This Is Really Me?
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Hehehehehehe..."
"I... I'm..."
A girl. Hahahahaha. Reincarnation? Well, I guess that can happen. Another world? That's basically standard procedure, right? I always thought stuff like this only happened in novels or anime, but hey, why not? Reality can be like that too! Though reality's usually harsher than fiction. Did I really have to become a girl? They say when people fall into indescribable despair, all they can do is laugh. I don't know who said it, but it seems true. That's exactly what's happening to me! So let's laugh. They say laughter brings good fortune, don't they? Hah. Fuck.
"Kihihihit."
"Please stop now, Levia. It's already been an hour. You've been laughing nonstop for an entire hour."
I'd been rolling around on the bed like some kind of laughing machine when Cheska spoke up. I stared straight at her.
"What? What's with that look?"
She flinched and slowly backed away. It was actually pretty cute. If I had to describe her with my limited vocabulary, she had brown hair tied back in a neat long ponytail so it wouldn't get in the way, and though she wore armor, it was light enough that it actually emphasized the parts it didn't cover—her hips, her waistline.
"Something feels wrong. Please look away."
Those eyes glaring at me—sharp and fierce, yet beautiful. Her irises, closer to red than brown, were like roses with thorns. And that mole beneath her eye? She was the very picture of a sharp-tongued beauty. The kind of verbal abuse she dished out would probably count as a reward in certain industries. Her actions were pure sweet potato, though. Not because I hold grudges or anything. Really.
"Hee~ Cheska's pretty cute."
"Wh-what are you saying all of a sudden?"
Look at her getting flustered. That's gap moe right there. Again, her actions are still pure sweet potato. I'm not repeating myself because I hold grudges. Seriously.
"Especially your eyes. They're beautiful."
"Have you truly gone mad? Even divine power can't fix insanity."
Ah! Divine power! That had been fascinating. While I was wailing over the shocking truth that I was a girl, the muscle-head—no, Archbishop Carlo—had said he needed to check if there was anything wrong with my body. He'd clasped his hands in prayer, and golden light had burst from his palms. This really is another world, huh?
"I just told the truth. Calling me crazy is a bit much, isn't it?"
"Ahem! Well, if that's the case, there's nothing I can do. I'll simply assume that was the first sensible thing to ever come out of your mouth."
She won't deny it, but she's embarrassed. If you're going to turn your head to hide your shame, at least cover your mouth too. I can see those corners of her lips twitching as she tries to force them down.
"What about me?"
"Pardon?"
"What do I look like? Am I pretty? Average? Or ugly?"
"...I don't understand the meaning of this question."
"You said I have amnesia, right? Maybe that's why I can't even remember my own face."
If there had been a mirror, I would've checked ages ago. But this huge room doesn't even have a hand mirror. Just a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. Some candidate for Saintess I am. What kind of treatment is this?
"...I'll bring you a mirror."
"A full-length one, if possible!"
I flashed Cheska a bright smile as she went to fetch the mirror and added my request. Hopefully I'm an ultra-top-tier beauty. If they took my dick, I at least deserve that much, right? Otherwise the cost-benefit ratio is way off.
The sound of flowing hair. Okay, so I'm blonde, at least.
Here in the mirror stood a girl. Her golden hair shone with a sacred light, and her odd eyes—embedded with emerald and ruby—radiated mystery. That small, adorable nose and the slightly drooping, elongated eye corners... this wasn't ordinary cuteness. If I had to find a flaw in the girl's face, it would be the fangs slightly longer than average hidden behind her small mouth. At first glance they made her look mischievous, but combined with everything else, they created such perfect synergy that you couldn't bring yourself to dislike her. The flaw only made her appearance stand out more, turning it into something that wasn't a flaw at all.
In short, a face sculpted by the gods themselves.
And that girl was me.
I never thought I'd get to say this line.
"This is really me...?"
Yeah. This is it. This makes the cost-benefit ratio work out! If they took my dick, this much is the bare minimum! Now I feel a little less cheated. Though from now on, the words "twintails" and "loser" are banned from my life. I have no desire to become a walking provocation totem.
"You truly are an unpredictable person. Crying one moment, laughing the next... and now admiring your own reflection."
While I was deep in self-love, a sharp voice cut through. Cheska. I looked up at her.
"What? What's with those eyes? Why are you staring like that?"
For a split second I almost replied with "You don't like it, do you, sis?" but thankfully it didn't slip out like during the strange ceiling incident. Instead, I just grinned.
"It's unpleasant. Please stop."
So this is what a victor's smile backed by superior looks feels like... Heh.
"Haah... So this is what you were like. All this time, I was..."
What? Why'd she stop mid-sentence?
"Please follow me. I'll give you a rough tour of this place."
Huh? She suddenly got nice? Suspicious.
"What's your angle?"
"Pardon?"
"I mean, when someone who only spits venom suddenly shows kindness, it's suspicious."
I'd been planning to ask first, but I didn't expect her to offer so readily. Cheska, you hate me, don't you?
"...It's Cardinal Benedict's orders. He thought showing you around might help recover your memories."
Of course it was.
"Ah~ That worrywart?"
"Worrywart? Are you referring to the Cardinal?"
"Oh, yeah. He just keeps making that worried face."
"And whose fault is that...!"
"Why are you suddenly angry?"
Why does this sweet potato keep exploding like that? At least give me a reason!
"Enough talk. Just follow me. It's the Cardinal's orders."
Cheska huffed and stomped over, then hoisted me up in one swift motion. Dangling again...! This humiliating position again!
"Eek! Put me down! I said put me down!"
"Hmph! I refuse. This is punishment for referring to the Cardinal that way."
That's what she's mad about?
"I just told the truth!"
"And whose fault is that!"
"How would I know!"
"It's because of you, Levia!"
"What did I even do!"
"If you're frustrated, then recover your memories!"
What the hell did I do, past me whose memories I don't have!
"By the way, you've been mixing in casual speech for a while now, haven't you?"
"Have I? I wouldn't know. Now then, let's go. Outside."
"Fine, just put me down first!"
And so we headed outside—with me dangling from Cheska's hands. I won't forget this humiliation. But more than the humiliation, there's this growing anxiety. Don't tell me I'm going to be carried around like this by Cheska every time I go outside until I grow up? All because of my small stature.
* * *
Hmm... It smells weird. Kind of musty.
"Cheska."
"Yes."
"Is this right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Normally, if someone's going to give you a tour, they'd start inside the building, wouldn't they?"
Is common sense reversed in this world or something? Usually when someone offers a tour, they show you the interior first, then the surroundings. But we're outside. On a mountainside, no less. We didn't run into a single person, just went straight through a hole in the wall and ended up here. Humiliating as it is, being carried by Cheska isn't physically tiring. But the reason we came here is what matters.
"You're not wrong, but there's a reason. Look over there."
Where Cheska pointed stood a massive cathedral, an training ground where armored figures were drilling, various other buildings, and walls encircling them all.
"From here, you can see everything. Our entire Entat Parish."
She began explaining one by one.
"The central cathedral is the Entat Grand Cathedral where we reside."
"Over there is where the parish's holy knights stay. The Saint Front Knight Order."
"And over there is..."
The view was better than I'd expected. Kind of like a vacation spot.
"This way, please. There's something I need to show you."
Having finished the explanation of the parish, Cheska began the next part of the tour. This time she walked ahead without carrying me and started a new explanation.
"Entat Parish is a special place."
"More magic beasts live here than people."
"Explaining in detail would get tedious, so to summarize..."
Cheska stopped walking and turned around.
"If you go even slightly beyond the outer walls and boundaries, you'll encounter dangerous magic beasts."
She stepped aside to reveal something. A cave. A rather strange cave. Something was dripping and oozing from the entrance where air and living creatures should be passing through.
"This isn't a magic beast, but a magic creature... though the context is the same."
"What's the difference between the two?"
"Simply put, magic beasts occur naturally, while magic creatures are artificially created."
After answering my question, Cheska gestured.
"You may come closer. As long as you don't touch it, there won't be a problem."
It looked gross, but I approached to examine it. It looked like a cave, yet it was alive? Curiosity outweighed fear. Up close, the oozing substance was even clearer. If I had to describe it, it was like translucent gray mud flowing down?
"What's this called? You wouldn't just call it a magic creature, would you?"
As I stared at the translucent mud and turned to ask—
"A dungeon."
Along with Cheska's curt reply, I felt a push from behind. My body fell backward. Toward that oozing, translucent mud. My body touched the mud, and gradually I began to be sucked inside.
"Cheska...?"
When I looked at Cheska in that moment, her eyes were unfocused. Like a doll that had lost its soul.