“Yuuji-san. Please choose: will you return to your own world, or stay here in ours?”
The boy standing before me said this with an expression full of genuine regret.
Letina. I know you suddenly turned into a guy too, and that must be tough, but you should at least act more masculine. Honestly, you look pretty awkward.
Well, I guess I look just as weird—acting like a guy while looking like a girl.
It’s been 20 days since I defeated the Demon King.
The world was still shrouded in confusion and uncertainty.
The cause was the Demon King’s final act—he withered the World Tree just before his death.
The collapse of the World Tree, said to be the source of all magic and life, had far-reaching effects across the world. Climate patterns and the behavior of flora and fauna became wildly unpredictable, and magical energy had become violently unstable.
Right now, by sheer luck, things were relatively calm—but there was no guarantee it would stay that way. In fact, things had been gradually worsening ever since that day.
To use interdimensional transfer magic, stable magical energy is essential.
To ensure that stability, it had to be done either now—while the last traces of the old World Tree’s power still remained—or decades later, once a new sapling had matured enough to support the world.
According to old texts, growing the new World Tree would take at least several decades. That was out of the question. I had already been away from home for over two years with no explanation.
So, I chose to return.
“Yuuji… I’m sorry. I promised I would send you back safely, but now this…”
The former princess, who had become queen after losing her father in the Demon King’s attack on the royal capital two years ago, bowed her head to me.
“It’s fine. I should be the one thanking you all—for taking care of me these past two years.”
“I believe you are the true hero. Even if today is our final farewell, I will never forget what you’ve done for us.”
And so, with only brief farewells to the people who had taken care of me in the other world—and without a chance to say goodbye to my own home—I returned.
***
Gradually, my senses grew clearer.
Along with that came a damp, sweltering heat I knew all too well.
No doubt about it—this was a Japanese summer.
Even with a different body, the muggy heat was exactly the same.
Whether male or female, the senses must be wired the same way…
I even had enough awareness to think up a lame joke about it.
I glanced at the digital clock by the bed. The date was August 10th.
I’d been transported to the other world on the first Sunday of June two years ago.
That meant I’d returned to this world after 26 months.
I was just beginning to wonder how I would explain all this to everyone when the door burst open without a knock, and I made eye contact with—
My younger sister, Hina
Real name: Hina Tachibana
She started middle school two springs ago, so she should be in her third year now.
She’d grown into a surprisingly beautiful young woman. Definitely matured a lot.
“Yo. Long ti—”
“KYAAAAAA!!!”
She screamed before I could finish my greeting.
Harsh.
But then again, from her perspective, some strange girl was suddenly in the room. Of course she’d freak out.
“Mika-nee! Mika-nee!!”
“Wait! I didn’t mean to scare you! Please just listen to me! I know I look like this, but I’m Yuuji!”
As she panicked and turned to run, I grabbed her arm and desperately pleaded.
“Hah?! That’s the worst excuse I’ve ever heard! Yuu-nii isn’t someone like you!”
Her voice was filled more with anger than confusion.
“What’s going on, Hina?!”
““Mika-nee!”” we both shouted.
My second older sister: Mika-nee
Real name: Mika Tachibana
She was a top-level volleyball player in high school and even competed at the national inter-high tournament. Apparently, she was good enough to be invited to the All-Japan Youth Team training camp once.
Though she humbly says, “I wasn’t even close to being a reserve on the national team,” ordinary people don’t even get invited to Youth camps.
If everything went smoothly, she should now be in her third year of university.
However, all her stat points seem to have gone into physical ability rather than academics, so I wonder how well she’s actually doing in school.
From their perspective, some random girl confidently calling her “Mika-nee” must’ve thrown them off. Both of them stood frozen.
Taking advantage of their momentary confusion, I pressed on to explain.
“Mika-nee. Hina. I’m sorry I was gone for two years. A lot happened, and now I’m a girl, but I am Yuuji.”
They both looked like they wanted to say something, but I kept going to keep things under my control.
“I don’t know if this counts as proof, but let me tell you something only family would know.”
I told them that our dad was an executive at some NGO that mostly worked in conflict zones to help children, which meant he was often away.
That our mom died in a car accident when I was eight.
And that ever since, we siblings had supported each other with our eldest sister, Ryou-nee, at the center.
“That kind of stuff... anyone could find out if they did a little digging,” Hina muttered coldly, her earlier panic now replaced with controlled suspicion.
Just as I hoped.
“Of course. From here on, it’s stuff only we would know.”
Right after Mom died, probably because of the loneliness, Hina and I cried every night. So at Ryou-nee’s suggestion, the four of us slept together in a line for almost a year—eldest siblings on the outside, younger ones in the middle—until the night crying stopped.
“You’re saying that really happened?”
“Yeah, it did. Well, I guess it’s not surprising you don’t remember—Hina, you weren’t even in grade school yet.”
“Starting to believe me a little? I’ve got plenty more. For example—”
That chores were assigned by a rotation system, and that if you needed to swap, it had to be done according to a family-set barter rate.
As I kept talking, the tide turned and questions started coming from their side. To be fair, Mika-nee’s questions were straightforward and honest—though you could also call her just plain simple. On the other hand, Hina’s trick questions were clever enough to be impressive.
“Next question: State the bra sizes of Ryou-nee, Mika-nee, and me. The sizes from two years ago are fine, of course.”
“Wh-what the hell kind of question is that?! Like I’d know something like that!”
“Too bad! You’re a fake! Didn’t you just say it yourself? Laundry is part of the chores. If you didn’t know our sizes, how’d you hang them up? How would you put them away?!”
“Like I’d fall for such a trap! All three of you wash your underwear separately by hand and dry them indoors or on the back balcony, right?!”
Incidentally, the back balcony where they dry their stuff is off-limits to me. Even if it rains, I’m forbidden from touching anything out there. When drying things indoors, a sign that says “Yuuji, keep out” is always hung at the entrance. That’s just one of our house rules.
After more heated back-and-forth, finally:
“I mean, he knows where the spare key is and how to open the emergency safe Dad left behind... Maybe he is the real deal.”
“I still can’t believe it... but maybe I can believe it...”
It looked like the two of them were finally starting to accept it. Now we could get to the real problem.
“I’ll say it again—sorry. I’ve caused you a lot of trouble. But... I’ve got one more favor to ask.”
“You’re the one who has to convince Ryou-nee.”
Figures.
I knew it would come to this.
My Oldest Sister, Ryou-nee
Full name: Tachibana Ryōka
Two years ago, she was a university senior. Now, she’s a grad student (I just heard that from Mika-nee). Her major is bioengineering (genetics), a full-blown science geek.
She’s so logical that she flat-out rejects anything that doesn’t align with reason. There’s no way she’d believe me if I told her, “I may look different, but I’m still Yuuji.”
To make matters worse, Ryou-nee is basically the head of the household. If I can’t convince her, I might not even have a place to sleep tonight. I’ll need the help of the other two to stand a chance.
“From an objective point of view, Ryou-nee actually got along best with Yuu, not with us. So don’t give up.”
“Not to badmouth her or anything, but Ryou-nee’s hardcore science brain never really meshed with me or Mika-nee. At least with Yuu-nii, they could talk on the same level.”
“...So it’s like that, huh? Oh, and Hina—one correction. You’re the only liberal arts person in this house.”
“Wait, what? Mika-nee’s a science type?”
“Nope. She's not science or arts—she's the athletic type, with muscles even in her brain.”
“Why, you little—!!”
“I’m home.”
…Without backup from the Tachibana second and third daughters, the eldest has returned.
No helping it. I’ll have to go with that plan—my strategy for convincing a science-loving Ryou-nee:
Operation “There Are Crazier Things in the World, So a Little Gender Swap Is No Big Deal.”
Let’s do this, Saint’s Cloak. I’m counting on this magical piece of women-only equipment I accidentally “borrowed” to save me.
In the end, Ryou-nee was utterly defeated by the outrageous powers of the Saint’s Cloak, which boasted enchantments like “Quality Preservation” and “Elemental Resistance.” No matter how much soy sauce you spilled on it or how much lipstick you scribbled with, the stains vanished in seconds. Even holding it over a gas flame wouldn’t leave a single scorch mark.
Compared to that kind of mystery, a brother turning into a girl? Barely even a footnote.
…Let’s just hope I don’t get divine punishment for using a sacred artifact in such a stupid way.
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