You Were a Woman?!
“You were a woman?!”
“Those who defy the Emperor shall be purged!”
Woooong!—
‘This bastard’s a Sword Master too?! No way, are Sword Masters a dime a dozen!?’
The massive aura pouring from Gerhart’s body as she aimed her greatsword at me. On par with Gloria’s from moments ago—or maybe even greater. A heavy, overwhelming mana flowed out, enveloping her blade.
“Oh man~ Scary~ But you know that, right? This is abandoned land. A dumping ground where all sorts of trash gathers. Don’t you think playing emperor in a place full of criminals is a bit much?”
... Fwaaah!—
‘Damn!’
In an instant, Gerhart charged, slicing through the air to cleave me in two. Her greatsword, wrapped in an Aura Blade, swung down from overhead. My true physical power only came from wearing the face skins of high-level experts to copy their combat abilities. Without any, my bare strength was honestly just a notch above our family’s average grunts.
But I wasn’t scared. I’d never been as strong as the bosses or reps gathered here, and I knew damn well I’d get killed without a chance to fight back. That’s why I always had insurance.
“Don’t touch him?!”
Bwooooooom!!— !!! Kwaaaaang!!!—
Grgggggrrrk!— Rumble!—
A giant figure blocked Gerhart’s greatsword, which had come right down to my forehead, punching it aside. Rina sis—one of the escorts I’d brought for protection—used her massive muscular body as a shield, sending Gerhart flying several meters. And she didn’t stop there, smashing through the conference hall wall and embedding her in the opposite side with insane destructive force.
Crack! Creak!
“Ha! That’s all a Master’s got? The contractor of that crazy bitch I fought recently was way stronger!”
Every time she casually rolled her shoulders and stretched, her joints cracked like breaking bones. It was just a stretch for her, but combined with the intimidation of her ogre-fused body, it was chillingly terrifying.
“Kyahahaha~♥ My apostle might look like this, but he was a splendid apostle made for war, you know? Don’t lump him in with that Balac contractor who only spreads fear. It hurts my feelings, right, Boss?”
“As if! And you!— Don’t stick so close to our Boss! Latecomers should back off!— ”
“Kyahahaha!~♥ But I don’t wanna~ If you’ve got complaints, beat me first, you lowly human... no, tacky ogre?”
“Both of you, stop... What am I, a doll? Pie? Cake?! Stop grabbing my arms from both sides! I’m gonna rip apart!”
Rina sis and Halphas were having a stare-down with me in the middle. While the others trembled in fear from Gerhart’s power, Rina sis showed no sign of backing down.
‘Probably because she’s at the top of monsters as an ogre? Or maybe because she’s spent so much time around even scarier ones like Halphas or Vanessa?’
Estelle sis looked fine too, so the latter seemed more likely. Man, I’m not some cute teddy bear! Why fight over me like that?!
“Oh my~ Our Boss is so popular. This sis might get jealous.”
“Estelle sis. Can’t you rein those two in?”
“You think I could? If it was Vanessa, maybe~”
“... Guess I’ll bring Vanessa next time.”
Thud!
...
“Kyahahaha!~ Our ogre’s got such a sloppy finisher? All that big talk, and that’s it? Your opponent wants to keep going, you know?”
“Hmph! Don’t make me laugh! Boss, let me handle this bitch?”
Gerhart, who’d been punched by Rina sis and sent flying through the wall, slowly walked back, readjusting her grip on her greatsword. Definitely toughness befitting a Sword Master. Any normal person would’ve had their shoulder joint or arm shattered just blocking that punch, bones screaming.
Before that...
“Big Daddy. About the building repair bill... can you cut us some slack?”
“Shut your crap! I’ll squeeze interest out of you too, you crazy bastard!”
“Damn it! You think I wanted this?! I was trying to keep it civil!”
“Shut up and end it quick! And don’t even think about skimping on the bill later!”
“Wow~ Really! All that guts but a tiny prick!”
“You have any idea how I feel cleaning up your family’s messes every day?!”
‘Argh! Hits too close to home, can’t even argue...’
This narrow-minded guy was really the host of the North Conference and ruler of Brad City?
“Rina sis. Make it quick. No dragging it out.”
“Got it! Hey, Black Prince! You ready to pay for aiming your sword at the Boss?!”
...
“I’ll end it quick... for our Boss...”
Thud!
“No more holding back! If you die, that’s on youuuu!!— ”
Fwoooooosh!!— !!! Kwakwakwakwang!!!—
...
Rumble rumble!Groooar!
...
...
“... Hey, punk.”
“Uh... yeah?”
“You see my mansion collapse?”
“Ah... yeah... uh... interest-free installments over 36 months possible?”
“Fuck off, you little shit. Full payment upfront! Pay up!— ”
...
‘Argh... Expenses piling up lately as it is!’
“Boss~ This sis took her out in one hit! I did good, right?!”
“Kyahahahaha!~ Such splendid destruction!~♥ Fights should be like this, right, Boss?”
“Boss... Cheer up. Rina won, that’s what matters? Right?”
...
The clash between Rina sis and Gerhart. The result: Rina sis won. Simple reason—she overwhelmed the Sword Master with sheer power and size, smashing and burying her along with the building.
However! Big Daddy’s mansion couldn’t handle the force and half-collapsed in an unprecedented incident... And I had to foot the bill.
“This is so unfairrrrr!!!~~~”
“Cough up my mansion repair bill right now!!~~ You crazy fuckers!!!~~~”
**
...
...
...
“Sigh~”
“Boss. Um...”
“Hahaha... compensation... hahaha...”
“I’m really sorry!— ”
Just hollow laughs. What sin did I commit in my past life to deserve this bullshit? I only died crushed by work. Why suffer insane unfairness in this new world too?
With Big Daddy’s mansion crumbling, centuries of collected art and decorations were wrecked... And I had to pay for that too. Roughly thousands of gold. Our family’s annual income was about 500 gold—from bootleg liquor and black market deals. Recent dwarf weapon exports helped, but building facilities and farms for our rescued slaves and orphans ate up funds. Couldn’t pay that much right away.
So my last resort: one option!
“No choice! Squeeze it out of that Black Prince punk! He drew first, after all!”
“But will that arrogant shit cough it up nicely?”
“It’s mutual assault damages, right?! So compensation splits 5:5! Half and half! Yeah?!”
Yes! Legitimate claim. I’d ignore whining from randos, but Big Daddy had backed us for 10 years. Denying that debt made us scum even among crime families—bottom of the human trash heap!
Clack! Clack! Clack!
“You can’t enter here!”
“Move.”
“North Face! What you did to our陛下...”
Thud!
“Shut up and move! Didn’t you hear our Boss? Want me to smash you like your Boss?”
...
In the end, Gerhart’s guards at her annex stepped aside. They glared resentfully under Rina sis’s killing intent, but the power gap was clear—they couldn’t stop us.
“Everyone, wait here. I’ll go in alone.”
“Huh? Dangerous, right?”
“Swarming in is implicit threat. Gotta be gentlemanly. Boss to boss meeting. Guards stay with friends. No complaints, yeah?”
“... Do as you wish. But! If anything dirty happens to陛下...”
“Ah~ Don’t worry. My personal strength’s weaker than your Boss. I’m the one hoping she doesn’t mess me up. If something happens to me... our kids won’t let your family off.”
...
“Then I’m going in.”
Creeeak!—
After intimidating the grunts, I entered Gerhart’s annex, scanning the luxurious interior for where she rested. Fitting for the Black Prince family’s boss with max forces. Big Daddy had given her the fanciest annex—practically another noble mansion. We got a guest annex too, but nothing this lavish.
‘Money thrown around here too! Noble origins? Art everywhere!’
But no signs of life inside. I remembered about 100 guards from the hall, yet no attendants in the annex. Too quiet for a self-proclaimed emperor’s rest spot.
I roamed rooms hunting her chamber, but no luck.
‘Weird? Why so quiet? Empty mansion? Out? No, then no guards.’
Drag drag.—
‘Hm? That room?’
After circling the biggest rooms without finding her, a noise came from the farthest corner room. Guessing she was there, I took a deep breath and opened the door.
Creeeak!
“Black Prince, Gerhart. Sorry about earlier. I need to talk important business... Eh?”
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“Ah— ”
...
...
A brief silence. Who was before me? Wild black hair sticking out like beast fur down to her waist. Left eye with a + scar, not l. Black pupils. Definitely Gerhart from the hall.
Massive upper frame with bulging back muscles and rock-hard thick forearms from lifelong sword training and conditioning.
But seeing her body properly now, I couldn’t believe my eyes. White bandages compressed her chest, but huge balloon-like breasts protruded. Below, feminine curves in waist and hips bulging taut over pants. And her face without the steel mask—Gerhart’s flushed, embarrassed face was unmistakably female!
“You were a woman?!”
“Kyaaaaaaaah!!!~~~”
I’d accidentally seen Gerhart’s true gender and form!