Chapter 151

Vroom—

A military vehicle advancing through the city streets, its deep engine sound resounding.

Compared to the average sedan, this is quite a bulky vehicle, but Freya handles it with ease.

“Whoaa-”

Seoli, grinning as the freezing cold wind from the open window blows into the car.

“Little mommy! It’s cold! I like it!”

“Is it the cold that makes you feel good?”

“Yeah! Jo-a!”

As I play with Seoli, whose cheeks are round and plump, the wind that was blowing slowly begins to subside.

The military vehicle enters a large parking lot.

Between the towering buildings surrounding us, a familiar dome-shaped building comes into view.

The boutique owned and operated by Ms. Rises – Diamong Cor.

“Oh, is this…?”

“Does Nisia know this place too? Oh, now that I think about it, wasn’t there an incident here last time?”

“That’s right.”

Though she still seems a little awkward, Nisia continues to converse with Freya without stammering as much as she used to.

“Shall we go in then? President, would you like me to assist you out of the car?”

“Young whippersnapper!”

“Ouch!”

The president playfully punches Freya on the head.

Even though she reacted that way, given the high ceiling of the garage, the president takes care as she descends, appearing much like someone my age.

“Well then, let’s enter, Simonia?”

“Excuse me, I’ve just received a message.”

“Hmm, then please take your time. We’ll proceed ahead.”

“I shall.”

“Seoli’s number one!”

With a cheerful bounce, Seoli runs towards the boutique, with the president and Freya following closely behind.

“Edju, I’ll carry you.”

“Okay.”

Held close to Nisia’s warm back, we head inside the building.

Left alone, Simonia.

Having confirmed the others entering the boutique, she swiftly turns her head to look somewhere else.

Her dark sunglasses slowly rise.

Split vertically, golden irises glare coldly at something high above the skyscrapers, as she retrieves a small, round communication device from her pocket.

“36th building rooftop, eliminate.”

…

Shudder.

Through the magnified scope, a man freezes at the sight of the golden eyes, which seem to be directed at him.

‘No way… No, it can’t be.’

Even with the distance between the building where he is located and the targets at least a few hundred meters apart.

Even with such a distance between them, finding someone completely concealed on the rooftop is impossible, no matter how skilled they are.

The wind blows.

The chilling sound of the wind brushes past his ears.

‘What a great wind.’

Submitting himself to the familiar sensation, he carefully loads precision-crafted sniper ammunition into the magazine, an act solemn in its precision.

Again, the sound of the wind comes.

Whoosh…

While enjoying that sound, the man notices something unusual.

Wind, after all, flows past.

But why does this wind have directionality, heading towards him?

‘Could it be-‘

The moment the man’s thoughts turn to the worst-case scenario, a noise mistaken for wind brings with it the appearance of something on the rooftop.

Clink, Thud.

Heavy footsteps.

However, the figure remains blurred, its shape indistinct.

‘Optical camouflage!’

The man’s shock.

In the meantime, the wavering form raises a hand and taps the inside of the wrist, revealing their true identity.

A red-gloved reinforced exoskeleton.

From behind, a large pack-like structure emits heat waves.

“A raid trooper from the 1st Legion…?!”

The man’s shock.

But the trooper ignores his words, tilting their head towards their ear and muttering something.

“[…Yes, confirmed. Yes, yes. Understood.]”

An atmosphere akin to an office worker being harassed by their superior.

[Ha…]

The raid trooper, sighing deeply with a melancholy air, looks at the man.

Click—

The truncheon-like impact weapon extends.

“…”

“…”

A brief silence follows.

Then the two begin their movement simultaneously.

The raid trooper launches off the ground, closing in swiftly, while the man grabs the sniper rifle he’d set aside and twists his entire body towards the oncoming trooper.

“It’s fine, I can do it! I am the man who reads the wind, at this distance-”

Clang!

All his confidence is shattered as the impact weapon strikes his head before he can even fully turn the gun.

Everyone has plans, until they’re punched in the face.

“Ah! Wait, time out!!”

“[…]”

Ignoring the man’s pleas, the relentless strikes continue.

“Aaah! Arrgh! Urgh! Ahh!”

After a while of being pounded, the man’s body slumps like a well-pressed codfish, and the raid trooper, confirming this, places a hand on their ear.

“Detainment completed. Yes, yes. In that case, I’ll request recovery for this one from your side.”

…

“Simonia-oppa, you’ve arrived? What was the message about?”

“There was a bug so I’m picking out clothes?”

“Yes.”

Simonia approaches me, gently patting my head.

But, if a bug came outside, why would you need to make a phone call?

While pondering this, a droning sound catches my attention.

Seri pushes in a wheeled rack, laden with clothes, into the room.

“Garments tailored to Edju’s physique.”

Following Seri’s extended hand, a line of racks filled with clothes appears.

There are plenty of gothic lolita dresses with excessive frills, a wide variety of skirts in different colors and designs, and for some reason, kindergarten-style clothing and animal pajamas are also visible.

Wait, why are there so many clothes?

And there was one more unacceptable part.

“Why are they all girls’ clothes?”

“Huh? Edju’s a girl, so she should wear clothes fit for a girl.”

“…”

No. While I may look like a girl, my heart is different. I am a proud Korean boy.

“Edju, could you step aside for a moment?”

“Huh? Sure.”

Even though I don’t know what she’s going to say, Freya carries me off to a corner.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Edju, I know your story. The part about originally being a boy, right?”

“Yes.”

“However, things were different back then, and the current Edju is a girl, correct?”

“Um…yes?”

Regardless of my inner feelings, my current body is indeed that of a young girl, so I nod my head.

“But why act like a boy? I’m not telling you to deny your past self, but ultimately, Edju now is Edju, isn’t it?”

“Hmm?”

In short, even if your past self was a boy, since your current body is that of a girl, acting like a girl shouldn’t be a problem.

‘Something like that?’

A feeling that’s somewhat perplexing, yet convincing.

Just then, Freya’s eyes, which had captured the opportunity, gleamed like a predator’s, but Edju remained unaware.

Freya’s hand rests on Edju’s head.

“Stop overthinking it. Wearing cute clothes and enjoying different things can all be valuable experiences. It’s not a common occurrence for one’s gender to change, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

“Hmm, so while you’re a girl, you should enjoy life as a girl to the fullest. How does that sound?”

“Hmm…”

Edju thinks again.

Sensing victory is near, Freya extends her hands, envelops Edju’s small body, and starts showering affection by pinching her cheeks.

Edju’s chubby cheeks turn slightly red.

“It’s fine, just leave it to big sister here.”

With Edju’s happy mood, Freya’s words resonate, and she takes the hesitant hand.

“…Then, I’ll leave it to you, Freya-oppa.”

“Great! Then let’s try some things on!!”

Freya’s inner roar.

It was the cry of triumph upon securing what she wanted.

…

The back door of the boutique.

Inside an old van, a group of people grabs weapons from a worn-out sports bag.

Most are portable submachine guns, but there are also shotguns with their barrels and stocks cut for easier portability.

“Boss, are we really going to do this?”

“Ho ho ho, don’t you doubt me! I’ve thoroughly investigated and decided, so just trust me and follow.”

The old man grins widely, revealing his glinting gold teeth.

Desire brims from his face.

“If this works out, Chunja and I will live luxuriously… Hehehe!”

“…”

His crew looks at the muttering old man with uneasy eyes.

Having noticed their gaze, the old man’s face turns slightly red as he forcibly opens the door.

“Ahh, what are you all doing there? Hurry up and move already? We’ll be here all day like this!”

“Something feels off…”

Murmuring but still getting out of the van.

As the group approaches the back door, it creaks and opens on its own.

“A forbidding feeling made me step out briefly, but it seems I’ve hit the nail on the head.”

Standing there, holding a scythe larger than his own body with a cold expression, is Ryuje.

The group freezes on the spot.

“Uh, academy principal…?! Goddamn it, old man! You said you did your homework!!”

“Ho ho ho ho ho.”

The old man only laughs in response to the young man’s shouts.

With an unreadable attitude, Ryuje readies himself, and upon bowing his head, an inexplicable, strange smile appears on the old man’s face, making it impossible to define.

A tense standoff situation.

The old man slowly opens his mouth.

“I never thought investigating me would lead to my own grave.”

“…”

A brief silence ensues before the man yells.

“Hey, crazy old man!”

The cry echoes as Ryuje lunges forward and subdues them in an instant.

Only a plain strike from the stock of the scythe.

“Ugh!”

“Gaah!”

“Chunja!!”

In the blink of an eye, the old man and his group are subdued, and Ryuje, watching them, breathes a small sigh.

“Such people come poking around. Seems I’ll have to request their retrieval then.”

Ryuje makes contact somewhere.

“Hmm, it’s me. I’ve knocked down the attackers at the boutique back door, so please retrieve them. Yes.”

While conversing, she restores the gears to their original position.

As Ryuje’s figure disappears behind the back door, black-clad elves appear and quickly retrieve the old man and his group.

A woman watching from afar.

“What a bunch of fools turning up, really lowers the standard.”

With a relaxed expression, she takes a puff of her cigarette and slowly exhales into the air.

The gently ascending cigarette smoke.

She, dressed in ordinary clothing and with a face that could pass as any citizen, was also among those targeting Edju.

“Hmm, well. Having someone else gather information instead of me isn’t bad-”

“Sister.”

“Huh!?”

Interrupted mid-monologue, she turns around to find a religious individual dressed in pristine white standing there.

“Glad to meet you, Sister. What brings you here?”

“…I just have some business to attend to, then.”

While noncommittally responding, she quickly moves away.

‘What the hell, I got a fright there. When did he get here?’

Cursing under her breath, as she crosses the alleyway onto the main street, she gradually regains her breath.

“Tsk, such strange things keep cropping up. Still, preparations are already in place.”

Having said that, she changes her location.

Arriving at a construction site under renovation, she reaches a quiet floor.

However, there was already a visitor.

“Huh…?”

“Nice to see you again, Sister. What brings you here?”

Casually standing guard at that spot, the religious individual from earlier smiles at her.

“No, I just… I just have something to confirm.”

“I see.”

Once again, she moves her feet.

Escaping the area as if fleeing, the woman gasps for breath and frowns.

‘What the hell is up with that crazy bastard? Still-‘

Heading to another place, however—

“Ah, nice to see you again, Sister.”

“Sister, greetings.”

“Come on in, Sister.”

“Sister, Sister?”

“Ugh, aaargh…”

The woman, overcome with fear.

Wherever she goes, the religious individuals, standing at every place as if it were a matter of course, are blocking her way.

Terrified, she sprints down the main street to get away.

‘What the hell are they?! There aren’t any normal people around that kid!?’

Her eyes filled with fear.

Now devoid of confidence, she’s followed by many people.

“Sister, please listen to us.”

“Sister, you must calm down. Only then can you receive salvation.”

“Sister, have you heard the word ‘religion’?”

“Get lost, you crazy bastards!!”