Crossdressing Con...test (1)
Crossdressing Con...test (1)
The drowsiness of sleep isn't easily shaken off.
Especially right after waking up.
Sinking your body into a soft bed, pulling a thick blanket over yourself, and savoring that drowsiness feels more comfortable than you'd expect.
But if you've got things to do, you eventually have to drag yourself out of bed.
Same for me.
In the past, I'd lounge around enjoying the drowsiness for a long time, but lately, with my sleep cut way down, even if I do doze off, I snap awake in no time.
Today too...
"Young miss~ isn't it about time to wake up?"
[Gaahhh]
I didn't want to get up.
Any will I had to spring out of bed was cleanly cut off by that teasing voice from beyond the blanket.
Sunlight trickled in through the window. The fourth day of the Birth Festival, the morning of the cross-dressing contest, had finally caught up with me...
'Mmmnnn...'
A leg that had slipped out from under the blanket wobbled back and forth. I pulled in my trembling leg, curled up into a ball, and wrapped myself up like armor by rolling the blanket around me.
The teasing voice let out a giggle.
"You've still got some time, but wouldn't it be better to just get up and wake yourself up properly?"
Blue eyes curved like crescent moons. Baek A-rin didn't bother hiding the giggle escaping her lips as she patted the round bundle of blanket.
"There we go, good girl. Time to get up now~"
- Pat pat pat...
The rhythmic touch, which she'd been giving all night, reached me.
The pats, timed almost like a heartbeat, and the soothing voice, one after another, settled my trembling body and mind right down.
'...Guess I'll get out...'
"Of course, I know you're deliberately putting on a fuss and being cute like this, Ha-yul~ but you really have to get up now!"
[Heok!]
[Got caught]
[Shock]
[Denial...]
Just as I was bracing myself, the teasing jab landed. My whole body jolted.
Startled, I popped my head out from the blanket, and Baek A-rin, beaming, reached out as if she'd been waiting.
Her hand slipped between the blankets, grabbed me under the armpits, and pulled. Like plucking a radish, my body was cleanly extracted from the blanket.
"Gotcha."
[Ah]
Was that psychological warfare?
In my brief moment of shock, Baek A-rin snorted and settled me into her arms, leaning me back against her.
I was more or less awake already. I shifted a little to get comfortable and rested my head gently against Baek A-rin's chest.
"That's right, so well-behaved... such a good girl."
Baek A-rin smiled and moved her hand. When her cool fingertips tapped against my lips, my mouth reflexively opened.
- Floop
Water trickled from her fingertip into my mouth. As it happened, my mouth was dry from just waking up. It was a reflexive action, but I gladly gulped the water down.
"About the person from the Tower of Growth event—are you two acquainted?"
The question came without warning. My mouth, which had been diligently sucking on her finger, froze solid for a moment.
Baek A-rin, her finger still in my mouth, gazed down at the top of my head with a faint smile.
I mulled it over for a moment, mouth scrunching up.
[...We are acquainted, and we aren't]
"What's that supposed to mean?"
- Mm, mueueu
Baek A-rin tilted her head. Then she used the fingertip in my mouth to tap-tap against my tongue and press down.
- Ueeueueu
Like a sulky poke. I gently bit down to hold the finger in place.
"Ah, that tickles."
- Mmememememe
Honestly, it's a weird thing to say, but if you want a rough explanation, that's the right way to put it.
I know the game's 5th Iteration, but I don't know the 5th Iteration who actually lived through a life.
If I tried to explain that in detail, I'd have to reveal a lot of secrets, and the circumstances aren't quite right for that yet.
Especially with Baek A-rin—there are a few things I still have to keep hidden.
"Oh well, I just asked because you two seemed to know each other. Ah, right."
Baek A-rin, who'd been playing with my tongue, shrugged. Then, as if it had just occurred to her, she let out a little exclamation and deftly manipulated the hologram with one hand.
"Did you know? A photo like this even went up on the community. You don't do the internet or anything, Ha-yul, so you probably didn't see it, right?"
A photo appeared on the hologram.
It was a capture of some internet post, and in that post was a picture of me and Baek A-rin.
The first day of the Birth Festival—a shot of me lighting the Calamity Flame for Baek A-rin out on the street.
Baek A-rin rested her chin on my head and chuckled while looking at the photo.
"Look at this. It came out really well, right? Ever since this one photo started going around, my profile subscribers went up quite a bit."
[Profile...?]
"Yes, my SNS account. The family handles most of it, of course, but... Ha-yul, you haven't made one yet, have you?"
[Nope]
"Since it's the Birth Festival and all, maybe you should give it a try...?"
[Uh... that's a little...]
Wearing an awkward expression, I gently pushed away the finger I'd been nibbling on.
[Ah]
And then, my mouth fell open.
That photo apparently became a hot topic on the community. During the Birth Festival, broadcast drones roam around everywhere, filming and streaming the events.
The event happening today—would all of it get caught by the broadcast drones, streamed, and go around the community as photos and videos...?
Would it drift forever in the sea of information...?
[......]
My stomach suddenly felt heavy.
.
.
.
The fourth day of the Birth Festival has a lot of minor events.
With the Tower Entry on the third day wrapped up, the only things truly left are the closing ceremony of the Birth Festival and the upcoming end-of-term ceremony.
How you spend the break is personal. In terms of the academic calendar, the cadets are essentially free until the start of the new school year.
In that sense, the fourth day is full of events that are silly and easygoing in all sorts of ways.
What you'd commonly call entertainment events—the kind where cadets directly participate and throw themselves around—are the prime example.
The flagship of the entertainment events is the cosplay and disguise contest.
"Why... are there so many people..."
The sun had tilted a bit in the sky above.
The moment I stepped into the event venue, the color drained from my face before I even knew it.
I could sense the stares pouring from the already packed audience seats.
So, so many. And those gazes didn't belong to cadets or Siyoram residents—they were from outside visitors.
It was pretty intimidating, but I don't make a fuss over stares anymore.
Still, my complexion didn't brighten.
Among the gazes aimed this way, there weren't just tourists—there were tons of participants.
The male cadets taking part in the cross-dressing contest here at the venue.
"Everyone's joining in to laugh and have fun, that's all. It's just a casual, no-pressure thing."
"The rewards are nothing special, and the entry requirements aren't a big deal either. Apply on a whim, and even if you don't place, you just shrug and move on."
Ellia and Yeon-hwa, who'd stuck by my side, answered with amused little laughs.
I couldn't agree.
Laugh and have fun, no pressure, apply on a whim...
But judging by the pale and crumpled faces of most participants, you'd never know it.
I still had the mental image from when we entered the venue a moment ago: people looking like pigs trudging into a slaughterhouse under duress.
I was one of those many pigs too...
[...Baize?]
"...Lee Ha-yul?"
Among the pigs was Baize as well. He'd been staring up at the ceiling with a dazed expression, and now he turned toward me.
I tilted my head with a dazed expression as well.
[Why are you here...?]
At my question, Baize averted his eyes with a bitter look.
"Ah, that... I lost a bet, and so..."
[Ah]
Another pig dragged here by force. A wave of sympathy instinctively rose on my face before I promptly erased it, realizing we were in the same boat.
[...Hang in there]
"...You hang in there too, Lee Ha-yul."
He nodded, then slipped away with a terribly awkward expression.
"Prep time's almost here. I'm heading off?"
"Mm-mm."
Yeon-hwa, who'd been stroking my head, and Baek A-rin, who'd been nearby, also turned away.
Here at the venue, the male-dressing contest and the cross-dressing contest are held simultaneously.
Yeon-hwa had said it'd be a bit much to only push me into the cross-dressing contest, so she herself signed up for the male-dressing contest, and Baek A-rin joined in too, saying it looked fun.
'......'
But honestly, I couldn't help thinking that both of them would come out cool and pretty even in opposite-gender outfits, so their experience of suffering was probably different...
"Hmph."
Still, when I actually sensed Yeon-hwa's face as she turned away, openly full of anticipation, I ended up nodding after all.
Yeon-hwa's looking forward to it that much; my slight embarrassment doesn't really matter.
"...See you in a bit."
In the end, I trudged off toward the waiting room along with the other participating cadets.
.
.
.
The waiting room we arrived at wasn't communal—it was a private room.
A single chair, and straight ahead, a large full-length mirror.
The surrounding tables were stocked with cosmetics and all the various tools needed for dressing up.
On one wall, all kinds of wigs were arrayed, and the fluttery garments made my lips tremble faintly.
"Wow, there's so much stuff. They've got wigs of every type here... and sure enough, no magic tools. Looking at the materials, they didn't include any mana either, so I guess they run this using only these mundane supplies?"
The disguise contest is mostly conducted with shoddy supplies.
There are events where you professionally put together a high-level look, but the vast majority are the sort where you dress up roughly and call it a day.
Since it's an event meant for laughing and chattering and ribbing each other, there's no real need to raise the quality.
For that reason, the use of magic or unique abilities is excluded.
"...Um, why did you follow me in here?"
While fiddling with the chair, I turned around with a sour expression. Ellia, who'd been picking through the wigs, tilted her head.
"Obviously I'm here to help you get dressed up!"
She answered while proudly patting her chest. Her attitude, confident as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, only deepened my sourness.
"U-uh... there's really no need for you to help..."
"To be honest, Ha-yul, you'd win even if you went out just like this, but wouldn't it be even nicer if we dressed you up more?"
"Urk... stop teasing me..."
"Huh? I'm being completely serious?"
"That is the teasing..."
"Come on, is that how it is? Here, here, let's at least rough out a plan while we wait."
Right after the cross-dressing and male-dressing contests begin, the cadets all go up on stage once before their transformations.
In short, the idea's cruel joke is to make the audience compare the before and after looks.
Ellia smiled softly and gently guided me by the shoulders to sit in the chair.
"Hmm..."
Soon, her bright yellow eyes were seriously inspecting my reflection in the mirror.
"You really don't have anything to cover up... should I just send you out as is?"
"Ughkk..."
"I mean, putting cosmetics on your skin would probably backfire... Hair?"
Ellia tilted her head and touched my hair.
"If you put a wig over this hair, it'll be way too obvious... your hair is too pretty; it'd just look like you plopped some mediocre seaweed on top..."
"......"
At Ellia's earnest muttering, I kept my mouth shut. Seaweed? A wig? I don't really get it. Wouldn't it look roughly similar if you just put one on...
'Put on a wig?'
Normally, when you think cross-dressing, you think of wearing a long wig.
'Long hair, huh...'
With an intent akin to escaping reality, I fell into deep thought for a moment.
There are plenty of people who keep their hair long. Women commonly do, and there are lots of guys who grow their hair out long too.
I've never really thought I wanted to grow it long.
Putting aside the issue of mere appearance, I know long hair is a hassle to manage.
Even if you just poke around the internet, aren't there tons of posts lamenting what a pain managing long hair is?
In the first place, I had a weird body where my hair and nails didn't properly grow. Having long hair was something I'd thought about even less.
I tried imagining what I'd look like with longer hair for a moment.
...I didn't really feel anything. Just an "oh, my hair got long"... it'd be a pain to manage, I'd have to be careful with my hair during fights...
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Ellia let out an exclamation, her voice full of puzzlement and surprise, so I opened my eyes as well.
"What's wrong?"
Even at my question, Ellia just blinked vacantly. Sensing something off, I turned my head to look back.
- Swoosh
"?"
Something brushed my neck. I blinked, just like Ellia had.
Observation Authority. Something brushed my neck. Not threatening...
"......"
The incoming information was strange. With a trembling hand, I touched whatever had brushed against my nape.
It was soft. It parted and gathered endlessly between my fingers. If I relaxed my grip even a little, it slipped right through and hung downward.
The Observation Authority had deemed it non-threatening and not particularly unusual.
Of course not.
What hung down was my own hair.
[Shit?]
My hair grew long.
This crazy body.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Pioneering Progress]
[Sub-quest 「Birth Festival: Day 3」 completed]
[Sub-quest 「Tower Entry: 5th Iteration」 completed]
[Points are being accumulated]