Chapter 8: The Unexpected Encounter

What was that sound…?

In a hazy state, I seemed to catch a peculiar noise, which instantly jolted me awake. Focusing my senses once more, I confirmed that my ears had not deceived me.

It sounded like a roar, unnervingly clear in the pitch-black, silent forest.

The air around me had also undergone a noticeable change, now permeated by a faint, repulsive odor. Though subtle, it made me profoundly uncomfortable, as if I were submerged in a pool of icy grease.

What was happening? The cry seemed laced with fury, making me hesitate. Having finally stumbled upon a potential turning point, I was loath to give up, yet the animalistic roar filled me with an unsettling sense of impending danger.

After a moment’s consideration, I resolved to investigate. At worst, I could observe from a distance, and even if discovered, surely I could escape. The memory of my full-speed sprint had significantly boosted my confidence in my agility.

Leaving the forest path, I plunged back into the dense undergrowth. As I drew nearer to the sound, the offensive scent intensified. Before long, a glow appeared ahead, resembling a burning bonfire, with several figures seemingly engaged in combat with some kind of animal nearby.

As I ventured closer, the scene became clearer. Two men and two women were battling an exceedingly bizarre creature. Though I had never encountered one firsthand, I recognized it from books and online descriptions: a monstrous beast with three dog heads—a Cerberus.

The Cerberus snarled and whined, barking furiously at a red-haired young man in front of it. Clad in lightweight battle attire, he was engaging the beast bare-handed, trading blows with remarkable agility. Two young women flanked him, supporting the fight. One wielded a long spear, poking at the Cerberus from a distance, though her strikes seemed ineffective; the creature dodged them with uncanny precision, as if it had eyes on its back. The other girl stood further back, clutching a staff, but remained inactive for the moment. The remaining young man, positioned even further away, continuously circled with a bow and arrow, occasionally firing off a quick shot.

A sigh of relief escaped me.

A strange sense of reassurance washed over me, a familiarity in this unfolding scene. At least for now, everything aligned reasonably well with my understanding of the world. From their attire and actions, this appeared to be a fairly standard Western fantasy, otherworld scenario.

Deciding it best not to approach for the time being, I found a large tree some distance away and concealed myself behind it, determined to remain hidden until the battle concluded.

Yet a peculiar turn of events unfolded. Shortly after I hid, the Cerberus seemed to be startled by something unseen. It abruptly broke free from the quartet’s encirclement and bolted into the darkness, heedless of anything else.

What was *that*? The four individuals appeared as bewildered as I was, standing motionless as they stared in the direction the enemy had fled. Everything seemed to freeze, and the atmosphere settled into a brief, eerie calm.

“What is this…?” The staff-wielding girl, dressed like a mage, suddenly sensed something amiss and sharply turned her gaze in my direction. My heart pounded. What keen senses she possessed! I quickly ducked my head back behind the tree.

‘Could I really have been discovered just like that?’ I mused, wondering if it was merely a coincidence. However, the thought of immediately revealing myself to them felt deeply inappropriate. I wasn’t like them; they weren’t angels, for I saw no trace of wings on their backs. But I was different, even if I managed to conceal my own wings…

I hadn’t forgotten my current predicament: I was completely naked.

A flurry of hushed whispers erupted behind the tree, none of which I could discern. They seemed to be discussing something amongst themselves, and I grew increasingly anxious. ‘Surely they don’t think I’m some kind of fierce beast or monster?’

I even considered simply running far away from here, but the opportunity was too rare, and I felt a pang of reluctance.

“Um, is that… an Angel-sama?”

A girl’s voice chimed in, speaking the familiar language of this other world. It was clearly directed at me. ‘Had they already seen me, even though I thought I was perfectly hidden?’

“Angel-sama, can you hear me…?”

Ugh, from the sound of it, they were clearly closing in. I felt I couldn’t remain hidden much longer. Rather than letting them discover me, it was better to take the initiative.

“Stop! Can you all just wait a moment?”

I blurted out the words in a moment of quick thinking, suddenly noticing how pleasant my soft voice sounded echoing through the night forest.

The rustling footsteps abruptly ceased. They must have heard my cry, for another round of hushed discussion arose from behind the tree. This time, they were much closer.

I could vaguely make out a few fragmented phrases.

“Strange…”

“Are you sure it’s an angel?”

“Couldn’t be a pervert, could it…?”

“Doesn’t sound like it, does it?”

“Then it’s a pervert with a nice voice.”

****

‘They’ve already branded me a pervert, and I haven’t even shown my face!’

That made me even more hesitant to move. I could only imagine the scene: if I were to jump out in my current state, it would be like someone wrapped only in a bath towel suddenly appearing on a bustling street.

‘The sheer awkwardness would be unbearable.’

“Could you… throw some clothes over first?”

I ventured to state my request. Another round of whispers immediately erupted behind the tree.

‘Please, stop discussing it so much!’ I waited anxiously, dreading that someone might suddenly dart out from behind the tree, solidifying my reputation as a pervert.

Thankfully, they seemed to have reached a conclusion. A rustling sound followed, and shortly after, a piece of clothing descended from above, landing precisely on the grass beside me.

I crouched down and picked it up, examining it under the faint glow of the bonfire.

It was a dress-like robe, with a green hem adorned with a band of lace.

In short, it was women’s clothing.

“Um, could you… perhaps find some men’s clothing instead? Please…”

I knew my voice had likely given away my female gender. While I wasn’t sure if male angels existed, I had never worn women’s clothing in my twenty-plus years of life, and I certainly wasn’t eager to start now.

‘Hadn’t someone once said that wearing women’s clothes was either a one-time thing or an endless habit?’

This was met by another round of fervent, hushed discussion.

“I told you it had to be a pervert!”

“But my senses couldn’t have been wrong.”

“Maybe it *is* a guy.”

“Have you ever heard a guy sound like *that*?”

‘Hey! When you’re talking bad about someone, could you at least keep your voices down? Or go further away? I can hear everything!’

****

“Just give her the clothes, alright? It’s not like we’re losing anything.”

It seemed they had finally reached a compromise, as another set of clothes was tossed over.

This time, it was a two-piece outfit: a top and trousers, in a very common Western style. I quickly unfurled my wings, which were wrapped around me, and slipped on the trousers. However, I encountered difficulty with the top—my wings were simply too large to fit through.

Left with no alternative, I decided to conceal them first.

Once my wings had vanished, putting on the top was effortless. The men’s style was quite voluminous; on me, it was practically a robe, with a hem long enough to cover half my thighs. A terrible premonition suddenly struck me: it seemed my height had significantly shrunk.

With everything ready, I performed one last check to ensure nothing was amiss, then gathered my courage and stepped out from behind the tree.

The four individuals before me stared with expressions of profound astonishment, as if they had witnessed something utterly extraordinary.

‘That’s odd,’ I thought. ‘My wings should be invisible, so why do they still look so shocked? Is my current appearance somehow exceptional? Even so, this level of exaggeration seems unwarranted.’

“I knew it couldn’t be an angel!”

The red-haired young man snapped out of his daze after a long pause, his first words a complaint directed at his companions.

“Er… but *you* said it was a guy!”

The staff-wielding girl, slightly abashed, nonetheless retorted defiantly, “But my senses couldn’t have been wrong! How strange…”

Meanwhile, the other girl, who held the long spear, cautiously approached me, asking in a soothing tone.

“Little sister, who are you?”

‘Little sister?’ I couldn’t help but inwardly scoff at the address.

“Tiffany, be careful! It’s really suspicious for a girl to be out here alone…”

It was the brown-haired archer who spoke, his voice laced with concern as he saw the girl drawing too close to me. He held his longbow tightly, appearing ready to shoot at any moment.

Tiffany immediately halted, seeming to hesitate as she scrutinized me once more.

“But she doesn’t look like there’s anything wrong.”

Despite her words, she dared not take another step closer, remaining rooted to her spot, facing me.

“Um, I mean no harm, truly. Please don’t worry.”

I could understand their caution. Appearing out of nowhere in such a place at this hour, I would be equally wary myself. Thus, I decided to communicate my sincerity first, even raising my hands to show them I carried no weapons, hoping to earn their trust.

“See? I told you she was fine!”

Tiffany sighed in relief at my gesture and finally approached. It was only when she stood before me that I realized I only reached about half her height, explaining why I had been misunderstood. Tiffany herself didn’t seem particularly tall either.

“Can you tell me why you’re in this place?”

As she spoke, she reached out, intending to pat my head. I swiftly dodged to the side. ‘Please! Just because I’m a little shorter than you, you call me ‘little sister’? I might even be older than you, given that she looked to be only in her late teens or early twenties.’

Come to think of it, I had never seen my current reflection, but judging by their reactions, I supposed my appearance couldn’t be too bad.

“I don’t know,” I began. “When I first woke up from unconsciousness, I found myself lying in this forest, completely without…” I glanced down at the clothes I was wearing, still finding it difficult to articulate.

“And before that? Where were you before you passed out?”