White was sitting down on a tree trunk, and the one in front of him was Shinri who had just returned while wearing a casual outfit.
It seems that she had brought back some fresh meat from some cows roaming the pastures in the Radiant Plains. After roasting it under a fire, Shinri was currently gouging into the succulent flesh with huge bites. She didn't seem to be a huge eater from a first impression, but White thought that appearances were not always as they seemed.
Yes... Appearances are really deceiving.
But no matter how delicious it looked, it didn't seem right to simply eat it.
"...Why aren't you eating? You don't eat meat? Are you a herbivore man?"
White shook his head from Shinri's words laced with a double-meaning.
She was probably telling him not to be a pussy.
"Then eat. You'll need the energy for today."
"O-Okay..."
White slowly took a skewer of cow meat from under the barbecue pit with trembling hands.
Once his teeth bit into the skewered beef, a burst of texture and sweetness in his mouth flowed through the juices of the cooked meat. He took another mouthful, and another... The taste was phenomenal, it was just like eating an A-grade beef! Once he started, he just couldn't stop.
It wasn't as if White had come from a poor family in his previous world, he had definitely tried wagyu beef many times before. However, in a place of life and death where not paying attention could get one killed, imagine the sweet feeling of release when it was transmitted through a literal cuisine.
Honestly speaking, Shinri could pass off as a cook and work in a safer environment. It was strange for her not to!
(Delishus... So delicious...)
With its marbled meat peppered with spices, White was relishing in the harmony of his extravagant breakfast. He had not expected to eat wagyu beef again like this. Lost in the moment, White was even leaking tears from the corner of his eyes.
He did not even notice that someone else was watching him with interest.
Clearly pleased from his reaction, Shinri stared intently at the young man and asked: "How is it?"
"I-It's... del'ishush..."
"I know the beef is delicious, but I'm not talking about it."
"I mean, how was my body?"
"---Pffft! Cough, cough!"
White immediately spat out the rest of the meat in his mouth from that sudden question.
As if prepared for it, Shinri avoided the projectile without even leaving her seat.
Question? No, was it more apt to say that it was a form of interrogation?
So she had been waiting to say it after all. White just had to be caught off guard at the very last second.
"W-What do you mean?!"
With a bright red face tinged with guilt, White quickly denied any involvement in that unfortunate incident. What was fortunate, however, was the fact that his embarrassment was hidden underneath the mask he was now wearing.
...Yes, that's right.
The reason why he was so conscious of the adventurer since awhile ago, was because Shinri had turned out to be a female all along. In fact, she was actually an extremely charming girl beneath the rough appearance of a grizzled adventurer. It didn't seem like their ages were too far apart from each other either. In fact, White wouldn't think of it as strange if Shinri was actually the same age as him.
Looking closely, her body had become tightly fit from the nature of her work, it had become curvy while staying supple, and the water droplets which stuck to her skin merely accentuated that hourglass figure. Not to mention her full lips, lustrous hair and sparkling eyes which felt as if she had came out of a painting. It was strange how he had mistaken her to be a male in the first place. After all, how could someone with those----
"Heeh... What, so you were thinking about it."
Shinri teased him with narrowed eyes as she cupped her cheeks with her hands. It was as if the crimson-haired girl could read through his mind---!
For some sadistic reason, it seems that she felt enjoyment from teasing him too.
"...Besides, I never said that I was a man. Do I really look like a guy to you?"
Sensing a pitfall from Shinri's impromptu question, White desperately shook his head and stammered: "N-No, yo-you're very pretty... and a nice person... uhm..."
"Fufu... what's that supposed to mean, is this a compliment? ...Haha, I'm just kidding. I know you didn't mean to look."
The girl laughed softly upon hearing his answer laced in awkwardness. Her amber eyes stared at White behind the mask, as if finding the entire situation rather amusing.
"I won't blame you for that."
"...Thank you..."
It couldn't be helped that his cognition of her was a male at first anyway. Shinri's actions and posture didn't seem like a girl, nor was the notion of an adventurer tackling goblins in a dark cave. In the first place, "Shinri" sounded more like a guy's name instead of a girl's, so it further deepened the assumption of her gender. He did have his suspicions more than a few times, but because her voice was muffled under the mask, White was unable to be certain...
Be that as it may, White was still probably in the wrong. He decided to apologize honestly.
"Also, ...I'm really sorry."
"Now, you're just apologizing again?"
...What else could he say? The young man had developed a mild form of gynophobia from past experiences. Even though it was pathetic, White did not blend in well in conversations with other people, much less a girl.
"Hey, why are you looking away?"
He did not answer. Now that she had taken off her mask, White was forced to become more conscious of her. In fact, her presence had become too strong that he could not meet with her eyes.
"Ne, let me guess, White-kun. Are you a virgin?"
"—!!!"
"Ah, you're a virgin aren't you? ...How about it...?"
Saying so, Shinri lifted one side of the shirt string on her shoulder, probing him to take a look-----
"Want me... to help you get used to women?"
Like a devil, she offered him an irresistibly, tempting invitation. Did she really mean it...? White was a healthy young male too, such an offer wouldn't go without him giving a second glance at it. He was also under a considerable amount of stress just recently, and it seemed to have created some kind of pent-up mood within him, waiting to be released in some form.
But... why...? Naturally, White still had some resistance towards such a sudden 'change' in Shinri's attitude. The adventurer he was used to know, was a cold and practical, but reliable figure. He couldn't help but have doubts again, that she was simply teasing him for payback... No, that wouldn't make sense too. She didn't look to be the type to hold a grudge over something like that.
Before White could come to a logical answer a flirtatious voice whispered into his ear again, disrupting his thoughts.
"So what will it be?"
White flustered red up to his ears, a pleasant tingle ran down his spine. It was as if his ears had been tickled.
"...Hehe, you're quite honest. Come, let this big sister sit here. Ah... you don't have to move, just squeeze in to the other side."
Before he knew it, Shinri had already cozied up to him.
"..."
"..."
A weird atmosphere had drifted in between them.
"Ne... close your eyes."
As if guided by some kind of enthralling voice, White began to think that... it was perhaps alright... to do it.
After all, Shinri was a reliable person. As long as he entrusted himself to her, everything would be fine. Everything was for his own good----Following her instructions with some kind of strange expectations, White closed his eyes.
White could still hear her faint breathing beside him, and the occasional heartbeats overlapping with one another. The scent of a girl, inviting him to inhale deeply again. The balmy, citrus scent of her body, like light, airy freshness in the blue sky; an after-rain dewy scent that clung on to her body after soaking in her morning bath---- Because he couldn't see it, it became even more tantalizing... Shinri was deliberately stimulating his nose this way.
Shinri too, had picked up an unimaginably unique scent floating out from White. As she breathed in the young man, it hastily sped up her mind's thoughts, continually stimulating her brain sweetly. Coursing through Shinri's body, was a mysterious impulse causing her heart to feel strange. The girl's desires felt as if they had leaked out of control for a brief moment, not realizing that she was staring at the young man with brightly flashing eyes.
"You smell... tasty." Shinri whispered lasciviously.
White felt her teeth hitting his left shoulder, a playful bite which made his body covered in an itch.
"Don't worry... I'll take care... of everything..."
"S-Shinri-sa...n—"
But before he could finish talking, he felt a body leaning against his... and then----He felt his surroundings turn bright all of a sudden----! As if liberated from the constant protection of sunlight from his eyes, his field of vision had widened!
"Wha—"
Because of his past constitution, White had become very sensitive to the line of sight of others. And so he quickly realized that someone was staring at his face, or to be more specific... his eyes that were once hidden under his bangs.
It took him a second, but White had understood what had just happened.
His mask. It had been taken off. He had fell for Shinri's ploy. All at once, negative emotions began to fill his mind.
Shinri finally got to see the appearance of the young man under his mask. That face that was too overbearingly fine, yet striking a fine balance to not be mistaken as a female's. For a brief moment, Shinri couldn't help but stare at White's good-looking appearance. It was until White had begun to struggle that the girl had snapped out of her daze.
"G-Give it back..."
Probing out such an interesting reaction from White, Shinri felt an unusual inclination of wanting to 'tease' him. Shinri's face immediately turned to a playful one.
"No way~" She smiled, as she spun the mask around her index finger.
"I hav— U-ah! O-Oi! St—"
For a moment, White had a face filled with horror. Like a child whose favourite toy had been taken away, he felt the surge of discomfort taking over him. With a feeling of urgency, White pounced towards the girl.
"What are you doing! H-Hey you—!!"
The two were tussling on the grass with White grabbing both her shoulders, locking Shinri beneath him without any room to escape. Shinri had initially only wanted to see his face as payback, but it seems that the situation was looking a little off.
It couldn't be... that the young man had taken her seriously, right?
"Hey, I'm not playing with you, g-get off! Oi, are you even listening!?"
"Return it! Return it! Return it! Return it--- Or else... or else..."
"O-Or else what... Are you threatening me?" Shinri shot back a defiant look as she tried to shrug off the hold on her body. However, it wasn't as if Shinri was having difficulty in a contest of strength. Given their difference in levels, she was surely capable of doing it any time she wanted, however she didn't want to hurt the young man badly in the process. Stuck in a dilemma, Shinri decided to wait until she found an opportunity to break free.
"Or else... Or else... Or else..."
As if he didn't even know what he was saying, White repeated the same words over and over again as if in a maddened trance. He couldn't think very well, but White knew his instincts were bringing him over the edge for a reason.
It was then, that the girl had seen something strange in the eyes of the young man. They were painted in fear. Desperation, despair...
Why...? It couldn't be... he noticed something about her?
...No. The young man wasn't even looking at her. His blank eyes were staring through her, as if she didn't exist. He was staring wide-eyed into the air. And for a brief moment, Shinri could swore that a red gloom was flashing past the eyes of the young man----
It was then, she realized that words would no longer work, she had to use brute force on the young man who had already lost his reason.
Shinri's collected demeanor slowly sunk in, and her eyes turned furious, a tint of shame was painted on her cheeks.
"Enough...! I... said... get... ...OFF!"
"Ug-aah!"
With a ravenous expression, Shinri pressed the young man down onto the grass with her on top. Her long red hair sprawled down onto his face, causing him to become sober.
The situation had been reversed once the girl had exerted a monstrous amount of strength into her arms, causing White to flinch and getting reverse-straddled by Shinri. The mask had fallen off to the side, revealing his face again----
This time, Shinri had taken a closer look.
Her eyes widened. The young man didn't have red eyes like she had seen earlier in that one moment, did she see wrongly?
Realizing that he was exposed, White's body trembled on instinct... however he no longer resisted this time. His expression slowly settled, and light began to return to his eyes...
"...S—Shinri...-san?"
——His eyes were a clear black. It was the half-oriental face of White. Her eyes narrowed as she thought of something and finally the corners of her mouth curved upwards, revealing a satisfied smile.
"Well now, aren't you quite good-looking yourself without the mask?"
"...I... huh..."
White's consciousness cleared up, and he realized the situation he was in.
After finding the words to speak, he opened his mouth timidly. He could feel his heart beating strongly as he did so...
"Y...You... don't feel anything strange?"
"Strange?" Shinri looked at the young man, befuddled.
"What kind of strange?"
Still being pinned down on the ground, White embarassedly continued as he looked away from Shinri's piercing gaze from above.
He thought that... something was fundamentally different in this world. There was a possibility that in this world, his eyes could no longer affect the people in this world. Shinri didn't appear to have any of the symptoms of that dangerous condition after all, that was the main reason why the young man had began to relax.
Being around other people, White had a peculiar ability that could unconsciously "twist the nature of people", the dissonant wish.
That's right, White was what one would call a supernatural existence even before his transmigration.
It was also the biggest reason why White had suffered from many phobias and anxiety issues in the past. All of his painful experiences with people had pulled him into a shell, as he wore a mask to keep his eyes away from others.
"... ...I-If you don't know, then i-it's fine..." White looked to the side mused quietly.
"Did you say something?"
"...No... M-More importantly, c-can you uhm... get off my body..."
In any case, White felt like he had to observe the situation a little more before making a conclusion that the curse dwelling within his eyes was completely gone in this world.
"...Ah, right." Shinri got up, and held out her hand towards him.
"I-It's fine... I can get up on my own..."
"That so." Shinri patted her back, and sat back onto the stump chair.
White got up... and looked around the grass for something. When he had found it, the young man returned and sat down a small distance away from Shinri. The item he was holding in his hands, was the monochrome mask. The item that he had brought from his original world, a product of the past.
"...The mask... you'll keep wearing it?" Shinri suddenly spoke.
"..." White remained silent, and stared listlessly at it for a long while.
"Even though you look better without it?"
"...I don't know..."
It was then, White empty mindscape began to surface various protagonists from the isekai novels he had read.
They surrounded him, with smiles on their faces like they were encouraging him to take the step forward.
He could finally connect to them, the moment in their lives where they could finally set their past aside.
Because... it was a second chance for them. They had to work hard to make the best out of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
To live in a world that they desire. And for White... this was it.
"A world... meant for me... huh."
In the end, his goal was simple. That's right... he had already determined to live out his life anew, didn't he?
White had already made his decision the moment he was transmigrated into this world.
He felt neither regret or sadness over his attachments on Earth.
And he felt a strange craving for adventure in this other world.
All of these emotions he was feeling, anxiousness, fear, anticipation and hope... they were all returning to him, a once empty vessel who had always been afraid of everything. The young man finally sorted out his thoughts on the matter, and finally felt like a heavy load was lifted off his mind. His head felt clear and fresh for the first time in a long while...
He shouldn't be afraid of everything all the time. It was his chance to take a bold step forward.
White raised his head, and took in a deep breath. The fresh air from the forest... it had the soothing smell of nature.
It was familiar to him, yet foreign and new all the same.
This was the world he would live in from now on.
"...I think... I won't be needing this anymore. Here..."
Shinri barely caught onto the item, clearly surprised from the casual toss towards her.
"I'll give this to Shinri-san."
Shinri looked at the mask in her hands, and frowned,
"...White-kun, I don't mind keeping this. I don't know what you've gone through either. But at the very least, I thought this mask is something important to you... Are you really fine with this?"
White smiled refreshingly and nodded without saying a word. He plopped his butt back down onto the grass and held his ankles while letting out relieved laughter. Looking up at the morning sky, and the two suns that shone brightly, he smiled radiantly.
He was alive, in such an immersive world.
"...I'm already tired of wearing a mask my entire life. I want to face everything properly from now on... After all..."
He looked at his palm, and smiled again.
"...Games are meant to be enjoyed."
...Game?
"T-That's great? I think? ...Well, I'm not too sure of the details, but I'm glad you've worked it out, really."
"...Mm."
Now that he had let go of the mask, White had begun to see things more clearly.
He realized that part of the reason why Shinri had pulled off something like this, was probably because she had instinctively felt that their interactions had become weird since this morning. Did she want to tell him... that she really didn't mind it? Through a roundabout way to 'get back at him', White would feel less conscious of what had happened in the past, and they would be able to return to an approachable distance with each other. It seems like Shinri was worrying about him in her own way too. No matter if she was a male or a female, she was still the same approachable adventurer who had saved his life. What about his gynephobia, his anxiety issues. Or even all of his problems that made him a social reject?
White was grateful for the girl's actions, and favors had to be repaid properly. And although he had nothing to his name now, White thought that at the very least... He could convey his gratefulness towards the person who had changed him, even just for a little.
With a gentle smile, White finally cleared all of his stuttering and managed to speak the words in his mind properly for the first time...
"Thank you, Shinri-san."
In that instant, Shinri had became the one unable to meet his gaze instead. The way he had said it... brought a violent throb in her heart for some reason. The impression the young man had now given her, was almost as if he was a whole different person.