Chapter 1163 - Three People in a World with No One Else
"────Wow, seriously. They're horns."
"Horns."
"Horns, indeed."
"There's a tail too... Ah, I can somehow move it..."
"...Ah, I found one more thing."
"Yes. Your teeth have become fangs."
"Eh... seriously! What is this, it looks like it'd hurt if I bit my tongue!"
Thus, examining herself for dozens of seconds. The kind of mirrors that the three of them each kept in their inventory as a maiden's habit... could not be taken out under the current circumstances, so they did it by themselves.
Starting with the characteristic two dragon horns growing from the upper part of her head like gnarled branches, the green tail stretching flexibly, and further discovering the dragon teeth instead of canines, Nia made a fuss over her unfamiliar body while touching them.
And,
"............It's a little cool, isn't it?"
"............Unfair."
Sora's eyes shone slightly, and Iris's cheeks puffed up slightly.
The former, who was innocently impressed... well, that was peaceful and fine.
The reaction of the latter, who originally stuck to the stance of 'in the end, what I see and experience is everything' and didn't care about spoilers from prior research, was also expected.
A "Dragon"────although thousands of 'Trance body' acquirers had already published and shared their "other selves" ahead of others, it was an unconfirmed pattern as far as Iris knew.
In other words, at least, it should have a rarity of about one in a thousand. Adding the fact that the colors, blue and green, fit surprisingly well, the jealousy of the disappointing Elf Princess accelerated.
Of course, she completely shelved the fact that an elf was also a considerable rarity.
"Yeah... wow... I see... I'm a dragon? How unexpected..."
However, she herself seemed bewildered as well.
And no wonder. Going to the second world meant nothing other than going to activate Nia's transformation or Trance body, so of course, what kind of form she would take had already been discussed as a topic of conversation.
Since her behavior was cat-like, maybe a "cat"?
No, no, since she also had dog-like qualities, there was a possibility of a "dog".
Since she was the Blue Fairy, maybe some kind of "fairy"────and so on, they had thought of various possibilities and got excited, but indeed, the theory of a "dragon" had not come up.
In addition,
"And it's not like a Western 'dragon'. It's a Eastern 'ryu', or rather, 'ryuu'...?"
Branch-like horns, wingless, and a slender tail with fluffy, soft white fur.
All of these were characteristics of Eastern dragons rather than Western dragons... and they achieved a mysterious fusion with the exotic atmosphere that Nia, who made her character almost exactly like her real self, originally wore.
"Umm... I'm Japanese?"
"You use English for that...?"
"At least, you're not a Japanese human."
"Ah... Ya yaponskiy drakon?"
"Sorry, Russian is a bit too much for me..."
"Yes. A Japanese dragon."
"You actually understood that...?"
Overall, it suited her. If so, her understanding and confidence probably caught up with the flow of events, and while looking embarrassed, Nia let her cheeks loosen into a grin.
"Ehehe... Ah, thank goodness it wasn't something weird. What a relief—whoa!"
Then, while softening her voice, she rolled onto the grassland just as Sora and Iris had done earlier... ──As a result, the base of her tail got in the way, and she lost her balance and fell sideways.
"...Eh? Does this body mean I can't sleep on my back? Isn't that bad?"
She blinked her aquamarine eyes, which had pupils that had changed into vertical slits like a reptile's. Watching the fairy, or rather dragon-person, mutter about something trivial with a mysterious seriousness,
"............Fufu."
"Ahaha..."
Once again, the tension in the place drained away.
◇◆◇◆◇
"So... is this really the only content available right now?"
"Yes."
"It seems so..."
"I see..."
Thus, after making a fuss.
The three of them lay down together on the grassland, and after a few minutes had passed since they calmed down. Leaving themselves to the warm sunlight and cool breeze, on top of the grass that continued to play a quiet, rustling melody.
In a world where there was truly nothing yet, the three girls were enjoying 'doing nothing'.
In short,
"Well... it's not bad..."
"...Indeed."
"Mm... it's quiet."
Each of the three in their own way.
They were fully enjoying a temporary escape completely isolated from their respective circumstances, situations, and clamor. Since the possibility of encountering other parties in this 'second world' was currently close to zero, a peaceful time truly undisturbed by anyone existed here.
Other than herself, there were only the other two with whom she shared her heart to an almost helpless degree.
────Therefore,
"...Sorry about yesterday's stream. You must have been surprised."
The first to put it into words was Iris, but Sora and Nia also opened their mouths at the same time. So it could be said that the conversation started from no one in particular.
"...Well, I haven't watched it yet. But I was surprised that you pulled something like that."
"I watched it right after waking up and thought it was a dream."
"Fufu."
"What are you laughing at? Didn't you just say sorry, hey!"
"Because I don't think it was a bad thing."
"Wow, did you hear that, Sora-chan? At this point, she's not even a princess, just a completely self-centered, selfish girl."
"Ah, haha... well, um, isn't it a bit too late for that? Or so I can't help but think..."
"Sora has learned to speak up too. I'm happy."
"You're happy about that...?"
"I totally get it. When Sora-chan stabs you with words, you feel love rather than pain."
"...I don't really understand what you're talking about."
"My current goal is to be told 'I hate you'."
"I really don't understand what you're talking about...!"
"I get it. That's super cute, her natural calculation is just too much, a declaration of defeat is unavoidable."
"Hae, wha... geez... I can't hear you!"
"Sora, your upper ears are neglected."
"Those fox ears don't have hearing...!"
"But you can hear us, can't you...?"
"If you really didn't want to hear, the system would block it out, wouldn't it?"
"............"
"She went quiet."
"But that's the face of someone who is listening."
"Don't you mean the face of someone who is affected?"
"Either way is fine. She's cute."
"That's true."
────Like that. Since when had they been able to enjoy themselves endlessly with just a single word from no one in particular? This relationship, which could be called destructive depending on the perspective,
"...Sora."
"...Yes?"
"...Nia, too."
"Mm...?"
Since when had they come to think of it as something hard to let go of, like hands naturally held like this?
"Take your time. You don't have to rush."
"「............」"
The one who clearly realized that, accepted it, and without even needing to swallow it, thought of it as something joyful, and chose it as the future... was still only one person.
Whether that first person would become a trigger or a plug for still water────
"I will support Haru's anxious, lonely, and wavering heart. ...Fufu, all to myself."
"What should we do, Sora-chan? This Princess just straight-up picked a fight with us."
"Let's make her sit on her knees for now. I still haven't forgiven her for that kiss (that thing) from that day."
Probably even God does not know, and can only pray for happiness on the thorny path.
Just get married, you three. Let's keep the protagonist as a pet.