Chapter 17: This was reality after all

“A hero, you say?”

That thing?

“To be precise, a former hero.

Leo Starfield, the hero.

I thought it was a name you might have heard at least once, but maybe not?”

“It’s possible they don’t know.

If you ask a newborn baby if they know you, they won’t be able to answer.”

“No, that’s obvious.”

I looked at the woman in front of me, who was having an awkward conversation with Leticia, with an expression of disbelief.

‘This woman is Leo?’

Her long, flowing blonde hair reaching her waist, her beautifully sparkling red eyes that seemed to hold jewels, and her delicate nose and lips were enough to captivate anyone’s attention.

She was a beautiful woman to that extent.

It’s not something you’d say to a living person, but it wouldn’t be strange at all to say she was a doll delicately crafted by a master artisan.

The red eyes visible through her slightly lowered eyelashes, looking so wistful, were unfamiliar when I thought that the core was Leo.

‘…It’s not really important, but her chest is quite big, too.’

Is it a national rule that, apart from becoming pretty when becoming a woman, your chest also gets bigger?

Come to think of it, it wasn’t strange since the original was handsome.

If you looked closely, there were a suspicious number of similarities to Leo.

The unique, flamboyant, and fiery blonde hair was Leo’s pride and symbol, so it was bound to stand out.

There were many Imperial citizens with blonde hair, but none had such flamboyant blonde hair as Leo.

Even so, it was reality that was unbelievable.

What kind of nonsense was this, that two friends would reunite with their genders changed to female?

We had joked around in the past, talking about what it would be like if we both became women, but I never thought it would become a reality.

You really never know what life will throw at you.

I didn’t even want this kind of reunion in the first place.

That’s why I denied it.

Who would believe it?

If someone spread a rumor that the hero had changed from a man to a woman.

Of course, it seemed that Leo’s dream of becoming a busty, beautiful girl if he were to become a woman had come true.

Still, with a reluctant expression, I rubbed my eyes once and let out a hollow laugh.

And I asked Leticia.

“…As far as I know, Leo Starfield should be a man?

Did the hero have a younger sister or something?”

“That’s why I told you earlier.

He was cursed.

This idiot went into a dungeon left by the demons alone and touched an ancient artifact that seemed to be left by the demons, that was the beginning.”

At Leticia’s sharp gaze, Leo, who had turned his gaze away with an awkward expression, Leticia simply sighed.

“Well, he says he didn’t touch it because he wanted to, but it’s a situation where he’s mostly at fault.”

Unfortunately, the curse was that his strength remained the same, but only his gender changed, a ridiculous curse that seemed easy but was complicated, so Leticia added that she was also in a difficult situation, and when I looked at her with a face demanding the truth, the woman presumed to be Leo shrugged with an awkward expression.

“Even though I look like this, I am indeed Leo Starfield.”

“……Really?”

“Is there any reason to joke?

It’s a big deal just to reveal the information that the hero has become a woman in front of the demons.

Why don’t you believe me?”

“Leo, don’t be so pushy.”

Leticia coldly rebuked Leo, who was grumbling irritably.

Leo, who glanced at Leticia at her sharp gaze to keep it in line, raised one eyebrow with a surprised expression and said.

“I never thought I’d see the day you’d defend a demon.

The world has really changed.

Is that demon so special?”

“…It is special.

It’s a demon that holds the hope of breaking your curse, so don’t hate it too much.”

“Judging by your attitude, there seems to be another reason, but conversely, there’s no reason for me to like it.

If you think about it, the reason I’ve changed like this is also the fault of the demons.”

Leo spoke in a low voice with a fierce expression.

This time, Leticia had nothing to say and closed her mouth.

Yeah.

That rude attitude and the occasional sexual jokes, but a light yet heavy tone, it was Leo.

It seemed he was really cursed to change gender.

And he touched a suspicious ancient artifact, and the demons were involved.

Really, he had no luck at all.

Among the demons I knew, there was only one demon who could leave such a curse on the hero.

‘Did the Demon King do it?’

But would the Demon King need to turn the hero into a woman?

If he wanted to kill him, he would have killed him, he wouldn’t have done the troublesome thing of turning him into a woman.

Unless the Demon King had a peculiar taste for turning men into women, it couldn’t be explained.

The more I thought about it, the more complicated it felt, and I furrowed one eyebrow.

In the first place, if the Demon King had planned all of this, he would have not only turned the hero into a woman but also blocked him from using his power.

But now Leo, despite being turned into a woman, seemed to be wary of his power.

Judging by the mana that was perfectly wrapped around his body like a solid barrier, I couldn’t think that he?

No, she had become weak.

Leaning against the wall and quietly watching the whole situation, I snorted at Leo’s actions.

“The bottom line is that.Without my help, you can’t break the curse.Judging by your attitude, you don’t seem to want to go back.”

“…Are you really trying to pick a fight?

You’re so f**king rude.”

“You could call this a case of mutual dislike.Or maybe demon-hating demon.You’re also being a f**king b*tch, but I don’t know if you’re aware of it.”

“You have a knack for twisting words to say, let’s have a go at it, you.”

His f**ked up personality was the same as before.

Vulgar and rude, but still diligently carrying out his assigned duties and acting as a solid sword and shield to protect those in front of him.

That was Leo Starfield as I remembered him.

So, as a way to confirm that she was Leo, I provoked her a little, but I didn’t expect her to fall for it so easily.

Thanks to that, I could be sure that she was the real Leo.

It’s no exaggeration to say that he was a swordsman blessed by God, Leo’s divinity soared like a volcano erupting, it was overwhelming.

The brightly shining divinity that filled the front seemed to blind my eyes.

Was this how all the demons facing Leo felt?

I learned a fact I didn’t want to know.

Leo, who put his hand on his waist and frowned, tried to draw his holy sword, but—.

“Don’t fight in my room.It’s full of important research materials, do you really want to burn it all?”

—He was stopped by Leticia’s hand.

“I told you to fix that hot temper.You didn’t fix it even after getting married, really… it’s all because of you that Chloe is suffering.”

Leo, who touched his head after being hit by Leticia’s fist, had tears in his eyes.

At the same time, the mana that had gathered along with Leo scattered into the air and disappeared.

It was such a sloppy appearance for a hero that I wondered if his personality had changed along with becoming a woman.

He seemed to be more easily provoked than before.

Should I say that his personality became closer to that of a woman than a man?

It was subtle to put into words.

It seemed certain that a lot had happened in the meantime.

Did he have a hard time becoming a woman?

His face seemed a little haggard.

“I know you’re on edge right now, but keep in mind that this room is full of important research materials to break your curse.”

“…I know.”

“Charlotte, too.”

“I told you I don’t bother with fights I’ll lose.

I had no intention of fighting from the beginning.”

Maybe it’s because I’m half-demon, not human, just seeing the divinity emanating from the holy sword made my body tingle.

It felt like being purified.

It wouldn’t have bothered me before, but now the divinity felt disgusting.

I had a hard time enduring it.

Leticia laughed as if she couldn’t help it at me, who was waving my hands roughly.

In contrast, Leo glared at me with a face that seemed to say the same lines as a third-rate villain who would say he’d get me next time, and then looked away, it was quite a contrast.

So, I couldn’t help but say it.

“That’s a hero?”

“Keep that kind of talk to yourself!”

“If you hadn’t picked a fight, I wouldn’t have said such a thing out loud.”

“Do you think that’s easy…?”

Leo was also embarrassed by the words he had blurted out in a situation that felt like déjà vu, and he closed his mouth.

I also closed my mouth.

Leo looked at me as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

“You….Never mind, forget it.”

Leo, who was about to say something while looking at me, looked at Leticia next to him and closed his mouth again.

As the atmosphere between the two of us became extremely awkward, Leticia looked puzzled.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

Leo, who had been looking at me with a slightly reluctant expression, narrowed his eyes and hesitated to speak.

Did he see Damian Radius in me, or was it for some other reason?

Unless Leo spoke, there was no way for me to know.

Then, a selection window appeared in front of me.

[Choose one of the options to say.]

[1. Why did you stop talking?Why don’t you continue.]

[2. Why don’t you show me now?What exactly the curse is and that suspicious ancient artifact that the hero said he touched.]

[3. Let’s cut the idle talk and get down to business.]

It’s number 2.

“Why don’t you show me now?what exactly the curse is and that suspicious ancient artifact that the hero said he touched.”

“Ah, back to the main topic.”

Leticia erased the interested expression from her face and continued her explanation seriously.

“We found out the curse that the demon cast.It was a curse cast by ‘Lust’, whom we had defeated before.And the artifact in question…was destroyed when Leo touched it, and its whereabouts became unknown.”

So I need your help.

As a devil or a demon, you might be able to solve this situation.

Leticia said.

In other words, she would do anything to return.

Listening to Leticia’s words, I stroked my chin and blurted out.

“If it’s not uncomfortable, wouldn’t it be nice to live as a woman?”

Her actions were already those of a female, so it was one way to live as a woman without necessarily solving the curse and returning to being a man.