Chapter 34
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: 33. Deal with the Academy President
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It was the day to head back to the academy.
And today, for some reason, there was fresh new gossip making the rounds.
"Whoa, she's fucking gorgeous. Choi Si-woo."
"Was she always a girl?"
"I've heard it's because of the Divine Sword's influence."
Something was off about Choi Si-woo's condition.
She—he? it?—was wearing the academy uniform for female cadets, looking utterly drained of life's spark. Her hair had turned into long, straight silver strands overnight.
Even her eyelashes were longer. And those breasts... pretty impressive. She seemed to have fully transformed into a woman.
No wonder she was shocked— she'd probably wished for it herself, but suddenly her prized manhood down there was gone, replaced by a neat little slit.
If you leaned in close while she muttered to herself, it sounded like, "Me, a eunuch..."
Kind of pitiful. But oh well, nothing to be done.
Personally, I preferred female Si-woo over the male version anyway.
She could try cross-dressing as a guy, but those swelling tits weren't going anywhere.
"Alright, everyone, quiet down!"
Blazing Bat's morning announcement only fanned the flames of the gossip higher.
"So, surprisingly, Choi Si-woo has turned into a woman due to the Divine Sword's influence."
Whoa, no takebacks there.
"N-no, wait. Um. Truth is, she was always a girl, just cross-dressing due to unavoidable circumstances."
She tried to play it off with an awkward laugh as a slip-up, but everyone knew how the cadets would take it.
Some were already glancing down at their own crotches, sighing in relief that the Divine Sword hadn't chosen them.
A few male cadets looked at the dazed Si-woo with pity, while the female cadets who'd always crushed on her were equally stunned.
The ripple effect was massive.
Is Yoo Eun-ha to blame for Choi Si-woo turning into a chick?
Fr, king potential. Blazing Bat said it was the Divine Sword at first, but even if her face was pretty enough for cross-dressing, those massive tits? No way. Eun-ha must've tweaked Si-woo so she wouldn't mess up the harem.
Didn't Blazing Bat say it was the Divine Sword's influence at first?
Then is Yoo Jin-seok a girl too? Divine Swords might differ, though.
Hehe. Eun-ha noona, Si-woo is just a baby. Gotta take care of her.
The anonymous board was blowing up, and the newspaper club even interviewed me to put out an academy paper.
Choi Si-woo's gender swap has nothing to do with me... Irresponsible talk. Is this what makes a bad girl?
Male cadets wanting gender swaps skyrocket... Do female cadets think periods look like dicks? Rebuttal
What the hell? How am I supposed to make someone change genders?
It felt awkward to outright deny it since I'd whispered to the Divine Sword to reshape Si-woo exactly to my tastes if she wanted to take the hit.
But I hadn't expected it to happen so fast.
At least if this overshadowed the recent Black God Cult attack on Hansung, I'd take it.
Next up was the group battle.
I'd ignored it until now, but that elf ruin was probably tied to the World Tree. With me leading the story instead of Choi Si-woo, we had to hit the elf ruins.
"Eun-ha. The group battle's rescheduled. Location changed too."
Intel from my subordinate number one, Flame Spear Slut Han Su-ji.
"Where to?"
"Hansung took a hit this time, so it's at Goryeo Academy."
"Lucky break."
Goryeo Academy was decent enough. Solid security. Honestly, Hansung wasn't bad either. The instructors—except Blazing Bat—were elite, training cadets properly.
"What's the format?"
"AOS style, apparently? Each team has lanes, capture points, and steal the flag at the end."
Reina answered cautiously.
Sounds familiar.
Still popular in online games sometimes.
Stealing the flag? Easy. Just beat everyone and snatch it.
One issue, though.
How much power to use.
In the group battles against Class B and other academies, the heroines grow big-time. I could swing the Evil Dragon's power and win outright, but I'd play it by ear.
"Karma could twist the group battle too, right?"
[Villains may intervene as well.]
The Akashic Records showed futures with and without villain interference.
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing. So basically, either crush everyone with skill and grab the flag, or cheat your way to it?"
"Yeah."
Simple enough.
The novel barely mentioned other academies.
Karma twists probably wouldn't come from them. Class B was the key.
That guy called Cheok Jun-kyung's reincarnation in Class B would be a real threat to Choi Si-woo.
He was no pushover in raw power.
Female Si-woo remained to be seen.
"You guys okay? Eyes on us won't be friendly after Hansung's lax defenses."
"That's on Hansung, not us, right?"
"Means we cadets might get looked down on as Hansung trash."
Goryeo and Seoul lagged behind Hansung.
Then the Black God Cult hit.
Obviously, other academies would rip into Hansung.
Their cadets too?
"What about Si-woo?"
"Choi Si-woo's mentally wrecked right now."
Reina glanced at Si-woo sulking in the corner and shook her head.
I had the perfect cure for her.
To pit her against Park Jun-hyuk, Cheok Jun-kyung's reincarnate, she'd need her head straight first.
With sync possible, she had a shot against him.
"Hey, Choi Si-woo. You really gonna mope like this? I get needing a mental reset, but snap out of it now. Group battle's coming up."
"......"
"Get up! Get up! What's your goal? Saving the world as a Divine Sword user, right? Does a gender swap matter when you're doing something that huge?"
Life returned to Si-woo's eyes at my words.
She was the original protagonist. Bound to rise for justice.
She'd ditched all the heroines and regressed just to save the world, after all. That resolve should shrug off a sex change.
She probably thought the same.
"Right! Gotta save the world. Male, female—who cares?"
"That's my Si-woo."
No idea how much she'd grinded in past loops to abandon the girls for pure world-saving zeal.
Anyway, after that grind, she could live as a girl now, right?
Just fawn under me and done.
"Yoo Eun-ha. The president's summoning you."
As I pondered how to cook this bitch Si-woo, Blazing Bat pointed me out.
"Ah, got it. We need group battle prep, so Si-woo, train these two? I'll head to the prez. Listen to Si-woo, you two."
"O-okay."
"Yeah."
"Huh?"
Si-woo looked shocked.
From her view, she'd collapsed once and was seeing me anew.
My fated death changed, and now I held her protagonist spot. Must feel ridiculous.
Sorry for stealing the lead, but...
She'd regressed instead of multi-ending with heroines to another world. Grinding that hard showed in the final battle.
So I wanted to lighten the load for the burnt-out ex-protagonist.
"Nice to meet you. I'm President Kim Young-hee. First time, right?"
I'd seen the president in the novel.
Married, former A-rank hunter.
Yoo Jin-seok's senior. Not a heroine.
Just helped Jin-seok; minimal ties to protagonist Choi Si-woo.
Hansung Academy's president is the senior's senior to the first Divine Sword user Yoo Jin-seok. Gotta be strong, right?
Later, post-group battle, she hands out awards to Si-woo, then vanishes. Pregnant by late story.
"Yes, President."
"Straight to the point—I have a favor."
"Go ahead."
Pretty sure I knew where this was going.
"You know about the group battle with Goryeo Academy."
"Not just Goryeo—Seoul too, right?"
"Goryeo's got star power, but Seoul's no match. Plus, after the Black God Cult hit, their president Viola's dissing me hard. We can't lose."
"So basically, you and Goryeo's president are rivals, and you won't lose, so hustle?"
Kim Young-hee and Viola were famous rivals before. Still at it as presidents.
"Exactly. But Viola's a Yankee. Can a Korean lose to some Yankee?"
"Ah, y-yeah."
Patriotism here?
What about her cadets then? Kidding.
Obviously her personal beef.
No plans to lose anyway. But if the prez asks, I could crush them spectacularly.
For a proper reward, of course.
"Please. We must win."
"Wait, um. What do I get if we win?"
"South Branch rights and elf ruins permit not enough? Name it—I'll give anything. But I'm married, so hands off."
Rumors of my lez status reached her ears? She hugged herself tight, keeping distance, despite flashing that ample cleavage.
What's the play? Proving goals get scored even with a keeper? Just flaunting her femininity?
She dropped plenty of sex jokes in the original.
"N-no way I'd touch you, President. Uh, um..."
Should I?
Her body's smoking hot. Gulp.
No. Stick to material rewards. Learned the hard way as a corporate slave—married women are risky.
Fine, something else then.
"Uh, there's an item vault underground, right?"
"Something you want?"
"World Tree Bow?"
World Tree Bow. Elves' ultimate weapon, Reina's late-game gear. She got it too late, lagging in firepower. Elf descendants have noble blood and mana, but non-elf weapons limit them.
Arming Reina early boosts our firepower nicely.
We need the World Tree Bow.
"We have it, but that? No, even so..."
"Elves made it—best for an elf descendant, no? Lend it indefinitely to Reina."
"Hm. Fine, if that's it."
Not a bad deal.
Want it pre-tourney to dominate, but unsure if Reina can wield it yet.
Si-woo seemed thoughtful too. Might hold off.
For now, meet Cheonsan Group's Im Yoo-jin?
Gotta feed Song-do quick.