I must admit, this dress suits me very well...
This is the first time I've made a dress; before, in my past life, I wore baggy clothes. And even then, my body probably wouldn't have been suited to such dresses...
Sera helped me choose it, while Inglis ran off blushing... As if I didn't understand what she was thinking...
"Chisa, we're leaving." Rafi said, entering my room.
Turning to her, I couldn't help but admire her beauty. She was wearing a long, blue and white dress...
"Rafi, this dress suits you," I said, smiling, causing her to blush slightly.
"Thank you... But don't fall in love with me, I like men," she said, to which I only smirked.
"Bye..." I said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
I just shrugged...
"Rest assured, I'll turn you into a lesbian yet," I replied.
"Lesbian... What?" she asked, tilting her head.
"You'll understand a little later." I said.
Even in the original, Rafi only wanted her brother to marry Inglis because she wanted to be with Inglis forever, and she thought it was the only way... She also never showed any interest in guys... Although I don't want to say for sure, I think she's more receptive to relationships between girls... If she'd initially assumed Inglis liked girls, I think she'd have tried to get closer to her cousin. Of course, Inglis only saw her as a friend and granddaughter... She didn't reciprocate.
"Okay, we don't have time for your riddles. Let's go. Chris is waiting for us." Rafi said, after which I nodded, glanced at my reflection again, and followed her.
Returning to Inglis, I stopped dead in my tracks...
She stood there in a beautiful red and white dress, which, though quite short, was, in fact, completely invisible. Her shining hair, braided with red ribbons that matched her eyes...
"You look gorgeous..." I said automatically.
Chris blushed. Why didn't girls compliment her more often?
"Thank you..." she replied quietly.
Rafi, in turn, looked at Chris again, as if reaffirming a truth she hadn't known, or rather, hadn't understood.
Eventually, after some time, we arrived at the ball, where there were many different men and women dressed in elegant clothes...
Entering the hall, the three of us attracted attention, but Chris caught the attention of everyone, especially the men...
I heard all these voices, and some weren't very pleasant...
While I was thinking about how to kill them all, I felt Chris grab my right hand, and Rafi grab my left hand, hiding behind us...
I'd forgotten she reacted so strongly to men's glances; I felt disgust growing within her.
Exchanging glances with Rafi, we simply nodded and continued into the hall, while Chris held our hands.
"Father." Rafi said to the man standing with his back to us...
"Rafi, Inglis, you look wonderful..." he said, then looked at me.
"And you..."
"Father, this is our new friend, her name is Chisa." Rafi said.
He simply nodded and turned to the red-haired man...
"Allow me to introduce you, this is my daughter Rafinha, and my niece Inglis, and their friend Chisa." he said to the red-haired man.
"Ah, so these are Rafael's younger sisters? Although, I don't know you..." the guy said, looking at me intently.
I simply shrugged...
"It doesn't matter who I am." I said.
"Uh... Well, Father, I'll see you later..." Rafi said, grabbing Chris and me by the hands and dragging us further down the hall...
"Rafi?" Chris asked.
But instead of answering, Rafi looked at me.
"What?" I asked.
"You can't talk like that, you could get..." Rafi said, and fell silent, although I already understood what she was trying to say.
Well, I still live in the age of nobility, and my response was unheard of... Honestly, I don't care...
"But she didn't say anything bad." Chris interjected, looking at her cousin.
"Chris... Never mind, you're perfect for each other," Rafi said.
"What does that mean?" Chris asked, bowing her head...
"Never mind, I think the music's starting, I'll go hide so I don't get asked to dance," Rafi said, and quickly left.
"Wait, wait..." she couldn't finish, as a guy blocked our path.
"Inglis Eucus." the guy said.
"Rahl..." Chris said, and there was a clear note of disdain in her voice...
"Would you please dance with me?" the guy asked with a disgusting smile.
"I..." I didn't let her finish, grabbing her hand...
"She's already taken." I said.
He looked at me.
"A girl dancing with a girl? Don't make me laugh, she's better off..." He reached out to grab Chris's hand, but I, of course, stopped that from happening and pulled Chris toward me. I roundhouse kicked him in the face, sending him crashing to the ground like a pig.
He touched his cheek, then blushed with anger...
"YOU..."
"What's going on here?!" a male voice boomed through the room.
I turned to look at him and noticed an older man with a sword at his belt, and next to him stood two young men, no more than twenty-five years old at most...
Before I could speak, Chris stepped in front of me...
"Father, Lord Rahl, slipped and fell, and we tried to help him," Chris said. I'm sure everyone knew I'd hit him, but neither of the two nobles objected...
Chris's father looked at the man and nodded to the two men next to him.
Two knights approached the man and picked him up, dragging him off somewhere...
Then he looked at Chris...
"We'll talk at home..." he said to his daughter, then looked at me and turned around...
"What could have been worse..." Chris said, sighing heavily...
"And what could have happened?" I asked.
"Well, he could have challenged you to a duel." she said.
"Do you think I would have lost?" I asked.
"What? No, you'd just kill him. He doesn't stand a chance against you... That's just the problem... If you kill him, we could have a lot of problems." Chris said.
I just smiled...
"Um... Chisa, you can let me go now..." Chris said, her voice sounding embarrassed...
Only then did I notice that we were pressed together... I acted automatically, and didn't realize we'd be so close that I could feel her chest pressed against mine...
I pulled away from her, but then took her hand and led her toward the garden...
"Um... Why did you bring me here?" Chris asked.
"Inglis, no, Chris, do you like me?" I asked.
"Uh... What do you mean?" she asked awkwardly, to which I rolled my eyes.
"Well, what do you think?" I asked back.
"Friendly?" she asked awkwardly.
I just sighed and looked at her, uttering one word.
"Romantically."
After that, her whole face flushed, and she tried not to look me in the eye.
"No, how can that be, we both..." I cut her off, placing my finger on her soft lips.
"Don't talk such nonsense... Do you think I didn't notice your gaze when you were looking at my body? Or do you think I didn't notice your disgust when your mom mentioned marriage? Or, inside, when the guys were looking at you, I saw how much you didn't like it." I said.
"I... I can't..." she said quietly, lowering her head...
"Why? What's stopping you from answering me?" I asked.
"Because it's unfair to you." she said.
"And what's stopping you?" I asked.
"This... I know it may not seem real, but... I'm not who you think I am... I've already died... And the goddess gave me a second chance... uh... I just became a girl..."
"So what?" I asked, although I already knew it...
"In my past life, I was a man, and an old man at that... I'm now an old man trapped in the body of a young girl..." she said after a pause.
"And again, so what?" I asked.
"How can you react so calmly to this..."
"Well, I'll let you in on a secret... I've died before too, even though I wasn't a man in my past life, and I didn't like that life... And getting back to your problem... You're not an old man trapped in a girl's body, you're a young girl, you didn't steal this body, you were born a girl... And it doesn't matter who you were in your past life, you're just a young girl now... Am I right, goddess?" I said simply, turning my head.
A white-haired beauty stood there and smiled at me.
"Goddess?!" Chris exclaimed when she saw the goddess.
"Hello, Inglis." the goddess said softly...
"Hello... No, wait! What are you doing here anyway? And can gods even release mortals into the world?"
"This is the avatar I usually use to release mortals into the world." the goddess said.
"As for your other question…" she said, pausing as she looked at me.
"I take it that I am the reason for your appearance." I stated.
She nodded.
"You are an anomaly that shouldn't exist in this world… You emanate… I don't even know how to describe it, divine power, but it's very different from this world."
I nodded to her…
"Well, I think I understand what you mean… My body is made of cosmic energy… Actually, it's quite complicated, and I didn't ask that red-haired bitch for details." I said.
"So, 'red-haired bitch' is the goddess who created your body?" the goddess asked.
"Well, yes." I answered simply, then looked at Chris, who simply stared at me.
"What?" I asked.
"So you're a goddess?" she asked, trying to suppress a shudder.
I wanted to answer, but the blonde goddess did so first.
"Not exactly... She has the potential to become a goddess in the future, but right now, she has many seals placed on her soul." the goddess said.
Stop!
I've never even heard of this!
What the hell?
"What do you mean?" I asked, trying not to curse.
"You have seals placed on your soul, seals that were placed to suppress your power." the goddess said.
That sounds...
Pretty bad...
"Uh... Can I remove them?" I decided to try my luck.
If I have the power to make me a goddess, I want to have it!
I'm sure that bitch noticed this power...
Although, on the other hand, it's kind of like she gave it to me...
"I wouldn't advise that." said the goddess.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because then your soul will shatter into tiny fragments... These seals serve as protection for your soul. As far as I can see, your soul is still human, so the seals were installed to prevent your power from destroying it... But over time, the seals will slowly open as your soul begins to adapt." said the goddess.
So she did it to keep me from dying...
But why didn't she tell me about it right away?
"In any case, it's time for me to go... A little while longer, and the church will notice my presence... And I wouldn't want to deal with them right now... And Inglis, too." said the goddess, looking at Chris.
"Really?" the girl asked, still shocked by what was happening.
"She's right! It doesn't matter who you were in your past life; this one is already in the past. You're completely a girl now, but because of your first life as a man, you have different thoughts, but know this... It doesn't change anything... Neither your preferences, nor your thoughts... Even if you had been a girl in your past life, you would still be a queen... With a harem of girls... Don't ask me how I know, I just do," she said and disappeared.
"So, a harem, right?" I asked, to which she blushed.
"I didn't have a harem! You heard her, it was my female self who had a harem!" she screamed, causing me to laugh.
"So, what's your answer...?" I asked.
"That... I think... We can try dating, but we still need to get to know each other better..." she said, hinting that I should probably tell her about my life on Earth.
"Still, what should I tell my family?" she asked.
"The truth? I mean, since they're your family, they deserve the whole truth, well, except for your past life... And if they truly love you, they'll accept you for who you are."
"Easier said than done." she said with a sigh.
"I never said it would be easy." "Unlike me, you have someone to tell everything to."
"Chisa…"
I stopped her.
"No need, it was a long time ago, I'm fine." I said.
She looked at me for a moment and nodded.
"Still, you took it very calmly." I said.
"Well… I guess I've gotten used to it… Even if your path can't compare to mine…" she said, and fell silent.
"I take it you have a lot to think about?" I asked.
She just nodded…
"Yes… It's just that I didn't expect a girl to come into my life who, well… Just appear out of nowhere, and who could become a goddess or something like that…" she said.
After that, we talked a little more and decided not to drag it out and to tell her family tomorrow.