Vampire Commotion (1)

Staying a woman for the rest of my life wouldn’t be such a bad way to live. And I meant that. No joke.

Leo probably thought I was talking nonsense, but whether it was a side effect of becoming a woman or not, my personality had definitely mellowed out a lot compared to before. At my calm statement, Leo’s face filled with clear bewilderment as he asked back.

"Didn’t you hear? I said staying a woman for the rest of my life wouldn’t be so bad."

"I’m serious. Living as a woman doesn’t seem ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠particularly inconvenient. Is there really any need to go through all the trouble of turning back into a man?"

Listening to the two of us talk, it seemed like quite a bit of time had passed since Leo had become a woman. And unlike me—

"You look pretty well adjusted to a woman’s body, too."

Even if the curse was lifted, there was no guarantee of returning to a man’s body. There was even a chance I might never go back for the rest of my life. From my perspective, it was honestly fascinating that the very same Leo—who had turned into a woman—didn’t complain or grumble, but instead accepted it and acted like nothing was wrong.

"And you haven’t even lost the most important thing—the power of the Hero."

The power the Hero possessed hadn’t weakened, nor had it been lost entirely. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Since Leo seemed completely used to living as a woman with no particular discomfort, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to just stay like this. Half-jokingly, of course.

To be completely honest, if I was stuck in this state, in this body, it would piss me off if only Leo got to turn back into a man. If we were going back to being men, we should do it together. Since the power of the Hero hadn’t been lost, I had zero intention of helping that cheap bastard return to being a man all by himself. That was my true feeling.

I didn’t show it on the surface, though. With a nonchalant expression, I pretended to scan Leo from head to toe as if sizing up his flustered face, then spoke first.

"That’s longer than I thought. That’s plenty of time for the curse to seep all the way into your soul."

Two months was more than enough time for a curse to completely envelop the body and invade the soul. Leo must have known that too, because he quietly closed his mouth. No matter what kind of curse it was, once it began to permeate the soul, it came with pain. I wasn’t sure how it would be for Leo, though.

Not to mention, this wasn’t some random demon’s curse—it was a relic containing the curse of an Apostle, the one known as the Demon King’s right hand. And the relic itself was supposedly an object already steeped in curses. Even if he hadn’t known, touching it wasn’t something a sane person would do.

A dungeon was essentially a crystallization of mystery. It served as a passageway connecting the Demon Realm and the middle realm, while also functioning as a summoning device for Apostles and the Demon King’s army. Think of it like a gate. You know, like in those web novels that came out after the Hunters appeared—devices that connect Earth to another dimension. It was similar here.

Only the Demon King could create them, and aside from the ones made for moving his armies, the principle was probably about the same. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much mana it would take to transport a massive army to another dimension, but the fact that the Demon King could pull it off just proved what a monster he was. Even with the help of Apostles and demons, the mere fact that he could do it put him in a completely different league. Large-scale group spatial teleportation, for crying out loud.

I smiled inwardly at the dizzying sensation I had felt with my own body on the battlefield back then. I really had been prepared to die, yet somehow I was still alive. Anyway, since we had tried to subjugate such a monster, just driving him back to the Demon Realm was already an incredible achievement. Of course, we never expected the Demon King we faced would get hit with an “Father, I shall inherit the throne” from his own son.

I rubbed my eyes.

"So the gender change is all the karmic retribution for that idiot Hero who touched some demon artifact or a relic from a dungeon he knew nothing about."

My nerve-striking words made Leo’s face twist. He was reacting emotionally, all right. From his expression alone, it was obvious he didn’t want to talk to a demon. Even though he was trying not to show it, his attitude screamed that he didn’t want to speak any further with a half-breed who had demon blood mixed in.

I was thinking about poking a little more, but this seems like enough.

There was no need to dig any deeper. Letting out a deflated sigh, I looked at Leo. I’d wondered if he had noticed my true identity, but it seemed that had just been my own paranoia. There was no way he could have figured it out.

With a completely straight face, I slowly smiled.

With my index finger against my lips and my eyes curved in a smile, even I thought I looked incredibly annoying. If I looked that way to myself, I could only imagine how Leo felt. He was probably boiling with rage.

"Asking another demon for help is one option, I suppose. I’m curious what kind of reaction the demons would have if they found out the Hero had turned into a woman."

I could see Leo grinding his teeth. Oh dear. If it had been his original appearance, it might have been a little intimidating, but now it just looked like a blonde beautiful girl shaking her shoulders and huffing angrily.

In truth, I didn’t actually know the exact method to lift the curse. But I wasn’t stupid enough to reveal that outright. Even back when I was Demian Radius, I had never heard of a curse that changed someone’s gender. Leticia must have known that and summoned a demon who would follow her will. That was why I could act this way. No matter what method it was, Leticia would need me. And Leo wouldn’t be able to act rashly either. Since I was the only demon who could lift his curse, there was no way he would let his emotions run wild.

Leo took a deep breath, then continued in a calmer voice.

"Oh? That’s different from what you said earlier. And didn’t I tell you? If there’s no need to lift a curse like this, then just live as a woman."

I was bound by a contract with Leticia, so I couldn’t act freely, but I never had any obligation to help you from the beginning. The contract I made with her was to stay by her side for a year. There was never any mention of helping the Hero.

At my playfully annoying, cheerful reply, Leo let out a small groan and ground his teeth in frustration. Watching him, I let out a sly chuckle. Damn, that hit the spot. The satisfaction of striking a nerve had definitely improved compared to before. Did becoming a woman really change your personality?

Leo’s unusually sensitive reaction to provocation made me want to keep teasing him, even though I knew I shouldn’t. This guy’s personality has gotten really soft.

So this was what Leo was like when he wasn’t throwing out dirty jokes. It wasn’t a bad, stable flavor. Maybe it was fine not to lift the curse. I didn’t know if Chloe and Irini were the type to welcome same-sex romance, but at this rate, I figured they would be satisfied too. You’ve become a perfect female while I wasn’t looking, my friend.

I was genuinely curious what kind of things he had gone through in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two months since turning into a woman to make his personality this gentle. Was it Chloe and Irini’s doing? Considering their personalities, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Leticia, who had been quietly watching from the side, had the corners of her mouth lifted as well. She wasn’t mediating between us at all, which made it seem like she was simply enjoying the situation. In that case, maybe I should cross the line just a little more. This was the final point.

If I tilted my head slightly to the side and stuck my tongue out, it would be perfect.

"I can’t."

I cut Leo off cleanly. In my eyes, I could see it. Not just the mana flowing through the air, but even the flow of mana circulating inside living beings. Should I call it the Mystic Eye that appears in so many creations? Ever since my eyes turned red from drinking blood, I had been able to see the flow of mana and the mark of an unidentified curse deeply rooted in Leo’s soul.

"Of course, it’s not completely hopeless."

I continued.

"If I take the time to analyze your curse, I can thoroughly uproot every last bit of it that has swallowed your soul. Then you should be able to return to being a man."

Though the probability of not being able to return was actually higher. Still, it was better than having no hope at all.

I rose from the bed and approached Leo, whose face was steeped in worry, then whispered. The breath brushing his ear must have tickled, because Leo frowned. When I got close enough that our lips could almost touch, Leo’s body trembled slightly. Leticia stepped between us.

Leticia, who had skillfully created distance between me and Leo, spoke.

"Anyway, we should be grateful that there’s a way to turn Leo back into a man. If you had said it was impossible, Irini might have let it slide, but Chloe would have given me an earful."

"…No, actually, Chloe would be even more intense at night than Irini…"

I felt like I had heard something I shouldn’t have, so let’s just forget that part. I fanned my burning ears and asked.

Even if they had avoided the students as much as possible, coming all the way to this room at the end of the first-floor corridor must have drawn an insane amount of aggro. At my added question, Leo grumbled back, asking why she hadn’t explained it to me.

At Leo’s grumbling, Leticia made an “oh right” face before revealing the truth. It was shocking.

……Good grief. Of all the coincidences.