Finale: Your Wicked Chuckle, My Sweet Giggle

<Largo>

When I woke up, I saw light blue wallpaper. The sheets and pajamas were all shades of blue. It hit me—I had left the red and pink world of yesterday and arrived in another realm.

Right. This is the boys' dorm. The familiar, musty smell of male sweat hung in the air. "Ah yes, this is what the world of boys was like," I thought, as I looked around nostalgically.

It had been half a year since I had lived in a girl's body. Now, I was back in a male body. Yes, I was originally a boy. I have to act like one.

I didn’t know who my roommate was, but it seemed like he wasn't in the room. The clock showed 8:30. If the schedule here is the same as the girls' dorm, breakfast was still doable.

When I stepped out of the room after getting ready, a lively boy called out to me.

"Morning! Porn Mag Professor!"

Porn Mag Professor!? Judging by his tone, he wasn’t mocking me but calling me that out of familiarity. What kind of nickname is that? Was Forte actually a lot more perverted than I thought?

Ugh. Boys really do joke around like this. It was kind of nostalgic but also made me feel a little out of place.

When I finished breakfast and was heading back to my room, another boy handed me a magazine.

"This one was good! Let me borrow more next time, okay?"

The magazine was filled with images of women in swimsuits and nude shots. No wonder they called Forte the Porn Mag Professor if he was lending out stuff like this.

He seemed way more comfortable with the boyish vibe than I ever was. It made me lose confidence in connecting with other guys as a guy.

I remembered a big incident from middle school when some classmates got caught drinking. I was shocked to see who got in trouble—they were the same guys I always gamed with.

To them, I was a gaming buddy but not a "bad friend." I didn't want to do bad things either, but realizing there wasn't that kind of emotional connection made me feel lonely.

Forte easily leaped past my own past and made real "bad friends." To a coward like me, he looked so cool and dazzling.

That's why I kind of understood the pain Sharp-chan felt when she was isolated from the girls’ circle. We're alike in a way—just with a different gender barrier.

Oh God, please give me the courage to build male friendships.

Back in the room, I noticed something strange under the bed. A stash of dirty magazines. Seriously, Forte...

Masturbation? I’ve never done it. Maybe I should, if I want to be a normal boy. From Forte's reaction, it seems pretty weird for a 16-year-old boy to have never tried it.

I flipped through the pages. Hm. Maybe it’s because I’ve been living as a girl lately, but it didn’t really excite me. We’re all born naked. Underwear is just cloth. What’s the big deal?

Well, I guess guys who get excited by stuff like this can seem kind of cute, like little animals.

Still, I felt nothing. Maybe I should just give up.

Oh? One book looked different. A manga. Well, there were other erotic comics too, but this one had delicate line work. Looked like it was drawn by a woman.

The story had two parts: the first featured a Little Red Riding Hood-style girl getting devoured by a wolf-boy, and the second was a revenge tale where she turned the tables. According to the notes, it was a "reversible" story.

Somehow, I saw myself as the girl and Tenuto as the wolf. That dynamic... made me kind of envious.And maybe a little too aware of my own body.

Rise. No. That can't be.

Mom... I am a shameful human being. I'm sorry.

Overwhelmed, I stepped outside the dorm, and then my phone rang.

It was Forte.

"Hello?"

"I've decided to live as a man. Just one hour as a girl, and I knew this body wasn't for me. I feel way more like myself as a guy. And I have a cute girlfriend, too. I respect you for enduring the boring life of a girl all this time."

"So you're ready to live as Largo in my place?"

"Exactly. The rest is up to you. If you want to keep living in Largo's body, I won't stop you. But it would mean stealing someone else's life. Whether you live as Largo or Forte, the choice is yours alone."

"I... I mean..."

He hung up. Oh, come on! I’m conflicted! At least hear me out.

Male or female... which should I live as?

I remembered Tenuto's passionate love confession during our Japan trip. Was he serious? Maybe it was an impromptu act for rescuing that child. Maybe he only liked Forte's body. I mean, it's a cute body.

How much of his love was for me as a person or soul? I didn’t know. Could I meet his expectations? He seemed to realize that Forte's mind had been me, a guy, but still... who'd want to be with a man inside?

The Princess Index. According to Lala, it's just statistical magic. She explained the difference between correlation and causation with fancy words, but basically, a high score doesn't mean your heart is female.

Everyone in the dorm, everyone in class—they only accepted me as a girl because of a number. Numbers can lie. They're dangerous.

Yes, my true self is male. Even my soul must be male. If I stay in this male body, surely my soul and body will resonate in harmony.

If I keep living as a boy, everyone will be happier. That has to be true. It must be true.

I guess this is the end of my time with Lala. We finally became friends, so it feels a little sad.

While I was reflecting and strolling in the sun, I spotted Tenuto.

He looked flustered. What happened?

"Hey! Tenuto-kun!"

"Something's wrong... something's really wrong!"

"What do you mean?"

"Why isn't Forte a girl today?"

"Huh?"

What was he talking about? Forte is a girl. In fact, today, her soul should actually be that of a real girl.

"Her usual girly aura just vanished! Something essential to her girl-ness is missing today! I know this sounds crazy, but I don’t feel that bittersweet rush I always get around her. Why can’t I see her as a girl? Has her soul morphed into something else? She doesn't feel or smell like a girl anymore! What happened?!

"You might be originally a girl too, but after six months as a guy, you should understand! If I don’t get hit by her girl-aura regularly, my masculinity might break down. What do I do?!"

His soulful outburst made my body flush with heat. That’s not fair. Is he doing this on purpose? Or is it genuine? It almost sounds like he’s saying my soul is the real girl here.

"Where did girl-Forte go?!"

He paced around, clearly upset. "Girl, girl, girl!" he kept saying. Ugh, enough already.

But he looked so adorable, I couldn’t help but go on tiptoe and kiss him lightly.

Oh no. I'm in a male body right now. That was pure emotion. This is totally boys' love now.

"Whaaa! I don’t swing that way! Are you trying to please the fujoshi?!"

Tenuto freaked out but calmed down after a bit.

"Wait... why am I feeling butterflies after being kissed by a guy? It felt like being kissed by a girl. What's happening to me? Am I just tired?"

Oh my god. You idiot, Tenuto!

Ugh! This guy totally falls apart unless I’m near him in a girl’s form.

Fine, fine!

If he’s going to fall apart, then I guess I have no choice. I’ll take on the special mission of saving his soul. Every morning, I’ll check if he’s happily eating breakfast so I don’t miss signs of misery.

Just duty. Pure duty.

Nfufufu. Nhohoho. Slurp. No! If I drool, I’ll look like an indecent girl.

I'm not happy. I must stay calm. Professional. Procedural. Official. Mm... Ufu~ I failed to suppress my smile!

Even though I’m in a male body, I can’t stop these stormy emotions. Why? Why does my heart dance like this?

If I keep hiding my joy like this, I’ll be seen as a dangerous person.

I was a boy... once.

But I lost. I was defeated. By you. And by my own honest heart. Maybe it’s time to be honest.

Since you want the girl version of me, then I... no, I will live my life as a girl.

Now that you’ve made me into a girl, I won’t forgive you unless I get to live every day happily. You better be ready. Fufu~

☆　☆　☆

We turned 18 years old.

"That night… it felt kind of amazing. Hehehe."

Sharp had invited me out for a walk to clear my head. He said he had something to talk about, but I didn't expect this topic.

You, with your short red hair and swaying miniskirt.

Me, with my long blue hair and flowing long skirt.

Our contrasting personalities showed even in our appearance.

"There you go again, saying something so tactless. Don’t blame me if the girls get mad at you again."

"Yeah, yeah. Real girls sure talk differently."

"Ugh."

We’d had this conversation before. Back then, it was just idle chat, but now, his words were laced with irony toward me—a clear dig at my former identity as a man.

Seeing me freeze up, Sharp stuck out his tongue and laughed.

"Baby-making time! Baby-making!"

Oh, right. Baby-making.

When feminized boys get pregnant, they’re said to be destined to live the rest of their lives as women. That applied to both Sharp and me. Elise had also chosen that path, embracing her life as a woman.

It seemed Sharp had received a seed of love from the former me—Largo—and decided to live as a woman.

Such boldness. I just quietly observed.

"Forte, what about you?"

He threw the question at me. Well, I guess he’d be curious.

"Secret."

"Oh come on! I came clean, so you should too!"

"Nope~ It's embarrassing."

I cast a light-footed spell and jogged away.

"Say it already!"

"Not telling~!"

You, with your ankle socks bearing a famous sports brand logo and lightweight track shoes.

Me, with my white knee-high socks adorned with a bunny emblem and loafers.

Even our feet showed our personalities.

Sharp kept persistently following me.

I pulled out the alto sax Elise gave me to celebrate my girlhood and played a jazzy tune with modulations. Then I used teleportation magic. Unlike the tenor, the alto carries the power of feminine magic.

"That’s cheating!"

As Sharp's voice faded behind me, I felt my body sucked into a dimensional rift, landing softly on a cushion of grass and flowers.

Once I confirmed no one was around, I lay down. This was my secret garden. On a gentle hill behind Zipangu Village, cosmos flowers were blooming. Only I knew this place's beauty. The flower's meaning is said to be "a maiden's purity."

A perfect, cloudless sky.

I recalled Tenuto’s face from last night—that adorable, conflicted look as he debated whether to ravish me. A lovely memory set against the ceiling.

That tense expression eventually melted into a soft mess.

It was a face only I had seen on the princely boy everyone admired. A precious face, full of helpless lust, that gave me a joy no one else could understand.

I don't know what kind of face I made. But his desire-drenched expression was a mirror of sorts, showing me reflected in his eyes as a cute, delicate maiden.

Even though he's always gentle and chivalrous with other girls, he becomes a hopeless pervert only with me.

It made me feel like it was okay to live as a girl. To become his wife, the mother of his child, and walk through hardship together. He gave me that permission.

And that, for me, is now the most important thing.

No one would ever understand that his lewd expression had saved my soul. It’s my secret. Even if I'm surrounded by smiles, there's always a quiet, lonely corner of my soul.

My beloved romantic thief had broken into my maze and found the key to the treasure room. Every day, he tramples it with muddy feet and holds a carnal feast. The piano rhythms of the party are so lively that even as he does terrible, awful things to me, I find myself dancing a waltz with him in my heart. Even if it’s wrong, if he’s happy, then I’m happy too.

But deep within, in the inner sanctum locked by a master key—a place where my true self is hidden, wrapped in emotional slime and acting as the final boss—he hasn’t reached it yet. And he mustn't.

If we ever reach the final battle with my evil third form and a happy ending ensues, I’ll become neither boy nor girl, but a grown woman. Thief-kun, are you ready to conquer my labyrinth?

...Just kidding.

I still can't believe my heart is really that of a girl.

But at least, in those moments when I pretend not to notice the lascivious look on his stretched-out face, when I tilt my head innocently and lower my guard—during those moments, I get to be a delicate, trapped princess. Draped in a fairytale dress.

Your uncontrollable desire, the way you pin me down, pretending to be shocked while secretly smirking—your warm, big hands teaching my slender, cold wrists what warmth feels like.

Only during those moments can I forget the guilt of knowing that, deep down, I’m just a dirty-minded man like you. It’s a fleeting yet eternal bliss.

Blue skies. I pulled out the yellow ribbon of happiness—my bond with Tenuto—and tied it with a crisp sound, letting my hair flutter in the autumn wind. Bound in body and soul, I gave a wicked little grin of triumph, like a small-time villain who’d succeeded in becoming part of someone else’s life.

A sound of a dimensional rift opening. A cheerful red-haired girl’s voice called from behind.

"Don’t run! That’s cheating! Give me your answer!"

To track me down with ear-copying magic... such persistence. Then again, it was that very persistence that once saved us.

Oh, right. I never did reply. Sharp said the experience felt good—hehehe. He's so open. Not rare among boys, but still nostalgic and oddly charming.

Maybe it was because I couldn’t have those kinds of talks with other boys that I never had bad-boy friends. An old scar in my heart throbbed.

"Are you listening?"

"Sorry. I just can't talk to you like one guy to another."

"Why not? We’re comrades, aren’t we?"

I didn’t answer. I just played with my hair.

"Let’s stop with the boring stuff. I want to have girl-to-girl secrets with you."

Even though I should still be a guy, I said it.

Even though I should be a guy, I swayed my hair and skirt, crossed my legs, clasped my right wrist with my left hand behind my back, and turned toward his voice.

I could see Sharp's startled expression. And my own face? No doubt wearing a radiant, embarrassed smile.

The magic words I was about to say... If I said them, I wouldn’t just be an essayist of confessional literature—I’d be starting a life overflowing with shame. My whole body trembled with a thrilling high.

A kaleidoscope of future visions overlapped with last night’s rom-com antics, filling the back of my eyes.

"That night…hurt... teehee."

The End.