Speaking of which, with how pink and girly Nodaro’s outfit is… could it be he was originally a girl?

No, no, no! If someone with that kind of personality was a girl—

All my fantasies about cute girls would be brutally shattered!

“—Pfft!”

That very obvious stifled laugh snapped Green out of his daze. He hurriedly checked his own condition.

…Chilly.

There was this very weird sensation…

He could even feel his chest a little heavier than before.

…

Looked like the secret art had worked.

But the problem was—

Why the hell did my clothes change too?!

And why is it something this… humiliating?

Right now, Green—no, he should be called Rinko—

She wore a simple black-and-white set as the base, the plain outfit draped over Rinko’s slightly petite frame. There were no flashy accessories to dress her up; instead, that only made a quiet sense of purity spread off her. Especially that black-and-white haori marked with an “eye-but-not-an-eye” pattern— it gave Rinko an extra hint of untouchable holiness.

While Rinko’s mind was spinning a mile a minute, Lilith’s voice rang out again, dragging her—who still hadn’t fully accepted this body—back from her daze.

“Y-You’re… Green?”

“Ah, y-yeah… I guess…”

A gentle, delicate girl’s voice, clear like a silver bell, came out of Rinko’s mouth, making Lilith wonder if she was dreaming.

Right now, she was completely shaken.

That damn voice…

It was way too sweet!

When Lilith heard Green shout the name of the secret art, she’d already guessed what it might do. But even so, when Green actually turned into a girl and appeared in front of her, she was still stunned.

And also kind of wanted to laugh…

“Green, um… you’re Green, right?”

He knew this was such a bizarre thing that it was hard to accept, but Green still hadn’t expected even Mio to look at him like he was a stranger.

There was even a hint of fear in her eyes.

“Mio, of course I’m Green, I’m the same Green who was just standing in front of you!”

Maybe it was Green’s firm answer, or maybe Rinko’s gender-swapped voice was simply too sweet, but that trace of fear in Mio’s eyes slowly faded.

For Mio, no matter what happened, nothing was scarier than Green suddenly disappearing.

Just when Green was feeling a bit helpless and even thinking about changing back, the “1”-shaped stone slab under his feet finally changed.

Just like last time, cracks spread across its surface, and a white radiance burst out, covering Green for a second time.

When everyone came back to their senses, they saw the “1”-shaped stone slab finally look different. The symbol on it had vanished. Green hadn’t even had time to relax before the markings on the stone shifted again.

And the new pattern made Rinko feel a very strong urge to punch someone.

“N… Nodaro…”

The gender symbol on the slab vanished, replaced by a grinning, goofy face. That face was obviously Nodaro, whom they’d met on the seventieth floor.

Also…

Why did Nodaro’s smile look so sleazy?!

Green started regretting not beating the crap out of him earlier.

At the same time, the trial text popped up. Yet. Again.

“Proceed to the top floor and face the final trial. There, you’ll find everything you seek.”

But just as the trial text was about to fade, a crisp crack rang in everyone’s ears—

“—Snap!”

Before the words could disappear, Green leapt up and crushed them in his fist.

At the same time, Green cast “Ninja Secret Art: Sky Step – Gender Swap Jutsu – Turn Into a Cool Handsome Boy,” burst into smoke, and landed back on the ground in his original appearance.

“You’d better pray I’ve cooled off before I reach the top floor!”

Green muttered irritably, flinging the fragments of the trial text to the ground. The pieces turned into streaks of light midair and vanished from the space.

Right now, Green didn’t want to say another word. This kind of shameful move really was something you only used alone…

Ahem…

What the hell am I even thinking…

The path to the next floor had already opened, but Green just couldn’t bring himself to be happy.

He could already see Lilith teasing him with this for the rest of his life.

Luckily, that guy Lalta had snapped his eyes shut the instant Green turned female, then immediately turned his back. Satara’s gaze, though…

Even now that Green had changed back, his eyes still made Green uncomfortable.

In truth, the moment Green used his secret art, Satara felt like he’d glimpsed the truth of the human world.

Just as Green was feeling utterly ill at ease, Satara still walked over to him.

He hesitated, but his thirst for truth won out over his sense of shame.

Satara’s face looked like he was holding something in, his expression twisted up. You didn’t even need to ask; one look was enough to taste the mess of emotions swirling inside him.

Finally, he spoke—

“Lord Green, um, I have a favor to ask…”

…

A moment later, the two just stared at each other.

A few imaginary black lines popped up on Green’s forehead.

This guy…

He’s a real piece of work…

“Fine, I’ll give it a try when the time comes. Just wait for my word.”

“Really? Then let me thank you in advance, Lord Green!”

…

Thinking back on the brief talk he’d had with Satara the night before they set off, Lalta couldn’t help getting curious about what nonsense Satara was up to this time. On the road, he grabbed a chance to pull Satara aside, trying to squeeze something out of him.

“Hey you, what did you just talk about with Senior Green? Don’t tell me you confessed to him?”

“…”

Satara stopped walking and stared at Lalta in silence. Lalta thought he’d misspoken, but the next second Satara’s words hit him like a crit—

“There’s a term I once saw, ‘gay purple.’ It’s probably used to describe people like you.”

“???”

Satara gently smoothed Lalta’s purple hair, leaving the latter full of question marks.

“Nez-classmate, please don’t let your mind run wild. I’m no longer who I was before. The current me is complete. I found the true meaning of life and the truth of this world, and thus found my true self. Please don’t look at me with your outdated eyes.”

“What are you even talking about? …What ‘true you,’ what’s going on?”

Lalta’s attention was completely hooked, but Satara’s next words blew his mind even more.

“After Lord Green used his ninja secret art, I fully understood my feelings toward him. They’re purely feelings of gratitude. I had an epiphany. I’m deeply grateful that Lord Green pulled me out of that dark space.”

“What dark space?”

“You don’t need to know that. In short, Lord Green is like a second parent to me. I’ll never forget this favor as long as I live. That’s why I really like the current me, the me who can see his own heart clearly. So—”

“—I went and asked Lord Green for some pointers about the ninja secret arts. At the same time, I’ve already planned out my life. Once this incident is over, I’m taking a leave from school and heading to the Eastern Continent to search for a ninja village and learn their clone techniques.”

Lalta frowned. This idea didn’t sound simple at all. He strung together the keywords in that explanation: ninja secret art, liking his current self, clone technique…

“???”

Those few words instantly made Lalta think of one terrifying possibility. His brain blue-screened on the spot.

Th-this…

This blond idiot…

Is he serious?!

“I see. Then, let me congratulate you in advance, Satara Heligel.”

“Lalta Nez, thank you for your blessing. I’ll work hard on my ninja training!”

The worst part was that Satara even bowed to him with a dead-serious, heartfelt expression. Lalta couldn’t help feeling a strange respect for this classmate he didn’t actually know that well, silently giving him a thumbs-up in his heart.

After that, Lalta and Satara walked at the back of the group, chatting and laughing, the air around them tinged with a charming shade of purple. Green, meanwhile, strode ahead “with a beauty on each arm,” enduring Lilith’s teasing every now and then.

“Didn’t think Nodaro’s ninja secret art would work like that. No wonder you were acting so weird earlier… Tell me, you definitely had some filthy thoughts in that head of yours, didn’t you?”

Facing Lilith’s suspicious stare, there was no way Green was going to admit it.

“I didn’t, I swear, don’t put words in my mouth!”

“I also think it’s not good to assume the worst of people…”

“See? Lilith, you should learn from Mio, stop filling your head with such dark ideas all day. Look how— ow! My lady, please put away your divine flames, I was wrong!”

Amid the noise and bickering, they pushed through dozens—maybe hundreds—of floors in one breath, and they were starting to feel worn out.

Fortunately, it seemed the creator of this Trial Tower also sensed their exhaustion. On the floor marked “250,” they finally found a temporary resting spot.

There were no monsters on this floor. The space wasn’t big, with a small hut and some cooking gear and tree fruits outside. It was clearly designed as a rest area.

The earlier floors hadn’t been completely without places to rest, but the conditions were awful, nothing like this one.

“I’ll stay up and keep watch. You guys sleep.”

Green glanced around the floor and said that.

Outside, it was already deep into the night. Ever since reuniting with her party, Ais kept glancing in the direction of the Magic Sky Tower, like something was weighing on her heart.

One of her members finally couldn’t hold it in.

“Boss, stop worrying about them. It’s obvious they don’t need us worrying. Think about what our Silver Wolf Adventurer Party is gonna do next instead. We still haven’t finished paying off our debts!”

Ais sighed, took a sip of the drink in her cup, and focused her gaze on her silver greatsword.

“Alright, alright. We’ll keep taking quests tomorrow. But until they come back, no one is allowed to enter the Magic Sky Tower again. Got it?”

“Got it, Captain!”