Minerva Workshop

The next morning.

My appointment was drawing closer, and I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was completely stuck.

What am I supposed to wear?

The only clothes that currently fit me were the ones I'd been wearing when I Awakened. Those, however, were stained with nosebleed and currently spinning in the washing machine. Nothing in the closet was going to fit this body, which meant that right now, I was naked. Men's underwear just slid right off. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I didn't have a choice.

"Hnnngh..."

I sank into a deep, miserable deliberation. Not going wasn't an option. I had no money, and I absolutely had to sell that blood.

Ah—

Th-this might work...!

I dug out some clothes, pulled them on, and stood in front of the mirror.

"Ugh..."

It was a hoodie I'd bought in the wrong size ages ago and stuffed in the back of the closet. A little big, but it looked okay.

Past me, you absolute legend for not throwing this out...

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Down below, though, still felt emptily, alarmingly unfinished. I grabbed the hem in the mirror and tugged it down until the important bits disappeared from view.

At least it's just around the corner...

Once I sell this nosebleed, clothes are the first thing I'm buying...

I shuffled out the door in an awkward half-crouch. Walking down the street, I could feel people's eyes on me.

I feel like a pervert...

Technically I wasn't wearing anything underneath. I had circumstances, though, so it was fine. That's what I told myself, anyway. A flawless mental victory.

And so I arrived at my destination.

This is the place...?

I found myself standing in front of a shop.

"Hi there, little miss?"

A woman's voice called from behind me. I turned around.

"Whoa, those boobs..."

Hello...

Wait.

...

What did I just say...?

"I-I'm so sorry!!"

I was going to prison. I had just sexually harassed a woman in South Korea. My life was over.

But she just smiled with her eyes and told me it was fine. Her heart was as generous as her chest was ample.

M-Mommy...!

"So, what brings you here?"

"Um, well, the bl— I mean, we arranged a potion deal..."

As I explained, I realized she was the one I'd been dealing with. I had sexually harassed my trading partner at first meeting.

If I'd still been a guy, I'd be dead. Socially buried, at the very least. Was this okay just because I was a girl now?

I followed her inside. The shop was packed with everything from healing potions to concoctions that looked deeply, deeply suspicious.

"I haven't even introduced myself yet. I'm Han Yoon-seul, the owner of this Minerva Workshop."

Yoon-seul introduced herself and held out her Awakened Registration Card.

B-rank? She was a lot stronger than she looked.

"I-I'm Lee Sea..."

She looked puzzled when I only gave my name, but once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I explained I hadn't registered yet because I'd only just Awakened, she seemed to understand.

"More importantly, you should register soon. You'll get fined if you don't, you know?"

A fine? That was news to me. If I registered, there was a high chance my ability would get out.

That's the horseshoe-crab ending...!

I had to register, didn't I...? I really didn't want my ability getting discovered.

I pulled a plastic bottle from my hoodie's pocket.

"Um... here."

Yoon-seul took the bottle.

"Next time we do a deal, a glass bottle would be better."

Then she handed me three glass bottles.

She really is a mommy...!

After I handed over my nosebleed, Yoon-seul said she'd check it and told me to wait a moment, then disappeared into what looked like a workshop.

She won't figure out it's nosebleed, right?

What if she says the quality's bad and she doesn't want to buy it...?

I sat on a sofa in the corner of the shop and waited. Eventually Yoon-seul came back out of the workshop.

"Well now, little miss. You've made something fascinating~"

Was that a compliment...?

Yoon-seul said it was incredibly well-made for a first attempt. She asked, curious, how on earth I'd managed to get a potion to coagulate.

I absolutely cannot tell her it's nosebleed...!

Yoon-seul's eyes sparkled.

"Hey... Sea, want to sign an exclusive contract with me?"

"W-what?"

But I turned her down. It was a good opportunity, but... I wasn't an alchemist. If she found out what the potion really was, I had a feeling I'd spend the rest of my life in the back of that workshop getting drained of blood.

"If you sign, I'll even teach you how to make better potions. How about it?"

She clearly thought I was an Alchemy Awakened. Was she trying to kidnap a novice alchemist and work me like a slave?

This is peak grad-student exploitation...

"Ahaha... I'm sorry. I'm not actually an Alchemy Awakened..."

Yoon-seul asked how I'd made the potion, then, but I mumbled something about trade secrets and somehow managed to dodge the question.

"That's a shame... If you ever change your mind, just give me a call!"

Yoon-seul handed me a slip of paper with her number on it, along with three fifty-thousand-won bills.

"Huh?"

Did she give me the wrong amount? Mixing up ten thousand and fifty thousand...

She's a little airheaded, huh.

I could've just played dumb, but I still had a conscience.

"Um... you gave me the wrong amount."

"Hm? I meant to give you a hundred and fifty thousand."

Yoon-seul was a goddess. She'd given me five times the money.

"Th-thank you so much!"

I bowed at a full ninety degrees. The hoodie rode up a little.

...Ah.

Yoon-seul's gaze dropped straight to my lower half.

"Come to think of it, Sea, your clothes..."

"Kyaaah... Th-thank you for today! Take care!!"

Did she see?

I blurted out a thank-you and fled the shop.

I wanted to go home, but I needed to buy clothes. I can't keep walking around like this.

You might think I could just order online, but with Gate Rampages happening so often, warehouses kept collapsing or getting attacked. Same-day rocket delivery like the old days was a thing of the past. Even if I ordered now, it would take three or four days on average.

There weren't any clothing stores nearby, either.

"Did this neighborhood just... die?"

I didn't have enough money for a department store.

Hnnn...

I had no choice. I'd start with the nearby underwear shop.

Every step I took, I could feel eyes on me. A girl walking around in nothing but a hoodie—

I picked up the pace and ducked into the store.

"Welcome."

Uwaaah...

The place was packed with women's underwear. I could feel my face heating up in real time.

"What can I help you with?"

"I'm here to buy underwear..."

The clerk guided me to the children's section.

Huh...?

I may have gotten shorter, but I was a perfectly legitimate adult. I carefully tried to explain as much to the clerk, but she said at my height, children's sizes were the only option. I had no choice but to browse kids' underwear.

I feel like a lolicon...

I considered buying a bra too, but looking down... nothing seemed to have changed from when I was a guy. I just picked out panties. I went with the most inoffensive options I could find: a pair of white ones with a red ribbon, and a pair with little teddy bears on them.

I handed them to the clerk. After ringing me up, she started to bag them, so I told her I'd wear one pair out. Her eyes drifted downward.

Gasp—

The clerk must have noticed I wasn't wearing pants. Without a word, she handed me a pair of short shorts as a complimentary gift.

Does she think I'm some poor kid who can't even afford clothes...? As of this morning, she wouldn't have been wrong. Not anymore, though.

I headed into the fitting room. Women's underwear, first time wearing it — not bad, actually. Maybe it was because I'd been going commando. The loose, empty feeling vanished, and I felt a little more at ease.

And the complimentary shorts—

"So these are those dolphin shorts..."

I tried them on. Super comfortable. I think I get why so many girls wear these...

I thanked the clerk one more time and left the store.

I walked without thinking and found myself home. Outside, the sun was already going down. The tension must have finally let go, because exhaustion hit me all at once.

I should at least take a shower...

I finished washing up, and then—

Ding—

I hadn't even called for my Status Window, but a blue screen appeared in front of my eyes.

A quest?

More importantly — I'd lose my ability...? I had about eight and a half hours left. Why a quest like this, all of a sudden...?

For now, I ate yesterday's leftover tteokbokki and started planning. It wouldn't even tell me the reward, I had to heal someone, and if I failed I'd lose my ability... What a garbage quest.

I didn't have much time left, so I decided to head back out. I just took a shower...

I pulled on the hoodie and dolphin shorts I'd stripped off and tossed in the corner the moment I got home, and stepped outside.

Night had already fallen.

"Where am I even supposed to go..."

Heal someone? Did I have to commit a crime or something?

I wandered the neighborhood looking for anyone who needed help. But there wasn't a single injured person in sight. Well, obviously...

I kept walking, and before I knew it I'd arrived at the park. It was already the dead of night.

"Status Window."

When I called up the Status Window, the quest appeared below it too.

An hour left.

And the longer I waited, the worse my odds got. It was already one in the morning.

I started walking, looking around the park.

"Huh?"

In the distance, a woman was lying on a bench — and she had pointed ears.

An elf?

Some people underwent physical changes when they Awakened. I was one of them. Turning into a woman was rare, but it happened.

I approached her slowly. She was asleep. Pale skin, black hair, pointed ears... and fangs...?

I'd never seen an elf in person before.

"U-um..."

Normally I wouldn't have woken her, but given the circumstances, I shook her awake. When she opened her eyes, I saw sharp pupils and crimson irises.

D-do you need help, by any chance?

"...Yes."

She said she needed help. Thinking I might actually complete the quest, I stepped closer—

Grab—

She pulled me into her arms. Then her mouth went for my neck.

Thunk. Her fangs sank into my neck.

"Slurp... suck... sluurp."

She kept drinking the blood flowing from my neck.

"Mmm, slurp.... suck."

Ngh...!

It felt weird.

"Hah...!"

"H-hey... s-stop..."

She didn't even pretend to hear me. She just kept devouring my blood.

Dizzy...

Strength was draining from my body. My eyes kept trying to close.

I can't fall asleep...!

But the blood kept being sucked away. I couldn't hold on.

My eyes slipped shut.

"Nnh..."