NOVEL NEXT Chapter 683
<683 – Shock Confession (1)>
Sing chose the path that stayed next to Oknodie.
If he hadn’t stayed with Oknodie in the Director’s Mansion or the Tower of Training, she might have remained in the Tower forever.
Someone had to tell Oknodie that there was somewhere more valuable than mere curiosity to return to.
This was something Pasible Yep, the perverted mute exhibitionist female swordsman in charge of protecting him, couldn’t do.
So those thoughts weighed heavily on him.
Rather than endure the humiliation that would come with revealing his identity, he considered just shutting up and returning to the Academy to prevent his peers from being deceived.
But he couldn’t do that.
He was a man.
A man who knew what was more important than shame.
He had seen Oknodie imprisoning a fake younger sister in a ring to preserve her form, constantly providing him with opportunities for growth.
If you have received grace, you must repay it.
It’s something a man must do.
Should he cowardly hide his cross-dressing secret and return to the daily life of the lonely Eastern Swordsman, or should he risk the shame of being a cross-dressing swordsman and repay the debt by staying by Oknodie’s side?
“I’m a man too. I already know what is right and what needs to be done.”
The moment he placed his hand on the sword sheath, all his hesitation was cut away like a knife.
[Origin Point]
Origin.
The heart that returned to its original state removed feelings of shame from him.
If a man does something righteous, that is not shameful but something to be proud of.
Even if it involves revealing himself as a man in a female form, speaking with a male voice while wearing a hamster-themed outfit, the courage to bear that stigma is what truly is manly.
“Revealing my cross-dressing is the most manly path I can choose!”
With newfound courage, Sing approached Oknodie.
“Oooh?”
Instead of warning him, Pasible Yep watched Sing with interest, curious about his intent to reveal what he had worked so hard to hide.
“Oknodie.”
“Gah! You spoke?!”
Oknodie was startled, taken aback. Did he just break character and acknowledge it?
So he really wanted to admit he had a cross-dressing hobby?
The Butler of Foundation had been too busy bullying Sing to notice, and now he couldn’t believe he was receiving a surprise confession.
“I’m sorry for speaking in this form, but I am Sing.”
“Why did you reveal your identity after hiding it?”
“I followed you here secretly because I was worried about you. I decided to follow you as you leave the Academy, changing roles with [Clones]
. I couldn’t follow you while hiding my identity, so here I am, speaking before you.”Oknodie’s mouth fell open in shock.
She felt the awkwardness creeping in.
Sing felt that Oknodie’s favorability was slipping away.
But he resolved not to regret his decision even if it meant being disliked, wanting to ensure Oknodie wouldn’t forget where she belonged.
“That’s amazing!”
“A-amazing?”
“Breaking your character and revealing your true self!”
He was participating in a cosplay as a regular person.
To openly state something that was not mainstream by someone who wasn’t part of the mainstream could be challenging. Nevertheless, Sing’s honesty about his different tastes moved Oknodie to support him.
“I understand that feeling! Just being open about doing something others wouldn’t is hard, and you’ve done it so honestly!”
Thinking back, Oknodie felt a little teary-eyed.
– What? You saw the Academy’s annihilation route ending? You trash! You’re not even human!
– Oh my gosh. Did you really make an NPC eat until they burst? Just for a rare title or ending? Are you kidding me?!
– Forcing NPCs with 0 favorability to fight on the front lines by abducting them in a strong carriage called Odobus, are you a demon?!
Among veteran players, Oknodie was just someone with slightly unusual collection tastes, yet she had heard every negative comment imaginable. The joy of sharing her preferences had been taken from her, and she became the lonely, forlorn veteran!
Even holding the top rank among veterans, she was treated as an inferior being with no respect.
So, she indulged even more in the game.
She couldn’t allow those who denied her to stand above her.
In that moment, Sing’s appearance was undeniably commendable.
Veterans absorb every branch through all routes, while someone picky about a newbie’s quirky taste wasn’t even a true veteran, they were just a narrow-minded jerk!
“It’s okay. I completely understand! I’ll respect every part of Sing!”
If a newbie likes something, you must accommodate them! Feeling like you shouldn’t sabotage them even if you can’t cheer them on!
‘I’m glad I built up the courage.’
Sing felt a rush of gratitude towards her generosity.
I made the right choice.
I spoke out.
It was surprising that Oknodie would even accept this version of himself.
As if receiving a reward for his courage, his heart swelled.
Yet, if he could read Oknodie’s true feelings, it might have put a damper on the touching moment.
‘Seeing her so happy, once we return to the Academy, I’ll gather my peers to tell them about Sing’s true nature and ask everyone to respect him!’
With pure goodwill, Oknodie firmly resolved to help Sing with her heavy-handed expressions of kindness!
Though their intentions to respect each other matched, the ways they expressed it were vastly different—specifically, one veteran player.
*
“So should I start calling you Sister Sing from now on?”
“There’s no need for that.”
“Aah, but if I’m not around, you can’t keep pretending to be your real self! I might be okay with it, but others will probably be surprised and think you’re a cross-dressing pervert!”
With Oknodie’s logical point, Sing realized it was better to delay revealing his true form now that he had already disclosed his identity.
After all, if he roamed around in his original form outside the Academy, rumors would fly that the Eastern Swordsman Sing was present here.
Moreover, he had already exceeded his exit period once; this would make it the second time.
‘I’m not in a different situation than Oknodie.’
The Gift Academy wouldn’t overlook Sing’s unauthorized extension and absences either.
He had mentally braced himself for even expulsion.
There were still things to learn at the Academy, but he had accumulated training points that ordinary students couldn’t obtain.
‘As long as I’m with Oknodie, I can learn everything I need.’
He put aside his past and life as a man for a moment.
Sing thought he should set aside his identity as a Class 981 student and embrace his new role as a comrade who would join Oknodie on her secret adventure.
“Understood. Then, I’ll keep my female form for a while.”
“Do as you wish! But I’ve been meaning to ask—what’s with that outfit?”
“It’s clothing given to me by the executive Pasible Yep. There must’ve been a hamster beast being raised.”
“But that’s a full-body costume! So, it’s all stripped off?!”
“…Huh?”
Sing felt a chill run down his spine in that instant.
He hadn’t paid attention to it, concealed beneath a daring costume revealing the lower chest, but Oknodie was right.
Since he was stripped of the full-body plush skin, why wouldn’t such an outfit come out?
“Of course, plush clothing isn’t made from actual animal skin!”
After all, a dinosaur costume wouldn’t be made from real dinosaur skin, or a shark costume from real shark skin.
“Lions or bears are stripped off without second thought, though!”
“…Wait, what?”
“Then, is a hamster beast a dinosaur or a shark, or is it a bear or a lion?”
Confusion ensued.
His head felt like it was spinning, about to burst!
Watching Sing’s disgruntled state, the modified legion trembled in fear.
“What kind of conversation is that?”
“Are they saying they’re going to strip our skin off?”
“Even small talk about relaxing holds a twisted, brutal undertone of skinning a living being—what kind of purity does one need to be that cruel?”
“Truly, the Dark Princess…”
“So scary…”
Amidst the rising fear, a dark, black pillar of shadow abruptly descended upon Oknodie.
[The Scary Child’s experience has surpassed the threshold.]
[The Scary Child’s ability evolves into [Evil Child].]
Darknodi has gone, and an even more wicked version has emerged.