Chapter 2 : I Became Cute (Forcibly)

The light that had enveloped my whole body disappeared, and the scent of grass tickled my nose.

Sniff sniff.

I instinctively explored my surroundings with my sense of smell, and then suddenly opened my eyes.

At that moment, I couldn’t close my mouth at the scenery that unfolded before my eyes.

Before me was an endless, wide, blue meadow.

Wildflowers shimmering in the sunlight, a gentle breeze blowing softly, and green grass swaying in the wind as if dancing.

While fighting monsters that popped out of gates and dungeons, I couldn’t even imagine such a peaceful scene. I had just wished that the blood and sweat I shed would one day bring this peace to someone.

‘But to see it myself.’

I was in awe of the sight before me and couldn’t speak for a long time. Nevertheless, I had to express this beautiful scenery in words.

I swallowed hard with my overwhelming emotion.

…It’s a really beautiful field.’

And then, one word at a time.

As if not wanting to forget the feeling I had now, I spoke clearly.

“Wow, it’s such a pretty field.”

At the words that came out of my mouth, I covered my mouth with both hands, making a ‘ᅳ’ sound.

…What is this? Why is the input different from the output?

Judging from the sensation that vibrated in my throat, it was definitely me speaking?

Thinking I might be mistaken, I opened my mouth again.

“Wow, it’s so pretty!”

……………Goosebumps ran all over my body.

This high-pitched voice that echoed in my ears.

I still haven’t fully accepted it, but I could understand the reason.

‘It’s because the goddess…?’

At the last memory of the goddess that surfaced, I let out a bitter sigh.

Half resigned, I lowered my gaze toward my lower body.

“…Awww, it feels empty down there, huh?!”

I covered my mouth again at the tone of voice that I couldn’t believe came from my own mouth.

‘What the heck is this? What have you done to my body, Goddess!’

I grabbed at the area near my lower body that had disappeared and glared at the sky. The sky that sent me down to this world didn’t give any answer.

If so, the only answer was to check my status by opening the status window.

‘Even if I’ve been reborn, can I open the status window?’

Only hunters could open the status window.

Since I was reborn, I might be in a state no different from a normal person.

I stretched out my trembling hand and shouted.

“Status window!”

The moment goosebumps rose on my skin again at the embarrassing tone,

A familiar blue interface unfolded before my eyes.

“Thank goodness. Hooray!”

My body was jumping up and down excitedly, against my will.

No, even if I’m happy, I didn’t want to express it like this!

‘What the heck is going on!’

I frantically turned my gaze to the status window.

“…S, s*x female, age five?”

I paused for a moment but then quickly scanned the status window.

The stats were the same.

The skills were the same.

All that was left were the status effects.

‘Why are there so many added?!’

My mind went blank at the list of status effects that appeared before my eyes.

I hurriedly pulled myself together and checked each one.

[Eternal Childlike Heart: Your physical age is fixed between 5 and 13 years old.]

[World’s Most Beautiful Girl: Your appearance, cuteness, and charm stats are maximized. A favorability buff has been added.]

[Cute, Petite, Lovely!: Your magic is unconditionally transformed into cute and lovely effects.]

[I’m Cute!: Your speech and actions are fixed to be cute.]

[Am I Cute?: The emission of cuteness is continuously maintained, causing a favorable reaction from surrounding life forms.
However, excessive cuteness may cause confusion in your self-awareness.]

[I Like Cute Things!: The more you are surrounded by cute things, the more your mind turns into a flower garden. Your intelligence stat temporarily decreases.]

After checking the list of status effects, my mind became even more confused.

I lowered my head and let out a hollow laugh.

At that moment, the goddess’s last words flashed in my mind.

‘I have adjusted everything so that you don’t have to be conscious of the fact that you like cute things.’

In the end, I couldn’t hold back and tore at my hair while screaming.

“Waaaaaah! This isn’t an adjustment, it’s a curse!”

When did I ever want this!

I said I wanted to be buried in cute things, not that I wanted to be cute!

“I just… I just wanted to play with cute friends….”

I shuddered at myself for sniffling while cutely rubbing my eyes.

I, the super giant with a height of 220 cm and a weight of 160 kg,

I, who was called the hope of the world and had fought monsters on all kinds of battlefields!

I, who was the fear of monsters, the one called the strongest hunter of mankind!

‘This is a nightmare, it’s definitely a nightmare.’

I tried to deny it, covering my face,

But the status window that unfolded before my eyes and my small hands were making everything certain.

This was reality.

‘Do I really have to live like this? Constantly experiencing cognitive dissonance?!’

They should have just remodeled my mind instead!

What kind of ridiculous situation is this! Is there really no way out?!

With a desperate heart, I looked at the status window again.

[Am I Cute?: The emission of cuteness is continuously maintained, causing a favorable reaction from surrounding life forms.
However, excessive cuteness may cause confusion in your self-awareness.]

[I Like Cute Things!: The more you are surrounded by cute things, the more your mind turns into a flower garden. Your intelligence stat temporarily decreases.]

Could it be that these two are creating a synergy that makes me believe that I am cute?

“Hehe, I am kind of cute….”

…..!

No, is the effect already manifesting?!

As my body trembled with an ominous feeling, the goddess’s words came to mind again.

‘Enjoy your new life to the fullest!’

How can I enjoy this!

No. There must be a way.

It was a perk! How can a perk be so arbitrary and forced!

“…Oong? Oh?”

An icon [V] that hadn’t been there before appeared below the status window.

I hurriedly pressed the icon with my finger.

Then…

[Happy Because I’m Cute! Point Shop]

-Points are added when you make yourself or others happy with cuteness.

-The favorability of others gained through cuteness can be converted into points.

・Bonus points are awarded for achieving certain conditions.

Points are awarded for making people happy with ‘cuteness.’

I thought that all I had to do was be reborn and enjoy life happily.

Why does it feel like hardships and trials have been added?

I covered my throbbing head.

Still, it didn’t need to be as desperate as fighting monsters.

All I had to do was make myself or others happy with cuteness.

‘Right. If I just use the magic pen that the goddess gave me to create the cute world that I want, the points will naturally follow.’

I tried to maintain a positive mindset and read through the contents written below.

-You can get various perks with points.

-You can strengthen or delete some of the perks you acquired with points.

-The store level increases depending on the accumulated points, and more diverse products will be unlocked.

[Store List]

・Perk Addition: You can purchase new perks with your points. The added perks vary depending on the current status and the accumulated points.

・Perk Change: You can strengthen the effects of existing perks or modify some of the effects of the perks. High points may be required for changes.

-Perk Deletion: You can delete perks by consuming points. The cost of deletion varies depending on the importance of the perk.

-Special Items: Limited edition items that only appear in certain situations are added to the store.

-Random Box: You can acquire a perk or item with a random effect by consuming a certain number of points.

My eyes only saw ‘Perk Deletion.’

A ray of hope shone brightly before my eyes.

‘What? You can delete perks?’

The thought of being able to erase these terrible perks suddenly made the world look brighter.

But that excitement was short-lived, and I fell back into the abyss of despair.

[I’m Cute!: Your speech and actions are fixed to be cute.]

[Points Required for Deletion: 1000]

[Points Held: ]

‘I’m screwed, aren’t I?’

It feels like my brain will be pickled before I can even try to do anything with the points.

No, not yet. It said it varies depending on the importance.

The points needed to delete the other perks might be low.

Hoping against hope, I checked the perks one by one.

At that moment,

[World’s Most Beautiful Girl: Your appearance, cuteness, and charm stats are maximized. A favorability buff has been added.]

A sudden curiosity arose about this perk.

…Appearance, cuteness, charm maximized?’

Just how much is it, for the perk’s name to be ‘World’s Most Beautiful Girl’?

I glanced down at the pen that I had been holding all along.

“Hmm, it said I can create whatever I want. Then it can also be a mirror, right?”

I held the pen and moved my whole body to draw a large square.

The moment the tip of the pen touched the empty air, a black line appeared.

Shiny light spread gently along the path the pen had passed, and a giant black square appeared in the air.

“Ugh, how do I do the next part? Alright! Become a mirror!”

The shape that had just been a black square instantly became a mirror that reflected me.

It was still crooked as I drew it, but…….

“Hehe! Well, it’s still fine to look at, I guess!”

Tip-tap—

I approached and stood in front of the mirror.

“…Heee?!”

I immediately covered my mouth.

The hand covering my mouth trembled involuntarily.

‘I’m really cute.’

As if it wasn’t my face I was seeing,

The image in the mirror was unbelievably lovely.

Silver hair with a mix of sky blue, round blue eyes that seemed to hold a lake.

Puffy cheeks and an adorable vibe that I couldn’t hide.

I naturally felt happy and smiled contentedly.

Then, the pretty girl in the mirror smiled back at me with a cute and lovely upturn of the corners of her mouth.

…Maybe living like this with this appearance is the right way.’

At the sudden thought, I shook my head.

Get a grip. I’m a man.

And I was the strongest hunter with an amazing physique!

“I’ll gather points somehow and change it back! At least the way I talk!”

I clenched the pen, full of resolve.