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 84
Chapter 84: Cousins and Second Cousins
At 7 a.m. the next morning, Sora woke up and, together with her sister Shiori, immediately began the tasks at hand.
First, Sora grabbed a heavy bag filled with burnable trash that had been piling up until the day before. She carried it in both hands, panting as she ran to the nearby collection point.
As she passed by neighbors, they wondered, “Have we ever seen such a cute girl around here?” But she paid no attention and just ignored them.
After completing the trash disposal mission, Sora headed straight back home. Next, she and her sister worked together to wipe down the house, making sure to leave no speck of dust anywhere in sight.
The laundry from yesterday was tossed into the washing machine. When it was done, they moved it to the dryer and, once dry, carefully folded it and took it back to their rooms.
The pile of empty energy drink cans in her room’s trash bin was ignored for now, since it wasn’t collection day. She figured no one would be entering her room, so it was a safe bet to leave it.
With the cleaning done, it was time to face the next task. She couldn’t exactly welcome guests looking like she’d just woken up.
After completing most of the work, the next step was deciding what to wear. After some deliberation, she settled on her usual attire: three-quarter-length pants, a short-sleeved T-shirt, and a hoodie with a hood to hide her hair whenever necessary.
Her long hair was bothersome, so she pulled it to the side and tied it up loosely. She was tempted to cut it off from the shoulders down, but Shiori had strongly advised against it.
Her reason was that cutting off part of her body could lead to unforeseen consequences, and there would be no going back if something went wrong.
The two of them had agreed not to do anything rash with her body.
She looked into the mirror and saw a small figure with silver hair and blue eyes—her now familiar, petite, transformed self. Her official documents and photos still showed her as the high school boy she once was.
Looking at the current version of herself, so far removed from the black-haired boy she used to be, Sora felt a wave of melancholy.
“Ugh… my stomach is starting to hurt.”
Neither of the two people coming today knew that Sora had undergone a real-life gender transformation.
She had no idea how they would react when they saw her.
What swirled in her chest was a hope that they would treat her the same as they had in the game, and a fear that they might avoid her.
Hope and despair, two opposing feelings, churned inside her, leaving her thoughts in complete disarray.
To be honest, she felt an overwhelming urge to strap on his VR headset and escape into the virtual world of ?Astral Online?.
“But… I can’t run away this time…”
Sora took a deep breath in and exhaled.
After taking a deep breath, she forced her uneasy feelings deep down inside and made her way down to the first floor, her steps a bit unsteady.
Since she had gone all out this time, the hallway and stairs were spotless, polished with wax sheets until they shone enough to reflect her face.
Not that the visitors were coming to check if she had cleaned properly, so in all honesty, she didn’t need to go this far. If anything, it was just a way for her to distract herself.
She couldn’t help but laugh wryly at the thought that someone like her, with such weak thoughts, was considered the strongest adventurer in ?Astral Online?. People really can’t be judged by appearances.
When she stepped into the living room, Shiori was already there.
She was, in true fashion, flaunting her feminine charms, wearing a long blue dress with a shoulder-exposing design, looking every bit like a refined young lady.
Even though she was her sister, Sora couldn’t help but think, without any bias, that she was genuinely cute.
“You’ve really cleaned up, but don’t you think you went a bit overboard?” Sora asked.
“No, I needed to go this far. After all, today’s the day when your gender change becomes known to someone besides me and Kirie,” Shiori replied, clenching her fists to psych herself up.
Looking closely, her hands were trembling slightly.
…If you’re more anxious than I am, how am I supposed to handle this?
Despite her being so full of things to poke fun at, the fact that she was this tense and serious because she cared so deeply about her was heartwarming.
Sora couldn’t help but think how kind her sister was—genuinely a good-hearted person.
Watching her, the dark cloud of emotions she’d been feeling earlier seemed to dissipate, and she felt a little lighter.
“Thanks, Shiori”
“B-Big brother?”
Sora gently patted her head and expressed her gratitude with a soft smile.
Now, with her sister watching her, she couldn’t afford to stay scared any longer.
After all, she was Astral Online’s strongest enchanter and adventurer.
…………………………
At exactly 12:00, the doorbell rang.
As expected of Shino—punctual to the minute, as always.
“I’m going to get it, big brother,” said Shiori.
“Sorry, I’m counting on you.”
I can’t be the one to greet them right away, given the situation.
I have to avoid causing any unnecessary confusion for both parties and make sure things go smoothly.
With a tense expression, Shiori, who was tasked with welcoming our guest, answered the intercom and greeted the person standing outside.
“Hello, Shiori. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other in real life.”
It was Shino’s voice—a voice I hadn’t heard in reality for five years. Calm and kind as always.
Hearing it in real life was different from how it sounded in the virtual world.
I couldn’t quite explain exactly how it was different, but if I had to describe it, I’d say her tone and the atmosphere around her were softer in reality.
Now that I think about it, I remember her saying something similar five years ago.
She mentioned that in the virtual world, she tends to be more focused and a bit stricter than usual.
Well, considering that Shino mostly plays competitive VR games, it makes sense.
Shiori seemed a bit surprised by the voice. After glancing at me briefly, she looked like she was about to say something but then closed her mouth and headed toward the entrance.
It was a curious gesture, but I didn’t have the mental space to think about it right now.
All I could focus on was the fact that Shiori had gone to open the door, meaning the moment of confrontation was near.
…Oh man, I’m “really” nervous.
Feeling restless, I mindlessly swiped my phone screen left and right.
Sweat started forming on my forehead and palms, and my face froze from the tension.
The stress from the nervousness triggered my adrenaline, causing my heart to race.
Even though I’d already gone to the bathroom multiple times, my stomach kept twisting in knots, making it ache.
If I told people that this was the most powerful ?Enchanter? in Astral Online, there’s no doubt that the top-tier players would be shocked.
Even Rinne, the VR journalist, would probably be thrilled to write an article about it.
As I was thinking this, Shiori came back.
I didn’t know what had happened, but her face showed clear confusion.
“Big brother, Shino-san and Kurono-chan are here.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
I steeled myself and stood up from the sofa.
After a brief pause, a young girl slowly appeared from the entrance.
…Wait, what?
My first reaction was the same confusion Shiori had just shown.
Actually, I don’t think anyone wouldn’t be surprised in this situation.
Because the person who appeared wasn’t the black-haired girl I knew from the game.
Dressed in a black shirt dress and wearing a straw hat was a silver-haired girl.
To be honest, it was like seeing myself dressed in women’s clothing.
The girl, who looked like she had stepped out of a storybook, tossed aside her straw hat, tears welling up in her eyes, and ran toward me, throwing herself into my arms as I stood there, stunned.
“Sora… I missed you so much…”
“No way… is that you, Kurono?”
The silver-haired girl, still crying, nodded repeatedly, tightening her embrace.
Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second. Please.
I couldn’t wrap my head around the situation.
I glanced at Shiori for help, but she was just as lost as I was, wearing a similarly puzzled expression.
Amidst the chaos, only one person remained calm.
As she caught the straw hat Kurono had discarded, she said,
“So, you were affected by the curse, you foolish disciple.”
“Ma-Master…”
The last person to appear was a woman in her late teens with black hair, dressed smartly in a business suit.
It was none other than Shino Tsukinomiya, world champion of fighting games.