Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Aureo Uber

“Mission Accomplished (nya)!”

The moment they laughed and said so in unison, the power of the white piece of paper that had served as a relay was finally exhausted, and my consciousness that had been dreamily looking at a different world was pulled back and returned to the world in which I now live.

I was in a room of a deserted Internet cafe attached to a train station. My body, which had been frozen in a sitting position for a long time, was so stiff that when I stretched out lightly, I could hear cracking noises coming from all over my body.

“… Looks like they’ve stabilized without incident. It was chilling even for me at one point… but now that I no longer have the means to interfere, I can only hope that they do their best.”

I couldn’t directly interfere with the other side due to the circumstances surrounding me. If I tried to cross over there with my body, there’s a high risk that I would invite some unwanted guest to come over here. Therefore, as a compromise, I had slipped a few pieces of paper into that person’s belongings… to catch “those two’s” attention, and to introduce “her” to her inner world… Such was the minor assistance I could be able to send them, but now that I had used up all of the pages, I could no longer interfere or even look at the situation.

… Suddenly, I started to mock myself. Why did I care so much about “her” anyway? Considering my purpose, it was already accomplished for me when I sent “her” over there. In the worst case scenario, it would have been fine if she became those villains’ plaything, as long as she could spread her seed to the other world.

In the first place, the formula for sending the target to the other side even included a description of how to rewrite the target’s mind to suit my own needs. However, once I was certain that the player chosen to reincarnate into that race was the rightful candidate, that description was erased. I knew that it would be an extraordinary hardship, considering the integration with other techniques.

Four train stations away from where the company building was located. From there, it was a ten-minute walk. I arrived at the address written in the note. It was on the outskirts of the same city, on the edge of a quiet neighborhood. A number of fences lined a large plot of land that was recently given away when a large landowner passed away. Large commercial facilities, nursing homes for the elderly. Amidst the rush of construction, there was an ordinary one-story house that looked like a private home.

Its entrance was tightly sealed. The residents of that house… a pair of brother and sister, not quite reaching adulthood, were victims of a hundred missing persons case that’s currently making headlines, and their whereabouts were still unknown.  Another person in the vicinity, a son from a nearby sword dojo, is also reported missing, causing concern among nearby residents. In fact, if I looked closely, I could see the missing posters all over the neighborhood.

I went under the rope that was blocking the path. No problem. The surrounding security had already been wrapped up, and it’s nowhere to be found at this time of day.

Because the reason I came here was to investigate in this house.

There was a famous support player nicknamed “Princess” among the players.

The name first appeared in the first officially sponsored avatar contest. In the beginning, it was widely believed that corporate productions would occupy the podium anyway, and in fact, there was a wide gap in the degree of perfection between private and corporate productions, except for the avatar created by a single individual, who beat out a host of other companies to win the competition. Moreover, the creator at the time was only a 13-year-old child.

A 13 year old girl could create a work of art that surpassed the avatars of many other companies. Well, it might be possible if she was very talented. In fact, the modeling data sent to us with the application for the employment examination was really excellent, and we could see traces of her high level of talent and study. I would like to hire her immediately myself.

But that was the present I was talking about. So what was it about a 13-year-old girl’s first work that was so dainty that even the recent works made by those same hands were hazy in comparison? Wasn’t it because… ‘the original model existed’?

… And that brought me to this place. That avatar looked too much like the person in my memory, albeit much younger and with some differences.

I put my hand on the key to the electronically locked door and muttered a few words, and the door was unlocked with a clunk. When I opened the door, I saw an indoor space with almost no steps and handrails everywhere for catching and standing. The structure seemed to be centered on a hall that combines the kitchen and living room into one, each of which was surrounded by adjacent rooms.

I stepped forward and found the room I was looking for… a Japanese-style room with a Buddhist altar sitting inside. Opening the tightly closed door of the altar, which was apparently well maintained, as if never missing a day of cleaning… I found it.

The photo of those siblings’ parents, who had died in an incident years before, was there. What was reflected in the photo was unmistakably the image of “hers” I had been searching for.

“… Ha, haha, hahahahaha… I thought I had everything under control, but I could never have guessed that what I was looking for existed so close by… What a ridiculous turn of events… hahahahahahaha!”

The “jewel” that was supposed to have been sent away with me, but slipped out of my hands and I could never find her, no matter how long I worked for it. I had no idea that she once existed so close by. I could only sneer at the fact that I found her so easily and unexpectedly. A few drops trickled down from the corner of my eye.

Her long hair, which used to reach her waist, was now neatly trimmed around her shoulders. However, her face, strangely enough, had not changed much. I had always been concerned about her childish face, but it seemed that it had not changed much with the birth of her child and the passage of time.

Everything made sense now. The girl that the avatar “Iris” was based on, was without a doubt… my little sister.

I also picked up the family photo that was lying next to it. It showed four people, parents and children. In the center was my smiling sister and a dark-haired Japanese man with a good-natured look, smiling calmly as he stood by her. A dark-haired girl of about 5 years old, who looked like my sister but had Asian features, grabbed the pants of the father figure and looked shyly at the camera.

And.

A boy about 10 years of age, turning away embarrassedly while being hugged on the shoulders by my sister.

With an appearance that at first glance could be mistaken for a girl, he had a face that bore a striking resemblance to my sister’s, and his hair… was silver like mine.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris

“Did we win…?”

Reiji-san, who had released his “zanshin” stance, looked up at the falling particles of light and muttered to himself, stunned.

All the residents of this town had evacuated, and I could only see the silent, snow-covered scenery.

… The malice I perceived earlier was no more.

“Yes… it’s our victory.”

“… Man, it was tough… I couldn’t take one more step.”

After Saul-niisama’s declaration of victory, Reiji sat on the ground in exhaustion. Almost empty of magic power, my wings disappeared from my back and my feet touched the ground again. The sick feeling of lack of magic power immediately hit me, and I felt wobbly on my feet, but that’s not the point now.

“Reiji-san! Nii-sama!”

“Woah!”

“Calm down, will you?!”

I jumped between them and embraced their large bodies. As if to confirm their presence, their warmth… their safety.

“You’re alive, aren’t you?! Do you feel wrong anywhere?! Where does it hurt?!”

“I-I said calm down, okay?!”

“Haha, don’t worry, we’re alive and well. All thanks to you, Iris.”

For a while, I looked at their bodies to check for injuries… but I couldn’t see anything, anywhere.

“… Ah… (sobs)”

I finally felt at ease after so long, My knees gave out, and my tear glands started to burst.

“Waaaaaaaaaah!! T-Thank goodness, you… you both are alright!”

“Yeah, uh… thanks to you, we’re all alive and kicking. We’re dead tired, though.”

“Sorry for making you scared. I’m really sorry, okay?”

“(sobs)… Don’t think… I’ll forgive you…! Both of you… you really went and… almost died on me…! Do you know how much I hate being left alone…?!”

I could no longer stop the large tears from spilling out, and I continued to cry like a child for a while as the two of them fussed over me.

“How are you feeling now?”

“(sobs)… I’m… fine…”

Gingerly, I wiped away the remaining tears with my hand.

…I knew this was going to happen. What I was going to be asked, I couldn’t run away from it.

“… So, just to clarify once you’ve calmed down… ‘Which one’ are you now?”

I shuddered at his words. It’s true that I’d settled the matter in my mind, but I was not entirely confident that it would be acceptable to both of them.  They were both trying so hard to keep the original “me” from disappearing. Still, I had to say it. Because that was the responsibility of me, who had become a single personality.

“… I could be both, could be neither. All of ‘Kuga Yanagi’s’ memories, experience, emotions exist within me… I’m certainly aware that I’m me, but at the same time, I’m aware that I’m ‘Iris’.”

Once, I cut off the words. I was afraid to tell them the rest. But I couldn’t remain silent, either.

“In other words, my existence right now is that of a girl named ‘Iris’ who inherited all my memories from before… I think.”

I felt tears welling up in my eyes again, but I couldn’t let them fall out now. If I cried, they would surely accept my answer anyway, but I’m sure would be a cowardly thing to do that took advantage of their conscience. Biting my lips, I waited for the next words of the two people who were struggling to come up with a response.

… I was scared. I shuddered to think what would happen if they rejected me. Even if I said that my consciousness was my own, my tone of voice and thoughts had now become Iris’ without me being conscious of it. Even if I said that we are the same, I had changed so much since I was “him”.

“Ah…”

My body trembled at the sound of Reiji-san’s voice. I wanted to hear what he had to say. I wanted to be acknowledged, not rejected. But at the same time, I didn’t want to hear what came next. If he was going to reject me, I’d rather he said nothing. Two contradictory emotions stirred up thoughts that went round and round in my head.

Pat, pat

I felt a hand being placed on my head. Then another one.

“You’re overthinking it. Don’t be so scared. I’m just trying to figure out what to call you from now on.”

“Agreed. Especially me, I find it complicated as to whether I should treat you as the ‘Onii-chan’ of before, or I’m ‘Onii-sama’ from now on.”

I pouted as they kept patting my head like that.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to reject you. You are who you are, right?”

“Yes, yes, big brother or little sister, you’re still my precious family. Reiji, though, he’s… kukuku…”

“Cease, you dumbass!! Don’t. Say. It!”

Did they… accept me?

“So anyway…”

Reiji turned to look at me, his face blushing for some reason.

“I’m counting on you next time, Iris.”

Saul-niisama, on the other hand, was still patting my head and smiling.

This time, I couldn’t stand it any longer. How much water had I drained from my body today? My eyes, which had dried up, began to fill with drops again, and the scenery became blurry.

“… Yes, Reiji-san, Saul-niisama!”

My tears continued to spill, but there was now a smile on my face.

“… Excuse me, nya. Is this touching family scene over yet, nya?”

“”“… Ah.”””

An awkward voice called out from behind me. I shouldn’t have, I had completely forgotten. Those two also awkwardly turned away, as if remembering the same thing as me.

“Welp, I’m totally forgotten… Even though I came all the way out here… making such a grand entrance… I feel so hurt, nya…”

“Ah, erm, sorry about that…”

Oh no, she was completely crouching down and scribbling on the ground. I’m really sorry.

“Uuuh, this feeling of abandonment can’t be healed unless you listen to my request, nya.”

“W-Wait a minute-”

Nii-sama tried to say something, but I took over.

“If I can help with that, then yes.”

Thinking back, when I was caught wandering alone in the town out of desperation, she had taken care of me. Had I not met her, I would not have had the courage to go looking for those two, and then… The thought of what might have happened sent chills down my spine.

So at least, I’d like to repay her kindness.

“… Really?! I’m not going to listen to you if you say no later, you hear!”

“Eep!… Um, yes, since you’ve helped me out so much today, I wouldn’t mind…?”

With a slight drawl, I answered to Milly-san, who’s back to her element and grabbing my shoulders vigorously.

It’s going to be okay, right…? Well, she wasn’t the type to do something bad to me… probably.

“An angel has descended… What should I choose, that one looks good, this one too… nonono, for such a beauty, maybe that newly made…”

Milly-san was happily thinking about something while looking in another direction. It seemed that her mood had recovered, which is a relief.

“Aaaah… I don’t know what to choose anymore… Well, she’s not gonna hate me for this, right…”

…By the way, what was Nii-sama doing? He had been trying to say something for a while now.

“Well then, let’s get going before we get cold… What’s the matter, Iris? And you too, Reiji, you’ve been weirdly quiet.”

“… Ah, um… my waist seems to be numb again. I can’t stand up.”

I was embarrassed to say that from the waist down, I couldn’t even move a muscle. Fortunately, the snow around here was gone, either blown away or evaporated in the last battle. Otherwise, my bottom would have been soaked by now.

… On the other hand, the beautifully laid cobblestones were also totally wrecked, and repairs were going to be difficult.

“My bad, I’m at my limits too… I can’t even move a finger…”

Reiji-san sprawled out his limbs and sounded as if he was about to fall asleep. The life force consumed in the use of his sword could be healed, but fatigue seemed to be the only thing that I couldn’t heal, and this pained me to look.

“Doesn’t look like we have a choice here. Let me call for help…”

When Saul-niisama was about to take action…

“Oh, if it isn’t the two travelers! And you’re the person who escorted my wife and the townspeople… Milly-san, is that your name? And the young miss too… Thank goodness, you’re all safe!”

“Eek?!”

The sudden loud voice of an unknown male coming from behind me made me let out a strange yell, and I reflexively hid behind Saul-niisama, who was just in the direction where the voice was coming from. When I peeked fearfully out from the shadow of Nii-sama’s body, I saw a man in his late thirties with tanned skin, muscular and strong, yet somehow elegant, who seemed to be engaged in hard work.

“Good to see you, Mayor. Allow me to introduce the mayor of the town we’re staying at, Iris. He’s Mr. Rudolph, Mrs. Miranda’s husband.”

“Ah… Thank you for taking care of us… And I’m sorry for not having visited you even once…”

Even though I’d been under his care for days now, we’d never met… I must have been terribly rude to him…

“It’s no problem. I’ve heard about your situation, and I’m also indebted to Reiji-san and Saul-san here. You are an excellent healer, and it seems that you have helped several people in the town, so please don’t worry about it. Besides…”

His gaze turned toward my face, and for a moment my body stiffened.

“You and Saul-san really are brother and sister. I now understand what my wife said after meeting you here for the first time.”

I couldn’t help but keep hiding behind Nii-sama. I didn’t feel any bad feeling from him, he was just complimenting me, but… I still seemed to remain a little uncomfortable with the gaze of men I don’t know yet.

“Please pardon us, my sister isn’t good with men…”

“Oh, that was rude of me. It’s certainly not right to stare at such a young lady, is it?”

The mayor looked away from Saul-niisama’s follow-up, scratching his cheek apologetically. He seemed to be sincere, so I fearfully showed my face to him.

“So, while I have a lot of questions for you, including the light from earlier… You all look exhausted, so we’ll get to that later… Though, could anyone tell me where that monster went? I can’t see it anywhere.”

The four of us faced each other. Yes, we defeated it.

I was sorry to think that he, the mayor of this town, had a lot of work to do from here, such as recalling those who were evacuated, assessing the damage, and repairing the town, but still, the threat was gone.

However, a “wound” had appeared and was probably still around that hideout, which is concerning to me. But when I saw everyone’s faces, I found it difficult to talk about it. Nevertheless, the feeling in me was that I felt no threat from it at all, and it would cease to be a problem in a few days.

I gave everyone a nod.

“Man, I’m so beat. But looks like we don’t have to worry anymore.”

“I would appreciate another opportunity to negotiate on this matter.”

“We didn’t lose any of our possessions, nya, so I’d love it to see a little more color on them, nya.”

“Come on, everyone, don’t be so mean. I’m sorry but, I don’t think everyone’s serious either, so no pressure, okay?”

The mayor’s eyes turned black and white as each of us suddenly spoke in a casual and silly tone.

“Erm, what are you talking about…?”

Laughter spontaneously spilled out from everyone, and the four of us said in unison.

“Mission Accomplished (nya)!”

After all, the quest wasn’t done until the report was made!

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Reiji

“… Dammit… Hey, you still alive…?”

“Somehow, yeah… I could ask you the same question myself.”

“Unfortunately, looks like this is as far as we go…”

The shadows were already all around us, completely surrounding us as we stood back to back, barely holding up our swords.

The sun had long since set, making it difficult to see them in the darkness.

There was no power left to feed to my sword, and that meant I no longer had an effective means of attack.

Saul’s shield was shattered and useless as a result of having already protected him several times, and most of the armor he was wearing was also damaged and falling off. Both of us had wounds all over their bodies, and in this state it was difficult for us to escape.

“Oh, and by the way… If we make it back alive, Iris is going to take care of us while dressed as a nurse.”

“… Hey, you could have said that earlier.”

That guy probably wouldn’t take that kind of cosplay well. I’m sure he’d look completely embarrassed with a red face and teary eyes. For a moment, the image of Iris taking care of me in various ways flashed in my mind. Damn, why did he have to be so cute?

“Haha… are you, by any chance, a little more motivated now?”

“I’d be lying if I say no. I can’t die here… else my ghost’s gonna be full of regrets.”

However, even if we said jokes to drown out our fears, the situation would not improve. I wonder if that guy would be able to escape and survive. I bet he’d cry like crazy… ah, crap, all I could think of was his crying face now. I wished I could have seen him smiling more often… hahaha, what the hell was I thinking about? He’s my best friend, and I’m perfectly straight.

But, well…

I looked back to the moment I was first shown his avatar.

That fictional girl called “Iris”… I had fallen for her.

Shit, I must not die here…

“……?”

No matter how long I waited, the attack didn’t come. “It” was looking in the other direction, not this way… Oh hell no. Sweat trickled down my back. There was only one person I could think of that it was giving top priority to. A rustling sound of footsteps on the snow from the town.

Damn idiot! Get the hell out of here!!

The cries couldn’t escape my throat, and my motionless body could only look in the direction that thing was rushing to.

Stop it, don’t do this.

The frustration of having just let a small body be violated in front of me in the blink of an eye was still seared into my mind.

More than anything else in the world, I didn’t want to continue watching him… Iris being tortured, humiliated, and torn apart here!

My foot staggered after the enemy, but stopped dead in its tracks. Saul, who was standing next to me, seemed to be in the same boat, staring at the end of the road in amazement.

The worst case scenario in my mind did not happen. Neither the shadowy tentacles, nor the little things around them, were able to harm Iris. The approaching shadows quickly crumbled away, and the others hesitated to approach… perhaps out of fear? I looked at the situation from a distance.

Iris put his hands together as he walked slowly and leisurely. When he slowly let go of his hands, I saw that he was holding a majestic staff that looked as if it had gathered only white, clean light and formed it into a shape, wherever it had come from. What’s happening here? His presence was so different from what it used to be. And yet, the smile on that face was definitely his…

Iris thrust his staff into the ground. Instantly, everything around him was enveloped in a dazzling, soft, mysterious light.

Wow… it’s… so beautiful…

???

“Most of the townspeople have been evacuated, young master… I mean, Mayor.”

“Good. I’m sorry you guys had to draw the short straw.”

There were no soldiers in this frontier town. The ones who remained here were the vigilantes formed by the town’s youth volunteers, who all hated to be a stumbling block to those who were evacuating and had decided to volunteer to buy the townspeople time to escape or to be a stumbling block to divert that monster from its path. Those who had been involved in the battle so far had been wounded and unable to move properly due to the mysterious symptoms caused by the monster’s attack.

“What are you talking about? If you say so, why didn’t you just run away? You’re still young, you’ve only just taken over from your parents, and your wife is probably waiting for you.”

“Haha… while I’m really sorry to my wife… I’m this town’s mayor, however inexperienced I am… and it’s not cool at all to just leave it all to the young travelers and say goodbye.”

I thought of them out of the corner of my eye, still probably fighting. They had taken care of a number of pending cases around town, and they were very good at what they do. The damage would have been much more severe had they not interrupted that monster from attacking the townspeople. But this town shouldn’t have any connection to their journey. They could have run away if they sensed danger, and I wouldn’t blame them for that. What’s more worrisome was that the girl with them, whom my wife said she’d gone missing, was still nowhere to be found…

“… You still haven’t found her? I hope she’s still safe.”

“Good grief… Huh?!”

Suddenly, something exploded with such force that the town became bright as if dawn had arrived.

“What’s that light?!”

“I-I don’t know, must be some kind of magic… wait, what?”

“Did something happen?!”

“The injuries… they’re all gone…”

“Is this for real…?”

If I looked, those around me who had sunk into a look of resignation were looking at their bodies quizzically. Was this light… some kind of healing arts? But I had never heard of anything on such a large scale that could take effect from so far away.

Suddenly, they fell to their knees and began to hang their heads toward the light. Some of them even shed tears and prayed.

It was as if the light was something only heard in legend…

Iris

“As long as I don’t give up, surely…!”

My back was so hot it felt like it is going to burst. The light wings increased their output, and the color went from gold to white, becoming even more dazzling.

“Surely… I’ll cut down any darkness…!”

It’s still not enough. I had to give it my all. My whole body creaked, and I felt a strange presence on my back. A new light was born behind me as if hatching.

Yes… these were my wings to protect what I wanted to protect.

“That which heals all wounds, all curses, all malice… Manifest yourself… ‘Sanctuary’…!!”

Like the dawn of day, the darkness of night was cut open and a dazzling white light filled the world. Between the six large symmetrical light wings, four new, smaller ones spread out, and my body softly left the ground and stayed a few feet above. The shadows surrounding us retreated as if frightened, and the black haze that should have continued to cling and torment those two easily fizzled out and disappeared without a trace.

“What the… did that light just heal us?”

“Not just the wounds… but my strength and magic power too…”

Stunned, they stood up, freed from all injuries and restrictions. As they were restored to their perfect condition, I caressed my chest.

Unlike the previous “Sanctuary”, this one was much larger, about 200 meters in diameter. As long as one stood within its range…

“I will not allow any kind of curses to exist before me. Now…”

They smiled softly as they looked up at me in amazement.

“Good luck, both of you! It will only last for about a minute… so do your best!”

“That’s already enough!”

“Just leave it to us!”

Those two stood up quickly and readied their weapons. Back to back, each of them thrust their weapons at “it” and shouted.

““’Release’!””

Immediately, a complex pattern of light like lines formed from Reiji’s arms and legs, and his limbs were clothed in light like fairy wings. A nearly one-meter circle floated above Saul’s head and began to spin with a dazzling light. Einphelia, a higher race of Human, and Celestia, a higher race of Highborn. Only reincarnated higher races were allowed to release their racial traits. It could only be used once every few days, but it was a trump card that greatly increased all abilities.

With a wave of the white light staff in my hand, their weapons glowed with the same color light as my wings. Feathers started dancing around those two to protect them.

“’Luminate Edge’ and ‘Multi-Protection’. This time… I shall be the one protecting you both…!”

Both were the same type of magic that I had used in the earlier battle, but with my new form, it had dramatically improved in potency.

“I need some time to prepare, I let you have the first strike, Saul!”

Reiji’s life force flowed into his sword again, the mechanism sealed in the blade was released, and countless slits began to open.

“Roger that!”

Saul’s sword tip began to swirl with energy as he drew his arm to the limit and prepared for a thrust.

A rain of shadowy tentacles filled the sky as they tried to attack us all at once. However, all of them were repelled by the dazzling feathers around us, without being able to touch us, they ended up uselessly gouging out the ground around them and unnecessarily rolling up the snow that had accumulated. Each of these feathers was a layer of “Protection”, and they would not go away that easily. Not with that countless number of feathers.

With that, the numerous mouths around all turned to look at us. If it had been the me of before, I was sure I would have lost my will to fight… But now I well understood my surroundings. There was one presence backing me up. She was waiting for the opponents to line up together… which was this very moment.

Behind me, as if crawling out of the darkness, a figure suddenly appeared.

“Nyahahaha! I’ve been waiting for this!”

Milly-san, who had been lurking with camouflage magic and listening intently for an opportunity, flapped her bat-like wings, a characteristic of Nosferatu, a higher form of her Demon race, and laughed loudly with a complicated and huge magic circle in the background, which must have already finished its chanting.

“Here comes the fireworks! ‘Lightning Detonator’!”

A huge roar was heard.

A gush of electric shocks turned the white world into purple electricity, evading me and turning all the “mouths” that were surrounding me into charcoal, as well as rushing past those two, swallowing all the shadows in a straight line and leading a straight path to “it”.

“…You! Why are you here?!”

“Nyaha, had I revealed myself too early, I would have only gotten in you guys’ way, so I’ve been standing by all this time in order to steal all the thunder in one fell swoop, nya!”

Milly-san jokingly answered an astonished Saul with the smuggest expression she could muster. But… when I looked closer at her, I saw that her hand holding the staff was covered in blood. I wondered how painful it must have been for her to wait for the right moment and watch those two being hurt in front of her. Nevertheless, she still concealed herself and waiting for that moment.

“Don’t give me that smug look, it’s annoying! Nice save, though!”

“You owe me one, nya. I’ll get it back someday, specifically with the most expensive sweets in town!”

“Why at such a time… Well, fine. Now that I’ve got a good look at that thing… It’s time I deal with that pesky sword of its!!”

Saul’s sword carved an intricate pattern forward. It quickly formed a huge formation of light that exceeded his own height.

“Pave the way forward! ‘Chain Bind Rampage’!!”

Saul’s feet exploded with a roar. Numerous glowing chains appeared from behind him, who was furiously charging, sword in hand, clad in a torrent of fighting spirit. The torrent of spirals from the tip of the sword obliterated the shadows that rushed in to fill up the space that had just been cut away.

When Saul’s sword connected with the sword that acted as “its” arm…

The white light in the sword exploded, and without even the slightest resistance, the distorted sword instantly dissolved into the air, leaving behind a high-pitched crystalline shattering sound, and vanished without a single shard. The chains that had been following Saul wrapped around and restrained the defenseless “it”. The paths toward “it” that were aligned by the chains no longer had any obstacles.

“It’s wide open! Reiji-san, finish it!”

“Alright then, nya, I’ll leave the rest to you, Senpai!”

“Leave it to me. Let’s go, ‘Dragon Eye Release’!!”

The slit in the center of Reiji’s sword hilt opened to expose the eye-like crystal inside, and the force field redeployed to reveal Rage’s “Arsley” in its true form. At the same time, the red cord once again extended to Reiji’s arm, taking away his strength. But the next moment, the light revived his lost strength in a flash. No matter how much was consumed, it would replenish as much as possible… because I’m here!

“… You can do it, Reiji!”

As I forcefully thrust out my clenched fist, all the white light I could muster converged on Reiji’s sword. The force field deployed by “Arsley” turned from red to white. The sword, which had reached a critical point, made a ringing sound like a bell, as if it was shouting for me to quickly release the destructive power in its body.

“Blow it away, one more time!”

With godlike speed, Reiji swung his sword into “it”, cut deep and deep into the crystal at its center… The white light within the sword burst forth, burning the enemy from the inside out like the sun.

The world became so white that nothing could be seen.

When all the light subsided and its residue began to fall like fluffy snow, the darkness of the night began to cover the surroundings as if it finally remembered that it existed.

“It” completely vanished, not even a speck of dust remained.

(Author’s Note)

Supplementing info. Reiji fell in love at first sight with the fictional girl “Iris” before his reason took over and he realized that was the protagonist inside. This is not BL.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Saul
When I got far enough away, I lowered Iris in my arms and made him sit
against the walls of a nearby house.
Ever since I held him in my arms, her body temperature had frozen so
cold that I wondered if he was still alive.
His complexion was blue, and her peach-colored lips had turned purple
and pale. His skin, peeking through the gaps in her bare clothes, was
bruised in places, and some areas were swollen, as if he had broken a
bone.
I had put him in danger.
It was an unbecoming blunder for a tank position like me.
Remorse painfully tightened my chest.
From inside my magic bag, I pulled out a small bottle about the size of
my pinky finger. The “World Tree’s Drop”, which I always carried as a
talisman in case of emergencies, was one of the best recovery items
even during the game.
As I unwrapped the ampoule-like item and was about to drop its
contents into Iris’ mouth… I realized that if I let him drink while
unconscious, he might spit it out and I’d fail, so I stopped.
Even though it was a drop from some raid bosses and was treated as a
hazmat at the time of the game, it was now a very rare drug, and if I
failed this one, I would have nothing else that I could use now.
Not wanting to let any of it go to waste, I popped its contents into my
own mouth and then placed my lips over Iris’, covering them perfectly.
Just like that, I put my tongue into Iris’ small mouth and poured the
drug into the back of his throat.
I sensed his body coughing to spit the drug out, so I held his twitching
body down and forced the drug deeper in with my tongue. It wasn’t
until I was sure he had swallowed the drug that I finally let go of his
mouth.
“… Nnn… Ugh…!”
Immediately afterward, he started grunting as if enduring something,
and his body jerked heavily. I wondered if the drug he just swallowed
was fighting against the curse inflicted upon him. The only thing I could
do now… was pray.
The effect might not be the same as in the game. While mending Iris’
clothes, which had been ransacked and disheveled by “it”, I watched in
earnest prayer the progress of Iris’s condition as he moaned in agony.
… The effect was dramatic.
The painful bruises peeking through his clothing disappeared with a
faint glow, and his pale face soon began to regain its blood. His eyelids
lifted slowly, his eyelashes quivering.
His body did not seem to have regained its freedom yet, and a small
hand grabbed my clothes as it rose lazily. I wonder if his eyes, shaking
with impatience, were caused by his concern for Reiji, who had stayed
behind on the battlefield. I put my hand on his head to reassure him.
“Don’t you worry, Onii-chan. I’ll come back and help Reiji-san. Once you
are able to move, you should evacuate with everyone in town.”
When I patted him on the head, his hand shook as she gripped her
clothes.
“Listen. We alone were not enough to fight against it. I’m sure there
will be many more enemies like this in the future. You need to gather
friends who will fight by your side. There are probably many more
people like us who were sent here. There must be people you can trust
among them.”
Iris shook his head in denial. His clinging eyes made me realize that I
had misspoken. Did this sound like I was going to die? I had no intention
of doing so. Onii-chan had always been timid like that.
“Rest assured, there’s still a lot I wish to do with you. I want to dress my
beloved Onii-chan in all sorts of ways. I want to sleep with you as a
hugging pillow. We haven’t bathed together yet, and I haven’t taught
you how to take care of your skin and hair. And I’m never going to give
up to anyone else the role of cooking red rice for you when that day
comes. I’m not leaving you like this. I’ll bring that Reiji back to you, I
promise. Just trust me, okay…?”
Finally, his hand fearfully moved away. I thought I saw some fear mixed
in with a detached look, but it was probably just my imagination. Oh, I
really don’t want to die here. There are so many things I want to do.
“… I’ll do… anything for you, so please… come back… safely…”
At last, I got his words.
Now I could finally force him to do things that he was normally too shy
to do. I would definitely make him fulfill it. We would do this and that
when we get home. Ah, it’s going to be so fun. Oops, I felt like I could
get a nosebleed at any moment.
“… If you say so, then I’m not going to lose this fight. Well then, I’ll be
off for a while!”
To grab that reckless idiot by the collar, and drag him home with me.
Iris/Yanagi
I watched Saul’s back as he moved away.
What a liar he was.
Well, he didn’t really lie when he said he didn’t intend to die.
But I didn’t think he had a chance of winning.
After more than ten years together, I knew Ayame’s habits, even if the
person herself wasn’t aware. At the end, she scratched her left cheek
with her finger. It was a habit she had when she was trying to cover up
her lack of confidence.
I shouldn’t be sitting here. The memory of being incapacitated in the
blink of an eye, subjected to pain far beyond my tolerance level, and
almost stripped of my chastity like a piece of paper was burned into my
body, reminding me that I was nothing but a prey, and I couldn’t stand
up.
Reiji was probably still fighting while being wounded in that place.
Saul, too, stepped out into the fray even though he had little chance of
winning.
And yet, even though I wanted to move, my heart was too broken to do
so.
Memories of when I came to this world suddenly come back to me. At
that time, I felt as if I was being remade. The truth was, I had probably
disappeared at that time and was reborn as “Iris”. I’d been looking
away for a long time, but the truth was that “my” being here is not
what had been originally planned.
Hey, Iris. If it were you, “Iris”… you would be able to save those two.
If you, the true “Lightwing race”, were here, would you be able to save
us all?
If you could… then I wouldn’t care if I were to disappear. I’d give you
back everything I took from you, so please help me.
I felt someone’s hand touching mine as I reached out for help.
In the pitch black darkness… sat a small, scarred girl.
I could hear the occasional hiccup from the girl crying while holding her
knees. Her white naked body was covered with wounds all over, and
her small glowing wings, flickering feebly, looked as if they were about
to disappear.
I couldn’t do it myself, so I needed her help. That’s what I thought.
But “Iris” was just this vulnerable little girl.
That’s right. When I was trying to escape, to disappear, I had pushed
everything onto such a small, fragile child. There was no way that I
alone, or “I” alone, could bear with it all.
Sorry for leaving you alone all this time.
The girl shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
I was the one who occupied what should have been for the two of us,
pushed her into such a dark place, and kept forcing only painful stuff on
her. She, who never needed to apologize but kept crying, saying she
were sorry for erasing me.
Somehow, I understood. She let me, who should have disappeared at
that moment, remain. She gave me what was rightfully hers.
I’ve come to return things that I took from you.
But you’ll disappear if you do that.
No, it’s not. This was originally given to me by you. And in the first
place… there were no boundaries between us.
You must have been born of me while I played as “Iris”. You’re a
fictional girl I envisioned, feeding on the desires of many players. But in
essence, you’re still me, so I won’t disappear, but rather, we just return
as one. You and I have the same purpose. We look in the same
direction, wanting the same thing. We’re the same person, just
separated into you and me.
That’s why… I need your help. Those two… Reiji-san and Saul-niisama…
we have to save them… together.
I held out my hand toward the girl.
The girl stared at my hand and face with a blank expression for a
moment… then softly took my hand with a smile like flower blooming.
I was disappearing.
This time, I was turning into her for good.
But I felt no fear. It was as if the missing pieces were being filled in, and
even I couldn’t believe how relieved I was…
???
It was a strange sensation.
The memory of being the original “me” was certainly present, and the
awareness that it was all my own experience, had not changed.
I was still me. That fact hadn’t changed.
But at the same time, the awareness of being a girl named “Iris” also
existed in this chest. I accepted this body without any sense of
discomfort, even though until just now I had always been unable to
believe that it was mine, somewhere in the back of my mind.
I felt heat in my back. The senses in my whole body, especially in my
back, had become more acute, and I could clearly feel the flow of
power within myself, which had been unclear before.
With only slight willpower, the light wings appeared much more
naturally than before. The discomfort that had been bothering me for
some time was completely gone, and now I can freely manipulate them
as a part of my body.
The trembles I felt were no more. What I should do, what I wanted to
do… and what I could do, I could see them very clearly now.
“… Those two must be waiting. It’s time to go… ‘We’ are going to save
them.”
“I” began to take my first steps toward the place where the battle was
still raging.
(Author’s Note)
From this point on, the tone of the protagonist’s PoV sections change.
(TL Note)
Instead of Iris/Yanagi, it’s just Iris now.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Reiji
Abnormal traces of destruction littered the forest.
We encountered that while following the trail that led toward the
village, where the trees were blackened and rotting away, and there
was a slight crystallization of some kind around the area.
The place was already a part of the town, and we rushed in where
several houses were crumbling to nothing. We were confronted by a
strange monster when we intervened between a group of townspeople
who appeared to be evacuating the area.
The shadowy black body of a phantom-type monster… was covered
with a crystal-like substance. Its upper and lower body were separated
at the belly area, and it moved as it pleased around a crystal-like object
at the center, making it very difficult to read the movements of its
body. Its entire left arm had been gouged off and replaced with a sword
made of crystal, and something was leaking out from the wound. Not
just the sword, we had to deal with a bunch of shadowy, band-like
tentacles that sprang up from all parts of its body and from the ground
nearby.
My sword felt heavy. My armor less so, but it gave me a burden that
made me feel as if I was about to fall to my knees. And my attacks were
virtually ineffective. The crystals were hard and almost impossible to
scratch, and the rest of its body didn’t seem to be cut at all. Saul
seemed to able to damage it with his light attribute attacks, but they
were never quite decisive, and combined with the little flying mouths
that occasionally chomped at him from the sky, he had a really tough
time as well.
Iris/Yanagi
“Reiji! Saul!”
When I arrived at the outskirts of town, what caught my eye was a sight
that I could not, or did not want to, believe. Those two were on their
knees, covered in scars.
“I-I’ll heal you-”
“Idiot! Why do you come here?!”
“Iris, just leave us and run, quick!”
“…Absolutely no! Please… let me fight with you! That’s what I’ve
decided!”
I wouldn’t run away. It’s too last-minute to try to convince them, but I
told them what I wanted to do. A light shone at the end of my staff.
Their condition was not normal, so first of all, I had to make sure
they’re in perfect condition.
“Setup complete! ‘Rest Field’!!”
A formation of light deployed around them dissolved the bad things
that had entangled them. Then their wounds cleanly disappeared.
“I’ll re-cast the formation to match your positions, so go ahead! ‘Wide
Protection’! ‘Weiss Edge’!”
The bodies of the three of us, including mine, were covered by a thin
barrier of light, and the weapons of those two glowed white with a
purifying power that countered undead and spiritual life forms.
“…Understood. If that’s your will, I’ll say no more.”
So easily that Saul gave me the green light.
“You’re not being honest at all, are you? The truth is, we were going to
take you with us after today.”
My eyes blinked at his words.
…Those two, they did listen to me and think about it after all.
“… I’m sorry about yesterday.”
“I… I didn’t think about your feelings either. Please forgive me.”
“Me too… And honestly, your arrival is a huge help. Lend us your hand,
Iris!”
“Yes!”
I renewed my grip on my staff, readying it. I was trembling no more. It’s
okay, I could do it!
“I’m going to destroy the ‘mouth’ in the air! Cover me, you both!”
“Saul, do it! I’ll buy you 10 seconds!”
“Anytime you’re ready!”
Tentacles of shadow loomed around us. They, which had been
impenetrable until a few moments ago, were easily cut down by Reiji’s
sword, which was now clad in white light. Several other tentacles that
had broken through were stopped by Saul’s “Chain Bind”. After
confirming that my back was gently supported, I chanted tightly and
released the magic that contained the maximum output.
“’Divine Spear’… Fire!”
Revealing my wings of light, I summoned seven spears of light and
aimed at the “mouths” circling on the sky, shooting them down. As I
noticed during the previous battle with the bandits, it was verified that
when I had these wings out, the performance of some magic was
enhanced, and it was possible to exceed the limits of what it was when
it was a game. Although the recoil was correspondingly large, it was
softly received by Saul’s defensive magic, along with the person
himself, who was assisting behind me, so that the burden on my body
was minimized.
“…In ten seconds, I’ll deploy ‘Rest Field’ around Reiji-san again.”
“The ‘tentacles’ on both sides have been dealt with. Reiji, push forward,
and Iris, remain vigilant.”
“Yes, Saul-niisama.”
We exchanged glances and smiled at each other, then immediately
moved to our positions. It’s been a long time since we’ve stood
shoulder to shoulder like this.
…Only about 50 meters to the target.
Its attacks seemed to have a cursing effect, and if we got wounded, our
ability would be crippled. But that was not a problem as long as I was
here, and we stayed within the “Rest Field” I set up on the ground. If I
dealt with the situation calmly, I could maintain the upper hand.
I took a deep breath and took another look at my surroundings… then I
noticed that all the “mouths” that were wandering around me opened
at once.
“Watch out, you two! Something’s coming!”
I tried to warn them.
“GYAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!”
“FFFFFFOUNDYOUBITCHAAAAHAHAHAHA!”
“SSSSSSURRENDERTODESPAIRRRRR!”
“AHAHAHAHACRYCRYCRYCRYAHAHAHA!”
All at once, a cacophony of unpleasant voices was unleashed.
“Guh?! The… hell is this… my power is…”
“Dam, mit… is the sound itself cursed…?”
Those two kneeled in front of me, having been hit by the sound.
My heart almost stopped.
Why here, why at a time like this, why these scums?
My eyes met the red light of the “thing” in its main body at the back,
the one and only face on that creature. Yes, eyes. Its eyes were familiar.
The little things around it were familiar, too, with their stained rows of
teeth.
“No… no way…”
My knees instantly lost strength and sat flat. My heart palpitated. My
vision was distorted.
“Run, you idiot!”
“Iris, behind you!”
“…?!”
Around me, three “mouths” were floating around as if they had been
waiting for this opportunity.
“HEYHEYPRINCESSLETSPLAYPLETSPLAYLETSPLAYYYY”
“FEELSGOODFEELSGOODFEELSGOODDDDD!”
“PPPPRINCESSSODELICIOUSSSSSSSS”
“No, nooooooo!”
The voice that hit me directly in the earlobe shook and wrecked my
brain through my ears. When I unintentionally covered my ears and
closed my eyes, a shadow that had somehow crept up on my leg, on
the barrier protecting its surface, sizzled and entangled me. My vision
suddenly drifted away.
“Kyaaaaaah?!”
Something pulled me, and after a brief moment of levitation, I rolled
over and over on the ground, hitting my entire body hard. Most of the
impact was blocked by the protection, but the sudden movement made
my semicircular canals scream and I staggered back up, unable to
move.
“UUUUOOOOOHHHHIIIIRRRRIIIISCHHHAAAAN?”
“Eeep!”
Its face was close to me. A crescent-shaped red line broke out on its
smooth, black face, and a sticky voice that sounded as if it were making
a gurgling sound and seemed to be extremely ecstatic made me cower.
“Iris! Curses, get out of my way!”
Reiji’s scream felt distant. We had been completely separated in front
of the enemy.
“LETSFEELGOODLETSPLAYYYYYPRINCESSSSSSSSSSS!!”
As I slithered away, trying to get as far away from it as possible, I felt
countless shadows extending from its body, restricting my limbs. The
light of the thin paper-like protection barely prevented direct contact,
but even beyond that, I felt a tremendous chill, fear, and danger. I
mustn’t touch it directly.
Then, the sound of the barrier creaking and the protection cracking as it
nears the limit of its durability rang in my ears.
“P-‘Protection’!”
Immediately after the new barrier enveloped my body, the original
barrier disappeared into thin air, leaving behind faint shards of light.
It was no use. The barrier, which was supposed to be reattached,
creaked and cracked again.
“W-‘Wide Protection’!”
One more. The protection from earlier shattered in less than 20
seconds, and the shadows attacked the new barrier.
“No, I can’t hold on like this…!”
“Protection” had a cooldown of approximately one minute, that meant
I couldn’t use it again for 40 seconds. “Wide Protection” had one
minute and a half of cooldown. In this situation, with shadows crawling
all over my body, “Solid Ray” would be no help.
“Protection! Protection! Why, why can’t I cast it?!”
I couldn’t make it in time!
The last barrier was now full of cracks, while Reiji and Saul were far
away!
The sound of the last resistance struck my ear like a countdown.
I could no longer do anything but watch in despair as the last barrier
vanished into thin air.
“Wah?! N-No, stooooop!|
The shadows started wrapping my arms and legs.
“Yaaaaaaah!”
Instantly, my brain sparked with a shock far beyond my tolerance. A
tremendous chill ran through my entire body. Cold, heavy, horrifying
thoughts flowed in from where they touched, colliding with the
purifying power of this body that was desperately resisting inside, and
the impact hurt myself from the inside, causing me to bounce violently
and disorderly.
My consciousness went blank.
But the next moment, I awoke with a jolt. Again and again.
The tentacles entangled in my limbs easily lifted my small body into the
air and invaded my center without hesitation. It laid waste without time
to resist, and in the blink of an eye, the thing that restrained my arms
sneaked into the hem of my clothes and licked the torso underneath.
The legs, too, knees, thighs, and above them. It crawled all over my
white skin, and every time it did, something horrifying permeated my
skin, as if it is trying to coat my entire body. The something that was
eroding through my skin was engulfing my entire body and quickly
taking away my resistance.
My body was making a desperate resistance, but there were just too
many shadows incessantly crawling all over it. Any fleeting resistance
was easily swallowed, and my body, which had been violently jerking
and bouncing, was slowly slowing down. The body, which had lost its
strength, was tightening up, and it was screaming. The dangerous
sound of something cracking was echoing from all over my body. And
yet, I already felt no pain at all.
My body surrendered to the invading shadows. It was as if every blood
vessel in my body had been replaced with ice water, something so cold
and horrifying that I could no longer move a finger except for the
occasional twitch.
“…Aaah… aaah…Eek!”
The chilling sensation of something touching a place not supposed to
be touched. Just the slightest contact, something horrifying flowed into
my body with an incomparably greater force than before, and it stained
my body even more deeply and profoundly.
My fleetingly flickering light wings disappeared with a few scattered
feathers, and the staff that I held until the end fell to the ground with a
clatter from my arm that hung slackly and powerlessly. I wondered if it
sensed that my power to resist had completely disappeared, and for
some reason I felt that it had finally set its sights on “that spot”.
I’m screwed, aren’t I?
“Stay the hell away from Iris!”
Before I knew it, Reiji, who had switched to a sword covered in some
enormous force, sliced through the ground with the tentacles that held
me. The shadow covering me vanished in the blink of an eye… and Saul
held me before my unsupported body fell to the ground.
“Saul! Take Iris and escape from here!”
“…I’ll be back soon enough! Just… don’t die!!”
Wait, was Reiji going to die?!
The back of Reiji, who remained alone facing the enemy, was further
and further. No, those two had been put in a tight spot.
Please stop, I didn’t want them to do this, but it’s too late.
“…Rei… ji…!”
My hand that tried to reach out fell, unable to support itself even
slightly, and gravity took over.
Reiji
“…So they’re gone.”
I readjusted the sword in my hand.
Normally, it was a pitch-black long sword with no decoration, but by
using the function called Dragon Eye Release, it transformed into this
powerful weapon… “Sword of Destruction Arsley”, from the Dragon
Orb series.
Back in the game, it was crafted using the extremely rare dragon orbs
from the Dragon-type raid bosses, along with plenty of other raid-tier
rare materials. Only a handful of people would be able to own such a
thing. It’s my trump card that even Saul envied.
It was confirmed that it was possible to hurt that thing with Dragon Eye
Release.
As for whether this would improve the situation… hell if I know.
The downside of this weapon… was that instead of increasing its
power, it devoured the owner’s physical strength. The hilt in my right
arm was now flickering red, and something was flowing from my body
into the sword.
What would have been HP in the game was actually a dangerous feeling
of having my vitality itself drained when used in this way. With a body
that has been weakened so much so far, how far could I go against an
opponent I struggled to beat even when I was in perfect condition?
“…Alright, let’s do this.”
I could still hear the weak and mournful voice that called out my name
only a few moments ago as Saul took him away. I can’t leave that guy
alone in this world.
No matter how hopeless it might be… I would persist until the end.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris/Yanagi
The strange girl who suddenly appeared in front of me knew about the
real relationship between me and Ayame.
“…!”
I tried to get up and run away… but my legs were too weak. I was
unable to stand on my own two feet, and my body was falling
backwards. Oh no, I was about to hit my head…
“Watch out!”
The impact I had expected did not come, and instead I was caught by
something soft.
“Phew, you scared me to death, nya.”
The girl hugged me while blinking her eyes repeatedly.
“I suppose I should introduce myself, nya. I’m Ayame-chan’s friend
since high school and a junior of Reiji-senpai’s, nya. In the game I was
called Milly, nya.”
“Um… your speech pattern…”
“You mean this, nya? When I spoke like this, those pickup artists would
think I was actually a man in real life so they wouldn’t come near me, so
I did it until it became a habit, nya.”
“Ahaha…”
The reason for that was more trivial than I expected.
I mean, I didn’t know Ayame had friends. Come to think of it, didn’t I
know very little about Reiji and Ayame’s social circle…?
“Ah, by the way, I’ve heard everything about you from Ayame-chan, so
don’t worry about it. And I promise not to tell anyone, nya.”
That Ayame wouldn’t say anything strange to someone she doesn’t
trust, so everything should be fine, right…?
“Now that I’ve introduced myself, I’d like to get to the main issue at
hand… but there’s something I want to do first.”
Milly-san’s tone and face suddenly became serious.
“I’m going to touch you a little. If you can’t take it anymore, please tell
me right away.”
“…Eh?”
My arms were pulled lightly and I found myself in an embrace with my
face buried in her ample breasts… Wait, why’s she hugging me like
that?! Before any indecent idea could form itself, my hands and body
almost jumped at the thought of being restrained. It’s scary, unbearably
scary… Huh?
Something was gently tapping my back in a steady, relaxed rhythm.
Why wasn’t I scared of that?
“Easy, easy. From the look of your eyes, I’m sure you must have gone
through a frightening experience, right? Don’t worry, I would never
hurt Iris-chan. Just calm down, and listen only to the sound of my chest,
and you won’t be bothered by all the noises around you anymore…”
As I was being tapped on the back, I slowly felt more at ease. I did as I
was told and concentrated only on the sound of it.
…Ah, I could hear it now. The sound of a steady rhythm of movement.
When I concentrated on it, I gradually became less and less concerned
about the sounds around me and the flow of people. Being held gently
in this way, surrounded by warm body heat, and hearing only this
sound, it’s…
Suddenly, I heard another sound… was this my own heartbeat? I
thought it was pulsating like crazy, but it was moving at its usual pace.
Man, this was too comfortable…
“(sobs)”
I realized that a lot of time had passed. My memory of the middle of
the day had been wiped out. The moment I realized what was
happening, blood was gathering on my face and tears were pooling at
the edges of my eyes.
“Meowhehe… It’s really nice to do this to a small, cute little girl… he
way you squirm in my arms defenselessly like seeking your mother, it’s
really irresistible!”
Milly-san looked somewhat satisfied and enraptured. What should I do
now, I was too embarrassed to look up. I couldn’t believe I was held in a
girl’s arms and comforted by the sound of her heartbeat and even slept
a little at the end… it’s like I’d regressed back to a baby.
“S-Sorry about all that…”
“Don’t sweat it. Besides, this is a good opportunity for you to get stuff
out of your chest, isn’t it? Do you have a room you’re renting?”
“Um… I have a room that I’m allowed to use at the moment…”
“Alright, it’s round two. No refusal allowed, you still look terrible.”
I answered without thinking, and the next moment, she slyly dragged
me back to my room before I realized what was happening.
“Uh… why am I in your lap?”
As soon as I got to my room, she lifted me up with a single motion. I
was so embarrassed to be princess-carried by a girl… This body’s too
light, I should try a little harder to eat my meal from now on…
While my mind was spacing out like that, Milly-san sat down on the
bed, with me on her lap.
“Don’t think about it too much~ Is it comfortable? I consider myself to
be pretty soft, you know.”
“Yeah… I can see that.”
As Milly-san’s rather glamourous body gently wrapped around my
entire body, I… wait a minute, what’s happening here?
“If I hold you in this way, I can give you a hug as soon as you get scared,
don’t you think?”
A shiver ran down my back at her words. The fear that I had forgotten
slowly returned.
“…What do you mean?”
“Well, I need you to tell me what’s been scaring you right now. It’s been
bothering me since the first time I saw you, like you were about to
break.”
“…?!”
I quickly tried to release myself and escape, but my body was
ineffective against her firm grasp.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t run away. You have to get that bad stuff out of
your chest.”
“No, I don’t want to! Please don’t make me remember anything of
that!”
I thought she was a kind person, why did she say such terrible things so
suddenly! I flinched and tried to escape again, but the arms holding me
wouldn’t come off.
“But you have to. Both you and Reiji-senpai are men, so you often focus
only on finding a solution and neglect the rest. I don’t know about
Ayame-chan either, since that girl can literally do everything, for all
intents and purposes. So maybe those two just overprotected you and
didn’t touch the tumor of the problem, am I correct?”
I choked. Milly-san hit the bullseye. It was as if she had seen through
everything.
“I knew it… It was just a guess, but it’s probably not too far from the
truth. Anyway, that’s the reason why you’ve stored up so much painful
stuff. But… talking it out to someone else is more important than you
think, you know?”
Her voice changed to a serious tone and whispered softly, as if
admonishing.
“People tend to think of particularly traumatic events in fragments,
detached from their past, so they become really afraid when they recall
about them. You’re in that position right now, not yet moving on from
the past. But the fact that you’re here means that you’ve been saved,
and that past of yours has ended. So, even if it’s scary, you have to sort
through what happened as a ‘done story’ and properly accept it into
your life.”
“B-But… I’m afraid I just can’t take it… I’m sorry…”
“It’s fine. It’s perfectly fine for you to be scared, to cry about it. I’m here
to listen to your past. That’s why…”
I felt a hand gently rubbing my stomach. I felt my strength draining
away. Tears were slowly building up in my eyes. I wondered if it was
okay to show my vulnerable parts without hesitation, but I didn’t have
to hide them.
“I’ll listen to you no matter how long it takes, and if it doesn’t work the
first time, I’ll come back to see you and listen to you again. Just… tell
me everything, okay?”
Without prompting, I told her everything. I was afraid at first, but once I
started talking, I couldn’t stop as if a dam had been broken. Yes, I had
been wanting to get it out like this for a long time. About the incident in
my former world. About my sister. My encounter with Reiji. The story
of how we had been together for so long. And then, what happened
after I came here.
Being caught was humiliating, scary, painful, I lost my words so many
times I couldn’t make sense of them, and I cried many, many tears.
What was happening to me now. A body that had changed from its
original world and even its gender. The fear that I might not be myself
made me more miserable and distraught than ever.
And… my worries that if I didn’t do something, I’d become an unwanted
presence who was nothing but a burden to those two. Frustration and
anger toward the two people who, in spite of this, didn’t even listen to
me.
I think I really exposed a lot of things that were disgusting. I said many
selfish things that I had been afraid to say out of fear that they would
leave me. But every time I was hugged and gently stroked without
saying a word, I felt the waves of my emotions calming down.
When I had finished talking, the sun was already setting, and the
western sky was tinged with red. I was sobbing so hard that my eyes
were red, but I felt strangely refreshed compared to before I spoke. She
said something earlier about women wanting someone to listen to
them, not the solution itself. When I was a man, I thought it was
irrational. But now that I saw it this way, I realized that it’s an important
wisdom to live.
“…Alright then, Iris-chan, you’ve done two things wrong. Allow me to
point them out for you.”
“…Please do…”
I straightened my back. I was full of remorse, especially now that I’d
calmed down about what happened yesterday and today, and I felt
fidgety and restless, as my misgivings were found out.
“First, you went out without permission. This is a breach of promise to
someone who cares about you in whatever way, or to put it another
way, you have disrespected someone who cares about you. Do you
understand?”
“Yes…”
It would be a shock for them if I were to suddenly disappear. I would
have caused them so much worry. I felt so guilty that I had lost track of
such things.
“And second, You let your emotions get the better of you and ended
the conversation. Yes, they might have been clueless, but if you were
serious, you had to talk it out and convince them about your idea. If
you got angry and cut them off, that was running away, wasn’t it?”
“Yes… You’re right, now that I think about it, it’s really embarrassing…”
If there was a hole right here, I would jump into it out of shame. I
couldn’t just throw a tantrum and say that I didn’t understand them
because I didn’t get my way.
…Wait a minute.
It occurred to me that this girl is a friend of Ayame’s, which means that
she is younger than me in real age, right? What is this? She looked so
motherly.
“So, with that in mind, what do you want to do, Iris-chan?”
“…I want to apologize… And then I want to hear them out properly in
the future…”
“Mmm, good. How about you do it right after they come back, nya?
You can do it, nya?”
“Yes, this time I’ll make them listen to me!”
I laughed a little, brushed the tears from the corner of my eyes with my
fingers, and with a smile and a clear mind, I readily agreed to do so…
uh, why was she looking away from me?
“…That Ayame, she left me a really huge mess to clean up, nya…”
She held her mouth shut and mumbled something in another direction,
and I just tilted my head with a question mark above it.
“…Ayame-chan and Reiji-senpai haven’t come back, nya. Are they
always this late, nya?”
“No, they should have returned before evening… Something must have
happened.”
Anxiety was slowly creeping inside me. Come to think of it, it was
awfully quiet outside, even though now was a time when the place
should be bustling with people on their way home from work. I started
to feel uneasy.
“…Guh, aaaaaaah?!”
“Iris-chan, what’s happening?!”
Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced my entire body. I had a feeling that
something dangerous was approaching. I remembered this pain. Not
long after I came to this world, in that forest…!
Then suddenly there was a commotion downstairs. Someone was
running up the stairs. The door was opened violently, and a panicked
Mrs. Miranda jumps in, gasping for breath and yelling.
“Thank goodness you’re here, miss. You should hurry up and go…
there’s a strange monster in town!”
“…!”
I felt as if my heart was being squeezed.
“Um, I have some fighting skills, I can help people evacuate- Hey, where
are you going?!”
“I’m so sorry but, I have to find Reiji-san and Saul-niisama!”
I took the staff that was propped up against the wall, slipped through
their hands, cast a body enhancement spell on myself, and ran out into
the town. There was no way those two would lose so easily. I believed
that, but my heart was still pounding, and it was getting worse and
worse.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Reiji

In the room, a girl’s sad, shrieking cries echoed within.
“(sobs)… I’m sorry… Nii-sama, Nii-sama… I’m (sobs) sorry…”
Iris regained consciousness while Saul was cleaning her body and
exchanging her dirty clothes, and started crying again, forcing Saul to
hold her in place.
Something felt really, really wrong… that Yanagi would never have cried
like this.
By all accounts, he was in no condition to keep up the “Iris” act. Then,
who was this girl before me, sobbing and wiping the palm of her hands
to remove the large tears that were overflowing one after another?
Was this really the Yanagi I knew?
No matter how I looked at it, I only saw a stranger girl, who was just
entering her teenage years.
I couldn’t help but feel a bad premonition.
I lay Iris, who was exhausted from crying, down on the bed, and went
out into the hallway with Saul. Saul, who had been pondering
something earlier, spoke up first.
“After hearing what you said, and judging from Iris’ condition up until
now, I could only think of one thing.”
“Really? What’s it?”
“…Multiple self-states. It’s not my area of expertise, and I’ve only seen
bits of it, so I could be wrong.”
This was the conclusion Saul came up with.
According to him, people inherently possess multiple personalities that
they use depending on the situation and the person they are dealing
with. At the same time, however, our psyche is capable of holding
multiple perspectives and emotional states in different states of self at
the same time. Therefore, it seems that, for the most part, they are
shared perceptions and memories. In other words, we all have multiple
self-states.
However, whereas under normal circumstances the interconnection
between each self-state is easily possible, this behavior may not take
place in the case of traumatic events. When under intense stress or
other stressful situations, the shared perceptions and memories are
severed in order to protect the self, and an alternate personality is
created to “escape from reality”.
“So what you’re saying is… the Iris who looked like an ordinary girl just
now… was a part of the heavily damaged personality detached as a girl
named ‘Iris’? Am I getting this right?”
“Probably so… I think the main part Onii-chan’s personality thought
that ‘I used to be a man, this can’t happen to me’, and thus pushed the
problem to ‘someone else’ to mitigate the PTSD?”
When I thought about it, that guy didn’t seem to be so concerned about
the memory of “that time” when he was only with us without going
outside. It was as if it was someone else’s problem.
“Then the situation just now… was because of the ‘Iris’ personality
surfacing after extreme fear caused by being exposed to people’s
gazes…”
“That explains the panic… But what about the other times? He must
have been through a lot before his condition got that bad, right?”
“I think… it’s probably chronic at this point. After all, ‘Onii-chan’ has
been tortured by PTSD for more or less a decade now.”
He said that although it got worse, that was still just an extension of
what had been there before. In other words…
“This time’s just another newly added trauma on top of the pile, isn’t
it…?”
Right after becoming a girl… that guy was seriously injured, even almost
losing his chastity. Such a hopeless situation must have developed a
new psychological trauma.
“If it’s really become chronic like you said… This is going badly.”
That guy’s behavior was concerning. If this became a regular
occurrence, and his mind was always restless, it was impossible to
know when it would reach its limits.
“Besides, another problem is that a large portion of the personality that
remains ‘safe’ is the masculine part. But… even if ‘Iris’ hasn’t fully
accepted it, his body is now fully a girl’s. All the bodily functions, maybe
even all the chemicals exchanged in the body, are those of a girl’s. I
think the more he gets used to his current body, the more dominant
the ‘Iris’ side will become. What’s at stake, what’s unstable, is not the
‘Iris’ personality, Onii-chan’s supposed escape mechanism… but the
‘Kuga Yanagi’ personality.”
“So, if things keep going like this…”
“I think it’s possible that someday the personality called ‘Kuga Yanagi’
will either disappear, or become so small that it’s unrecognizable, and
only the scarred ‘Iris’ will remain…”
A cold sweat ran down my back. It seemed like there was not much
time left.
“Then what should we do?!”
“I don’t know! I wish I knew!”
Saul shouted in a fit of rage, as if to spit at me, impatiently demanding
an answer. He looked really frustrated as he bit on his own finger until
it was bleeding.
“…My bad, I’m just too worried.”
“Me too, sorry for losing my cool… But I can tell you one thing, maybe
every time those symptoms show up, more and more of ‘Onii-chan’
personality will be swallowed up… that’s how intense the shock was for
Iris.”
“Is there anything we can do to prevent that from happening again?”
The best we could do was to resolve the severance of consciousness
and restore him to his normal state of mind, but the fear that one
wrong step could be irreversible was too high, and we had no idea how
we could possibly cure him. If that’s the case…
Iris/Yanagi
Before I knew it, I was walking alone.
The building I was in had a crystalline texture, as if it were made of ice.
I had a feeling that the royal palace in the capital of the kingdom of
Nordglacier looked like this.
A well-built, dignified man, late 20s or early 30s in appearance, was
walking in front of me, escorting someone.
This person appeared to be a teenager, was she the daughter or little
sister of the man beside her?
Their gazes turned to me unexpectedly as they walk in a friendly
manner.
……
………
…………Why.
Why are you here?
She was much younger than I knew her, but there was no mistaking
her.
You were stabbed while protecting me, and yet your face was still
smiling to reassure me.
Even though hardly any memory of the incident remained, that image
was still strongly burned in my mind.
Mom!
Why are you here, in this world?! Answer me!!
I walked frantically, but I couldn’t catch up with them walking together.
Mom was walking slowly, but for some reason, the distance between us
was not closing.
And yet, they kept their position as if they were trying to lead me
somewhere.
Where am I?
It seemed like a long, long spiral staircase down.
In the pitch-black darkness, there sat a little girl covered in scars.
She was clutching her knees and crying.
I’m sorry.
Why are you crying?
Because I’m going to erase you.
Me…? Who are you?
I’m…
I reached out to look at her face and suddenly realized.
I’d seen this hair before. It had a faint rainbow glow… Are you me, or
“me”?
Then I noticed that the girl who was supposed to be sitting in front of
me was not there anymore.
Is it me who’s missing? Or is it “me”?
“…Huh? This is…”
When I came to, I was lying in a room with a familiar ceiling. I could feel
some liquid running down my cheek and wetting my pillow.
If I recalled correctly, on the way back home, I bumped into someone…
and my memory has been skipping since.
I think I was somewhere in a strange place,… but as soon as I woke up,
my memory fizzled out and I could no longer remember anything.
“…You’re awake.”
“Reiji-san… and Saul-niisama too, what’s the matter, you two look so
scared.”
Reiji tried to say something, but stopped. When I tilted my head at his
brusqueness, he let out one big sigh and began to speak reluctantly.
“…We should take a break from treating the victims, starting from
tomorrow.”
For a moment, I didn’t understand what was being said.
“What do you mean by taking a break?”
“We can’t afford not to do the requests at all, so we’ll be gone more
often, but I’ve already told Mrs. Miranda that you will be resting for a
while, Iris.”
Saul looked away and told me with a look of anguish. It seemed that
they were already talking in that direction.
“W-Wait, why are you talking like it’s already decided?! Because I fell
down yesterday? B-But, look, I’m already fine now!”
“The thing is… How do I say it…”
With clenched fists, the two of them told me what was happening to
me.
…
I didn’t understand what they were saying. No, I did understand, but I
refused to accept it. Was “I” going to disappear if things kept going like
this?
“It’s just a possibility. Once you calm down, we can work together to
find a solution… So please, take a rest for now… it’s for your sake.”
I could only nod my head in dismay at their words.
I’m sorry.
I thought I heard someone’s voice in my head.

Iris/Yanagi
I fearfully walked out of the room and found myself in a corridor of
something like a guest house. So far, well, I’d left a few times to do my
business.
I went down the stairs from my room on the second floor, squinted in
the sunlight I hadn’t seen in a while, and stepped outside to see a small,
but well-maintained garden with a nice atmosphere.
When I asked Reiji about it, he said this town… or rather this village,
was rarely visited, so there wasn’t any inn. It seemed that the mayor
had graciously lent this place to us visitors as a place to stay.
…This never happened in the game.
“Thank you for your hard work, ma’am.”
“Oh, if it isn’t the guests. I’m so glad to see that the girl has recovered
enough to go outside.”
There they were, greeting a kindly-looking old lady who was tending to
her plants. As I stood idly watching from behind, my back was suddenly
jolted by the conversation.
“Um, this is Mrs. Miranda, the mayor’s wife, who’s taking care of us and
our lodging. You haven’t met her before, right?”
“She knows about our circumstances and she’s a pleasant person, so
don’t worry… What’s the matter, Iris?”
“…You look pale. Are you feeling ill somewhere?”
The old lady reached her hand out to me. The old lady? Huh, why is a
burly man’s hand there…
“…?!”
An inarticulate scream rose from my throat of its own accord. I found
myself curling up and diving into Saul’s bosom.
“…Iris?”
“My apologies, I’m sure she was fine when it was just us in the room.”
In my head, she seemed to be a kind and nice person, but my body was
rigid.
“Iris, come on, you’re making her worried, see.”
When I fearfully turned my head to look at old lady, she was looking at
me with pained eyes.
“…If that was rude of me, then I’m really sorry…”
“It’s okay… You’ve been through so much after all… Get well soon,
okay?”
“Yes… Can you lend me a hand again?”
“Are you sure? Don’t overdo yourself, miss!”
I took the old lady’s hand. I felt my heart suddenly tightening, but I
managed to stay calm. Her hand was a little rough and dirty from her
gardening, but it smelled somewhat comforting, perhaps because of
the herbs. This hand would not hurt me. I didn’t have to be afraid.
Those two already said it would be okay. As I told myself over and over
again, the palpitations gradually subsided.
“…I think I’m good now. Thank you very much.”
I gently released her hand, bowed and thanked her with a slight
chuckle. I no longer felt the trembling from earlier. It seemed that she
had been classified as a “good person” in my mind, and I could handle
her normally.
“…Are you really okay, miss?”
“Yes. Once again, thank you for taking care of us, ma’am.”
I smiled lightly and bowed my head. The lady finally seemed relieved
and sent me off, telling me not to push myself too hard and that she
would prepare something sweet for me today, so I should go out and
do my best.
I put on a deep hood and went into town. Compared to the original
remote town in the game, the sense of distance and the number of
buildings had changed drastically, with much more people on the street
to boot.
“…As I thought, it’s still a little unpleasant…”
“If you can’t make it, tell me as soon as possible, okay?”
“Sorry…”
Unfortunately, if I didn’t hold on to Saul’s arm, I’d be falling over at any
moment. Whenever someone looked at me, a chill ran down my spine
and my arms and legs started to shake. In particular, the men’s gazes
made me feel like being choked. My condition had really worsened, I
thought… but at least I could still walk around like this.
Somehow, we reached the first destination without incident. The small,
compact house was commonplace in its neighborhood, and was
probably lived by an ordinary family in a very ordinary way. However,
the garden was overgrown with weeds, as if it had been untouched for
some time, suggesting the family’s distress while their daughter was
missing.
“Here’s the first victim’s house… are you up for it?”
“Well, this is a job that only I can do. I heard the other party is a girl, so
please wait outside, you two.”
The two of them began to talk with the victim’s family about what
happened, and now they were looking at me with concern. I would
really like Saul to help, but as we decided the other day to stay properly
in line with our current bodies, I couldn’t rely on him.
There was a girl lying on a bunk in the room I was shown. She was…
about the same age and the same size as I was now. She must have
once been a simple but lovely girl, but half of her face was covered in
bandages, her entire body was wrapped in bandages, and… her right
arm was missing beyond her elbow. She was lying there in agony.
It’d been about a month since she’d gone missing… many of the
disfiguring wounds had already been closed, leaving only scars. If it
continued like this, it would surely leave a big shadow over her future
life even if she was cured. As was the case in the game, non-players
with healing arts were very rare, and most of them were located in
larger cities. Even so, I heard that it was quite extraordinary to heal
such a serious injury, so the effect of my healing arts seemed to be
quite substantial.
In fact, it would have been impossible for even me to treat the scars
that had already healed… if it had been the me of before.
Only this time, I was thankful that I had been reincarnated. To avoid
waking the sleeping girl, I quietly released the light wings on my back. I
could not expose myself to too much publicity, and for this purpose, I
asked the family members to wait outside in advance. The patient was
also put to sleep with some very weak sleeping pollen.
Since that time when I treated Scott-san, several new magics had
sprouted inside me. All of them were proven to be effective, although
they had the verified drawback that they could only be used with the
wings out.
“…Thou shalt return to the way thou wert… ‘Restoration’”
The magic power inside me was sucked up so rapidly that I felt dizzy.
The particles of light floating around me gathered between my hands
and became a dazzling sphere the same color as my wings. I gently
pushed it into the girl’s chest, right where the heart was… The light
immediately covered the girl’s body and spread. The wounds that had
already become scars seemed to dissolve away. It was as if time was
rewinding… no, it was actually rewinding.
Rather than “healing”, I suppose I should call it “restoration”, since it
caused the wounds themselves to never exist in the first place.
Although its use was limited because it erased even beneficial things
such as the results of training, it was the most useful in this case. It
might not heal the wounds in this girl’s heart, but at least… it would
give her some hope for the rest of her life… With that wish in mind, I
watched as the treatment was completed.
After that, I did not have any seizures, perhaps because I knew exactly
what I needed to do if I was treating someone. Rather than that, the
only thing that dominated my mind was the sense of duty that I felt
sorry for the wounded child in front of me and that I had to heal her as
soon as possible.
After the second and third visits, the external trauma was completely
restored, and as I was patting my chest at the joy and tears of their
family members, I felt dizzy and struggled to stand. The magic
consumption seemed to be overwhelming and wearing me out fast.
“That’s it for today. You should take it easy from now on until you get
your strength back.”
Saul, sensing the situation, suggested that we go home for the day, and
my suggestion that we at least have one more case was easily overruled
by two to one, and we headed home.
I left the lodging around noon, but it was already approaching dusk, and
everyone was either finishing their work or shopping for ingredients for
supper. The streets, which had been sparsely populated, were now
reasonably busy.
“In any case… I’m glad to see you’re doing better than I thought you
would at first.”
“I think so, too. There are still some victims out there, and I have to
work hard tomorrow.”
I clasped my hands together in a spirited gesture. Perhaps because I
was in a good mood, I didn’t mind the stares from those around me as
much now as I did at first.
“Hahaha… You look kind of happy.”
“Mmm… I know it’s inappropriate, but I’m so happy to be able to help
someone in this way…”
Looking back, I think I longed for the very idea of helping someone.
Maybe that was why I was able to continue with “Worldgate Online”
even though people around me told me it was too harsh and that I
should stop. Because.
“Back in ‘the other side’, all I could do was receiving help from others.”
“That’s…”
“I’ve told you not to think that way so many times already, we did what
we did because we care about you.”
“…My apologies, Reiji-san.”
Did I offend him again? When it came to that topic, Reiji was always in a
bad mood. He dropped his gaze and walked away…
This was a bad idea. Because nothing had happened all day, I had let my
guard down.
It was by chance, really by chance, that I bumped into a man who was
walking unsteadily, probably after having a drink on his way home from
work. My small body could not withstand the impact, and I was easily
blown away and fell on my buttocks.
“Hey, where the hell did your eyes go?!”
“…?!”
At the sound of the threat, my breathing stopped. I felt as if my whole
body temperature had suddenly dropped.
“Hey, old man, stop, she’s-”
“Not you too?! Is that how you apologize?!”
There was no time to react. Reiji’s hand barely stopped him before my
hood was ripped off with force, revealing my bare face and silver hair
shimmering with a rainbow glow beneath it.
The stunned gaze in front of me pierced my eyes. Oh, what was that
wind on my cheeks? Ah, the hood… ah, aaaah.
“Hey, that girl…”
“Wow, so pretty…”
“Is she some aristocrat…”
“No. You see, she was captured by some bad guys…”
Gazes pierced me from all directions. Gazes coated with the carnal
desire crawled all over my body.
………
Huh? Wasn’t I supposed to have gone back to town?
Why was I still in that dingy room?
The townspeople’s
The bandits’
Curious gazes
Lustful gazes
Upon my tightly cloaked body
Upon my violently exposed nude body.
Where did they see?
The place that should not be exposed to public view unnecessarily.
No, that wasn’t right.
Because there was already nothing to hide.
No, I was properly clothed.
What? Whatwhatwhat?
A hand reached out.
No, no one was reaching out to me.
But, the hands. The hands were closing in. Countless. Countless… what?
What?
My consciousness switched from I to “I”.
“UUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAGH?!”
Someone was shouting. The voice was awfully close… Wait, was that
my own voice?
“Where’s she?! Out of my way, old man!”
“N-No, I didn’t do anything…”
“Just shut up and get out of my sight! Iris?! Pull yourself together, look,
I’ve already put the hood up!”
“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryIwo
n’trebelIwillobeyquietlyIwon’tbitenononononoAAAAARGH?!”
“Dammit, she’s only getting worse! All of you, scram! Don’t look this
way!”
My body screamed. My body shook, my heart beat a strange rhythm,
and I continued to scream things I don’t understand, unable to get
enough air into my lungs through my labored breathing.
And yet… I was looking at “myself” in such a terribly calm way…?
“Curses! I’ll drive all these assholes away from here! Saul, don’t let her
bite her tongue!”
“Got it!”
Saul’s fingers were shoved into my little mouth as I continued to squirm
and scream. He didn’t want me to bite my tongue. My uncontrollable
mouth movements were starting to scratch Saul’s fingers.
“It’s alright, it’s alright… I’m here, and Reiji’s coming back soon… okay?”
“………”
My small body was completely embraced by Saul’s cloak. As he rubbed
my back, my breathing gradually calmed down. My mouth, which had
been clenched tight, relaxed, and eventually, my strength went limp
and my consciousness faded away.
Until the very end, “I” continued to calmly watched the situation.
Reiji
“She’s calmed down… finally.”
Iris was slumped all over, held tightly in Saul’s arms. The tears
streaming from the corners of her eyes and drool marks on the edges of
her mouth were painful, and although her eyes were open, they were
not reflecting anything.
Never before had she reacted this violently to anything.
The last few days, when she was with us, she didn’t have any problems
to the point where he could make jokes.
I was completely relieved to see that there had been no major
problems all day, although there had been some worsening. Turned
out, “some worsening” was too much of an optimistic thinking.
The full extent of “Iris’” trauma hadn’t even shown itself yet.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris/Yanagi
I was totally caught off guard. I had no idea that such a powerful enemy
could be lurking in what I thought was a safe place.
“Hah… Hah… Guh…?!”
In the sound of my rough breathing, my voice, almost like a moan,
leaked from between my clenched teeth.
The rumbling inside my stomach tormented me over and over, and
chills crawled up and down my spine.
Even if I tried to bear the pain, the small organ deep inside my belly had
been filled to its limits, and it was urging me to release its contents
outside.
There was no doubt that the slightest stimulus could cause the (already
fragile) dam to break. If “that thing” in my stomach was released in
such a potentially public place, my dignity would be shattered into a
thousand pieces, and the humiliation that came afterward might
immediately drive me past the point of no return.
I didn’t tell those two anything about this.
This was the only thing I was not willing to ask for cooperation for, and I
had come out here to run away from them, avoiding their eyes.
A solution already existed. If I went through the door that was in front
of me now, I could deal with the thing in my stomach without being
seen. There wasn’t actually any problem with me doing that.
But, passing through that door was also a declaration of defeat, and an
abandonment of my pride.
And so the cycle of seeking help in front of the door then rejecting that
idea went on for a quarter of a minute.
“Ugh… nngh!”
The repeated torture had already shaken my legs so much that I could
hardly stand up.
Even if I tried to close my crotch to at least hold the exit, the legs of this
body were fatally lacking in thickness, always leaving a gap and couldn’t
suppress my raging belly in the slightest.
It became obvious that the pressure that had been torturing my body
for a while now, prying it open from the inside, was getting unbearable,
and the oily sweat pouring from my entire body had made a smear on
the floor. It’s only a matter of time before everything broke down, as I
heard the devil’s whisper in my ears.
Stop resisting. Give in to your comfort.
I knew that. This was a game that I couldn’t win from the beginning
anyway, and no matter how much I refused to accept it, my body was
no way able to keep up with it. In the end, I would have to give in and
let out the thing stored in my body.
Still, I didn’t want to accept that…
I had to enter the female toilet.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah………”
“Calm down, man. You shouldn’t make such a noise in that
appearance.”
I returned to my room, ran straight to my bed, and continued to moan
like a vengeful spirit from Hell with my face buried in the pillow, when
Reiji’s concerned… or disgusted voice called out to me.
“Hmph, Reiji would never understand my predicament anyway…”
“Yeah… Right now, from the bottom of my heart, I’m glad that I’ve
sticked with this male avatar.”
In case you’re wondering, as a result of slamming my pride into the
trash, I made it just in time. The knowledge my sister lectured me
about, which I once derided “Do I need something I’ll never get a
chance to put into practice?!”, had saved me from making a fatal
mistake.
Girl picking flowers was scary. The direction indicator was great. The
exhilarating feeling of draining that which was stored up to the limit
made me cry out a little funny.
In doing so, I saw “that spot” whether I wanted it or not, and even
touched it. That’s not to say I’d never seen it before. It was when my
sister was still a little girl. This “Iris” was also a beautiful girl in her midteen,
despite her youthful look… It was smooth. It hadn’t grown up yet.
I saw it, bare as a sheet. And I was sure it was just my imagination that I
felt a strange sensation when I touched that area when I wiped it off.
When I was changing clothes, perhaps?
I closed my eyes tightly.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!”
My shame broke through the limit when I remembered it, and I got up
in the so-called girl sitting pose, grabbed the pillow and slammed it on
the bed with force over and over again.
“I said calm down, okay? You’re gonna injure yourself, okay? I mean,
stop raising so much dust!”
Injure… Injure?!
I was reminded of how I was when I suffered that injury.
The possibility of this flashed through my mind, and I snapped out of
the act of slamming the pillow down.
I turned and stared at Reiji. Blood rushed to my head, heating it. Tears
slowly formed at the edges of my eyes. Considering this possibility, I
couldn’t look up, so my face naturally dropped down and I looked at
Reiji with only my eyes. As soon as I did so, Reiji’s eyes wandered
suspiciously, but that was beside the point. I didn’t know what I would
do if I were affirmed, but on the other hand, I couldn’t leave my doubts
once they had arisen any longer. I fearfully voiced the question.
“…………You saw it?”
Three words. The question came out of my mouth after a long struggle,
and a moment later, Reiji’s face was turned away with a force that
made his neck twist. I see. Ye Guilty.
“Uh… you know… it’s irresistible.”
“Uwaaaaaaaah?!”
I repeatedly hit Reiji’s head with the pillow. I could no longer control my
emotions. I was too embarrassed to stop what I was doing.
“It hurts… not, but stop it already!”
“H-H-How else am I supposed to react?! Just blow away that damn
memoryyyyy!”
“Be reasonable, dammit! For the most part, I’ve seen you naked too
many times! Do you know how many times I’ve bathed you?!”
My hands stopped moving.
Come to think of it, he was right. I’d bathed so many times over there,
mainly with his assistance. I wondered what I was troubled by. It must
have been a temporary confusion. It was like a girl to be embarrassed
to be seen naked by a man.
“No, I didn’t mean it, but…”
I could hear some exasperated voices, but they did not reach my ears,
which had been refreshed by the resolution of my problems.
“What are you two flirting about?”
““We aren’t flirting!””
Before we knew it, Saul had returned from shopping, and we both did
our best to deny his accusations.
…We didn’t flirt, right?
Later, Reiji would come to regret his decision to use this method of
deception, but that’s another story.
“So… What do we do now?”
Saul sorted out the items he had bought and put them in their
respective magic bags… I nearly blacked out when I saw him handing
me a paper bag neatly filled with a large number of small, colorful
pieces of fabric…
Let’s just cut to the serious matter.
“In my opinion, I think we should use this place as a base and get used
to this world a little more.”
This was the one thing we could not compromise for our future safety. I
knew from experience that it was scary to travel before having
completed a thorough investigation of what I could and couldn’t do,
because I never know what might happen. In this world, it never hurt to
be cautious.
“I’m with you. Physical strength aside… we’re probably weaker than
people of this world.”
I could sort of understand what Reiji said. For example, when I blinded
that bandit, he immediately recovered and attacked me. On the other
hand, I was cowering and unable to resist anything after being punched
a little.
It’s the tolerance to pain that counts.
For those of us who once lived in a peaceful world, we were helplessly
inferior to the people of this world. Even if we were superior in ability,
we couldn’t stand up if our hearts were broken by pain. In the game,
we could do anything we wanted as long as our HP did not drop to zero,
but here we couldn’t do such a reckless thing. We had to rethink the
concept of “combat” in this world, which was different from that of the
game, from the very beginning. Otherwise, we might inadvertently step
over the line of death if we kept our habits from the game.
“…I thought you’d say that, so I talked to the mayor and asked him to
put together a list of the various problems this town was having,
starting with the simplest ones, so that we could get them as requests.
They’re also enthusiastic to take care of the rough stuff we can’t do
ourselves, and we can save some travel money. Of course, I’ve already
checked to make sure the terms are acceptable.”
With that, Saul pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. Reiji took it,
and I looked at it from the side.
“Since when did you… Nevermind, I think it’s going to be helpful. For
the time being, we need to take care of the children who had been
captured.”
Reiji, who had been flipping through the list of requests, stared at a
point and muttered. Some of the children who had been captured were
badly injured. I knew how they felt now, and I wanted to heal them as
soon as possible.
“I’m probably feeling better now… I’m a little scared to go outside, but
I’ll do my best.”
“Alright, we’ll start visiting them tomorrow and see if you can get them
some treatment.”
“Mmm, leave it to me.”
“Now that we’ve got our plan out of the way, I have to tell you both
something.”
“Hmm?”
“Eh?”
After a round of discussion about our future plans, Reiji suddenly cut in
with a more serious face than ever before.
“It’s about your tone. If it’s really just us, it’ll be fine, but I want you
both to be as thorough as possible in your language to match your
current appearance. People from this world aside, if there’re other
players out there beside us and they know what’s going on, it could
become tricky.”
In other words… our original gender, namely me being a man and Saul
being a woman, should not be discovered. It was true that I was wellknown
as a “Princess”, but if people found out that I was actually a man
inside…
“You mean they’d accuse us of cheating them?”
Saul replies in a “What the heck is that?” kind of way, but Reiji shook
his head in denial with a bitter expression on his face.
“That’s one thing, but then I’d have to say you’re still underestimating
what a man’s desires are. I don’t want anyone to find out that ‘Iris’ is a
man inside. While some guys may hit on girls from time to time, they
rarely step over a certain line if ‘the girl is a real girl’. Try ‘the girl is
actually a man’. That line goes way down. It’s an unwritten rule. Even
more so if ‘Iris’ is now fully a girl and no longer protected by the
system.”
During the time of the game, anyone attempting to make sexual
contact with the opposite sex was penalized quite severely, and that
rule was strictly enforced. So despite the game being R-15 to begin
with, one couldn’t run around in underwear in a public place.
“For example, if someone tells a girl to ‘show her breasts’, they’re
definitely a pervert… Well, I can’t say for sure they exist, but those
idiots are few and far between. But try saying ‘I’m actually a man’ with
this guy’s look. There will surely be idiots who will say ‘Former male’s
fine, because you know how I feel’. Even if you refuse, selfish
complaints will build up. If you ever let them have their way, things will
only get worse from there.”
“You’re right… Besides, who knows what kind of idiots will come up
with the ‘pay me with your body to apologize for cheating you’
excuse?”
“Anyway, never get found out. At all costs.”
The conversation that proceeded so quickly between the two of them
was making me pale. When I was still a man, my sexual function was
questionable at best, and I had rather low libido, so I wasn’t the person
to ask, but is that what “men” are really like?
“Long story short, ‘Iris’, always use a female tone when going outside.
You should be conscious of that from now on before you get into
trouble. If only you could fix your tone of voice, not many people would
be able to identify you as a man by your gestures. You two, Saul, from
now on you must act like a man. Even if you are found out to be a
woman, even an idiot can easily figure out where you got the man’s
account from.”
“…Understood. Then this is how I’m going to go from here.”
Saul immediately switched to a man’s tone. Too quick.
“How about you, ‘Iris’?”
“Ah, okay, I’ll do it… uh…”
I got it totally wrong. He said I had to live as “Iris” from now on. In the
back of my brain, I turned on the “cross”-play mode I used during the
game. I sit on the bed with my legs dangling at the sides, straightened
my back, put my hands on my lap, tilted my head, and smile gently…
“…I understand. Then I, too, will do this, if that’s all right, Reiji-san, Saulniisama?”
Why did both of them look away from me?
“…Dammit, Saul, what the hell were you thinking when you designed
such a weapon of mass destruction?”
“…I’m really sorry, I never expected her to become this devastating
when she became real like this.”
As the two of them were talking secretly to each other, I had a question
mark over my head.

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Iris/Yanagi

“……Ugh…”
My blurred consciousness slowly cleared up.
Another unknown ceiling. At least the bed I was lying on was clean and
soft, as if it had been washed and dried in the sunlight. Feeling relieved
that I was no longer in that place, I tried to sit up.
“…Ack, it hurts…!”
Pain started seeping out from the parts I tried to move, and I plopped
down to bed again, having lost all strength in my body.
I hadn’t felt any better compared to that time. My mind was still hazy,
my magical power didn’t seem to halfway return, and my entire body
was in a tingling, scorching pain.
Worst of all, I kept feeling that something’s missing from my body.
“…Onii-chan? You’re finally awake.”
Somebody opened the door. It was Ayame… no, Saul, who entered,
holding a tub of water.
“…Why are you looking at me like that? Are you still hurt?”
I shook my head at his caring words. The thought of seeing him again
filled my chest, and the overflowing drops gently wet my cheeks before
I knew it.
The bandages that seemed to have been wrapped all over my body and
the gauze under them were removed.
With a soft, wrung-out piece of cloth, my body was gently wiped so as
not to hurt the wounds.
My feverish mind wandered to the thought that if one were to look at
the current situation from the outside, it would be a moderately
immoral scene of a handsome older brother stripping his adolescentaged
younger sister naked and wiping her all over.
“Sorry about that… I really wanted to use ointment to treat your
wounds, but it might leave scars…”
He was waiting for me to wake up and use my recovery magic.
To my surprise, three days had already passed while I slept.
Since some parts of my body were infected, I first cleansed my entire
body with “Purification” before using recovery magic, just to be safe. In
a flash, all the wounds on my body disappeared without a trace, and my
original flawless white porcelain skin returned.
But the next symptom soon showed itself. I felt my body temperature
suddenly rising and had to wobble back onto bed.
I thought vaguely that I should be careful about using this treatment on
sick people in the future, since it consumed a lot of energy to heal
injuries and might possibly activate pathogens.
“…Here’s your medicine. Drink it up.”
A small pill, apparently anticipated and prepared in advance, was
placed in my mouth. Then I was fed water by the spoonful to slowly
swallow the solid pill. The slightly tepid water felt good on my parched
throat.
Once I was comfortable, I felt a little better because I no longer had
pain all over my body, but the fever still hadn’t subsided, and the cool
comfort of a hand on my face quickly lulled me into a trance.
The next time I woke up, my mind was rather clear. On either side of
the bed were Saul and Reiji, unarmed and dressed in street clothes,
each holding one of my hands and peering at me with concern.
“Thank goodness, you’re awake…”
“Do you feel unwell anywhere, Onii-chan?”
My fever seemed to have faded, and although there was still some
lingering exhaustion, I didn’t think any particular problem remained.
“…I made it back…”
How many times I’d thought that I’m done for, I didn’t know.
I was scared that I, who’s now a girl in flesh and blood, was going to
become a plaything for those men I didn’t know until the day I broke
down… but in the end, I was still able to make it back to the two of
them.
Tears of relief and joy again wet my cheeks, and soon I couldn’t stop
sobbing.
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have left you alone…!”
“This time, we’ll never leave your side again.”
Saul, whose physique had completely exchanged with mine, held me
gently, and Reiji gently rubbed my back as I continued to sob.
It was painful.
It was scary.
But above all else, I was concerned about them.
The world had changed, my body had changed. And I didn’t even know
if they were coming here.
With no way to contact them, it was impossible to shake off this doubt,
and I worried that I might never see them again.
But now, my anxiety was melting away like snow in spring. I could no
longer control my emotions by my own will, and for a while, I cried like
a child in their arms.
“…I’m alright now. Sorry you two, I shouldn’t be crying like this.”
When I calmed down, I felt embarrassed for crying so much earlier.
“Um…”
“It may be too soon since you just woke up but… there’s someone else
who really wants to meet you.”
The two of them turned serious at once. Someone wanted to see me. I
could only picture a single person in my mind with that description. My
body trembled and my hands started shaking.
“If you don’t feel like seeing him, just tell me, okay?”
“In case you’re wondering, it was because of that person calling for our
help that we were able to save you… Take it into consideration.”
To be honest, I was afraid. I hesitated for a not-too-short period of
time, fearing that I might hurl a few heartless words at him the moment
I see his face.
…But when I heard Reiji’s words, I made my decision.
The sight of a figure entering the room narrowed my field of vision.
The sounds coming in from my ears seemed so far away.
My heart was pounding like a fast bell, and my entire body was shaking
uncontrollably, despite my efforts to calm myself down.
My breathing became erratic, and I felt suffocated.
As soon as someone who wasn’t those two came into view, I wanted to
run away, but my strength from the waist down was drained, even
though I no longer had any wounds there.
It’s the same as the old days… rejecting everyone but my grandparents,
Reiji and Ayame… no, probably even worse this time.
Because there wasn’t only one robber with a knife. A gang of bandits,
all of them grinning and looking down on me with eyes full of lust… I
still trembled with fear when I recalled about what happened. The
sound of my teeth clattering was loud in my ears.
“…Are you sure you can do this?”
But I had to try. If I faltered here, I’m sure those two would simply send
him away and I would never have the chance to talk to him again.
“I’m fine… Please, let me talk…”
I shook my head at Reiji’s words of concern for me.
He’s right. Even now, I couldn’t help but be scared.
But… now matter how scary it was, running away wouldn’t save
anyone.
Scared as I was, I had to take the first step if I wanted to be saved.
Besides, unlike that time, those two were by my side. I could do it.
I gently lowered my feet to the floor.
Being bedridden for three days had considerably impaired my physical
strength. My slightly weakened legs couldn’t support the weight of my
body…
“Miss?!”
In a panic, that person… Scott-san, tried to help me get up in a panic.
But as soon as his arm touched me, a feeling of fear ran up and down
my spine, and a sound like a failed scream escaped from the back of my
throat.
“Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you…”
I quickly grabbed his hand as he tried to back away. The trembling
increased even more, and the blood drained from my face. No, I could
not fall over just yet.
My tongue was parched and I failed several times to speak, but the
touch of two hands on my shoulders encouraged me to put my strength
into my throat.
“It…hurt.”
“…Eh?”
“That time… I was really hurt.”
The scars might be gone, but the pain was still lodged deep inside. Just
by putting it into words, the horror of that time could be easily
replayed.
“I-I’m sorry, it was all my fault! Please punish me however you want,
even killing me’s fine!”
“If you say so… then your punishment is entirely up to me… and you
don’t get to complain… am I correct?”
“Yes! Punish me as you wish!”
Okay, I got his word.
“Well then… aaah.”
I opened my mouth.
The mouth of this body was small and did not open that wide, but this
was as good as it got.
“…? Miss, what are you… Ack!”
I bit at the thumb of Scott-san, who had a question mark on his head, as
hard as I could, with all my strength.
After a good 10 seconds or so. I removed the teeth that were biting.
The jaws of this body were not strong enough, and in fact, I hurt myself
a bit doing that. It didn’t go so far as to bite through the flesh, just a line
of neatly aligned teeth marks.
“Ouch! What was that just now, miss?!”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, this is nothing compared to your pain.”
“…Are you hurt?”
“No, this is nothing compared to the sins I committed.”
“……Are you hurt?”
I looked at him and asked three times, each time intensifying my stare
harder than the last.
“Uh… yeah, it really hurts.”
“Then it’s all water under the bridge now, okay?”
Finally, I got the answer I wanted.
I was done with it because he must have gone through the same thing
as me, judging from his look.
I smiled and laughed the best I could under the circumstances, then
chanted a simple spell. The restorative light that danced around Scottsan’s
body erased not only the dental marks, but also the wounds of his
entire body.
To be honest, Scott-san at the time was just a stranger with whom I
exchanged a few words… But he still went out of his way to call for help
despite his own injuries.
I rubbed his still clenched hands. They were rough and rugged, the
hands of someone who lived in this world, different from my current
hands, which looked as if they had never held anything heavy.
He wasn’t an NPC, he was just an ordinary person, not as good as I
thought he was, but not as bad as he thought he was.
So my point was not to sound bitter to him.
“Thanks to you… I was able to meet those two again… you have my
gratitude…”
My voice was fading out. The strength in my throat I desperately
gathered was being chipped away. The fear of touching others had not
disappeared. I felt like collapsing any minute… Still, I had to muster up
the strength to tell this much.
“Miss… I…”
Large drops were dripping from his eye. With the last of my energy, I
managed to maintain my smile at him. This was surely the best way to
thank him for his concern for my wellbeing and his devotion to me.
“… Seeing you safe and sound… I’m so glad…!”
Ah, was he concerned about me that much?
His tears, shed for me, brought warmth to my chest, and I felt that my
heart’s wounds were being healed, if only slightly…
He continued sobbing until I reached my limits and was put back on the
bed by the two panicked people behind me… That was the first thing I
heard after I woke up.