Chapter 20: A moment of urgency

From what Lylia learned, her best option so far was clearly the Dark Flame. It was powerful, almost too powerful.

Still, as much as possible, she didn’t want to use it. Not because it scared her, but because… well, it left nothing behind.

She sighed, remembering the brown slime’s last moments. “Not even a core… or whatever it’s called.”

Money was important. Especially for someone like her who had none. Every coin mattered, and wasting one single drop of potential income was enough to make her groan in regret.

But that wasn’t her only problem right now. There was something else. Something far, far more urgent. A restlessness inside her, quietly growing stronger.

Her legs shifted slightly. Her breathing tensed. She glanced at the city gate in the distance and the one with the bridge. From where she stood, it didn’t look too crowded. Only three carriages so far, and a few groups of people that looked like background extras. Probably because it was still early in the morning, or was it?

“Hmm… not as bad as yesterday,” she murmured. Then she tilted her head. “Wait. What time is it, anyway?”

She didn’t have a clock. Did clocks even exist here? Probably. With someone like Rai around, there had to be. But if they did exist, they were likely expensive, something definitely out of her budget for now.

She sighed again.

Back to the problem at hand.

Even if the line wasn’t long, she really didn’t want to go back to the gate just for… well, 'that'. One of the downsides of being a girl, she realized, was the lack of freedom when it came to certain… biological matters.

“I can’t just… make a small fountain wherever I want anymore,” she muttered under her breath. “I actually have to prepare for it.”

That meant clothes. That meant underwear. Which, now that she thought about it, she hadn’t really looked at yet.

She blinked. “Huh. I haven’t even seen what kind I’m wearing.” Probably just black, like her shorts, she guessed. Not that she was into underwear or anything. She was simply… curious. Purely out of interest in what the god decided have decided to make her wear.

“Yeah, definitely not pervy,” she whispered, as if convincing the air.

Still, she wasn’t going to deny that, as a former guy, she had seen all kinds of aesthetics and patterns before. Cute, fancy, plain, lacey—each with their own 'flavor', so to speak. But her own body? That was a different matter. She wasn’t that weird.

“Yeah. I’m not gonna get turned on by my own kid body,” she muttered with a tiny laugh. “I have standards.”

Though, if she was being honest, there was a part of her that wondered… what if she did see herself like that? Would she feel something? She immediately shook her head. Nope. Not going there. At least not today. Still, even without having to declare it, she knows that touching herself like 'that' is definitely one of her goals. It was bound to happen someday. You know... for educational purposes.

Anyway. Back to the problem again.

She was not going to stand in line, all awkward and tense, pretending she was fine while slowly dying inside. Besides, the gate was too far now, and she just got out.

“Ugh… it’s too much trouble to go back,” she complained softly.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t been to a restroom in this world yet. Hopefully, it wasn’t bad. But judging by the current era style, she doubted it would be pleasant. Maybe it was magically cleaned or something? That’d be convenient. The inn she stayed at was decent enough, but even decent places could have scary restrooms.

Even back in her world, public toilets weren’t much better. And now that she was a girl, the whole process just sounded… harder.

She sighed dramatically. “This must be what they call ‘the trials of womanhood.’ It wasn’t the biggest problem in the world, but it was still annoying.

Eventually, Lylia came to one conclusion, and that she had no choice but to… find a discreet spot.

At first, she smiled bitterly. Then nervously. Then her lips trembled slightly, until she finally let out a weak laugh. “Heh… this is ridiculous.”

She glanced around and spotted a quiet corner off the path, hidden behind some rocks and a few small plants. Perfect.

Carefully, she scanned her surroundings, looking left and right. Not a soul in sight. “Alright. Spiritual, physical, and mental readiness- check.” She clasped her hands together and whispered, “God, please don’t let anyone see me right now.”

Then she paused. Wait. The god could actually see her, couldn’t he? After all, he can even edit her book.

Her face stiffened. “...Oh.” That meant he was probably watching everything.

She groaned. “Right. Privacy’s an illusion. Fantastic.” But then again, he was a god, so maybe it didn’t matter. He’d probably seen worse things. “Yeah… he’s a god. He doesn’t care. Hopefully.”

She took a slow breath. “Okay. Just… get this over with.”

Her eyes drifted toward the little plant growing beside the corner. “Well,” she said, smirking slightly, “at least someone will be blessed today.”

She inhaled, exhaled, and took one last look around. All clear. Finally, she began to lift her robe halfway up, readying herself to crouch down.

But suddenly, something pushed her from behind.

She stumbled forward, catching herself on all fours. “Wha?!?”

Her head snapped around, and there it was. A green slime.

“...You have got to be kidding me.”

She stared in disbelief. It wasn’t there a moment ago. Then her eyes flicked upward, there was a plant on the rock above. Realization hit her.

“Oh, you were on that plant.”

Her smile darkened slowly. “...I see.”

Without another word, she pulled her magic book from her pocket. There was a soft crack in the air as she gripped it tightly, eyes shadowed.

Then,

SLAM!

The impact shook the corner, leaving a small dent in the nearby nature. A splash of green slime goo painted the ground and her robe.

She stood there, breathing quietly. “I… might’ve overdone it.”

She glanced around. “...Still, there shall be no witnesses."

After a moment, she just sat down with a sigh, staring blankly at the mess. Funny enough, the urge she felt earlier was gone. Completely gone.

“Well,” she muttered, “guess I’ll just hold it in.” Thinking about it, trying to go in the open as a girl really was ridiculous.

She chuckled faintly to herself. “If it gets really bad, I’ll just… do it in my clothes.”

Her face scrunched. “...No, no, that’s a joke. Definitely a joke.”

Though technically, she could just use Cleanse afterwards.

Still,

“Yeah. Not doing that.”

And with that, she leaned back, sighed one last time, and whispered, “This world really likes testing me, huh.”