As the starting time of the competition approached, everyone except the participants and the organizers had to leave the waiting room.
“This is the best I can do.”
Leaving Kono Lint behind, looking ridiculous despite the wig and makeup, Liana giggled as she left the waiting room.
Only about forty participants in the cross-dressing contest remained.
Most of them had a guilty look on their faces, as if they had committed some kind of crime. Of course, there were also some who looked good enough to pass as women, even beyond just cross-dressing.
Presumably, these are people who had such a hobby.
With over a hundred thousand students in Temple, it’s impossible that there were no people with that kind of interest.
And among them, there was someone who seemed very dangerous and outstanding.
Participant number 40 who was wearing a hood.
She seemed to be biting her nails from the stress and anxiety.
While Kono Lint also felt that he was in a ridiculous situation, he wondered why that person was so anxious.
Why bother coming if they were going to be like that?
Were they in the same situation as his?
“Alright, the competition will begin shortly. Participant number 40, please remove your hood.”
“.…”
The host came out and told the participants to finalize their preparations, but it seemed like the hooded figure was extremely reluctant, acting like hethey didn’t hear him.
“Please take it off.”
“….”
Eventually, the contestant had no choice but to take off histheir hood, and the other participants couldn’t help but be left speechless when they saw histheir figure.
“….”
No.
That’s a man?
Everyone had that expression.
Participant number 40 looked like she wasn’t in any position to smile, let alone laugh. But with what looked like extreme effort, she managed to put a subtle smile on her face.
“Do you think shethey came here thinking this was… Miss Temple?”
“Maybe….”
Participants who seemed to know each other were whispering that to each other, and Kono Lint, who overheard it, was beginning to wonder if that was really the case. In fact, that theory seemed more believable.
That’s right, there’s no other possibility.
There’s no way that face could belong to a man.
Even he was convinced it was true.
Everyone was sure that the pretty girl had accidentally submitted Miss Temple’s application to the cross-dressing contest, so when she arrived at the scene and found herself among these weird(?) people, she was at a loss and thought she was trapped.
If a girl submitted an application for Miss Temple, came and saw men dressed in women’s clothing, she was bound to panic!
It’s clear that she wanted to leave, but was too shy and embarrassed to do anything about it!
Although the organizers didn’t say anything, everyone began to sympathize with the blushing (even though she wasn’t at all) girl who was nervously fidgeting with her feet.
Eventually, someone had to step up.
Someone should escort her out of here because she didn’t belong to a place like this.
Eventually, there was someone who appeared that acted upon the chivalrous spirit that had sprouted in everyone’s heart.
“Um, ahem.”
It was a human chariot in a dress.
“…?”
Participant number 24, a sturdy and beefy human tank. In this place where most people did not suit cross-dressing, an overwhelmingly unsuited individual began to approach the pretty girl.
Kono Lint was inwardly appalled.
‘No! I don’t know about anyone else, but you’re the last one who should be doing this!’
To approach that delicate and fragile-looking girl would be an excessive cruelty on the part of that rough-looking guy.
A towering, all-muscled behemoth in a one-piece dress, made even more hideous by the blonde, long-haired wig he wore, approached the pretty girl.
The girl was staring blankly at the approaching hulking figure.
She had an awkward smile and her mouth was slightly trembling, but she didn’t say anything.
It’s clear that she was scared.
Even Kono Lint, who was normally laid back, felt like he would faint if the monster approached him in the same way.
However, Richard Haulman, the human tank who thought of himself as a chivalrous knight, did not seem to care about his appearance at all and just smiled politely.
“It seems that you might have chosen the wrong competition to participate in….”
“…?”
“This is the location of the cross-dressing competition. It’s not the Miss Temple contest.”
It might have sounded cool in his head, but the reality was that he didn’t look cool at all, given the situation, his tight dress, and the fact that he was a contestant in a cross-dressing competition.
Of course, all eyes were inevitably drawn to her direction. The silver-haired girl’s eyes looked around warily.
She seemed to have something to say, but at the same time, she didn’t want to say it, and her lips quivered with a noticeably tense expression.
“You don’t have to be afraid. This is just a simple event. So just carefully explain the situation to the organizers and then you can leave….”
Everyone had the same thought in mind.
That guy clearly thought highly of himself and believed that he was really cool just now.
Is he going to use this moment of gentleness and consideration as a weapon to find out what class the girl he’s about to help is from, or at least get her to promise to eat with him later?
The girl finally decided that silence was not enough to ward off the man in front of her, and she spoke cautiously, her lips quivering.
“I’m… a man….”
Eventually, a vague androgynous voice flowed out of the girl’s mouth, making it unclear whether it was a masculine or feminine voice.
“What?”
Richard Haulman asked, with a bewildered expression that indicated he was certain he had heard something wrong.
The girl, no, No. 40, who had clarified that she’s not a girl, bit her lips.
Of course, the girl looked irritated at the monster in front of her who couldn’t understand her words at once.
Get lost, you son of a bitch.
It may have seemed that she was angry because she was being bothered, but in reality she held subtly different emotions because of the situation she was in.
Anger and impatience.
They were similar, but had different nuances.
Everyone was just misunderstanding the pitiful creature.
Undeterred, No. 40 continued to speak.
“Um… I did come to the right place… That’s right.”
“!”
At those words, not only Richard Haulman’s face but also the faces of others became stiff.
Sometimes, there were things that people found hard to believe, even when they saw it with their own eyes.
‘I couldn’t believe it even though I saw it with my own eyes, but I confirmed it with my own ears.’
That creature.
They claimed to be an organism that belonged to the same biological category as them.
“No, no, no…”
Richard Haulman had a look on his face, like he had just lost the love of his life right in front of him.
With a blank gaze looking as if his soul had been sucked out, the human tank turned around and sat back in his place. However, others couldn’t help but glance at No. 40, who had a flushed face and bowed his head.
No. 40 had a face covered in shame and embarrassment, as if tears of blood would fall from it, and was gritting his teeth without saying a word.
-Shoooooo!
Fuck!
I went to the restroom near the waiting room, turned on the water in the sink, and washed my hands.
I couldn’t wash my face, and I didn’t want to see anyone either.
I couldn’t stay there, because I felt like I was going to rip someone’s head off if I did.
Shit.
I figured Kono Lint might be in the audience, but why the hell was he a contestant, even looking like that?
I was so nervous that my heart almost stopped beating, because I was afraid that Liana, who did his makeup, would recognize me.
When I first came, the organizers asked me if I was really the person who applied to participate, and even interrogated me, making me sweat while explaining myself.
Fortunately, my makeup and disguise were perfect, so nobody could recognize me, and I was even recognized as someone else.
So that’s why Kono Lint couldn’t recognize me, and even that human tank guy who fought me in the tournament didn’t recognize me. He even seemed to be trying to be nice to me.
No, no way in hell.
You mean to tell me I looked like an idiot that submitted my Miss Temple entry to a cross-dressing contest instead?
-Shoooooo!
“Ugh….”
Seriously.
I feel like I’m going crazy.
Let’s relax.
Losing my temper now might cause me to act impulsively, and Kono Lint might recognize me if I do.
That expression can only be made by Reinhardt, right?
Now that I thought about it?
That kind of crazy development might happen.
Let’s smile.
I had to manage my facial expressions properly, so that no one would recognize me until the end.
“Ugh, ughh! So, sorry…!”
“…?”
“Oh? Th, this is the men’s restroom… oh.”
Even the event staff mistook me as a girl and caused a commotion.
I felt sick.
I put so much effort into my appearance so much that it became a problem.
They said excess leads to insufficiency.
I’m sure I put in too much effort this time.
And my participant number was forty.
Even though they said it was random.
There were only forty participants.
They definitely placed me last on purpose. That’s for sure.
It’s time for the long-awaited, if not eagerly anticipated, pageant that was in a league of its own.
‘Now, let’s begin the 8th Temple Cross-dressing Competition, hosted by the Temple Student Council!’
It’s a cross-dressing contest that has been held annually for a whopping 8 years.
While it didn’t have the same overwhelming number of attendance as the tournament, it was still a full house in the rented auditorium for general classes.
There were civilians who were drawn in by the novelty of this strange competition, as well as students who came to witness their friends’ lifelong shame for participating as a punishment.
Although there was no thunderous applause, the audience was filled with people who were ready to laugh or watch with an interested expression.
And among them, there was a group of students from the Irazon Class, who had come to witness Richard Haulman’s dark history in the making.
There was also Liana de Grantz, Heinrich von Schwarz, Erich de Lafaeri, and Cayer Vioden from the Royal Class, who had come to watch the cross-dressing pageant.
These four Royal Class students were present to watch Kono Lint’s dark history.
Looking at Liana who was sitting next to him, Heinrich asked.
“Did it go well?”
“Well, in a way?”
There was a collective chuckle at the thought of Kono Lint suffering from his own dare. Everyone was looking forward to seeing what kind of performance Kono Lint would pull.
Erich looked at Liana and asked.
“By the way, what number is he?”
Liana giggled at the question and looked at Erich.
“One.”
“Heh.”
“Hahaha.”
At the mention of being the first batter in this hellish tournament, everyone couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. Just imagining what expression Kono Lint must be making right now made them happy.
“Okay! There are really a lot of great contestants this time! The highly anticipated first contestant of the cross-dressing competition! Let me introduce him now!”
The host’s tension was through the roof in this strange competition.
“Our first contestant is a first year student from the Royal Class! Introducing Mr. Kono Lint! Please give him a thunderous applause!”
It wasn’t thunderous, but a resounding applause erupted at the mention of the Royal Class.
“Wahhhh! Kyaaaaahhh!”
Liana de Grantz seemed more excited than when she watched the tournament, screaming and clapping her hands wildly, which was surprising for someone of her noble status.
However, even people who were not particularly close to her knew that she was not someone who cared about such things.
The three troublemakers were now joined by one more, but they were all awestruck by Liana.
They themselves might be the same, but to be this excited about someone else’s misfortune to this extent….
‘She’s like the Devil….’
Everyone had that thought running through their heads.
The first batter with a sour face. Kono Lint walked onto the stage.
Liana’s makeup was perfect.
The outfit of choice was perfect.
The wig wasn’t bad, either.
“Pfft!”
“Eek!”
“What is that over there!”
However, the model itself was full of flaws..
Suddenly, all four of them seemed to have realized why this strange cross-dressing competition has been successful every year for the past 8 years.
They didn’t know about anything else, but it was certainly hilarious.
“Mr. Lint, you are a student from the Royal Class, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“You’re really cute. You can have confidence in yourself.
“….”
In response to the host’s words, Kono Lint gave a look as if to say “Don’t talk nonsense.”.
“Ah, it seems you misunderstood. I was saying that your outfit is cute, not you, Mr. Lint.”
“Ah.”
The expression on Lint’s face soured at the host’s words, and the audience burst into laughter.
This was the kind of contest where such things were to be expected.
The premise was the contestant who had been persuaded to participate in this somewhat embarrassing event, and the host who gently lifted him up and teased him.
“Did you do your own makeup?”
“…No. A friend did….”
“A friend? Someone who’s watching right now, obviously? You’re really good, who is it? Can you raise your hand?”
Upon hearing that, Liana, who was watching from the audience, raised her hand. Even though all eyes were on her, she showed no signs of embarrassment.
After seeing Liana, the host looks back and forth between Kono Lint and Liana.
“Oh, you’re a woman. Are you his girlfriend?”
“Aaaahhh! Absolutely not!”
An expression of extreme dislike flashed across Liana’s face making the audience burst into laughter once again.
The three idiots(one substituted) were staring at Liana as if she were a monster.
It takes some real backbone to be so blunt.
“To deny it so vehemently? Mr. Lint, are you hurt?”
“Ah, not at all! Why would I be hurt?”
Kono Lint, who vehemently denied it and appealed that he was not hurt, was dying by the moment.
“Why did someone from the Royal Class participate in the cross-dressing competition?”
“Isn’t it the reason the same as all the other kids? Something like a punishment.”
“You play the same games as the general classes? I find that hard to believe….”
The demonic classmates of the Royal Class were laughing, but the audience’s reaction was a bit different.
Right now, Kono Lint had the Royal Class Premium label attached to him.
Even though Temple has almost one hundred thousand students, there are only about a hundred of them in the Royal Class. Therefore, those of the Royal Class are given special treatment.
The perception among most of the regular class students was that the Royal Class was an arrogant and entitled elite group.
And yet, the one stumbling around in a ridiculous dress in front of them came from the Royal Class?
Somehow, the students of the Royal Class, who were considered distant and unapproachable, seemed down to earth like the rest of them.
That’s the power of the Royal Class Premium label.
‘Isn’t he cute?’
‘Yes.’
The reactions of female students in particular were somewhat different.
No matter how you look at it Kono Lint doesn’t belong to the category of handsome guys, but he could barely be considered cute.
Add to that Liana de Granz’s makeup, and even if you couldn’t call him handsome, you could still call him cute. Of course, the boys would disagree, but there were plenty of girls who found Kono Lint’s embarrassment and shyness a bit cute.
‘It’s cute!’
‘Oppa, you’re so cute!’
Even the middle school girls were screaming and flailing their hands wildly. Kono Lint was so confused that his eyeballs felt like they were about to pop out of his sockets
After asking various simple questions, the host moved on to an important one.
“By the way, it says in your profile that you are a Supernatural Ability User.”
“Oh…”
Supernatural ability.
People knew that such things existed, but very few have seen them in person. Even in Temple, the ones who have were mostly the Royal Class students.
No matter how many supernatural abilities there were, it was still a strange concept to most people. At the mention of ‘supernatural ability’ the expectations for the Royal Class student, who was wearing a funny dress, only grew higher.
The organizers probably lied about the order being random and purposely put Kono Lint first and Reinhardt last.
At the mention of ‘supernatural ability’, not only Kono Lint’s but also the faces of the Royal Class students stiffened.
“Since you haven’t decided what you’re going to do during your appeal anyway, why don’t you show us what your supernatural ability is? Teleportation wasn’t it? That’s cool!”
“!”
“Ohhhh!”
Everyone who knew, knew.
Kono Lint’s supernatural ability cannot be demonstrated to the public.
Of course, the downsides have been reduced a bit, but….
Still, he could only bring his underwear with him.
“Ah, no, no, no, no!”
Kono Lint’s desperate cry was heard.
The three idiots(one substituted) opened their mouths wide in shock as Kono Lint’s dark history was in danger of becoming twice as bad.
Liana’s mouth was also open, wondering if this was it. If she’d let herself get carried away, she might have screamed, “Show it!”
But Liana still kept her composure.
However.
There were people here who did not know the details.
“Show us!”
Someone started shouting.
“Show us! Show us!”
Everyone had the same desire to see a demonstration of supernatural ability.
“What, what should we do…?”
Liana muttered absentmindedly as she looked at Heinrich.
“That, I don’t…”
However, no matter how much Kono Lint deserved to fall into a trap he, himself, set.
This time, it was a matter of life and death.
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