The Celestial Heroine and Pirate Confessions

The empire's admiral and the third prince. "Hurry and load the supplies! The Pirate King is coming!" "Damn it, we haven't done anything wrong...!" "Sorry, we'll help! Let's load 'em up quick!"

The villagers and sailors pooled their strength, frantically loading the ordered supplies onto the ship. It was because they'd sent out a desperate call for aid after a sudden monster attack nearby. It was only natural, but... we were the last people they wanted to run into, so we were rushing to load the cargo and shove off.

Kidd, his wounds roughly bandaged, grumbled about the pain while carrying the lighter stuff to help out. The captain said the Pirate King herself wouldn't show up with that prickly attitude of hers, but since we'd definitely be recognized if we met, we had to get the ship afloat ASAP.

"She was so beautiful..." "She was flying through the sky, I tell you? Not a hero—a goddess, maybe?" "I've never seen anyone that pretty..." "To pull off clothes like that... is it the hero's hobby? It was truly artistic..."

And so the hero who had begun making a name by felling the giant knight in the Default Kingdom became the talk of the town. Once it was confirmed she wielded Hero Daegomgei's demonic sword Bopal Weapon, rumors flew: she was a descendant of the hero, had inherited Daegomgei's blood, was his disciple... or maybe she'd reincarnated as him via gender swap. But the one thing all the rumors agreed on was her beauty so captivating you couldn't tear your eyes away, shining like she emitted her own light—a heavenly nymph descended to earth, the goddess of the Levitfoot, and more. Everyone praised her radiant allure in unison.

Well, it was a constellation-granted skill, so maybe the constellations had made sure the transformation was beautiful. Or maybe it was because Radamu's original form was already handsome.

Why did it turn out like this?

In the heat of the moment, he'd transformed right away, summoned a magic circle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as a foothold, dashed through the sky, and leaped down to slice the wind spirit's throat with the Bopal Weapon. True to its reputation as an instantly lethal demonic sword, even the wind spirit couldn't revive. Taking Circe along and handing it to her would draw eyes to that unique appearance no matter what. A few villagers had already glimpsed it, but the robe had hidden the details.

In a disguise scenario, having "her" kill a wind spirit with magic in one blow? Doing that in Pirate King territory would spread rumors fast. Better to go with "a hero suddenly appeared!"

"Haa... that beauty is a sin... stealing hearts from pirates like us."

"Bro, I can't take it anymore. I can't go on!"

And then there was one massive victim. Kidd, spaced out staring at the sea, babbling nonsense like she must live on the clouds—he'd lost his mind. Was it blood loss from his head wound? Lemon Hyacinth, who knew the truth, had knelt before Radamu and sobbed.

Radamu himself had been a bit flustered by the sudden confession. Telling him "I'm actually a guy..." might've made Kidd harpoon his own gut right there, so he'd just smiled, waved, and fled. Was this how a celebrity hiding a secret felt? Nailing down the hero as female like this did seem to deflect some attention from himself. His organization might know, but unless the Maou candidates swapped info, the others would assume the hero was a woman. Even if not, if they bought into the Daegomgei gender-swap reincarnation theory, they might hole up somewhere to avoid detection.

"You're wrong about that."

The captain sighed, sweeping a hand over his forehead as he eyed the loony Kidd. He chugged booze someone fetched at his demand, chain-smoking and lamenting how his burning gut wouldn't settle. How could he confess to two women at sea right away, only for both to be guys? Even Hyacinth shook his head at the absurd hit rate.

"So, the skill from the constellations turns the hero into a pretty princess in a dress?"

"Multiplies stats by up to 6x."

"Then you gotta wear it."

Even a guy would, the captain nodded, instantly convinced. With only Mortis, himself, and Hyacinth in the captain's quarters, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked to see the transformation. For fan service, Radamu obliged. Pointlessly, the multiplier showed [D:6], bringing tears to his eyes.

"Pretty, and so vibrant— that's bare-faced?"

"Beautiful. I loved frilly dresses like that as a kid... hehe..."

"Not for the likes of us, nobility or not. Hahaha! Off to balls and high society?"

"Seriously, bro. She's not a woman—she's a goddess. Just don't talk?"

"Voice gets pretty too in this form."

"You're insane."

Hyacinth shuddered, scratching his arms. For a moment, he'd nearly fallen under the voice's spell, then hated himself for it, screaming "Bro Radamu's a guy!" while tearing at his hair and sobbing. The captain chuckled with a flushed face, saying a song in that voice would make siren sailors weep in defeat, smash their heads on rocks, and suicide. His bad mood lifted into amusement; he even suggested Mortis try it on.

...Hmm...

I was curious about the stats jumping sixfold. As long as I didn't overdo back-to-back fights without rest, there was no huge backlash from swinging that power around. For casual cosplay wandering, mana was effectively infinite... so as long as I kept stamina and focus up, the transformation wouldn't break. But turning fully female too...? Ugh... If rumors pegged the hero as female, would he need [Gender Swap] for disguise? Horrifying just to imagine.

"...?"

60k stats...? From a base 202... no, just transforming added 10k baseline? Did top-tier races start at 10k from age 1? The racial gap was insane, but seeing true top-tiers' classes left him speechless. And with the 6x multiplier... 60k stats. Just how strong was he now? He wondered how much they'd spiked against the evil god succubus lord.

Stronger stats are great, but...

Sheer power crushes would favor him, especially with speed. Nighttime might add bonuses. But [Technique] and [Stamina] were still lacking. Daily efforts and [Daily Bonus] freebies weren't cutting it against constellation skill power. Reverting, his body ached. Same as against the griffon—minimal movement left killer muscle pain. Mortis suggested frequent transformations to toughen the body via strain. Not appealing.

"With the hero at sea known, elves might call reinforcements. They hold grudges against heroes."

"But rumors say it could be Daegomgei himself?"

"True."

In Default Kingdom, Bopal Weapon was the hero's sword—no one but Daegomgei could wield it, so most bought the gender-swap reincarnation. Mortis and the captain insisted even all Great Forest elves charging wouldn't last half a day outside it against him. He hadn't aimed to exterminate, letting elves, evil gods, and calamities survive to focus on the Maou—historians even wrote papers. Even Overlords couldn't last one exchange; an actual Overlord adventurer said it. Fighting the Maou who'd battled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that hero... harsh world.

Even without certainty, after four heavenly kings, Maou army, and second-phase forms ganged up and the hero still won, they'd hesitate to attack. They'd probably avoid eye contact.

"Well, the Holy Eagle Kingdom calls BS. Says Daegomgei ascended to war god post-Maou. Heroes become gods after death; holy kingdoms worship them that way. Probably think she's a descendant or disciple."

"...Come to think of it, hero, do you meet other heroes? They all supposedly ascended to gods."

...What story was that? All four passed on cleanly—one went home. Holy Eagle Kingdom worships heroes as gods? Their faces turned weird at his confusion.

"...No ascension...?"

"Then who gives Holy Eagle Kingdom's holy power or skills...?"

"C-can you ask the constellations?"

Hyacinth, my summoning goddess is their big boss. Makes sense they'd assume otherwise. Another worry popped up. Gods said they returned home, but folks thought post-death ascension. Even priestess Mortis trembled, face like the world crumbled.

The goddess showed up pronto to clear doubts. Sailors outside yelled about an imperial ship arriving. As the captain and others rose to check, she handed Radamu two Constellation Tickets and two Rank-Up Tickets.

Suddenly wanted a refund. Was he the butt of the joke...?

[I put it bluntly, but sadly... artists are already painting, sculptors carving statues. Good thing cameras have HD now.]

Radamu wanted to cry. For real.