Chapter 6: Real-world talk was strictly taboo, nya.

"Nyyaaaaaaah!!??"

The cat-eared Ririka’s scream echoed across the lakeside, where the still surface of the water reflected a sky densely packed with stars.

I was tending a fire in a makeshift stove built from gathered stones, heating a retort pouch of stew I’d found in the survival kit mounted on the Dragoon transport craft that had splash-landed on the lake. Just then, Ririka—still sporting her cat ears, wrapped in a bath towel, her twin-tails undone, and soaked like a drowned rat—came bursting out of the transport’s wide-open rear cargo hatch and ran straight toward me.

Despite the loli-style body that some old guy on the inside had probably obsessed over during character creation—exactly the sort of taste you’d expect from an old man—her chest was surprisingly full, squished softly out of shape as she clutched the towel to herself. I had to admit, the model work was pretty thorough.

"That elf isn’t a girl, nya! Th-th-that thing, she’s got that attached, nya!"

"What do you mean by ‘that’? Don’t you have one attached on your real body too?"

"No way, nya! Ririka’s a girl—both the character and the real me, nya!"

"Ah—yeah. Sure. I get it. Totally."

"That face means you don’t get it, nyyaaaah!"

It seemed the old guy inside the cat-eared girl had fully settled into this world, with the character body turning into reality—and was now completely losing his grip on things. If we ever made it back to the real world, he’d probably need a proper medical diagnosis.

"Geez, what’s wrong, Ririka-san? You were the one who invited me to take a bath together, girl to girl."

As I was worrying about the old guy inside the cat ears, the so-called loli elf—now exposed as a crossdressing shota elf—strode out confidently from behind her, completely naked and without even pretending to crossdress anymore. At least make an effort to cover up.

"We’re not both girls, nya! You tricked Ririka, nya!? And put that away already, nya! Don’t just let it dangle, nya!"

"That’s so mean— I’m a proper girl on the inside, you know? It’s just Mekemeke-chan who’s a boy. But wow, this sense of freedom in the great outdoors! It’s amazing! So this is humanity’s natural form!"

You’re an elf, though.

A naked elf by a lakeside should’ve felt fantastical, but somehow the scene in front of me just felt filthy.

"Indigenous life-forms, please complete your body cleansing promptly. In five minutes, disinfection and sterilization will be conducted inside the craft as part of contamination control."

Erica’s voice came from the transport. She was an AI, but somehow she still sounded annoyed. The cat ears kept grumbling as she retreated back into the rear hatch, and moments later, the shota elf’s extremely revealing crossdressing outfit was tossed out from inside.

"Ahh, that’s so cruel. But it feels so good, I think I’ll stay like this a bit longer."

"No—at least put some clothes on. And seriously, doesn’t it bother you that your sex changed?"

"What are you talking about? Something I admired for over thirty years but never had is finally my own body! I can even pee standing up! A crossdressing elf boy peeing standing up— whehehe, I’m so happy I could cry!"

"You’re drooling, not crying. Still… being able to pee standing up is a little enviable."

"When we get back to the real world, make sure you thank and appreciate your penis!"

In the end, that night, the shota elf who had awakened to the joy of exposure never put any clothes back on.

The next day, we resumed our trek through the forest, still heading toward the city of Glassport. Apparently, everyone wanted a proper soak in a real bath instead of just a shower—and honestly, I agreed.

If I remembered correctly, the Western-made game W War Fire Universe had showers in its facilities, but no actual bathtubs.

"If you’ve got a plane, why not use it, nya? We could reach Glassport in one hop, nya."

"We should walk around and learn more about this world first. And I’d rather not draw attention."

"Haa—so you’re gonna pretend to be a useless level-one newbie again and say stuff like ‘Did I do something wrong?’ nya?"

"Don’t say things like that. I just don’t want all the other players swarming me. And if that happens, you guys won’t be able to use showers either."

"That might be true, nya. Yeah, we should probably keep it secret from everyone except the three of us, nya."

"I agree with keeping it secret. Looking down from a plane at people begging for help on the ground while playing with myself would be amazing."

"That’s just cruel—and don’t mess with yourself inside someone else’s machine…"

"Anyone who didn’t party with me can rot in this world. Do you know how many years I struggled solo? In-game and in real life."

"Ah… yeah. Sounds rough."

Maybe a straightforward womanizer would’ve been easier to deal with than this shota elf.

"Come to think of it, we never checked Natsumi-chan’s level, nya… Level 100 Spirit Caster, nya? That’s impressive for solo play, nya."

"Well, I’ve been playing nonstop since my company went bankrupt."

"Oh… you were a working adult, nya. Sorry, nya. Ririka’s never been out in society, so that might’ve been rude, nya."

The shota elf clearly had issues, but never having entered society at all—did that mean the old guy inside the cat ears was a shut-in? She was turning out to be more trouble than expected.

"Don’t worry about it. People say gender and age don’t matter online, right? I’m a fresh, youthful girl too. And now it’s not even online anymore—it’s another world! This boy elf body is reality now! Ririka-san’s a cat-eared girl, Clarice-san’s a blonde girl—what’s wrong with that?"

"Yeah, nya. Bringing real-world stuff into it was taboo, nya. Sorry, nya. Just ignore the lecherous old guy and enjoy your blonde bishoujo life, nya."

"Somehow that doesn’t sit right with me… but is there a reason everyone we’ve met has such nice, round-number levels?"

I brushed aside the cat ears’ rude remark and voiced what had been bothering me.

"Nyah, it’s the level cap, nya. Levels go up easily, but because of that, you have to gather annoying materials, nya."

"Ah, yeah, that’s common. So what’s the max level?"

"No idea, nya. It used to cap at 200, but when the service shutdown was announced, the devs went completely off the rails and unlocked everything, nya. The event Demon King is supposedly recommended for level 250 and up, nya. There’s no way you’d ever gather that many people, nya."

"The management’s rotten, honestly. If the character designs weren’t by that artist, I wouldn’t have played."

The developers were getting trashed pretty thoroughly. Well, considering they named the Demon King “Bad End,” maybe they deserved it.

As we continued through the forest, we soon encountered another monster.

This time, it was a gigantic spider—easily around three meters long from end to end.

"That’s a Giant Spider, nya. Its recommended level is 60, and it’s weaker than a Wild Ogre, but it’s still not a monster that should be around here, nya."

"Erica, are there any reactions from similar individuals in the surrounding area?"

"I can confirm none, Master. I judge it to be acting alone."

"So this time it really is just one, huh."

"Alright, Clarice-nyan, hurry up and shoot it dead, nya."

The cat ears issued the order as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but I had my own thoughts.

"No way. Ammo isn’t infinite. If it’s weaker than yesterday’s ogre, then you two can handle it."

"Haaah, nya. So without a gun or a barrier you can’t do anything, nya? Ahh, right—you were that weakling who couldn’t even beat a single Glass Rat with your own strength, nya. Fine then, Ririka will save you, nya. You’d better pay me back properly later, nya?"

"And I still haven’t seen any magic since coming to this world. Try using magic."

"You’re asking a lot, nya. But well, I don’t want to get close and punch that thing either, nya. I’ll take it down with magic, nya."

With an air of exaggerated annoyance, grumbling in a self-important way, the cat-eared maid—today dressed in a pink polka-dot maid outfit, her panties as visible as ever—stepped directly in front of the giant spider.

Standing there, she poked at empty space in midair with her finger, as if tapping on an invisible interface only she could see.

When the giant spider closed in right up to her, she turned back toward us and spoke in a pitiful voice.

"I’m pressing the icon, but the magic won’t come out, nya…"

Just as the spider’s foreleg was about to swing down toward the cat ears’ head, her ears drooping miserably, I was about to rush in to save her—when a violent gust, like a tornado knocked sideways, tore past her and slammed straight into the spider, blasting it away.

The backlash flipped up the cat ears’ short skirt, and she screamed while frantically holding it down—though her panties had already been on full display even before that, making the effort a little late.

"Magic and skills don’t activate just by pressing icons! You have to concentrate on the image and will it into existence!"

The crossdressing shota elf stood with both hands thrust forward in a casting stance. It seemed he—she?—was the one who had used the magic.

Erica reported in from the communication module at my waist.

"Master, moments ago I detected irregular vibrations in unidentified microscopic particles present in the atmosphere around that indigenous life-form. I estimate a causal relationship with the phenomenon presumed to have been triggered by that individual."

"Yeah, that lines up with what I expected. If you detect similar reactions from anyone other than those two, issue a warning."

"Understood. Setting auto-reaction."

While I was speaking with Erica, the spider was apparently finished off; I watched as it dissolved into particles of light and vanished.

"Ughhh, I ended up punching it anyway, nya… Being told to just will it out of nowhere is confusing, nya…"

"It disappears into light anyway. That’s better than having bodily fluids splatter everywhere."

"The sensation’s still there, nya… I hate bugs, nya. Still, Natsumi-chan, it’s impressive you figured out how to use magic so quickly, nya."

"I tested things right away and tried all sorts of stuff as soon as we got to this world!"

Compared to that, the cat ears’ endless fussing about toilet issues right after arriving had been far less constructive.

Before long, we emerged from the forest, and a massive stone wall with a castle gate came into view.

"That’s Dora Fortress, nya. We pass through there to reach the mountain region, nya."

The cat ears—who had failed to use magic no matter how many times she tried after defeating the giant spider—explained while forcing herself to sound composed.

Despite wearing a maid outfit, she clearly thought of herself as the party’s leader.

In reality, she was just an old guy fully committed to role-playing as a cat-eared girl. Maybe she’d been bottling up a lot of frustration from the real world, so I decided to let her have her way.

The crossdressing shota elf and I obediently followed the cat ears toward the fortress.

We did make our way there—but the fortress gate was firmly shut.