Book 1 Chapter 1003
1003.
“Wow! If I were a man, I’d fall for you!”
“Brother! You are truly beautiful!”
Leo looked at the two women admiring him, his face somehow tired.
Elena and Lil, as if they had returned to their childhood, took Leo and played dress-up with him.
As Leo approached adulthood, his prettiness had faded, but the genes inherited from Raina were excessively superior.
Moreover, at Elena's request, he had used aura skills to make his skeletal structure smaller, so Leo's appearance, even with makeup, was undeniably that of a beautiful woman.
“Do you guys find this fun?”
“It’s dead fun!”
“It feels like playing with dolls, something we did in childhood.”
“I bet when you were a kid playing with dolls, you’d smash their heads with a hammer.”
“……”
Lil, offended by Leo’s remark, rummaged through the clothes Elena had brought and pulled out a particularly short skirt.
“How about this outfit?”
“Hmm. That’s an outfit I bought to seduce Young Master Leo, so it’s too daring and probably wouldn’t suit him.”
Elena shook her head, smiled brightly, and pulled out another outfit.
“Young Master Leo suits frilly, lacy clothes like this.”
Seeing the outfit, Leo chuckled.
“That outfit really doesn’t suit you.”
“……”
Elena’s face turned cold.
“Young Master Leo. It seems you’ve forgotten your situation. Don’t forget that you have to wear the clothes we chose today.”
“Anyway, no one will recognize me, so what.”
Even if the goal was to embarrass Leo, he was still called the King of the World.
Since an awareness-hindering spell was necessarily cast, Leo felt tired but had no reservations.
‘No, to begin with, this old man’s mental strength is so ridiculously strong that he’d probably go around in drag just fine even without an awareness-hindering spell.’
He suited drag so frightfully well that it seemed it would just pass as a mere happening.
Just as Elena lightly clicked her tongue.
“Lord Leo. I have something to report…”
Melina warped into the room where the three were.
And upon seeing the sight before her eyes, she turned pale with shock.
After a moment of assessing the situation, Melina’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“What are you doing?”
At her reaction, Elena and Lil unknowingly hid the clothes they were holding behind their backs.
“Well, you see, Professor Mel.”
As Lil hurriedly opened her mouth to make an excuse, Melina said coldly.
“It’s Melina now.”
Seeing Melina emphasize that she was the Dragon Lord, not a school professor, Lil broke out in cold sweat.
As Leo’s closest confidant, Melina knew that Leo had no such hobbies.
This meant that for some reason, Elena and Lil had forcibly dressed Leo, a great hero, in women’s clothes.
Among students, it might be a mere happening, but in truth, it was a great sin for which divine punishment would not be unusual.
Elena quickly tattled.
“It was Lil’s doing.”
“Senior Elena!”
“Why? It was your wish to dress Young Master Leo in women’s clothes.”
“B-But, Senior Elena was the one who suggested it…”
“Did you really do it just because I said so?”
“K-huk!”
Lil made an aggrieved face at Elena’s betrayal.
“I’m truly disappointed in both of you!”
Melina looked at the two with a stern face.
As Elena and Lil flinched, Melina strode towards Leo.
Seeing this, Leo merely let out a deep sigh.
‘She’s not on my side anyway.’
“Even if neither of you is interested in primping, what in the world is this makeup! It’s a mess!”
Melina looked very displeased upon seeing the makeup the two had put on Leo.
It was obvious that they hadn’t done much makeup before.
“Please, primp more like your peers! Of course, both of you are pretty enough without primping, but… it’s a waste!”
At those words, Elena and Lil’s eyes widened.
“Do you have a lot of grudges against me too?”
“Of course.”
At Leo’s question, Melina’s eyes sparkled.
“Ms. Luna. May I dress Lord Leo?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. It’s fine.”
Lil nodded and pulled out the clothes she had hidden behind her.
But Melina shook her head.
“Those clothes don’t suit Lord Leo. The clothes Ms. Elena is holding are the same.”
Melina crossed her arms and made a serious expression.
“Currently, Lord Leo’s appearance, though outwardly innocent, somehow gives off a feeling of being worn out by society.”
“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that again?”
Leo was dumbfounded, but Melina didn’t listen.
“Ah, how should I really dress him up?”
“You’re being impertinent. How about having some dignity as a Lord?”
“You treat me like a child anyway. Why be so formal all of a sudden?”
Leo’s attack didn’t affect Melina in the slightest.
Elena’s face looked slightly serious as she watched them.
“Lil.”
“Yes.”
“Did I perhaps live very badly?”
“Should I be honest?”
“Yes.”
“You were the worst senior.”
“……”
“But why are you asking?”
“No. Seeing Young Master Leo now, it seems like I shouldn’t accumulate bad karma.”
“Senior, you’ve already accumulated plenty.”
“Right? I should just live as I usually do.”
Elena, having cheerfully concluded, smiled brightly.
“Both of you, stop chatting and would you mind getting some drinks?”
“Yes.”
“Please make him pretty.”
“Leave it to me.”
Watching the three perfectly in sync, Leo made a tired expression.
“They’re having fun.”
At that, Melina giggled.
“So? What was it you needed to report?”
Leo noticed that Melina had naturally sent the two away.
Melina said, powdering Leo’s face.
“We found traces of an intruder in the Northwest Sea.”
“Hmm? Ayla and Illiana did say they saw a suspicious human girl.”
“We can’t tell if it’s the same person, but we found traces of an intrusion into the deep sea, breaking through the ice. And there, we discovered a ‘Hero Dungeon’.”
“Erebos’s movements?”
“There were none. As Lord Leo said, Erebos in the World of Genesis seems to have no intention of coming out immediately.”
“Should I call this a good thing, or a troublesome thing in its own way?”
Leo let out a deep sigh.
At that, Melina gave a wry smile.
“For now, I think we just have to hope that Lord Sayrun can gain something in the current era.”
Lumerun, Azonia, and Demian had succeeded in taking a step forward during their time out of the World of Genesis.
Although they were beings trapped and stopped in the chasm of time, outside, their time could flow at any moment.
That meant they could take another step forward.
“It’s not easy. I have no talent for magic.”
“Lord Leo, really?”
Leo said, looking at the incredulous Melina.
“Compared to Sayrun, I mean.”
“There’s someone who can give inspiration to Lord Sayrun, isn’t there?”
“But she’s too young.”
Leo clicked his tongue.
“It would be good if she could find a way forward by looking at young Luna.”
At that, Melina stared intently at Leo.
“Why?”
“No. It just seems like you don’t treat Lord Sayrun like a child.”
“She does her job well.”
“What about me?”
“Are you jealous?”
“It’s not that, but…”
“You do your job well too.”
“But why is the treatment different?”
“Why? Do you want me to treat you like a 3000-year-old hag?”
At that, Melina grumbled softly.
***
Back to the present.
‘Is there anywhere that sells alcohol?’
Leo was scratching his head, wandering around the tournament venue.
In his previous life.
He had once lived steeped in alcohol.
Though not as heavy a drinker as Luna, Kyle also drank a lot.
‘Well, it’s not like I drank because I liked alcohol, like Luna did.’
Whatever the reason, Leo wanted a drink now.
It didn’t particularly matter if he was sober, but he didn’t want to be.
He had granted the wish, but dressing in drag in front of others was not something he particularly welcomed.
As Leo walked around, not caring about people’s gazes.
Whoosh!
Someone grabbed Leo and led him to a deserted place.
“Young Master Leo! What in the world is that getup!”
Chen Shia asked, her face beet red, and Leo replied calmly.
“It seems the awareness-hindering spell doesn’t work on you? Well, you have seen me disguised as a woman before, haven’t you?”
Leo clicked his tongue, recalling a past incident.
“It seems it doesn’t work on those who are already aware.”
Chen Shia sighed deeply at Leo’s calm demeanor.
“I didn’t know Young Master Leo had such a hobby.”
“That Lil ordered me to do it as a wish.”
“Hmm?”
At that, Chen Shia squinted her eyes and said.
“Then you shouldn’t have teased your senior so much. It’s karma. Karma.”
“Yes, it’s all my karma.”
Chen Shia, who had finished assessing the situation, tilted her head.
“You’re participating in a beauty pageant dressed as a woman in public, yet you don’t seem to feel much shame?”
“I do feel shame?”
“For someone who feels shame, you were walking around quite calmly.”
“My life hasn’t been smooth enough to be shaken by something like this.”
Hearing that, Chen Shia stared intently at Leo’s face.
“Why?”
“How should I put it, it suits you surprisingly well. You could even charm men, couldn’t you?”
“Shall I try to hook one?”
“…Young Master Leo, you actually might, so please refrain.”
Chen Shia let out a small sigh, looking at Leo who didn't give an inch.
Leo looked at Chen Shia with a puzzled expression.
“By the way, are you also participating in the beauty pageant?”
“For now?”
“What will you do?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you lose to me, a man, wouldn’t that be a disgrace for you?”
“Will I really lose to Young Master Leo?”
“Do you think so?”
“……”
Chen Shia made an offended face, looking at the grinning Leo.
“No matter what, I won’t lose to Young Master Leo. I’m aiming for the win.”
“Alright, alright. Good luck.”
Leo patted Chen Shia’s head and then left.
Watching Leo’s retreating back, Chen Shia made an uneasy expression.
‘Come to think of it… I’m already treated like a child, so if I lose in the beauty pageant too, won’t I be seen even less as a woman?’
Chen Shia, whose expression had been wavering, hardened her resolve.
‘At the very least, I have to be prettier than Young Master Leo.’
Chen Shia vowed with a serious face.