Natural Change #2

 

“Look at this kid? He’s shy again.”

A mischievous smile appeared on Mitchell’s lips.

An elf, not wearing a single thread, came towards me, giggling.

“Hey, clothes! Put your clothes on first. Dry yourself off. There’s water dripping on the floor.”

“Hey, so what?”

A warm breeze swept over Mitchell, who had just finished showering.

I quickly turned my gaze and got up from the bed.

I have to go out first.

There’s nowhere to look.

The current situation is very unfavorable to me.

“Where are you going, kid?”

“Get dressed. I’ll be back later.”

“Just stay here—you’ve seen everything. What are you talking about now—”

I felt Mitchell’s rough hand grab my shoulder.

Even with my eyes closed, Mitchell’s naked body vividly appears before my eyes.

White, smooth skin without a single hair.

Clearly defined 11-pack abs.

And, a pair of luscious breasts that swayed naturally, free from the burden of clothes—

“Flora, look at her face. She’s blushing again. It’s really funny.”

Mitchell’s hearty laughter was heard.

“The more I look at the little one, the cuter he seems.”

“Hey, go away.”

“Huh? Now you’re touching me so openly?”

Swaying.

I closed my eyes and felt something soft touch my fingertips as I swung the sword.

Something warm, cozy, and something you can touch over and over again without getting tired of it.

Mitchell and Flora laughed out loud.

“Even if you say that, Estelle, I guess you don’t hate it.”

“That’s right. You’re pretending to be shy, but you seem to secretly like it. Hey, are you really a girl? Are you just a girl on the outside, but something else entirely?”

Ahem.

Mitchell’s words, which were just rambling, pierced my lungs.

Of course, Mitchell doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

“This won’t work. We’ll have to personally train our squeamish party leader. Flora, help me.”

“What are you doing?”

“Let’s take him to the bathroom. If we wash him thoroughly with warm water from head to toe, this little brat’s lustful heart will be purified.”

“That sounds plausible.”

Even if Mitchell is like that, Flora, are you also bothering me?

I only trusted you…

Before I could even protest, twenty fingers simultaneously covered my body.

It’s really dangerous. It’s not just words.

These bitches are seriously planning on stripping me naked. They’re even planning on giving me a bath.

I struggled violently, but before I knew it, Mitchell was holding me down with a violent grip.

“Flora, you come in too.”

“Okay, but didn’t you just shower, Mr. Mitchell?”

“Why don’t you wash again?”

The two girls were having a friendly conversation while unbuttoning my clothes.

“⋯Don’t do that.”

I tried to get angry, but contrary to my feelings, only a weak voice came out.

“what?”

“I kept telling you to stop….”

Again.

Just as in the polluted sediment, this time too, a fragile, girlish figure emerged against my will.

This is a situation where you should be yelling, “Get out, you fucking bitches.”

Why can’t I speak properly?

Instead of thick curses, are you just shedding tears?

“⋯Little one, you’re not crying, are you?”

Mitchell slowly released his grip on me.

The change was happening quietly, but surely.

As I became more accustomed to Estelle’s body,

Estelle’s girlish sensibility must have also been eating away at my spirit.

There’s no use denying it. This makes it certain.

‘I’m becoming a real girl.’

I thought as I wiped away the tears that had formed in the corners of my eyes with my fingertips.

It’s absurd, but it’s entirely possible.

Humans are animals governed by biological hormones.

All of our emotions, such as crying, laughing, being happy, and getting angry, are determined by hormones.

Lovers in love talk romantically about love at first sight or destiny, but

It’s actually the hormone serotonin, not Cupid’s arrow, that makes humans passionate.

‘oh my god.’

I thought I was a man.

I thought that even if my appearance changed, my heart would remain the same.

But my body betrayed my faith so absurdly.

Look at me now, lying in bed, disheveled and sullen. Who would think I’m a man?

It gave me goosebumps.

It may not be long before I become a girl, not only on the outside but also on the inside.

“Oh really, shit.”

I deliberately swore harshly, as if I wanted to deny my own weakness.

At the same time, he used his abilities.

“Ability Unlocking”.

He called upon the power stored in the reliquary and blew Mitchell away with high-powered telekinesis.

Kwakwak—

Mitchell, his eyes wide open, was thrown against the wall without being able to resist.

“Ugh- Hey, stop! It really hurts! Ugh-”

Mitchell, pressed against the wall as if he was suffocating, coughed repeatedly.

“I told you not to do it.”

“Okay- just let go of this for now-”

“Huh? I told you not to do that. I told you not to do that.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Only after releasing his telekinesis did Mitchell let out a long breath.

If I had wanted to, I could have just broken down the wall and thrown it outside.

Since he’s a member of my party, I’m giving him this much leeway.

“Everyone get out.”

“Hey, kid- this is my room⋯.”

“Aren’t you going out?”

Mitchell looked like he had something to say, but he seemed overwhelmed by my momentum and put on his clothes and left the room.

Flora looked at my face with a worried expression, then followed Mitchell.

“Phew.”

After venting intense emotions, a deep sense of exhaustion follows as a reaction.

I already knew it myself.

It wasn’t just Mitchell’s prank that got me mad.

What I was really afraid of was the change that began regardless of my will.

“This is driving me crazy.”

I scratched my head.

Will there eventually come a time when we have no choice but to accept change?

Wouldn’t it be easier if that happened?

If I forget my past self and embrace my new self.

Suddenly, my face reflected in the mirror caught my eye.

A girl lost in thought was looking at me in the mirror.

***

“Even I thought it was a bit harsh, didn’t I?”

“that’s right.”

“But why have you been doing that since earlier?”

The lounge inside Mitchell’s quarters.

Flora sat on a chair, kneeling slightly, with her arms raised.

“I’m standing in line.”

Flora answered with a sullen expression.

Mitchell chuckled.

“Would that make him feel better? No one’s watching, so don’t make a show of it and just stay still.”

“Still.”

Flora sighed.

“I guess I was mistaken.”

“what?”

“I thought I’d become a little closer to Estelle. I was the only one who mistakenly thought we were breaking down the walls between us by hanging out casually.”

“A wall of the heart?”

Mitchell asked back.

I wanted to dismiss it as foolish talk, but Estelle’s sensitive reaction just now was something that was hard to dismiss lightly.

Even though they are of the same sex, they show excessive aversion to exposure.

A reaction that was so disgusting that it even made her cry.

Mitchell swallowed. Something was dawning on her, too.

“Have you ever had a bad experience before?”

“I don’t know about that. What’s certain is that we should have paid more attention to Estelle.”

“Ugh⋯.”

Mitchell groaned and puffed out his lips like a duck.

Soon she too climbed onto the chair where Flora had been sitting.

“Move a little to the side.”

“yes?”

“Let me stay like this for a bit.”

Mitchell stretched his arms above his head.

“I guess you can’t just joke around carelessly.”

“That’s right.”

The two girls stood there for a while, reflecting on their actions without being told to do so.

“By the way, he’s really strong.”

Mitchell said, rubbing his collarbone. He didn’t show it, but his whole body ached.

The shock from being crushed by Estelle’s telekinesis a moment ago was still vivid in my body.

“It wasn’t even my full power. I’m sure I was controlling my strength even then. How arrogant… No, I mean, arrogant.”

“It’s kind of you. I was furious, but I was still careful not to hurt Mr. Mitchell too much.”

“Ugh.”

Mitchell didn’t listen to Flora’s words.

Mitchell thought so too.

‘Come to think of it, he was amazing on the last hunt too.’

The image of a little boy running with a sword of cold in both hands came to mind.

Even Mitchell was surprisingly daring. Estelle’s skills in combat far exceeded Mitchell’s expectations.

‘If I fight with all my heart, won’t I lose?’

Mitchell tilted his head.

***

After a while.

I waited but he didn’t come back, so I went out and ran into two people in the break room.

“What are you guys doing?”

Flora was standing alone with her arms raised, and Mitchell was dozing off next to her.

“Why aren’t you coming in? What are you doing here?”

“I told you to get out, so I waited outside.”

“That’s what I meant. I didn’t mean to tell you to stay out all day. It’s not even my room to begin with.”

An awkward atmosphere hung over the break room.

The emotions that were running wild have calmed down, but that doesn’t mean things are the same as usual.

While we were choosing what to say in an unnatural silence.

“Oh, that’s it—I was just taking a break—but I was holding my arm up just a moment ago. Flora, am I right?”

“⋯When did I ever tell you to do that? Why are you acting so uncharacteristically?”

“hmm-“

Mitchell trailed off, then looked down at my feet.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I was a bit harsh. I didn’t know you’d hate it that much.”

Mitchell hesitantly extended his hand.

I stared at that hand for a moment.

It felt strange to see a stern elf looking at me and offering an apology first.

match-

He grabbed Mitchell’s palm hard as if he was hitting it.

“Okay, I know.”

Only then did Mitchell smile bashfully.

“I’m sorry – I won’t do it again. Okay?”

“From now on, no skinship is allowed. If you do it again, I won’t forgive you.”

“Yes, yes – I will keep that in mind.”

When Mitchell smiled, Flora also seemed relieved and lowered the hand she was holding.

“Okay.”

Mitchell nodded.

“To cheer you up, kid, I’ll treat you today. Come along!”

“Yes? Mr. Mitchell, where are you going?”

“Don’t ask questions, just follow me. There’s a good place.”

Why is it suspicious?

If Mitchell is going to have fun, the destination is obvious.

“You can look forward to it. Let’s let loose and have some fun together tonight.”

Mitchell put his arm around Flora and me and chuckled.