Chapter 13
The small party finally came to an end.
The night grew later.
One by one, the inn's residents returned to their respective rooms.
However, in the dining hall, which had become much quieter, there were still two people who had not gone to sleep.
Izumi and Welly.
Nera had already fallen asleep in her chair several minutes ago.
Meanwhile, Liliy kept yawning repeatedly while forcing herself to listen to Welly's stories.
"...And that's why the Dragonoid race is so feared."
Welly slowly closed her book.
Izumi looked genuinely interested.
"Dragonoids?"
Welly nodded.
"The strongest race in the world."
"Even the higher races choose to avoid them."
"Avoid them?" Izumi asked.
"Yes."
Welly sighed.
"After all, who would want to get close to monsters like them?"
Izumi tilted her head.
Welly began explaining.
"Dragonoids possess something called Death Aura."
"A constantly active aura of death."
"Constantly active?"
"Yes."
Welly nodded seriously.
"Within a radius of ten meters, living creatures begin to have difficulty breathing."
"Even spirit-type and ghost-type beings will slowly have their souls eroded."
Izumi simply listened.
"Within a radius of five meters..."
"The internal organs begin to feel as though they are being torn apart."
"Most creatures would die if they remained within that distance for too long."
Liliy, who was still half asleep, immediately shivered.
Welly continued.
"And within a radius of one meter..."
"The heart stops beating."
"The body becomes stiff."
"And then it dies."
"Just like that."
The room fell silent.
Yet Izumi's expression did not change at all.
"Oh."
Welly blinked.
"Oh?"
"Yeah."
Izumi nodded.
"So that's why they're feared."
Welly stared at her for quite a while.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Why?" Izumi asked.
Welly pointed at her face.
"That."
"Hm?"
"That expression."
"Why do you look so normal about it?"
Izumi blinked.
"Am I supposed to be scared?"
Welly nearly dropped her book.
"Of course you're supposed to be scared!"
"Even Nera got frightened when I told her about it!"
Nera, who was sleeping, suddenly mumbled.
"I'm not scared..."
Then she went back to snoring.
This text was taken from NovelFire. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Welly looked at her friend expressionlessly.
"You're literally lying in your sleep."
Izumi merely chuckled.
"Hm. I see."
Welly held her forehead.
"Aaagh, forget it."
"I give up."
"I'm going to sleep."
Welly stood up.
Then casually lifted Liliy's nearly unconscious body.
"Eh... I'm still awake..."
"You were sleeping while sitting."
"Oh..."
Then Welly dragged away the still-snoring Nera.
"Let's go inside."
"Uwaaah..."
Izumi simply watched them.
For some reason, the sight felt warm.
After they left, the dining hall became quiet.
Only she and Uncle Zix remained.
The inn owner was cleaning up the remains of the party.
"You're the new girl Nera brought, right?"
Izumi nodded.
"Yeah."
Uncle Zix observed her for a few moments.
From her hair.
Her eyes.
Even her posture.
Izumi noticed.
"Why?"
"Haha, nothing."
"I'm just curious."
Izumi didn't think much of it.
Uncle Zix then smiled.
"You should head upstairs and get some sleep too."
"It's quite cold tonight."
Suddenly, Izumi's body stiffened.
"..."
"..."
"..."
A realization she had just noticed appeared in her mind.
Wait.
Wait a second.
I'm going to sleep in the same room as three girls...?
Seriously...?
Even though her body was now female...
It still felt strange.
Very strange.
"Umm... th-there's no problem."
"I see."
Uncle Zix returned to cleaning the tables.
Izumi slowly walked toward the stairs.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
The closer she got to the room...
The faster her heart beat.
When the room's door opened...
Creeeak.
Welly was still sitting there reading a book.
"Oh right."
"Your bed is over there."
Izumi nodded stiffly.
Then she began arguing with herself internally.
I'm a woman.
I'm a woman.
I'm a woman.
But a moment later...
Another voice appeared.
The voice of her former self as a war veteran.
A WOMAN?!
A WOMAN, YOU SAY?!
WOMEN ARE WEAK!
AND YOU ARE NOT WEAK!
STOP ACTING LIKE A WOMAN, DAMMIT!
THEN HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO ACT?!
THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!
Izumi almost wanted to slam her head into the wall.
Welly raised an eyebrow.
"Hm?"
"How long are you going to stand there?"
Izumi immediately answered.
"I just remembered."
"I need to use the bathroom."
"Ooh."
"The bathroom is downstairs."
"If you can't find it, just ask Uncle Zix."
"Y-yeah."
Izumi immediately closed the door.
Then ran downstairs.
There was only one sentence in her mind.
Damn.
Damn.
Damn it!
Why does this feel more terrifying than infiltrating an enemy base during a war?!
Uncle Zix was still in the dining hall.
"Eh?"
"Why did you come back down?"
Izumi laughed awkwardly.
"I don't think I can sleep."
"Hmm."
Uncle Zix thought for a moment.
"Then help me clean up."
Izumi immediately nodded.
"Of course."
The two of them began tidying the room.
Ten minutes later.
Everything was finished.
"Haha."
"It's finally done."
"Yeah."
Uncle Zix looked at the large table Izumi had just carried.
"You're surprisingly strong."
"Strong?"
"You carried that table by yourself."
Izumi scratched her cheek.
"Not really."
"I'm serious."
"It's very rare to see a girl that strong."
Izumi immediately started making up another story.
"My mother once lifted a horse carriage."
Uncle Zix froze.
"..."
"..."
"..."
HER MOTHER LIFTED WHAT?!
"I-I see..."
He decided not to ask any further questions.
Because the longer he talked to this girl, the more things he heard that made his head hurt.
"Since you helped me."
"I'll make something for you."
"Wait here."
Three minutes later.
Uncle Zix returned carrying two cups of hot chocolate milk.
"This is for you."
"Be careful, it's still hot."
Izumi gently blew on the drink.
"Fuuuh..."
Then she drank it.
Sluurp.
Izumi's eyes widened slightly.
"It's good."
Uncle Zix smiled.
"Of course."
"Though it's a little bland."
"..."
Uncle Zix blinked.
"Bland?"
"Yeah."
"After all, drinks in this world..."
Izumi immediately stopped talking.
Uncle Zix looked at her.
"In this world?"
"Ah."
"Forget it."
Uncle Zix simply sighed.
I really can't understand what's going on inside this girl's head.
A few minutes later.
Izumi's eyes began to feel heavy.
Very heavy.
Her head slowly lowered.
Then...
She fell asleep on the table.
Uncle Zix laughed softly.
"Haha."
"It seems this hot chocolate is quite effective."
He then lifted Izumi's body.
And immediately fell silent.
"So... light..."
When he arrived at the room.
Welly was still reading her book.
Uncle Zix casually asked, as if this sort of thing happened all the time.
"Where should I put this one?"
Welly pointed toward a bed in the corner of the room.
"Over there."
Uncle Zix carefully laid Izumi down.
Then covered her with a blanket.
Just as he was about to leave.
Welly suddenly asked.
"Uncle."
"Hm?"
"You didn't do anything weird to her, right?"
Uncle Zix nearly choked.
"Eh?!"
"Do you think I'm a criminal?!"
"No."
"I'm just asking."
"Of course not!"
"Then get out and close the door."
"..."
Uncle Zix let out a helpless sigh.
"Alright."
Creak.
The door closed.
That night.
For the first time in a very long time.
Izumi slept peacefully.
Without vigilance.
Without suspicion.
Not because she was careless.
But because she was beginning to trust the people in that place.
The night passed quickly.
And when the sun was almost rising...
A major panic began.
"Wh-Why is this happening...?"
Izumi sat on her bed.
Her face was pale.
Her stomach hurt.
Her emotions were a mess.
And most terrifying of all...
There was blood.
A lot of blood.
Was I attacked last night?
Has the poison not left my body yet?
Are my organs damaged?
Should I cut open my own stomach to check?!
The more she thought about it.
The more panicked she became.
Eventually, she walked to the bed beside her and shook Nera's body.
"Nera..."
"Nera..."
At first, softly.
Then harder.
Nera immediately woke up.
"AAAAAA!!"
"ARE WE UNDER ATTACK?!"
Instantly, everyone woke up.
Then...
They saw the blood.
A lot of blood.
"!!!!"
Nera immediately ran outside.
Liliy, who was also panicking, ran out as well.
"WE NEED A HEALER!!"
"SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY INJURED!!"
Several minutes later.
Welly finally understood the situation.
She rubbed her forehead.
"So you've never experienced this before."
Izumi nodded slowly.
Nera, who had just returned, also fell silent.
"There was no healer..."
"Because I accidentally ran into a bakery..."
"Is Rumi still breathing...?"
"Eh?"
The room became silent for several moments.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Welly took a deep breath.
"Rumi."
"Calm down."
"This is normal."
"Normal?"
"Yes."
"Women experience this every month."
Izumi froze.
"Ev-Every month?"
"Yeah."
"You'll get used to it."
Nera nodded as well.
"Yep."
"Don't worry."
But inside Izumi's mind...
CALM DOWN?!
YOU'RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN?!
I FEEL LIKE BLOWING SOMETHING UP RIGHT NOW!
Welly then used a Scroll of Cleaning that Berin had given her.
A gentle light appeared.
The blood on the bed and on Izumi's body instantly disappeared.
"For today."
"You should stay in the room."
Nera nodded.
"If you need anything, just call Berin."
Berin, who had just arrived, nodded as well.
"Yeah!"
"You can count on me!"
Izumi merely nodded quietly.
However, after a while...
The four of them realized something.
Something far more shocking than all the panic from earlier.
"..."
"..."
"..."
She wasn't even wearing underwear...?