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 145
Chapter 145: The Boy’s True Feelings
With his black hair and dark eyes, typical of a Japanese person, and standing at around 180 cm with a somewhat mature aura, the boy’s name was Shinji.
Just like last year, he was dressed casually in a short-sleeved T-shirt and cropped pants.
Sitting on the other side, across from Sora, was Shiro, a handsome boy with naturally brown hair and dark eyes, giving off a refreshing vibe. He wore a blue jinbei, his favorite color, which made him look like a model or an idol.
They both sat in silence, waiting for Sora to speak.
It wasn’t that nothing had changed.
The truth was, on the first day of summer break, after being cursed, I turned into a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl.
It was just a simple thing to tell them, yet when I opened my mouth to speak, the words wouldn’t come out due to extreme nervousness.
I had thought I needed to be the one to say it first.
But my mind went blank, and I couldn’t figure out what to say.
Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, trickling down my cheek and landing on the back of my hand.
…No good, I can’t say anything.
I can dominate in the game, but telling my best friends the truth in real life is such a struggle.
Sora’s distress didn’t go unnoticed by the two boys sitting on the bench, who had once agonized over their own problems here. Simultaneously, they lightly placed their hands on her shoulders.
The first to speak was Shinji.
“Don’t push yourself. It’s clear from your behavior that you’re not Takanashi-san. As for why you’re in that form… well, given how you’ve been avoiding us ever since summer break started, Shiro and I had some suspicions.”
Nodding in agreement with Shinji’s words, Shiro scratched the back of his head awkwardly when their eyes met.
“We figured it out. After all, Sora, you have a habit of looking away when you’re in trouble. During that first VR emergency meeting, your eyes shifted away from us for just a moment when the topic of gender change came up. That’s when I had a pretty good idea of what was going on.”
“Well, we’ve said a lot, but the main reason is this,” Shinji added.
“It looked like you were pushing yourself too hard.”
Sharing a glance, the two friends smiled wryly.
…So, they already knew.
After that realization, Sora reflected on her past behavior and couldn’t help but laugh at herself. It was so obvious.
It’s only natural to think it strange when a close friend who had been in regular contact suddenly stops reaching out, except for chatting in apps and VR chat.
In other words, over the past month, my best friends knew but chose to stay silent.
Unlike me, who had become a coward.
They knew all along, but they waited patiently for me to bring it up myself.
That realization filled me with guilt.
I felt ashamed of how cowardly I had been.
My heart swelled with emotions so strong they felt like they would burst, and tears welled up in my eyes.
Unable to hold it in any longer, I covered my face with both hands. Seeing my pitiful state, my friends gently rebuked me.
“Seriously, you always hold in too much.”
“It was the same with Ilya, wasn’t it? You try to shoulder everything by yourself. That’s always been your bad habit, Sora.”
“You are definitely the strongest. In ?Astral Online?, the only one who can even fight you head-on is Shino-san.”
“But because you tried to handle everything alone, you ended up bedridden for a week. As your friends, we have every right to be upset, don’t we?”
“Yeah, but that’s typical Sora behavior, isn’t it, Shiro?”
“I agree, Shinji. That’s just how it is.”
The two of them continued the conversation while I stayed silent, and then they fell quiet.
A moment of silence settled over us.
Shinji and Shiro shrugged and glanced at Kurono and the others, who were standing at a distance where they couldn’t hear our conversation.
Then, with gentle and considerate words, they gave me a final push.
“Hey, if there’s something you want to say, we’re here to listen.”
“Yeah, talking and listening don’t cost a thing.”
“…”
That push was all it took.
With trembling lips, I first apologized.
I apologized for keeping it from them, that I had turned into a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl.
For not confiding in them sooner.
For being too scared to trust them, even though we were best friends.
“I’m sorry… even though we’re… best friends…”
“It’s okay. I forgive you.”
“Yeah, I forgive you too.”
“Shinji, Shiro…”
With their forgiveness, tears streamed down Sora’s face.
As they listened to the sound of cannon fire signaling the start of the festival, the three of them stayed like that for a little while.
After a moment, Shinji and Shiro lightly poked Sora’s small head from both sides.
When Sora slowly raised her face, she saw Shinji and Shiro standing in front of her, facing each other.
“Are you really okay?”
Shinji inquired.
“Since we’re friends, I’m willing to lend an ear to a little weakness, just this once.”
Shiro encouraged.
“I… well…”
They knew.
Because they were friends, they understood what kind of boy Sora was.
That’s right.
Sora had only shown her strong side in ?Astral Online?, but she had never once voiced her true “weakness” to Kurono or the others.
She felt she had to show a strong front to be a source of support for her close friends.
More than anything, she didn’t want to show the weak side of herself to Kurono and Shiori, whom she wanted to protect.
Shinji and Shiro knew that because Sora was the strongest, there were things she kept locked away deep inside her heart.
That was why, as fellow boys who had once stood side by side, they spoke to her like this.
The silver-haired girl, who had once been a boy, whispered the pain she had sealed away deep in her heart so that Kurono and the others wouldn’t hear.
“It hurts… Honestly, being in a girl’s body… it’s so painful, I can’t stand it…”
Losing a battle that you can never win, being cursed and having your gender and appearance changed, and even if you gain some kind of cheat ability, having to live in a body that feels like a completely different person is something I can’t accept at all.
Why me?
Don’t mess with me.
This is ridiculous.
I didn’t want to become a hero.
The reason I became strong enough to be called the strongest is fundamentally because I want to clear ?Astral Online? and return to my original body.
All of it is a desperate resistance to eliminate any discomfort I feel about this body.
It’s painful, it’s hard, I want to go back.
The silver-haired, blue-eyed girl’s cries that had been held back until now, the desperate scream from the depths of a friend’s heart that couldn’t be spoken to anyone, were silently accepted by the two friends.
After a while, once everything that had built up in her heart was finally released, the sound of cannon fire marking the start of the event ceased, and silence enveloped the surroundings.
Seeing Sora’s painful expression, which looked as though it would burst, the two friends who had vowed to protect her expressed their gratitude.
“…Thank you for sharing that with us, Sora.”
“Thank you, Sora. We’ve firmly accepted your feelings. Based on that, Shinji and I will definitely support you moving forward.”
“After all, we were the ones who invited you to play this game together. Shinji and I bear responsibility for what has happened to you.”
“If we’re speaking from hindsight, that’s true. I never imagined it would come to this, though.”
“That’s right…”
With a bitter expression of self-reproach, Shiro nodded, and Shinji agreed with a deep sigh.
Having finally settled down after saying what she needed to say, Sora wiped away the tears from her red, swollen eyes and stood up from the bench.
“…Yeah, thanks. It feels a bit better after saying it.”
“That’s what matters most.”
“After all, we’re friends.”
“Exactly. You two are the best friends I could ask for.”
Nodding at their words, Sora broke into a wide smile.
The two, captivated by that smile, felt their faces flush slightly.
They told her not to show it too much in public, causing the silver-haired, blue-eyed girl to tilt her head curiously.