Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

I’d let my guard down completely, lulled by a sense of relief. I never imagined such a formidable foe would be lurking right there, in a place I thought was safe.

“Haa… haa… kuu…?!”

Amid my ragged breathing, a sound almost like a moan escaped from between my clenched teeth.
The rumbling deep within my abdomen tormented me time and again, and a chill crept up my spine.
No matter how hard I tried to hold it in, that small organ deep inside my abdomen had already been stretched to its limit and stuffed full; filled to the brim, it was pounding from within, urging me on, “Is it time yet? Is it time yet?”

There was no doubt that even the slightest stimulus could cause the dam to burst. But if “it” were to be released from within my belly in a place like this, where I might be seen by others, my dignity would be shattered into a thousand pieces, and the shame of exposing myself might leave me permanently scarred.

I haven’t said a word to those two.
I simply couldn’t bring myself to ask for their help with this, which is why I fled here, avoiding their gaze.

There was a solution. If I were to step through that very door right in front of me, I could dispose of what was inside my belly without anyone knowing. I would be allowed to.

However, oh, what a pickle, stepping through that door would be a declaration of defeat, shattering yet another piece of my pride. So I stood at the entrance for about a quarter of an hour, reaching out for a helping hand only to be rejected.

“Fuuh… Fuuh… hmm?!”

But the repeated torment had already made my legs tremble uncontrollably; I could barely even stand anymore.
Even when I tried to close my thighs to at least block the exit, my legs were fatally too thin; they simply formed a hollow space, unable to provide even the slightest restraint.
Unaccustomed to this, I didn’t know how to endure it. As the pressure continued to torment the exit deep within my belly—as if trying to pry it open from the inside—oily sweat dripped from my entire body, drop by drop, staining the floor. It was only a matter of time before I broke, and a demon kept whispering in my mind.

*—Don’t hold back. Just get it over with already.*

I knew. It was a battle I couldn’t win from the start anyway. No matter how much I resisted, this body was no match for it. Ultimately, I had no choice but to accept it and expel whatever was inside me.

*—Still, I didn’t want to admit it…*

That I would have to enter the Women’s Restroom.

.

“Aaaah, aaaah, aaaah, aaaah, aaaah, aaaah, aaaah……”
“…Hey, calm down already. You’re making a noise you really shouldn’t be making when you look like that.”

Back in my room, I’d fled to my bed, buried my face in my pillow, and was continuing to let out groans that sounded like the wails of hell when Rage’s concerned—no, exasperated—voice reached me.

“Hmph, you wouldn’t understand my inner conflict anyway…”
“Well, yeah… Though right now, I’m genuinely glad I’m using a male avatar.”

By the way, after I’d flushed my pride and the other thing down the drain, I barely made it in time. Thanks to the “girl’s guide” lecture given by my little sister—which, at the time, had me blurting out, “Do I really need to know stuff I’ll never actually use?!”—I’d accumulated some knowledge that was a bit… questionable for a guy to have, and that was what barely saved me from making a fatal mistake.

All that girl stuff is kind of scary. The indicators were a lifesaver. The exhilaration of finally releasing all that pent-up tension—it made me let out a slightly weird sound, ahem, ahem.

In the process, I couldn’t help but look “there,” and I even ended up touching it. It’s not like I’ve never seen it before, mind you. But that was back when my little sister was still a toddler. And this was Iris—who, though still young, was a stunningly beautiful girl in her mid-teens—and I’m talking about *that* part of her? …Nothing had grown yet. It was completely smooth. I just saw it because it was exposed to me, okay? And the fact that the spot I touched while wiping it felt a strange, tingling sensation—that must have just been my imagination. When I was changing? I kept my eyes tightly shut.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!”

Just remembering it sent my embarrassment through the roof. I sat up in that classic “girl-style” sitting position and started slamming the pillow I’d grabbed over and over as hard as I could onto the bed.

“C-calm down, okay? It’ll aggravate your injuries. And stop it—you’re kicking up dust!”

Injuries… injuries…?!

I recalled how I’d been when I sustained those injuries.
As that possibility flashed through my mind, I stopped slamming the pillow down immediately.

I glanced over at Rage, my neck creaking like a sparsely oiled hinge. Blood rushed to my face, making it feel hot. Tears welled up at the corners of my eyes. Unable to lift my head at the thought of that possibility, my gaze naturally dropped, and I ended up looking at Rage with just my eyes. The moment I turned my face toward him, Rage started shifting his gaze suspiciously, but I was in no position to care about that right now. I didn’t know what to do if he confirmed it, but at the same time, I couldn’t just ignore the doubt that had already taken root. Timidly, I voiced my question.

“………………You saw?”

Just two words. At that question—which emerged from my lips after a long internal struggle—Rage’s face snapped away in an instant, almost trying to break his own neck. I see. Ye Guilty.

“…Uu.”
“…Well, um… it was beyond my control.”
“Waaaaaah?!”

I started smacking Rage’s head with my pillow over and over. I couldn’t control my emotions anymore. It was so embarrassing I couldn’t stop myself.

“It… doesn’t really hurt, but stop it, stop it, will you?!”
“But—but—but—I just don’t know how to react! Just make that memory go away alreadyyyyy!!”
“That’s impossible though?! Besides, I’ve seen you naked countless times! How many times do you think I’ve helped you take a bath?!”

My hands stopped dead in their tracks.

“…You’re right about that.”

Come to think of it, that was true. In the real world, we’d bathed together so much I couldn’t even count how many times we did it. Most of the time, he’d help me wash my body. So, what was I even feeling conflicted for? It must have just been a momentary lapse of judgment. It was so girly to feel embarrassed about a guy seeing me naked.

“Wait, I know I was trying to defend myself, but are you sure you’re fine with that…?”

I heard a voice that sounded exasperated, but it didn’t register with me—my worries had been resolved, and I felt completely at ease.

“…What are you two getting all lovey-dovey for?”
““We’re not getting lovey-dovey!!””

The two of us vehemently denied it to Sol, who had returned from shopping without us even noticing.

…We weren’t, were we?

.

Incidentally, Rage would later come to regret having used this excuse to escape accountability.

.

“So… what are we going to do from here on out?”

Sol distributed the groceries he’d bought among us, and as we each stowed our share in our magic bags… when I saw the paper bag he handed me, neatly packed with a huge number of small, colorful scraps of cloth, I nearly fainted… Once I’d regained my composure, I brought up a serious topic.

“Well… in my opinion, I think we should use this place as our base for a little while longer and get used to this world.”

This was one thing I simply couldn’t compromise on for the sake of our future safety. Setting out on a journey before we’d finished figuring out what we could and couldn’t do was scary—you never know what might happen. I knew this all too well from experience. In this world, being a bit of a coward was probably just the right attitude.

“Yeah, I agree. Physical strength aside… we’re probably weaker than the people of this world.”

I kind of get it. For example, even when I gouged out that leader’s eye, he recovered immediately and attacked me again. On the other hand, I froze up and couldn’t put up any resistance after being hit just once.

*—Tolerance for pain.*

For us, who lived in the peaceful world we came from, our tolerance for pain was hopelessly inferior compared to the people of this world. Even if we were superior in raw ability, if pain broke our spirit, we wouldn’t be able to get back up. In the game, we could do anything reckless as long as our HP didn’t hit zero, but here, we couldn’t push ourselves that far. Combat in this world was a much different beast than what we knew from the game, and we would have to completely rethink how we approached it. Otherwise, we might inadvertently cross the line of death out of sheer habit from the game.

“…I knew you’d say that, so I spoke with the mayor and asked him to compile a list of the various problems they’re facing and issue them to us as requests. They’re keen to have us take care of the rough stuff they can’t handle themselves, and it will allow us to save up some money for travel. Of course, I’ve already checked to make sure there are no issues with the terms.”

Saying that, Sol pulled a bundle of papers from his pocket. Rage took the bundle he handed him, and I peered over his shoulder.

“When did you… Well, never mind. This is a big help. …For now, our immediate priority is taking care of those girls who were captured there the other day.”

Rage, who had been flipping through the list of requests, suddenly fixed his gaze on one entry and muttered to himself. Some of the girls who’d been captured had suffered severe injuries. I understood their feelings all too well right now—I wanted to heal them as soon as possible.

“I’m probably okay now… It’s a little scary out there, but I’ll do my best.”
“In that case, shall we start visiting them little by little starting tomorrow to treat them?”
“Mm, leave it to me.”

.

“Now then, with that settled, there’s something I need to tell the two of you.”
“Hm?”
“Heh?”

After we’d gone over the general plan for the future, Rage suddenly spoke up with an even more serious expression than before.

“First off, your manner of speech. It’s fine when it’s just us, but I want you both to be as careful as possible to use language that fits your current appearances. It wouldn’t be a big deal if it were just the people of this world, but if other players were around and found out, it would be a real hassle.”

In other words, he meant we shouldn’t let anyone find out our original genders—that I’m a man and Sol is a woman. It’s true; I’m pretty well known as “Princess.” If it came out that I’m actually a man on the inside…

“Are you concerned they’d attack us for deceiving them?”

Sol replied as if to say, “What’s the big deal?” but Rage shook his head with a bitter expression, denying it.

“That’s part of it, but if it came down to that, I’d have to say you’re still underestimating male desire. The real danger is if it gets out that Iris is actually a man on the inside. Because there was an unspoken understanding that ‘she’s a woman in real life,’ even though there were occasionally guys who tried to hit on her, hardly anyone ever crossed a certain line. But if it came out that ‘she’s actually a man,’ that line would drop dramatically. Especially now that you’ve completely become a woman and no longer have the system’s protection.”

During the game, anyone who attempted sexual contact with the opposite sex was subject to very severe penalties and was strictly protected. Since it was an all-ages game—well, technically it was rated R-15, but still—the filtering for sexual content was strict. To the point where you couldn’t even be in your underwear in public.

“For example, if a guy told a girl “show me your boobs,” he’d just be a pervert. That’s why… well, can’t say for sure there aren’t any, but idiots like that are few. But here’s a thing. Look at yourself and tell me “she used to be a guy.” Some idiot would definitely egg on you, saying “come on, you’re a guy too, right? You understand, right?” Even if you refuse, they’ll just get more and more frustrated. If you give in, they’ll get carried away—next they’ll demand to see this and that, then they’ll ask to get between your legs. The demands will definitely escalate.”
“Yeah… Plus, there’s no guarantee someone won’t come along and say something stupid like, ‘Pay me back with your body for deceiving me.’”
“Actually, there will be. Without a doubt.”

As the conversation progressed between the two of them, I felt the color drain from my face. My sexual function was already iffy, and even when I was a man, I had a low sex drive, so I didn’t really understand it myself, but is that just how “men” are?

“So, for that reason, you absolutely must use Iris’s manner of speech when you’re out in public. If possible, you should make a conscious effort to do this in your everyday life from now on so you don’t slip up. As long as you fix your tone, there shouldn’t be many people who can tell you’re a man just by your mannerisms. Also, Sol, you need to keep up the act of being a man from now on. If you’re exposed as a woman, even an idiot would figure out where you got a male account from in a heartbeat.”
“……Yeah, you’re right. Got it. Then, from now on, I’ll do it like this.”

She immediately switched to the tone of a man… the tone Sol used when playing a man. The transition was way too fast.

“So that’s it… You’re okay with that, *Iris*?”
“Ah, yeah, I get it… Mn, mnn.”

No, no. I have to live as Iris from now on. In my mind, I switched on the GIRL Mode I used in the game. Since I was sitting on the bed, I tucked my dangling legs together and shifted them slightly to the side, straightened my back, placed both hands together on my knees, tilted my head slightly, and gave a gentle, warm smile.

“……Understood. So, would this do, Rage-san, Sol-niisama?”

…Why are they both looking away?

“…Damn you, Sol, why would you create such a dangerous weapon?
“…Well, now that it’s turned out so realistic, its destructive power exceeded expectations. Honestly, I’m sorry.”

As the two of them whispered to each other, I found myself picturing a question mark floating above my head.