Chapter 2

1.

The training rooms were individual rooms for each person. There was also a large training hall for groups, of course, but figuring out what I could do on my own seemed more important, so I went into a private room.

Maybe because I was B-rank, the room was pretty spacious and sturdy-looking.

"Shield."

After trying this and that, I managed to make water take exactly the form I pictured in my mind.

And the important thing was saying the words out loud.

The things I created by speaking appeared in a much clearer, more precise form than when I simply thought them.

"Spear. Shield."

A dozen or so streams of water took the form of medieval lances and shot forward. Then ten shields blocked them, sending sprays of water everywhere.

A few spears that slipped through scattered just before hitting the wall, splashing water against it.

It was a little chuuni, but it was cool. Seeing something happen according to my words and will made me feel like the wizard I'd fantasized about being in middle school, and it got me fired up.

The training room was sturdy, and maybe because I'd deliberately tried to keep things weak, it wasn't destroyed.

The wall I'd fired the spears at was soaked, but I didn't worry about it. I'd learned yesterday that water created with magic evaporated quickly.

"Phew."

Feeling a little dizzy, I drank some bottled water from near the wall. This must be what it felt like to use up all my magic.

It felt like all the energy I'd had earlier was gone. Maybe, like I'd seen in other novels, I'd been using magic to bolster my body.

"I think that's about enough."

Feeling like I'd tried everything I wanted to, I left the training room. When I checked the clock, I saw I'd been at it for about an hour.

As soon as I left my private room, I noticed someone in the lounge.

His silver hair was mussed in every direction, and his blinking eyes had a sharp look to them.

He looked well over 180 centimeters tall, and though he seemed a little thin, he had plenty of well-defined muscles.

"…Idle thoughts…"

As I found myself naturally evaluating a man's physique, I felt ashamed of myself. Why was I looking at him like I was judging a woman's figure?

I gritted my teeth, then sighed.

"…Ah."

Then, sensing someone's gaze, I slowly raised my head and saw the man I'd been examining looking at me. He must have noticed my eyes traveling over him from head to toe.

Maybe he was offended.

"I'm sorry for staring at you like I was examining you."

"Ah, no, I should apologize too."

The man seemed to snap out of it at my words.

Well, I understood.

Right now, I stood out a lot, both because of my looks and because of my outfit.

Besides, I was the one who'd looked him over and analyzed him piece by piece, so I wasn't in a position to complain.

Anyway, he seemed like someone I could talk to, so before starting a conversation, I should do the polite thing and introduce myself.

"I'm Lapis Lazuli."

"Ah… I'm Dojin."

Dojin answered while shifting his gaze around and scratching his cheek. For some reason, he avoided looking me in the eye.

I studied his face, if only to make eye contact. He had striking features. If he had a slightly worse personality, he looked like the type who'd make women cry.

So there were Korean-sounding names like that, too. Judging by Ruby, Peridot, and my own name, I'd thought they were all Western-style names.

"Dojin, that's a nice name. Was I disturbing you?"

"Not really, but…"

Dojin's face was a little red. He seemed awkward around women who spoke to him first. I could tell he was shy.

Thinking it was a cute reaction, I sat down beside him.

"Um…"

Dojin glanced at me, gauged the distance between us, and sat a little farther away. At this point, it seemed less like he was shy and more like he was avoiding me.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

"That's not it…"

Dojin curled up as if he wanted to crawl into a mousehole.

Was it because of my looks? Well, I hadn't done anything to cultivate them, but my current appearance was a national treasure. If someone saw me on the street, they'd probably turn around to look at me. My figure was the same. My average height was a drawback, though.

The atmosphere was so awkward I could almost see the word "fidgeting" floating beside him, and I couldn't help but laugh.

I thought it was a cute reaction.

"Um, your clothes are wet…"

That was what he said before I realized.

"Ah…"

I used the same trick I'd used to get rid of the water and dried all the moisture from my clothes. The water soaking me had been created with my own magic, so I could do that.

I could feel my face heating up. A moment ago, I'd thought Dojin must've wanted to crawl into a mousehole, but now I wanted to do the same.

This is so fucking embarrassing… And the fact that I'd been so full of myself about my looks just made it worse.

"I'm sorry… Did I startle you?"

I couldn't bring myself to look up, so I lowered my head. If embarrassment had a gauge, mine would've probably broken through its limit. My face was burning.

My hands had nowhere to go, so they fidgeted on my thighs… I could do nothing but sit there, embarrassed.

Anyone would think I was a slut!!

I wanted to cover my face with my hands, but I couldn't go that far with someone sitting beside me and talking to me.

"Sorry."

Dojin said one more word, then disappeared from where he sat.

It looked like teleportation. He hadn't given any sign of moving in the first place.

And I couldn't move for a long time, too embarrassed to do anything.

2.

A week passed. I trained every day by going to the training room. If there were ranks up to A, that meant the Demon King had to be an even greater monster.

It would be difficult for me, a B-rank, to take on the Demon King. In the first place, the gap between A-rank and B-rank seemed to be several times, or even dozens of times, greater.

It would be nice to have a relationship where we helped each other, but getting stronger on my own was another option. Besides, the stronger I was, the higher the overall level of the people I associated with would be.

"Phew."

On the first day, I had to say the words out loud to make the images clear in my mind. Now, simply thinking of them was enough to conjure a firm image.

Speaking the words aloud created an even larger and more precise image. The water spears I'd made by saying "spear" out loud were harder than real iron and flew as fast as a crossbow bolt.

"Maybe you have a talent for this? Have you watched a lot of anime or something?"

"Please stop asking questions I can't answer…"

It was hard to answer Ruby's question. Even if I looked different now, it was embarrassing to say, 'I watch a lot of manga and novels. I'm a hardcore otaku.'

I thought of Ruby as a fellow who was in the same situation as me, but we weren't close enough to call each other friends yet.

"I've watched a lot of Marvel, too."

"I doubt you'd find many people in Korea who haven't."

As I answered, Ruby kicked off the floor and charged at me. We were in the middle of a mock battle, and we'd wasted too much time talking.

Ruby seemed to prefer hand-to-hand combat, with flames wrapped around her arms and legs. That was the first thing I thought of when I heard someone could use fire.

Sometimes she shot out flames, but she could only control their general direction, so they were easy to block.

Above all, water and fire were natural enemies. Water had an overwhelming advantage and completely swallowed up fire.

"Ring."

The water scattered around Ruby gathered together, forming a binding ring to restrain her. Ruby set her whole body ablaze and evaporated the ring just like that.

Ruby said her combat uniform absorbed fire and converted it into magic.

Why didn't my combat uniform have a function like that…

"Spear."

Feeling a little dejected, I created a dozen or so spears and fired them at Ruby. She hurriedly leaped away, but I'd already anticipated that, too. It was another blind spot.

Just as I thought she'd been hit and was about to withdraw the water, flames shot from the soles of Ruby's feet, and she kicked off the air once more.

"Huh? What was that?"

"Oh, it works?"

It seemed Ruby was trying it for the first time, too. She spun her body around, landed on the ceiling as if it were the floor, then kicked off the ceiling and charged at me again.

She was more than twice as fast as before. The faint soot left on the ceiling and the explosive roar made me realize she'd blasted herself forward with flames.

I detonated dozens of water bombs between us, both to block my view and to spray water everywhere.

"BANG!! Fsssshh—"

The water sprayed in every direction, accompanied by the sound of it vaporizing. The flames wrapped around Ruby's arms didn't weaken from something as minor as that.

Not that I'd expected them to.

A rectangular tower shield appeared to block Ruby. Since it was made of transparent water, I could see straight through it.

Ruby chose to charge straight through. Her fist, blazing even more fiercely, punched right through the tower shield. The water crumbling around her poured toward her, but couldn't reach her through the intense heat and turned entirely to steam.

But,

Her momentum had died.

I immediately created another tower shield to block her. Then I gathered up the water I'd sprayed around earlier and made it surge up beneath her feet.

The instant the water surged upward, she used its momentum to charge forward. She was just as fast as before, but she couldn't control herself nearly as well and seemed to be shooting straight up into the air.

Well, it wasn't as if she'd chosen that direction.

"Bang!"

But when she pointed a finger at me and mimed shooting, something exploded right in front of my eyes. It wasn't a huge explosion, and it had only enough force to hit the basic magic barrier and rattle my head.

But a jolt like that, in a perfectly placed spot right in front of my eyes, was fatal.

"Ngh, guh…"

Holding my throbbing head, I focused on Ruby. An explosion? Had she shot fire from a distance? No, she hadn't blasted herself forward to hit me.

I had no idea how she was attacking, but Ruby had pulled it off, and I couldn't figure it out. All that was left was for me to get completely beaten.

"Shield. Spear. Water squall."

In that case, I just had to overwhelm her so she wouldn't even have time to do that.

I thought I'd become a magical girl who wielded water. Over the past week, while practicing how to control water, I'd realized something.

Water's greatest strength wasn't its attack power or defense. It was control over the battlefield.

The shield blocked off the space between Ruby and me, while person-sized spears shot through openings just large enough for a person to pass through, aiming for her.

No matter how much Ruby's new technique let her charge at speeds beyond what she'd managed before, she'd never get through that ironclad defense without being hit by a spear and knocked down. Ruby kicked off the walls and empty air, showing off her three-dimensional mobility.

I couldn't hit her. The force of her blasts was so strong that her acceleration in a straight line was incredibly fast. She could only move in straight lines, but since she could kick off the air and change direction at any time, it was practically the same as three-dimensional maneuvering.

Meanwhile, the rain I'd summoned was already enough to soak the entire training room.

"Waterfall. Waterspout."

Water poured down from the ceiling as water surged up from the floor. At the same time, spears that were smaller than the earlier ones but still plenty powerful shot forward.

That's why I said water's greatest strength was control over the battlefield.

There was no way for her to get close to me through this barrage.

"Giant spear."

Finally, I gathered up all the extra water and made a giant spear. It reminded me of Gungnir, the mythical weapon, but it was embarrassing to give it such a grand name, and it didn't really live up to it…

But it was truly enormous. The spears before had been about the size of a person, but this one was as big as a tour bus.

"Bang, bang!"

Ruby made a gun shape with her fingers and pretended to shoot, just like before. I wasn't going to fall for that twice.

When I made a waterfall cascade in front of me, a small explosion went off on its surface. Fortunately, my countermeasure seemed to work.

As if she hadn't expected anything else, Ruby clenched her burning fist and charged at the giant spear.

"Ryaaah!!"

With a battle cry straight out of a video game, she punched, and the flames that had been burning around her arm swirled as they rushed toward the spear.

"Fwoooosh—"

Before long, hot steam filled the training room.

Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, Ruby emerged through the steam and stared at me.

"Are you hurt?"

"Not enough to leave a mark."

In the first place, Ruby and I were only having a mock battle, so neither of us had used an attack meant to leave the other with an injury.

I hadn't landed a clean hit on Ruby, and Ruby had managed to land a glancing blow that was hardly a proper hit.

"There's a reason they say sparring is the best way to train in manga and stuff!"

"…Yeah. You improved so fast, it surprised me."

Ruby's way of using her ability was clearly to send fire out from her body and release its destructive power through punches and kicks.

It was impressive that she'd taken that basic approach and come up with a new technique after just one mock battle with me.

Actually, maybe all my progress was the result of hard work, and Ruby was the one with real talent.

"Hehe. I watched and thought about it, and it worked better than I expected."

"I'm glad. I got a few ideas from it, too."

As I answered, I quickly dried the water soaking Ruby's clothes and mine. The mock battle was over, and I'd used quite a bit of power on that last attack, so I was tired, too.

Ruby was breathing a little heavily, so she must've been pretty tired as well. Besides, her skin was still wet, so it looked like she'd been sweating.

I figured I was probably in a similar state without even checking, and Ruby and I left the training room.

"Hello."

"Hello, Dojin."

There was a lounge by the training room entrance, and Dojin was resting there. It looked like he'd just gotten out of the shower; a towel was draped around his neck, and his nape and other visible areas were flushed red.

This is uncomfortable… Since becoming a woman, I've felt like my insight has only improved when it comes to noticing even the most meaningless things. Especially when it comes to appearances.

"I'll head out first~"

"Ah, okay. See you later."

Ruby disappeared with a sly grin. She seemed to have somewhere urgent to be.

Since I'd greeted Dojin, I felt like I should at least talk to him, so I sat down beside him. Getting along with people was always a good thing.

Considering how often he came to the training room, Dojin must have a strong desire to improve, too.

"Training again today?"

"Yeah… I guess."

Even though Dojin had showered and was resting, the muscles beneath his skin still twitched a little. Mm, I envied his male body.

Considering the teleportation ability Dojin had shown me before, I figured he was training his body to make up for his lack of attack power and defense.

Come to think of it, teleportation was an incredibly powerful, rare, and dangerous ability.

I hated the idea of associating with someone for calculated reasons, but I couldn't resist asking someone with such a powerful ability to join our team.

Besides, he'd been the person I'd talked to the most lately, and it would be nice to show him that I wanted to get to know him better as we talked more.

There was nothing to lose by building up a positive impression.

"Come to think of it, you're a teleporter, right, Dojin?"

"Yeah, that's right."

It seemed like he didn't really want to share his ability. His answer sounded reluctant, so I cautiously asked him another question.

"…Do you not like people knowing about your ability?"

"I don't usually go around telling people."

So I should watch what I said. He wasn't someone I disliked, and I couldn't knowingly do something he was uncomfortable with.

"I wasn't considerate. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize… Just don't let it get around."

I didn't know how rare teleporters were. In most manga and things like that, there were only two or three at most, so I figured they must be rare. And even that was a lot; usually there was only one.

And even when they did show up, their abilities were so powerful they could only use them a few times, or they could only travel short distances, or they could only take themselves. They came with all kinds of limitations.

At least Dojin's teleportation had a long range, and it didn't take long to activate. I didn't know how many times he could use it, though.

Dojin didn't seem to enjoy talking about that subject, so I changed the subject and continued our conversation.

3.

I think appearance is a great tool for communication, too. I realize that now.

I don't think I'm especially good at talking, but the fact that conversations with people go smoothly is proof of that.

I was in a good mood as I headed back to my room after things had gone well with Dojin, when someone blocked my way.

At first, I thought he was walking toward me from the opposite direction and might accidentally bump into me, so I tried to step aside. But he stopped right in front of me.

"I'm trying to get by."

"Just a minute, just a minute. Let's go to a café or something and talk, just the two of us."

Thinking it was a ridiculous invitation, I lifted my head to look at his face so I could turn him down.

His face was pretty ordinary. Rather than having striking features, he had a sturdy, rugged look. But then he had accessories like earrings, which seemed out of place on him.

Besides, his hair was dyed a dull gold, and his skin was tanned bronze. It might've been attractive to someone, but it wasn't my type, at least.

He looked at least twenty centimeters taller than me. Unless I tilted my head all the way back, all I could see was his broad chest.

"Ugh…!"

The moment I saw his face, a ticklish feeling stirred in my lower abdomen, and my face flushed. I felt like my breathing was getting heavier, and I even imagined the world turning pink.

"You're even cuter up close."

The blond, tanned punk looked at me with a beaming smile as he said that.

The sound of my heart pounding filled my head, along with the ticklish sensation in my lower abdomen. I even felt my nipples stiffening.

"Come on, come on. Let's go."

He grabbed my wrist, and as he started dragging me away, I remembered.

< - If seduced by a man, I go into heat. >

'It was like a sexy older woman wrapping her arms around my neck, giving me a sultry smile, and setting the mood for a kiss.'

What an absurdly powerful seduction. I couldn't believe that the moment I'd been hit on and seen his face, I'd been dragged all the way to the café entrance without being able to think about anything.

I bit my lip hard. Pain sharp enough to make my body twitch seemed to clear my head.

I slapped away the hand gripping my wrist.

"Let go… Haa."

My mood had cooled. My voice had, too.

No, my voice hadn't cooled. It was impossible to hide how aroused my body had been forced to become.

It pissed me off because it wasn't what I wanted.

"Your words say you don't like it, but…"

The blond, tanned punk must have noticed. His cheerful grin was still there.

My head had cleared a little, but my body was still aroused. The ticklish feeling in my lower abdomen had turned into a throbbing pulse, and my nipples were so embarrassingly hard that I bet they showed through my underwear.

I couldn't lose to desire, to lust. In the first place, my body had been forced into heat, but my masculinity was still alive… I thought.

Even if the beauty reflected in my mirror every morning and evening was a national treasure,

Even if the voice I heard every time I spoke was a delicate, high-pitched one,

Even if I was worn down to the brink of passing out every day and got beaten black and blue… I thought my masculinity was still alive.

So, in other words,

"Get lost. I don't want to get fucked by someone like you."

"Feisty, aren't you?"

Whether he was born that way or had worked out, the punk tried to forcibly pull me toward him with his big, powerful muscles.

I tried to use my ability. If talking didn't work, I had no choice.

"Huh…?"

I tried to splash water in his face, but no water came out. Why? Why wasn't it working?

Maybe my confusion showed on my face, because the blond punk grinned and said,

"You're cute when you're confused, too. Let's see if you're as tough as you were with your mouth."

"L-let go of me!"

The blond punk dragged me away, not to the café, but into a secluded alley. If my ability was sealed, I couldn't fight back against someone with such a huge advantage in size and strength.

I tried to resist, but my lower abdomen kept throbbing, and my nipples had grown so stiff they hurt. I couldn't stop thinking about them, and my strength started to drain away.

My breath kept coming out in little pants. The problem wasn't just the energy I was using to resist; it was that this body of mine had been forced into heat, draining my strength and energy.

Once we were in the alley, the blond punk leaned in to kiss me. With my back against the wall, I pushed his face away with both hands.

Just talking to him had done this much. I desperately fought him off, terrified that if he kissed me, I'd really lose control of my body.

"D-don't!"

"You really are putting up a fight. Hah."

"Cute resistance," the blond punk said, grabbing both my wrists with one hand. My arms were so thin that it seemed he could hold them with just one hand.

I turned my head away and squeezed my eyes shut. I even tried to knee him in the groin, but he blocked it with his own knee as if he'd seen it coming.

Every attempt to resist had been stopped. My eyes were probably shaking wildly with fear and panic. I could feel myself trembling with fear.

Then he grabbed my chin with his other hand. There was nowhere left to run.

I closed my eyes. I felt so scared I could start crying.

The blond punk lowered the hand he'd used to hold my chin, stroked my neck, and said,

"If you don't open your eyes, I'll just take your top off first."

"…You cowardly rapist, pervert, piece of trash."

"You're the pervert."

The moment I opened my eyes, I suddenly felt a burning heat in my chest. Even though he'd promised to stop if I opened my eyes, the blond punk still groped my breasts.

When his hand touched my breasts, my body heated up like a blast furnace. I really was a bona fide slut.

What a fucking awful contract.

"Mm♡, ngh—!"

"Your nipples are sensitive, too."

The blond punk chuckled as he said that.

Pathetic.

Without my ability, I couldn't even respond to simple violence like this. I should've carried something like pepper spray for self-defense.

"Stop."

Someone grabbed the blond punk. He was about as tall as the punk, with silver hair that seemed to shine, unlike the punk's dull blond.

It was Dojin.

I was glad to see him, like a savior had appeared, but at the same time, I thought, Why did it have to be him?

Because I was ashamed that he'd seen me get aroused just because some man had hit on me… I think.

"What's your problem? She's enjoying it, too."

"D-don't say something so ridiculous!"

I raised my voice without meaning to.

I'd been trembling with fear just a moment ago! How could he say I was enjoying it?

"Get lost."

"Tch. Whatever you say, Your Hero-ship."

The blond punk sounded sarcastic, as if he'd taken offense. He let go of my wrist and stepped away from me.

"See you again, pretty girl."

The blond punk left after saying that.

He'd only held my wrist for a moment, but it was red, and my legs gave out. I slid down the wall and ended up sitting on the ground.

"…You really weren't enjoying that, right?"

"Of course I wasn't. …Don't say creepy things like that."

Even the suspicion hurt.

"…Uh, I mean. That. Ah."

I could tell Dojin had suddenly gotten flustered.

I knew why. Tears had started falling without me realizing it, and I was crying.

"Shit… Why are there tears… Sniff."

I complained, but my nose stung and I couldn't finish what I was saying.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It was my mistake."

Dojin seemed to think I'd started crying because of what he'd said.

Well, he wasn't entirely blameless.

Maybe ten percent of it was Dojin's fault? I probably would've cried even if he hadn't said anything.

I realized this body was absurdly weak. Its physical condition was ridiculous. I'd thought I would be fine because I had an ability, but I was wrong.

Without my ability, I was just a girl who couldn't even protect herself.

"Sniff, sob…"

A little sniffle kept escaping me without my meaning to.

The sniffles kept coming without my meaning to.