Chapter 244: But He's a Man
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 244: But He's a Man
The swimsuit competition.
Faced with a powerful, completely unexpected obstacle, Sakamoto Ryuji fell into a panic.
'What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?'
It would be a waste to give up after making it to the finals, but should he withdraw now?
As all sorts of negative thoughts flooded his mind, he began to bite his nails anxiously. That's when Chiaki, who was possessing Ryuji's body, yelled at him.
「Get a grip, Ryuji! You're not the kind of man who'd kneel before a little challenge like this!」
"...But there's no way around it."
He could hide it with clothes like he was now, but there was one part of him he could never conceal in a swimsuit that revealed his skin and figure.
As his gaze naturally drifted downward, Chiaki, who shared his vision, momentarily gasped.
She probably couldn't think of a rebuttal either.
Just as Ryuji was about to lean toward withdrawing, Chiaki suddenly shouted.
「W-Wait! There is one way.」
"A way?"
「I can increase my possession rate. I'm keeping it at around 30% right now so I don't strain your body, but if I push past the threshold, your size down there will shrink quite a bit.」
"...Are there any side effects?"
「It should be fine if it's just for a little while. You only have to show your bare body during the swimsuit competition, right? It'll definitely be fine for that long. Yep.」
The more he heard, the more it felt like he was sinking into a swamp.
To think he had to give up his pride as a man for a mere(?) 50,000 yen.
Worse, since he had to split it with Chiaki, he'd only get 25,000 yen even if he won first place.
"Can't we just withdraw? To be honest, this is already a bit much for me..."
「Absolutely not! Have you already forgotten the promise you made me?! And think of all the new games coming out next month that are waiting for you!」
"......"
In that instant, countless AAA games flashed through his mind.
His parents sent him living expenses every month, but after paying for necessities, he barely had enough pocket money to buy a single new game.
With 25,000 yen, he could buy at least two, no, maybe even three if he bought them used...
「Ah! Seriously! If you win, you can take 30,000 yen!」
"Alright, let's get serious."
Sakamoto Ryuji was a man who was surprisingly weak to money.
*
And now.
"Contestant number 18! Miss Ryuko!"
"......"
As they say, people are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.
Now that he was actually about to step out in front of everyone, Ryuji wanted to beat his past self to a pulp.
「Ryuji? What are you doing? You have to go forward.」
Chiaki's voice from within his body snapped him back to his senses, and Ryuji timidly shuffled to the front of the stage.
The gazes of a massive audience awaited him.
"Wow... she's so pretty..."
"So delicate..."
"I heard she's a second-year, I wonder what class she's in?"
Even someone as dense as him couldn't help but react to the lecherous stares of the male students, which felt like they were scanning every inch of his body.
'So this is the kind of attention girls have to live with all the time.'
Goosebumps broke out on his skin. Ryuji shivered, then glanced at Satoru standing next to him.
He had been worried that Satoru, a friend so close they might as well be brothers, would recognize him, but from the looks of it, that was a needless fear.
"Alright! Miss Ryuko! May I start with one question?"
"Ah, yes!"
A voice that wasn't his own.
Thinned by an overproduction of female hormones, his voice was now beautifully clear, like a woman's.
"Even though this is the swimsuit competition, you're all bundled up. Is there a particular reason for that?"
"Huh? Oh... well..."
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Ryuji shot a panicked look at Satoru.
He figured Satoru must have some ulterior motive for asking such a thing.
And just as he expected, Satoru was looking back at him with a wide grin.
He felt like he was playing right into his friend's hands, but he couldn't just start cussing him out like he normally would. Forcing a smile, Ryuji answered, his lips trembling.
"Because I'm shy..."
An enormous cheer erupted from the audience.
"So cuuuuuute!!"
"Go out with me!!"
"Ryuko! Ryuko! Ryuko!"
The noise alone made his head spin. Ryuji mentally asked Chiaki a question.
'Is this the scene you were hoping for, Chiaki?'
It seemed even Chiaki, possessing his body, thought this was a bit much, as she immediately apologized.
「Sorry.」
In any case, a man who has drawn his sword must see it through.
He couldn't keep his swimsuit hidden under his jacket forever, so Ryuji boldly unzipped his gym uniform jersey.
Ziiiiip!
As the firmly sealed zipper came down, the pure white, frilly swimsuit hidden beneath was revealed.
Delicate shoulders and collarbones, a modest but well-defined chest.
A slender waist and a shyly revealed navel gave off an air of pure innocence.
It truly felt as if this is what a grown-up version of the young Chiaki would have looked like.
Thanks to the skirt-type pareo he wore as a final act of resistance, his lower half was also securely covered.
Anyone who saw him now would undoubtedly be captivated by the beautiful girl before them, but from his own perspective, he couldn't help but feel a sense of shame.
After all, the fact that cross-dressing suited him this well wasn't exactly something he could brag about.
Having cast aside all his pride, Ryuji looked at Satoru's smug face and vowed to beat him to a pulp after this competition was over.
*
Contestant number 18, Ryuko.
With only a name jotted down, it was unclear if it was her real name or a pseudonym, but the girl who seemed to be a new face among the second-years monopolized the audience's attention, receiving tremendous support throughout her interview.
What was surprising was that she was popular not only with the male students but with the female students as well. It seemed that despite her very feminine appearance, the occasional glimpses of a laid-back personality during the interview had subtly captivated the hearts of the girls.
Anyway, after Ryuko's turn, the interviews with the other finalists continued.
"Miss Karen, what's your favorite food?"
"Ramen!... I mean, macarons."
"Miss Sasha, do you have any pets?"
"Not in Japan, but back home, I'm raising about three brown bears."
"Fuma-senpai, if you don't mind me asking your three sizes... Guhak!"
"You must have a death wish, junior."
Thanks to Satoru's skillful pacing, the interview segment, which could have easily become boring, proceeded in a consistently cheerful and lively atmosphere.
Once all nine finalists had finished their interviews, the audience voting finally closed.
"Alright! The votes are being tallied! The results will be announced shortly, so please stay with us until the very end!"
A short break.
While the votes were being counted, I decided to go to the restroom.
I'd been holding it in for quite a while, sitting in the judges' seats.
I headed for the restroom near the auditorium, but seeing it was crowded, I decided to use the staff restroom a little further away.
Normally, students weren't allowed to use it, and while it was open to anyone during events, it was tucked away in a corner of the school, so most people didn't know it was there.
'Just as I thought.'
As expected, the staff restroom was completely empty. I was just about to unbuckle my belt and step up to the urinal.
Krrrrrrrk!
Clack!
The sound of a toilet flushing came from behind me, and someone opened a stall door and walked out.
"?"
"?"
My eyes met with the person who had just come out.
Under normal circumstances, I would have just thought nothing of it.
The problem, however, was that the person standing in front of me was contestant number 18, Ryuko.
"Huh? Eh? Uhh?"
She seemed just as flustered, letting out a strange noise as she looked around before asking me.
"Isn't this the... the women's restroom?"
I hastily pulled up my pants and replied.
"Anyone can see this is the men's restroom."
"Right? Of course. Ahaha..."
Ryuko let out a dry laugh and scratched the back of her head, then immediately bowed low.
"I'm so sorry!"
Then she tried to make a quick escape.
But perhaps she was in too much of a hurry.
Slither!
The knot on the pareo wrapped around her lower body came undone, and it slid to the floor.
It seemed she hadn't tied it tightly enough after using the restroom just now.
"Ah."
The pareo, now lying on the restroom floor, failed to serve its purpose as a cover. Having inadvertently seen Ryuko's 'crotch,' my brain momentarily shut down.
Why is that bulging?
*
"Please! Keep it a secret!"
The mysterious contestant, Ryuko, who claimed to be a second-year but whose identity no one knew.
To think her true identity was Ryuji in disguise...
In a way, the development was so much like a rom-com that it was actually convincing.
In any case, with some time still left before the results were announced, Ryuji and I moved to a more secluded spot and began to talk amidst an uncomfortable silence.
"Why did you do something like this?"
To go so far as to lie about his gender to enter a beauty pageant.
It was an idea no ordinary person would ever come up with.
And as if he himself realized how absurd his actions were, Ryuji answered timidly, like a guilty man.
"...I wanted the prize money."
"Are you an idiot?"
I thought there might be some complicated reason, but he gave up his pride as a man just for prize money?
As I stared at him in disbelief, Ryuji's face flushed with embarrassment as he shouted.
"I couldn't help it! Our school forbids part-time jobs, so I'm always short on pocket money!"
His appearance was so needlessly delicate that it stirred a desire to protect him.
But he's a man.
I reminded myself over and over that the beautiful girl in front of me was Ryuji and asked another question.
"As your friend, I'm telling you, why don't you just withdraw now? If you get caught, it won't just end with you being embarrassed."
"...I can't do that."
"Why?"
"If I give up now, what was all my suffering for?!"
"An embarrassing memory for your dark past?"
"Graaaaaaah!"
Ryuji screamed in agony at the merciless dose of truth.