Chương 48: Cross-dressing?

It took me a few seconds to digest Kale's logic. He believed that because he stepped up to take me to the infirmary during swordsmanship class, Jullius became resentful toward me, which eventually led to our falling out and this subsequent revenge plot. Because he felt guilty, and noticed I hadn't returned to the academy even after dinner, he came out here to wait. The sheer, terrifying naivete of this guy was enough to make Rachel, who was listening in, burst into a fit of giggles.

Kale, completely oblivious to the fact that the mockery was directed at him, continued to scan the surroundings with a puzzled expression.

"Is Jullius really petty enough to hire this many people just to get back at you?" I had no desire to explain the complexities of life to this single-celled organism, so I decided to wrap up the conversation hastily.

"Yeah. Anyway, thanks. I think we're safe from here. You should head back, Rachel. Thanks a lot for tonight." Kale looked at me again.

"It's not safe for a girl to head back alone at night." Rachel couldn't suppress another laugh before she leaped into the air, vanishing behind the canopy of trees in an instant. Kale seemed as though he still wanted to say something, but I patted his shoulder, signaling that we should head inside the school. The person he was worried about had just efficiently dismantled nearly a dozen professional assassins only minutes ago. The guards looked quite conflicted seeing two students still outside past curfew.

I fabricated a story about how we had intended to return earlier but were ambushed by bandits. And if anyone didn't believe me, they were free to go over there and take a look. One of the soldiers actually ran out and spotted several black-clad figures lying in the middle of the road. After some more creative lying on my part, Kale and I were finally allowed inside. As we neared the dormitory, Kale suddenly asked me:"What was she laughing at earlier?"

"..." It seemed this guy's entire brain capacity was dedicated to swordsmanship; everything else suffered a thirty-minute reaction delay. Since he had just helped me out, I felt obligated to explain. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"What happened tonight has nothing to do with you. My conflict with Jullius is about something else entirely. You don't need to take this to heart."

"Oh..." Kale accepted this flimsy answer with surprising ease.

"That's good then. My master always says I'm terrible at reading people's moods, and that I'll eventually cause trouble for my friends without even realizing it." I paused for a moment.

"Are we... friends?"

"We aren't?" His gaze was incredibly pure, as if no matter what my answer was, he wouldn't be particularly hurt by it. Faced with someone like that, it's very easy to feel like you have nothing to hide. This was my first time interacting with this kind of person, and I realized that being friends with him wouldn't be so bad.

"Yeah. If you consider me a friend, then we're friends." A good night's sleep. The next morning, Lealia informed me that she had obtained the assistant registration forms from the Church. Knowing the Church didn't particularly care who a Hero Candidate brought along as an aide, I had told her to use a pseudonym.

"I wrote down the name exactly as you said. But... are you sure registering as a female is going to be okay?" Lealia asked, looking a bit fidgety. She didn't know the exact reason I needed a fake name, but assuming it was related to some messy noble politics, she followed through regardless. Cross-dressing was my idea. Now, hold on—I don't have any strange fetishes. If your mind went into the gutter, that's on you; don't project your dark thoughts onto me.

It wasn't exactly that I couldn't face the Church officials. I had been officially bailed out, not escaped. I just didn't want to invite unnecessary complications. The makeup techniques of this era were subpar; a half-baked disguise would looked more suspicious than no disguise at all. The best move was to swap genders entirely. I already had a wig. Asher had once participated in a school anniversary play, acting the part of a miserable beggar. I still had the costume from that stint in my wardrobe.

My current physique wasn't particularly tall, so wearing women's clothes borrowed from Lealia didn't look overly grotesque—though I wasn't entirely sure if I should be happy about that fact. The remaining issue was getting leave from school. A Hero Candidate was permitted to bring a fellow student as an assistant, but it required a confirmation stamp from the Church. However, making a few "adjustments" to a confirmation document wasn't difficult.

The female name I chose and "Asher Griffin" were written very similarly in the Averula language. The chosen name was shorter; I just needed to add a few small strokes and a character at the end to finish the job. Since Imperia and the Church wouldn't bother cross-referencing such trivial information, my leave request was approved without a hitch. Even when everything was settled, Lealia still harbored some doubts.

"I'm still not sure if bringing you along is the right thing to do. If something goes wrong..."

"Nothing will go wrong. I can protect myself," I said firmly.

"The Church even said this mission wasn't particularly dangerous."

"But still, you don't have to go this far just to repay me for a few herbs!" I deployed the excuse I had prepared beforehand. If Kale could use such naively simple logic, surely it would work on a girl who was just as innocent.

"I remember you saying you decided to become a Hero Candidate and enter the academy because of what I said at the celebration feast, right? But now that you're feeling lost about it, I feel responsible for helping you until you reach a final decision." I put on the most sincere face I could muster, and Lealia was completely swayed. We returned to our rooms to pack the last of our essentials for tomorrow's departure.