A Person Without Papers

I never thought the night air could feel this welcome.

Just knowing I'd slipped free of the death that had come calling for me was enough to let me breathe again.

My hands were full of trash… well, items I'd farmed myself, piled so high that even walking was a struggle. But so what? Surviving was what mattered.

Besides, I finally had something I could sell. That alone made everything worthwhile. The Magic Stones… two hundred grams ought to fetch a decent price, I figured.

As for the spellbook and the rusted sword, those were junk I'd have gladly tossed aside on the spot.

This one, though… no one's buying this.

The item called Magical Girl's Friend occupied both my hands and made its presence known with every step.

The moment I'd claimed the reward, an egg the size of my own head had gone rolling across the floor.

It looked useless and heavy, so I'd tried to leave it behind in the Tower—only for a message to pop up saying I couldn't exit without it.

"It's way too heavy!"

So I'd hauled it out against my will… and I still had no idea what it even was.

Every time it bumped against the staff hanging from my neck, it made a wet, clattering racket and nothing more.

Was something supposed to hatch from this thing?

…A mascot, maybe?

"At least I got home quick."

I couldn't have been walking for more than ten minutes. The house that had felt so far away was suddenly right in front of me.

Beep. Beep-beep.

I punched in the familiar passcode and dumped the items in a heap the second the door opened.

Once inside the shabby little place, I collapsed onto the bed, body completely spent.

I needed rest—physical and mental both.

I didn't want to move another inch. I just wanted to lie there and sleep.

A body that hadn't been put through anything in ages was screaming in protest. I buried my face in the mattress and closed my eyes.

…Tried to, anyway.

That lingering unease from earlier kept needling at me.

I'd changed clothes, but the evidence was still there.

My thighs were still damp… and something about it just felt wrong.

I should… wash up, right?

I never imagined my first experience in this body would happen inside the Tower. Haha. Not in a bathroom—right there in the Tower itself.

…Haa.

At my age, and I still managed to pull that off. The self-loathing was staggering.

No—well. Fine. It was partly my fault.

I hadn't even properly read the skill before awakening, so my whole attitude toward climbing the Tower had been rotten from the start.

Still. Why did it feel so unfair? One little accident and it was like my entire life had ended.

"Haa."

Hauling my limp body upright was no small feat.

Even so, I refused to sleep like this.

I forced myself into the bathroom, where the shower waited.

I peeled off the ratty T-shirt that had been covering my upper half and flung it aside. The dolphin shorts that barely counted as clothes got tossed by the door as well.

"…Whoa."

I hadn't been wearing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠any underwear, so the mirror reflected me without a single scrap of fabric.

…A truly complicated tangle of emotions crossed through me. Come to think of it, this was the first time I'd ever looked at myself naked in a mirror like this.

Something about it was hard to control. My eyes kept going back. It was almost instinctive.

"Does this even make sense…?"

My gaze kept drifting to the soft mounds of fat on my chest. An unavoidable kind of instinct.

The guilt is insane.

Was it okay for me to look? Was I allowed to stare at a body this defenseless?

In the end it was my body, the one I was moving… but maybe because I still hadn't adjusted, a flicker of guilt still passed through.

"…Hoo."

Warm water began ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to pour from the showerhead. Steam fogged the bathroom mirror until it took on color of its own, and I could no longer confirm that it was still me looking back.

"…"

Only then did I step into the stream.

Feeling the warmth soak into me, I slowly, thoroughly explored every corner of this transformed body.

I'd genuinely tried not to look. I'd made an effort not to touch.

It felt uncomfortably like lusting after myself, so I'd tried to finish the shower quickly—but my attention kept wandering back.

…I used to be a guy. That was just how it was.

If you really thought about it, this behavior didn't have much to do with what gender I'd originally been.

Anyone faced with something unknown would feel the same curiosity. It was that kind of phenomenon.

"…Nnh."

Absolutely not.

This wasn't sexual desire. It was a kind of curiosity.

Nothing more than the fundamental human impulse to explore and experience something unfamiliar that had become one's own. That was the source of what I was doing.

…Probably.

"Oh…"

Washing long hair turned out to be more inconvenient than I'd expected.

Maybe this body was just unusual, but after standing under the warm water for a while, my skin flushed a vivid red.

My arms, my thighs—those parts of me were softer than I'd imagined. Softer than my chest, even, maybe…

"…I look so fragile."

And this was supposed to be an EX-skill holder? A delicate body that looked like it couldn't resist an ordinary man, let alone a monster.

The fact that I couldn't use any mana at all without transforming already felt ridiculously unfair.

They could have at least given me one skill to protect myself. Was being unable to transform some kind of curse that locked away all that mana completely?

I don't know anymore…

Only after standing under the warm stream, only after letting it soak every part of me, could I finally get the words out.

"…I thought I was going to die."

I'd never imagined climbing the Tower could be this terrifying.

I'd thought it was just a tutorial. With an EX-rank skill, I'd arrogantly assumed I'd breeze right through it.

…I'd survived by sheer luck, but there was no guarantee the next time would go the same way. What I needed was information about my skills.

A Magical Girl Never Loses.

"…"

A skill whose description was vague to the point of uselessness. And yet it had saved me.

Not only had it spared my life—it had taught me how to handle my own mana.

I still clearly remembered the magic I'd used to burn those monsters. The manipulation of mana had been branded into my body.

"…"

The Reflector that bounced every attack back. That humiliating spell that incinerated the boss. Nejeri this, Nejeri that…

They would definitely be a huge help climbing the Tower from here on. I'd learned the feel of them, so I was sure I could recreate them.

"Can I…"

But I couldn't shake the unease.

"Can I climb it alone?"

I'd barely scraped through the tutorial. Could I really do this by myself?

The moment running away stopped being an option, the Tower stopped being a safe way to make money. It was no different from a gamble with my life on the line.

"…I don't know."

For now, I just washed myself clean and scrubbed the stray thoughts away. Standing under the warm water, I erased the things that had been tormenting me one by one.

This way, I could peel off that earlier filth. This way, I could forget the shameful things that had happened in the Tower.

…I should finish up and go to sleep.

Once I'd towelled off and stepped out, I realized I had absolutely nothing to wear. Putting the already-filthy T-shirt back on made me want to gag.

The fact that I didn't even have underwear to cover myself with was just pathetic. The only thing remotely wearable was a white T-shirt I couldn't even remember when I'd last washed.

"…At least it doesn't smell."

I didn't have another option. I forced myself into the oversized shirt that hung down to my thighs.

Maybe it was because I wasn't wearing underwear. The breeze brushing between my legs felt ticklish. Of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠course nothing covered me down there—I simply had nothing to put on.

"…Ugh."

It was a sensation I'd never felt before. …It felt weird.

"…Yeah."

I needed to buy underwear immediately. I couldn't live like this.

There was a limit to how long I could get by hiding under baggy clothes. I couldn't even go outside like this.

I at least needed to live like a person before I could climb the Tower or do anything else.

"There's got to be something that fits… right?"

A small frame with a chest that didn't match it. Could I even find underwear for this body online?

Clothes I could figure out somehow, but…

I was already short on money, and I barely had any to spare on this kind of thing.

I'd transform when I fought anyway, so as long as I could cover my body decently, that would be enough—but I wasn't going to spend my whole life climbing the Tower either.

"…"

I'd think about it later. For now, a few cheap outfits would solve the problem. Right now, I just wanted to vent on the gallery.

…So I really was the weird ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one. The reactions made that crystal clear. My skill was garbage. Garbage that dumped some bizarre responsibility on me.

And being a magical girl in the first place felt like a screw-loose kind of awakening.

Suddenly turning into a girl. Suddenly transforming.

"…This really isn't easy."

I ignored the notifications that more comments had come in and started writing another post.

"Oh, come on."

…I needed ID for this too? Wasn't there anywhere I could sell under the table?

I really needed money right now.