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 108
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- 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 108 - The Silver-Haired Girl and Kamisato Academy
Chapter 108: The Silver-Haired Girl and Kamisato Academy
I knocked on the door of the principal’s office and waited for permission to enter.
When Kirie opened the door, she let El and Sora go in first, then entered herself.
Inside, waiting for us, were an elderly woman sitting up straight and a man in his fifties with a dignified presence.
I recognized the woman. I had seen her during the general meeting. She was Yuuko Kamisato, the chairman, always dressed in a suit with a calm demeanor.
Next to her was Kengo Akatsuki, the principal of Kamisato Academy, a short-haired man who looked great in a suit. His image of cleaning the Green Road first thing in the morning and greeting students with a smile was strongly etched in my memory.
It was definitely improper to wear a hood in front of people.
Realizing this, I removed my hood, revealing my beautiful silver hair and my face to the two of them.
While they didn’t say anything out loud, their eyes widened in surprise.
Then they exchanged respectful glances toward Sora and encouraged all three of us to sit on the sofa.
What was going on…?
Suspicious of the unusual behavior of the two, Sora slowly settled into the soft, high-quality sofa.
On her left side, El sat uncomfortably close, while Kirie sat on her right at a more reasonable distance.
Chairman Kamisato picked up the teapot from the table, poured the contents into three teacups, and placed them in front of us.
The tea snacks were a familiar delicacy from a popular local shop—sweet red bean jelly that sold out quickly due to its moderate sweetness and deep flavor.
It seemed that the chairman liked them too, as she prepared them for us today.
After thanking her, Sora slowly sipped from the teacup, finding comfort in the moderately bitter tea.
The first to speak, however, was neither El nor Chairman Kamisato.
It was Principal Akatsuki, sitting directly across from Sora.
He was not wearing his usual cheerful expression. Instead, he tightened his mouth and faced me, serious.
“Before we discuss anything, I want to ask you something, Sora Kamijo. Do you still wish to attend our school, even in your current form?”
At that question, I felt as if my heart had stopped.
That’s right…
I had only been thinking about how to explain my gender change to my close friends and classmates, but there was also the possibility that I might not be able to continue attending school as I had before.
As this realization hit Sora, the color drained from her face.
Her hands trembled with fear, and she couldn’t keep her gaze straight ahead, letting her eyes drop down instead.
Did I still want to attend school as before?
The answer was clear.
Summoning all her willpower, Sora spoke her answer aloud.
“Yes, I want to attend.”
“I see, understood. You want to continue attending our school. With that in mind, let’s talk.”
After hearing my words, he looked somewhat relieved and took a sip of his tea.
I could sense a feeling of relief that I hadn’t responded with words like “I don’t want to attend” or “I can’t attend.”
“First of all, Kamijo-kun, regarding your gender change due to a curse. Including the circumstances around it, we understand the situation you are in. The chairman and I have already been informed by the god who is present there.”
“Yes…”
“Additionally, we have reviewed the materials from the ?Guardian? regarding your current physical condition, and we’ve also spoken with your parents, who are currently far away.”
“My dad and mom…”
What exactly did they talk about?
I was very curious, but Sora held her breath and listened intently to Principal Akatsuki’s words with a tense expression.
Noticing Sora’s demeanor, Principal Akatsuki smiled to provide some reassurance and continued speaking.
“Your parents asked us to allow you to remain enrolled if that is your desire. You are the person who has contributed the most to the world among the adventurers in Astral Online. As a school, we promised to do our utmost to ensure that a boy who is working hard for the world can remain enrolled, so I was anxious until today, waiting to hear that you wanted to continue.”
“Principal… thank you.”
Touched by the words of her parents and the principal, who had prioritized her well-being, Sora felt a warm sensation in her chest.
Next to speak was Yuuko Kamisato, the chairman, who was sitting next to Principal Akatsuki.
After watching the flow of the conversation, she took a sip of her tea and began to address me.
“The adventurer ‘Sora’ became immensely famous last month due to significant achievements in the large-scale event ‘Leviathan.’ Now, there is hardly anyone in the world who doesn’t know your name.”
“While some teachers were concerned that having a ‘hero’ like you there might cause unnecessary trouble, we are fortunate that our school already has a nationally popular talent, so there are no issues with media management. But above all…”
Chairman Kamisato intensified the weight of her words, and a certain determination shone in her eyes.
“We know there are others like you who are dedicated to this. It would be a failure of our duties if we couldn’t support a student during this time. After discussions in the teachers’ meeting, we all agreed that it’s fine for you to remain enrolled as you are.”
“I’ve said some complicated things, but in short, Kamijo-kun can continue attending our school as before,” Principal Akatsuki concluded the discussion.
Upon hearing this, Chairman Kamisato covered her mouth with her right hand and smiled wryly.
“So, Kamijo-kun, please continue to work hard in your studies at our school.”
“Thank you, Chairman, Principal…”
A mix of emotions filled my chest.
The reason I chose this school was simply because it was close by.
But now it was different.
I was glad I chose this school.
Sora thought that from the bottom of her heart and bowed deeply to both of them.
Then, from beside her, she heard a muffled sobbing sound.
Curious about what was happening, she glanced sideways to see Kirie, who wasn’t even trying to hide it, streaming a large amount of tears from both eyes.
This sight made Sora’s own tears retreat, and she stared, mouth agape in shock.
“Um, Kirie-san…”
“Sorry, I’ve always been weak when it comes to stories like this.”
“No, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, no problem at all.”
Kirie pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her tears, looking like a beautiful police officer.
Sora thought to herself, What a nice person, as she turned her gaze back to Chairman Kamisato and Principal Akatsuki.
At that moment, the two of them shifted their attention from Sora to El, who was sitting next to her.
When Sora looked over, El, who had been silent until now, raised both hands as if to say, ‘It’s my turn!’
“Well then, it’s my turn next!”
“Do you have something to say as well?”
“Indeed! In fact, this is where the real show begins. If we’re talking about manga or anime, this is the grand entrance!”
“Ugh, I’m already pretty full from all that!”
El shook her right index finger back and forth at Sora, who wore a tired expression.
“No, no, no! It’s useless to try to escape. Most people say that, but in reality, they only feel about 80% full and still have a little bit of room left. I know this from reading manga!”
This self-proclaimed goddess has picked up some weird knowledge.
Sora made a clear face of dislike, and feeling a headache coming on, decided it was time for a sugar boost.
She cut a third of the yokan with a toothpick and tossed it into her mouth.
As she regained a bit of energy from the moderate sweetness and deep flavor of the red bean paste, she took a sip of tea and sighed.
Then, facing the self-proclaimed goddess, Sora said, “Oh, well, I guess I have no choice. Since I’m planning to continue playing ‘Astral Online’ with Kurono afterwards, please be quick.”
“Yes, I understand. Progressing through the game is important, as it’s written in the Kojiki.” [1]
Sora had a pretty good idea of what El had been reading.
But she felt that if she interjected, it would just make things longer, so she decided to remain silent.
Out of nowhere, El pulled out a whiteboard and wrote in large letters, ?Game progression is more important than academics!? right here in front of the school’s top two figures.
“Well, as I mentioned earlier, to put it simply, once school starts, you’ll be spending about a third of your day on school activities. If that happens, it will undoubtedly delay your progress in ‘Astral Online’.”
“Well, the pace will drop compared to summer break.”
“Therefore, using my divine authority, I’m going to implement this system, and during that time, I plan to ‘rank’ you ‘adventurers’ in real life.”
……Rank us, you say?
The words that came out of the self-proclaimed goddess El were not something to be taken lightly.
TL Note:
??? (Kojiki): This is the oldest extant chronicle of Japan, and it’s being used here in a humorous or exaggerated way to emphasize the importance of something (in this case, progressing in a game).