed her to assist.
I watched the scene briefly before continuing my meal. Yuri didn’t return until the meal ended.
Arthur finished eating and returned to the academy, while I lounged in my room, waiting for Yuri. After spacing out for some time, the butler knocked on my door.
“Young Master.”
“Come in.”
“—Excuse me.”
The butler entered the room with a serious expression and relayed his message.
“A message from His Grace, the Duke.”
“…His Grace?”
What business could the Duke, currently dealing with barbarian remnants in the North, possibly have with me? Worried that news of some incident at the academy had reached the Duke, I quickly stood up and followed the butler.
The magical communication orb in the communications room was flashing wildly, signaling that the Duke was continuously sending magic power through.
Sitting down and placing my hand on the crystal ball, I heard the Duke’s voice in my ear.
[Kyle?]
“Yes, Uncle Chang.”
[I heard about it.]
Indeed, the Duke was impressive—the news of me killing terrorists had already reached him. Amazed by this unexpected development, I quietly spoke.
“It was nothing major.”
[Nothing major? This is cause for celebration.]
“Celebration…?”
[Yes, celebration.]
For a moment, I wondered if I misunderstood the meaning of the word “celebration,” when the Duke added:
[To think you’ve already secured an heir. It’ll be tough to balance pregnancy with classes, won’t it?]
“…Huh?”
An heir?
Me?
…With whom?
[Regarding dowry, I’ll send it separately, and the formal wedding should take place before the belly swells…]
“Wait a moment, Uncle Chang.”
[What is it?]
“I… I don’t quite understand what you’re talking about.”
I informed him that I hadn’t even kissed Yuri, let alone anything else. Upon hearing this, the Duke retorted as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
[Didn’t I hear this morning that Yuri ran out vomiting?]
“Ah…”
Then I understood why the Duke had this misunderstanding. I explained that Yuri’s vomiting was due to a hangover, not morning sickness, and told him about secretly drinking moonshine the night before.
Upon hearing my explanation, the Duke sighed in disappointment. After sighing, he began nitpicking my earlier statements.
[Kyle, as awkward as it is for me to say this, haven’t even kissed her yet? Isn’t this moving too slow?]
“…This really isn’t something the Duke should be saying.”
[Just speed things up, will you? Hmm, I hope to hear real news next time.]
With those parting words, the Duke cut off the communication. Reflecting on his words, I truly thought about the roughness of the northern folks.
Telling me directly to impregnate his daughter. Talk about being straightforward…
‘How am I supposed to face Yuri now?’
I probably won’t be able to look her in the face for a while. With that thought, I cautiously left the room.
* * *
After the academy, which had been thrown into chaos by the terrorist incident, finished its restoration and the trials of the cadets who cooperated with the terrorists neared their end—the academy resumed classes.
On the first day of resumed classes, someone blocked my path.
“Kail Meyer, right?”
A familiar-looking black-haired flat-chested girl. I tilted my head as I looked at her face.
“That’s right?”
“Yeah. Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Sera.”
“…Kim Sera?”
Hearing that name, I belatedly realized where I had seen her face before. She was my childhood friend who recommended Diaros Academy to me back on Earth.
Having introduced herself, Sera proudly added her nickname.
“They call me the Dragon Hunter.”
And I realized she still hadn’t grown out of her chuunibyou phase.
