Chapter 71: The Passion (1)

It’s a truly beautiful day.

The birds are chirping, and the flowers are blooming…

On such a wonderful day, a clever Demon Lord like me deserves a reward.

“Ah, how refreshing. Absolutely invigorating.”

Sion murmured as she inhaled the air with a blissful expression.

“I never realized living as a man could be such a great blessing.

Indeed, one can only truly appreciate the importance of something after losing it. I’ve learned something good.”

In fact, before trying this, she had been skeptical about whether it would work, but the effects were incredible.

No longer did she feel her heart race at the sight of handsome boys.

She no longer had the urge to buy expensive cosmetics or pricey accessories.

The filthy fantasies that she didn’t even want to think about no longer came to mind automatically.

The elements that had made her wish to die several times a day had completely vanished, creating a world that was truly paradise itself.

At this moment, Sion had gained true freedom.

-“Is it good?”

“Huh? That’s a silly question. Of course it’s good.

Now that I’ve finally been freed from hell, is there anything bad about it?”

-“……”

Exia fell silent.

After a very long, long silence.

-“Well, if you’re happy, then that’s what matters.”

In the end, she resigned herself and accepted it.

If this was just a joke, she would have scolded her more harshly, but for the past week, Exia had been watching Sion suffer so much.

Since it really was the only way, it wouldn’t be right to criticize her just because the method was somewhat bizarre.

It wasn’t Sion’s fault that she ended up like this.

Thus, instead of blaming her, Exia spoke in a voice full of pity to comfort her.

-“Hang in there, Sion.”

“???”

What? Why is she looking down on me? How annoying.

I haven’t done anything to deserve pity.

‘Well, what does it matter?’

This kind of inexplicable behavior from her wasn’t new.

Sion decided to ignore it.

Today was far too pleasant a day to let such trivial discomforts bother her.

“Ah, sister~~~!”

As Sion was basking in the refreshing morning sunlight, someone came running from a distance, waving their hands.

It was Isabella and Lancia from her class.

“I heard the news from my brother! Finally, you’re feeling better? That’s a relief!”

“Hello, Master. Congratulations on regaining your health.”

Isabella approached with a bright smile, while Lancia, feeling a bit guilty, sincerely congratulated her.

Lancia’s reaction was only natural; she was the only one who knew that Sion’s health had worsened because of a curse (a false one).

Up until now, it was just another typical morning scene.

“Oh, you two. Thank you for your concern.”

However, just as Sion was turning to greet them,

-Thud!

Isabella, being the most unreserved among them, suddenly clung to Sion’s body.

“Oh my…

Do you know how much I’ve worried during this time?

You always looked pale like a sick person, your steps were so unsteady, and you were eating only half of your usual meals.”

Poke poke.

She pressed her finger against Sion’s cheek, poking her repeatedly.

“Then, what was the problem? Since you seem better now, can’t you explain it to me? Did you get cursed in that underground dungeon or something?”

“Princess, um, it’s a bit too much to rush me…”

“If you’re all better now, it should be fine, right? Just tell me~ I won’t get mad or anything if you’ve been hiding it, okay?”

Poke, poke, poke, poke.

Isabella’s soft body pressed against Sion’s left side.

Although she was only sixteen, she was beginning to take on a more feminine form.

The cherry scent wafting from her pink hair enveloped Sion, and then—

“…..!?!? “

At that moment, Sion’s expression suddenly twisted as if struck by lightning.

“… I’ll be right back.”

“Huh?”

“I really need to use the bathroom! I’m sorry!”

“Huh?! Whaaaat!?!?”

Sion released Isabella’s grip and dashed down the hallway at full speed.

From behind, she could hear the flustered voices of two people shouting,

“What’s going on? If you’re going, let’s go together!”

“M-Master?!”

And a moment later.

“Haah, haah…!”

Entering the women’s restroom on the top floor (even though Sion shouldn’t be here in her current state, she hasn’t been caught, so it’s safe),

Sion stepped into a stall and locked the door.

She clutched the doorknob and leaned against it, gasping for breath.

Naturally, Exia didn’t understand her actions and was filled with question marks.

-“????? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Wasn’t the problem solved?”

“…That was obvious…”

-“What? What did you say?”

Sion shouted, squeezing her eyes shut.

“I almost got aroused just now, from those two!”

-“!?!??!!?”

Exia gasped in shock.

No matter how much she lacked sexual knowledge by nature, she was once a sword that served a male master.

She understood at least what kind of phenomenon occurs when a man feels desire.

And she also knew that, unlike women, it’s quite evident when a man is aroused.

-“Uh, uh, how did that happen!? Sion, you usually don’t feel that way toward minors, do you?

Why on earth are you sinking even lower…? “

“I don’t know!!”

Sion let out a scream.

“You spoke well. You would know, right?! That I’m not normally this kind of person!

Sure, my relationships with women may be a bit extravagant, but they are limited to adult women!

I’m not some disgusting creature who preys on little kids!

But then, why on earth…!?”

Sion wiped her face with her hand, sweating coldly. 

For her, this situation was a humiliation that, while not quite on the same level as when a man feels a rush of excitement, was still significant enough to be comparable. 

Although the concept of morality doesn’t exist for demonkind, there are universally despised preferences.

Among them, pedophilia ranks at the very bottom.

Only people with abnormal sexual desires like Nelia get horny for little kids who smell like their mother’s milk.

But this time, she’s joined that group….?

-“Um… excuse me…”

While Sion was in a state of confusion, Exia cautiously spoke up beside her.

-“This might be a bit unrelated, but can I ask you something?”

“….What is it?”

-“Well, thinking about the past just reminded me of something… “

Saying that, she glanced at Sion from head to toe.

-“Sion, since your body changed, you haven’t slept with a woman, right?”

“That’s right.”

-“You’ve never had any particular desires either?”

“I think that’s how it was. But why does it matter?”

-“Well…”

Exia recalled Sion’s past.

Sien used to be entangled with various women everywhere he went, earning the reputation of a ‘heartless jerk’ among future generations because of his past behavior.

-“In the past, you used to get involved with all sorts of women here and there, right?

Of course, usually it was the other party that approached you first, but you never rejected anyone who came to you. In other words, you had sexual desires like everyone else…

But for the past 15 years since your rebirth, you’ve never felt any desire for another person, have you? Neither for men nor women?”

“…..!”

Sion took a deep breath.

The message that Exia wanted to convey was clear. 

Generally, regardless of gender, sexual desire undoubtedly exists.

 This is especially true for boys and girls entering puberty. 

Unless Sion was born as an asexual, there must have been at least one occasion when sexual desire for one gender surfaced. 

However, the fact that it has not surfaced until now means… 

“The female body and the male mind. These two have been balancing each other, suppressing one another…?

So, at the moment that balance collapsed, one side became noticeably prominent. Is that what you want to say? “

– “Doesn’t that sound quite plausible?” 

“….Certainly.” 

Sion nodded, thoughtfully stroking her chin. 

It was a reasonable hypothesis, a sharp insight not typical of Exia. 

In short, this is it: 

Until now, the physical form had been dominant, overflowing with femininity, suppressing masculinity. But now that the body has become male, that relationship has reversed. 

There are no longer elements to apply brakes on masculinity, so the desires that had been suppressed until now have started to run rampant in the opposite direction. 

It’s like moving a heavy weight from one side of a scale to the other; the tilt shifts dramatically in an instant. 

-“Well, at least this time, it should be relatively easy to resolve.” 

Exia said cheerfully, as if to uplift the mood.

-“Still, this time, it’s just a desire as a man.

It’s not fundamentally uncomfortable like last time, right? Since it’s a mask,

it’s just that the outward appearance… what is it… the, ahem, ahem, is the only problem.”

As expected, even for Exia, saying ‘that word’ directly was embarrassing, so she deliberately muddled her expression.

To smoothly transition from that, she quickly moved on to the next sentence.

“So, the answer is simple! If we just use the transformation magic again to make it ‘smaller,’

that should be enough, right? No matter how excited Sion gets, it shouldn’t be noticeable on the outside!”

“…..”

“Well, I thought Sion would have already done that even before I mentioned it.

Being such a smart person, there’s no way she wouldn’t have noticed this possibility.”

The biggest flaw in the so-called [Male Corruption] operation that Sion carried out this time was, without a doubt, ‘being seen would be a big deal.’

The male organ clearly protrudes over the underwear, so if the skirt accidentally flipped up, the identity would be completely exposed to the people around.

And the aftershock that would hit afterward would be truly enormous.

A rational person like her would never take such risks.

Naturally, she would have taken precautions in advance.

For example, she might have made it so small that it wouldn’t be distinguishable at first glance.

Exia believed this absolutely without a doubt.

However…

“……………..”

For some reason, Sion turned her head silently.

Sweat was pouring down.

-“…? Sion?”

“………..”

-“Hey, why are you suddenly like this?

Hey, say something. The atmosphere has become awkward.”

“………….”

Silence.

-“Are you seriously not going to—”

“Shut up!!!!!”

At that moment, Sion unleashed a thunderous roar.

“You’re so noisy!! You have no idea what you’re talking about!!

Listen carefully. There exists a final line that a man must never cross……!

If it’s going to be thrown away, it’s better to put your life on the line than to lose your last [pride]……!

If you touch that part, from that moment on, it’s war!! Do you understand!!!!”

-“Eh…”

Exia replied with a voice that was difficult to describe, a mix of disbelief and contempt.

-“Well, you’ve lived for 15 years just fine, so why suddenly spout this weird nonsense?

Considering you’ve managed to endure with nothing up until now, you should actually be grateful for even having a little bit—”

“I said it’s noisy!!!!”

Sion abruptly stood up from her seat.

“You don’t understand….

You don’t understand! You’re just a holy sword with a personality of a female, so there’s no way you would understand!

What could I possibly say to someone who can’t even muster the slightest empathy?

This—this is the end of the story, the end! Don’t discuss it any further!”

-“…….”

Cold—

There had probably never been a moment when Exia thought so little of Sion as she did right now.

In most cases, it was Sion who looked down on her.

If this were truly a rare scene, as rare as once every thousand years…

-“Well… what are you going to do about it?

Pride and all that aside, if there’s no way, you have to bow down, right? That esteemed honor doesn’t cover your lower half with a mosaic or anything.

So stop being stubborn and just do as I say, okay?”

“No, there is a way.”

Sion murmured with a somewhat solemn expression.

“I can use the Calm Emotion spell.

If it’s that, no matter how much the monsters rampage inside, I can confine those emotions within a cage.

I’ll have to repeat the spell several times, but it doesn’t matter. After all, I have an abundance of magic power right now…

With that thought, Sion clenched her fist tightly.

With a solemn determination like that of a warrior stepping forward to confront the enemy.

In a low voice, she shouted as if declaring war.

“Come forth, you damn mass of desires! Show me the difference in our ranks!

This is a showdown to see whose offense and the vast magic power of Yeon will prevail!!!”

And then Sion was defeated.