Ch.323Even if he’s a boy, if you treat him like a girl (rest omitted) hehehe

# The Next Morning

I woke up to the soft sensation of lips on mine.

The first thing that came into view was Seti’s cute face giving me a morning kiss.

*Smooch*

As I parted my lips slightly to respond to the kiss while gently stroking her head, Seti happily hugged my neck and nuzzled against me.

“Good morning…!? Ah, right. It hasn’t been 24 hours yet, so I’m still a woman.”

“Yes. Your sleeping face was so cute I couldn’t help myself.”

I was startled for a moment by the thin voice coming from my mouth, but then remembered it was due to the gender-changing potion and sighed in relief.

Come to think of it, she kissed me because my sleeping face was cute—I wonder if she feels no resistance to my female form.

If someone asked me whether I could kiss any of my lovers if they turned into men, I’d probably hesitate a bit.

Swallowing those thoughts, I tried to get up.

*Tug*

“Urgh!”

“Oh.”

My lengthened hair got caught under my elbow, yanking my side hair painfully.

It was a morning where I got to experience yet another inconvenience women face.

Since I woke up earlier than usual, I decided to put effort into making breakfast.

Pancakes drizzled with honey, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and a fruit salad.

Topped off with orange juice—the famous American breakfast, complete.

“That’s a lot of ingredients. Are you making some for the Four Sisters too?”

“Might as well. It wouldn’t feel right for just us to enjoy a feast while they’re chewing on jerky.”

“…Yes. It’s more fun when everyone gets to enjoy delicious food together.”

The massive task of preparing ten portions—six for our party plus the Four Sisters—was easily accomplished thanks to the crafting tablet.

While I prepared the food, Seti set the table and prepared water for washing hands. By the time the ten portions were ready, the other party members had woken up one by one.

“I apologize, Master! For a slave like me to oversleep while you prepare the meal…kyaaah!”

“Iris!?”

There was a mishap when Iris came rushing out and tripped over her own feet, but thankfully Seti caught her, preventing any injuries.

By the way, Iris only puts on this slave act when we’re accompanied by people outside our party.

She says that if a slave appears too relaxed in front of others, it would negatively affect my reputation as her master.

She’s truly committed to this slave role-play.

The American breakfast I had ambitiously prepared received high praise from the Four Sisters as well.

Susan and Anna devoured the food while exclaiming in delight, while Kate displayed elegant table manners yet didn’t leave a single drop of salad dressing behind.

As for Becky, she was so focused on eating that she didn’t say a word until the meal was over.

“Th-thank you for the meal…”

“Whew~ Amazing guns, fascinating carriages, and now excellent meals during our journey… Becky, wouldn’t it be nice if we all joined their party?”

“Stop with the pointless jokes, Kate… is what I’d like to say, but honestly, I’m a bit tempted too.”

Becky, the leader of the Four Sisters, said with a slight smile.

“Still, we have our own goals and principles, so we can’t entrust ourselves to third parties just yet.”

“Well, I figured you’d say something like that, Becky.”

Like a true leader who had guided an all-female adventurer party for years, she showed her resolve by resisting temptation and staying focused.

After finishing our pleasant breakfast, we had been on the road back to the 8th Western City for about an hour.

*Poof*

“Whoa!?”

“Ah, the potion’s effect wore off.”

Finally, I was freed from the gender-changing potion’s effect and returned to my desired male body.

It’s a secret that I almost fell off the driver’s seat since it happened while I was driving the carriage.

“Phew, now I can finally relax.”

“Really? You didn’t seem particularly anxious while you were a woman.”

“Not anxious exactly, but I couldn’t quite feel at ease. People really are most comfortable in the bodies they were born with.”

“Ah~ That’s definitely true.”

Mina seems to sympathize, having once suffered greatly after mistakenly using a breast-enlarging cream.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say the experience of becoming a woman wasn’t interesting, but one such experience is quite enough.

…Especially the embarrassing experience of needing Jessica’s help just to use the bathroom.

“By the way, Will, what did you do with the remaining gender-changing potion?”

“What else? I returned it to the Four Sisters.”

“Hmm, hmm~”

“…Let me make this clear in advance: don’t even dream about that gender-reversal thing Iris mentioned. I absolutely refuse to be penetrated by a man, even if it’s you girls.”

I firmly establish this to prevent them from repurchasing that potion from the Four Sisters and using it for strange purposes.

I don’t want to be pounced on by my lovers turned into men, and I definitely don’t want to see something dangling between their legs.

Huh? You say if I truly love them, I should accept them no matter what form they take?

…That’s that, and this is this.

~ ~ ~ Several hours later, 8th Western City construction site ~ ~ ~

After returning from our ancient ruins exploration, a small piece of good news awaited us.

The 8th Western City construction site had woefully inadequate lodging facilities compared to the influx of travelers.

When a group of guests checked out from one of these facilities, Jessica’s parents had secured two triple rooms for us.

“Hmm, quite impressive for accommodations in an unfinished city.”

“Though the price is insane—10 gold per night for something that’s not even a resort hotel.”

“Who cares? It’s not like we can’t afford it.”

Everyone nodded at Jessica’s words.

No matter how comfortable the sleeping environment in the camping carriage might be, it can’t compare to proper lodging.

In my case, even though I’d only endured for a few days, certain desires had accumulated considerably.

‘I apologize to my future parents-in-law for securing the rooms, but I intend to enjoy a pleasant time with your daughter.’

With such thoughts in my heart, I was waiting for nightfall when—

“Why!?”

“Wow, it actually works?”

I fell victim to Mina’s new invention and transformed into a woman once again.

“…OK, let’s sort out the situation. Mina, you said you created a device that uses magical bullets to cast recovery, enhancement, or enchantment magic on allies.”

“Yep, yep!”

Mina nodded with a proud expression.

“And you wanted to test whether my crisis detection skill would activate when fired at me from behind, even though it’s a beneficial effect.”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

Mina nodded with an even prouder expression.

“And if my memory serves me correctly, the magical effect to be applied to me was [Strength Enhancement]? I clearly saw you load the strength enhancement potion extracted from the Glory Chalice into a special vial.”

“…Tehe☆”

Mina stuck out her tongue and winked with a mischievous expression.

The vial containing the strength enhancement potion was at her waist, while what was loaded in the large-caliber pistol was an empty vial.

“…I’ve been had. That’s why you suggested shooting from behind.”

“Correct~ Well, turning Will into a woman wasn’t the goal itself.”

“Then what was the goal?”

“To check whether your crisis detection ability reacts when a neutral magical effect is used from behind.”

According to Mina’s explanation, she had anticipated three possible outcomes from this experiment:

First, crisis detection might activate even for beneficial effects like recovery or strength enhancement simply because they were delivered via gun.

Second, it might not activate for beneficial effects but would for effects that can’t be clearly defined as beneficial or harmful, like the gender-changing potion.

And third, it might not activate in either case.

“For example, if crisis detection activated for strength enhancement, there’d be no need to test anything else, right?”

“That’s true.”

“And even if it didn’t activate, if I then suggested testing the gender-changing potion, you’d be on guard.”

“…I suppose so.”

“That’s exactly why I had no choice but to do it this way.”

In other words, even if the gender-changing effect itself is neutral, becoming wary of being subjected to it might trigger the crisis detection skill.

If that happened, it would be impossible to determine whether the skill activated because of the gender-changing effect, because it was delivered via gun, or because of my wariness.

From that perspective, Mina’s actions could be considered rational, but…

“Still, you shouldn’t deceive people like this. We’ve seen enough at Technopolis of what happens when research ethics are ignored.”

“I… I’m sorry.”

“Besides, you said you wanted to exclude my wariness, but I don’t particularly have any wariness about gender-changing itself.”

“Huh? But in the carriage…”

“What I strongly objected to was being topped by a man. Is spending one more day as a woman really an issue if it helps develop something useful for the party?”

Although there were some issues with Mina’s experimental methods, the benefits of her results could be substantial.

Simply having another card up our sleeve is valuable, and it could help alleviate the current situation where Jessica alone is responsible for recovery and attribute enchantments.

The issue of continuous potion consumption could be somewhat covered by the Glory Chalice.

“So next time, explain properly beforehand and ask for cooperation. Understood?”

“Yes. I was wrong this time. I won’t do it again.”

“OK, then this matter is settled. It’s getting late, so let’s get ready for bed.”

As I was about to conclude the day, Jessica’s sharp insight caught my subtle change.

“For someone who says that, you still look somewhat dissatisfied. The usual Will would have moved on cleanly.”

“Ah, it’s nothing much. I was just slightly looking forward to tonight since we finally got proper lodging.”

I thought I’d have to wait until tomorrow, but Jessica seemed to have different ideas.

“Hmm~ In that case, I have no choice. As your future wife, I should actively respond to Will’s expectations.”

“No, um… as I said earlier, even if it’s you girls, being topped by a man is…”

“My, who said anything about turning into men and topping you?”

With sparkling clear blue eyes and a seductive smile, Jessica dropped a bombshell statement to Seti and the other four:

“I was thinking we could teach Will how we usually pleasure ourselves… anyone want to join?”

Wait, hold on!

I’m not mentally prepared yet—-!!