"Brother, you're going to join the tournament, right?" Iris asked as she sat on the couch of her residence's living room.
Lux nodded his head. "But I'll be hiding my identity."
"Is it because of my father?"
"Not really. I just don't want to stand out."
Iris giggled as she looked at her stepbrother with an amused expression on her face.
"So, will you be wearing a mask?" Iris asked in a mischievous tone.
Lux replied with a smile as he took out the mythical mask that belonged to the Faunus Battle Regalia.
The mask was called the Mask of a Thousand Faces, but the number of faces that it could store in its memory were only two.
As soon as Lux wore the mask, something unbelievable happened. His body instantly changed. In just a short moment, a chubby boy with short black hair and light-brown eyes appeared in front of Iris.
The young beauty's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock. When Lux said that he would be using a different identity to enter the tournament, she didn't expect something like the scene in front of her eyes.
"Well, how do I look?" Lux asked.
His voice had also changed after wearing the mask, but his expressions were the same.
Iris reached out to poke Lux's chubby belly, as well as pat his chubby arms. She then reached out to pinch Lux's face and felt its softness. What surprised her the most was the fact that even though she tried to take off the mask, the only thing she managed to pull was Lux's skin, which made the latter cry out in pain.
"S-Sorry!" Iris immediately apologized. "Brother, this mask is amazing! Are you the only one that can take it off?"
"Yes," Lux said as he took off the mask, which allowed him to revert back to his handsome appearance. "What do you think? Is my disguise good?"
"Very good! I think even my father will not be able to tell that it is you."
"That's the plan. Since no one will know who I am, let alone how I fight, it's the perfect disguise for me."
Iris quieted down as she looked at Lux with a serious expression on her face. The Hal-Elf blinked once then twice because Iris' was staring at him as if she wanted to see through his very soul.
"Lux, can you wear it again?" Iris asked. "Please?"
"Okay." Lux nodded. He didn't know what Iris was thinking, but for some reason he felt that he should comply with her request.
As soon as Lux transformed into his chubby appearance, Iris walked up to him and cupped his face.
"I see… so that's it," Iris said softly as she stared at Lux's light-brown eyes.
"Um, Iris?" Lux couldn't help but feel anxious because Iris' stare never left his eyes. "Is there something wrong with my eyes?"
"No," Iris replied. "Even though you have taken a new form, the look in your eyes is the same."
"Really?"
"Yes. I've been observing Brother for a long time, so I can tell that the way you look at others is the same."
After she finished talking, Iris hugged Lux and rested her head on his shoulder. A minute later, Iris hand lightly patted Lux's round belly and giggled.
"Lux, I'd like to experience what it's like to sleep on your belly," Iris said. "Can we do that?"
"I don't mind," Lux answered. "But, let's do that when you are in Grandma's house. If for some reason, your father suddenly visited you and saw us together, he might kill me without asking for any explanation."
Iris giggled because what Lux had said was certainly possible. Her father wouldn't allow a random stranger to be so close to Iris without his permission. Even if he didn't kill that person, that person would still suffer from excruciating pain, which would make them wish they were dead.
Just as the two were about to continue their discussion, a knock was heard from the door. Lux immediately took off his mask and hid it inside his storage ring, and sat on the couch as if nothing had happened.
With a smirk on her face, Iris called out towards the door.
"Come in."
"Excuse me, Lady Iris."
Alicia entered the room, and opened the door for Lux and Iris' grandma, Vera.
The old woman entered the room first before Alicia closed the door and locked it behind her.
"Lady Vera had already told me that you're planning to join the tournament and asked me to become your guarantor," Alicia stated. "Are you now ready to register, Lux?"
Lux nodded his head to confirm his determination to participate in the tournament.
"Good," Alicia commented before tossing a blue crystal on the floor.
As soon as the crystal touched the floor, it transformed into a circular artifact that remained motionless on the ground.
"Lady Vera said that you're going to wear a disguise in the tournament," Alicia stared at Lux, her eyes filled with curiosity. "Wear your disguise and step onto the artifact. It will record your body's statistics."
Lux smiled before wearing his mask. He was quite curious on how Alicia would react after seeing his current form.
The moment his form changed that of a chubby boy, Alicia just nodded her head and made a gesture for Lux to step into the platform, which confused the Half-Elf.
"Um, aren't you going to say anything?" Lux asked the beautiful secretary who always did her work properly.
"About what? Your transformation?" Alicia arched an eyebrow. "Sorry, but I've been working with several Foxkin's as of late, and all of them are expert in transformations. If you showed this trick to me half a year ago, I would have been surprised. But now, I'm just numb to it all."
"Hah… it can't be helped." Lux sighed before stepping into the platform that recorded his overall stats. This record would be the one that Alicia would use to register Lux to ensure that no problem would arise during the tournament.
Only those who were aged twenty and below were allowed to participate in the tournament. Even if Lux changed his appearance, his bone age was still the same. This was how the artifact would ensure that Lux didn't surpass the age of twenty, which was the main requirement to join the tournament in Barbatos Academy.
"Your features are now recorded," Alicia commented after looking at the data that flashed in front of her. "Now, all you need to do is give me the name that you want to use in the tournament."
Lux smiled. He had thought long and hard for the name that he was going to use in the tournament. After Alicia, and Iris heard of the name, the two girls looked at Lux in a weird manner before chuckling at the same time.
Vera only smiled because she had already known the name that Lux would use in the tournament. From the name alone, the old lady could already see how everyone would react when the tournament in Barbatos Academy finally started.
"Lux, are you sure that this is the name that you are going to choose?" Alicia asked after she had regained her composure. "For some reason, I am already looking forward to how the referee will announce your name in the tournament."
"Me too!" Iris commented. "I want to see how everyone will react after hearing your name."
Lux smirked because this was the reaction that he was aiming for when he chose his name. Alicia stayed for a few minutes to have idle chat with Lux and Iris before leaving the room.
She was quite busy and there were still some things that she had to do. However, before anything else, she would go to the Headmaster's Office to make a report that Lux was going to join the tournament.
This was what Vera asked her to do, so that her son would be informed that the Half-Elf would also join the festivities.
'I just hope Lux doesn't faint in the middle of the fight,' Alicia thought anxiously as she knocked on the door of the Headmaster's office. 'Will he really be alright?'
To say that Alicia was worried about Lux was an understatement. The beautiful secretary was well aware of Lux's condition since it had also happened several times in the past when the Half-Elf visited Barbatos Academy.
However, since Vera had assured her that everything was going to be fine, Alicia had no choice but to believe the kind old lady, who had raised Lux with all the love and care in the world
