Chapter 1

1.

No matter how shitty the contract was, I couldn't tear it up and throw it away.

Just in case I actually managed to defeat the Demon King, I wanted to keep it.

Bang!

That didn't make me feel any better, though, so I slammed it down on what looked like a desk and glanced behind me.

The room was a splendid studio apartment.

A bed that looked big enough to be queen-sized. Just the right size for a man and a woman to tumble around on.

Shit. The fact that all I could think about was stuff like that made me think I'd really messed up the contract.

Aside from that, there was a wardrobe and a neatly arranged storage cabinet.

A full-length mirror that looked taller than me.

Beside it was a vanity with a mirror.

The desk in front of me.

A door that seemed to lead to the bathroom, and another that seemed to be the front door.

But by the door that looked like the entrance, there was footwear that seemed more like slippers than outdoor shoes.

I decided to look around first, put on the slippers, and opened the bedroom door.

Before me was a large hall that seemed to be a living room.

The room was on the second floor, with a wooden staircase leading down to the hall.

"Oh, a newbie. Hi."

At the sound of the door opening, the tuft of fur on top of her head twitched. The red-haired woman, who'd been sitting on the sofa eating snacks, turned around.

The tuft swayed gently, and long, glossy hair fell beneath it. Even from a distance, she looked voluptuous.

An incredible beauty…!

"Why are you standing there frozen? You're a contractor too, right?"

"… I think so."

The answer came out naturally in polite speech.

No, using polite speech with someone you've just met is basic manners. Ahem.

"I'm a contractor too. It's been about three days. Call me Ruby."

"Ah… I'm Lapis Lazuli."

"That's long~. Can I call you Lapis?"

"… I guess that's okay."

Since I didn't feel any resistance or restriction, that seemed to be the case.

I started walking over to her. There was a lot I wanted to ask.

Bang.

At the sudden sound of a door opening behind me, I naturally came to a stop.

"Oh, a person… Hello. I'm Peridot…"

Looks like the next person had already arrived.

2.

Ruby started by telling the two of us what she'd figured out so far.

This was apparently a shared house. Three people to a unit, with separate bedrooms apart from the living room. And what looked like a bathroom in each room really was a bathroom.

Apparently, each person could only open their own room. Ruby said she'd tried opening doors all over the place for three days, but couldn't get any of them open.

Hearing that, I tried opening Ruby's door too, but it wouldn't budge.

The contract was true, too. While she'd briefly gone outside, a man had casually hit on her. She said her lower abdomen had started tingling and fluttering, just like the contract said, so she'd hurriedly turned him down and come back.

Ruby said,

'If I were a guy, it was like a sexy older woman—no, an older sister—wrapping her arms around my neck, giving me a sultry smile, and setting the mood for a kiss. It was such a rush.'

That was her review of being hit on.

What the hell? How did she resist that?

"And I found this, too."

On the paper Ruby showed us, it said this was a modern fantasy world where monsters and a Demon King appeared.

People were broadly categorized as heroes, but women were usually classified as heroines.

It also said this was a city as developed as Seoul, among other things.

Looking at it, I thought the infrastructure was incredible. Seoul had amazing infrastructure, after all.

"And, also this."

She put another paper on the side table in front of the sofa. According to her, it had been there when she'd first come out into the living room.

< Once all three people have been assigned to a room, the game will begin in one week. >

The game…….

"So does that mean we have to work as heroes?"

"Maybe? Have either of you tried using your abilities?"

At my question, Ruby nodded and made a candle-like flame with her finger. Maybe because this was her third day, she looked very used to it.

"Oh, I think I know."

Peridot, who'd been quiet, picked up an empty plastic bottle. Then things like plant stems sprouted from it and wrapped all around it.

Ruby had fire. Peridot seemed to have plants.

It seemed to follow the colors of our gemstones. If so, what about me, Lapis Lazuli?

I cupped my hands as if to collect water while washing my face, and imagined filling them. Water welled up in my palms.

It looked clear and transparent.

"Still, I'm glad it isn't hard. Haha!"

Ruby must have been an incredibly positive person.

Come to think of it, would any sane person sign a contract that insane?

Well. I couldn't see it, so I couldn't read it before signing.

Thinking that, I gave Peridot a half-lidded look, and she tilted her head. Cute reaction.

I couldn't help but ask, so I figured I might as well bring it up.

"Did both of you read the contract before signing it?"

""No. They didn't give us a chance to read it.""

They answered at the same time.

These bastards really were experts at contract fraud. Maybe they were the ones who caused the accident, too?

"It's nice to be alive, though."

"Still, I don't like being stuck in a woman's body that's disgustingly sensitive."

Ruby looked shocked when she heard that.

"Huh? That's half your life wasted. Didn't you see that?"

"I-is it really that bad?"

At Ruby's words, Peridot seemed even more interested.

I continued, irritated.

"I don't know. I had an important exam coming up… and now I'm stuck with this shitty contract…"

"It feels better to masturbate as a woman than to have sex as a man."

… Had Ruby already been turned into a girl?

"Wow… I was still in the military…"

""…….""

At Peridot's muttering, Ruby and I fell silent.

3.

I woke up groggily in the morning. They'd said we'd have to start hero work in a week. If so, training started today.

Since being a hero meant putting your life on the line, I felt training was necessary.

I'd made this contract to escape death in the first place, so having so little will to survive made no sense.

Pants were forbidden, and the only underwear I'd been given was a negligee that left my whole body exposed. It was sheer enough to faintly show my body, revealing every curve.

Blinking away the sleep in my eyes, I went into the bathroom. I'd gone in the day before and learned that the toilet and bath were separate here.

I took off the silk negligee and put it in the laundry basket by the entrance to the bathroom.

I went into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and looked at my reflection in the mirror.

Big, sparkling eyes. A high nose.

Lips with a captivating color, even without makeup.

A small face holding those features.

Long, glossy navy-blue hair that covered my entire back.

I'd measured my height yesterday: 162 centimeters.

My breasts were a D cup. They had an enormous, perky volume. I found out my cup size from my bra.

I hadn't measured my hips or waist, but I had the so-called ant waist and childbearing hips.

In other words, I was a gorgeous woman with curves for days. A baby-faced bombshell, maybe? My face looked young, with a slight East Asian cast to it.

On top of that, cute little pink nipples and a pink vulva. A body worthy of being a national treasure.

"Haa."

And what good does that do me? I'm the woman in question.

After washing, I came out and dried myself with a towel. I hadn't learned how to use a hair dryer, but my hands moved naturally.

When I opened the wardrobe, there were clothes I hadn't seen yesterday.

A sticky note on them said 'Specially Made Combat Uniform,' so I decided to wear them. I wondered if they might be a little different since they were specially made.

A combat uniform should mean it helps in battle, right?

That expectation of mine shattered to pieces. Wasn't this just an outfit for dressing up like a slut?

In terms of type, it was a dress. That wasn't a problem, given how thoroughly my masculinity had already taken a beating yesterday when I put on the negligee.

The problem was this dress, with its neckline cut low enough to expose my upper chest.

Besides, wasn't it weird to call a fluttery dress like this a combat uniform?

Come to think of it, maybe this was what being a magical girl was all about.

Still, the moment I was brought back from the brink of death, I'd decided to do anything.

No matter how hot my face got with shame, or how unbearably hot it felt, I had to endure it.

I sighed, put on the dress, and went outside.

"You're up?"

Ruby, who was eating snacks in the living room, spotted me coming out of my room. She was wearing a tank top that only covered her breasts and hot pants. The tiny shorts seemed to emphasize her firm, plump butt even more.

I was jealous of her for one thing: pants.

"Ah, did you both sleep well?"

With a bang, Peridot came out and greeted the two of us.

"P-please don't stare at me like that…"

"Oh, sorry. I thought our combat uniforms would be the same."

I'd tried to fix my way of speaking, the way I had when talking to that man yesterday, but it wasn't easy. I could at least keep it from slipping out now and then.

Whenever I answered bluntly and indifferently like I used to, a splitting headache would torment me.

Could this be the pain Sun Wukong felt from his tightening headband?

Anyway, this contract seemed to be insanely restrictive, and its curse was stronger than I'd expected.

"What are you planning to do today? You're all dressed."

"We're going to learn how to use our abilities. Hero work looks dangerous."

"Ah, is that so?"

Ruby scratched her head, then continued.

"I'll tell you about ranks and stuff, too. How about you both come down?"

"Ah, yes!"

Peridot hurried down the stairs.

I followed behind her slowly and sat on the sofa near Ruby.

Ruby scribbled various things on a piece of paper.

"First, heroes, villains, and monsters are divided into ranks. From A to E."

As she spoke, Ruby continued explaining while scribbling something on the paper.

According to her explanation, A-rank was the highest, and those guys had enough power to destroy several cities on their own.

B was one city. C could take down a few buildings. D could even take down a building if they specialized in attack.

And E was just about the level of an ordinary person who'd trained.

"They said I'm B-rank. You can get tested at the training center, though it's just a rough assessment."

"Do you think we'll be around the same?"

"Probably? I guess we made a contract with the same guy."

In our conversation yesterday, we'd also talked about the contract. Honestly, I hadn't seen or heard the creature, but the other two had.

Peridot said it looked like a four-legged animal, maybe a cat or a weasel. On top of that, it was black all over and had golden eyes.

Ruby said it had a voice like a little girl's. It felt less like hearing it speak out loud and more like hearing its voice in her head.

Since we were the ones who'd been unilaterally forced into a contract, we decided to call that thing "the Boss." In other words, it was throwing its weight around.

"Oh, and here. Your employee ID cards."

As if she'd just remembered something, Ruby brought a necklace over from the corner of the side table and handed it to Peridot and me.

Anyone could tell they were employee IDs, and they had our pictures and the words "B-rank" on them.

"They were here this morning, somehow. I don't know how much that 'Boss' can rewrite."

Peridot put on the employee ID she'd been gazing at with childish fascination.

I picked mine up and was about to put it in my pocket, then realized:

This outfit has no pockets.

I had no choice but to put the employee ID around my neck.