They look different.
The three girls who looked like mop rags transformed into princesses. Their hair is done, their clothes aren't old, and the room itself seemed to glow with their presence.
They're wearing purple dresses, and a scarf holds their hair back.
I need to resist temptation—they must be men. But shouldn't I have figured that out before crawling out of here like a worm?
Instinct was stronger.
Crawling closer, I asked, "You're not men?"
"AAAAAA—ow, my back!"
Kokoro is really violent.
She stepped on me and grumbled, "How dare you call us men after witnessing our beauty?"
I can't let them humiliate me like this.
I looked up under their dresses and shot back, "It's just that every pretty girl I've ever met was a man."
They noticed my creepiness and threw fire magic at me, but I rolled away and crashed into Yumi's feet.
"Enough, you three."
Yumi—my savior.
Yumi held out her hand to help me up. The girls got furious that Yumi was supporting me, and they started arguing.
"Yumi, are you going to side with a man?" Kokoro asked, clenching her fists in anger.
"Of course not."
Yumi said that—while holding my hand.
Mio, seeing that, cast a spell: "Turn into a frog."
But before it hit me, Yumi conjured a shield. The spell scattered and fizzled out, turning a bunch of objects into frogs instead.
Realizing her sister had stopped me from becoming a frog, Mio challenged her.
"Then why are you holding that idiot's hand?"
Yua seems to be the youngest. Her voice is calm and very shy—even though she casts magic, she hides behind her sisters.
Kokoro acted too . . .
"If our mother sees a man here in the room, she'll probably kill him."
Kokoro seems the most sensible, since she isn't using magic to hurt me.
Until . . .
"This isn't fair, Yumi. You always get the best men, but this time I propose a challenge."
My luck—being desired by four girls.
"It's true. Last time you satisfied the last guest," Mio replied.
Ah. I want that too.
Yumi sat on the bed and said, "What challenge is this, Mio?"
Mio sat down and explained:
"Because of the increase in orcs and the presence of the Demon King in Zenca Forest, we witches had to hide, since we're a minority. But before we settled here, we used to walk completely naked through the forest."
"Hold on—did I hear naked? Did I hear that right?"
"Yes," she confirmed.
"Even with the Men's Club around, those worms were never into women."
Man… who doesn't like women?
Yumi cut them off and said, "So you want us to go out naked into the forest, but the orcs will attack us. I'm not going."
"Who here wants to get their head cut off by orcs?" Kokoro added.
No one accepted Kokoro's suggested proposal.
I can't let this end like that.
I went to the window to breathe, and at that moment an idea popped into my head: "How about you do a cosplay competition?"
The girls looked confused, not understanding a thing.
Mio raised her hand and asked, "What is cosplay?"
"Let me explain this blessing God gave to my people."
Before explaining, I turned off the bedroom light, but the moon still lit the room. The girls stared at me without blinking. Leaning against the window, I looked up at the sky and described this:
"In my land, there was a war that brought men sadness and loneliness. Nothing gave joy or the will to live and keep going without looking back. But on a night like this—warm, and full of beautiful women—my ancestor was on his deathbed."
I looked back and saw them crying.
"There was a sister who served him day and night to take away the bitter taste of sorrow. And on that warm night, my ancestor, before leaving for the beyond, asked his sister for one last wish."
He held her hand and said, "Kaguya, I'm about to depart, but before I go I want to thank you for everything you did for me. But I have one last wish."
His sister, hearing those words, began to cry and asked, "Tell me, brother, and I will fulfill your last wish."
He looked deeply into her eyes and said, "Dress up as a maid."
Doing that in those days was humiliating, since they didn't have that custom.
For a moment she hesitated, but as a sister who loves her brother, she agreed, saying, "I will do it."
"The clothes are inside that box," he told her.
When she opened the boxes, she screamed and trembled at what she saw—but she didn't give up. She left the room and put on the outfit, ashamed but happy, because her brother would be happy too.
She re-entered the room slowly, covering her legs and breasts, and said, "Brother, these clothes are so short."
My ancestor asked her to remove her hands and strike a cute pose.
For a moment she hesitated, but as a sister who loves her brother, she agreed, saying, "I will do it."
His sister began to pose. At first she was stiff, but with every pose her brother asked for, she grew freer and more relaxed, and she would say, "Like this, brother?"
And by some miracle, her brother—who had been about to die—found the strength to live, until he was sitting up in bed, revived.
His sister, seeing that, hugged him while crying and cried out, "It's a miracle."
That man who had been living on borrowed time became a jubilant man.
And so, he spread that blessing of God to all nations, and all men were saved by their dear sisters.
When I finished explaining, the girls were crying . . .
Yumi asked me, "Dorian, did your sister save you too?"
"Sadly, I don't have a sister."
I started fake-crying.
Mio came up to me and said, "We'll do this cosplay. We won't let you die."
Today is my lucky day.
That was my last thought before Yumi hugged me and my . . .