Chapter 90: Silver Soul (Earth Arc)

The Land of Love—this was the country's former name. It was once filled with couples openly displaying their affection, a place brimming with love. But one day, from beneath the earth, a colossal tower emerged, its surface obscured by heavy pixelation, an unsettling presence. This tower emitted a virus that caused all men’s most vital parts to wither and fall off, turning every man into an effeminate figure.

Yet, in this world, there remained one man wielding an unyielding steel sword—Kintoki Sakata. As the last true man on Earth, he held the right to embrace every woman in the world. But even such a man was searching for his rightful scabbard—the scabbard of a promise.

“Huh? The right to possess all the women in the world? What a joke! If he’s not the only sword left in this world, then let this sword take his scabbard by force, bastard!” Taketake Okakura stood before the mirror, examining her new body.

Today was his—well, now her—first day at school. The system had set yesterday for submitting documents, and in the Manghun world, Okakura Shugo was the half-brother, without blood ties, born from a remarriage after Tokiko’s mother’s divorce. Though he treated Tokiko like a beloved sister, he had secretly harbored feelings for her. After the arrival of the male lead, Kintoki Sakata, Shugo began a series of conflicts with him, becoming the biggest antagonist disrupting the harmony between the male and female leads in Manghun!

This was the new character setup that Koyama had told Taketake.

Taketake adjusted the black school uniform on her body. Now transformed into a boy, she stood at 181 cm tall, sporting a sharp black buzz cut and strikingly handsome features—undeniably a supermodel whose mere presence would draw the gaze of every girl on the street.

“Perfect!” Taketake clenched her fist as she looked in the mirror. She was this handsome now, she was sure she could outmatch Kintoki!

Suddenly, her bedroom door was kicked open. Tokiko, with messy long hair and sleepy, half-closed eyes, looked at her and said, “A-Take, where’s breakfast? Hurry up and make it, or we’ll be late.”

According to the system’s arrangement, Taketake and Tokiko—

“...” Taketake sighed. No matter what form the curly-haired one took, her nature was unchanging.

“Why aren’t you making breakfast?” Taketake turned to ask.

Tokiko brushed her long hair aside and yawned. “You’re the boy now, so boys take care of the girls. Besides, this body has such long hair; it takes me forever just to style it.”

Leaning close, Tokiko wrapped her arm around Taketake’s and softly pressed her chest against her, cooing, “A-Take, breakfast~.”

Three minutes later, Taketake was standing in the kitchen, apron tied, frying eggs.

This was bad—why was Silver Curl so adorable as Tokiko? Damn it! That bastard, now that he was a girl, she couldn’t even bring herself to kick him.

After finishing breakfast, Taketake sat at the table with a defeated look. Tokiko, now neatly dressed with a ponytail, bounced over and began eating.

“Ah, delicious~,” Tokiko said, biting into her egg with a satisfied smile—looking every bit the girlish charm.

Taketake shivered involuntarily. That Silver Tokiko had become so soft and cute—there was no way she and Kintoki wouldn’t get together, right?

Imagining a scene with Tokiko and Kintoki together made her whole body feel sick.

No, Tokiko, don’t forget your spiritual form down there is just like Kintoki’s!

Soon, after breakfast, they left for school. Halfway there, Tokiko was charmed by a cute sweets shop and dragged inside. When Taketake reached the school gate, she found her little sister Tokiko was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh? Where did she run off to?” Taketake wondered.

At that moment, a group of girls surrounded her.

“Wow! So handsome! He really is a boy!”

“So there’s another guy besides Kintoki!”

“He’s exactly my type! Handsome guy, what’s your name? What grade are you in?”

“Tell us your name, please!”

The enthusiastic girls grabbed at Taketake’s clothes, demanding her phone number and name. Taketake felt a headache coming on.

Though this was a virtual world, the sensation was so real. There were so many people, and the crush was suffocating.

“Wait, I’m a new student starting today. You’ll have a chance to meet me later, but can you please let me through now?” she pleaded.

“Aww! So cute, he even blushed!”

“He’s totally different from Kintoki.”

“Looks cold on the outside but shy inside!”

“I’m melting!”

The girls squealed, their gazes burning into Taketake.

Help... help...

Sweat trickled down Taketake’s back. Surely they wouldn’t pounce on her...

Just then, a hostile gaze struck her side. She turned to see Kintoki standing not far off, looking at her.

He lifted his chin slightly; his deep violet eyes were filled with pure hostility, icy and cold.

In that instant, Kintoki felt his unique status was threatened, and he was furious.

Seeing this, Taketake smiled provocatively at him, sneering as her eyes glanced contemptuously at his lower half.

Compared to her real Armstrong cannon, what he had down there was nothing but a mere screw! Hahaha!

“Ah, it’s Kintoki! We made you a lunchbox. Want to eat together later?”

Most of the girls immediately swarmed around Kintoki, but he didn’t even glance at them. Grabbing his bag, he walked away.

His scabbard was not meant for these girls; long ago, it had already been claimed...

“Ah, we’re going to be late!”

At the sound of that familiar voice, Taketake turned to see Tokiko suddenly appear from nowhere, holding a plastic bottle and crashing headfirst into Kintoki.

“...”

Taketake. This girl-manga-style encounter was making her, the male second lead, feel so heartbroken!

“Oops, I bumped into you, how clumsy of me.” Tokiko stuck out her tongue and tapped her head, perfectly embodying the innocent, soft little sister trope.

“...” Taketake wondered how that curly-haired one could act so convincingly like a girl. Was he really okay?

Looking at the silver-haired girl with twin tails, Kintoki was momentarily stunned. Could his scabbard finally be by his side?

Suddenly remembering that she was the great villain in Manghun, tasked with sabotaging the leads’ love, Taketake knew it was time to act!

She pushed through the crowd and rushed to Tokiko’s side, wrapping her arms around her waist and lifting her from the ground, gently brushing off the dust on her skirt.

“Really, next time be more careful, Tokiko. Are you okay?” Taketake asked in a low, tender voice, her eyes shimmering as if about to overflow.

At that moment, she portrayed a deeply affectionate supporting male character.

Whether it was her imagination or not, Tokiko shivered slightly, her expression as if she had just seen Godzilla turn into a fluffy bunny.

But Kintoki’s gaze was different. Seeing his deep, murderous look directed at her, Taketake felt a rush of satisfaction.

Being the villain wasn’t so bad after all.

Encouraged, Taketake turned to Kintoki and said, “Are you alright? Sorry, Tokiko can be a bit reckless. I apologize on her behalf.”

The words implicitly claimed Tokiko as her sister.

As expected, Kintoki’s face darkened further. He stood, eyes sharp enough to pierce Taketake, whose smile only grew wider.

At that moment, Tokiko shyly stepped closer, holding Taketake’s arm, and looked at Kintoki with bashful eyes.

“I’m sorry. Um, are you okay?” she asked softly.

Facing Tokiko, Kintoki’s expression softened. He smiled, “I’m fine, don’t worry.” Yet his eyes never left the small hand clutching Taketake’s sleeve. That sudden man was a glaring nuisance.

“Excuse me, can I have my plastic bottle back...?” Tokiko’s gaze gradually drifted downward, and Kintoki followed it.

“Eh?!!” Kintoki exclaimed. His golden screw was stuck inside the plastic bottle!

The surrounding girls screamed.

“Oh no! Kintoki’s sword is stuck!”

“The world’s only—no, the two swords—are stuck in a plastic bottle!”

“Kintoki, are you okay?”

Seeing Kintoki’s flustered face, Taketake couldn’t help but smirk. Looking down, she saw Tokiko’s expression mirrored hers.

That guy was definitely doing it on purpose.

“What’s going on here?” A female teacher resembling a gorilla in a bright pink tracksuit approached.

“Teacher Gorilla, Kintoki’s sword is stuck!” a girl cried.

Teacher Gorilla quickly spread her arms to block the crowd. “This is terrible! If Kintoki loses the only highlight of the Manghun protagonist—his manhood—he’ll fall from his lead role!”

“Teacher, don’t talk like I only have that!” Kintoki yelled.

“Don’t touch it carelessly. Just carefully take him to the infirmary.” Though she said so, next moment Teacher Gorilla grabbed the bottle and hoisted Kintoki up.

“Teacher! Could this be a worse way to hold him?” the girls gasped.

“Danger! The ball is flying!” A sharp shout rang out as a white ball flew from the nearby baseball field toward Kintoki.

Teacher Gorilla swung Kintoki and knocked the ball away.

“Wait! That’s not a baseball! There’s another ball and bat flying!” Kintoki shouted.

The red-haired girl catching the ball held Kintoki’s bat and ball, preparing to pitch.

“I’m up next!”

“Wait! Those are my ball and bat!” Kintoki ran over, gloved, ready to catch.

“Power Shot!” The redhead kicked Kintoki’s bat and ball away.

“Oh, it’s not baseball!” Kintoki yelled.

Thud! The red-haired girl’s powerful kick sent Kintoki’s bat and ball flying into the teaching building.

“Ahhh! My sword!” Kintoki shouted, sprinting toward the building.

“Is something wrong? This flew into the art classroom.” A girl with twin braids and thick glasses emerged, holding Kintoki’s bat and ball.

“Are you okay?” Kintoki felt a little relieved.

“Oh, because there were broken screws in the bottle, I fixed it while I was at it.” The bottle shimmered, and Kintoki saw his golden screw transform into a golden ship...

“Bon voyage!” Suddenly, Kintoki set sail with his sword...

“Ah! Kintoki’s sword went to sea!” The girls’ screams stabbed at Kintoki’s wounded heart.

Watching Kintoki’s dejected expression, along with Teacher Gorilla, the red-haired athlete, and the bespectacled twin-braided girl, Taketake couldn’t help but laugh. Being with these people was truly entertaining.

“Silver-san, let’s go. Class is about to start. Let’s finish up the last things,” Taketake said, looking down at Tokiko, who barely reached her chest.

“Now, I’m Tokiko~.” Tokiko raised her arm, flicked Taketake’s forehead gently, then laughed and ran off.

Taketake rubbed her forehead, watching Tokiko’s joyful retreat. She wanted to say—Silver-san, your running is too wild; she’s already seen the pink little panties under your skirt...

They entered the teaching building and found Teacher Gorilla. Seeing the two, a smile spread across her face.

“Are you ready?” the teacher asked.

“Ah, please let me in first, teacher,” Taketake said.

“I’m going in now. New students, hurry up and come in.” The teacher entered the classroom.

“Today, two new students are joining our class. New students, please come in.”

Taketake strode forward. As she entered, the girls inside screamed.

“Ah! It’s the handsome guy from this morning!”

Kintoki’s expression darkened with resentment. He had finally found the reincarnated Tokiko, but she looked so close to this man, and his sword had gone sailing...

Was his Tokiko going to be snatched away by this man, becoming another man’s scabbard?!

“Next, I’ll introduce my sister who transferred with me. Tokiko, come in.” Taketake turned to the door and spoke gently.

Tokiko walked in with a lively step.

Kintoki’s eyes widened—it was... Tokiko!

“Nice to meet you. I’m the transfer student, please take care of me,” Tokiko said with a small cough.

“Sorry for being late; I was looking for something…” Tokiko placed a golden screw on the desk.

Kintoki’s expression grew even more intense. His gaze fixed on Tokiko, who looked at him with tearful eyes.

“But thanks to everyone, I finally found it.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting…” Tokiko smiled, holding up the golden screw.

“...”

Taketake felt a pang of heartbreak. Whenever the male and female leads gazed at each other so tenderly, she, the male second lead, instinctively wanted to disrupt it...

Tears welled in Kintoki’s eyes. He stood up, eyes shimmering with tears, and shouted, “Little sister Tokiko――――” as he rushed to the podium, seemingly about to embrace her.

“Hmph!” In the next moment, Tokiko crushed his golden screw in her hand.

Kintoki froze, his expression as shocked as a certain Kawahama... (horse-faced).

“What’s there to cry about?” Tokiko said softly.

“Because didn’t we agree? We’ll definitely meet again.” Saying this, Tokiko pulled off her wig and mask, instantly growing from a petite 1.5 meters to 1.77 meters tall, her soft loli voice returning to normal.

She turned and wrote her name on the blackboard: “Let me reintroduce myself. I am the transfer student, Gintoki Sakata.”

Kintoki’s face darkened immeasurably. He stared at Gintoki for a long time, unable to regain his composure.

Seeing this, Taketake burst out laughing. “Hahaha, this is too interesting! Looks like besides me, there’s another man with a sword in Manghun.”

“By the way, Kintoki, I’m Taketake Okakura.” Taketake leaned against the blackboard with a smile.

Kintoki’s expression cracked even further.

“Sorry to disturb your protagonist’s sweet dream, but this Manghun is just your tombstone!” Gintoki sneered, raising the wooden sword in her hand and striking Kintoki down.

Kintoki was defeated by Gintoki.

Clang! The world of Manghun began to collapse. Taketake’s vision darkened, and she fell into darkness...

When she awoke again, she saw a silver-white head.

“Silver-san?” Taketake’s hoarse voice startled her. She was being carried on Gintoki’s back.

“Silver-san, is it over?” Taketake asked.

“It’s over. You stupid woman, if you kept going like this, you’d be finished too. With a wound that big in your abdomen, you still came to fight. When we found you on the rooftop, your forehead was hot enough to fry an egg, chief!” Gintoki didn’t look back, just kept walking forward with Taketake on her back.

“Good that it’s over. Silver-san, you’re so cute as Tokiko.” Taketake snuggled back, softly rubbing against her back.

“Tokiko? What’s that? I don’t remember.” Gintoki changed the subject, trying to forget her embarrassing ‘cute girl’ past.

“It’s fine, I remember it well enough…” Taketake chuckled lightly, resting her head on Silver Curl’s shoulder, suddenly feeling at ease...

“Forget it. That kind of thing only fills your brain with garbage and makes you an idiot.” Gintoki spoke but noticed Taketake hadn’t responded. Turning around, she saw Taketake had already closed her eyes.

“Silver-san... you still smell so bad...” Taketake mumbled with eyes closed.

“Shut up. If you complain again, I’ll drop you. You’re always causing me trouble, woman.” Gintoki glared with dull eyes but lifted Taketake to make her more comfortable.

The Kabukicho district was as lively as ever. Gintoki Sakata carried Taketake Okakura through the bustling crowd, slowly heading toward the Great Edo Hospital.

Whether you’re a thug, thief, gangster, escort, effeminate, or a hero—Great Edo Hospital welcomes every injured soul.

Author’s note:

I couldn’t resist posting a cute picture of little sister Tokiko. By the way, Tokiko turns out to have a youthful face paired with... quite the figure! (Oops!)