Chapter 2: TS Girl and the Love Potion

In an instant, my consciousness awakened.  

"...What is this?"  

When I opened my eyes, the world had lost its color.  

A soundless world.  

A space as if time had stopped.  

People and... grotesque beings... demons were everywhere.  

Yes, back when this was a game, this hellish scene took place in the city square—the stage for the latter half.  

The square had a makeshift stage, and upon it was the protagonist... Trust, crucified.  

Bound to the cross, Trust wore an expression mingled with sorrow, despair, hatred—all of it.  

As if mocking him, the heroines... no, those trash women stood with their weapons, waiting alongside the Demon King for the execution to begin.  

This was... the climax of the harem route.  

Days earlier, Trust had learned that all the heroines had betrayed him, and in his despair, he was defeated by the Demon King—now facing public execution.  

I felt nausea so intense it felt like my organs were rising.  

I remembered.  

This was the worst possible ending—a scene I could never forget, no matter how much I died.  

How many times had I seen it in my dreams?  

—"As you wished, I have transported you to the only situation where you can save the hero, Trust."  

A voice echoed from nowhere.  

No, there was no actual sound—it resonated directly in my head.  

Was this... divine revelation, perhaps?  

—"Everything I tell you now is part of your trial."  

A trial?  

—"From today onward, your name is Filia."  

"The only one who can save the hero Trust in this world."  

...Right off the bat, I was hit with something unbelievable.  

Filia... meaning "love," wasn't it?  

—"This world is the one you recognized as a game."  

"It already exists as reality, and time flows here."  

—"After countless simulations of the future, we determined that you must be female."  

What the hell!?  

"Huh?"  

Hearing that, I noticed something strange about myself.  

My voice... was off.  

It was way higher.  

Like before my voice changed... I definitely didn’t have such a cute voice before.  

It sounded... like a girl’s voice.  

Eventually, my gaze drifted downward.  

Two large hills rose on my chest.  

Namely, breasts... or "oppai," as they’re called.  

And they were huge. "Big boobs" would be the perfect description.  

"...Nn!?"  

And when I looked further down, I realized my son... my penis was gone.  

Instead, there was soft, gently parting flesh—a sensation that widened slightly when touched.  

A vagina? No, the vaginal opening?  

It felt like... that censored area in eroge.  

"Eh? Eh? What the hell is...?"  

I couldn’t hide my confusion at this absurd situation.  

Why had I turned into a girl?  

Trying to distract myself—or maybe just to grasp the situation—I checked my belongings.  

Then I noticed a hand mirror in my pocket.  

I took it out and looked at my face.  

"..."  

What stared back was... an incredibly beautiful girl.  

A delicate, perfectly proportioned face.  

Long, flowing pink hair that looked like it belonged in a shampoo commercial.  

Emerald-green eyes that shone like jewels.  

A slender, fragile-looking body that seemed like it might break at a touch.  

No matter how you looked at it, a gorgeous girl was there.  

Ah, wait... So, for Trust—betrayed by the heroines—to be happy, I couldn’t be a guy?  

The god said as much too.  

Now that I thought about it, this world was originally an eroge.  

If we’re judging by eroge logic, the happy ending is where the protagonist and heroines end up together.  

Maybe that rule still applied, even in reality.  

The god had also said it—  

That I had to distort myself to save him.  

—"To truly save Trust, you must offer him unconditional love."  

Unconditional... love?  

I did want to save Trust.  

But I was a guy.  

I’d lived my whole life as one.  

And now I was supposed to love Trust—a man?  

—"Take this bottle."  

A bottle filled with liquid appeared out of nowhere.  

I took it.  

—"Inside is an extremely potent love potion that only works on you."  

"If you drink this, you will be overwhelmed with intense romantic feelings for Trust."  

"It will also permanently nullify all charm effects from others and block any pleasure from anyone besides Trust."  

"At the same time, you will lose the ability to feel romantic love for anyone else."  

"A love potion..."  

—"This is your first trial."  

"Can you, originally male, accept loving another man?"  

"This is the first condition to save Trust."  

Romantic feelings, huh?  

Honestly, right now, I didn’t feel that way about Trust.  

Back when this was a game, he was the protagonist—I liked him, but not romantically.  

It was more like... how you’d feel about a close friend of the same gender.  

...Truthfully, my resolve wavered a little.  

It was only natural to feel disgusted at the idea of me—a guy—falling in love with another man.  

But—  

"Gulp... ngh... nn..."  

Before my emotions could protest, I uncorked the bottle and drank the love potion.  

I knew I had to.  

Regretting action was infinitely better than regretting inaction.  

"Pwah... huff... huff..."  

I drained the last drop and caught my breath.  

This was the right thing, right?  

The moment I thought that, my cheeks burned hot, and the heat spread through my entire body.  

When I was a kid... I had a crush on my cousin’s older sister.  

Looking back, it was probably my first love—but this feeling dwarfed that completely.  

My heart pounded wildly as I looked at Trust’s face.  

Instantly, my expression softened, and I felt inexplicably happy.  

...Is this love?  

"This... is okay, right...?"  

I muttered to myself, trying to suppress the overflowing emotions and convince myself.  

Yes, this was fine.  

The only one who could embrace Trust—betrayed by every girl he loved, even stripped of his life—was undoubtedly a woman with unconditional love.  

And that woman was me.  

Drunk on this new, love-filled sensation, I still felt anxiety.  

But... I crushed that anxiety and waited for the next words.  

—"You perfectly match Trust’s preferences."  

"Both your body and soul have been adjusted to their maximum compatibility."  

So, his fated partner, huh?  

Seriously, how many conditions did Trust need to avoid misery?  

—"Your appearance must be distinct from the three heroines."  

Why?  

Wouldn’t a similar look be... Ah, I see.  

Like before, eroge heroines usually have distinct traits.  

In Trust’s case, they were: childhood friend, older sister, and younger sister.  

The childhood friend was a standard beauty with a slight tsundere streak, the older sister was a motherly big-breasted type, and the younger sister was a loli.  

All their attributes were spread out.  

—"Your appearance must incorporate elements of all three heroines."  

Wait, that’s the opposite of what you just said.  

But... looking at myself, it made sense.  

I really did have traits of all three.  

The childhood friend was a beauty... Well, in-game, everyone was visually a beauty, but here, it was more about the archetype.  

So I guess I counted as the "beauty."  

The other two—big breasts and loli—combined into a "loli big-breasted beauty."  

Distinct, yet incorporating all three.  

—"Your weapon is the 'Guardian Blade Loveheart.'"  

"This weapon grants you combat abilities, which will last until your death."  

"Created to support the hero Trust, it specializes in support magic and similar abilities."  

"Your combat power strengthens based on the depth of your romantic feelings for Trust."  

Based on love, huh?  

Like those old manga and anime where weapons grew stronger with the wielder’s heart.  

Actually, exactly like that.  

—"Your second trial is to rescue Trust from this place."  

"If your wish is genuine, you will surely succeed."  

Rescue him from here?  

The heroines—now half-demons, corrupted allies of the demon tribe —and the Demon King himself.  

Not to mention the entire demon army gathered here...  

That’s... definitely a harsh trial.  

Objectively speaking, it’d be incredibly difficult.  

But... strangely, I wasn’t scared.  

Because I had wished for Trust to be saved.  

—"Finally, I pray your wish comes true."