In a small room with one transparent wall.
Although the room was empty, my past experiences had taught enough.
Beyond that transparent wall, there were two people: one who caused pain, and one who alleviated it.
The man with silver hair was the one who made hurt.
His very deadpan voice gave orders that led to various parts of my body getting wrecked.
He was the one who jabbed with syringes that caused a horrific pain, as if my insides were lting away.
Every ti the silver-haired man did sothing, I had to endure excruciating pain.
With each bout of suffering, flas would involuntarily erupt from my body, and with every instance, those flas grew hotter and hotter.
Then, the silver-haired man would smile with joy.
I hated the pain, and so I hated that man who took pleasure in inflicting it.
However, unlike him, there was soone I didn’t dislike.
It was a man whose hair wasn’t silver and who didn’t have pointy ears.
I knew that this man was the one who eased my pain.
So, I didn’t dislike him at all.
The silver-haired man wasn’t visible; only the other man stood beyond the transparent wall.
Once more today, he had managed to prevent my suffering.
Wanting to do sothing for him, I decided for the first ti to try to communicate with him.
I plastered myself against the wall and knocked to get his attention. He looked inside the room.
I stared straight at him, recalling how the silver-haired man had smiled when flas erupted from my body.
So, I unleashed flas from my body.
It was sothing I had just learned to do, sothing I hadn’t shown to anyone else yet.
The man looked surprised, staring at with an expression that wasn’t the delighted smile I had expected. So, I extinguished the flas.
[10, what did you just do?]
His voice echoed in the room, prompting to fire up the flas again and then snuff them out.
[You can control your abilities now? By the way, were you trying to show that to ?]
I nodded my head.
He looked bewildered.
[…Why?]
I pointed at him.
Then, I gestured to the spot where I had received a shot earlier that day.
It hurt like crazy, but after he’d co and gone, it didn’t hurt anymore.
I couldn’t rember it well due to the strange mist I had inhaled.
[So, you’re showing that as thanks for healing you?]
I nodded again.
For so reason, he looked very pained.
From that day forth, every ti he healed , he started to apologize.
—
“Are you okay? If you’re not feeling well, don’t push yourself and go take a rest in the infirmary.”
i, who was sitting to my right, spoke up worriedly when she noticed I had zoned out for a mont during lunch.
Sylvia, sitting to my left, nodded along with her in agreent.
“Right. It hasn’t been long since you were discharged from the hospital. You really need to pay more attention to your health. If there’s even the slightest issue, please rest.”
“…I’m really fine. I’ve just been having a lot of dreams lately, so I’m a little out of it.”
“Well, that’s a relief, but still, you really need to be careful. It could be serious if you faint.”
Even though I reassured them, Sylvia and i still looked worried.
It was truly just because of the dreams, nothing more.
I couldn’t rember the last ti I had nightmares almost every night to the extent that I woke up feeling dazed.
Most of those dreams were filled with painful experiences, which left feeling sowhat groggy even after waking up.
But it wasn’t enough to warrant a trip to the infirmary.
I thought about this while sneaking a glance at soone who looked like they were really struggling.
“Uhh, Scarlett, you shouldn’t be sick.”
Jessie, who was sitting across from , seed to notice my attention and spoke with a dazed tone.
She clearly didn’t look well at all.
With her dazed eyes and ssy hair, she looked like Dwight Neinhart from Class B, who barely slept due to magic training. Anyone would think they were siblings.
I had no idea what she did last night, but it was clear she hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
As she tried to reassure while looking more worn out than anyone else in the dining hall, i gave her a disbelieving look and said, “…Uh, Jessie, it’s nice that you’re worried about Scarlett, but shouldn’t you take care of yourself first? You seriously look like you’re about to collapse. Shouldn’t you go rest in the infirmary?”
“Don’t worry about … I’m just a little, really just a little out of it. I’m fine. Hehehe.”
“No, you totally don’t look just a little tired…”
Everyone stared at Jessie with bewildernt as she produced a strange laugh.
There was no way that was just soone who looked a bit tired.
– She looks like she’s not okay, right?
– Yeah, seems that way.
I exchanged glances with i, silently communicating our thoughts.
However, Jessie was gazing at with a grin as if she was perfectly fine.
“Ehehe, Scarlett. About your prosthetic arm. Everyone at my place thinks it’s so cool that they’ve all rushed to help. So, there’s a good chance it could be ready earlier than expected. All the craftsn are working day and night, so it’s moving along quickly. It might be done in 2 or 3 days.”
So that’s why she looked so exhausted.
I had no idea they would invest that much effort into finishing it quickly.
Still, they didn’t need to wear themselves down like that…
“Take your ti making it! You need to take care of yourself while doing that.”
“Heehee. Well, I have to say, I can’t help myself right now.”
Jessie laughed like soone who had lost their mind in response.
Not understanding what she ant by “can’t help myself,” I remained quiet. Jessie continued.
“Our family has a bit of dwarf blood, and it’s rare, you know? So sotis, those instincts kick in. It’s not well-known, but dwarves have periods where they feel an incredible urge to devote themselves to crafting. I just happen to be in one of those periods, so I pulled an all-nighter.”
“…Is there really such a period? That’s fascinating.”
Sylvia, who had been listening, asked with curiosity.
In response, Jessie spoke with a gleeful grin.
“Just like elves or human won have their cycle once a month? It’s the sa for dwarves.”
I couldn’t quite follow what she ant by the “visit from the spirits,” and I remained blank for a mont until I noticed the shocked expressions on Sylvia and i’s faces.
Apparently, that was so kind of euphemism in this world.
Magical dwarf Jessie was now grinning like soone unhinged.
“Heehee, it’s like relieving the stress from that ti through crafting. Normally, it makes us a bit on edge, but having sothing to make helps lessen that, while at the sa ti focuses our drive to create even more. This ti it was particularly strong, so I ended up staying awake all night. Honestly, even now, my hands are itching to get back to work. I want to rush ho and get started on the prosthetic…”
i and Sylvia watched Jessie, who spoke in an almost deranged tone, with resigned expressions.
It seed like I was the only one bewildered by the situation.
Monts like this made acutely feel the reality of my changed gender.
After all, I hadn’t experienced it directly yet…
“Just thinking about it makes it hard to bear. Ah! I want to work on the prosthetic!”
“…You really don’t look good at all. I’ll have to force you to lie down. Jessie, I’m taking you to the infirmary, so co along.”
“Ughhyaaak!”
i quickly finished her al, grabbed Jessie, who had barely touched hers, and dragged her to the infirmary.
As I stared at the bizarre scene of Jessie being pulled away while letting out strange screams, Sylvia glanced at and said,
“…Elves don’t really have such peculiar quirks. I can manage that with spirit magic, so you don’t have to worry about .”
…I found it a bit odd that she could block visits from spirits with spirit magic, I thought.
—
After finishing my al, I was a bit anxious about everything, so I headed to the infirmary for so counsel.
“Are you going to the infirmary? Are you feeling unwell?”
Yoon Si-woo, coming in through the main entrance as if returning from outside, looked at with a worried expression.
Maybe because of my arm, it seed like everyone was concerned about in various ways.
“…It’s nothing serious. I just have so concerns I want to talk about.”
Still feeling a bit awkward facing Yoon Si-woo, I answered stiffly.
“…Um, if it’s bothering you, I could listen.”
He seed to have been acting a bit uneasy around lately, so I wondered what had changed in his feelings.
Yoon Si-woo looked at with a slightly hopeful expression and asked.
“It’s fine; it’s not sothing you could help with anyway.”
“You never know. I might be of so help. Since you listened to my worries last ti, I could listen to yours too.”
He seed to have referenced what I had said in front of the supermarket.
Knowing that it was obviously a concern he wouldn’t help with, I still decided to give a vague answer.
“I haven’t gotten my period this month, and that’s what I’m worried about.”
It had been about a month since I turned female.
It was not sothing I particularly wanted to experience, but the fact that it hadn’t co made think there could be a problem with my body, which was precisely why I was heading to the infirmary.
Since he was a guy, it was clearly apparent that he couldn’t offer help regarding this topic.
Leaving behind the now tense Yoon Si-woo, I entered the infirmary.
After explaining the situation to the nurse, she said there could be various reasons for it, but it seed likely that I had overexerted myself.
“I doubt it’s due to a nutritional imbalance.”
As I heard that, I started contemplating whether I should eat a bit more than just instant noodles.
After advising Jessie, who was resting in the infirmary, to take care of herself, I stepped outside to find Yoon Si-woo still standing there like a statue.
What an odd guy.
—
[This is Sator Astra.]
[I contacted you to see if I could obtain so containers filled with the magic from the body disposal company.]
[For what purpose? Of course, it’s for research. What other use would soone like have for it?]
[You will allow it? Thank you. I hope Dolos always thrives.]
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