episode_0301

“The winner of the cross-dressing contest is…! 1st year spring class! The hot topic is student Lee Ha-yul!”

– Clap clap clap clap!

“… … ”

As most expected, I was the winner.

Holding a trophy with the inscription ‘Birthday Festival 00th, Cross-Dressing Contest Winner Lee Ha-yul’ in his hand, he controlled his expression on the stage as thunderous applause poured down.

I expected it, but when I actually won, my feelings were complicated.

Because I haven’t done much compared to the effort and damage that other participants have put in.

I just let my hair grow a little and wore a ceremonial gown over my casual clothes. That’s all, and I ended up winning for free.

I’m confused whether I should be happy or sad about this…

“The winner of the men’s clothing contest is…! Oh no! Coincidentally, it’s the same first-year class as before! It’s Baek A-rin!”

“It’s an honor~”

The winner of the men’s clothing contest was Baek A-rin. She smiled brightly and waved her hands calmly on stage.

There were fewer participants than in the original cross-dressing competition, and Baek A-rin ended up taking the trophy after a close match with Hong Yeon-hwa.

In fact, the winner was determined by voter favorability rather than the level of disguise.

In other words, Baek A-rin, who had a better reputation, was the winner.

“Hey~ Your hair just grew a bit longer, but you look so new?”

[?]

The awards ceremony had just ended. As I was about to turn around and leave the stage, Baek A-rin came running up to me, giggling.

Baek A-rin, holding the trophy in one hand, looked at me.

That gaze was a bit harsh. I shrugged my shoulders for no reason and turned my face away to avoid the gaze.

“Hmm… Oh?”

[Don’t tease me…]

“Is this sincerity coming from the heart? What really seems to have changed…?”

Baek A-rin tilted her head as she stroked my cheek. Her hand went up and she grabbed her long hair and rubbed it.

“You’ve gotten prettier…? Did you use some kind of magic secretly?”

“Hey, why are you touching this guy without permission?”

Hong Yeon-hwa, who had suddenly come up on stage, slapped Baek A-rin’s hand away.

Hong Yeon-hwa, who had glanced at Baek A-rin, immediately grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into her arms. I didn’t resist and was led obediently. Soon, a voluptuous sensation supported my head…

– Sigh…

[impact]

‘… … ‘

Didn’t give much support.

Hong Yeon-hwa’s chest, which is still disguised, is smaller than usual. We know from observation that it is because it is wrapped in bandages, but it is still shocking.

My eyes fluttered open in a feeling of emptiness.

“Ahahaha! Look at that lost expression, it’s exactly as I expected!”

Baek A-rin burst into laughter when she saw my expression from the front. She also didn’t take off her disguise, so her chest looked smaller on the outside.

“Huh.”

Hong Yeon-hwa, who lowered her head to check my face, swallowed her smile and stroked my cheek.

“Why~ What’s weird?”

I tilted my head back and saw the blatant mischief on his face. I nodded my head involuntarily as I heard the teasing tone in his voice.

“It’s weird… ”

“Really? It doesn’t suit you?”

“No… It suits you… But, I think it would be better to take off the bandage… ”

“Hmm, what should I do…?”

“Ugh… ”

Hong Yeon-hwa smiled silently and pressed my cheeks with one hand.

“Ha-yul, you didn’t forget our promise for tomorrow, did you?”

Eventually, I heard a small whisper near my ear, and my face grew hot.

The promise I made with Yeonhwa on the last day of the birthday celebration. There’s no way I could forget that.

“… Yes.”

“Okay, then that’s fine.”

As I nodded slightly, Yeonhwa smiled with satisfaction and lifted her head.

.

.

.

After quickly cooling down the fever on my face and going down to the waiting room, the teacher and Professor Riana who were sitting in the audience soon came to see me.

But Lee Ji-yeon followed me. When I turned my head in that direction, Lee Ji-yeon smiled awkwardly and greeted me.

“It’s not a wig, it’s real hair? But isn’t this a unique ability?”

“There’s no way there’s a wig that would suit this kind of hair.”

“Sniff sniff… The smell is still there.”

The interest that follows immediately.

The main interest is, of course, hair. Most of them express their curiosity by touching their long hair, and some even put their noses in it and sniffed it.

I sat on the chair with Seo-Yul in my arms and felt the hands reaching out from around me.

“Apart from the hair, it just seems like the atmosphere has changed a bit?”

Professor Riana tilted her head as she sniffed my hair after peeking at Yeonhwa’s actions. Immediately afterwards, her face was lifted by a hand gently grabbing her chin.

At those words, everyone’s eyes were focused on my face.

The touch spread to my face. I closed my eyes tightly as the hands caressed my forehead, eyelids, bridge of my nose, cheeks, lips, and other parts of my face.

Even Seoyul, who was in my arms, caressed my face with curious eyes.

“… I think so too… No, it really seems to have changed?”

“Ehhhh… Has it changed a little?”

“You’ve become prettier?”

“Ah? Dad? You’re pretty… ”

[thank you…]

… The conclusion that followed was that something had changed. I, who was observing myself through observation, nodded inwardly.

Because we have the power of observation and knowledge, we can know more closely.

It’s definitely changed. The bones have changed a bit, and the atmosphere it gives off has changed as well.

‘Does the all-rounder have this kind of function?’

A function that provides various quality corrections. I thought that was all there was to it, but I didn’t know that there was also a type of appearance correction.

If my guess is correct, then the growth method was also unique.

It is a unique ability that is difficult to train to begin with, but it is not a simple training method, but a type that requires a special external influence.

‘There weren’t many of those in the previous episodes… The first thing that comes to mind is the unique abilities from the 1st and 3rd episodes?’

I patted Seo Yul’s back and fell into thought.

After summarizing the comments from people around me, I found that things have changed in a positive way.

She became prettier… More precisely, she became more beautiful.

‘What is beauty?’

Growing your hair long and wearing pretty clothes? Is that beauty?

So is it ugly to have short hair and wear modest clothes?

Is there an exact standard of beauty? Is there an absolute standard for beauty and ugliness?

Can you clearly distinguish between beauty and ugliness as if you were measuring with a ruler?

If the all-rounder makes the person appear beautiful, what is the standard by which the all-rounder distinguishes between beauty and ugliness?

My standard as the embodiment of an all-rounder? Or is it the standard that uniqueness has?

I don’t know yet. I just realized it. I’m not even sure if it’s exactly the appearance correction in the first place. It might be another function similar to it.

‘Oh my.’

The all-rounder is uniquely yours. Someone may be able to give you advice, but in the end, you have to figure it out and realize it yourself.

* * *

On the day of the birth, many people gather at the cradle.

The cadets’ families, people related to the group they belong to, and even group members who came to recruit talent, etc.

That’s why the birth ceremony often becomes a place for people to meet and talk with each other after a long time.

“You look happy.”

Two people did the same.

Taesan’s head of household, Lee Ji-ah, said this during a brief pause in the long conversation.

The man sitting across from him coughed.

“Hmm, that’s true, but is it obvious?”

“Yes, somewhat.”

The man who was talking to Lee Ji-ah, Hong Seong-jin, the former head of the Kyeophwa clan, smiled broadly in response.

‘How could I not be happy?’

As Lee Ji-ah said, he felt good. Not just good, but quite good.

This is not limited to Hong Seong-jin, but will apply to most members of the Gaphwa family.

It is now the fourth day of the birth ceremony, and yesterday, the cadets entered the Tower of Growth and fought each other.

Hong Seong-jin, of course, saw him too.

‘You’ve grown up well.’

As a grandfather, I couldn’t help but be happy about the tremendous growth that Hong Yeon-hwa showed.

The output of the fear fire was so excellent that I was worried that I might get into trouble, but that wild and troublesome bundle of thoughts was now handling the fear fire very skillfully.

It seemed like we could put aside our worries about the next successor to the Great Calamity.

and…

“Haha.”

Hong Seong-jin burst into laughter as he recalled a memory.

Along with Hong Yeon-hwa, Lee Ha-yool is a child he has been observing very closely.

That child was difficult to evaluate.

Great? Amazing? Of course it is. The skills that the child showed were so impressive that even Hong Sung-jin could not help but be amazed.

What made Hong Seong-jin happy was not the use of simple force, but the use of fear.

‘You’re using magic with a fireball? Using magic with a fireball that’s not even a weapon?’

It is difficult for the person who manifests the fear fire to learn magic. You can twist your whole body to use it, but it is a hundred times more effective to just cast the fear fire once.

Because of this, the Gaphwa clan did not develop magic. Currently, most of the Gaphwa clan members who use magic are unable to use Gaphwa.

But this rate was different.

The original flame of the fireball, not the fire itself, was processed into magic and used.

Not only that, the rumored peculiarity of the horror was also very well shown.

Unlike the fire that was said to be a calamity that would destroy the world, it appeared to be harmless and warm to the world.

However, he was not gentle in everything and would often become fierce when dealing with his enemies.

Although it was different from the horrors Hong Seon-jin had known all his life, he didn’t feel awkward at all.

‘Change cannot be denied.’

Is the change positive or negative? Is it progress or regression? Or is it stagnation? Even Hong Seong-jin, who has lived quite a long life even by superhuman standards, cannot be certain about it.

But I intuitively felt that this would go in a positive direction.

The fear of fire is a unique ability that has been passed down from the beginning. During the period of its transmission, the fear of fire has flowed through many unique characteristics.

The uniqueness of the ancestor, the uniqueness of his children, and the uniqueness of the bloodline that continues from there.

It was mixed, expressed, and continued.

The expansion that someone’s progress has brought about has become a flowering. Someone’s steps have created a flame of evolution. And someone’s daily steps have lit a sacred flame.

The same goes for Hong Yeon-hwa and Lee Ha-yool’s catastrophes. They may not appear immediately, but their catastrophes will have an impact on future generations.

“… … ”

Hong Seong-jin, who was recalling his memories, suddenly felt a bitter taste on the tip of his tongue and swallowed his thoughts.

Hong Seong-jin had two sons.

First is Hong Jin-seon, the current head of the household. Despite being a father, he is a proud son who has grown up well and is leading the household.

The other one is not there now.

It is a painful finger that has been torn from the family tree and has caused shame and retribution in the family history.

why?

Even now, I still have doubts.

Unlike his blunt eldest brother, he was light-spoken and thought deeply despite his appearance.

His qualities were also good. Although he was a little lacking compared to the first, the second accepted him obediently and hoped for competition rather than jealousy.

Although he had some rough edges, he was still a son to be proud of.

At some point it went missing.

When it reappeared, it caused an indelible scar and disappeared without a trace.

The first is still pursuing the second persistently. As the head of the family, he wants to wash away the sins of bloodshed caused by his blood relatives and personally punish the shame.

But Hong Seon-jin knows another reason.

First, Hong Jin-seon wants to stop his parents from killing their children. So he is trying to end his brother’s life himself.

‘Wow, what a complicated family.’

A part of the Three Great Families. Since it is a force with so many stories, the circumstances are extremely complicated.

At least, I feel reassured that my son’s next generation will be Hong Yeon-hwa and… Lee Ha-yool.

– Chijijik

It was then. The hologram floating on the corner of the table changed. Hong Seong-jin, who was swallowing the bitter taste, turned his gaze to the hologram.

“Huh?”

The scene cuts diagonally down a street crowded with people.

Hong Sung-jin opened his eyes wide. The two children he had been thinking about just a moment ago appeared on the hologram.

“Huh… ?”

The reason I opened my mouth was because the outfit was quite strange.

Lee Ha-yul, that white child’s short hair has grown tangled, and his atmosphere has changed quite a bit. And he’s rolling his eyes as if he’s conscious of the gazes around him.

Next to her, Hong Yeon-hwa is walking down the street, smiling brightly, holding hands with Lee Ha-yool…

‘Is that what’s bothering the kid again…?’

Hong Seong-jin first suspected his granddaughter.

Although she is my precious granddaughter who is worth putting in my eyes, I know Hong Yeon-hwa who was once a wild brat who ran wild under the impulse of fear.

Also, what Hong Yeon-hwa asked for was actually correct.

It was a reasonable suspicion.

* * *

[Start awakening to the source]

[The mental state “Beauty?” changes]

…

[Player Compensation System: Pioneer]

[Subquest “Beauty” Achieved]

[Points accumulate]

* * *