Chapter 10: Inevitably, the Heroine

I Hate Exams (1)

[Ding-ding-ding~ Good morning~ Ding-ding-ding~ Bba-bba-bba-]

*Thud.*

Despite my groggy, half-awake mind, I somehow managed to move my hand and turn off the alarm. It wasn't the alarm I had set, so I wondered if I was hallucinating, but it turned out the plastic box had an alarm set on it.

At first, I was startled, but after listening to it for a few days, it became a familiar sound.

I once read a novel about a protagonist who heard alarm hallucinations due to mental illness, and every chapter I read made me feel like I was going crazy. That story was set in an apocalypse, so if I had possessed that body, it would have been much more troublesome. I'm just glad I didn't possess someone in that kind of world.

I'm slowly getting used to this woman's body, and I feel more comfortable since Xenon isn't at school.

Seriously, after I told him all that, couldn't he at least tell me if he was expelled or suspended? He knows I'm coming to school, but he hasn't come to see me even once. All he has to do is tell me that, but is it really that difficult?

Looking in the mirror, I saw my lips were pouting. Am I feeling resentful? No, that can't be. Rather than feeling resentful... yes, I'm just disgusted by the protagonist's ingratitude.

*Swish-*

As the water poured down, I blankly stared at myself. Squeak, I wiped the steamy mirror with my hand, revealing my reflection. The first time I saw my pure white naked body, I was incredibly surprised, but now I don't even feel anything. It's just pretty... which makes me feel a little better.

Who wouldn't like being handsome and beautiful? I just felt that much. Should I say I've completely accepted that I am Aisha now? Since no one would lust after their own body, it seemed I had entered that stage.

*Squish-*

This chest is a little uncomfortable, and even though my body is naturally light, the weight I feel in the front is quite bothersome. And bras, I don't know how people wear these things all the time. I just want to wear panties if I could.

But I can't do that outside, unless I'm at home.

"Huuuuh...!"

After stretching lightly, I went straight out the door.

It was time to go to school.

#

I'm originally 22 years old, but now I'm 17. It's not just a year or two, but a five-year difference, so it's not easy to get along with these fresh-faced kids. Especially when the targets aren't guys, but girls.

At first, I got too much attention because of the kids who remembered what happened in the auditorium... but well, now it's just a moderate amount of attention. It's exactly the level I wanted. An ambiguous position where my name is called around the fifth when someone asks, "Who's in our class?"

There was no need to stand out or show off.

Not yet.

I wasn't planning on doing anything stupid like hiding my strength when villains appear later. Villains aren't likely to appear now, in the early stages of the story... it's better to focus on other things than my **Ability**.

That "other thing" was studying, befitting my status as a student.

...Damn it, why do I have to do this? I'm already upset about becoming a woman, and now I have to study again after putting it down for years. Even the studies I did in college become hazy after the exams, so this is too much.

Moreover, the place I enrolled in is unnecessarily prestigious, so the difficulty is extremely high. Unless I spend most of the day studying, it's hard to even keep up with the pop quizzes.

"Aisha, are you studying again?"

"Yeah... there's nothing else to do."

"How can someone just live studying... do you do that at home too?"

I nodded slightly while looking at the textbook, and the girl who spoke to me widened her eyes and grabbed my shoulder.

"You can't just study like that! I can't let this happen. Let's go to the lounge that just opened downstairs, okay?"

"I'll finish this first."

"Aisha... please... okay?"

"...Haa. Okay."

My arm became damp because she was so clingy. It's because her **Ability** is "**Snail**," but anyway, it's difficult for me when someone like her whines like this, so I had no choice but to accept her suggestion to go to the lounge. I was somewhat interested in looking around the inside of this place too.

As I stood up, a part of her green hair began to rise like antennae. I think she said it happens when she's in a good mood. When I touched it lightly, it immediately disappeared into her head like a snail's eyes.

Poke, poke.

"Ah, Aisha... that tickles..."

"This feels good. Do you want to try it?"

"It's my hair. You idiot."

That's true, I chuckled as I looked at her grumbling face. I never thought I'd become friends with a girl. In the first place, there weren't many opportunities for me to have contact with women in my life, so this could be seen as an advantage of becoming a woman.

"Frey, but why don't you have a shell?"

"Ah, do you want to see my shell?"

"Yeah, you're a snail. Show it to me if you can."

The girl called Frey smiled slightly and nodded. I knew she was a snail because her body gets damp if I stay close to her for a long time, and antennae sometimes pop out of her head, but I still wanted to see her shell. I hope it's not as fragile as a real snail's shell?

*Whoosh-*

But unlike my expectations, something popped out of her forearm instead of her back. At first glance, it just looked like a shield, but could this be...

"Yeah, it's my shell."

"...It definitely has a swirl pattern."

I felt a little deflated. I was expecting a shell to come out of her back like a turtle and cover her body, but it's a shield. It certainly seems more practical, but still, it's a little... disappointing.

"Hey, why are you disappointed when you're the one who asked me to show it to you?"

"No- it's not a shell."

"You didn't think it would come out of my back like a turtle, did you?"

"Yeah."

"You're an idiot, how would I do hero activities if a shell came out like that?"

"Well."

Frey glanced at me with a dumbfounded expression, then suddenly clung to me. Ah, my clothes are going to get wet if you stick to me like that...! I struggled, but I couldn't shake her off because a sticky fluid was coming out of Frey's body.

"Yaaak...! I, I'm sorry...!"

"I don't know, you try to shake me off 'well'."

"How can you be sulking over something like that!"

"Yeah."

Somehow, it felt like the tables had turned, so I tried to freeze her body slightly with ice, but Frey just smiled and clung to me even more as if nothing was wrong.

"Aisha, what shampoo do you use? It smells good."

"Nooo, get off, Frey...!"

"Tell me why I should get off?"

I wanted to punch her smirking face, but unfortunately, I had a reason why my clothes shouldn't get wet. I'm only wearing a shirt without a blazer right now, and the shirt is white. And my underwear is...

"...I'm wearing a black bra today..."

White becomes transparent when wet. Then my underwear will be visible. I ended up saying it out loud. My mind went blank for a moment. I guess this is what they call a reality check. Perhaps she heard my creeping voice, the sticky sensation that was wrapping around my body disappeared.

"Th...th-that's my bad, Aisha."

"....It's okay."

Frey's sin was great for making me talk about my underwear color myself. I quickly turned my gaze away from Frey's somewhat reddened face and pouted my lips.

"I'm going to the bathroom."

"I'll go with you."

"No."

"Aishaaa-."

"I'll be back."

Frey's fluid doesn't come off easily. Even if I wipe it with a tissue, it'll still be wet. Fortunately, my chest wasn't completely wet, so the black color was only slightly visible. Anyway, she always clings to me when she's a little upset, so it's not been just a day or two that I've been in trouble every time I hang out with her.

It's only been two weeks since I enrolled, but strangely, we've become quite close. Of course, Frey approached me first... if it weren't for Frey, I'd be completely alone. She's an unhateable kid, even though she does weird things sometimes.

After wiping my body roughly with a tissue, I opened the door, but I ended up bumping into a wall.

"Ouch."

There was nothing there when I came in, what did I bump into? As I grumbled inwardly and raised my head, I met a familiar face. Blue eyes that couldn't be read, an expressionless face, a sharp jawline and a high nose, skin as white as snow, and hair that was just as white.

I made eye contact with the one with that attractive appearance.

"...Long time no see, Aisha."

The corners of his lips, which always seemed to maintain a straight line, lifted slightly, and he smiled brightly at me.

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