Chapter 242: Pandemonium
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 242: Pandemonium
「Ryuji! Look at this!」
In truth, it was pure coincidence that Ryuji saw the competition poster while walking down the school hallway.
[Ichijo Academy Beauty Pageant]
"This is…"
Maiya, who was walking beside him in the middle of their date, saw his reaction and asked with an icy stare.
"Why? Are you interested?"
"Huh? No, that's not it…"
He frantically waved his hands, trying to explain, but judging by Maiya's suspicious expression, it seemed she had already jumped to the wrong conclusion.
"If you like beauty pageants so much, why don't you go watch tomorrow? Of course, by yourself."
"No! It's a misunderstanding! I just glanced over because there was a crowd!"
"And you call that an excuse?! They say all men are wolves!"
With a "Hmph!", Maiya stormed off ahead of him.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
Ryuji, his right hand outstretched, stared blankly at her retreating back before turning to glare at Chiaki, who was floating beside him.
"You…"
「It's not my fault, you know?!」
To be fair, Chiaki had a point.
Who could have predicted that things would turn out like this just from pointing at a poster?
Left high and dry after a pouting Maiya abandoned him, Ryuji let out a small sigh and muttered to himself.
"Haaah, that Maiya. I wonder who she takes after, getting so jealous."
Usually, she acted like a mother, but the moment he got involved with another girl, she would fly into a rage.
It was something he had to endure now that they liked each other, but sometimes, it was just exhausting.
Maybe it felt that way because this was his first time in a relationship.
"She'll have cooled down by tomorrow, right?"
「With Maiya, probably?」
In any case, just standing here would make him look like a lunatic talking to thin air, so Ryuji started walking toward the bulletin board Chiaki had pointed at earlier.
"By the way, why the sudden interest in a beauty pageant?"
「To be precise, I saw the prize money.」
Hearing Chiaki's words, Ryuji instinctively lowered his gaze.
"F-Fifty thousand yen!"
It was an enormous sum for a simple school competition.
And unlike the sports festival, this prize wouldn't be shared with the whole class; one person would take it all.
「So, Ryuji, how about we work together?」
"What? What are you talking about?"
「I've got a great idea.」
This all happened the day before the pageant.
*
'I must have been crazy.'
To think he'd agreed to lend Chiaki his body, momentarily blinded by the money.
Keeping it a secret from his girlfriend, Maiya, and agreeing to a precise 50/50 split of the prize money, Ryuji entered the beauty pageant under the alias "Ryuko."
Of course, this was only possible because Ryuji was handsome enough to pass for a beautiful girl at a glance when cross-dressing, but even so, it was impossible to erase all his masculine features.
The method they chose was for Mahes, a being of pure yang energy, to temporarily leave his body, allowing Chiaki, a being of pure yin energy, to take over.
Yin energy was the essence of femininity.
Moreover, Chiaki, who possessed such immense yin energy that an exorcist clan had once mistaken her for a Yukionna [Snow Woman], could exert a massive influence on the host's body just by possessing it.
In other words—
Ryuji's toned, athletic body was forcibly given feminine characteristics by the yin energy.
His hard-earned muscles softened, his Adam's apple receded, and his angular shoulders and hips gained rounded lines.
On top of that, his stark white hair grew down to his waist. The body of Ryuji, now under Chiaki's control, had transformed into that of a stunningly beautiful girl.
"This is... me...?"
Those were the first words Ryuji muttered upon seeing his reflection in the mirror.
「Fuhahahahahahahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahat! To think you'd look so good cross-dressing! Fuhahahahahahat!」
Of course, the other accomplice who had watched the entire process, Mahes, laughed like a madman.
That's just how unbelievably good Ryuji looked.
It was no wonder that Ryuji, who had been half in doubt at first, gained a surge of confidence.
The reflection in the mirror was, no exaggeration, a beautiful girl who could genuinely aim for the top prize.
*
"Yes! Thank you for waiting! After a preliminary round that was nothing short of fierce—a battle where nine out of eighteen contestants were eliminated—we now have our nine survivors! I will now announce their names one by one!"
Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Unlike the relatively ordinary early contestants, the latter half of the preliminaries had been a parade of eccentrics. Now, the nine finalists had finally been decided.
"Don't underestimate her because she's small! With her outstanding singing voice that won a landslide of votes from the parents, Contestant Number 1! Tojo Karen!"
""You're the best, Karen-chan!""
A squad of middle-aged men had formed in the audience.
At its center was a red-haired, doting yakuza, waving glow sticks in both hands like he was at an idol concert.
"Her sparkle is the sparkle of a star! The dynamite girl who shakes the hearts of men! Contestant Number 2! Kishimoto Rika!"
"Yeah! Made it to the finals, easy-peasy!"
The moment Satoru finished speaking, Rika jumped up and down on the spot, making her presence known.
Thanks to that, her ample chest bounced up and down, creating quite the spectacle.
"Our third finalist is this person right here! The mysterious beauty from Russia! Contestant Number 6! Alexandra Ivanovna Romanova!"
"Uoooooooh! A goddess!"
It seemed her pistol marksmanship demonstration from earlier had earned her a cult following among the school's hidden military geeks.
A considerable number of male students, now proclaiming themselves Sasha's fans, were clustered together in the audience.
"Fourth is the nation's little sister, whom everyone knows! The hot topic who has recently been active not only as an actress but also as an idol! Contestant Number 7! Minato Naotang!"
"Nao! Nao! Nao!"
The fact that the competition's MC was a member of her fan club spoke volumes about her immense popularity.
How on earth did a girl like that end up liking me?
After the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth finalists, including Fuma-senpai, were introduced, the last one to be called was a girl named Ryuko, who looked familiar for some reason.
Perhaps because she was naturally shy, she simply waved silently to the audience before quietly stepping back.
Well, with a crowd this big, even someone who doesn't usually get nervous would be on edge.
In any case, once the nine finalists were decided, the remaining female students, who had been anxiously waiting for their names to be called, walked off the stage with crestfallen faces.
They had entered the competition with confidence in their looks, only to be eliminated in the preliminaries. How embarrassing must that be?
The only silver lining was that most people only remember the winner.
They could only hope it would end as an embarrassing memory known only to themselves and those around them.
"And now, for the long-awaited final round! The theme for the second stage of judging, which has been shrouded in mystery, is... a swimsuit competition!"
...What?
I didn't mishear that, did I?
The audience seemed just as stunned, a wave of murmurs spreading through the crowd.
The finalists were just as shaken.
"Hey, wait a minute! There was no mention of this yesterday!"
The first to protest was Karen, with her fiery temper.
The one who answered was the representative of the student council, the official sponsor of the competition—the Vice President.
"Isn't it 'common sense' for a beauty pageant to have a swimsuit competition?"
"No! What kind of bullshit is that!"
There was a vast difference between a normal person's common sense and the common sense of the Vice President, an otaku among otaku.
But no one could point that out in the serious atmosphere, so I kept my mouth shut. Then, Sasha stepped forward and spoke.
"Karen, if you don't want to do it, you can withdraw."
"What—"
"If a rival drops out like this, it's actually a gain for the rest of us."
"!"
Karen's expression turned to one of shock.
"N-No, I'm not saying I won't do it! I'm saying I didn't even prepare a swimsuit!"
"Anticipating such an event, we have prepared them in advance."
As the Vice President said this and clapped his hands, Minami appeared from somewhere, pushing a clothing rack hung with dozens of swimsuits.
"Surely you didn't think the student council would handle things carelessly?"
"Grrrgh!"
With that, her escape route was completely cut off.
In the end, Karen, who had been racking her brain for a way out, must have concluded there was no other option, as she burst out in frustration.
"Fine! I'll do it, okay?! I'll do it!"
Having secured her consent on the spot, the Vice President looked over the remaining finalists and said.
"If anyone else has an objection to the swimsuit competition, please speak now. We will process your withdrawal immediately."
As expected, no one stepped forward to withdraw.
Having come this far, they must have wanted to take something home with them.
Besides, it seemed at least four of the nine finalists had entered not for the prize money, but for the secondary prize—the right to have one wish granted—making it even harder for them to give up.
I wasn't sure where this competition was headed, but I was certain that nothing but a maelstrom of chaos, destruction, and madness awaited. To soothe my burning insides, I chugged a bottle of water.
*
'A swimsuit competition, here of all places...?'
Sakamoto Ryuji, who had entered the pageant for the prize money, realized once again that he was fucked.
He could hide everything else, but he couldn't hide what was between his legs.