Chapter 231: Look at this woman

The next day, Blake was sitting cross-legged on his bed with the System Shop open in front of him.

He had already been searching for nearly an hour.

And somehow, he still hadn’t found anything useful.

"What to do...?"

Blake dragged both hands through his hair.

"I can’t find anything like the Blank Mask, but that gives me a girl voice...!!"

He groaned and fell backward onto the mattress.

The interface remained floating above him, completely indifferent to his frustration.

He had already searched through disguise masks, but there was nothing that could give him a specific different appearance and change his voice, too.

There were masks that transformed him into a woman and gave him her voice, but the appearance was not Sage Larue’s.

He had also already tried searching for a voice-altering potion, to simply pair with the Blank Mask. But that had gone terribly.

The first potion he found was so expensive that buying it would reduce his remaining coins to around five hundred.

"I worked too damn hard to just... blow them away on a single item!!!"

There were other options, but they weren’t much better.

The temporary ones had a strict time limit that ranged from one to four hours, but they were far too expensive.

But the ones that costed less were semi-permanent.

Blake had stared at that one for nearly a minute before deciding that he absolutely did not want to gamble with something that could leave him stuck with a different voice longer than intended.

"I don’t know how to handle this..."

He sat back up, his eyes narrowing at the interface. He tapped the search bar again. ℯℯ𝘭.

"If I can’t change the voice separately..."

His fingers paused over the screen.

"Then I’ve got to find something similar..."

Anatomical transformation.

The System Shop refreshed, and several new products appeared.

Blake blinked.

"Oh."

He began scrolling.

There were transformation potions, single-use biological artifacts, temporary body-altering devices.

One particularly expensive item promised complete reconstruction of the user’s body.

Blake immediately skipped it.

"W-way too expensive."

He continued. Then, he found something different.

A small icon showed several identical silver capsules arranged neatly inside a case.

Blake tapped it.

The description expanded.

[ Anatomical Transformation Set — "Girlification." ]

Blake stared in silence.

He slowly lowered his hand.

"...Girlification?"

Despite the ridiculous name, the item itself was surprisingly impressive.

It wasn’t a mask or an illusion, it wasn’t even a potion.

The transformation set consisted of several units, each capable of activating or reversing a complete anatomical transformation.

That immediately caught Blake’s attention.

He scrolled down.

Unlike single-use transformation items, this one came with multiple units.

One unit could transform him.

Another could reverse the transformation.

And the set contained enough units for several transformations.

Blake’s eyes widened.

"So I don’t have to buy another one every time..."

The transformation wasn’t merely cosmetic.

The user’s anatomy would be altered completely according to the selected biological template.

That included skeletal proportions, muscle distribution, body structure, vocal anatomy, hormonal balance, and other biological characteristics.

Blake’s eyes widened further.

’Basically it’s simply an advanced mask that permits me to costumize...’

The description explained that because a completely different body could feel unnatural to the user’s brain, the transformation also adjusted how the brain processed the body’s new sensory information.

Balance.

Center of gravity.

Muscle feedback.

Vocal resonance.

Movement.

The brain would gradually adapt to the transformed anatomy so that the user could control it naturally.

It didn’t alter memories, change personality, replace the user’s thoughts, it simply allowed the brain to interpret the new body properly.

"This is it."

Then he checked the price, his smile became wider.

500 coins.

It wasn’t cheap, but compared to the voice potions, it was surprisingly affordable.

And more importantly, he wouldn’t be wasting all of his coins on a temporary effect.

Blake pressed purchase.

[ Purchase confirmed. ]

[ Dear Host has obtained: Anatomical Transformation Set — "Girlification." ]

[ Quantity: 6 transformation units. ]

[ Warning: Transformation will cause temporary unfamiliarity with the user’s altered anatomy. ]

"Obviously."

[ Additional warning: User may experience unfamiliarity with center of gravity, muscle distribution, balance, vocal resonance, and other physical sensations. ]

"Yeah, I get it."

For a moment, he simply stared at the empty space where the interface had been.

This was going to be strange.

"Okay."

He took a breath.

"It’ll be fine."

***

Blake arrived at the base later that morning, everyone was there.

Blake walked into the room carrying the small container.

"I was delivered something slightly different from a mask..."

Blake placed the container on the table.

"It’s this."

Alexis opened one eye, sitting up.

"What is it?"

"A transformation set, I guess you could call it that..."

Zlatan leaned forward.

"A transformation set?"

Blake nodded.

"They couldn’t find a mask that could change my voice properly."

Blake opened the container, six small silver transformation units rested inside.

Estelle looked at the unit.

"The voice changes naturally?"

"According to what I was told."

Zlatan smiled.

"That solves the biggest problem."

Blake nodded.

"That’s what I thought."

"Is it safe?" Myles spoke up for the first time, staring down at that set.

"Yeah..."

Blake picked each one up. Technically, he had to think of the woman he wanted to become, and her voice. About that, well, he was pretty used to memorizing that stuff now.

However, he had to say the name of the woman he wanted to become first.

"Sage Larue."

Blake swallows.

’What the... ah, I feel so weak..’

He stumbled ahead, and was immediately caught by Myles.

"Blake!"

"Damn it..."

***

"Ack!"

"Are you okay?"

Blake immediately rubbed his eyes, looking up at Myles, who was holding his head up, to avoid having it go against the floor.

"Huh what—"

Upon hearing that voice, he immediately slapped his mouth closed. He immediately looked down... he was still wearing the clothes he was wearing before. However, he noticed two very prominent changes.

"Ah..."

Blake immediately became flustered. It felt so weird, not having anything between his legs. And well, having a new weight on his chest.

"Idiot."

Alexis said, eyebrow raised.

"Give me a break..."

His, or rather her voice, immediately trembled. He couldn’t get used to his soft, feminine voice.

"Can you get up?"

He looked at Myles.

"I was warned that it’d be a little hard to adapt at first, but I didn’t expect to literally faint... maybe I won’t be able at first, so hold my arm."

He nodded, and slowly helped Blake up.

The whole way through it, he was trembling like a leaf.

"Does it hurt anywhere?"

"At least that much, I can say it’s not happening..."

"Your heartbeat is completely different, just like that time."

"That time? Oh yeah..."

Blake awkwardly placed a hand over his chest.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

It sounded normal to him.

"It’s the pattern that changed."

"I see. So I wouldn’t the able to tell..."

Slowly, Myles let go of him. For a good ten minutes, Blake was constantly stumbling, so everyone had to be careful and catch his... her body.

"I think I should already try and get used to this appearance now... let’s try the play out, Zlatan."

Blake stood opposite him.

Zlatan’s posture changed.

His expression became more formal, his movements controlled.

"Good afternoon, Miss Larue."

Blake immediately smiled.

"G-good afternoon."

Zlatan paused.

"Too stiff. I know you’re not used to being a woman, but you are not speaking with poise like you do with your regular voice."

Blake’s smile disappeared. Then, he tried again.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Nada."

"Miss, do you know me?"

"Who wouldn’t?"

Zlatan held in a laugh.

"I see, are you enjoying the evening?"

Blake paused.

"Yes. The event is rather impressive."

"Is this your first time attending?"

"Yes."

"Then what brought you here?"

Blake thought for a moment.

"My family recommended it."

Zlatan nodded.

"It is a good way to meet interesting people, you made the right choice, Miss Larue."

"I’m curious, though. You seem like someone who attends these events regularly."

"Of course, for business, I always have to travel."

Blake’s eyes brightened, but he didn’t immediately follow the opening.

Instead, he smiled.

"I imagine business must make traveling rather interesting."

Zlatan nodded.

"It does."

"What kind of places do you usually visit?"

"Several."

"Do you have a favorite?"

Estelle raised a hand.

"Blake, you definitely are improving your acting skills with this new voice, but again, the way you move is a little..."

Blake smiled, scratching the back of his, her head.

"Well, maybe I should develop that separately."

Zlatan stepped closer.

"You have to make the other person feel comfortable with body language, she’s right."

Blake nodded.

"Don’t think about being a woman."

"What?"

"Think about being Sage."

Blake became quiet.

"I guess, yeah. It makes sense but, it’s just something that comes with practice, okay?"

He didn’t need to imitate some vague idea of how a woman was supposed to behave.

He needed to become the specific person he was pretending to be.

A confident woman attending a prestigious event. Someone looking for a potential marriage partner. Someone who could speak comfortably with influential people. Someone curious without seeming suspicious.

Blake relaxed.

"Okay."

He tried again.

This time, his movements were a bit smoother, although his posture was still far too loose.

Then he glanced toward Myles, who was watching.

Blake grinned.

"See? I’m learning!"

Myles nodded.

Blake walked over and stopped in front of him.

"Are you still worried?"

"Yes."

Blake smiled.

"Don’t be. I’ve actually been thinking about having dinner, I want to treat you."

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

Blake shrugged.

"And after all this preparation, I think we deserve one evening where we’re not talking about missions."

"Alright."

Blake smiled.

He reached out and took Myles’ hand.

"Then it’s settled."

Myles looked down at their hands.

Blake laughed softly.

"Don’t make that face. I know you’re not used to this appearance but, you’re making it far too obvious."

Myles looked back at him.

Blake grinned.

"I’m picking the restaurant."

"Fine."

Now, he set the whole thing up, at least.

’I wonder how it’ll feel to change back to my original appearance though...’