Chapter 2

The fireplace glowed warmly, filling the room with heat as I, Mimosa, shared a cozy dinner with my parents.

This village—well, this whole region—had four seasons. It was winter now. The snow hadn’t fallen yet, but the nights were bitterly cold.

I ate some of Mom’s mushroom stew (or something like it), and both my body and heart felt wonderfully warm.

"Ahh, Mom, this is seriously delicious… no, I mean, it’s really tasty!"

"Hehe, you don’t need to force yourself to correct it. More than that, that smile of yours while eating—it’s just like when you were little."

Smiling, Mom brushed a bit of vegetable off my cheek.

If I let my guard down, my speech slipped back into being too masculine, but my mannerisms seemed to remind my parents of Mimosa’s childhood, and they’d always look at me fondly with narrowed eyes.

Originally, she hadn’t exactly been prim and proper either—after all, she once nearly fell off a cliff trying to grab some berries in a dangerous spot.

That’s how we were spending our warm, cheerful dinner.

"Spring will be here soon, won’t it?"

Mom spoke absentmindedly. I almost nodded in agreement when I glanced at Dad’s face—and froze.

His face had gone pale, and the hand gripping his wooden spoon trembled violently.

"D-Dad, what’s wrong?"

"Oh my, dear, what’s with that scary look? Did the stew taste strange?"

While Mom and I panicked, Dad muttered under his breath.

"…The mating season is coming."

"The mating season!?"

"Oh, that’s right, isn’t it," Mom replied casually.

Startled, I gawked, while Mom responded so calmly that we ended up staring at each other in surprise.

"Oh my, Mimosa, you didn’t know about mating season?"

Mom asked as if it were nothing, but this was not the kind of topic you casually brought up during a family meal. Especially not when I was a fourteen-year-old girl now.

Confused by the sudden turn, Mom leisurely explained.

"Once you’re of age, the mating season comes in spring."

"M-Mating season—as in, that mating?"

Sure, my question sounded dumb, but Mom’s nonchalant answer was just as strange!

"Mimosa, you have memories of being an adult, don’t you? You really don’t know about mating season?"

I almost blurted out, What am I, a dog or a cat!? but swallowed the words.

Because right now, I was a beastkin. I had dog ears on my head, and from the chair I sat in, a droopy tail hung so low it almost brushed the floor. …In other words, just like cats and dogs, I actually had a mating season!

Seeing my silence, Mom assumed I didn’t know and continued.

"When mating season comes, the young ones of age find a partner and join together."

So basically, they became husband and wife. Which meant mating season led to marriage. Which meant… well… that.

In my head, the howling of cats in heat echoed ominously.

"It’s fine. Your body still hasn’t fully recovered."

Dad, who had been sitting in grim silence, suddenly looked at me across the table and spoke.

Wait, what? Why would not being fully recovered make this fine!?

As I stared at him suspiciously, he forced a twitching grimace into a smile.

"You may be of age, but your mating season hasn’t come yet! I promise you that! So don’t worry!"

"Oh, that’s true. Even if it does come, Mimosa has only just woken up, so the strain on her body and heart would be too much. Let’s make sure everyone in the village knows she can’t take a partner yet," Mom added calmly.

Mom spoke lightly, Dad nodded firmly, but I couldn’t care less about their reassurances.

…Mating season. That would come to me?

With a girl’s body, my partner would obviously be a man, wouldn’t it?
Did that mean I’d end up… going into heat for a man!?

The blood drained from my face, cold sweat trickling down my cheeks.

No way. I’d decided to live as Mimosa, sure, but to fall for a man, let alone have children with one—that was absolutely impossible! I’d never even thought about something like that!!

"M-Mimosa, don’t make that face! It’ll be fine! Some kids don’t get their mating season until they’re twenty, and even when it does happen, it doesn’t always mean they’ll take a partner right away!"

"That’s right! For all we know, you’ll never get one in your whole life, and you don’t need a partner anyway!"

Noticing how stiff I’d gone, my parents desperately tried to comfort me.

…But Mom, doesn’t that mean normally it should have already come by now? And Dad, that’s just your wishful thinking talking.

The weight of this unwanted truth left me shocked. I’d been ready for seconds, but my appetite was gone.

After excusing myself for the night, I staggered back to my room.

I stripped off my clothes to change into pajamas. My small chest jiggled faintly with the movement.

After a pause, I cupped my breasts from below with both hands, making them wobble again.
…Yeah. Not bad. Both visually and to the touch, they were satisfying.

When I ran a hand along my arm, it felt fresh, soft, and supple—exactly what you’d expect from a fourteen-year-old girl.

I’d accepted this body, but I still wasn’t used to it.

I still had the sensibilities of a man, though my memories were hazy, leaving me with a strong sense of disconnect. At least I wasn’t aroused by this body itself. I couldn’t even remember what my old tastes had been.

Even if I tried to imagine what I’d use as “material” now, nothing came to mind. Clearly, I didn’t have the mental bandwidth for that yet.

I changed into my pajamas and flopped onto the bed.

Burying my face into the pillow that smelled of sunshine, I groaned.

"If mating season really comes… what’ll happen to me…?"

Would it end up like in those adult videos? Like, 'I hate it, but I can’t stop feeling it!' under some aphrodisiac?

Tossing and turning with those thoughts, I finally drifted into sleep.

And the dream I saw that night… was a bizarre one, where I ran through the jungle shouting,
"AMAZONESSS!!"

The next day, I was invited over to the neighbor lady’s house—“Come over for some sweets,” she’d said—so I went by myself.

She was married, of course. Her husband sometimes worked in the neighboring village, and as usual, he wasn’t home today.

Their home was a cute, newlywed-style house, and as I sat down where she’d indicated, I felt this odd mix of warmth and embarrassment.

I was the only guest. The older-sister-like neighbor bustled around, setting out tea and sweets on a small table meant for two.

Watching her in that adorable apron over a modest dress, I couldn’t help thinking:

So you too went into heat during mating season and found your mate, huh, big sis?

She noticed my stare, paused while pouring tea, and smiled back at me.

No, no, no. I couldn’t be thinking things like that about a married woman—newlywed at that! What kind of lecherous old man was I?

I shook my head to drive away thoughts of mating seasons. After that, we just enjoyed the sweets and tea while chatting about everyday things. She asked about my body and whether I was managing okay.

Once I’d relaxed a little, she suddenly brought it up.

"Mimosa-chan. Since your mating season will be coming soon, shall we do a little studying?"

"Ueh!?"

The weird noise slipped out before I could stop it.

I swear I’d heard a line like that in some adult video before…

Timidly, I glanced up at her. She wasn’t licking her lips or looking at me with lustful eyes; she was just smiling as usual.

Ah. So it wasn’t the “I’ll teach your body” kind of lesson—it was more like a health-ed class.

Flustered by my misunderstanding, I hunched my shoulders, avoiding her gaze while still seated. My always-droopy ears sagged even more, and my tail curled tight under the chair.

"Normally you’d pick up stories from your seniors and learn naturally, but Mimosa-chan, you never had the chance, right?"

This must’ve been Mom’s doing, following up on last night. Of course, she couldn’t give me “that talk” herself.

Silently thanking Mom in my heart, I bowed to the neighbor lady. "Please teach me."

She nodded encouragingly.

"Waking up only to immediately face mating season—it must be scary, right?"

"Yes. In my previous life, the mating season I knew about was… when you get excited, and then, um, you… y-you want to make children…"

I tried to phrase it vaguely, but of course that’s what was on my mind. I couldn’t bring myself to say it straight to a woman’s face, so my words trailed off.

Ah, my face was heating up, and my mouth had gone completely dry.

"Well, it’s basically like that."

She nodded matter-of-factly. So it was true!?

"T-Then does your head get filled with nothing but thoughts of making babies!?"

"Mm, it probably varies from person to person, so I can’t say for sure…"

So not everyone went all-out like that. Relieved, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

Feeling a bit calmer, I sipped the tea she’d poured me.

"Most people do, though. I know I couldn’t stop thinking about him—I wanted him so badly during mine."

"Guho!!"

I spat out the tea at her unexpected confession.

"I still love him now, of course. He’s always on my mind. But during mating season it’s like your soul is screaming to have your mate completely."

She even threw in a playful wink.

Oh no. This was a newlywed’s house! Was I about to get hit with a barrage of pink, real-life girl talk disguised as bragging?

I braced myself for the inevitable blush-inducing bombs—when she suddenly smiled softly and reached out to pat my head.

"You’ve only just woken up, so of course you’re nervous. But you know, being passionately in love isn’t a bad thing. I know it’s confusing, all these unknowns. Still… I think it’s the most wonderful time—when life shines brightest and you can really feel alive."

Facing her smile, I felt ashamed of myself for imagining mating season as nothing but rutting like some animal, or like in an adult video—“I hate it, but I can’t stop!”

She was right. It was a natural part of life. There was nothing dirty or shameful about it.

"For about a month, you and your partner will keep making love to each other. It’s a truly wonderful period."

…No wait, that is constant rutting! That’s totally an adult-video world!!

I slumped forward onto the table.

That said, the conversation didn’t stay pink. She asked if there was anything else I was worried about, told me about someone in the village burning a stew, and other trivial things. It was fun.

By the time evening rolled around and I was about to go home, she suddenly remembered something.

"Mimosa-chan, is there anyone you’re interested in right now?"

"Uhh, not yet."

Before even thinking about whether I liked men or women, my mental age was the issue.

I didn’t remember exactly how old I’d been in my past life, but definitely older than fourteen. Looking at kids my current age just made me feel like I was watching a niece or nephew. There was no way I could see them as romantic partners.

I probably hadn’t been into lolis or shotas in my previous life either.

I looked up at her cheerful smile.

I’d seen her with her husband—they were sizzling even without the whole mating-season thing. Thinking about them, maybe that passionate period wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

Then it hit me.

Is your mating-season partner only one person?

I stared at her face. She became mates with one partner, sure. But what if your first time during mating season didn’t fix a mate?

Didn’t Mom say,

"Just because mating season comes doesn’t mean you mate right away"?

If your head was filled with nothing but baby-making thoughts and you still hadn’t chosen a specific partner, then…!!

Nuuoooohhh, what kind of orgy would that be!?

I almost blurted the question out before catching myself.

That would basically be like asking, “So how many guys did you sleep with before you married your husband?”—which was an incredibly low thing to ask.

I didn’t have the guts to push further, so I left her house.

Just when I’d started to feel positive about it all, my mood hit rock bottom at the very end…