Teacher, Will You Kiss Me?
My heart pounded wildly.
Thump. Thump.
Most people would easily mistake a racing heart for the flutter of excitement.
But right now, mine was doing anything but.
“Hmm… So you were Professor Ariel’s assistant?”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”
I was in a one-on-one meeting with the Demon King, so my heart was simply throwing a frantic pop-and-lock routine from sheer tension.
The fourth Demon King, Ergeros.
Widely regarded as the strongest ruler in history, he had expanded the demon realm’s territory more than any before him. He was the very symbol of the demon world’s golden age.
That same overwhelming figure was now studying every inch of my body with his gaze.
The chill in his emotionless eyes scraped down my spine like ice.
“Professor Ariel has a good eye… In that case.”
Tap. Tap.
The Demon King’s scarred fingers drummed against the table.
“Do you have the confidence to raise my daughter into an outstanding successor?”
“Yes. Leave it to me.”
In truth, I had no idea what a successor was supposed to learn. I didn’t even know what the Demon King’s daughter—the princess—looked like. All I knew was her name: Regrita.
Yet the reason I stood there pretending to be confident while shaking inside was simple.
Clink.
Money, obviously.
I wasn’t entirely sure what I was supposed to teach, but if I just passed on everything I knew the way Professor Ariel had suggested, that should be enough, right?
“Very well. For today, a simple greeting will suffice. Collect your room key from the head butler. Meals can be taken whenever you wish—keep that in mind.”
A heavy pouch landed in front of me with a solid thud.
I nearly let my jaw drop open and had to force it shut.
It was only natural. I couldn’t even begin to guess how many gold coins were inside to produce a sound like that.
Even for a royal tutor to the demon king’s family, an enormous salary plus room and board was beyond generous.
This was literally a dream job.
The poor assistant who used to scribble worthless theses was gone. In his place stood a wealthy private tutor raising the next Demon King.
For the first time, I felt genuine gratitude toward Professor Ariel, who had done nothing but torment me until now.
“Thank you! Thank you, Your Majesty! I’ll work my hardest!”
Yes. Since I was going to be a tutor, I would raise the princess into a magnificent successor!
Burning with determination, I turned to leave the office.
Now then, first I should find the head butler and get my room—
“Ah, one more thing before you go.”
The Demon King’s voice stopped me just as I reached for the door. I scurried back inside.
“Come here for a moment.”
I approached the beckoning Demon King.
Could it be… he was going to sweeten the compensation even more?
My mind spun with happy possibilities as I stopped in front of him.
Grab.
“Huh?”
The Demon King seized my head.
Then he slowly, deliberately stroked my hair.
What was this? Why was he suddenly doing this? Was this the workplace harassment I’d only ever heard about?
Unfortunately the harasser was the highest authority in the entire demon realm, so there was nowhere to report it…
His rough, calloused hand tousled my carefully arranged hair until it stuck out in every direction.
Anger surged inside me.
He was such an impossibly lofty superior that I couldn’t even make a sound of protest.
So this was why Professor Ariel had recommended me for the Demon King’s castle…!
I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally downgrading my opinion of the professor even further, when—
“I apologize, but my daughter refuses to accept any tutor who isn’t female.”
“…Pardon?”
What? Hadn’t I already passed?
“Therefore, you will need to become a woman.”
“……Pardon??”
Before I could even form a protest—
Crackle—!
“Ugh…”
Electricity surged through my brain.
The world spun. My field of vision seemed lower somehow…
I clutched my spinning head and collapsed.
“This should be cute enough. I hope my daughter doesn’t lose interest too quickly this time.”
The last words I heard before losing consciousness—I desperately hoped I had misheard them.
Poke. Poke poke.
Someone was prodding my arm.
The persistent stimulation slowly dragged my submerged consciousness back to the surface.
I forced my heavy eyelids open.
The first thing to fill my vision was a girl so breathtakingly beautiful it felt like I might drown in her presence.
She had glossy black hair like silk and a soft, smiling expression.
……Who was she?
Startled by the sudden situation, I tried to sit up.
Or rather, I attempted to.
“Ugh… mmph…”
My body refused to obey, still tingling all over. It must have been the aftereffects of that electric shock earlier…
“Oh, please don’t push yourself!”
The girl gently but firmly pressed me back down as I struggled to rise.
Plop—
Only after lying down again did I realize I was on a bed.
Once horizontal, all strength left my limbs.
“Um… who… are you…?”
I barely managed to move my tongue.
…But why did my voice sound like that? It was much higher than before…?
The girl’s eyes widened at my question.
“Huh? That’s strange… There shouldn’t be any memory loss… Did Father make a mistake? Or did she really not know me…?”
She murmured to herself, stroking her chin.
I had no idea where I was or who she was, but one thing was crystal clear.
“…You’re beautiful.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah…”
I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
Had the shock completely short-circuited my brain? I was the type who never once badmouthed Professor Ariel no matter how much alcohol I drank, yet here I was making a careless slip.
I tried to apologize for my rudeness, struggling to move my stiff lips, when—
“Thank you! You’re incredibly cute too, Teacher.”
The girl laughed softly and stroked my head.
Her touch was gentle, completely unlike the way the Demon King had ruffled my hair.
Huh…? Setting aside the sudden head-patting for now.
Cute…?
I’d been called kind or warm before, but never cute.
More importantly—Teacher?
That would mean…
“…Are you the princess, by any chance?”
“That’s right. I am the proud only daughter of the current Demon King—Regrita.”
Ding—
It felt like I’d been struck in the head with a hammer.
The very princess I was supposed to teach.
I was having my head stroked by Princess Regrita herself.
…Why?
“Ugh… mmph…”
“Ah, you really shouldn’t overdo it…”
With sheer willpower, I forced myself upright.
This was no time to be lying in bed.
The tingling eased slightly once I made myself move.
After swinging my arms to confirm I had control, I quickly knelt on the bed.
“I greet Your Highness. My name is Melly, appointed as Your Highness’s personal tutor starting today… Huh?”
Even though I hadn’t chosen the position, I still wanted to apologize for having been sprawled out in front of the princess.
But there was something I simply couldn’t ignore.
“Ah, ah… Eh?”
My voice was wrong.
I’d glossed over it earlier while still half-conscious, but the pitch was unmistakably higher. High enough to be mistaken for a woman’s.
…A woman?
Forgetting the princess was right in front of me, I yanked off the blanket.
Only then did I see my body.
A delicate, frail frame with every trace of muscle gone.
An empty space between my legs.
And a chest that rose in soft curves…
Wait, hold on—what was this? If it was going to grow, why so ambiguously… No, that wasn’t the important part right now.
I had no idea what had happened, but I couldn’t stay dazed in front of the princess.
I knelt once more and introduced myself properly.
“My name is Melly. I have been appointed as Your Highness’s personal tutor from today onward.”
…It still felt awkward. The words didn’t sound like they were coming from me.
“Hehe, I look forward to working with you.”
Fortunately I didn’t seem to have offended her; the princess clapped her hands softly.
But that was beside the point…
“Um, Princess…”
“Yes? Ask me anything, Teacher.”
“Why have you been stroking my head this whole time…?”
I couldn’t understand why the hand that had been patting me hadn’t stopped yet.
The princess smiled and answered,
“Because it’s admirable. And cute. Even though your body suddenly changed—which would normally cause panic—you still managed a proper self-introduction.”
“…Pardon?”
The unexpected praise made my face burn.
“Oh? You’re blushing.”
The princess, who had caught it instantly, stroked my cheek.
“Ahem… Does Your Highness know why my body has become like this?”
I didn’t dare pull away from her touch, unsure what might happen if I did. It definitely wasn’t because it felt good. Absolutely not.
The princess, who had been caressing my cheek like a pet cat, spoke.
“Ah… About that. First, I owe you an apology. I’m sorry.”
“Y-yes!? No, please raise your head, Princess!”
Startled, I quickly helped her up.
Why was someone who should only bow her head to the Demon King suddenly doing this?
My mind was a complete mess from the flood of sudden events.
The princess, eyes slightly lowered, scratched her cheek.
“Um… You see, I asked Father to only hire female tutors. And if the candidate was male, to change their gender…”
“…Ah?”
At the same time, the Demon King’s earlier words flashed through my mind.
—I’m sorry, but my daughter refuses to accept any tutor who isn’t female.
—Therefore, you will need to become a woman.
Huh…?
So I hadn’t misheard…?
My hands trembled as I clenched and unclenched them.
They were small. Pitifully small.
Objectively speaking, they were cute. It would have been nice if they weren’t my hands.
Only then did the truth I had been denying force its way into my heart.
…I had become a woman.
Only now did I realize this was the princess’s bedroom.
There was no way I could have crawled here unconscious and climbed into her bed, so someone must have carried me.
Judging by the princess’s sparkling red eyes, the culprit was probably her.
“Princess. Excuse me, but is there a mirror in this room…?”
“Here you are, Teacher.”
She handed me a hand mirror as if she had prepared it in advance.
The moment I saw my reflection… I dropped the mirror.
Plop.
Thank goodness it landed on the bed.
The princess, who had been sneaking glances at me, asked,
“How is it? Cute, right…?”
“……Yes. It’s cute.”
The girl in the mirror was cute. So cute it was infuriating.
Shoulder-length pure white hair.
A round, soft face.
Light green eyes with a gentle, puppy-like gaze…
It was harder to find something that wasn’t cute.
It felt a little embarrassing to say about myself, but I was confident I could stand toe-to-toe with the Saintess of the human empire in a beauty contest and win.
Once again—if this weren’t my own face, I would have felt pretty good about it.
I turned to look at the princess beside me.
Her slightly lowered eyes seemed to scream apology, but the corners of her mouth kept creeping upward, unable to hide how adorable she found me.
So this whole situation was the princess’s doing?
Sigh… I couldn’t say anything harsh because she was the princess.
“…Princess Regrita.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“Is there any chance you could change my gender back…?”
I asked with desperate hope that this had simply been a mischievous prank from a bored princess.
I had wanted to earn a lot of money, but I hadn’t meant by changing my gender.
What I received in return was the princess’s troubled expression.
“Uuu… I really, really like it though… Can’t you just stay like this?”
“…Because of my appearance?”
“Yes. Your soft cheeks, the tear mole under your eye, your small frame… Oh, and the slightly disappointing part will grow bigger if I keep touching it, so…”
“What!?”
I instinctively covered my chest.
The mention of the “slightly disappointing part” had made me react on pure instinct.
The princess burst into bright laughter at my reaction.
It seemed my suffering delighted her.
“Ah… You’re too cute, I couldn’t stop myself… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. Then, about my gender…”
Clink.
“Would this be enough to grant my request? Just for a month—no, just a week. If you still want to return to normal after that, I’ll ask Father for you.”
The princess cut me off and pressed a pouch into my hands.
A very heavy pouch.
“Ahem. No matter how much money you offer, Princess, changing gender is a bit…”
Clink.
“P-Princess? As I said, there are things money can’t—”
Clink.
“Stop, please stop! Even if it’s a fortune, I can’t just abandon my gender…”
Clink.
Clink.
Clink.
“……”
“Just a week. Okay?”
I was on the verge of being buried beneath a mountain of coin pouches.
I looked back and forth between the pouches filling my arms and the princess, then…
Nodded.
From today onward, I was a woman no matter what anyone said.
There was nothing in the world money couldn’t solve.
If something couldn’t be solved, it simply meant there wasn’t enough money. That was all.
She was only asking me to live as a woman for a single week. When I thought about it, it really wasn’t that difficult a request.
As I struggled to control the corners of my mouth that kept rising skyward, the princess gently lifted my chin.
Just like when I first saw her, she wore a breathtakingly beautiful smile.
“Princess?”
“Then…”
The princess slowly leaned closer to my face.
In that instant, the Demon King’s final words came back to me.
—This should be cute enough. I hope my daughter doesn’t get tired of her too quickly this time.
Why was that coming to mind right now…?
The reason wasn’t hard to figure out.
The princess, close enough that I could feel her warm breath, whispered,
“Teacher, will you kiss me?”
It was my first meeting with the princess.