Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 107
Chapter 107: The Return of That God
Kamisato High School is about a 30-minute walk from the Kamijo family home.
In terms of scale, it’s a bit larger than an ordinary high school, and there’s nothing particularly special about the school buildings.
However, it seems that the higher-ups running the school have been putting a lot of effort into not just sports but also the VR Sports Department and the Entertainment Department for the past three years.
Walking down the hallway, you can see quite a few interesting people and beautiful faces enrolled in those fields.
At the closing ceremony before summer vacation, students from the VR FPS team, which placed third in a competition, and a girl who appeared in a drama were called up on stage for awards.
The girl, in particular, seemed to be a reasonably well-known talent in Japan right now, and it felt like a lot of TV stations and such were present.
Her name was definitely Remu Minatsuki.
She’s the same age as me, and I had heard the boys in my class talking about how cute she was, so I only knew her name.
I thought that being a celebrity must be tough, especially since I’ve become somewhat prominent, though not to her extent, and finally arrived at Kamisato Academy.
“…It’s been a while since I came to school.”
Dressed in my usual casual clothes with a hoodie, I concealed my noticeable silver hair under the hood, carefully approaching the large school gate while keeping a lookout for my surroundings.
I can’t help but feel pathetic for having to sneak around like this.
But right now, I’m not just an ordinary boy with black hair. I’m a beautiful girl with silver hair and blue eyes. If my classmates, especially the boys and girls who have a weakness for cute girls, saw me like this, it would undoubtedly lead to trouble.
So, I approached the gate with the utmost caution to avoid drawing anyone’s attention.
“Suspicious person is under arrest!”
“Eek!?”
I felt hands slip under my arms from behind, lifting me effortlessly and causing me to let out a strange scream.
W-What’s happening!?
The person had taken me by surprise from behind, and to add to the embarrassment, they were quite skilled at it.
My face turned as red as my ears, overwhelmed by a mix of embarrassment, confusion, and various other emotions, plunging me into a chaotic situation.
The person who lifted me must have had incredible strength, as they easily spun me around to face them.
At that moment, I snapped back to reality, having been affected by a real status ailment: ?Confusion?.
The one who had picked me up was a tall, handsome woman with black hair, dressed sharply in a police uniform—Hojo Kirie.
With her long hair tied back, she met my gaze and smiled like a child who had just pulled off a successful prank.
“Good morning, Sora. I was waiting, and when I saw someone acting suspiciously by the school gate, I really thought there was a suspicious person around.”
“G-Good morning, Kirie-san. You see, there’s a bit of a situation going on…”
As I stammered my response, Kirie seemed to understand and didn’t press further.
Instead, she wore a look of comprehension and said,
“Oh, I see. So that’s what it is.”
Gently lowering the Sora’s small figure to the ground, ending the playful tossing up into the air.
Turning to face Kirie again, she was the first to express her gratitude.
“Thank you for coming. You really helped me out.”
“No, I’m the one who usually relies on you in ?Astra Online?. If there’s anything I can do, I’d be happy to rush over.”
“In that case, how about we go clothes shopping next time? I’ll find you something cute with lots of frills that would suit you perfectly.”
“Sorry, but I’m going to firmly refuse any requests in that area!”
I answered immediately and strongly, my expression serious, and Kirie laughed, saying it was just a joke.
To be honest, when she says it, it doesn’t sound like a joke at all, which is troubling.
Sora, covered in sweat on her forehead, steadied her breathing and let out a big sigh.
Then, she asked directly,
“So, why did you come for me this early in the morning? I did inform my master that I was coming alone.”
“Well, about that, actually, it’s not me who needs you…”
Kirie’s unusually hesitant words caused Sora to look puzzled.
If it’s not her who needs me, then what in the world does that mean?
Seeing my confused reaction, Kirie scratched her cheek lightly with her right index finger and suddenly pointed behind me.
Is someone behind me?
As I slowly turned around, there stood—
“Good morning, Sora-sama.”
To my surprise, there was a silver-haired girl with golden eyes, the self-proclaimed god, El Aurum.
………………………
As I passed through the school gate and entered, the first thing I encountered was the Green Road, created by the school to give students a breath of fresh air, which led toward the school building.
Even though it was summer vacation, there were still students participating in club activities, and I noticed students from the athletics and entertainment departments passing by, looking at us with surprise.
“Wait, is that really a goddess?!”
“Is she the real deal? Not just someone in cosplay?”
“With a police officer that looks like a bodyguard next to her, she must be the real thing. I don’t know who that small girl in the hood is beside her, though.”
It seemed that they weren’t using any concealment powers this time.
The students who passed by all stopped in their tracks, looking surprised at El and whispering so we could hear.
However, that was all.
No one tried to surround us, likely because the school arrangement has made people more mindful of not crowding us.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
In addition, the police officer, Kirie, standing next to me radiated an aura that clearly said, “Don’t come any closer,” with a smile.
It was quite an impressive pressure.
Even I, who had fought many formidable opponents, found myself catching my breath in response to the intimidating presence that tingled my skin.
Naturally, it was not something an ordinary person could withstand.
The students who tried to approach us turned around as soon as they saw Kirie.
El chuckled at the scene.
“Hehehe, as expected of a high-level adventurer in ?Astra Online?. What a splendid way to keep people at bay.”
“Well, even if it’s a command from above, I can’t let civilians get too close to something I can’t identify.”
“You say something quite similar to Sora-sama. Despite the fact that I’m working so hard for the sake of the world.”
The white-haired girl feigned sadness under Kirie’s glaring gaze.
Not understanding the situation, I decided to ask.
“Um, what’s your relationship with each other?”
“I’m here on orders from above, just acting as the goddess’s bodyguard today.”
“I’m the one being guarded,” El replied, puffing out her chest in a rather childish manner.
Ah, I understood the situation between the two of them.
But then, what was the reason I was called here?
When I asked El about it, she answered:
“Once summer vacation is over, you all will have to attend school.
If that happens, the progress of the game will slow down, and we might not be able to clear it before the entire world becomes corrupted.
So, to prevent that, I’m thinking of implementing a system where you have classes in the morning and play ?Astra Online? in the afternoon for the adventurers.”
In other words, even when school starts, they want us to continue our progress without taking a break.
“But I don’t really understand why I was needed for this. If you want to do it, just go ahead and do it.”
“That’s true. The reason I called you, Sora-sama, is simply because I wanted to see you.”
“Alright, I’m going home then.”
“W-Wait, that was a joke! I really do have a reason for calling you, so please don’t actually leave!”
The self-proclaimed goddess clung to me, tears in her eyes, trying to stop me.
I wasn’t free, but I decided to listen to what she had to say since it couldn’t be helped.
“So, what’s the reason for calling me?”
“That is something I will explain together with the principal and the chairman of Kamisato Academy.”
Saying that, she pointed to the principal’s office.
I had a very bad feeling about this, and Sora thought to herself that maybe she should just go home after all.