Sho in General
Belle and Eric, along with Zoey, stayed overnight at the General’s mansion before returning to Burst.
It seems they had some knowledge of the events in Burst through a letter from Belle’s papa to Father, but they gave a proper report.
Regarding the aging function that allows maturation in storage, of course, they presented the umeshu (plum wine) received in Burst… Thanks to the umeshu’s effect, they were surprised but not scolded. On the contrary, they were delighted and asked for wine to be aged.
As for rice, when compared with rice from the eastern country, Burst rice was, as expected, more popular. I’m looking forward to next year’s new rice.
For the events in Phantasmo, they played back a recording magic tool while reporting, and the twins requested crab rice. I immediately took out crab rice onigiri from storage. Both parents and my brothers were stunned, and Pearl and Rosso said, (Doting fool.), but I can’t help it—they’re just too cute.
Regarding the magic sword, Father, Gray, and Brother Gene were jealous. According to Father, Ijok is a famous alchemist in the country. Apparently, because of his personality, he only makes things when he feels like it, so Ijok’s custom-made items are quite valuable. By the way, Grandfather and Grandmother’s swords were also made by Ijok. It seems that when they were still active before marriage, they had them made separately and still use them fondly. After passing the family headship to Father and retiring to Phantasmo, they happened to reconnect with Ijok, and somehow he ended up living in Phantasmo, becoming friends.
The rest of the summer vacation was spent going on picnics with the twins and Alice, the daughter of Abe and Suzy, joining the private militia’s training, and giving feedback to Nikki of “Glossy Butterfly” about the sexy adventurer outfits Sarah and the others wore in Burst.
When the topic of my male disguise in Burst came up, Nikki said she wanted to see me in it, so I got changed. Actually, Isabella had given me a blonde wig as a memento.
"Oh my gosh, so cute! You’re like a prince! Honestly, if you changed your skin tone, no one would know it’s you."
"But when I talk, it’s easy to tell, right?"
"True. Oh! Wait a sec."
Nikki brought something from the back.
"Try putting this on your neck."
She handed me a velvet choker with a blue stone.
"Like this?… Wait, what?"
When I spoke with the choker on, my voice sounded lower than usual.
"Hehe, it’s a magic tool choker that adjusts your voice pitch. Thought it’d be fun, so I got it."
"Amazing… It’s like I’m not even me."
(Joan, you need to change how you talk too.)
Pearl pointed out.
"Uh… Damn, it’s like I ain’t even me."
(Yup, much better.)
"Nikki, sell me this!"
"Hehe, I’ll give it to you. In exchange, will you keep being my tester and give feedback?"
"For real?! Hell yeah, I’m in."
"Alright, looking forward to working with you, Sho."
"Yeah, leave it to me."
""(Pfft. Hahaha.)""
After that, Nikki, who loved my male disguise, turned me into a dress-up doll, and I ended up getting a few outfits. She even cut the wig, which was close to a mushroom cut, to style it better.
When I tried to change back to leave, Nikki stopped me, so I ended up going home in my male disguise… with Pearl shrunk to puppy size walking at my feet to avoid suspicion.
As I left the shop, I felt eyes on me from all directions. I talked to Pearl telepathically.
—Hey, Pearl? Everyone’s staring, but am I busted?
—Nah, I don’t think so. Why don’t you swing by Jou’s shop to test it?
—Good idea. It’s been a while since I had a Lampail Dog.
"Uh, one Lampail Dog, please."
"Welcome! Oh, are you new to General?"
Michelle at the counter asked me.
"Huh?! How’d you—"
"Well, it’s just that a good-looking adventurer kid like you is pretty rare. Though, all the lord’s kids are gorgeous too."
"Uh, thanks."
"Why the thanks?"
"Oh, uh, for saying I’ve got a nice face…"
"Wow, what a humble kid. Totally different from my boys. Here’s your Lampail Dog. Wait at the terrace."
Sitting at the terrace bench, Grace brought it over.
"Here you go… Hehe."
Huh? Did Grace figure me out?
"Uh, something wrong?"
"Oh, sorry. A cool guy eating here is great advertising, you know."
Looking around, I noticed a few girls glancing my way.
"Oh, got it… Should I, like, wave or something?"
"Oh, no need. If you do that, you might not make it home. Eat up before it gets cold."
"Right, thanks."
After eating the Lampail Dog, I left Jou’s shop quickly. Some people tried to talk to me, but I avoided eye contact and walked fast, and they gave up.
I teleported from the edge of town to just outside the mansion, greeted the gate guard as usual, and tried to enter when my arm was grabbed.
"Hey, hold up, who’re you? You’re not from General, are you?"
"Uh, oh…"
I regretted not teleporting straight to my room.
"Answer me!"
"Uh, I’m here for Sarah."
"Hm? Sarah, you say? What’s your name?"
"Uh, Sho, Sho."
"Hang on…"
Soon, Sarah came from the mansion.
"Welcome back, Joan."
"What?! Joan?"
"Yeah… It’s me, Joan."
"But that voice…"
"Oh, it’s a magic tool… See, back to normal."
"Why didn’t you say so? Sorry for grabbing your arm."
"No worries. It was kinda hard to bring up… But wow, Sarah, you nailed it."
"No way I’d mistake you. The magic tool and clothes are from Nikki, right?"
"Yup. Wonder how many people at the mansion will notice?"
"Wanna test it?"
"Yup, wanna test it."
In the end, besides Brother Gene and Zack, who already knew about my male disguise, only Mother, Nancy, the twins, and Anny noticed. Mother and Nancy caught me by my walk and movements, the twins by my eyes, and Anny by my scent when we passed each other…
Later, worried, I asked Anny if my scent was bad, and she laughed it off, saying I have a soft, sweet fragrance… Good to know it’s not bad.
What do you think about this chapter?
