Wearing the Buruma
"Tarkan?"
Boom!
Emily had been swinging her hammer, but the moment she sensed the vanishing of that enormous presence, her face twisted in shock.
"Arhan too...?"
"What the hell? Why all of a sudden..."
The exhausted Professor Bajina and Lamia stared at her in confusion as she suddenly froze mid-battle.
"I'll kill every last one of them."
Her eyes burned with pure fury as she glared at the professors.
"?!"
When the professors realized she was about to get serious, cold sweat broke out across their skin and they flinched backward.
> Emily. Retreat immediately.
A low, calm voice flowed through Emily's in-ear device, restraining her.
"Fuck...! Don't stop me, Dyer!! I have to bury the bastards who killed my kids right fucking now—"
> This is an order from the First Finger. Retreat at once.
Boom!!
At the absolute finality in his voice, she stood there stunned.
The battle had dragged on far too long. By the time the academy's defense forces and police tactical units finally swarmed in, she was completely surrounded.
He had already foreseen everything. That was why he'd ordered her to withdraw.
"...Fuck."
Emily had been ready to slaughter every enemy in sight, but she couldn't bring herself to disobey his command.
> ...I'm sorry.
"Fine, damn it. Magical Leaf."
Flash!
"What?! She vanished instantly!"
"Search everywhere!! Do not let that heinous criminal escape!!"
The assembled forces panicked at her sudden disappearance and scattered in every direction.
The heavy footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
"The fight's already over. They won before we even arrived... Those students are incredible."
"That's the power of youth for you."
The professors, who had been helplessly tied up by Emily, now gazed with admiration at the students who had defeated the Redanis executives on their own.
"Today's student heroes! Let's meet the five cadets including Ryushia and Lee Jinwoo!!"
"U-um... hello."
After the battle had concluded, Jinwoo appeared before the cameras with a cast on his arm, standing there awkwardly.
"You even took down the Ninth Finger, Tarkan! The Kingdom Alliance special forces brigade that once faced him suffered a humiliating defeat... but you've given them a splendid revenge!"
"Mmm!!"
Behind Jinwoo, Elia, Arkhis, and Iflata stood with their arms crossed, nodding solemnly.
"Haha, that's correct. With nothing but the desire to protect people..."
"By the way, where exactly did you obtain that weapon?"
"Ah."
Right in the middle of the interview, the most troublesome question arrived.
"Even the Kingdom's regular army doesn't possess weaponry like that. I'm very curious how you acquired a weapon with such destructive power."
"Well..."
If he told the truth, the person being interviewed right beside him—Ryushia—would probably open her squinted eyes and glare daggers at him.
"To tell the truth..."
Jinwoo spun his underpowered brain as hard as he could and moved his lips.
"I am actually Iron Man."
"?"
"Good grief..."
Of course, the excuse he worked so hard to produce was painfully lame.
"Student Ryushia? You defeated the Sword Demon of Ailes all by yourself, correct? That's truly remarkable!"
"Hehe, it was nothing."
After a victory like that, reporters showing up was inevitable.
Redanis might look like a mere syndicate from the outside, but it was a colossal force that rivaled an entire nation.
Defeating them in battle naturally drew this level of attention.
"However, I do have one question for you, Student Ryushia."
"Yes?"
The young reporter glanced at Ryushia, who was wrapped head to toe in bandages, and spoke in a somewhat subdued tone.
"On internet comment sections and across various media outlets, there's been a lot of talk about how your outfit is excessively provocative..."
"..."
Did I hear that right? Are they really accusing me of public indecency during an interview?
"There are also quite a few parents who have stated they intend to report you for public lewdness."
"Huh?"
Oh. It was real.
Why am I getting smeared like this when I should be showered with praise for fighting?
Suddenly—!
"What do you mean, 'huh'? This little brat is already showing everything she's got!"
A perm-haired auntie from the crowd behind pushed her way in front of the reporter and shouted.
"A slutty girl like you... wearing such shameless clothes where everyone can see?! Shaking your hips like a fox and flirting with every man around, you think I wouldn't notice?!"
"Excuse me? What exactly are you—"
What is this lady even talking about? When did I ever do any of that?
"You catch villains while wearing those perverted clothes! If our children see that and grow up twisted, are you going to take responsibility?!"
"How exactly is that my responsibility...?"
Fuck.
How is any of this my fault?
"If I may add something, the sideboob and underarm areas are completely exposed... and the amount of fabric covering that fiery backside is woefully insufficient. On top of that, I understand you aren't even wearing underwear, so the jiggling is far too explicit..."
Instead of stopping the harassment, the reporter was actively joining in. This wasn't an interview—it was a public execution.
...All because my body is a little bit revealing.
"However, we are currently witnessing a clash between parent and women's groups—who argue that it promotes social obscenity and vulgarity—and the male online communities, who insist we must protect the beautiful student's freedom to choose her battle attire after she defeated the enemy."
"Ah... I see."
"Allow me to show you."
No thank you? I really don't need to see that?
But the reporter completely ignored my inner scream and displayed the news comment section.
"Ah, and we also have the current real-time best post from one internet community."
"Th-that's enough."
The reporter in front of me must be genuinely insane. Why would you show sexual harassment comments to the actual victim?!
...I can't take this anymore.
"Ah! Student, where are you going?!"
"I'm escaping from the perverts."
Dash dash dash!!
In the end, I fled right in the middle of the interview.
...
But is this outfit really that bad?
I honestly can't tell.
"Everyone, although there was that unfortunate incident... the professors and other adults will handle the aftermath. You may all go about your days with peace of mind."
"Yes~!"
Professor Bajina, with a band-aid stuck on his face, gathered the students and gave a brief explanation.
"And one more thing! Starting the week after next, we will be holding the sports festival!"
"Hmm?"
Oh. The early main story is finally over, and the proper event story is beginning.
"Sia, what is that?"
"It's nothing special. You just earn points by placing high in the different events, then exchange those points for items. It's basically a resource-gathering event. You also get to see some story and new illustrations along the way?"
"Hmm..."
This sports festival is Genesis's 1.5 version event.
If I were to compare it to another game, minor patches, boss additions, and event stories usually come in the 0.■ updates.
The real main story and new character releases feel more like the 2.0 version.
"All we have to do is crush the other classes and take first place!"
"Is that so?"
Let's see what the events are.
Running, eating snacks, dodgeball, balloon popping, cavalry battle, and so on...
There were quite a variety of events.
"Well, there are other students in our class besides us."
"No, the 3-star trash won't be any help. They're too weak. In reality, this sports festival is dominated by 4-star and above characters."
"So even here, you're divided by your origins..."
"Yes. In the end, base stats are what matter most. The gap between 5-star, 4-star, and 3-star characters isn't something that can be easily bridged."
- ...
At Ryushia's blunt declaration, the ordinary students simply hung their heads in sadness.
"Still, they might get to shine in the team events. It wouldn't hurt for them to practice hard..."
Ryushia seemed to realize she might have been too harsh and muttered while checking the others' reactions.
"Yes, let's all win together."
And so, we began special training for the sports festival.
"Haaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
"Faster! Faster! Or you'll go to hell!"
- Fighting! Fighting!
Arkhis screamed as she sprinted down the track while Elia continued scolding her from the side.
Labi, wearing a cheerleader outfit, shook her pom-poms.
"Hit it!!!"
Thwack!!
On the other side, Iflata was accurately hitting targets with fireballs.
"Jinwoo? Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah."
Jinwoo was even giving Ryushia a piggyback ride.
'Her... her thighs are...'
They practiced countless different events.
There were only five characters above 4-star in Jinwoo's class.
Since they essentially had to cover every single event, the training was grueling.
And then...
"“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”"
After those peaceful yet chaotic days, the long-awaited day had finally arrived.
However, there was one problem...
"J-Jinwoo?! This is weird!"
"Huh...?"
"Why did they give me buruma instead of regular shorts like the boys?! These are basically panties! It's way too lewd!"
Ryushia tugged desperately at the white athletic top and black buruma, shouting in clear distress.
"This is discrimination! My chest feels incredibly tight, and the bottom is squeezing my butt! What if it rips while I'm running?!"
Stretch.
She yanked the buruma slightly while yelling in excitement, then let go.
Slap!
The natural sound of her butt cheeks jiggling rang out clearly.
"Hmm. It's actually more wholesome than your usual outfit?"
"...Huh?"
Maybe it was just my imagination.
For a second there, she looked genuinely angry...