Chapter 2 – I’m going to become a beautiful girl!?
Chapter 2 – I'm going to become a beautiful girl!?
Thе dау аftеr my grandmothеr’s funеral, on mу first day оff.
То vеrifу hеr last wishes, I аrrived in Ōtsuki Citу, Yаmanаshi Рrеfесture.
Вefоre her hоusе wаs сlearеd out, I hаd to retrievе thаt so-called grimоirе.
But honestly, I hadn’t fullу bеlieved her words.
I thought it wаs just аnother liе my grаndmоthеr hаd told to delight me аs a child, rереated оn hеr dеathbed.
Тhat eхplanation mаdе more sеnsе.
It was thе seasоn when autumn was just bеginning.
Pеrhаps for the autumn foliаge, thеrе wеre quitе a few tоurists аrоund.
I blended in with thеm and bоаrdеd thе bus.
“If I hаd to tаkе а taхi hеre too, it would’ve been a painful expense…”
I muttered to myself.
With my current company salary, I couldn’t afford to take taxis frequently.
Maybe I should change jobs…
I found myself thinking such things.
Well, since I had some time to kill on the bus ride, I decided to watch some Awatube to pass the time.
I used to watch anime and such, but work stress had left me with no mental space to absorb new stories.
In that regard, Awatubers’ streams were perfect.
It felt like they’d revived the era when variety TV shows were genuinely entertaining.
And among them, one type of content maintained enduring popularity…
Adventure streams where they clear and eliminate dungeons that have appeared in reality.
Right now, a stream was just beginning.
A Halloween stream.
Right, it’s already that season…
“Hello-kira!”
Through my wireless earbuds came the streamer’s cheerful greeting.
When you’re working, you only notice seasons through heat and cold.
Especially when you’re single and your life consists solely of commuting between home and workplace.
“The whole town’s become a dungeon? Shibuya…? This is serious…”
On screen, a streamer girl named Kiraboshi Hazuki was conducting her stream with amusing banter.
Periodically, humans dressed in Halloween costumes would transform into monsters and attack.
Shocking footage.
But in this world, such things were commonplace. We’d enjoy watching the streamers fight them by sending Super Chats—so-called donations, also called “supacha”—or writing comments.
Who on earth came up with such a tasteless system?
But… these are some impressive Super Chats.
Adventure streaming must be profitable…
Just as the stream was getting good, the bus arrived at a stop near my destination.
Getting off, I was greeted by a nostalgic landscape.
The mountain scenery surrounding my grandmother’s house, unchanged from my childhood… or so it should have been.
But when I took a step forward, the scenery changed.
“Did they practice slash-and-burn agriculture here?”
The mountainside was scorched.
Not a single blade of grass or tree remained.
An abnormal sight.
It looked intentionally burned in specific areas.
Could humans have done this?
I remembered my grandmother’s last words.
There were people who stole the Great Grimoire.
What was I supposed to do about that?
Passing through the scorched area, I reached my grandmother’s house.
The interwoven trees that had surrounded the house like a gate were broken, the flower beds uprooted, the spring dried up.
It was clear something had happened here too.
But my grandmother’s house was unharmed.
“I have a bad feeling. It’s like I’m being lured into an irreversible situation… No, Grandma wouldn’t do that to me…”
Muttering as if convincing myself, I took out the spare key.
I opened the door.
It was my grandmother’s familiar house.
The interior showed no signs of disturbance.
The abnormal conditions outside seemed like a lie.
“The grimoire, the grimoire… It’s a book, right?”
At the very back of the house was my grandmother’s study.
There were picture books, manga, novels that young me had loved…
“I remember there was a locked bookshelf.”
I recalled.
The study was about the size of an eight-tatami room.
And in its deepest recess, it should have been there.
The study smelled dusty.
It seemed ventilation hadn’t occurred for a very long time.
Pitch dark, but light leaked through gaps in the curtains.
Turning on the light, I headed deeper.
Creak, creak—the floor made sounds.
An eerie atmosphere.
Even though I knew this place well, I felt strangely tense.
The locked bookshelf, the locked bookshelf…
Found it.
Easy to spot because it was glowing blue.
Reflected in a nearby mirror, the light felt intense.
…Blue?
Glowing!?
Clearly, only that spot was abnormal.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”
I don’t wanna get closer.
Everything in my grandmother’s house was antique in construction.
There shouldn’t be any installed lighting.
But the bookshelf was glowing.
Damn… she entrusted me with this in her last wishes…
I took a deep breath and slapped both my cheeks.
Let’s go!
Steeling myself, I stepped forward and reached for the bookshelf.
My hand too glowed blue under the illumination.
“Righteous Witch’s blood confirmed. Welcome, new master!”
Suddenly, such a voice echoed.
A high-pitched voice that could belong to either a woman or a child.
“What!? What what what!?”
The supposedly locked bookshelf began opening on its own.
Inside was a single book with a light blue cover.
Its title was engraved in characters I’d never seen before.
“Floating power, Flota…”
I could read it.
Somehow, I could read it.
“Yes, I am Flota! A contract has been formed between me and the new witch. Please treat me well. Now, please tell me your name as a witch. That will become your Magic Name from now on as you live as a witch!”
I was confused!
Things were suddenly heading in an outrageous direction… wait, no, first of all, a book is talking!
And the source of the light was the book itself glowing.
Is there a microphone hidden somewhere?
LEDs in the book?
No.
“Your name, please!”
Urged, I instinctively gave my name: “Shogo.”
“That’s your human name, right? Ah, I see! Master isn’t currently in a form suitable for using magic! I understand now, Flota is convinced!”
“Hey wait! Don’t just decide things and push the conversation forward!”
This feels like it’s going to turn into something terrible!
“Don’t worry! Flota can only use floating power, but a magic fragment is inserted as a bookmark… The Metamorphose Fragment! Now, Master—”
“What do you want me to do…!?”
“Please take this fragment!”
The grimoire Flota floated up gently.
Its pages flipped with tremendous speed, and a paper piece sandwiched between them popped out with a pon.
I instinctively caught it.
“Magic Name.”
The paper piece in my hand seemed to whisper that into my mind.
Magic Name?
I don’t have such a thing.
What are you asking of me? A mere company employee, an assistant section chief in logistics, too busy to even touch the games and anime I once loved, my otaku exterior now hollow inside.
“Not the present, but the past.”
I could feel the paper piece reaching into my past memories.
Reversing the name Shogo, I was called “Pepper” as a child.
One time, when I returned to my grandmother’s house covered in mud after playing with friends…
“My little Shogo, all black, just like black pepper. My precious Little Spice.”
I was told this almost like a song as she wiped away the dirt.
That memory revived clearly.
“Magic Name confirmed. The new witch’s name given by the predecessor… Spice…!”
The next moment.
My vision spun wildly.
“Wh-wha-wha-wha-whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?”
A torrent of vivid colors overflowed in my mind.
The world that had looked dull began coloring vividly.
Unseen colors existed everywhere.
“The world is filled with magic power… mana! Master, have you noticed the aura leaking from your own body? Can you see it? Excellent. Master undoubtedly has talent! And look. You’ve also changed into a form suitable for using magic!”
The grimoire Flota announced in a cheerful tone.
“You look absolutely adorable!”
“Adorable…? Me…!?”
The voice I unconsciously muttered in was clearly not male.
High-pitched, with an undeniably cute, sweet resonance… a woman’s, or rather, a girl’s voice.
I looked at the mirror beside me.
Reflected there was a girl with black hair in twin tails.
The jacket I’d been wearing had changed into a Gothic Lolita-style apron dress.
“Wh-wh-wh-what is thiiiiis!? I-I’ve become a beautiful girrrrl!!”
Fate had begun to move.
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This is interesting!