Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

In front of the large, full-length mirror in the changing room, a girl with silver hair glowing with a faint iridescent phosphorescence and a flushed face was repeatedly unbuttoning and rebuttoning a few buttons on her jacket.

Yep, that’s me.

Right now, I was in the women’s changing room at a hot spring on the outskirts of town, which the mayor had recommended.

It had been about a quarter of an hour since Nii-sama hammered into me that I needed to properly face my current appearance and accept reality. It seemed Nii-sama and Rage-san had already grown tired of trying to talk me into it; they had apparently finished washing and were already soaking in the bath. That’s what they told me a little while ago.

……Sitting here like this won’t get me anywhere. This is a path I knew I’d eventually have to accept and walk down—and I suppose that time has finally come. I really need to make up my mind. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, I began to undress, starting from the top.

The lightweight robe, its buttons undone, slipped right off my torso and fell to the floor, followed by my skirt, whose side zipper I’d unzipped, which plopped down onto the floor. From behind the blouse, as I unbuttoned it one by one from the top, I caught a glimpse of my porcelain-white skin, flushed cherry-pink with embarrassment, and the peach-colored undergarment covering my chest—and my breath caught as if I’d seen something I shouldn’t. But I couldn’t stop now, so I calmly continued to remove the fabric covering my body, piece by piece.

The intermittent sound of light fabric fluttering to the floor continued, and finally, only two pieces of fabric remained—one covering my waist and the other my chest.

“Uuu…”

At this point, I already wanted to run away. Reflected in the mirror was skin as white and flawless as a pearl, without a single blemish. My body hair was very sparse, and my still-immature limbs, without any prominent muscles, were slender and long. Though delicate and slender, my figure was well-proportioned, with a gentle curve at the waist; my slim waist subtly asserted that I was beginning to transition from a girl to a woman.
When I lightly touched my arms and stomach, I felt the elasticity of healthy, thin fat—soft as marshmallows—along with the moist, fine texture of my skin and my cool, slightly lower-than-normal body temperature. Everywhere my fingers glided over was fluffy and soft, leaving a supremely luxurious sensation on my fingertips that felt almost unreal; yet at the same time, the areas I touched conveyed, with a faint tingling sensation, that this body belonged to me. The skin on this body seemed thin and sensitive; when I let my finger glide lightly across the surface, that spot twitched ever so slightly.

“Don’t run away, don’t run away, don’t run…”

Chanting this like a mantra, I clicked open the clasp on the upper part of the last two pieces of fabric—the one covering my chest. It slipped smoothly off my slender shoulders, and the part hidden beneath it finally revealed itself in the full-length mirror.

“O-oh…”

Up until now, I had stubbornly avoided letting it come into view; consequently, although I had lightly touched it through the thin fabric immediately after the transfer, that was the only time.
Seeing it clearly for the first time in the full-length mirror, it was indeed still an immature bud, yet it possessed a modest cuteness that seemed to encapsulate a sense of forbidden desire. The slightly swollen area, when touched directly, retained the firmness of immaturity at its core, just as before, but its surface felt smooth, fluffy, and soft to the touch, leaving a sublime sensation in the palm of my hand that made me want to keep touching it forever. The modest, slightly tinted cherry blossom hue at the tip assertively exuded a charm that made you want to admire it the moment you saw it.
Overall, it was pale and delicate—a presence that made you instinctively want to reach out, yet one that seemed as though it would scatter and vanish the moment you touched it… It exuded the air of a fragile work of art, like an ice sculpture that shines only for a very brief moment.

I took a deep breath and placed my hands on both sides of the final piece of fabric around my waist. But I froze there for a moment, torn by inner conflict. If I removed this, what would remain was this body—naked as the day I was born. Once I saw that unadorned form, there would be no turning back; I would have no choice but to acknowledge, whether I liked it or not, that this was me—the me of the present.

But it was also true that I couldn’t keep averting my eyes from reality forever. And since this drastic measure had forced the situation upon me, Nii-sama would absolutely not allow me to run away now. The thought of what might happen next made my trembling unstoppable. I closed my eyes and yanked the small piece of cloth off my legs in one swift motion. Finally, I had nothing left to cover myself with, and I timidly opened my eyes to confirm my vulnerable, bare body.

.

I saw it. Clearly. I’ll spare the details, but the only thing I can say is that this body would unquestionably, viciously kill a lolicon… Honestly, I didn’t expect it to go this far. As if lured by its fantastical, precarious allure, my hand reached out unsteadily…

.

—It was a bit too intense for me.

I’d completely underestimated it, since during that previous horrific experience—when I’d found myself in a situation far worse than this—I’d felt nothing but revulsion.
And now, in this peaceful moment, I touched that spot of my own free will. It was supposed to be just a very light stroke with my fingertips, yet that alone was enough to make my knees buckle, and my heart was pounding wildly, refusing to calm down.
Blood rushed to my face, and I felt an intense heat. Between the unexpected shock, the embarrassing moan that slipped out before I could stop it, and the overwhelming shame welling up inside me, I’d slumped down onto the ground—and the feeling of heat deep inside me must surely have been my imagination.

But I was forced to realize, whether I liked it or not, that the sensation coursing through me was undeniably my own body. I’m going to stop touching myself now—because it’s scary.

The fact that I was already feeling lightheaded just from being naked in the hot spring felt somewhat self-indulgent and made me feel self-loathing, but since my accumulated memories were those of a man with absolutely no experience with women, I really wished you’d cut me some slack.

.

Finally, with my mind and body cooled off, I stepped out of the changing room. There, I was greeted by a compact yet much more beautifully maintained bathing area than I had imagined, paved with rounded stones and a bathtub built from natural rock.
The sun was still high in a clear, blue sky. My expectations of a secluded hot spring deep in the mountains were pleasantly subverted, and my heart leapt at the sight—it looked exactly like the open-air baths from my old world that I missed so much. To tell the truth, I’d always loved hot springs. Back when my grandparents were still alive, we’d often go on hot spring retreats to various places, sometimes joined by Rage-san’s family as well.

In this world, due to dangerous environments with monsters and the like, human civilization didn’t extend as far as it did in my original world. However, thanks to highly advanced magical technology, it actually wasn’t that far behind; in fact, in urban areas, the technology in some respects even surpassed that of my original world. Places like Acrocity—fully self-sustaining, multi-layered, enclosed cities situated at the center of each continent—were practically science-fiction-level marvels.

These benefits extended even to towns like this one, which were more like semi-pioneering outposts on the periphery. While I wouldn’t say every house had them, it wasn’t uncommon for somewhat affluent households to have fully equipped water and sewage systems. This place, too, seemed to be one of those—albeit with only the bare minimum—and didn’t appear any less convenient than the public bathhouses of my original world.

Taking careful steps to avoid slipping, I made my way to the washing area. When I touched the stone—which seemed to serve as the switch for a magical device that functioned as the equivalent of a shower in my original world—I felt a small amount of mana being drawn from the palm of my hand. This device used the mana of whoever touched it to activate an internal mechanism that dispensed hot water, and it seemed to be quite widespread here as well. A moment after touching the stone, water gushed out of the shower with a *pssh*…

“……Eek!?”

……It was cold. So getting startled by the initial coldness was a universal reaction here, too, huh?

I quickly confirmed with my hand that warm water was now flowing and soaked a sponge in it. I scooped up a small amount of what appeared to be body soap, worked it into a lather for a moment, and then gently rubbed my skin with the rich foam.

…Come to think of it, it had been a few weeks since I’d last luxuriously used this much hot water to wash myself like this. It felt better than I expected, and I found myself humming without even realizing it. With this body, I could hit higher notes than before without any trouble, so it was actually pretty fun to sing songs I couldn’t sing with my old body. There probably wasn’t much difference in hygiene compared to when I was cleansing myself with magic, but as I did this, it felt as if the fatigue was washing away from the parts I was scrubbing.

“So… why the hell are you just casually walking over to my side!?”

…I was called out by Rage, who was submerged in the tub with only his head sticking out. By the way, Nii-sama was taking a half-body bath with a cool, unperturbed expression. That’s right—this hot spring was a mixed-gender bath. I hadn’t realized it right away, but while the entrance area was separated by gender, the wall dividing the two sections disappeared as soon as you went a little further in. It was a U-shaped structure that allowed people to move freely between the two sides.

“Uh, well… I felt a little lonely being all alone over there in this huge bath… Since it’s such a rare chance to visit a hot spring, I wanted to bathe together like we used to… Is that… not okay?”
“Even so, you should be a little more careful! Don’t you care at all about a guy seeing you like that!?”

At those words, I touched my chin with my finger and thought for a moment. Well, it’s not like I wasn’t embarrassed. I definitely had strong reservations about being seen from the front, and since I was in the washing area right now, I was facing away, but when I was moving around, I was covering my private parts with a towel. But still.

“You told me yourself, Rage-san. “I’ve seen you naked countless times; How many times do you think I’ve helped you take a bath?” so I decided not to worry about it.”

I resumed washing my body while humming a casual tune again. I wanted to soak in the hot spring soon, too.

“Aaaahhh!! I did say that—I definitely did!! But, come on!!? Damn it! Whoever said that, come out here and I’ll beat the crap out of you!! Was it me?! You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!!”

A *thud, thud*—a sound like something hard being slammed against a rock—came from behind me. What on earth was going on……

“Well, calm down, Rage.”
“Why are you so chill about this, Sol!? Usually you’d be freaking out, yelling, ‘How dare you let my little sister’s naked body be seen by other guys’!!”
“You know, I figured this would be a reward for how hard you worked the other day.”
“You mean torture, you nonce!?”

I could hear what sounded like a heated argument coming from behind me.

“……Rage-san, am I getting in the way by being here……? If so, I’m sorry—I’ll go back over there……”

It was a shame to be alone in such a spacious bath, but if it meant Rage-san couldn’t rest, I couldn’t be selfish.

“Guh…… It’s not that you’re in the way or anything, but…… A-are you okay with this? I’m a guy too, you know! Aren’t you scared to expose yourself like that!?”

Hearing those words, I blinked a few times. It was true—it hadn’t been that long since what happened, and exposing my female body to a man’s gaze right now was scary because I didn’t know what he might do… but.

“But I trust you, Rage-san.”

I turned my head to the two of them and said it. Ah, saying that did make me a little embarrassed. To cover it up, I returned a gentle smile.

“……………………”

Oh my. Rage-san, who had stood up without me noticing, was frozen in place, his mouth opening and closing. What was wrong with him? His face was bright red—did he get all worked up?

“……Just do whatever you want.”

Rage-san turned his back on us as if in resignation and sank into the bath.

“……That’s harsh. The person on the receiving end might be happy, but at the same time, they’re getting the biggest possible slap in the face……”

Facing my exasperated Nii-sama, all I could do was float a question mark above my head.

.

After that, it took a long time, but with Nii-sama’s help, I finally finished washing my long hair. Once he’d tied it up for me, I could finally enjoy the bath I’d been longing for.

“Phew… This is heaven…”

I scooped up some of the thick, milky-white water with both hands. The water, slightly viscous yet smooth, glided gently over my hands and arms, tickling my armpits as it trickled into the tub. As it fell, it sparkled, reflecting the sunlight. With the snowy forest scenery all around and the open blue sky above, this long-awaited warm bath felt so comfortable that my whole body felt like it was melting away.

“You were so reluctant at first, but once you got in, you’re fine, aren’t you… ”
“Well… I’ve already come to terms with this body of mine.”

I clasped my hands together and raised them above my head, stretching with a “Hmm.” After stretching my body thoroughly, my arms naturally went limp, and I plopped back into the warm water.
All the tension in my body melted away, and I leaned my back against the rock at the edge of the tub, letting my mind go blank. In reality, it was just that I hadn’t had the guts to look directly at my body, which had changed—but once I saw it, it really wasn’t a big deal at all.

Honestly, why was I being so stubborn all this time? This feeling of comfort was so much more important.

“Still… They do say that a lot of people find taking a bath a hassle but almost no one ever regrets having taken one… that’s so true, isn’t it…”
“…She’s completely melted away.”
“Well, she’s always been a huge hot spring fan ever since she was my Onii-chan, after all.”

It seemed like they were saying something, but it wasn’t registering in my mind. The fatigue was melting away from my entire body, and as if to fill that void, a sense of bliss seemed to seep in, overflowing me. Phew.

.

“Come to think of it, there’s something I’ve been wondering about.”
“……Hmm, what is it?”
“What is it, Nii-sama”
“The parts of our bodies that weren’t displayed in the game—what criteria were used to construct them in this body?”
“That’s a dirty joke, isn’t it!?”

Now that he mentioned it, that did make me curious. Unlike other body parts, those were areas that couldn’t be customized in the game.

“……Ah, but—……Rage-san, yours is still the same as it was in the other world, right? I remember you bragging about it to me in the bath way back when we were in high school……”

I wondered if that part was also reflecting his body from the other world. If so, could the calibration for body type recognition during the initial login be the culprit? But if that’s the case, since Sol-niisama and I have different genders in the other world—I wondered how that worked, I thought to myself vaguely.

“Hey, wait a minute, Iris! Do you even realize you just blurted out something completely insane…? What on earth are you talking about…?”
“What do you mean, what? …Your co—”
“I won’t let you say that, you nonce!! You do realize what you look like right now, don’t you!?”

Huh? What was wrong with my appearance…? What was wrong with it…?

“……Aah!?”

Completely relaxed by the pleasant feeling, my dazed mind quickly cleared, and my face turned bright red with such force that it seemed like it might make a popping sound! Wh-wha-wha-what did I, I was about to say c…! Hwawawaa!!

“W-well, you know!! I realized you were just messing around back then!! But now I think it’s amazing how completely at ease you feel in your current body, Rage-san!!”
“Stop it, you idiot! You’re panicking so much you’re just making things even more irreversible!! And anyway, I don’t want to hear that kind of thing coming from that face and those lips of yours, got it!?”

As we were in the midst of this commotion, a hand suddenly landed on my shoulder from behind. Even without turning around, I could sense that dark presence. My thoughts, which had been boiling over, suddenly froze, and despite being in a hot spring, cold sweat began to trickle down my back. I turned around timidly.

“Well, it seems you were saying something I couldn’t just ignore…”

The Demon King was standing there.

“…Um, Sol-niisama, this hand… Also, your face is kind of… scary…?”

As if determined not to let me escape, the hand on my shoulder gradually tightened its grip. It was even a little painful.

“Say, Iris, when we created our avatars, we didn’t swap them for our first logins, did we…?”
“Eh, uh, yeah, well…”

That was only true for the first few days… right?
In other words, Nii-sama—no, Ayame—suspected that this ‘part’ of me that I saw just moments ago was actually…

“…………All right, show me. Let me check. I won’t do anything you’d hate, Iris, but this is a whole different matter. Depending on the situation, it’s my dignity that’s at stake.”
“Eek!? W-wait, h-help, Rage-san, help me…!!”
“……Sorry, but there’s nothing I can do when Sol turns like that.”

My hand, stretched out in a plea for help, was callously knocked away. I was effortlessly scooped up and dragged behind a rock, where my resistance was completely suppressed, and he saw everything…

Ugh, I’ll never be able to get married now…