Chapter 2: Throwing Stones

Humans are creatures burdened with much shame.

Just looking out the window reveals people clad in multiple layers of clothing.

Truly, if humans possessed little shame, they would all walk around naked.

Only those who normally walk around naked outside should throw stones at me.

Because they don’t want to show their naked bodies.

Because they don’t want to reveal their true selves.

Humans are creatures that change clothes to cover their bodies and don masks to cover their hearts multiple times a day.

Moreover, while clothes require material consumption, the masks covering the heart require none.

If one could materialize and gather all the masks humans have worn, wouldn’t the collection be larger than a decent-sized planet?

That’s how difficult it is to recognize or uncover a human’s mask.

Let’s think about it.

Is there anyone in this Starfrost Academy right now who knows that a strange entity has possessed Lee Seo-yeon’s body?

Of course not.

How would they know? I’ve never shown any signs.

No, there’s no need to go that far.

Doesn’t even Kim Soo-ho not know that his childhood friend was being bullied by the girls who like him?

Kim Soo-ho probably only knows that the group of girls following him wields considerable influence, but he likely wouldn’t imagine they’d use that influence to bully his childhood friend.

The mask those girls show Kim Soo-ho is that of the world’s kindest angels, not the world’s most wicked devils.

Because if Kim Soo-ho knew, he wouldn’t leave his childhood friend, Lee Seo-yeon, in this state.

Because our protagonist, overflowing with a sense of justice and unable to tolerate injustice, would never stand for his childhood friend being bullied, of all people.

I decided not to entertain the hypothesis that Kim Soo-ho might know or tolerate it.

If that assumption were true, it would make me—well, Lee Seo-yeon—too pitiful.

She disregarded her own illness, Mana Incompatibility, and solely focused on Kim Soo-ho, painstakingly entering the academy.

Only for the object of her unrequited love to know she’s being bullied and yet neglect her.

Even Shakespeare’s four great tragedies wouldn’t be sadder than this.

“…”

A fleeting question just passed through my mind about whether Shakespeare’s four great tragedies meant the same thing as the tragedy I was contemplating.

I decided to simply ignore it.

No one is watching these thoughts. I’m just mumbling to myself.

There’s no chance of being embarrassed.

Ignorance wasn’t a sin.

What’s wrong is knowing you don’t know something and not trying to learn.

So, what’s this sudden, rambling nonsense about?

It’s because I’m seriously contemplating what uniform attire I should wear to the academy today.

“……What should I wear?”

It was truly the dilemma of a lifetime.

Should I wear pants or a skirt for today’s bottom?

Logically speaking, the skirt was correct.

The recommended attire for female students at Starfrost Academy, where I attend, was the uniform skirt.

As I mentioned earlier, all the female students visible through the window right now were wearing skirts.

And it was true that since being possessed, I had attended school wearing a skirt several times, so my aversion to skirts had lessened compared to the beginning.

However, there’s still this, how should I put it, physiological rejection?

It seems I haven’t perfectly assimilated into the person named Lee Seo-yeon yet.

The original Lee Seo-yeon would have chosen and worn the skirt without any hesitation, but seeing as I still can’t do that…

Am I going to undergo that ‘feminine corruption’ I’ve only heard about later on?

Where my mind screams, ‘No, I’m a man!’, but my body changes into an honest reflection of its nature.

Like in those common TS novels.

“……Horrifying.”

I shuddered at the thought that such a future might actually arrive.

Because the protagonist, Kim Soo-ho’s appearance and personality were incredible enough to warrant worrying about such a future.

Blue-tinged black hair and clear blue eyes that matched his hair perfectly.

Kim Soo-ho possessed looks that made one wonder why he wasn’t kidnapped for human trafficking back at the orphanage where he and I stayed.

Come to think of it, that’s right.

Why weren’t Kim Soo-ho and Lee Seo-yeon kidnapped or trafficked?

Judging by Kim Soo-ho’s recollections in the novel, the orphanage didn’t seem like a particularly good place.

‘…Then again, if the protagonist got trafficked right from the start, it wouldn’t be a Harem Academy story, but dark fiction, huh.’

It seems likely that the author skillfully judged precisely which kind of novel would resonate well with readers.

Readers always prefer fun Harem Academy stories over depressing dark fiction.

This was an unchanging, immutable law.

Returning to the main point, Kim Soo-ho was handsome enough to raise suspicions about potential human trafficking, anyway.

And what about his personality?

As already mentioned, Kim Soo-ho possesses the archetype of a protagonist personality.

It’s perhaps natural for women to be attracted to such a person.

And it’s also natural for many heroines to trail doggedly after Kim Soo-ho.

It’s practically a human characteristic to be drawn to outstanding individuals, regardless of gender.

A person who suited the name ‘Soo-ho’ (Guardian/Protector) better than anyone.

That was Lee Seo-yeon’s childhood friend.

“……So what.”

Even though such an outstanding person failed to protect his closest childhood friend.

Honestly, I wondered what meaning these thoughts even held.

Is there really any point in distinguishing between the original Lee Seo-yeon and the current me?

To someone unaware of the circumstances, I would just be ‘Lee Seo-yeon,’ the original protagonist’s childhood friend.

Since it’s already clear that escaping this place is impossible for me.

Since the fact that I will die in 100 days remains unchanged.

Maybe I am just Lee Seo-yeon.

Though if I had to make a distinction, perhaps I’m Lee Seoyeon whose thoughts have become a bit strange.

The very fact that I’m seriously entertaining these thoughts in my head already means I’m not normal.

‘…It’s a bit sad. Admitting the fact that I’m not normal.’

But well, I have nothing to say in my defense. Let’s just move on.

“……Let’s wear the skirt.”

After nearly 20 minutes of deliberation, the final choice was the skirt.

Having calculated the risks and returns of the skirt versus pants, no matter how I thought about it, it seemed more likely that people would stare strangely if I wore pants rather than the skirt.

I lightly set aside my pride as a man and started getting dressed.

After finishing dressing, I checked the time, and it was already 8:20 AM.

Starfrost Academy’s school start time is 8:30 AM, so effectively, only 10 minutes remained.

When on earth did the time fly by like this?

I woke up at 7 AM because of the morning roll call.

Even accounting for the intense internal debate between skirt and pants, it essentially took over an hour to get ready.

Why are women’s clothes so complicated to put on and fuss over?

Perhaps we should respect the female students who manage not to be late for the academy.

It’s true, isn’t it?

Even the underwear isn’t just one piece, but two.

And this routine must be repeated every single school day.

That doesn’t mean I belong to any particular group, though.

I like men.

……Hmm, that’s not quite right. That sounds like I actually like men.

Of course, judging by appearances, liking men is the norm.

But shouting that I like women in this body might also seem quite abnormal.

“…”

After pondering for another minute, I decided to give up, fearing I’d genuinely be late if I continued like this.

No matter what, I shouldn’t be late.

My heart already aches from being bullied. I don’t want to get on the teachers’ bad side as well.

Thinking about it further seemed like it would literally turn me into a crazy woman.

What does it matter, the uniform or preferred gender?

In the end, after 100 days, it will all become meaningless anyway.

Everything loses meaning after death, usually, and I’ll be dead soon enough.

Creak-

Leaving behind the greatest aphorism of my life that would make even Socrates weep, I turned the doorknob to finally exit the dark room.

“…”

“Hello……”

And then, I met Heroine 2 right outside the door.

The expression on Heroine 2’s face unmistakably screamed, ‘What are you doing here?’

She probably didn’t expect the girl she bullies to pop out of the suddenly opened dorm room door either.

That’s why she cut off the greeting she reflexively gives everyone else besides me.

“…”

A suffocating silence hung between us, separated only by a door.

An atmosphere dripping with cold sweat, like running into a childhood friend of 10 years on a blind date.

Feeling as if this continued any longer, I might die of suffocation before my remaining 100 days were up, let alone being late.

“Which do you prefer, pants or skirts?”

“……Pardon?”

“Just curious. I wondered if maybe that’s why you were late.”

I blurted out the thoughts that had been ceaselessly circulating in my head.

I mean, hey.

Maybe she was late because she was also agonizing over whether to wear pants or a skirt.

Agonizing over that isn’t such a crime, is it?

“…”

Of course, I couldn’t know exactly what Heroine 2, standing there with a rotten expression, was thinking.

But at least, that’s what I thought.

Only those among you who have agonized between skirts and pants should throw stones at me.