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 57
Chapter 57: The Two Statues
After stepping into the unexplored area, about 20 minutes had passed.
Even though we were progressing while exploring, we hadn’t encountered any Leviathan Warriors at all, which was unusual since there were always two in every room in the early and middle stages.
Despite constantly searching for traps with my ?Insight? skill, nothing notable had been found.
To be honest, it was quite anticlimactic.
Since nothing much was happening, while remaining vigilant, we walked while chatting about trivial matters like our favorite and least favorite foods.
During the conversation, Kuro mentioned that she had seen an image of me as a man from Shino, and Aria looked genuinely envious.
“I really wish I could see Sora-sama in his male form, even just once.”
In response, I shrugged.
“It’s really nothing special. You wouldn’t find it interesting. In fact, you’d probably be disappointed.”
Though I say this myself, I’m a beautiful girl now, but my original form was a regular high school boy, recognized as such by both myself and others.
I’m not as tall as Shin, and unlike the handsome Rou, my features are so ordinary that they’re forgettable.
Even on Valentine’s Day, while the two of them receive a whole paper bag full of gifts, I get just one from my sister when I go home.
In high school, my classmates said that my presence balanced the dynamics between the two of them.
Apparently, when the two of them are together alone, there’s a difficult-to-approach atmosphere, but my presence significantly alleviates that.
In our class, this phenomenon is mysteriously referred to as the “Kamijo Atmosphere.”
I’m like an air purifier!
As I mentally responded to my classmates, I shook my head and stopped thinking about it.
Then Kuro, who was walking beside me, commented on my male self:
“I’ve seen images, and it was surprisingly normal for Sora.”
“See, even Kuro says so.”
“Hmm, I’m envious that Kuro-sama got to see Sora-sama’s normal appearance.”
Aria puffed out her cheeks slightly.
The gesture was incredibly cute and, as expected from a beautiful princess, it had quite a devastating impact.
If I could show her the images of my male form, I would.
Unfortunately, that’s not possible.
The reason is simple: no data from the real world can be brought into the game world.
The only time Aria might see my original form is if I defeat the Demon Lord and break the curse.
“If I manage to defeat the Demon Lord and return to my male form, I’ll show you.”
“It’s a promise!”
Now, I wonder if my unreliable memory will be able to keep this promise.
As I was thinking this, Kuro leaned in closer.
Wondering what was up, I noticed she whispered in my ear, looking a bit embarrassed.
“I like both versions of Sora.”
“…!?”
Startled by the sudden confession, Sora’s face turned red from the surprise.
Looking at Kuro, I saw that her face was also slightly flushed with embarrassment.
“K-Kuro, what do you mean by that?”
What does it mean?
Sora, flustered, sought clarification on what she had just heard.
Kuro only smiled, not providing an answer.
Immediately afterward, as if to say “stop being all lovey-dovey,” a wave of Leviathan Warriors appeared.
Even after dealing with them all, my troubled feelings didn’t clear up.
……………………
“This is the ‘Sealed Room’…”
In front of the three, there was a large door with a pentagram drawn on it.
When Sora reached out to touch it, an ?ERROR? message appeared, and his hand was repelled by an invisible force field.
“Wow, so this is the power of the seal. Even touching it is a no-go.”
Feeling a bit impressed by the tingling in her hand, Aria gave her an exasperated look.
“Sora-sama, this door responds with ‘double the power’ to any attempt to interfere, so please do not touch it recklessly.”
“What?”
Realizing what Aria meant, Sora noticed that she was indeed receiving minor damage. If the door responds with double the power, using my “Skill” to attack with full force would easily wipe out her HP.
In a normal game, she might have tried to test it, but she didn’t want to foolishly waste lives, so she stepped back obediently behind Aria.
Aria turned to Sora and Kuro and bowed deeply.
“Thank you for your cooperation up to this point. Once we retrieve the ?Jade Ring? beyond this door, the barrier in the forest will be restored, and peace will return.”
“Well, I enjoyed the adventure with you, Aria.”
“At first, I was really worried when I saw how clumsy you were.”
“Geez, even though I’m trying to make a strong impression, Kuro-sama is being so mean,” Aria pouted.
Aria looked miffed. After a brief pause, they all laughed.
They had finally made it this far.
Though only three days had passed in real-time, it felt like it had taken more than a week to reach this point.
Since starting out at the request of the Wind Spirit Queen Sylph, they had gone through many adventures to get here.
Sora tightly clenched her fist.
Three days ago, he had stumbled into the [Forest of Spirits] and ended up starting a unique quest.
He was anxious about fighting alone while protecting a princess and really wanted a companion to back him up. He called his two closest friends, but it was too late.
Inviting Kuro, whom she had just met, was merely for the sake of having another person on her team.
To be honest, there was no deeper reason.
If Kuro had been unfit, she planned to ask Shino or Shio for help and get the “Starting Outfit”, which was key equipment for entering the forest.
But now, things were different.
Sora was glad that it was her who went on the first adventure in this world with her.
She truly felt that way from the bottom of her heart.
Sora took Kuro’s hand and whispered softly with gratitude.
“Thank you, Kuro.”
“…Yeah.”
Kuro nodded and tightly gripped Sora’s hand in return.
Seeing this, Aria smiled and turned her back to the two.
“I’m going to unseal the door, so please step back a little.”
To fulfill her assigned role, Aria raised both hands toward the door.
A faint green light began to emanate from her entire body, causing the door to flicker in response.
After a while, without needing any special incantation, the pentagram emitted a dazzling light, and the door slowly started to open.
Once the door was fully open, Aria turned back with a serious expression and said, “Let’s proceed.”
Sora and Kuro nodded and followed Aria, who led the way.
The dark room, which had been completely invisible, was suddenly illuminated.
Upon closer inspection, it appeared that glowing stones were scattered on the ceiling, emitting bright light.
In real terms, those stones were acting like lights.
How they detected and activated for those entering was unclear.
Perhaps it was some kind of over-technology from an ancient civilization?
As they continued walking, the three stopped in front of two stone statues placed on either side of the pedestal where the glowing ?Jade Ring? was displayed.
The statues depicted a young man and woman with intricate details.
Their equipment closely resembled that of “Novice Adventurers”.
The man held a greatsword, while the woman had a one-handed sword and a small shield.
Both looked remarkably handsome and beautiful.
“These are the ‘Adventurers’ who helped my father and mother with their romance, ‘Hart-sama and Arisa-sama,'” Aria said.
“Adventurers, oh, the ones you mentioned before,” Sora recalled.
It seemed to be a tale of adventure created by the game’s developers.
It’s common in RPG scenarios for characters in the player’s position to become legends.
However, could Hart be related to or even the same as that knight with ?Unknown? words in front of his name?
In any case, once they retrieved the ring, the quest would be complete.
Sora faced the ?Jade Ring?, which held a powerful, mysterious light.
A secret item that even ?Insight? skill could not read.
They would retrieve this, return, defeat the Leviathan, and finally be done with the long forest map.
With that thought in mind, I tried to move closer to the ring as Aria encouraged me, but…
“…!”
“Kuro!?”
Kuro, who had been next to her, seemed to collapse, on the verge of falling.
Sora hurriedly caught her.
Looking at Kuro, her eyes were wide open as if seeing something unbelievable.
“No way, this…”
“Kuro, what’s wrong!?”
Tears streamed from Kuro’s eyes as she spoke with a strained voice.
“It’s… Dad and Mom…”
At those words, the group was left speechless.