This episode is a free version that compiles the wholeso parts of Chapter 264 to aid younger readers in understanding the story.
Readers who have already read Chapter 264 do not need to read this.
We appreciate your understanding and consideration.
***
Kkong had already made a decision.
A trivial decision compared to sothing like executing a necromancer—hardly significant in the grand sche of things.
But for Kkong, it wasn’t an easy choice.
That decision was…
To swap the n’s and won’s baths.
"Inform the troops: for the next three days, the won’s bath and the n’s bath will be switched."
"Excuse ? But the n’s bath is just a small shower room that only the Captain uses..."
"If there’s not enough space, they can wash outside. For the next three days, only Yujin and I will use it."
At first glance, it sounded absurd.
Even under generous estimates, the gender ratio of Awakened was 1:9.
And most male Awakened didn’t have particularly strong mana.
As a result, the senior staff who had access to the headquarters’ bath facilities were predominantly won.
Other than Kkong, everyone used the won’s bath.
Most of the few male mbers just went outside to wash up.
The won’s bath was practically an onsen in size.
anwhile, the n’s bath was just a shower room Kkong used alone.
Switching the two? That was, by any standard, an unreasonable request...
"Captain, are you serious? You’re doing this just to bathe with Yujin?"
"...Yes. Help out."
But Kkong went ahead with the swap.
The won’s bath was one of the most secure places in the headquarters, with soundproofing so thorough that even the sound of water couldn’t escape.
For Kkong, that level of privacy was essential.
—It was absolutely essential for her.
"Captain...!!"
"And, um, also… could you get so clothes? Sothing that looks more feminine… I want to look as girly as possible…"
"Of course, Captain!!!"
The officers cheered at her request.
They were the comrades who had fought life and death battles alongside Kkong every day.
Not a single one of them hadn’t realized their Captain was hiding her gender.
"The Captain’s finally…!!"
"Yeah. Now there’s no need to keep up the act just to earn foreign revenue."
They had long suspected why she’d been disguising herself.
Until the appearance of the irregular Seo Yujin, there had been no male S-Class Awakened.
A male S-Class Awakened attracted imnse attention and fa simply by existing.
Kkong must have decided:
With her body, where femininity wasn’t too prominent, she could hide her gender.
By pretending to be a man, she could gain the world’s attention and beco a hero who earned foreign currency for her nation by monopolizing international Gate-clearing contracts.
Understanding the noble goal, everyone kept her secret.
If her soft skin betrayed her disguise during accidental contact, they pretended not to notice.
When she complained about feeling unwell every four weeks, they dismissed it as coincidence.
Even when they found a pack of sanitary pads while cleaning her office, they quietly hid it.
...Until today.
"Let’s start with your hair! The back is long enough that we can style it if we tie it properly!"
"Isn’t it too short?"
"Then we’ll just add extensions!"
Kkong’s offhand comnt about wanting to look more feminine unleashed the officers’ pent-up desire to dress her up, leaving no stone unturned.
By the ti she entered the "n’s bath," Kkong’s hairstyle was noticeably different.
"They all said I looked cute…"
"So, how do I look?"
"You don’t just look cute—you look like an actual innocent young lady. It’s dangerous."
"...Hehehe."
Thankfully, the effect was perfect.
Even to Yujin’s eyes, she was undeniably adorable.
...Unfortunately, she didn’t look like a woman to him.
"She really does look like a little girl."
"Being called cute used to make my heart sink, afraid my secret was out… but today, it makes happy♡"
Kkong and Yujin’s intentions couldn’t have been more mismatched.
At the last sauna eting, Kkong had been convinced Yujin had figured out she was a woman.
anwhile, Yujin remained entirely convinced his friend was simply an unusually petite man.
This misunderstanding unraveled spectacularly at a pivotal mont.
"If she wakes up, she’s probably going to suggest we stop showering and… you know. She’s already been flirting with kisses and all."
"Yujin. C-can I touch it…? Yours…."
Kkong cautiously asked, as if requesting permission to touch it once.
"This must be crazy."
"…What?"
But before she could even feel embarrassed, Yujin’s sharp retort cut through.
She turned her gaze back to Yujin and t his stern expression.
"Huh? Why the sudden change…?"
She pondered briefly, trying to understand why he was acting like this after she had made the first move to tempt him.
The answer she ca up with was ‘lack of sincerity.’
"Now that I think about it, I’m still all wrapped up, aren’t I? He must feel it’s unfair if I’ve covered myself completely while he hasn’t."
Rustle.
"......"
"How about now…?"
The towel wrapped tightly around her loosened slightly.
With that, the pressure eased, and the distinctly feminine curves of her body began to show through the fabric.
While nothing was outright exposed, the outline of her soft, womanly shape was clear.
It should have been enough to shatter Yujin’s misunderstanding and make him realize the truth about her gender…
"Uh… wow."
"I almost freaked out there!!"
But the misunderstanding didn’t break.
Instead, Yujin abruptly turned his head away, clearly avoiding looking at her.
With his face turning red, it almost seed like he was embarrassed.
"…Yujin?"
"Sorry. I, uh, saw sothing I shouldn’t have."
"I want you to look, though…?"
Kkong swam closer to Yujin, clutching the towel tightly around her body.
The gentle splashes accompanied her hesitant yet adorable attempt to seduce him.
To Yujin, however, it was like a scene from a horror movie—a disaster on par with a great white shark swimming toward him.
"She wants to look? Is she… is she gay!?"
"Look at what!?"
Yujin literally jumped in place, shouting as he did.
Startled, Kkong froze in place.
"…Yujin?"
"Sorry, but I’m not into that! I’m not into guys! That’s not my thing at all!"
And so, Yujin started being Yujin again.
With his eyes squeezed shut and his head shaking furiously, he was determined to defend his straight-laced preferences.
Oblivious to the fact that Kkong was actually a woman.
For her part, Kkong couldn’t help but feel baffled by his reaction.
"…You weren’t aroused when you saw my body?"
"Are you kidding? I’d sooner get hard looking at Chairwoman Seol Hayeon than at you!"
"What!? Seol Hayeon!?"
"Why are you surprised now!?"
What followed was sheer chaos.
It was a cody of errors, born from the fact that they knew each other so well, yet both mistakenly believed the other’s gender wasn’t a question worth discussing.
"Haa… Anyway, I’m disappointed in you, Kkong. I didn’t think you were this type."
"Even if she seems girly, how could a guy act like this? Ugh."
Yujin made it clear where the line was drawn.
Shocked at receiving what he thought was his first-ever confession from a man, he responded even more firmly than usual.
..pletely unaware of the pain he was causing Kkong.
"…Is it really that bad?"
"It’s not about being bad or good. It’s about what’s possible and what’s not. Everyone has their preferences, but for , this is absolutely not possible."
"......"
Kkong looked down at her body.
Her small chest and narrow hips, wrapped in a towel, betraying none of the femininity she had hidden for so long.
Her physique, which had been a blessing while pretending to be male, now felt like a curse.
Her face twisted with anguish.
"You didn’t have to put it that harshly…"
"I needed to make it clear. No room for misunderstandings."
"…Hmph."
Abruptly, Kkong stood up.
She was ready to leave the man she had trusted and loved, the friend she had hoped would love her back.
"——You were the one who made the first move."
That was all she said. A single, sorrowful line drenched in betrayal.
She looked every bit the tragic heroine.
Even Hypnosis-chan, watching from afar in a school swimsuit, saw it that way.
"……Muuu!!!"
"Mom told not to interfere, but I can’t stand this anymore!!"
Hypnosis-chan loaded her rubber band gun.
She aid it squarely at Yujin, determined to open her dense master’s eyes.
The hypnosis-charged rubber band flew…
Thwack!
"…He dodged it!?"
Yujin suddenly jerked upright, narrowly avoiding the rubber band.
His eyes reflected a new determination.
"Hey, hey!! Kkong!! Wait up!!"
"Now that I think about it, I went too far. Liking guys isn’t a cri!"
He decided to apologize to Kkong, his friend.
After all, what was Kkong to him?
She wasn’t just any friend. She was his only male friend.
He had been startled and said so terrible things, but he never intended to hurt her.
So, he resolved to apologize.
I’m sorry for being insensitive. I don’t mind if you’re gay. I just can’t return your feelings.
And if anything I did ca across as misleading, I’m sorry for that too.
"I’m sorry! I won’t let you touch , but I’ll at least pretend not to notice if you just want to look!"
With that determination, Yujin mustered all his courage.
His willingness to overco even his instinctive discomfort spoke volus about his friendship with Kkong.
And that courage sparked a small miracle.
***
A general summary of Yujin realizing the truth.
***
"...Kkong, when did you go to Thailand?"
"W-w-what nonsense are you spouting now!!?"
And so, chaos ensued.
"You said you saw in the sauna back then!"
"What!? Don’t tell you’ve… had the surgery since then!?"
"Stop talking nonsense! I’m a woman!!"
"What!!!!? No way! You’re saying you’ve been a woman this whole ti!?"
"Of course, you idiot!!"
"No, no… Then back in the sauna? If you were a woman, you should’ve slapped and demanded to know what I was looking at!"
"You—! You knew I was a woman and still decided to be friends!? Wait, so you thought I was a guy this whole ti? Then what was that whole thing about keeping my ‘secret’ back then?"
"I just thought you were so small down there that it didn’t show under the towel…."
"This guy is absolutely insane!!!"
Kkong was appalled by Yujin’s misunderstanding.
As a woman, the re thought was unthinkable to her.
Sure, she’d disguised herself as a man, but still.
To be suspected of sothing like that? It was a first.
Her cheeks flushed bright red.
"Then what was with all the ‘you’re cute’ comnts? Do you say that kind of thing to other n too?"
"Am I crazy!? Of course not—I only said it to you!!"
"...Really?"
"I an, you’re genuinely cuter than most won, so… Ah, crap, now that sounds weird!!"
Yujin’s earlobes turned bright red.
"Anyway, I’m sorry! I’ll use hypnosis to erase your—"
"So you’re saying I’m cute…?"
Hehe. A needlessly adorable smile spread across Kkong’s face.
"No, that’s not… Wait, hold on."
"Well, I’m a little embarrassed, but… hearing you say it makes happy."
"Listen, my friend. This is just a biological reaction—"
"Can I touch it, too?"
"......"
Yujin suddenly fell silent, his thoughts racing wildly.
"Okay, let’s think this through. I already have six wives. I’ve barely kept things together with the three I haven’t properly made it up to yet. Adding more to this ss would be impossible."
"But… throwing her aside after we’ve bathed together? She ca here knowing I might misinterpret things, yet still chose to open up to ?"
"And why would Kkong only reveal this to ? She probably doesn’t want to co out to anyone else. Which ans there really isn’t anyone else for her but ."
"If I’m the only one who can be there for Kkong—the friend who’s dedicated her entire life to Vietnam—then shouldn’t I…"
"Wait, does she even love ? But if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have co here… And honestly, haven’t I secretly hoped Kkong was a woman once or twice…?"
"No, no, no. This is too much. Six wives are already too many. I really can’t…."
His lengthy internal debate brought back an old mory.
"Oh, now that I think about it…"
[“Stop being so spineless. What’s wrong with having three wives? A proper hero should have three wives and four concubines at minimum! In fact, you could probably take four more and still be fine!”]
Back before his regression, when he’d been ridiculed over his harem situation, Chairwoman Seol Hayeon had clicked her tongue and said that to him. Half-joking, half-serious.
[“Well, now that you’ve shaped up, if you agree to take over as Chairperson, I might even tell you sothing useful…”]
[“Are you out of your mind, old lady? Why would you replace the Chairperson you appointed with ?”]
[“...Tch. If I’d known it would turn out like this, I’d have waited a few more years.”]
Though her words back then seed aningful, Yujin hadn’t given them much thought.
All he rembered was one thing: three wives, four concubines.
That was all.
"…Chairwoman, just how far ahead were you looking? Truly the GOAT of our era."
"Kkong. I already have other wives. Are you okay with that?"
Having justified it to himself, the shaless man asked Kkong.
Her answer was, of course, predictable.
"Yes. Honestly, I’d be fine with just being in a casual relationship with you…."
"Then let’s get married."
"…Wh-what!!? Married!!!?"
Even Kkong hadn’t expected him to bring up marriage right away.
She shivered with embarrassnt, but the shaless three-ti-regressor didn’t care.
"What’s wrong? Do you not love ?"
"I an, if we’re talking like-dislike…."
"Answer clearly—yes or no."
"……I love you, you idiot."
"I love you too. From the mont I thought you were a guy, I always found you cute. Now that I know you’re a woman, I’m even happier."
He delivered his heartfelt proposal while lifting her up, locking eyes with her.
You love , and I love you.
This was pure devotion.
"So, marry . I’ll make you happy, Kkong."
"W-what about the others!? The gorilla, Alice, Yusia…."
"I’ll handle the other six!"
"…Six!? Fine, count Sibylla, but who are the others!?"
"Does it matter? Right now, it’s just you in front of ."
"Huh, huff…♡"
Kkong’s face turned crimson, redder than it had been even in their earlier encounters.
She was more embarrassed now than when her body was exposed—it was another needless point of her cuteness.
"So, marry , Kkong."
"……Okay, Yujin♡"
Finally, she nodded, a small gesture of agreent.
The two inseparable friends resolved to beco sothing more.
"……!!?"
"That idiot master actually did it…! Wait!! Could it be that Mom knew all along? That she said to leave it to him because he’d manage without us!?
Watching from afar, Hypnosis-chan was mildly shocked, though ultimately, this was a good thing.
As the two gazed deeply into each other’s eyes, their lips t.
It was Kkong’s first kiss as a woman.
Chuuup, chuup…
"Marriage…♡ I’m going to marry Yujin♡"
A radiant smile of happiness blossod across Kkong’s face.
She wished this mont could last forever.
Of course, forever was not to be.
***
A general summary that it was resolved well.
A general summary that Kkong was very cute.
***
That night, Kkong and Yujin stayed up all night.
Ping, piing.
"...Master is late~."
That night, Hypnosis-chan slept alone.
She ended up just shooting her rubber band gun aimlessly, pouting in disappointnt.
"Yesterday, I had to sleep alone, and it was scary, so tonight, I’m definitely clinging to Master while we sleep…."
"........."
"......"
"..."
"Master!!! No matter how much, three days in a row is a bit much!!!"
It wasn’t just that night—she slept alone the entire ti they were in Vietnam.
Not that Yujin cared.
***
Three days passed, and the day to return ho arrived.
"Chairwoman, so… what exactly is this harem legalization thod you ntioned?"
"Puhuhu. You’ll find out soon enough, you depraved fool."
And then, Yujin…
"At this very mont, I declare Seo Yujin as the next Chairperson of the Korean Awakened Association!!!"
[Has this crazy old lady completely lost her mind!!!!?]
At that mont, he realized with painful clarity why he had felt so uneasy before the trip.
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