Chapter 68: Sora'aki's gender is Sora'aki.
When Hagiwara Kenmi said she wanted to meet, Morofushi Sora'aki glanced at his pocket but did not reply.
She didn't dwell on that and naturally changed the subject, "It seems like Sora'aki-chan is surrounded by a lot of people. When I was looking at the photos just now, I even saw a romance comic in one of them. Is that the interest of those two kids in the photos?"
"It's mine." Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
Hagiwara Kenmi: "What a surprise~ I couldn't tell at all! I thought it was the hobby of that little classmate who looks a lot like me."
"After all, I was super interested in romance comics back in high school!"
"Because the person sitting behind me is a comic artist, and he recommended it to me." Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
After thinking for a moment, Morofushi Sora'aki took out his phone. He had turned it off after showing them the photos. This time, he unlocked it with a different password.
The amulet helped him modify his phone; choosing different passwords would take him to different systems that were independent of each other, and all could be reset, which was very convenient.
So far, his phone hasn't malfunctioned. Hagiwara Kenmi was also very polite when looking at the photos; she only looked at the first and last few and didn't scroll through them further.
If she flips through another ten or so pages, she would be able to see Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu.
Morofushi Sora'aki didn't mind being seen; since Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei had already seen it, it wouldn't matter if a few more saw it.
This mission was rather unusual; the system didn't provide any further hints, but Morofushi Sora'aki felt that it had some ill intentions.
It wasn't malicious, but rather a kind of twisted sense of humor, a mischievous and ill-intentioned prank.
The task at hand was simply to "do as the Romans do." No further hints were given.
The unique aspect of this world is that the genders of the people Morofushi Sora'aki knew have all been altered.
Could it really be that he'll turn into a girl, or wear women's clothing?
Based on his extensive experience reading numerous books and comics, Morofushi Sora'aki has come to understand that in many world-building settings, the world does not allow for the existence of two identical individuals.
Either one or both disappear upon contact, or they are not allowed to exist in the first place. Or, after meeting, there's a requirement to kill the other within a few days, or else one will die—various anime have different settings.
However, even with such a worldview, there is often a compromise that allows the author to create some chaos. For example, characters may not be able to meet normally, but after their genders are swapped, they can appear in the same world.
Morofushi Sora'aki suspected that the system (stone tablet) followed the same world view, because when Hagiwara Kenmi said she wanted to meet across worlds, the amulet hanging on his waist moved slightly!
Morofushi Sora'aki was certain that he had not misjudged the situation.
However, this wish probably won't be fulfilled in the short term.
After all, he has not appeared in any of the worlds where "there are Morofushi Sora'aki".
Obviously, going to a world where he exists is not a simple matter, let alone sending others along.
Morofushi Sora'aki changed his password and logged into the Home World's system. He remembered that during the open day, Nozaki forgot to charge his camera, and when his own phone ran out of battery, he borrowed Morofushi Sora'aki's phone to shoot some footage.
His phone seems to have been found... well, it's been found.
Morofushi Sora'aki turned one of the group photos in front of the two ladies: "This is it."
Matsuda Jinko clearly wasn't interested and was already propping her chin up, almost asleep. She glanced at her and could clearly see that the background was a school campus, where some kind of event was probably taking place, and it looked quite lively.
The photographer's skills were clearly lacking, but the atmosphere within the photo gave off a youthful feeling.
Standing in the very center was a tall-looking boy, next to whom stood a girl with a bow tie who barely reached his shoulder. Morofushi Sora'aki was yawning, looking rather uninterested, while a frivolous-looking red-haired boy standing next to him struck a pose.
In addition, a boy dressed as a prince, whose temperament is quite dazzling even through the photo, is being pulled by the collar by a peer who is shorter than him, completely unaware that he is also in the picture.
Morofushi Sora'aki's finger didn't point to anyone, so Hagiwara Kenmi naturally assumed that the romance comic artist was the only girl in the photo: "Becoming a professional comic artist as a high school student? That's amazing."
"Actually, I've had similar thoughts before, but I quickly gave up on them. If I had persisted like her, maybe I wouldn't be a police officer now."
"What aren't you interested in? You're such a short-lived person." Matsuda Jinko muttered from the side.
"Haha, give me a little face in front of others, okay?" Hagiwara Kenmi laughed.
Morofushi Sora'aki noticed the problem and asked, "Her? Which one are you referring to?"
Hagiwara Kenmi: "Hmm? Is there a second girl in the photo?"
Morofushi Sora'aki pointed to the boy dressed as a prince: "She is a girl."
Hagiwara Kenmi: "..."
Hagiwara Kenmi was shocked: "I couldn't tell at all!!"
Matsuda Jinko was also surprised: "Really?"
Seeing that they didn't believe him, Morofushi Sora'aki flipped through a few more pages and found the uniform skirt that Kashima Yuu wore before he changed into his prince outfit: "Look, the skirt."
Hagiwara Kenmi: ...Even when she's wearing a skirt, you can't tell she's a girl at all!
Matsuda Jinko: ...A rare instance of me agreeing.
At this moment, she also noticed something was wrong. "Wait? So the cartoonist isn't her?"
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"No." replied Morofushi Sora'aki, still somewhat puzzled. "Why would you think it was her?"
Hagiwara Kenmi: "..."
Hagiwara Kenmi, who considered herself to have exceptional observational skills and had never misjudged someone's gender, took a deep breath and immediately switched to another person.
The red-haired boy in the photo may have a somewhat frivolous air, but judging from his attire, he might be someone who unexpectedly understands girls: "So, is it him?"
"Hmm… He's the female protagonist." Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
Hagiwara Kenmi: ...What do you mean by "female protagonist"?
Matsuda Jinko: It seems to be getting interesting?
Hagiwara Kenmi carefully examined the photo again. The boy grabbing the prince's collar had a rather composed demeanor and seemed to have a good relationship with the prince. He might be someone related to the prince: "Is it him?"
This time, there was no need for Morofushi Sora'aki to answer. Hagiwara Kenmi observed Morofushi Sora'aki's expression and instantly understood the answer: "...It was this child?!"
After all, no matter how you look at it, Nozaki Umetarou looks like a basketball player rather than a comic artist, both in terms of height and appearance.
Matsuda Jinko, standing to the side, scoffed without hesitation: "A rare mistake?"
"The main problem is that the photos don't provide enough information! If I met him in person, I definitely wouldn't mistake him!!" Hagiwara Kenmi said, somewhat unconvinced.
Now that the conversation had gone on long enough, Morofushi Sora'aki had a general idea of what to do next. So he finished the cake in front of him and said, "It was a pleasure chatting with you all. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
"Okay, bye-bye then~" Hagiwara Kenmi said, cupping her face in her hands, "Can I ask about your upcoming schedule?"
"I need to go to the mall to buy clothes," Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
Hagiwara Kenmi said with a hint of regret, "Buying clothes? Unfortunately, the stores I like all specialize in women's clothing, so I can't recommend any to you."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "What I want to buy is women's clothing."
Hagiwara Kenmi: "Huh?"
Matsuda Jinko instinctively guessed, "Was it bought for your girlfriend?"
"No, I bought it for myself." Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
Morofushi Sora'aki doesn't mind cross-dressing or gender-swapping. After guessing that only gender-swapping can allow him to travel to a world where "himself" exists, Morofushi Sora'aki is somewhat curious.
Moreover, if he is right, it means that the missions so far have been extremely limited—the missions have directly excluded worlds in which he exists, which greatly reduces the efficiency of the system in collecting energy.
If we could travel freely to any world, it would be much more convenient in every aspect.
Even Morofushi Sora'aki didn't need to prepare himself mentally.
Matsuda Jinko exclaimed "Wow!" at Morofushi Sora'aki's honest answer, while Hagiwara Kenmi's imagination was immediately swayed, and she thought of the prince Kashima Yuu in the photo whose gender was indistinguishable: "So Sora'aki-chan is actually a girl?"
Matsuda Jinko: "...Did you hit your head? Can't you tell a man from a woman?"
As if she were going against her, Morofushi Sora'aki said, "It doesn't matter if you interpret it that way."
This time, Matsuda Jinko also fell silent. "Huh?"
The two ladies carefully observed Morofushi Sora'aki's features. Because he was not yet an adult, the angles of his features were not particularly pronounced, but he was already beginning to resemble an adult. His upturned eyes, which seemed to have natural eyeliner, were the most striking feature among his facial features.
He's not particularly tall; when he stands up, he doesn't even surpass Hagiwara Kenmi—but there's nothing that can be done about it, as Hagiwara Kenmi height already exceeds the average height of Japanese men.
Even in a police station where height is a requirement, she stands out from the crowd, appearing exceptionally tall.
Height isn't important, as Morofushi Sora'aki is only 17 years old and can still grow taller.
No matter how you look at it, Morofushi Sora'aki is male; he's definitely not the kind of person whose gender is ambiguous or indistinguishable.
Morofushi Sora'aki looked puzzled at their reaction: "Why did you actually believe me? I was just joking."
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, anyone could see the "Are you all idiots?" meaning in Morofushi Sora'aki's eyes.
Hagiwara Kenmi: "..."
Matsuda Jinko: "..."
But when the two of them took Morofushi Sora'aki to a women's clothing store, they both fell silent as they watched the person come out of the changing room.
Matsuda Jinko: "Didn't you say it was a man?"
Hagiwara Kenmi: "...Don't ask me, I can't tell anymore."
Matsuda Jinko: "You promised that meeting me in person would be absolutely no problem?"
Hagiwara Kenmi: "Shut up—anyway, Sora'aki's gender is Sora'aki!"
"Giving up so quickly?!" Matsuda Jinko retorted.
In response, Morofushi Sora'aki touched the amulet at his waist and said in a serious tone, "Please call me Nozaki Umeko."
Nozaki Umetarou, far away in another world: "Achoo!"