Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

I frantically tried to escape from “it,” but in such a cramped room, my options were limited, and my back soon hit the wall. My only escape route lay behind my pursuer, who was creeping ever closer, and a sense of despair washed over me. Unable to back up any further, I shook my head in refusal—and my pursuer… Nii-sama—crept closer, holding “it” in one hand.

“Come on, it’s fine, right? It’s not like it’s a particularly revealing outfit.”
“Even so, that kind of thing is still embarrassing…!”

With tears in my eyes, I stared at “it”—held aloft in Nii-sama’s hand—as if it were something terrifying.

“I see… If you don’t like ‘this,’ shall we try this one instead…?”
“What is that unnaturally short skirt…!?”

Next, Nii-sama pulled a skirt with an absurdly short hem out of his magic bag… What is that? Can you even work in something like that? If you bend over even a little, your underwear will show, won’t it!? Or rather…

“Why do you have so many clothes in your inventory…!”

With tears in my eyes, I voiced my question. That’s right. It wasn’t just these two outfits. The clothes coming out of the bag had already piled up high on my bed… Among them, it looked like there were even some extremely revealing ones that I absolutely didn’t want to wear!

“Haha, you’re asking that?”

As if it were no big deal, Sol-niisama said with a refreshingly cheerful smile.

“I prepared a whole Magic Bag just to dress you up, Iris!”

Idiot. There’s an idiot here. My Onii-sama was a total idiot.

To begin with, these magic bags—while they’re a convenient way to increase your limited inventory space—are raid boss drops, so the supply is drastically lower than the demand. Not only do very few make it to the market, but they’re also traded at exorbitant prices. Even Rage and I, who were pretty much self-proclaimed hardcore gamers, could only manage to get one each!

“So just give up and wear it, come on. Remember, you said you’d do anything back then, right?”

Onii-sama was closing in on me, looking like he’d completely lost his mind. I had no choice—it seemed I’d have to play my trump card too.

“I hate people who talk like that!!”
“……Guh!?”

The effect was dramatic. “Hate.” The moment I said that, Nii-sama collapsed to his knees with a look on his face as if the world were ending. Ha! Serves him right.

“……Sorry, my fault……but”

Hope hadn’t yet faded from the face he raised abruptly; I flinched, trying to escape—but.

“……Rage would be so happy if he got taken care of in this outfit, wouldn’t he?”

At those words, my face twitched uncontrollably—……

.

.

.

I lost consciousness on my way back to my room from exhaustion, and when I awoke, I couldn’t even sit up.
A severe sense of exhaustion overwhelmed my entire body, and every single muscle tormented me with heat and pain. Exhaustion and muscle soreness. Honestly, I’ve never experienced anything this bad in my life.

At first, I considered asking Iris to treat me, but I decided this sort of thing should be left to natural healing. I gently declined Iris’s concerned offer and lay quietly in bed. Just then, the loud clatter coming from Iris’s room—where she’d been making a racket for a while—suddenly stopped.

Once it grew quiet, I finally calmed down, closed my eyes, and dozed off for a few moments.

“Rage, we’re coming in.”

I woke up to a soft call and a knock on the door. When I looked toward the door, two people were gently opening it and stepping inside. There was Sol with a smug look on his face, and Iris standing beside him with her head down… but—

“…Why are you dressed like the Little Nurse…!?”

I couldn’t help but blurt out my reaction. Yes, the problem was what Iris was wearing. When Sol told me he’d have her tend to me in a nurse’s uniform, the first thing that came to mind was a modern Japanese one—but this was completely different. It was a knee-length navy blue dress with a hint of ruffles peeking out from the hem, paired with a clean white apron. The pure white headpiece looked exactly like the costume of the Mentholatum mascot you often see in pharmacies.

“Hahaha, it suits her, doesn’t it? ”

Sol gave me a look that said, “I did it.”

I took another good, hard look at Iris. When you think of a nurse’s uniform, it naturally gives the impression of work attire, so I felt it looked a bit out of place on Iris—with a build that of an elementary school student… or, at best, a middle schooler (though I did think she was cute). But seeing it now, this outfit actually suited Iris perfectly—she looked young, pure, and delicate.

Iris herself had her head down, fidgeting with her hands clasped at her waist, yet occasionally glancing up at me—as if waiting for a reaction or for me to say something—with a slightly teary, upward gaze… Ugh, hold on, my rationality!

“Ugh… It’s frustrating, but good job, Sol. It really suits you. You’re cute, you know?”

The moment I said that, Iris lifted her face with a “whoosh!” and broke into a smile as radiant as a blooming flower. For a split second, she was so cute I almost blacked out, but I managed to pull myself together.

…Sure enough, her reaction had become much more girlish compared to before. If it had been the original Yanagi, he would have said something like, “W-what are you talking about, you idiot.” But this reaction right now was exactly that of a young girl who was genuinely happy to be complimented on being cute. It was these subtle details that made me realize—not the girlishness she had projected through her acting before, but that, ah, she really was a girl now.

……That’s right—Iris’s reaction right now was truly that of a girl. Yanagi’s previous performance had also been highly polished and didn’t really give away his original gender, but watching Iris now, I realized there was still a slight filter there because it was acting. Meanwhile, the way Iris held her expressions, her subtle gestures, the flow of her emotions—all of it felt truly natural.

“Well then, I’ve got to step out to discuss future plans with Milly. Iris, I’m counting on you to take care of Rage, okay?”
“Ah, yes, leave it to me!”
“Hey, wait a—”

After giving Iris a little pep talk, Sol waves his hand and walks out. …Did he really leave me alone with her? Seriously?

“Right, just because she’s cute, if you try to make her cry… I’ll snap your neck, got it?”
“Like hell I will, you idiot!!”

I yelled back at Sol, who had opened the door again to make that ominous threat. Iris stood alone, tilting her head in confusion.

.

Iris swept the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, then scooped up a spoonful of the thick, white substance steaming in the bowl. With a serious expression, she pursed her lips and blew on it to cool it down. Her white nape—usually almost completely hidden by her hair—was now exposed right before my eyes, and the faint, sweet scent and unexpected allure made my heart skip a beat… Calm down, calm down, me.

“Huff… Huff… Here you go, open wide.”
“O-oh… mmm.”

Oh man, this was so embarrassing. Here I was, having a still-childlike—though absolutely stunning—thirteen-year-old (according to her character settings) blow on porridge right by my pillow and feed it to me by hand. While this was a situation that would make every guy out there green with envy—and probably want to curse me to death—it was just too ticklish, so I ended up coming across as brusque.
The porridge, cooled to the perfect temperature, flowed into my mouth, and I savored it slowly on my tongue… The gentle sweetness of milk spread across my palate.

“…It’s delicious.”
“Really!?”

Iris clutched her spoon and flashed a radiant smile. Seeing how delighted she was, I couldn’t help but wonder.

“…Did you make this?”
“Yes, with Miranda-san teaching me right beside me… Here, please have some.”

Come to think of it, she did mention she was taking cooking lessons. The porridge—well-blown to cool it down—was held out before me once more, and I took another spoonful into my mouth. It was strange how it tasted many times better than before just knowing it was homemade.

“Mmm, it really is good. You did a great job.”
“……Hehe, thank you.”

Seeing her shy yet delighted smile warmed my heart.

……

…………

………………

Whoa, whoa, whoa!? What is this? What’s going on here!? This was so embarrassing!? While inwardly squirming in agony, I took another spoonful of porridge as she offered it to me.

“……This might be a bit inappropriate, but—”

Amidst all this, Iris suddenly spoke—for the first time since she began spoon-feeding me.

“I’m actually kind of happy to be taking care of you like this. Since I’m usually the one being taken care of.”
“I-I see…”

Unable to look directly at her as she said this with such genuine joy, I averted my gaze.

Once we were alone, Iris was incredibly attentive. Her earnest efforts were heartwarming, and whenever I found myself watching her, she’d occasionally notice my gaze, give a soft smile, and go back to what she was doing. …That said, when she tried to wipe not just my back but my front as well while drying me off, I panicked and stopped her. “She still lacks this kind of sense of modesty…” I thought with a shudder, but a peaceful time passed, and before I knew it, it was noon.

.

“……Rage-san”

At that moment, Iris’s expression suddenly clouded over, and her anxious voice called out to me.

“We need to talk about your Arsley…”
“……Yeah, I know.”

To be honest, I hadn’t expected it to be such a burden. I suspected the cause was because of the equipment level… Well, since this world didn’t have the concept of levels, I guessed it came down to my actual strength. It was obvious that I was completely lacking in that regard. After all, even in the original game, that was practically top-tier gear—I couldn’t expect to be able to use it to its full potential having come here with my level reduced due to reincarnation.

“……Still, it was a stroke of luck to find out that, if I push myself, I can somehow use it—it’ll be my trump card in a pinch.”
“Please stop!!”

Startled by the sudden outburst, I stopped speaking without thinking. Iris was glaring at me, her eyes brimming with tears.

“You only used it so much, and look what happened… What if there are other side effects…”
“…I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ll seal it away… I’m sorry, okay?”

Faced with those eyes, trembling with genuine concern from the bottom of her heart, that was all I could say.

—But if I ever find you in a tight spot again, I’ll definitely pull it out without hesitation.

I thought that with absolute certainty, though I didn’t say it out loud.