Chapter 24
Chapter 24
No matter how much I rubbed my eyes, the woman who had been running did not turn into a man.
She soon entered the examination hall, and her figure disappeared from my sight.
I was left standing blankly in the middle of the road.
Passersby shot me curious looks, but I had no leeway to pay them any mind right now.
“······.”
I needed a quiet space to think.
The protagonist’s gender having suddenly been reversed shook the very foundation of my plans.
There was a one-in-a-hundred chance that the woman I had just seen was not the protagonist but merely someone who happened to have black hair and black eyes, but the lingering impression she left in my eyes was far too vivid.
Without delay, I returned to the lodging and sank into silence alone amid the dim darkness.
I replayed everything I had done so far, scrutinizing where things had gone wrong.
Causing a disturbance in the imperial palace would certainly have affected the course of events in some way. But that alone was not enough to explain a result as drastic as the protagonist’s gender changing.
“If the protagonist is a woman, the novel’s genre changes entirely.”
Even if it was not a harem, multiple attractive women had surrounded the protagonist.
Each of them supported him with their own strengths, forming a single faction.
But what if it was the opposite?
Multiple men flocking around a single woman.
If it became a reverse harem structure, it would only produce fractures instead of forming a unified faction.
“…Should I just make a harem myself?”
Since the protagonist had become a woman, I might as well make those women mine.
Of course, if the protagonist herself ended up that way too, there would be nothing more to ask for.
“Damn it, this is complicated as hell.”
Just one person’s gender changing was enough to make my head feel like it was about to explode.
Originally, I had planned to enter as the protagonist’s friend and helper and gradually close the distance, but now everything needed a complete overhaul.
“Then does the story change too?”
On the first day of the entrance ceremony, as mentioned before, the protagonist accidentally saw Elysia’s underwear.
That incident started everything and established their relationship, but even if a woman saw another woman’s underwear, it might be awkward, but they would not fight over it.
“Should I just do it myself?”
I was confident in my looks, and if I showed a bit of strength and talked smoothly, I was confident I could win her over.
The problem was what came after that.
“Ha…….”
The Academy arc had not even properly begun yet, and my head already ached. If this was the case, how was I supposed to endure the travel or terrorism episodes that came later?
After finishing the first test, I holed myself up in the lodging all day and completely revised my future plans.
I still had not decided how to deal with the protagonist, but since there was a second test, I went to bed, and when dawn broke, I headed back to the Academy.
The second test was written.
Multiple subjects were tested, and evaluations were made. Just like the first test, we did not go to the training grounds but entered the inner Academy buildings.
They looked like buildings with considerable history, most of them old in age, but thanks to good maintenance, they felt classical rather than shabby.
The students who had taken the test yesterday sat in the same lecture hall.
As I waited in my assigned seat, I could feel the gazes of those around me. But there was no need to react, so I simply propped my chin on my hand with an indifferent expression.
Most of them would fail the exam anyway. I did not have the spare capacity to care about such extras.
Soon, the test began.
Large test papers and blank sheets for answers were handed out.
“Ha······.”
I had steeled myself, but once I actually received the test paper, my head started spinning.
Thanks to the status window, I could read what it said, but I had no sense of where to even begin.
[SYSTEM: Would you like to activate system assist? Y / N]
At that moment, a familiar notification sound rang in my ears.
With a look of disbelief, I stared at the status window that appeared before my eyes.
When I cautiously accepted it, something rapidly appeared over the test paper spread out on my desk.
“…Jackpot.”
It was literally a jackpot.
The status window that had been translating this world’s language for me was now presenting detailed answers to the questions right beside them.
I thought system assist only helped in combat, but it even had this kind of function.
With a beaming smile, I copied everything down.
I had already knocked out an instructor in the first test, so if I did well on the written exam too, first place in admission was as good as guaranteed.
I was looking forward to seeing how that bastard August’s face would twist.
Since I was only copying down the answers, it did not take long to fill out the entire answer sheet.
When I checked the hourglass on the podium, only about a third of the time had passed.
With nothing else to do and boredom setting in, I laid my head down on the desk and went to sleep.
I had lost a bit of sleep the night before from all the worrying. But that rest was brief; soon, a hand tapped my shoulder, and I lifted my head.
“Why are you lying down, young man?”
A white-haired proctor stood before me with a puzzled expression. I casually showed him my densely filled answer sheet and spoke.
“I’ve finished everything, so there’s nothing to do.”
“Have you reviewed it?”
“There’s nothing wrong.”
What a cool line that was—nothing was wrong.
I had merely copied what was written in the status window. How could there be any mistakes? I was dealing with mere humans!
“Hm.”
The proctor examined my answer sheet at my words.
“Hoo.”
Then he suddenly let out an exclamation of admiration.
He read it from top to bottom once, then lifted his gaze from the sheet and looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Indeed, no wonder you’re bored. At your level, these questions must be trivial.”
“Ha ha······.”
At the excessive praise, I let out an awkward laugh.
Around us, the other students continued solving their exams while sneaking glances at me.
I know, you guys. You’re surprised that someone who fights well also studies well, right? If reality had been like this, how nice would that have been.
“But rules are rules. It must be boring, but please endure it a bit longer. If you want, you may lie down like before.”
“Yes.”
With his permission, I did not hesitate to lie back down.
There was still an hour left before the exam ended, and I desperately wanted some rest.
After enjoying that blissful sleep for a while, I woke up to the sound announcing the end of the exam.
Looking around, everyone was submitting their answer sheets with regretful or disappointed faces.
Well, if they were taking the entrance exam for Bayern Academy, they must have been outstanding talents. But what could they do when my status window was even more outstanding? If they were jealous, they should just possess someone too.
“Hm.”
Stretching as I left the lecture hall, a familiar face passed right in front of me.
Lustrous red hair fluttered through the air. Elysia walked down the corridor with her usual haughty expression.
Countless gazes followed her, but she did not care in the slightest.
That unchanging aura was worth emulating. Well, if you peeled back the surface, she was actually a delicate and innocent young lady.
That aside, I also felt sorry toward Elysia.
Originally, the glory of first place in admission belonged to her.
She would have taken first with an overwhelming score over second place and received countless praises, but now that spot would be mine.
Practical skills were over-spec, written was perfect.
How was anyone supposed to beat this? Seriously.
When the exam ended, it was lunchtime.
My stomach was growling at just the right moment, so I headed to the cafeteria inside the Academy.
Already, countless students were eating. After getting a meal ticket, taking my food, and looking for an empty seat, the culprit who had kept me up last night caught my eye.
“······.”
The protagonist was eating alone in a secluded corner. At this point, she had not yet gotten acquainted with anyone else, so she would not have any friends. Naturally, my steps carried me toward her.
“Excuse me, there’s no empty seat—may I sit across from you?”
I even put on a gentle smile so as not to make her uncomfortable. She gave a small nod and went back to focusing on her meal.
Clack.
After setting my food down on the table, I first satisfied my hunger. Even so, my gaze discreetly examined the woman in front of me.
‘…She looks young.’
The protagonist’s original age was twenty. But the woman before me looked, at most, sixteen or seventeen.
As for her looks, if I had to describe her—she was like a pretty high school girl.
She was certainly above average, but since I had been seeing beauties like Parsi, Petra, and Elysia, I could not help but feel indifferent.
Still, in a world where hair and eye colors were so varied, that calm black hair and black eyes gave off a certain charm.
“…It’s embarrassing if you stare so intently.”
“Huh?”
Perhaps I had been staring without realizing it; she spoke softly with a slightly reddened face. I cleared my throat lightly and opened my mouth.
“Since meeting like this is also fate, how about we introduce ourselves? My name is Ostia.”
Ostia was a name created by rearranging the letters of Leios as an anagram.
Of course, I had taken it straight from the original work.
“…I’m Alice.”
After hesitating for a moment, she introduced herself as Alice. To be honest, what I was curious about was her original name.
‘Alice, huh.’
In the original, the protagonist’s Korean name had been Kim Junyoung, and his name in this world had been Kyle.
But now, there was no trace of that left.
All that remained was a pretty high school girl and the name Alice.
We continued eating and chatting like that. Since Alice seemed shy around strangers and did not initiate conversation, the dialogue was mostly led by me.
Even so, she answered what I asked sincerely, and I was able to gather a fair amount of information.
She said she was from Astasha on the far northern continent. She had come to the Empire to enroll in the Academy and had been wandering around alone since she did not know anyone.
‘So that setting hasn’t changed.’
In the original, Kyle had also been transported from Earth to Artenia and had arrived in Astasha.
From there, following a prophecy, he headed to the Empire and took the exam for Bayern Academy to pursue learning.
When I asked about her grades, she replied that she would probably pass unless something unusual happened.
Of course she would. She was the protagonist. If she failed, I would be in even more trouble.
“Then, let’s meet again as Academy students.”
Having at least gotten acquainted with her, I stood up from my seat with a lighter heart after finishing my meal.
Just as I was about to head back and refine my plans, Alice gently grabbed the hem of my clothes.
“Uh, um······.”
“Hm?”
Perhaps she was embarrassed, as she could not meet my eyes. Even so, the fact that she did not let go of my clothes was admirable.
“C-could you spend a little time with me?”
…This was another sudden development.
The protagonist, who had turned into a woman, had just asked me out on a date.
Would you accept?