The next morning, Akira wakes up to the bright morning light.
Yawning, he sits up on the ridiculously soft bed and looks around in confusion for a moment, before his brain finally catches up.
'....ah! Right, I was reincarnated into this body....'
After getting off of the bed, Akira walks over to the huge mirror in his room.
'....come to think of it, I never really had the chance to familiarise myself with my new body....Yosh, now's my chance!'
Akira slowly moves his gaze over his reflection and can't help but do a double take when he reaches his face.
'W-woah....who the hell is this White lotus?!'
In front of him stood the reflection of a young man with skin as white as snow, lips pink and soft to touch. His features were well defined and attractive, but the most striking aspect of them were the clear Ocean blue eyes accentuated with flakes of violet.
His long silver hair, which hung till his waist, was interspersed with streaks of black, making his fair skin and unique eyes stand out even more.
All in all, the man was incredibly beautiful. And Akira was left staring at his own appearance.
'....this guy....seriously....with looks like that, Its obvious the attention he gets isn't purely from a female audience....'
Though, when He thought about it, this much should've been expected considering how the King and Queen looked.
King Avalon had shoulder length silver hair and golden eyes, while Queen Aiko had long black hair and ocean blue eyes with flakes of violet.
Recalling that, it wasn't hard to guess where he'd gotten most of his features from.
While his brother Ai was the spitting image of his father, Akira had taken after his mother....possessing her eyes and features.
'....I guess it makes sense. My brother and my father share the same species too so....it's no wonder their features would be similar.'
On the other hand, The only resemblance he held with his father was his silver hair....but even that had streaks of black inherited from his mother.
Akira's gaze then moves to the top of his head.
'....though, I've been wondering this for a while now but....I'm a beastman right?....then where the heck are my beast ears and tail?!'
It's Exactly like I said....I didn't seem to possess the defining feature of every beastman.
'....it couldn't have been a specialty of the royal family because I clearly saw the others having beast ears and tails....then I wonder why?'
Just then, as if In response to my question, an old memory of the previous owner resurfaces in my mind....
{{{ "Father! Why don't I look like you and Mother?"
The 3 year old me asks curiously.
My father smiles and picks me up,
"What do you mean my son? You look so much like you're mother did when she was younger, that I can barely tell you apart!!"
My father nuzzles my cheek, making me giggle as I try to push his nose away...
"Hehe, no!! I mean why don't I have wolf ears or a tail like you do?"
My father momentarily pauses.
He then sits down with me in his lap.
"Well, I think it's because of your species Akira. You're unique."
"Unique?"
"Yes....a unique species born from me and your mother....Maybe that's why you weren't born with these beast ears and tail...."
I feel a bit sad at that....
"So I won't ever get them?"
My father looks at me with a slight frown on his face....but then his expression suddenly lightens up as if he got an idea.
"Well....there is still another way...."
My eyes light up at that as I look to my father expectantly.
My father rubs his neck as he speaks, the edge of a small tattoo present there peeking through his hair as it sways.
"I was planning to tell you this when you were older but....I guess there's no harm in saying it now. Do you know what a soulmate is?"
I shake my head at that, and my father continues with his explanation.
"It is said, that when the goddess creates a soul, she splits it into two halves. Each of these halves becomes the soul of a person. And those possessing two halves of the same soul are called soulmate's. A soulmate is the person destined to be with you, the missing part of your soul."
I listen, slightly confused, but enjoying the story nonetheless.
Father notices this and grins, ruffling my hair.
"Well, I suppose you'll understand when you're older....anyways, the main reason I told you this is because us beastman of special species or above, unlike the other races, have a certain ability associated with finding our soulmate.
You see, On the night of a full moon, we are able to transform into our beast selves. However, though we have control of our actions before and after transforming, we do not have control over the transformation itself....Unless, you have met your soulmate."
Father smiles at that, lightly touching the tattoo peeking out from behind his neck as he continues,
"The first full moon after meeting our soulmate is when we gain complete control over our transformation. In other words, from then on we can freely shift between forms, irrespective of whether it is a full moon or not....Akira, I believe that if you find your soulmate, you will finally be able to acquire the beast characteristics you so desire."
My eyes twinkle in anticipation at that....but then another question arises in my mind.
"Then...doesn't that mean you could transform to hide your ears and tail as well?"
My father smirks as he replies,
"That's actually a very good question! Yes, it's true that I could hide them and look more like a human....but the reason I refuse to do so is quite simple actually. Beast ears and tails are symbols of pride for a beastman and as a Beastman King, I wish to display that pride in full."
My eyes shine as I look at the regal expression on my fathers face, while internally hoping that someday my wish might come true....}}}
I ponder for a moment after going through my memory....
'....I see....I guess its very possible for something like that to happen....'
I recall how I had the skill for beast transformation despite it being locked.
'.....still....a soulmate huh....I guess this really is a fantasy world.'
Earlier when looking through the memories I had regarding the king and queen, I had found out that the king and queen were also soulmate's! The Symbol of their bond being the matching tattoos on both of their necks.
Though I'd never actually seen them, I had caught glimpses of them and being curious, I researched about them.
Turns out, to make the bond of two soulmate's official, the two must claim each other by marking them. To mark each other, all they had to do was convey their intentions to each other before identifying the area they wish to mark. (Usually by biting or kissing said area) It was quite similar to the ritual performed by beastmen to mark their mate.
When two soulmate's claim each other, a matching tattoo signifying their unique bond would appear wherever they marked them.
No two pairs of soulmate's could ever have the same mark....which is what made them so unique.
It also seemed that Soulmate's transcended the border of different races. And though that wasn't a problem because of how interracial marriage was allowed in this world....it was what made them so hard to find. In other words, there was a chance that your soulmate wasn't even of the same race.
Apparently, many people often lived their lives without ever finding them....however, that didn't stop them from falling in love and marrying someone who wasn't their soulmate.
With how rare it was to actually meet your soulmate, to most people It didn't matter whether you found them or not.
I sigh at the prospect....even in my previous life, I had never found a partner...and in this one, I was currently 21 years old but still hadn't met my soulmate. The full moon was only about a week away...so there wasn't much of a chance that I'd actually find them before then if I hadn't managed to do so until now.
I shake away the depressing thoughts, moving on to something more exciting.
'Anyways, I think I've been overlooking this fact for a while now but....I'm a guy!!!!! I can't believe it!!!'
Nodding my head in satisfaction, I decide to thoroughly inspect my new body.
....so I strip off all my clothes.
I stand before the mirror as naked as the day I was born.
'Looks like my height increased by an inch or so....I was 175 cm tall in my previous life, so I guess I'm around 178cm now. I knew that I was pretty tall for a girl but this is even better! I'm a few centimetres taller than Ai...it seems like that's the upper average height for a male of my age in this world. Next, it looks like I have a nice physique....good figure and slightly toned muscles....almost like an idol/model! I'm pretty sure girls would die for a guy with a body like this....not that I care much for girls anyways.'
I continue to admire my appearance while moving my gaze lower.
'hmmm....it looks like I have a decent size down there....'
(Now before you look at me like that, let me reiterate that I was a medical student in my previous life...I've seen enough naked people and corpses to not feel much humility at all!!)
As I continue to assess my body, an idea pops into my mind.
I smirk mischievously,
'Why don't I use this time to try out a few things and really get accustomed to my body~'
Insincerely Apologising to the previous owner of my body, I walk into the bathroom.
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I come out an hour later, looking absolutely exhausted but satisfied.
'That took longer than I expected but atleast, i know it works....'
Adopting a more serious expression as I get dressed, I think about my plans for today...
'Today, I need to tell them my decision...'
I look at my reflection once more and resolutely nod my head.
And then leave my room, on my way to meet my family for breakfast.
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