The New Normal
With each exchange, both she and I grew more at ease. Though my transformation had ultimately restored our original relationship, Mari's kindness helped the process along quickly. I had expected my body to change everything about my human connections, but Ganema and Mari both acted as if my worries were unfounded. I sank into the car seat, slumping against it. My neck dipped low enough to catch on the seatbelt, but with my smaller frame there was still plenty of space left. Haah~ I yawned widely, then pulled myself upright again. There was no reason to feel tired, so perhaps my body had simply grown bored now that it was used to the change. "I thought becoming like this would be a huge deal, but it's really not."
Even though I had become a woman, I rarely looked at myself, so there were few moments when it truly sank in. My height had dropped by dozens of centimeters, yet that alone didn't feel connected to being female. I had grown breasts, but honestly, my original chest had probably been larger than this. From that perspective, the only real changes were in relationships and daily sensations—and even those felt minor. As long as no terrorist incidents like the one earlier occurred, there was nothing particularly inconvenient about it.
"Um... then should we cancel the schedule for the week after next?"
"The week after next?"
I had no memory of making any appointments this week. Nor did I have any acquaintances close enough to schedule something with me ten days in advance. That meant the appointment had been set a month ago, or even earlier... What could it be? ....
"Is the appointment on July 17th, by any chance?"
"Yes."
July 17th. The day of the Area 7 Representative Hero Selection Match. The name lacked any creativity, but it contained everything it needed to. As the name suggested, it was a contest to determine who would serve as the "face" of the district through sheer combat ability. Of course, popularity, character, and achievements were also required, so raw power alone wasn't enough to become the representative hero. Area 4 was an exception—since I was the only applicant, I became the representative without ever participating in a selection match. Normally, when a representative changed, the event served as a kind of show to announce the transition, with the outgoing hero deliberately losing to highlight the new, stronger candidate.
Representative heroes were decided once a year per district, totaling eleven matches across the country, but since the position rarely changed hands, the event only happened once or twice annually. "He was due to step down from the representative spot, but why this year specifically?" He had held the position for six years. Most representatives stepped down due to scandals, so three years was already considered long. Six years was certainly enough time to retire, but it was surprising that someone obsessed with the number seven had delayed the usual first-Wednesday schedule all the way to July 17th without completing a full seven years.
"Still, he's stepping down for a good reason. And he's not quitting hero work entirely. The problem is..."
"It's precisely because it's for a good reason that I don't want to go."
Just in case, I decided to mention it in advance. With a hand still marked by fatigue, I reached into the dress pocket and pulled out my phone. The device that didn't fold in half was now folded in half. ... To think it broke from a fall of only six floors. I should have noticed something was wrong the moment my hand hurt while putting it in my pocket. In a world full of superpowered individuals, the durability was disappointingly low. "Send the message yourself. First, let's go buy a new phone."
"Not that one—try this too!"
I distinctly had no memory of paying for anything at the department store. "Oh~ My eye for these things is never wrong!" Even if I had paid for something, it would only have been the phone. "Next, this one!" Yet when I got home, unfamiliar boxes filled with women's clothing were waiting for me. Mari must have bought them. But when? She had been with me almost the entire time, so there shouldn't have been any opportunity to shop separately. "Every time we went to pick up clothes, I already paid for the ones I liked and asked for them to be delivered separately!" "So you bought the dress I wore earlier in advance and had me wear it?" "Yes! Of course. Oh, did you like it? Should I buy a few more?"
Mari lifted several dresses—identical or similar to the one I had worn, in different colors—with both arms and showed them to me. I had thought the dress ruined during the fight with the villain hadn't been compensated for on the spot, but at least this was fortunate. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at the mountain of clothes and the boxes presumably containing even more. "Didn't you spend way too much? There's clearly a lot here." The clothes I had worn and taken off, plus the ones she intended for me to wear. I slipped a finger into a sleeve and felt the fabric. It wasn't high-end, but it wasn't cheap either. Even if the frills and unnecessary layers added bulk, there had to be at least a hundred pieces. At ten thousand won each, that was over a million won. Spending that much at once? "It's fine! Thanks to someone working me to the bone every day, I never had time to spend money, so it piled up!"
... I supposed I could play along for a while. Wearing clothes that fluttered loosely, as if they might not even fit, I walked over to her.
After trying on dozens of outfits, the most satisfying result emerged: a white top that left the shoulders slightly exposed and black shorts with white lines. The shapes and colors were unbalanced, but that imbalance felt right. Most of the clothes Mari had bought were dresses or skirts, so these were the only pants available. My legs felt exposed, but how could I give up pants with pockets? "Ugh. I knew this would happen—I shouldn't have bought the dolphin shorts!" "Which part are you regretting, exactly...?"
Haah~ Maybe because so much had happened today, even though the clock showed only four o'clock, I was starting to feel mentally exhausted. I slipped my hands into my pockets and leaned back on the sofa. Then, pointing at the pile of clothes with my toes, I asked Mari, "More importantly, what are we going to do with all that? There's nowhere to put them, and just cleaning up will take hours." Even just trying them on and taking them off had taken three hours. Naturally, organizing them would take just as long. Why had she bought so many? "Um... good question?" She really hadn't thought about it. "Ha... I'll help. Let's stop trying things on for now." "Yes, sir." By the time we finished organizing, it was past six-thirty. We stored the clothes in the spare room. It took time because the room wasn't used often, but we managed to finish. "Now I should probably take a shower." "I'll get you a change of clothes!" "No, I'll just wear what I have on." "Eek. But tomorrow you should wear something else—" "And buy a few more pairs of what I'm wearing now."
The moment I put on the pants, I reached into the pocket where I had stored my wallet. The smaller pants meant smaller pockets, so it was hard to pull out. Maybe I should buy a smaller wallet too. "Oh! This is straight-up exploitation! Labor outside working hours!" "Use that to cover the money you spent on clothes. Besides, there's not much difference even after work ends." "W... Well, that's true." Ah, it came out. I lightly tossed the wallet in my hand toward her. Thud— But I forgot my reduced strength and threw it too gently, so instead of reaching her, the wallet fell to the floor. "..." "..." "This counts as exploitation, right?" "Sorry."
Mari's joke was menacing, but I wasn't in a position to complain. I walked over, picked up the wallet from the floor, handed it to her, and hurried into the bathroom. Inside, I looked at myself in the mirror. Nothing seemed different at first glance, but subtle changes had occurred. I flicked my hair with my fingers, making it sway. The hair that had barely reached my neck now fell to my shoulders, and my body's proportions had shifted slightly. Since my field of view hadn't changed, my height had probably increased by three or four centimeters. I twisted my wrists and neck as I removed my clothes. Crack— crack— The sounds came, but they no longer felt as refreshing or relieving as before. This time, I looked at the mirror while wearing only the pants and top. There was a modest chest, a slim waist, and though the lower body wasn't visible, it was probably just as well-proportioned. But whether because I recognized that this was my own appearance, or because my age and abilities had erased any sexual desire, I felt no particular emotion or sentiment. I looked down at my palms. These were the hands that had been injured when the villain grabbed me. I held them with my other hand and rubbed the area with my thumb, but nothing felt wrong. If anything had changed, it was simply that hands once filled with firm muscle had become soft.
I turned on the shower and let the cold water hit me, lost in thoughts of when I might return to normal.