Chapter 155: The Angel Who Crossdresses (5)

Episode 155: The Angel Who Crossdresses (5)

Lucera, the girl who would become Leffrey’s roommate.

Her neatly tied blue hair gave off a somewhat mysterious aura, and her eyes, even bluer than her hair, sparkled like lapis lazuli.

And her white blouse and black skirt that reached down to her knees, she didn’t look like a troublemaker at all.

‘A model student style.’

Leffrey only knew the active female students of the Central Superhuman Academy. So this kind of style was a little awkward for him.

“Miss Laffrey, let’s go unpack first.”

“Ahahaha, shall we?”

Leffrey immediately switched to formal speech.

Because, for some reason, he felt he had to use formal language when talking to this young lady.

For now, it would be best to fit in with the St. Lucia Academy’s atmosphere. Leffrey wore a fake smile and was about to follow Lucera.

At that moment, a small hand gently grabbed his.

“Follow me.”

Sparkle sparkle—

The girl’s bright, shining smile.

Without any suspicion, Lucera held Leffrey’s hand and led him to her room.

‘H-Holding hands?’

Come to think of it, while hand-holding between men was subject to ridicule and condemnation, somehow hand-holding between women seemed more socially acceptable.

Lucera was probably holding his hand so casually because she thought Leffrey was a girl.

‘Ugh, my conscience…’

Leffrey could see the three girls staring at him. Soya was blatantly furious, Hongwol was openly annoyed, and Mari was smiling, but not in a good way.

And among the three, Mari was the scariest.

“Guys, I’ll see you during dinner!”

Waving his hand casually, Leffrey was dragged away by Lucera to the upper floors of Leffriel Hall.

* * *

“Now, Miss Laffrey. This is our room.”

The dorm room Leffrey would be staying in for two weeks was quite antique while still feeling homey.

Scented candles and dried flowers on a table, a class schedule, well-worn books with dog-eared pages, and notebooks filled with detailed notes from professors’ lectures.

All of this was made antique by the ornate wooden desk and lacquered bed. And various pieces of furniture. Everything had intricate craftsmanship that really gave it character.

And there were several cute dolls on the bed, along with many other adorable items.

For example, things like water bottles with a cartoon character printed on them and a bag with floral patterns.

And a sweet scent that somehow evoked a sense of nostalgia.

‘So this is… a girl’s room?’

The only girl’s room Leffrey knew of was Soya’s. And Soya’s room…

‘…I shouldn’t think about it right now.’

…could be described as somewhere between chaos and pure pandemonium.

And sometimes, when he was cleaning her room and found underwear…

‘I said let’s not think about it.’

Shake shake- Leffrey shook his head.

“Miss Laffrey?”

“Yes, yes?”

“Please put your luggage over there. And your bed is this one. I’ve already organized everything meticulously, so don’t worry!”

But really, would he actually be sharing a room with this girl? Earlier, she said that they would wash up together, change clothes together, and so on.

If he got caught during that…

‘I’ll be branded as Laffrey, the Perverted Angel.’

Shudder shudder-

Leffrey absolutely refused such a future.

Therefore, he had to hide the fact that he was a boy by any means necessary.

Unless he wanted to commit social suicide.

“Normally you’d have to change into our academy uniform now, but since you’re already wearing it…”

Lucera, with a slightly proud expression, continued.

“I guess the name of St. Lucia Academy is known even at the famous Central Superhuman Academy. I’m so happy!”

“Yes, that’s right. Hoho…”

Hoho? Leffrey was surprised by his own laughter.

‘It can’t be helped.’

There was no choice. If he wanted to perfectly act like a young lady to hide the fact that he was a boy, then Leffrey was capable of doing even more.

Much more.

‘Right, I came here to find the Fallen Hero.’

But more important than this act, was finding the Fallen Hero, the one chosen by Luciel.

“Miss Lucera?”

“Yes?”

“This might be a bit sudden, but…”

Leffrey spread his hand wide.

“Would you mind holding my hand for a moment?”

Lucera tilted her head at those words, but then reached out her hand to Leffrey without any hesitation.

“It’s nothing, really. Just for a moment…”

Leffrey took the girl’s hand. And then he recalled.

The feeling of gambling with Iriel. That moment when he drew a tarot card.

‘The ability to read the flow of karma…!’

*Hum—*The Silver Shoes resonated as it quickly reads Lucera’s karma. What kind of karma she was surrounded by, what kind of karma she held within her heart.

‘I don’t sense any dark karma at all.’

Thus, Leffrey was able to confirm it.

‘For now, Lucera is cleared from the list of suspects…!’

Holding a girl’s hand tightly could have various meanings, after all.

“M-Miss Laffrey?”

“…Ah.”

“Um, isn’t this a bit fast? I mean, we’ve barely even talked to each other yet.…”

Lucera, her face as red as a tomato,

stammered out her words.

‘A girl hitting on another girl on the first day of the exchange program? ’

This won’t do. If this continued, forget being a lady, he might be treated as some weird pickup artist.

“This is just, um, a custom from my hometown!”

“Yes? A custom from your hometown?”

“Yes. We hold the hands of those who we’ll become friends with and listen to their heartbeat. And then we memorize that heartbeat.”

Perhaps somewhere in this world there must be a custom like this?

‘If not, then oh well…!’

Just how many lies had Leffrey told so far? He had probably told as many as the number of buns he had eaten.

Truly, he was the very definition of an angel.

“Ah, a custom like that.”

“Yes, I’ve memorized your heartbeat. We’re friends now!”

Although she didn’t understand what memorizing a heartbeat had to do with being friends, Lucera was easily deceived by Leffrey’s pure voice.

“Friends…”

“Actually, my goal is to make a lot of friends. Both at the Central Academy and here at St. Lucia Academy.”

As he said this, Leffrey stood up slightly and murmured.

“Please introduce me to your friends. I want to hear the heartbeats of many people.”

“…Ah, okay!”

And so dinner time arrived.

* * *

“Guys, have you sensed any karma?”

“I can sense it faintly, but I can’t tell who the bad girl is.”

“I couldn’t find her either.”

“…Guh, We’ll find her soon. Just wait.”

At dinner time. Leffrey and the three girls were having a conversation beneath the massive building that resembled a Great Hall from some magic school.

(TL Note: Wink wink, Hogwarts.)

“Remember the methods I told you about. Card games and tarot card readings.”

“I’m trying. Just, need some more time.”

“I’m still inexperienced, too.”

“I succeeded though.”

“Really?”

Glow glow- Leffrey’s expression brightened. Seeing that expression, Hongwol muttered awkwardly.

“I’m just kidding.”

Leffrey shook his head at those words. As expected, the girls still weren’t adept at reading the flow of karma.

‘But they’re still some of the few who can even sense it.’

The problem was that their ability wasn’t good enough to find the hidden Fallen Hero.

‘Still, if the Fallen Hero uses her powers, one of these girls will surely be able to sense it.’

Leffrey ran that happy circuit in his head, and placed some roast beef from the table onto his plate.

“Still, do you have any suspects?”

“Not yet.”

“Me neither.”

No suspects, huh. Actually, Leffrey didn’t have any either.

It seemed unlikely that in this paradise-like place, protected by a sanctuary and nurtured by nuns, there would be a girl who had fallen into such despair that she became a servant of the Demon King.

“This is a bit unfortunate, but…”

Leffrey’s eyes sparkled.

“Focus on those who have gone through hardships. I’ll also focus on those kinds of students.”

“…Then we’ll need to roughly know the students’ personal information. Alright. I’ll swipe some.”

“Hmph, it would be faster to gather information through my rat familiars. There must be bullying in this school. I can sense it.”

A loser radar, one could say.

Soya’s intuition was quite accurate when it came to these kinds of things.

“I will investigate using the professors who have connections to the Seocheon Yu family.”

And so, the roles were divided.

Hongwol: Steal student records and other personal information.

Soya: Gather information from the students using rat familiars.

Mari: Use the Seocheon Yu’s influence to contact the professors.

‘This feels kind of wrong…’

Actually, he couldn’t deny it. Theft, spy cameras, and abusing corrupt power, at that.

But if it’s used for a good cause, then it’s all good.

Well, something like that.

“Alright, after each of us finishes investigating, let’s meet again at this time tomorrow.”

Ding—Dong—Dinner ended with the sound of a bell. Just as Leffrey got up to leave, Soya grabbed his hand. She was fidgeting and making a sullen face.

In short, she was making an expression of having complaints.

Soya, with that expression, said one thing.

“A-Are we sleeping together?”

Sleeping together? What on earth was she talking about? It was a sentence without a subject, so Leffrey couldn’t answer.

“No, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And so Soya left without finishing her words, quickly running off to her roommate’s side.

* * *

And then Leffrey’s true trial began.

“Miss Laffrey, shall we go wash up?”

Lucera held a bath basket in her hand. Leffrey, muttering ‘It’s finally come’ looked at her.

“Um…”

“Our academy’s grand bathhouse is really nice. Miss Laffrey, you’ll definitely fall in love with it once you see it.”

Lucera, as before, took Leffrey’s hand, and Leffrey had no choice but to be pulled along bit by bit.

How could he overcome this crisis.

‘Actually, I only bathe once every two days.’

Once every two days? Living so dirty must mean he’s definitely a man. He would be discovered and kicked out.

‘Actually, I have a habit of washing up alone.’

Washing up alone? Why on earth? Is there something you’re hiding on your body? He’d be discovered and kicked out.

‘If I can’t avoid it, then enjoy it. Just cover up the ‘dangerous’ parts with a towel and confidently enter the bathhouse.’

But how would he even enter the water? How would he even shower? And if, just if, he’s discovered as a boy in the bathhouse…

‘Then…’

Yes, if he was discovered as a boy in a girls’ academy, he’ll be branded as a pervert and kicked out. But if he was discovered as a boy in a girls’ *bathhouse* while completely naked…

‘I might even die.’

There was no winning option.

A truly desperate situation.

Even facing the demon king’s avatar wasn’t this dangerous.

However, if it was for protecting this world.

Leffrey wouldn’t back down from a fight.

The grand bathhouse? Though it was a much more formidable and terrifying enemy than any he had faced before, comparable even to the Demon King…

“Miss Laffrey?”

“Yes?”

“Shall we go?”

“Y-Yes!”

Leffrey decided not to back down.

Thus, Leffrey arrived at the Saint Iriel Grand Bathhouse, where the girls gathered to bathe.