In that room, all eyes were on Luke: Mason, Evangeline, Jack, and Allison. They all knew the truth. The key to escaping the tutorial was completing this mission. There wouldn't be another chance to enter Bastion, not without a full scale war and the loss of countless lives.

Luke's gaze dropped to Allison's hand, where the gender shifting necklace glimmered faintly. He sat in silence, elbows on his knees, weighing the risks. No one spoke. They just waited. Finally, Luke raised his head, meeting the four expectant faces.

"Fine. I'll do it…" His voice carried the weight of resignation.

Allison let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank you, Luke."

He buried his face in his hands, barely able to believe what he had just agreed to.

'Luke, don't worry. Your sweet and precious friend Artemis is here to support you in this beautiful journey of self discovery. By the way, you'll let your precious friend watch you bathe in your new female form, won't you? You don't want to be punished by fate again, do you?'

Shut up…

Mason turned back to the fortress map. "I'll have to disappear for a while, spend these last days closer to Bastion. I can't just show up at the festival and ask for an invitation after months away, it'd be suspicious. I'll need to rekindle a few connections and secure a second invite for Luke."

"One moment. I'm not feeling well," Evangeline said abruptly, bolting from the room and shutting the door behind her.

Only a few seconds passed before muffled laughter echoed back through the wood.

"I can hear you laughing, damn it!" Luke shouted, scowling as her cackles spilled through anyway.

When she came back in, her expression was composed and serious. She closed the door behind her.

"Finished laughing?" Luke asked flatly.

"Yes," she answered… then immediately broke down into laughter again.

Luke just stared at her while she struggled to breathe through the giggles.

"It's all right, Luke. You're making an important sacrifice for us," Allison said gently. "I'll lend you some of my clothes."

"Oh god… I never thought I'd hear a girl say that to me," Luke muttered, hands covering his face as reality sank in.

"Don't worry," Evangeline added, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I'm a tailor, remember? I'll craft a dress worthy of you."

When Luke finally lifted his eyes to her, he caught the smirk she was fighting to hide.

***

Luke spent the rest of the day slouched in his chair, mind elsewhere while the others laid out the plans for the days ahead. They had to set a few ground rules, some Luke demanded, others the group accepted willingly, knowing how critical the mission was. The first rule: no one outside the five of them could know about it. Which meant total secrecy, including the fact that Luke would be disguising himself as a woman.

To keep things safe, they decided to move into Evangeline's hideout. Staying there was smarter; it meant no chance of anyone spotting Luke in disguise as he left the fortress. They couldn't risk one of Bartholomew's scouts catching even a glimpse.

Before Mason split off, he handed Luke a dossier packed with everything he knew about Bastion's inner workings: guard rotations, patrol hours, restricted wings of the fortress, even the names of some of the maid assassins. Jack added his own analysis, ranking each individual by danger level. At the top of the list sat Erza Grimhart. Luke had to memorize it all, every shred of class data, every dangerous name.

The next morning, Mason departed for the Safe Zone alone, playing it cautious. His plan was to hole up in an inn near Bastion, reestablish contact with its soldiers, and even pretend he was trying to sell some tools he had made as a blacksmith. With luck, he'd reconnect with people like Oswald and slip his way into the festival, securing not just an invitation for himself, but for his "girlfriend."

A few hours after Mason left, Luke, Jack, Allison, and Evangeline headed for her hideout. Those still at the fortress didn't ask many questions once Allison said it was better to pause operations. Most assumed it was to avoid drawing attention while the wounded recovered, while the scouts finished mapping, and while they all waited for the next wave of event reward chests.

At the hideout's entrance, the four of them descended through the old well, stepping into Evangeline's underground refuge.

"Well then, time to take some measurements," Evangeline announced.

The other two immediately looked at Luke.

"What?" he asked warily.

Allison pulled the necklace from her inventory and set it on the table. "Y-you know… it's time for you to, um, transform."

"The deal was I'd only do that once it was time to infiltrate Bastion," Luke shot back.

Evangeline drifted closer. "And how exactly am I supposed to craft a beautiful gown if I don't even know my model's measurements?"

"I don't care. I'll wear whatever you've already got lying around," he muttered.

She inspected her nails as if bored. "I don't work like that. But if you insist… well, it'd be such a shame if the only outfits available for you on the big day turned out to be rather… revealing."

A vein throbbed in Luke's temple. "You… cursed… witch. You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Jack stepped between them. "Look, if you do it now, at least you'll get to choose what you'll wear. Best option. Don't worry, my friend, I won't judge you."

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'Yes, Luke, none of us will judge you. Go on. Show us the woman within.'

Luke drew in a long, heavy breath and sank into a chair.

Allison cleared her throat softly as she held the necklace out toward him. "It's better we start now, so you can get used to it. This isn't just about putting on an item, it constantly drains mana. You'll need to learn how to manage the flow, like controlling the water from a faucet. If you don't, it'll keep sucking you dry."

She held the necklace close to him. "Can I put it on your neck?"

"Go ahead…" he muttered, feeling the weight of what was about to happen.

'Look at you. Now it's your turn to have someone fastening a necklace around your throat. Truly, fate has a sense of humor.'

Allison stepped behind him. The chain settled against his skin, and though Luke didn't know if it was actually heavy, it felt like someone had dropped a boulder across his shoulders. She clasped it shut and touched the crimson pendant.

"The light will flare the first time. After that, it won't," she explained.

"Light?" Luke asked, confused.

And then it came. A blinding white radiance filled the room. Luke shot up from his chair, body convulsing as if on fire. His vision vanished. Every sense rebelled against him. His balance collapsed, his nerves screamed, and pain surged through his body like he was being crushed and stretched all at once. His eyes burned, his nose and mouth seared as though kissed by living flames.

When the brilliance finally began to fade, he staggered. The first thing he noticed was a strange weight pulling at the front of his chest. Then the air, cooler than it should have been, brushing against skin that wasn't where it used to be. His hair, already long, now cascaded further, spilling across his face.

Disoriented, he blinked into the dim light as the transformation settled. The fire was gone, leaving only the dull throb of a headache. Even the torchlight looked sharper, brighter than before.

He pressed a hand to his temple. "God… feels like I'm drunk." But when he heard his own voice, his hand flew to his mouth in shock. The tone was different. Higher. Softer. Feminine.

Luke swayed forward, his center of gravity still skewed. When his vision cleared, the three of them were staring at him, eyes wide, faces pale.

The headache faded. "Better now…" he muttered, then frowned. "Why the hell are you staring at me like that?"

Silence stretched.

"Holy shit…" Evangeline breathed.

Luke looked down at his hands. Slender. Feminine.

"How do I look? Don't tell me it screwed up and my face is deformed." Their stares weren't helping.

"Luke, you're…" Allison's voice faltered.

"Beautiful!" Jack blurted.

"WHAT?!" Luke barked back.

Evangeline rushed forward, grabbing his shoulders. "Luke! Damn it, your skin is flawless, you're delicate, you're gorgeous!" Her hand traced his cheek. "You look like a model."

"Stop touching my face!" He jerked back, horrified.

Evangeline swallowed hard. "A princess. He looks like a damn princess!"

'Luke… wow. You've turned into a stunning woman. Honestly, you'd make a perfect Helen of Troy.'

Luke ignored their comments and went searching for a mirror. Halfway there, he froze. He didn't actually want to see himself.

Please don't let it be my mother's face, he begged silently.

When he finally stood before the glass, a strange wave of relief washed over him. It wasn't her. The little he remembered of his mother didn't match the features staring back at him. A small part of him felt disappointed. Both his male face and this new female one carried nothing of her. The black hair, the sharper edges, that all came from his father. The man his mother had met back in the orphanage where she'd grown up.

Not even now do I look like her.

His hair hung longer now, his face fine-boned and delicate. But what really grabbed his attention was the weight dragging at his shoulders. The reason his balance felt off. Two very obvious reasons.

"Oh my god… I have breasts…" He shut his eyes, as if ignoring them would make them vanish.

A second look showed his clothes had reshaped themselves into a perfectly tailored female cut, adjusting seamlessly to his new form.

'Luke you're gorgeous. And that fine pair you've got there, plenty of women would kill for them.'

Luke wanted to check on his other equipment immediately, but dread kept him still. Please, universe. Don't let this mess with my loyal battle companion.

He looked at the libido potion in the pocket dimension. When I take the necklace off and change back, should I drink some of that? Balance things out a little?

'I don't think testosterone works like that, Luke…'

"Luke." Jack said, eyes wide. "I-if I weren't already in love with a girl back on Earth, you'd be my choice. You look spectacular, man."

Luke groaned. "Why did we even bring this guy along?"

"He'll be our link to Mason," Allison explained. "Running messages between the Safe Zone and here."

"And Jerry will make sure he's not followed," she added briskly. "Also, Shorty, don't come back through the well anymore. Use a different route when you want to reach us, and Jerry will signal me when you're close. We can't take risks. Oh, and I'll give you a shopping list. I need every material I can get my hands on. I'm going to make a dress that will make the women of the Safe Zone green with envy."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Luke shot back. "I just want something normal, all right?"

Evangeline had handed Jack a list, and he was gone. He'd stay in the Safe Zone, only checking in once a day or whenever Mason's progress needed an update, but he'd always head back. Never staying here.

"Alright, Luke. Wait—what are we supposed to call you?" Evangeline asked.

"Call me Luke." he shot back.

"No," Allison cut in. "We need to come up with a new name. Your girl name."

"Leave it for later," he muttered.

"And if someone from Bastion asks Mason for your name to put on the list? We should've settled this already," Allison pressed.

"Damn it…" Luke hesitated, then sighed. "Fine, you pick. I'm not doing this."

"How about Lucy?" Allison offered without missing a beat.

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "That was way too fast. You already had that picked out, didn't you?"

"M-maybe…" she admitted.

Luke buried his face in both hands.

"It's all so you can make it back to Earth," Allison reminded him gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're making an important sacrifice for all of us."

"That speech just makes it worse," Luke muttered.

He forced a deep breath and started counting in his head, trying to shove those thoughts aside. He avoided looking down. Better not see his own body.

"Enough complaining, Luke. Take off the armor pieces. I need your measurements," Evangeline said.

Luke pulled up his system interface and began unequipping everything.

"Wait!" Allison yelped. "You're really just going to strip off all your top armor and shirt like that?"

"Uh, yeah? Why not?" Luke asked.

"No. I'm not letting you stand there naked in that new body," Allison declared.

"But it's my body," Luke argued.

She tossed a strip of cloth at him. "Then use a blindfold if you're taking the chest piece off."

"You don't need to go shirtless. If you're wearing something light, it won't get in my way," Evangeline added.

Luke slipped into the rookie adventurer's outfit. The clothes molded perfectly to him, following the female frame without effort.

"Stand tall, my lovely model," Evangeline teased.

Clicking his tongue in irritation, Luke obeyed.

"Strike a few poses so we can get your measurements right, alright?" she said.

"You're just enjoying this, aren't you?" Luke shot back.

"Absolutely," she replied without hesitation.

Then she began taking his measurements.

"Operation Cinderella has officially begun," she announced.

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