Chapter 35

When I opened the door, an awkward hotel room filled with another person was revealed.

“…….”

The dazzling lights of human civilization, contrasting with the damaged nature, made the clear starlight in the sky shine even brighter. Despite the fantastic night view as the backdrop, in my eyes, Helena shone the brightest.

This was not just about appearance.

Her profound character, thoughtful demeanor, and the strength that had become hard to obtain… Even while casually resting her chin on her legs, it felt as if she filled the room with her presence.

I thought I had made up my mind, but seeing her like this… my confidence wavered a little.

After all, I had no answers or information I could freely share.

“……gulp.”

After swallowing my dry saliva, I sat next to her quietly watching the scenery outside as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Where should I begin? How should I unravel this tangled thread…

Although my contemplation was brief, Helena boldly interrupted.

“……You really don’t listen. Are you planning to brush it off as a joke?”

“No… um, I’m sorry.”

Isn’t this a sufficiently manly apology…?

Even though I didn’t have any specific faults yet, her tone filled with dissatisfaction made me instinctively shrink back. I considered it a fate of men to be weak against the anger of beautiful women… or so I thought.

Her body, which had been consistently facing the window, turned towards me.

“…Alright. Should I start from the beginning then? First, your real name.”

“…Anastasia Valentine. There are other surnames, but… I haven’t given it much thought. …There are a lot of complicated issues involved.”

The format was a simple question and answer. It was almost like an interrogation, but instead of feeling displeasure, I felt more bewildered.

“Rustle…”

“When did you first meet me?”

“The first time we met in person wasn’t at the hotel… but on Brightside Avenue.”

Why, you ask? Because while asking such a serious question, her hand kept patting my head…?

“Rustle… rustle…”

From left to right, right to left. Her hand tousled my hair before moving it aside to fix it.

I even felt a spoonful of fondness for the kind of service that you might receive at a salon. Just before I was about to be swept away by the soft touch and warmth, a terrifying question pierced through.

“Did you approach Old Heinrich with a plan?”

“!! Absolutely not…! I swear on everything I have.”

…I almost fell for what seemed like a ploy to induce carelessness.

If I had indeed been the conspirator, I would have been caught in the trap operation without a hitch.

Once again, I reaffirmed that while it felt secure to be on the same side, Helena Valentine was someone I couldn’t let my guard down around for various reasons.

“Hmm… you might not be lying, but you’re definitely hiding something… and it seems you don’t plan on telling. Well then… one last question.”

“……Huh?”

Before I could fully exhale a sigh of relief, my shoulders were gently pushed back.

My upper body leaned back softly onto the bed. Considering the plushness of the mattress that would swallow me whole with just a dive, it was quite an exquisite control of strength.

But… what could the last question be that resembled this high-pressure interview?

“?!”

Helena’s face, her lips, slowly approached and hovered near my ear. The strands of hair that flowed down tickled my face little by little.

…It was such a foolish curiosity. The fire that had made me want to run away hadn’t even extinguished yet, yet I was at ease with just her reassurance.

“…Why does Ahsa keep looking at me with those eyes…?”

The heat that burrowed into my ears felt like it could burn. Or was my eardrum already sizzling, while my foolish mind mistook it for some other sweet sensation?

I could clearly feel Helena’s passionate gaze. …If, just if I had been admiring her beauty… being grateful for her unexpected help… and sneaking glances at her all day with those eyes whenever I recalled the embarrassing memories from my Neo Haven days, what signal would that have conveyed?

Staring blankly at her face, which had a slight blush rising…

“!!”

Bang…!

I pushed away the arms that had been holding me and quickly retreated to the corner.

The blankets got tangled as I struggled, my hands slipped, and it was a total mess, but Helena remained calm at her spot. However, her expression still bore the remnants of warmth as she watched my antics.

That sight made it feel like I had rejected Helena, stirring a pain and guilt in my chest.

My mouth opened involuntarily, and words I never intended to say tumbled out.

“Well… it’s just that my situation and mind are a bit complicated…!”

“Complicated…? Are you talking about your male identity? What’s wrong with that?”

“!! Ah… did you know?!”

What did I do to be caught with such lewd gazes? Thankfully, it wasn’t that.

“Well, I told you to call me ‘sister’ after you suddenly gained a little sister, and now you’re saying ‘noona’ instead… You said you’d just do a simple muscle enhancement treatment, but you’re staring intensely at gender reassignment procedures…”

“Ugh…!”

I was at a loss for words after she listed my clumsy actions as if they were annoying. However, I thought this was also partially Helena’s fault for continuously provoking me.

“…Anyway, I don’t care if Ahsa is non-binary or whatever. I’m not a hater or anything… Although I didn’t think I would ever say this, you’re just too charming for me to care about those things…?”

“Wait! Wait a minute!! Helenahelenahelena…!!”

Even after I realized the fact she had already sensed, I showed no signs of moving, prompting her to drop her previously demure posture and close the distance with her hands and knees.

How could I explain this well enough for her to understand…?

I’m a person whose body switched overnight, so it’s not just my mind that has issues—my body has problems too? I’m worried that Anastasia’s self-awareness has gotten so mixed up to the point I can hardly distinguish it.

Or more than that, I had been subtly expressing very passionate feelings during this confusion…?!

To soothe Helena, I urgently grabbed all the reasons that came to my mind.

“Family…! We are family!!”

“? Some people living in high places say they need to preserve excellent genetics but end up committing incest, so what’s the deal?”

“Th-That has no productivity, right?!”

“…Looks like Ahsa’s common sense and way of thinking are quite outdated. There’s also artificial insemination services provided by Enema…”

You damn Enema Corporation…!! Why are you so diligent in your research!?

No matter how much I screamed internally, she pressed on with a dizzying solution.

“……Or should I get a gender reassignment procedure?”

“?! That’s absolutely not allowed—!! I like Helena just as she is…!”

“……Pfft.”

A shock that flushed my brain made a scream escape me automatically.

Only then did I begin to understand a little. The concepts of gender in this world were… thousands of times more ‘forward-thinking’ than what I thought I had grasped while playing Neo Haven.

“…Ah.”

“…….”

Helena’s silhouette loomed larger as it approached closer. Perhaps it was due to the room’s lighting casting her in shadow, but it radiated an overwhelming presence.

Oh no. I had no more excuses or ways to hold back. I closed my eyes tightly in resignation….

…peck. Peck.

Once on my forehead, and once on the hair scattered over the blanket.

Light yet… dizzying and sweet kisses fell from above. Realizing I had directly received a portion of the warmth she harbored made my hands and feet tingle.

“I’m not thinking of forcing anything either… so it’s okay for sisters to do this much, right…?”

“……. Helena….”

“…Until you’ve made up your mind, you still have to call me ‘sister.’ …This is punishment for making me wait and then running away without notice.”

She pulled the pillow above and nestled it comfortably against herself.

The bed, which I thought was wide for a single, was now filled with a pleasant warmth and weight with Helena lying next to me.

I stroked my forehead and hair, still tingling from that kiss.

I had heard that the location of kisses could carry deep meanings… and I vaguely recalled that a kiss on the forehead or hair had a much more intimate connotation than on the cheeks.

“Asha should sleep soon too. This sister has to go back to work, so I need to drop you home early and then head out…”

“…Why do you work as a combat police officer?”

“Well, because the pay is reliable, and as long as I follow the rules, I don’t have to worry about becoming a criminal…? So you should also forget about considering dangerous work and look for a normal… engineering job.”

“……Okay.”

I quietly took off my shoes and set them down on the floor.

After meeting her, I resolved one of the lingering curiosities that had been bothering me. The current Helena Valentine lacked the malice and distrust that had transformed her into a wolf in Neo Haven.

This was… something that troubled me even more than my ambiguous mental state.

Perhaps I felt an inkling that there might be something I could do for her…

Thump… thump….

“Ugh……”

Of course, apart from that, it was unlikely I would fall asleep comfortably until my pounding heart calmed down.

In situations like this, I learned that the victim sleeps peacefully while the perpetrator struggles through the night… how terribly unfair.