Ch.1 Apparently Mistaken For a Girl, My Encounter With a Unicorn

TL Note:

Here comes the new series I'll be translating~! 🎉🎉

This series is called "I've been Befriended by a Unicorn, So I'll be Streaming a Dungeon Run... It Won't Listen to Me Unless I Crossdress, So I Have to Crossdress".

This one comes from the same author of the other series I'm translating (the drunken little girl one), so there will be some similarities between them, but this time it's not a full TS, just a crossdressing boy.

I hope you enjoy!

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"Thank you very much—... phew."

I look up at my watch and feel relieved to realize that my shift will be over soon.

"Even though they're just part-time jobs, juggling three is probably a bit tough... but I'm almost done with them."

It's almost evening, and from the cash register, I can see that outside there's a group of students in school uniforms—and conspicuously wearing their "equipment"—students about my age heading to a dungeon after school.

Dungeon.

What appeared when I was a child has now turned this world into where, if you have the right aptitude, you not only never have to worry about making a living, but striking it rich is commonplace.

Initially, the world was in chaos due to monsters overflowing from dungeons that suddenly appeared all over the globe, but now all dungeons are managed, and dungeon exploration, which also serves to cull the monster population, has become a major industry.

That means even students who can only work part-time... no, precisely because of that, they can earn pocket money that's far beyond what you'd get from just minding a shop.

Moreover, it's a dream job where you can fight with weapons and magic just like in a video game, have fun with your friends, and even become popular by streaming it online.

It can be a part-time job while you're a student, or it can become a full-time job afterward.

That's why I wanted to be one too.

..."Wanted" to be one.

"If only I had the aptitude..."

Yes.

"You can't enter the dungeon unless you have the right aptitude."

That's the fixed rule.

After all, fighting monsters that are far stronger than wild animals is not a weak, ordinary person simply can do.

It's scary to begin with.

I'm even scared of the barking dogs in the neighborhood.

That's why, if you have the aptitude, raise your level and skills, and now there's detailed information on "how to start as a beginner," if you dive in and train according to that information... you can earn far more than an average office worker.

Moreover, dungeon streaming is a form of entertainment these days, so the more popular you become, the more money you can make from it, and above all, you become famous, build an incredible network of connections, and your future is secure...or so it seems.

Or so it seems, or so it seems.

...Of course, because I don't know the details.

My skills didn't come out during the school group field trip.

Every single year from elementary school to the second year of high school.

Actually, strictly speaking, that's not quite right.

Lying just because I'm sad is wrong, isn't it?

I seem to have manifested something—"apparently", but since the conditions for me to become stronger within the dungeon were unknown, it's been "put on hold".

Well, I'm practically the same as if I've never manifested anything.

...Even though I was taken to dive many times by guides throughout elementary, middle, and high school, no results came out, so I guess I just didn't have the talent.

That's why I'm living a life where I have to work multiple part-time jobs.

Instead of the glamorous world of dungeons, I ended up in the countryside where there are few job opportunities, and the required skills are low, but I'm living a life juggling part-time and contract work because the hours are flexible.

...Well, that's just how life is, I guess.

A select few brilliant people are intelligent, athletic, or have some kind of talent, but the vast majority of "others" like me are different.

I'm used to it now, though.

Besides, I don't dislike this kind of life doing routine work that anyone can do... Oh, excuse me, a customer.

"Welcome!"

"Hello, how are you today... huh, Hoshino-senpai?"

"Oh, Mitsumiya-san."

The person who came in through the entrance was Mitsumiya-san, my "former" junior colleague.

She "was" my junior in the literature club in high school. Shs's quite sophisticated for a literature club member, loves to talk, and is apparently very popular because she's cute.

Seriously, this girl always dresses up so nicely, so I wonder why she joined a gloomy literature club where nobody talks... She was always just reading manga and seemed bored.

Because of that, everyone seemed uncomfortable... but it seems like they got used to it eventually.

"Like I said, since I'm younger, please just call me Rio... wait, senpai, were you scheduled to work at this time?"

"Ah, yeah. The person who was supposed to come in the morning couldn't make it..."

I answered with a groggy head from lack of sleep and staying up all night.

Hmm, i'm feeling kind of fuzzy.

"What?! You're working alone for over ten hours again?! You shouldn't overdo it... Oh, look, Yuzuki-senpai, your cute face is being ruined by those dark circles... Tanaka-senpai, you should at least do something about it at times like this..."

—Calling a man "cute" isn't exactly a compliment, you know...

Well, that's fine, it's better than being told by another man that I'm "feminine and weak."

But it still hurts.

I'm a man, after all.

I do have some pride as a man, you know.

It's small, though.

"Oh, but Mitsumiya-san came, and it looks like the other part-timers are coming too."

"Ehh—, I was looking forward to being able to go in together though..."

The person who's on the next shift after me comes in from the back room and says, "Good work today."

"Haha, that's a shame. But I've been spaced out since dinner last night, so I don't think I was able to talk much."

Ah, I'm finally free...

I stretched my body and realized how stiff it had been.

"Mitsumiya-san too, go on."

"...That's really disappointing."

With her lips turned down and looking genuinely disappointed, she heads towards the back room, glancing at me briefly.

...Since she's a talkative girl, she never runs out of things to talk about with me, even though I'm an ex-student, I still have a connection with her to some extent from my high school days.

That's why she seems to like me as someone to talk to... Apparently.

...Well, while I'm talking to Mitsumiya-san, it feels like I'm back in high school, so I'm happy about that, and more than anything, it's fun talking to her because she's my childhood friend.

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"Phew... I'm tired..."

I trudged home, basking in the fresh air and sunlight for the first time in over 10 hours.

My eyes hurt because I suddenly went from artificial light to the bright midday sun in nature.

"...I need to get a qualification...I'm not good at studying...and even if I did, there probably wouldn't be any jobs in this rural area."

I heard that they are currently experiencing a labor shortage.

They say that no matter how much they raise the hourly wage, they still can't find enough people.

...Well, that's only true for metropolitan areas.

This has nothing to do with the countryside where I live.

So, should I just move to the city?

First of all, the cost of living will increase, so it's impossible unless I have a considerable amount of savings before I go.

To begin with, my family home is here, so rent alone accounts for a significant portion of my earnings.

...First of all, I'm working to support Okaa-san who's sick, so if I move to the city, who will take care of her?

Besides, transferring schools in my second year of high school is just...

"................................................"

—If only Otou-san had stayed behind.

"Don't think about the guy who abandoned Okaa-san, me. Especially someone who hasn't sent us a single yen in over ten years."

The bus stop is inconveniently far away, so I end up walking home from work, taking the same old route.

It's about a 30-minute walk, so I can take our time.

I like this kind of thing.

—I took a leave of absence from high school to work part-time jobs for Okaa-san.

I'm about to be completely left behind by my classmates and treated as being in the same grade as Mitsumiya-san and the others.

I really don't want to have to repeat a year... But Okaa-san's medicine is expensive and not covered by insurance.

Even so, I live in my own home in the countryside, so my living expenses are significantly lower. It can't be helped.

"I'd be thrilled if Yuzuki-senpai were in the same class as me!" Was what Mitsumiya-san said—but I know without even thinking about it, how students who repeat a year are treated in high school, and besides, I'm timid and not good at talking.

It will undoubtedly be an uncomfortable situation.

I know it's not okay to keep things like this forever, but at least until Okaa-san is able to go outside, I think it's alright to stay this way.

With that in mind, I went to the supermarket near my house to buy groceries.

I was walking home with a rustling plastic bag in each hand when...

"Huh?"

Something is peeking out from the bushes... I wonder what that is...

"A stuffed animal? No, it seems to be breathing... so it must be a living thing, right?"

Something white and round.

It suddenly casts a glance at me.

"................................................"

That's how—I accidentally stumbled upon the "unicorn"...and how it all started.

ToC | Next

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Author's note:

If you enjoyed this and thought, "I want to see more cross-dressing boys," "I love cross-dressing," "I can't wait to see Yuzuki-kun treated like a princess by everyone," "This is interesting," "I want to read more," or "I want to support this," please leave a heart or a supportive comment at the bottom below, and if you haven't already, please rate it with ★★★ and follow me from the table of contents.

https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818023211929600076

Also, it shares the same worldview and tone as the main story, "The Story of How I Was Hiding in a Dungeon After Being TS'd, But Was Discovered by Idols and Became a Famous Streamer", which has returned to the main storyline. I think you'll enjoy it even more if you read both.

https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330662854492372

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