Chapter 65
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Volume 1: First Performance: A Tragic Love Story Of A Young Lady And Spring Cherry Blossoms
Chapter 65: Intermission – The Cross-Dressing Boy Is Discovered.
Two days after the “Romeo and Juliet” performance, the season had entered June.
Looking up through my vinyl umbrella, I could see thick clouds floating in the sky, with sporadic raindrops falling.
I took a deep breath while holding the umbrella in my right hand, then opened my smartphone with my left and launched the map application.
“…Is this the right place? Hanako’s house…”
I murmured to myself, then looked up at the two-story wooden apartment building in front of me.
It might be poorly phrased, but this old house looked like it might collapse any moment, resembling a place where ghosts might reside.
The cracked and sooty exterior walls were covered in ivy, and what appeared to be a bike parking area was overgrown with weeds.
I tilted my head, wondering if this was really Hanako’s house, and compared it with the address she had given me earlier. It seemed this was indeed Hanako’s residence.
I sighed deeply again and shook my head.
“Finally, the day has come… I wonder how I should get through this…”
Last night, I received an email from Hanako.
[――――To the one with the blue eyes. You haven’t forgotten about the surveillance camera, have you? Tomorrow is a coincidental school holiday due to a mid-term break. So, please come to my house around 9 AM. We will be holding a …《Doki Doki～★Kaede Kisaragi’s Gravure Photo Shoot～There will be some accidental exposure♥》… event. Ah, don’t worry about the costume, I will prepare it. Well then, see you tomorrow. From the True Ancestor Vampire Princess, Francesca.]
Previously, to resolve Akane’s bullying incident, Hanako lent me a surveillance camera.
At that time, the mischievous bob-haired Zashiki-Warashi ask for something ridiculous: a swimsuit photo of me as a condition for lending the camera.
…Of course, there was no way I, a man, could wear a women’s swimsuit and participate in a gravure photo shoot.
If that happened, it would definitely lead to an embarrassing situation with the police getting involved.
So… So today, I came here to sincerely apologize, and whether through bowing or anything else, I decided to seek Hanako’s forgiveness.
That girl might be eccentric, but she’s not a bad person.
I’m sure if I explain things properly… she’ll understand.
“…Alright. Let’s go…”
I put my smartphone back into my pocket, gave myself a quick pep talk with a slap to my cheek, and headed towards the second floor of the apartment, where Hanako was said to live… climbing the creaky stairs.
I found a nameplate reading “Sato” on the door at the very end of the second floor, so that should be the destination, the “demon king’s castle.”
Standing in front of the room, I hesitantly rang the intercom, and after a few seconds, the sound of the door’s lock being undone echoed, and the door opened to reveal Hanako with her usual sleepy expression.
“Good morning, blue-eyed one.”
“G-Good morning, Hanako-san…”
She was wearing an all-black—something like a gothic lolita nightgown.
The outfit, with its high exposure, made me flinch and look away.
“? Is something wrong? Your face seems red?”
“N-Nothing at all.”
“I see? Well then, please come in.”
“I-I’m intruding…”
I stepped into the room.
Upon entering, I was immediately stunned by the sight before me.
“W-What…!!”
The entire wall of the corridor extending straight from the entrance was covered with illustrations of naked girls in compromising positions… a series of ero-game tapestries.
If it had been tapestries from a moe anime, I might have been able to understand it better.
There were similar items scattered in my sister’s room as well.
But… the sight of the naked girls’ illustrations covering the corridor wall… even I couldn’t help but be taken aback.
“H-Hanako-san, what is this…”
“It’s Francesca. …Ah, you mean these erotic game tapestries? Most of these are special edition tapestries from works I appeared in. This… blonde girl making an ahegao double peace sign is the heroine from ‘My Beloved Lover Was Taken by a Nasty Otaku’, which I voiced. It was released as a doujin, but became so popular it turned into a commercial NTR work.”
“…I see…”
“Ah, of course, not all of them are r*pe-themed. I’ve also appeared in some pure love works. I pride myself on being fairly well-known as a voice actress in erotic games.”
The bob-haired Zashiki-Warashi put her hands on her hips, puffed up with pride.
I forced a strained smile at her, cleared my throat, and then spoke up to Hanako.
“Hanako-san, you live alone, right?”
“Yes, as I mentioned before, I come from an orphanage.”
Nodding affirmatively, Hanako walked further down the corridor.
After taking off my shoes and placing my umbrella in the stand, I followed her example and trailed behind.
“Unlike that lesbian, my parents are alive. However, not all parents are good people, are they? Some abuse their children, and some abandon them.”
“…Yes, that’s true. There’s even a term called ‘parent gacha’. Not everyone is born to kind parents.”
“Oh? From the way you speak, it seems you’re also from this side?”
“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”
“Hm… I always thought we had some kind of similar scent, but I see now, perhaps that’s why I felt a sense of déjà vu.”
With that, she stopped, glanced over her shoulder for a moment, then continued walking, reaching the end of the corridor and placing a hand on a door.
“My parents were terrible people. They tried to control me using violence… typical toxic parents.”
Opening the sliding door with a rattle, Hanako smiled and beckoned me inside.
“Please, come in.”
I nodded in response to her words and stepped into Hanako’s room.
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“Please, sit wherever you like.”
“Uh, excuse me… Do I really have to sit on this?”
I picked up the cushion that was placed in front of the table and held it up in front of me.
The cushion featured an illustration of an 18+ girl, drooling and with an ecstatic expression, performing an M-shaped spread-leg pose.
…Why does everything in this room feature printed illustrations of naked women? I genuinely don’t understand.
“Oh, are you curious about the illustration on that cushion? It’s from the game ‘Slippery and Sticky Tentacle Academy’, where I played the main heroine———”
“No, that’s quite alright. I don’t need that information at all.”
“Hmm… I see…”
Looking somewhat dejected for some reason, the bob-haired girl sat down on the bed opposite me.
While giving her an exasperated smile, I took another look around Hanako’s room.
“However… this is quite the room. There’s camera equipment, Gothic Lolita-related goods, and… erotic game merchandise, all packed in every corner.”
“There is also Neko-sama here.”
“Meow.”
“Oh, really?”
Noticing a black cat rubbing up against my feet, I gently petted its head.
“I didn’t expect Leviathan to be so affectionate with a stranger. Could it be that you like animals, Blue-eyed one?”
“Well, I’m not sure. I haven’t interacted much with animals myself, but… I don’t dislike them.”
“Neko-sama is a wonderful creature. Every movement is so endearing, it’s very soothing to watch.”
Hanako, smiling at the cat, showed a cute and innocent smile that was quite different from her usual expressionless face.
As I watched her smiling face, she seemed to notice my gaze and gave me a side-eye.
“…Is something the matter?”
“Oh, no. I was just surprised to see you make that expression, Hanako.”
“Do you find it strange because my face is usually expressionless? Speaking of which, you are quite similar, Kaede Kisaragi. You generally don’t show your emotions. You always seem half-asleep, looking at the world with a bored expression.”
“We’re quite alike, aren’t we? Perhaps we should call ourselves the Gloomy-Eyed Sisters?”
“What’s with that ridiculously lame name? Please, spare me.”
Hanako sighed and laughed softly at my comment. I then steeled myself and sat down on the cushion with the M-shaped spread-leg girl illustration.
After staring intently at my face, Hanako suddenly grinned with an evil smile.
“Well then, let’s start the photoshoot, Blue-eyed one. As promised, you’ll be wearing a micro bikini. And you’ll pose seductively and erotically for the hungry men buying your photos. Gufufufufu.”
“Gufufufu—that’s quite an unusual laugh for a current high school girl… Well, putting that aside for now. Hanako, I’m sorry about the photoshoot today, but… could we perhaps settle this in another way?”
“Hmm… Settling in another way, you say?”
“Y-yes. I… find it really embarrassing to wear a swimsuit for the shoot. I’m perfectly fine with being photographed in regular clothes! However, I have a strong aversion to exposing my skin… So, could you possibly excuse me from wearing a swimsuit?”
“……”
“If that’s not enough, I’ll work a part-time job and pay for the camera rental fees as well! So please, let’s settle this transaction in another way this time…!! Please!!”
With my hands together and head bowed, I apologized sincerely to Hanako.
Hanako sighed briefly and then spoke to me.
“Well… I had a feeling you might say that. I understand. Please raise your head, Blue-eyed one.”
“Hanako…”
“I’m not a demon, you know. I’ll make an exception this time and forgo the swimsuit. …Would you like some coffee? Let’s have a break and discuss things afterward.”
“Y-yes!”
Hanako nodded at my response and then headed to the kitchen at the far end of the room.
I was relieved that Hanako turned out to be reasonable after all.
I had expected her to be more inflexible, but I was glad that the discussion went smoothly.
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[From Hanako Sato’s Point Of View]
“Zzz‥‥‥‥‥‥ Zzz‥‥”
“Has she fallen asleep?”
Before me was Kaede Kisaragi, collapsed on the desk with a coffee cup in hand.
I stared at the box of sleeping pills in my right hand with an expressionless face and quietly spoke.
“I never expected over-the-counter sleeping pills to be so effective. …Well, since Kisaragi-san was completely exhausted from the stage performance the day before yesterday… Perhaps her body was so fatigued that the effect was particularly strong. Well… it’s not really important.”
Muttering this softly, I carelessly tossed the box of sleeping pills onto the table.
I then slipped my hands under Kaede Kisaragi’s arms and dragged her toward the bed.
After lifting her and placing her on the canopy-covered purple bed, I retrieved several bikinis from the closet and returned to her.
“I’ll spare you the micro bikini. This is my mercy.”
I placed the bikinis next to her pillow and stood on the bed, looking down at Kaede Kisaragi’s face.
“Really, you have such a beautiful face.”
If I were a man, I would surely be infatuated with such a beautiful girl.
Despite appearances, I am quite a connoisseur of looks.
So much so that I’ve become someone who can only love two-dimensional characters, such is the twisted nature of Hanako Sato.
“…The Gloomy-Eyed Sisters, huh…”
I mentioned earlier that Kisaragi-san and I are similar, but… she is a completely sunny person, while I am completely a shadowy person.
Even if we are both expressionless and have the same deceptive, lying personality, if that aspect differs, the essence of our humanity will be vastly different.
I am terrible at communicating with others.
Due to past abuse from my mother, I’ve become overly sensitive to malice from others.
I can keenly sense any hidden malice in conversations, like, “Ah, this person is looking down on me” or “This person is desperately hiding their dislike for me” and as a result, I cut off all interaction with that person.
Even if I make friends, if someone with malicious intent joins the group through their introduction, I will leave the group and fade away immediately.
Above all, I am most afraid of the malice hidden behind others.
So… when Honoka brought Kaede Kisaragi before me, I was terrified.
I feared that this girl might direct malice toward me.
However, Kisaragi Kaede—despite my observational skills, I couldn’t understand her clearly.
I couldn’t discern her true nature at all.
All I knew was that she was lying about something to those around him.
Since I am also a liar, I can tell that she is similar to me in that regard.
Perhaps Kisaragi Kaede… has experienced being hurt by someone in the past.
She often seems to scrutinize others so as not to be noticed.
That habit of observing others… felt very similar to my own tendency to search for malice.
But despite the similarities, her inner self is completely different.
Kaede Kisaragi is a sunny person who attracts others.
Unlike me, she is always cheerful.
I find her combination of light and shadow very intriguing, and I always think this whenever I see her.
“…Well then. Let’s see the naked form of this mysterious girl with my own eyes.”
I began unbuttoning the blazer of Kaede Kisaragi’s uniform one by one.
After removing the blazer, I proceeded to unbutton the shirt.
“I’m sorry, Blue-eyed one. I’m more cunning than you might think… Hmm?”
As I finished removing the shirt and saw the cute pink bra underneath… at that moment, I felt something odd.
“Is this… a pad?”
Could it be that Kaede Kisaragi, embarrassed by having a flat chest, has stuffed pads into the bra…?
But there seems to be an unusually large amount of padding…
“…N-no, this is different. Could it be…”
I reached around Kaede Kisaragi’s back, removed the bra, and took out the padding.
And there, I found…
“…………there’s no breast… at all…?”
There were no female curves anywhere to be seen.
Only a broad chest that looked like a man’s was present.
“…Could it be… Could it be!!”
I quickly unzipped the skirt and pulled it down.
What was revealed was cute pink underwear with a ribbon.
I gulped and touched the underwear, then—slid it down.
“―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――ah.”
My name is Francesca von Roxanne, a True Ancestor Vampire with the blood of the Dragon God Bahamut.
I am a fairly well-known mid-level VTuber with nearly 300,000 subscribers on YouTube.
A True Ancestor Vampire can summon and control dragons instantly with a drop of blood from their fingertips, making them the most formidable beings.
For the vampire Francesca, dragons are not something to fear but merely tools to wield and slay enemies.
Yet… yet…
“Ba… Bahamuttttttttttt!?!?!?!?!?!”
When the Dragon of Destruction, Bahamut (D*ck), suddenly appeared before me, I was so shocked that I screamed… fell off the bed and passed out.
In an inexpensive apartment on the outskirts of Sendai, Room 102 of Tohno Heights, the scene was incomprehensible: a cross-dressing boy sleeping with his lower half exposed on the bed, and a girl with bob-haired collapsed beside the bed with her eyes rolled back.