Chapter 4

1.

"Yeah, ngh… Dojin-ah♡"

And masturbated, which had become part of my daily routine.

"Lance."

And went out on missions now and then.

"You've been busy lately, huh?"

"I've been getting more seriously involved in our work."

And spent time with Dojin, too.

A month passed in a monotonous cycle.

"Wow, I don't even get periods. I was so worried!"

"Maybe it's because the contract says I can't get pregnant?"

I nodded, convinced by Ruby and Peridot's words. That was fine by me. No worries about pregnancy, and I'd always had this vague fear of period cramps.

Even if—really, even if—I ended up liking a man and dating him, I absolutely didn't want to get pregnant.

Thinking that far made me a little depressed.

Because I'd become aware of my masculinity, diminished and covered in scars.

It was easier to ignore it. If I didn't look at it or acknowledge it, I could be at ease. I was too busy just keeping this life going, so I could simply look away.

But when I had to face the masculinity that kept catching my eye, my heart inevitably sank.

"Lapis?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about something."

I came back to myself at Ruby's call and took a sip of beer.

The three of us had just returned from a joint mission to deal with a flood of monsters that had filled an entire city, and we were enjoying a beer together as a sort of after-party.

I could save those thoughts for when I was alone.

"I never used to drink much beer, but in this body, it isn't bad."

"So you were a soju person, then. I feel like beer is more of a soft drink to me…"

Ruby cackled at Peridot's reply.

"Nooo, I'm a whiskey person. A cold glass poured over ice—ah, that's the stuff!"

"I've never tried it…"

They were getting along surprisingly well.

I hardly ever saw them talk to each other normally.

"I never really liked alcohol in the first place."

I chimed in, thinking I should at least wedge myself between them.

"Lapis, looking at you, your life seems like one long joyless stretch."

"…I don't think that's true. I lived pretty happily."

I was obsessed with games rather than booze. Between anime, manga, and games, I had no time to drink.

Though I didn't watch much anime either. Twenty minutes felt like too much to spare.

"What kind of life is it without alcohol or women? Oh, since we're women now, should I say men?"

Ruby said that with a laugh.

The moment men came up, something suddenly made me curious. I'd had a bit to drink, and it was the right subject, so I asked what I wanted to know.

"Come to think of it, how often do you masturbate?"

"Uh, well…"

Ruby gave an awkward smile and dodged the question. What? She was the one who'd brought up the subject.

"Never mind. You don't have to tell me."

"No, I mean, you're asking about since I got this body, right?"

Ruby's expression quickly relaxed as she asked. I was annoyed and didn't want to answer, but I just gave a slight nod.

"…It's more embarrassing than I thought. Hehe."

Ruby smiled, folding her fingers as if she were counting.

"Twice a day."

She answered with an awkward smile.

"Peridot and Lapis, you'll tell us too, right?"

"…Since I brought it up, I guess I should."

Peridot, who'd been trying to get up without drawing attention, flinched. Like Ruby, I started counting on my fingers.

"Once every two days."

"I, um…"

Peridot's eyes darted around as she avoided my gaze. Normally, if someone wanted to run away like that, I'd let them—but not this time.

We'd been drinking, and Ruby and I had already answered. There was no way Peridot could just refuse to say anything and run off now.

"T-three or four times…"

"That's all?"

Ruby asked, adding that it had been over a month.

"A-a day…"

…What stamina.

I was at a loss for words.

2.

"We've been going out together a lot lately because of these mass monster outbreaks."

"That's true. It's convenient for me, at least. I feel reassured when we're together."

Ruby takes the front line, with Peridot behind her. I'm at the rear.

That's the formation the three of us settled on.

Ruby, who controls fire, has strong offensive power, while Peridot, who controls plants, has strong defensive power. As for me, like I said, I'm good at controlling the battlefield.

Ruby charges in first and crushes the enemy, with Peridot backing her up. I support both of them.

At first, we couldn't coordinate well. Ruby would burn the trees Peridot made, or I'd spray water at Ruby and soak her. But now we're a team that works together like clockwork.

"Guess Charmander really is weak to Squirtle."

"Shut up, Bulbasaur."

Ruby playfully shot back at Peridot's joke.

The joke came from when I'd made a wave to push back the huge horde of monsters, and Ruby had stopped her charge and fallen back from the wave.

Of course, it was only natural to pull back when an ally attacked, regardless of whether the attack was fire or water. Maybe it meant we'd grown at least somewhat closer.

"Do you think they have those here, too?"

"Uh, I don't know."

We joked around about nothing while waiting for the recovery team. Things like the hides from monster corpses were apparently essential in this world.

They were tougher than animal hides, but could be processed until they were soft.

Peridot said she'd read all about it in a book, but I wasn't particularly curious, so I remembered trying to change the subject.

We'd only been there a little while when a siren suddenly blared from the city.

[Alert. Alert. A-rank Witch 'Iris' has appeared. Alert. Alert. A-rank Witch 'Iris' has appeared. Alert. Alert. A-rank Witch 'Iris' has appeared──]

A witch?

"Witches are magical girls who've fallen into corruption. So…"

Wow. Shit. She's our senior.

"Well, look at that. A bunch of juniors!"

A girl with pale purple hair appeared out of nowhere, giggling as she descended through the air.

She wore a fluttering frilly dress, its hems swaying, and had shoulder-length hair. On her hands were gloves with a white base and pale-purple patterns, and she wore white shoes.

"You contracted with 'Party A,' right?"

The witch named Iris asked as she landed lightly on the ground. She was small. I was the shortest of the three of us, but she looked at least ten centimeters shorter than me.

"Answer your senior's question."

Boom. The ground beneath her caved in. At the same time, an immense pressure seemed to bear down on my body. Ruby, Peridot, and I all dropped to our knees, unable to do anything.

Is this pure magic power…?

"Y-you're a, pretty rough, senior, huh…"

Ruby forced herself to stand, drawing on her magic. Flames rose all over her body with a soft hiss. Iris glanced at Ruby with round eyes, then said,

"Kneel."

With a casual wave of her hand, she forced Ruby back to her knees. The pressure on Ruby looked twice as intense as the pressure on Peridot or me.

"Ah, this never gets old!"

Iris said as she slowly approached Ruby and drove a kick into her stomach. Despite the loud thud, Ruby only choked and gasped where she stood.

If she'd been knocked flying, that would've meant the blow hadn't landed properly. Since she hadn't even been sent flying, Ruby must have taken the full force of Iris's kick.

"My master really loves rude little bitches like you, you know? Hehe. I'll get praised thanks to you."

As Iris said that, she grabbed Ruby by the hair and hauled her up. I sent a spear of water flying at her.

"Could you stop flopping around like a fish?"

The spear lost its shape and burst into spray in front of her, but the pressure weighing on me disappeared. I took the opportunity to draw on my magic.

"Trying to fight back? Aren't you B-rank?"

Iris said, as if the idea were laughable.

Well, I knew that in this shitty world, even a one-rank difference meant a tremendous gap in strength.

But that didn't mean I could just let her beat us up and drag us away.

"Let my friend go and get lost, you filthy bitch."

"Sure, I am my master's bitch. But that doesn't mean I like you."

Iris punched Ruby in the stomach while she still seemed too dazed to recover, then tossed her aside.

Then she looked at me, and before I could blink, she was right in front of me, swinging a roundhouse kick at my head.

She's ridiculously fast! Three shields appeared in an instant, but they couldn't withstand her kick and shattered, spraying water everywhere.

"Ring!"

Water took the shape of a ring and tried to bind her, but as soon as it got close, it lost its form and scattered into spray.

Maybe Iris decided the kick had lost enough of its force. She pulled her leg back, used the recoil to spin around, and turned the motion into a kick with her other leg. Her athleticism was incredible.

People aren't supposed to spin around like tops!

Bang! I flew backward as I blocked the kick that had broken through the shields I'd made. The arm I'd used to block it throbbed.

"Kyaha! You're like a roly-poly toy!"

Iris kicked off the ground again and flew at me. She grabbed my face and slammed me into the ground. She was too fast.

With a bang, the back of my head hit the ground. If I hadn't been drawing on my magic in the middle of the fight, my skull would've split open and killed me.

The last thing I felt was Iris pulling my head up and slamming it into the ground again.

3.

Lapis twitched, then her limbs went completely limp. Iris slammed her head into the ground several more times.

"Hmm, was she all mouth?"

Iris let the limp Lapis drop and turned around. In the meantime, Peridot had helped Ruby. She flinched as she got back to her feet.

Ruby still wasn't in any shape to fight, but she'd come to and managed to stand up.

'Every part of me hurts, and my vision keeps flickering…'

Ruby realized her condition was hopeless. If only she could buy them some time.

"Good thing these magical girls are to Master's taste! Unlike those bitches last time, you won't have your arms and legs cut off and eaten."

As Iris spoke, she casually brushed off her hands. The bloodstains on her white gloves, accented with pale purple, gradually disappeared.

"Except for that cowardly bitch over there. Kyaha. Master's not into cowards, so after he fucks you a few times, he'll probably cut off your arms and legs and eat them."

Iris's face flushed with ecstasy, while Peridot looked shocked at the horrifying remark about cutting off and eating her limbs. Their expressions were polar opposites.

When Iris crouched down again, Peridot instinctively grew plants and shoved her away.

Craaaack! Iris smashed through all the trees and flew right up to Peridot.

"But I don't like cowards either."

With a sharp grip, Iris seized Peridot by the throat and slammed her into the ground. In that awkward mounted position, the smaller Iris should have been at a disadvantage, but Peridot had to struggle with all her might just to pry her hands away.

"You remind me of the cowardly bitch who sold me out. She handled trees like you do."

"Ngh… Guh…"

"What did she say again? 'This one's smaller, so her pussy will squeeze tighter.' Was it that? Or 'I'll make sure she can't resist, so please let me go.'"

Iris left Peridot on the ground, got up, and drove a back kick into Ruby's solar plexus as she charged at her from behind.

Ruby flew away without even managing to scream and passed out.

"And the last one died going 'Booheehee,' that fat bitch."

Iris suddenly smiled sweetly.

"Well, Master's dick really is that good! She got it shoved in her eye, so imagine how blissfully she died. Don't you think so, too?"

"Cough… Guh…!"

With a firm press, Iris's white shoe trampled Peridot's stomach. The sharp heel dug in and tore through her skin.

Blood surged from Peridot's mouth, as if her stomach had been damaged.

"Can't even answer me, you cowardly bitch. Are you that scared?"

"I…"

Peridot spat the blood bubbling up in her mouth onto Iris's clothes.

"I'm not a coward, you slut."

"You're fucking crazy, aren't you?"

Just as Iris lifted her foot to stomp on Peridot's chest, dozens of trees burst up from the ground and sent Iris flying.

Peridot knew that wouldn't be enough to kill the monster. She got to her feet, blood trickling from between her lips.

"Ta-da."

Her choice had been perfect—except that Iris had already appeared right in front of her in that brief moment.

B-rank and A-rank were only one step apart, but their abilities were worlds apart. As soon as Peridot spotted Iris, countless trees shot out thorns to attack her, but Iris blasted every tree nearby away with nothing more than a surge of magic power.

"What are you even doing?"

Iris flicked the leaves clinging to her clothes away.

Peridot clutched her trembling body and hurriedly looked around. Lapis and Ruby were both unconscious. It didn't seem like they'd wake up anytime soon.

Lapis was seriously injured, her dark blue hair stained with blood. If Iris had slammed her into the ground just a few more times, she would've died.

Unlike earlier, when Ruby had been making choking sounds, she was completely limp now. The last blow had struck her solar plexus, and the tremendous impact had knocked her out. She wasn't bleeding, but her injuries were just as severe as Lapis's.

Iris suddenly grabbed Peridot's face with both hands.

"Why do you keep rolling your eyes around?"

"Ugh…"

Iris snickered as she looked into Peridot's trembling eyes.

"Are you shaking?"

Iris gave Peridot's cheek a lick.

"Cowardly bitch. You won't even fight back, just to cling to your worthless life."

Iris spat those vicious insults at Peridot, who was doing nothing but trembling, then moved her tongue toward the corner of her eye.

With no way to fight back, Peridot squeezed her eyes shut.

"If you don't open your eyes, I'll tear your arm off."

At the same time, there was a crack, and terrible pain shot through her arm. Iris had broken it.

"Aaaaaah!!"

"You go 'Aaaaaah!!'? Kyaha. You used to be a man, so don't make such a fuss over a broken arm."

Iris broke Peridot's other arm too.

"Ngh…!"

Peridot wanted to tell her not to talk such nonsense, but she was dealing with a madwoman. There was no way she could reason with her.

"Then I'll let you live."

Peridot stayed quiet, wondering what the mad bitch was going to say next.

"Make me a knife. I can carry the other two, but I can't take you, so I'd have to kill you, right? But ta-da, I've got a bag big enough to fit you in once your arms and legs are cut off."

What a crazy thing to say. Peridot nearly scoffed.

"You're thinking, 'This crazy bitch is saying crazy things,' right?"

Iris's hand touched the corner of Peridot's eye.

They say imagination gives rise to fear, and that human fear comes from the unknown.

She realized now that even a future you could predict with certainty could be terrifying.

The fear of losing her eye made her body tremble. The permanent loss of part of her body was frightening, but the horrific pain she'd feel in the process was also a noose of fear tightening around her.

Iris's hand was moving closer, little by little.

"If I pluck this eye out, I think that'll make my words more convincing. Then you'll listen to me, won't you?"

Iris phrased it as a question, though she wasn't asking for her consent.

Suddenly, Iris stopped moving.

"Stop."

Iris's hand moved away from Peridot's eye.

Iris tried to force her trembling body still, just as Peridot had a moment ago, and pretend to be calm. But she was obviously failing, shaking all over.

"W-why are you here…?"

"Just passing by. I've answered one of your questions, so now it's my turn to make a demand. Get lost."

Dojin, the man nicknamed Esper, descended lightly from the air.

He was one of the three people called Heroes, a rank beyond even A-rank. Iris, who was only around mid-A-rank, was no match for him.

"Y-you're letting me go?"

"If you piss me off any more, that might not be possible."

"Okay… Can I take them with me?"

Instead of answering, Dojin glanced at her. At the same time, both her arms twisted out of shape and blood sprayed from them. They were clearly broken in multiple places, at the very least.

"Aah!"

"Get lost."

"O-okay…"

With both arms mangled in an instant, Iris fled without looking back. She was a witch, after all. With her magic, wounds like those would slowly heal in about three days.

Or a villain might have modified her, and she could heal right away.

It didn't matter much to Dojin. Even if she ambushed him at full strength, he was confident he could turn her into a heap of flesh with a single gesture.

"What was her name again? Anyway, it was Lapis and two others."

As he spoke, Dojin gathered Ruby and Peridot together with telekinesis, stacking them like sacks of rice, then picked Lapis up in his arms.

Dojin, carrying Lapis with the other two floating beside him, disappeared toward the city.