I Became the Academy's Disabled Student-Chapter 301: Beauty

"The winner of the cross-dressing contest is...! First-year Ippchunban! The hot topic, cadet Lee Ha-yul!"

"......"

As most had expected, the winner was me.

Holding a trophy engraved with 'Birth Festival XXth, Cross-dressing Contest Winner Lee Ha-yul', I managed my expression on the stage, where thunderous applause poured in.

I had anticipated this, but winning for real stirred up a complicated mix of feelings.

After all, compared to the effort and sacrifice of the other participants, I had done very little.

I simply grew my hair a bit longer and wore a ceremonial gown over casual clothes. That was all, yet I easily secured the victory.

I was confused about whether I should be happy or sad...

"Next, the winner of the men's cross-dressing contest is...! Oh! Coincidentally, the same first-year Ippchunban! Cadet Baek Ah-rin!"

"Such an honor~"

The winner of the men's cross-dressing contest was Baek Ah-rin. She smiled brightly on stage and casually waved her hand.

There were fewer participants in the men's contest than in the cross-dressing contest, and after a close competition with Hong Yeon-hwa, Baek Ah-rin claimed the trophy.

In truth, it wasn’t so much about the quality of the disguise, but more about the voters' preferences.

In other words, Baek Ah-rin, who had a better reputation, was the winner.

"Wow~ Just by growing your hair a bit, you look completely different?"

[?]

As soon as the award ceremony ended, Baek Ah-rin giggled and skipped over to me.

Holding the trophy in one hand, Baek Ah-rin's gaze scrutinized my appearance.

Her gaze was a bit sharp. I awkwardly hunched my shoulders and turned my face away to avoid her eyes.

"Hmm... Oh?"

[Don’t tease me...]

"It’s from the heart! Seriously, something seems to have changed...?"

Baek Ah-rin brushed my cheek and tilted her head. Her hand moved up to grab a lock of my longer hair and rubbed it.

"Did you become more beautiful...? Did you secretly use magic or something?"

"Hey, why are you touching him like that?"

Suddenly, Hong Yeon-hwa rushed onto the stage and slapped Baek Ah-rin’s hand away.

Hong Yeon-hwa shot a glare at Baek Ah-rin before grabbing my shoulder and pulling me into her arms. I didn’t resist and quietly allowed myself to be pulled. Soon, I felt a full sensation supporting my head...

[Shock]

'......'

It wasn’t much support.

Hong Yeon-hwa, still in her disguise, had a smaller chest than usual. I knew it was because of the bandages wrapped around her, but even so, it was shocking.

The emptiness made my eyes tremble slightly.

"Hahaha! Look at that face, as expected, just like I thought!"

Baek Ah-rin, who had been watching my face, burst out laughing. She, too, hadn’t removed her disguise, so her chest had also been reduced in size.

"Ugh."

Hong Yeon-hwa, who had lowered her head to check my face, swallowed her laugh and gently brushed my cheek.

"Hey~ What's wrong?"

As she tilted her head back, a blatant mischievous smile appeared on her face. Her voice, filled with teasing, made me unknowingly nod.

"Something’s off..."

"Really? Doesn’t it suit you?"

"No... It suits me... but, I think it’d be better to take off the bandages..."

"Hmm, what should I do...?"

"Uuuu..."

Hong Yeon-hwa silently smiled and pressed her hand against both my cheeks.

"Ha-yul, you didn’t forget our promise for tomorrow, right?"

Then, a soft whisper near my ear made my face flush with heat.

It was a promise I made with Yeon-hwa on the last day of the Birth Festival. There was no way I could forget it.

"...Yes."

"Good, then."

I nodded slightly, and Yeon-hwa smiled with satisfaction, letting go of me.

...

After quickly calming the heat on my face, I made my way down to the waiting room, where my instructor and Professor Riana were waiting for me.

But Lee Ji-yeon had followed them. I turned my head, and Lee Ji-yeon awkwardly smiled and greeted me.

"So it’s not a wig, it’s real hair? But you say this isn’t your unique ability?"

"Of course, there’s no wig that would match hair like this."

"Hehe... It still smells the same."

The conversation quickly shifted focus.

Naturally, the main topic was my hair. Most of them were fascinated by how long my hair had grown, and some even buried their noses in it, sniffing it, including Yeon-hwa.

I sat down in a chair holding Se-yul in my arms, feeling the ongoing touches around me.

"Aside from the hair, the atmosphere feels a bit different, don’t you think?"

After observing Yeon-hwa’s actions, Professor Riana, who had just caught a slight whiff of my hair, tilted her head. Immediately, she softly cupped my chin, raising my face.

At her comment, everyone’s gaze turned toward my face.

The hands moved to my face as well. My forehead, eyelids, nose, cheeks, lips—hands caressed every part of my face, and I squeezed my eyes shut against the unwanted attention.

Se-yul, who had been in my arms, even curiously ran her hands over my face.

"...It does seem a little... No, it really looks like it’s changed?"

"Ummm... Did I change a little?"

"You got more beautiful?"

"A?ppa? You’re beautiful..."

[Th-thank you...]

...The conclusion was that something had changed. I, too, nodded inwardly as I observed myself.

Having the power of observation and knowledge, I could analyze it more closely.

It was clear that I had changed. My bones had shifted slightly, and the overall aura I gave off had altered.

‘Does this jack of all trades ability even have this function...?’

It was a function that enhances various qualities. I had thought it was just that, but I didn’t expect it to also correct my appearance.

And if my guess was right, the method of growth was quite unique.

The unique abilities are already hard to train, but this was not just a simple kind of training—it required some external influence.

‘There weren’t many with such abilities even in the earlier rounds... I can only think of the unique abilities from round 1 and round 3.’

While gently patting Se-yul’s back, I fell into thought.

After hearing the comments around me, it seemed like the change was positive.

They said I had become more beautiful... more accurately, I had turned into a 'beautiful type.'

‘What’s a beautiful type?’

Does that mean growing longer hair and wearing beautiful clothes makes one a beautiful type?

Then, does having short hair and wearing simple clothes make one ugly?

Is there an absolute standard for beauty and ugliness? Can beauty and ugliness be strictly divided?

If the jack of all trades ability shapes the person into a beautiful type, what standard does it use to distinguish beauty from ugliness?

Is it my own standard as the bearer of the ability? Or does the unique ability have its own criteria?

I still don’t know. I just realized it now. I’m not even sure if this is truly an appearance enhancement. It might be another similar function.

‘Ugh.’

The jack of all trades is my own unique ability. I might receive advice from others, but ultimately, I need to figure it out on my own.

During the Birth Festival, many had gathered at Syoram.

Families of cadets, officials from their factions, and even members from groups who had come to recruit talent...

As a result, the Birth Festival often serves as a reunion venue where people catch up and talk after a long time.

"I can see you're in a good mood."

So did the two of them.

The head of Taesan, Lee Ji-a, said this as the long conversation briefly paused.

The man sitting opposite her cleared his throat.

"Hmm, yes, but is it really that obvious?"

"Yes, somewhat."

The man who had been talking to Lee Ji-a, former head of the Fire of Fear family, Hong Seong-jin, smiled faintly.

‘How could I not be happy?’

As Lee Ji-a had said, he was indeed in a good mood. Not just good, but quite good.

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It wasn’t only Hong Seong-jin, but most of the members of the Fire of Fear family likely felt the same way.

It was the 4th day of the Birth Festival, and just yesterday, footage of the cadets’ fight for supremacy inside the Tower of Growth had been broadcast.

Hong Seong-jin had, of course, seen it.

‘He’s grown well.’

Hong Yeon-hwa’s remarkable growth was something to be proud of as a grandfather.

Though there had been concerns about the potential backlash from the Fire of Fear family’s power, the mischievous troublemaker had now grown adept at handling it.

It seemed there was no need to worry about the next heir to the Fire of Fear family.

And...

"Haha."

As Hong Seong-jin reminisced, he chuckled to himself.

With Hong Yeon-hwa and the child he had watched closely, Lee Ha-yul.

The child, well, it was hard to describe.

Wonderful? Amazing? That would be the correct words. The skills Ha-yul displayed were impressive enough to leave even Hong Seong-jin in awe.

But what made Hong Seong-jin happy wasn’t just the raw power, but how Ha-yul used the Fire of Fear.

‘He’s using magic with Fire of Fear? Not even with fire, but the original Fire of Fear as magic?’

It was nearly impossible for a Fire of Fear bearer to use magic. They could twist their body to use it, but it would be far more efficient to just use the Fire of Fear directly.

As a result, the Fire of Fear family hadn’t developed magic. Most members of the family who could use magic couldn’t handle Fire of Fear.

But Ha-yul was different.

He had processed and used the inherent flames of Fire of Fear as magic.

Was that all? He had also demonstrated the unique qualities of Fire of Fear, which were widely discussed.

The Fire of Fear. Unlike the legend of the destructive flames that could annihilate the world, it showed a harmless, warm side.

But it was never gentle. When facing enemies, it burned fiercely.

Though it was a different manifestation from what Hong Seong-jin had known, he didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.

‘We mustn’t deny change.’

Could change be positive or negative? Was it progress or regression? Or would it stagnate? Even someone as long-lived as Hong Seong-jin couldn’t be sure.

But instinctively, he felt that it was going in a positive direction.

The Fire of Fear was a unique ability passed down from the founder. Over generations, it had flowed through many other abilities.

The founder’s unique ability, that of his child, and the hereditary abilities that followed.

They had mixed, manifested, and continued.

Someone’s progress had resulted in the opening of fire, and someone’s steps had led to the evolution of fire, while another had created the sacred fire.

Hong Yeon-hwa and Ha-yul’s Fire of Fear would be the same. It wouldn’t appear immediately, but it would impact future generations.

"......"

As Hong Seong-jin reminisced, he suddenly tasted a bitter sensation at the tip of his tongue and swallowed his thoughts.

Hong Seong-jin had three sons.

The first, Hong Jin-seon, who is now the head of the family. Leaving aside his role as a parent, he had grown admirably and now leads the family with pride.

The third, Hong Jin-hyeok, is the current head of the Jeonghwa family. Though his talents were enough to compete for the head of the family position, Hong Jin-hyeok never coveted it.

The second son, however, is no longer present.

He became a source of disgrace and guilt in the family’s history, and was removed from the family tree.

Why?

Even now, Hong Seong-jin still wondered about it.

Unlike the stoic eldest son, the second son wasn’t frivolous but was more thoughtful, with a deeper mind than his outward appearance suggested.

His talents weren’t bad either. While slightly less capable than his two brothers, the second son was easily accepted by the others without jealousy, and he desired nothing more than to compete.

He wasn’t perfect, but he was a son to be proud of.

Then, one day, he disappeared.

When he returned, he had committed an unforgivable crime and disappeared again without a trace.

The eldest son, even now, continues to relentlessly search for the second son. As the head of the family, he is determined to atone for the sin of the second son’s crime, to clear the disgrace, and to personally punish the shame.

But Hong Seong-jin knew another reason.

The eldest, Hong Jin-seon, wanted to stop the parents from being the ones to kill their own child. So, he intended to end his brother’s life by his own hand.

‘Such a complicated family.’

The corner of the Three Great Families. Perhaps because of the numerous issues, their circumstances were incredibly complicated.

At least with the next generation of children—Hong Yeon-hwa and... the child Lee Ha-yul—their futures seemed secure, so he could finally feel some peace of mind.

It was then. The hologram in the corner of the table flickered. Hong Seong-jin, still tasting the bitterness, turned his attention to the hologram.

"Mm?"

The scene displayed a bustling street full of people.

Hong Seong-jin widened his eyes. The two children he had just been thinking about appeared in the hologram.

"Ha...?"

His mouth fell open because of their attire—it was unusual.

Lee Ha-yul, the pale child, had long hair flowing down from what had once been short, and his aura had changed quite a bit. He looked around, glancing in every direction, as though aware of the attention he was drawing.

Next to him was Hong Yeon-hwa, walking hand-in-hand with Lee Ha-yul, smiling brightly as they strolled down the street...

‘Is she teasing the child again...?’

Hong Seong-jin first suspected his granddaughter.

Though his precious granddaughter was dear to him, he couldn’t forget the mischievous troublemaker Hong Yeon-hwa used to be when she was affected by the impulses of Fire of Fear.

Also, it was true that Hong Yeon-hwa had asked him for something.

It was a reasonable suspicion.

[The source’s awareness begins.]

[The state of the mind “Beauty?” is changing.]

...

[Player’s correction system: Development level]

[Subquest “Beauty” accomplished.]

[Points are accumulating.]