[TS] Surviving in a Yuri Visual Novel

Living as a woman like this wouldn’t be a bad life. This wasn’t a joke; it was sincere. From Leo’s perspective, he might wonder what nonsense this was, but perhaps due to the side effects of becoming a woman, it was clear that my personality had certainly dulled compared to before.

At my calm words, Leo responded with a visibly flustered expression.

“…What?”

“Didn’t you hear? I said living as a woman like this wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

“Is that what you’re calling it…?!”

“Exactly. It doesn’t seem particularly uncomfortable to live as a woman. Do we really need to go to the trouble of turning back into a man?”

Listening to us, it seemed like Leo had been a woman for quite some time.

And unlike me,

“It looks like you’ve adapted to being in a woman’s body.”

Even if the curse were lifted, there was no guarantee he could return to a man’s body. There was a real chance he might never return. The very fact that Leo, who had turned into a woman in the first place, was acting accepting and unbothered instead of expressing complaints was fascinating to me.

“Besides, you haven’t lost your powers as a Hero.”

He hadn’t weakened as a Hero or completely lost his abilities. He seemed to have gotten used to living as a woman and didn’t appear uncomfortable, so I thought there was no need to rush back.

To be honest, if I had to express my feelings, I would feel a bit ridiculous if only Leo turned back into a man while I remained like this. If he was going to turn back, he should do it together with me. After all, he hadn’t lost his powers, and I had no intention of helping him return to being a man on his own.

This was my true feeling.

Although I didn’t show it outwardly. With a nonchalant expression, I pretended to take in Leo’s flustered expression with my eyes and broke the silence.

“How long has it been since you turned into a woman?”

“…Has it been just over two months now?”

“That’s longer than I expected. That’s just the right time for the curse to seep into your soul.”

Two months was plenty of time for a curse to completely cover the body and invade the soul. Leo seemed to understand, as he quietly kept his mouth shut. Any curse that began to seep into the soul is accompanied by suffering, but I wondered how Leo felt.

After all, he had handled a cursed artifact said to contain the curse of an Archdemon, known as the Demon King’s right-hand man. Moreover, he had also touched an artifact that itself was cursed. Even if he didn’t know it at the time, it was not something sane people would do.

“Didn’t you learn that at school? Artifacts existing in dungeons shouldn’t be handled recklessly.”

Dungeons are crystallizations of mystery and serve as connectors between the Demon World and the middle realm while also functioning as portals that summon Archdemons and Demon King armies.

It might be easier to understand if I compared it to a gate.

You know how they appear in web novels with hunters. It’s a device that connects Earth to different dimensions, and it’s similar here. Though only the Demon King can create them, and apart from those for moving armies, the structure is comparable.

I couldn’t even fathom how much mana would be needed to move a large army to another dimension, but one thing was clear: the Demon King is a monster capable of that.

Though it’s said there are Archdemons or Mazoku that assist in this process, the very fact that it can be executed is already extraordinary. Large-scale spatial movement of groups is something I had felt acutely on the battlefield, and I couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

Back then, I had genuinely prepared for death, yet here I was, alive.

In any case, attempting to hunt such monsters and chasing them back to the Demon World was already a remarkable feat. I never expected the Demon King we faced would be subjected to “Father, I will inherit the throne” by his own son.

I pointed at my eyes.

“The gender change is all the fault of that foolish Hero, blindly touching the cursed artifact in the dungeon.”

“Hey, haven’t you crossed the line? It’s true that I acted foolishly and got cursed, but I don’t like the way you’re talking, as if you know me so well.”

At my words that poked at him, Leo grimaced. He was reacting emotionally. His expression clearly showed he didn’t want to deal with a Mazoku. Though he tried to hide it, his attitude was evident; he didn’t want to continue talking to someone mixed with Mazoku blood.

‘I was considering pushing him a bit more, but this is enough.’

There was no need to poke any further. Letting out a sigh, I looked at Leo. Did he realize my identity? Maybe it was just my overthinking. He couldn’t possibly have figured it out.

Then with a face like stone, I slowly smiled.

“Don’t act emotionally; it’s scary.”

“You really…!”

“I told you not to throw punches. Remember, I’m the only Mazoku who can lift your curse.”

I raised my finger to my lips and closed my eyes as I spoke, appearing quite annoying even to myself. If I felt like this, how must Leo feel? He would definitely be reaching a boiling point.

“Sure, asking another Mazoku to help you is one option. But I wonder how Mazoku will react if they find out the Hero is now a woman. That’s something I’m curious about.”

I could see Leo grinding his teeth in irritation. Oh dear. If he were still in his original form, it might have been a bit scary. But now, he looked like a blonde beauty trembling while huffing.

In truth, I didn’t know the exact way to lift the curse. But I wasn’t foolish enough to advertise it. During the time when I was Damien Redius, I had never heard of a curse that changes gender. Leticia must have known that and summoned a Mazoku who would follow her will.

Knowing that, I could act this way. Whatever the method, Leticia would need me. Leo wouldn’t act recklessly either. I was the only Mazoku who could lift his curse, so he wouldn’t carelessly lose control of his emotions.

After taking a deep breath, Leo spoke calmly.

“…If this curse isn’t lifted, then it’s whatever.”

“Oh? That’s different from what you said earlier. And I told you, if you don’t need to lift the curse, just live as a woman.”

I had a contract binding me to Leticia, so I couldn’t act freely, but I had no obligation to help him from the start. The contract with Leticia was to stay by her side for a year; there was no mention of helping the Hero.

With a tone that sounded joyful, I playfully replied, causing Leo to groan in frustration.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Well, that felt satisfying.

The impact from hitting was significantly better than before. I wondered if becoming a real woman changed one’s character. With Leo’s sensitive reaction to the provocation, even though I knew I shouldn’t do this, I found myself wanting to tease him more.

‘This guy has really softened up.’

Could this be what it’s like when Leo isn’t throwing out lewd jokes? This was a pretty stable flavor. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t lift the curse. I wasn’t sure if Chloe and Irina were welcoming of same-sex relationships, but I thought this level would satisfy them as well.

It seemed he had become a perfect woman while I wasn’t looking, my friend.

I couldn’t help but wonder what experiences had led to Leo’s personality becoming so gentle after two months of being a woman. Was it Chloe and Irina’s doing? Considering their personalities, it was not entirely out of the question.

Watching us from the side, Leticia wore a smirk, not intervening in our exchange as it seemed she was enjoying this situation.

Should I push it a little further?

Now was the last point. Just tilting my head slightly and sticking out my tongue would be perfect.

“I’ve got no regrets at all. Oh, wait, I meant you’re the one who has regrets.”

“…Hah, enough. I don’t have time to indulge in your silly wordplay; just tell me whether you can lift the curse or not.”

“I can’t.”

I cut off Leo’s words like a knife.

I could see it.

The flowing mana in the air, not to mention the flow of mana inside a living body. Perhaps it could be called ‘mana sight’ as commonly of creative works. After drinking blood and having my eyes turn red, I continuously saw the flow of mana and the mysterious curse mark deeply rooted in Leo’s soul.

“Of course, there’s still hope.”

I said.

“If we take time to analyze your curse, we can thoroughly uproot the curse that has engulfed your soul. Then you could return to being a man.”

Though the chances of not returning were higher. This was still better than having no hope at all. Sitting up from the bed, I moved closer to Leo, whose face filled with worry, and whispered.

Feeling the breeze near his ear, Leo frowned. As he trembled slightly at the proximity of our lips, Leticia intervened between us.

“Okay, that’s enough.”

Leticia appropriately distanced Leo and me.

“Either way, we should be grateful that there’s a way to turn Leo back into a man. If I had said there was no way to turn back, Irina might not have cared, but Chloe would have been furious.”

“…No, it would actually be Chloe getting far more intense at night than Irina…”

I felt like I had unintentionally heard something I shouldn’t have, so let’s forget that part. Fanning my flushed ears, I asked.

“By the way, isn’t this an academy? There must be a lot of students, right? Can I come here wearing the Hero’s shining blessed sword at my waist and declare ‘I am the Hero’?”

Even if I had avoided the students as much as possible, coming all the way to this room at the end of the first floor’s hallway of the academy would surely have drawn quite a bit of attention, I added. Leo grumbled back, wondering if he hadn’t explained that to me.

When Leo grumbled, Leticia had a shocked expression, and the truth that followed was shocking.

“A few days ago, a second-year student was found completely drained of blood near the academy, so the academy is currently under a temporary closure.”

……Oh boy, what a coincidence. What a coincidence indeed.

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