Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Self-Modification
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"Focus your mind. And carefully observe exactly what's changing in your body."
Roze spoke to me.
As she did, she poked at the spots heating up, and each time, the sensations sharpened.
"Your body is undergoing some unnatural changes right now. But no matter what kind they are, if they're happening inside you, you can control them yourself."
Last time, she had shown me self-modification firsthand.
Self-modification is the pinnacle of physical control techniques in martial arts.
What she was saying was that I could do it too.
"Lemon, you're lucky. A white belt like you wouldn't normally even dream of this."
"...If I can do it, will I get my yellow belt?"
"Yeah."
Good.
It's been half a year since I started training under Roze-ryu.
I'd finally gotten my chance to advance.
It was time to shed the white belt that marked me as a beginner.
"You can't do it all at once. Start small, from the extremities."
Sweat poured down like rain.
The heat rising throughout my body made it feel like I was submerged in a steaming hot bath.
Control my body in a state like this?
'Easier said than done!'
If I could do this, I wouldn't be stuck as a white belt for nothing.
I poured all my effort into intervening in the changes in my body, but the more I tried, the stranger it felt.
Just when I thought I had a grip on it, it slipped right through my fingers.
Soon, the heat climbed all the way to my head.
Dizziness and overwhelming drowsiness crashed over me.
Wouldn't it be easier if I just blacked out for a bit?
Then a voice flowed into my ear.
"You're doing great, Lemon. You're doing just fine."
A soothing sound that calmed my mind.
Roze kept talking to me nonstop.
Every time I heard her voice, my feverish head felt like it was cooling down bit by bit.
Then I realized it.
At some point, she'd stopped poking around and was pressing down on one specific spot.
In that instant, my mind locked onto that point.
'Move.'
Observing my entire body at once was still beyond me.
All I could manage was a single cluster of cells.
'Move.'
I focused all my will on that one cluster.
'Move.'
It was definitely possible.
Roze had explained it to me several times already and even demonstrated it.
On top of that, as the author of the original story, I had subconsciously assumed it was possible.
'Move.'
Just one cell.
I wasn't dreaming of full self-modification.
I just needed to handle one little cluster that was already in the midst of changing.
'Move.'
I pictured what I wanted.
The Helmet Boar's trait, 'Deep Lungs.'
The lungs fused with alien factors were abnormally large for a human body.
If I let the integration finish like this, it would throw my whole physical balance out of whack.
'Move.'
So I suppressed it.
I accepted the expanded capacity but only allowed growth up to a level that matched my body structure.
'Did it move?'
My body had accepted my will.
It was only a tiny cluster, but the cells that had been on the verge of overgrowing halted their activity.
'More...'
But maybe I'd poured too much mental energy into it.
My consciousness, already pushed to the limit, was starting to go dark.
"Got it."
Her voice snapped my eyes open.
Roze, soaked in sweat, was grinning.
She looked like a leopard that had locked onto its prey.
"You did it, Lemon. Leave the rest to me."
Roze met my gaze and flashed a bright smile.
And with that, my consciousness shut down completely.
*
When I opened my eyes again, I was still inside the facility.
The first thing I did upon waking was check the time.
Less than a day had passed.
'Roze must have gone back.'
I sat up.
But someone was right beside me.
"Mmm."
A woman with long scarlet hair wrapped around her like a blanket.
It was Roze.
I'd forgotten where I was and just stared at her, dumbfounded.
Her innocent sleeping face was nothing like her usual mischievous self—it evoked the image of an angel.
"...Mmm? Lemon?"
She must have sensed my gaze; she stirred and woke up.
I bolted upright without thinking, pretending to look around awkwardly before answering.
"Oh, you're awake?"
"Good morning."
Good morning?
It was almost dinnertime.
I'd come here right after yesterday afternoon's classes, so the timing lined up.
I pointed that out to her.
"Oh, really?!"
Roze shot up in surprise.
"Let's go eat. I haven't had anything since yesterday—I'm starving."
"Sure. But why didn't you go alone? Why stay here?"
"Huh? We came together. I couldn't just leave my friend behind, right?"
I had no choice but to nod at her matter-of-fact words.
"Anyway, have you checked your condition? You really went through it."
"My body?"
Come to think of it, even right after applying the new trait, there wasn't much discomfort.
Especially the lungs, which should have swollen enough to press on my other organs—they'd only grown to a moderate size.
Roze had pulled it off.
"It worked out well, huh?"
"Wow, this is... incredible."
"Right? Right?"
"Yeah... Thank you so much. That's all I ever seem to say."
"No big deal. I got something out of it too. Watching it from the start this time let me pick up a few things I can use."
"...What?"
What did she just say?
Did she copy it while I was out?
A chill suddenly ran down my spine.
"Not as well as you, of course. Yours goes beyond normal human limits, you know? I'm jealous."
"..."
"Still, if I tweak it right, I could upgrade my own style with it. Once it's done, wanna compete later to see who has better lung capacity? Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
"Uh... sure."
I'd never felt speechless like this before.
She kept surprising me, but I could never get used to it.
Was the person in front of me even the same species as me?
"Your nerves will adapt on their own as you move around. Looks like we'll need to ramp up your training for a while."
"Haha."
I just laughed.
Compared to yesterday, I'd definitely improved today.
Even so, the gap between us felt as wide as ever.
'No, there's no need to compare.'
My breathing was already different.
My muscles brimmed with energy from the faster, richer oxygen supply.
I'd need to test my limits separately to know for sure, but they were undoubtedly much better than before.
"Oh! We have to do a yellow belt ceremony too. This is our school's first one ever. How should we do it? Gather everyone for a celebration? Or set up some trials for a test? Got any ideas, Lemon?"
"Uh, that..."
Roze was buzzing with excitement.
If I left her like this, she might run wild and plan something over the top.
"Let's talk about that later. We need to eat first, then head to the medal ceremony tonight."
"...Oh! Right, that's today."
Roze finally remembered and hurried ahead of me.
The Central Superhuman Unit's commander and living legend among superhumans, 'Darmosa,' was arriving at the academy tonight.
The ceremony was set to start the moment he arrived.
He'd squeezed this into his packed schedule, so there wouldn't be another chance after today.
Maybe that's why Roze, uncharacteristically, wolfed down her meal.
Even after fasting a full day.
"Roze, even if we go now, we'll just be waiting forever."
"Let's wash up first, change into our formal wear, and meet back up."
Barton, whom we'd run into at the cafeteria, helped calm her down.
We'd been disinfected and rinsed off in the isolation facility earlier, but it was purely for sanitation—nothing about our appearance was pristine.
"...You think?"
"Yeah. Everyone's supposed to wear formal attire, so we need to get dressed properly."
"Oh, right, formal wear! I don't even know how to put it on..."
Roze muttered as she checked her outfit.
It was a real challenge for her.
But luckily, someone was there to help.
"We can wash up together. Come on, Roze."
"Merdi knows how?"
"I wore it at the entrance ceremony."
"Really? It's so complicated. You remember all that?"
"I put it on alone back then too. I hate people touching my body."
Merdi swept her hair back with a casual expression.
Of course. Merdi had great fashion sense.
She wore flashy clothes exceptionally well.
Outfits that could look tacky on others, she pulled off perfectly.
Formal wear should be no problem for her.
"Awesome. I'll go with Merdi then. See you soon!"
"Sure."
The two vanished in a flash.
That left Barton and me.
I glanced at him, and he said,
"No need to wait for me."
".........What?"
"Kidding."
So Barton could make jokes.
Whether he was satisfied with my stunned reaction or not, he trudged off with his usual blank face.
"Oh!"
This wasn't the time to dawdle.
I was the star of this medal ceremony.
Which meant attendance was mandatory for me.
And honestly, my current state was even worse than Roze's.
I rushed back to the dorm, showered, and got into my formal wear.
The outfit was as flashy as it was tricky to don.
It was intricate; only by following the sequence precisely did it take on its elegant shape.
I had to redo it several times before it looked right.
'Hmm, this'll do.'
My face reflected in the mirror.
Leonard Monarch's face, utterly unlike my original one.
Even after nearly half a year, it still didn't feel familiar.
At first, I avoided mirrors altogether.
Except for basic maintenance, I ignored it.
'Feels off.'
That's why it still did.
It didn't quite feel like *my* face.
More like a handsome blond Westerner staring straight back at me.
'At least the face is a winner.'
The Monarch family had grown by embracing the space age changes like any other major house.
Meaning they'd aggressively pursued body mods and genetic tweaks, reaping huge success.
So every Monarch was attractive—no ugly ducklings.
All blood heirs had genius-level talents.
And my current body was no different.
Honestly, it might even be better than the average Monarch.
'Golden eyes.'
The golden eyes that once symbolized the Monarchs.
Among current Monarch blood now, only Leonard—my body—had them.
'Not that they come with any special powers. Probably?'
When I wrote the original, the Monarchs were just setup fodder I never used, tucked away in a corner.
The golden eyes? I added them because they sounded cool.
No clue if there's anything special; best I could tell, they just gave good night vision.
But in a future overflowing with vision aids, that was nothing.
Just a needless source of drama.
I left the dorm.
The ceremony was in the grand hall, right next to the principal's office.
Time was still early, but I'd gotten word to arrive ahead.
"Ah, there you are. This way, please. We need to do your grooming."
"Grooming?"
"Yes. Tonight's medal ceremony is going out as top news across the Human Alliance. We've got a ton of reporters here for once."
Reporters too.
They were clearly milking this for PR.
In the end, I got dragged off by the stylists.
"You're just now here? We're short on time."
"His face is so handsome. A little touch-up and it'll photograph great."
"True. Shall we start by fixing that messy hair? Mind if we touch it?"
"...Yeah. Go ahead."
I just nodded.
The stylists were *really* enthusiastic.
"Wow, look at this skin. So firm and smooth!"
"His hair texture is amazing too. How do you take care of it?"
The chatter during the styling sounded just like any modern salon—uncannily so.
"...Not really."
"That's no good. Damage happens fast. Even a little care keeps it looking great way longer. Want some product recs?"
Both were skilled stylists.
Just a bit talkative.
"How's this?"
When they held up the mirror afterward, it showed a Lemon upgraded yet another level.
"Hmm..."
It felt like I'd leveled up.
A strange surge of confidence welled up.
"Looks good. Thanks."
"No problem. We had fun too. Hehe."
I checked the time.
Still a bit before the ceremony.
Thinking of hitting the bathroom, I stood and looked around.
The space for staff was a maze.
In the end, I used a guide bot to find the one deepest inside.
'Huh?'
Someone was already there.
A familiar face, at that.