A lone girl was walking through the bustling streets of a city during the evening hours, letting out a sigh every now and then. "Come on, get a grip already, Lila…" She was muttering to herself in a low voice. "All on my own even though I'm still more than young enough… 23 isn't old at all, and I should have no problems whatsoever finding a partner… I take good care of myself, as well, and love doing sports. It's a weird thing to say to yourself, but I do think my looks are pretty good."
While talking to herself, the girl stopped in front of a shop and glanced at her reflection in its big window that faced the street to lure in customers. Lila was just shy of being 165cm tall, had a sporty bodyline with long legs and the tiniest bit of tan. Even so, she still had decent curves in the areas important to her, namely a more than sizeable enough chest for her body type and a slim waistline.
Her honey-colored, blonde hair went well past her shoulder blades and had a naturally wavy look to it. The girl's eyes had a greenish turquoise hue, and together with her long lashes, they were a real eye-catcher. The rest of her face, including the spotless skin and light-red lips, helped with that, too. Besides that, Lila was wearing a short-sleeved white t-shirt together with a pair of denim jeans and black sneakers.
"Haa…" Another sigh escaped her lips as she continued to walk. "Well, I am into girls… and if you're one yourself, that doesn't boost your chances of finding a partner. Okay, no, that's more of an excuse… Others can overcome this hurdle just fine, but… They can interact with girls in the first place… Me being a shy introvert that can't speak with them, yeah, that's a problem."
"Talking to men is easier, at least if it's not too long of a conversation, but that doesn't help me… Wouldn't it be nice if I were into boys instead? Well, I doubt I would be able to ask one out, either, but… I noticed every now and then that some of them seemed to be interested in me in the past, so… Maybe it could have actually worked out? Okay, I really don't want to, actually, but still." Looking around, Lila laid her eyes on a random boy in the crowd around her and checked him out.
"He is kinda good-looking, isn't he…? Probably? I think so…? Aesthetically speaking, sure… I guess? Maybe? Yeah… yeah?" She actually had no idea what she was talking about, and it was apparent that there were no feelings involved in her assessment. "Well, one is way too small of a sample size, isn't it?" Saying so, she checked out a couple of more guys, but the result was, at best, the exact same.
"Well, that worked out as expected…" While rolling her eyes, she continued to scan her surroundings, and Lila's eyes eventually fell on an exceptionally attractive girl. She was a bit taller than Lila and had long, platinum-blonde hair that almost seemed to be white. The girl was also wearing a pure-white summer dress that worked weirdly well with her similarly colored hair and perfectly accentuated her figure. The dress went together with a dark-red handbag that added a bit of contrast and a splash of color to the girl.
Lila couldn't bring herself to look away. She immediately felt her pulse increasing ever so slightly, coupled with a somewhat warm and fuzzy feeling in her chest. "Of course, someone totally my type shows up now… Yeah, it's definitely never happening. Girls are the only option for me."
"Great, now I hate myself for even thinking about trying to be with a man…" Slapping her cheeks once, she continued to walk around without a goal, only trying to clear her head. This, unfortunately, only made it worse, though. Lila soon became aware that she had left the bustling shopping street and ended up in a park. A park that was mainly filled with couples taking an evening walk together while demonstratively holding hands with each other.
"Perfect…" Sighing yet again, her mood just kept worsening. "How much I would give to get over my shyness… I really hate being alone, but at this point… I don't think I'm able to change myself anymore. It's too deeply rooted in my brain by now. After all, I've been like that ever since, well… puberty hit. Once I noticed that my interest in some of my female friends and classmates in school was… was similar to, or the same as, their growing interest in boys… It made me distance myself from them because I thought I was weird, and that something was wrong with me… It all only went further downhill from there on… to the point of not even being able to talk to girls at all. I've really made such a stupid mistake!"
"I want to travel back in time and slap my old self! There was absolutely no need to distance myself from my female friends! They didn't distance themselves from the boys, either! If anything, they tried to get even closer to the ones they were attracted to instead! That's basically the same for me, save for some minor details. It's not like I'm automatically into every girl I meet or get close with! I could've had friends normally, just like everyone else had! Even the female friends I had back then. Only one or two of them seemed to be getting interesting… Now, though… Yeah, the damage's already done, and I have no idea how I would be able to get out of the pit I threw myself into!"
"Grahh!" Out of the blue, Lila started yelling loud enough for everyone around her to hear. "I want a restart and get rid of the mistakes that scarred me!" She didn't care about the onlookers. "I want to go to a place where no one knows about me and have a fresh do-over without any baggage! Well, it's not like anyone of interest knows me here…" The girl mixed in some self-loathing. "A fresh restart with a non-corrupted mindset to get rid of my inability to talk to others would be the best thing ever!" While still not caring or even noticing the people around her, Lila stopped paying attention to her surroundings altogether. She continued to complain about her situation for a good while longer until something finally managed to get her full and undivided attention.
"H-Huh…?" Suddenly, everything in the girl's vision had turned pure white. "W-What's happening?!" Naturally, being beyond surprised, Lila was confused and began to panic.
"Do you really want a restart?" An unknown male voice echoed through the place.
"Eh… W-What is going on here?!" Her bewilderment grew even more because she was unable to locate the voice that seemingly came from nowhere.
"Do you truly desire to go to a place where no one knows you?"
"…" Lila's face paled. She was clearly getting scared.
"To a place where DEFINITELY no one knows you. One that's perfect for a fresh start."
"I-I did say something along those lines, but… ehh…?" She couldn't keep up.
"I will grant you your do-over if you wish so."
"P-Please wait a minute… What's going on here? Where am I…? Who are you…? What… are you?"
"Ah, it seems that some more explanation would be appropriate." A blinding light appeared in front of Lila. Once it died down, a person appeared. The guy looked like he was in his early twenties, a similar age to her. He had longer, darkish-brown hair and seemed rather casual and unreliable looking. "For what I am… I'm the overseer of this and many other worlds."
"You…?" For her, the title 'overseer of worlds' sounded important, almost god-like.
"Indeed."
"You certainly don't look the part." The shock was so big for Lila that she entirely forgot about the situation she was in.
"How rude! Though, I can see your point." He looked down at himself. The blinding light from earlier appeared again, and his entire appearance changed. He looked a bit older and more refined, wearing a fancy suit, his hair was perfectly made, and his expression turned firm and serious. "How is this instead?"
"Sorry, your image's already ruined."
"Ahaha, you certainly don't hold back, do you?"
"Weird…" She mumbled to herself after noticing it. "S-Sorry, but well… you do seem like you're someone important. With the whole blinding light and changing trick…"
"I'm glad I got the point across, then." He changed back to his younger self. "Ahh, so much more comfortable."
"Yes, that form certainly is easier to talk to as well."
"Indeed. It's quite fascinating, though. According to my records, you're supposed to have a shy personality. I can't say I see much of this characteristic. What's this about~?"
"Ah!" Lila just fully realized it. "Y-You're right! Why? How? Eh? D-Did you do something to me…? Being a god and all?!"
"I never said I'm a god. But I get where you're coming from. Being from Earth, this might not be an entirely unfitting description of my position."
"Uhm…" Lila was still waiting for an answer.
"Your talkativeness is a result of your own doing." His answer was slightly cryptic.
"H-Huh? That's weird… Sure, I'm better at talking to guys compared to girls, but never to such an extent… not even close."
"Maybe we're just super compatible?" He flashed her a cheeky wink with a smile.
"Sorry, not interested." There was not the slightest bit of hesitation in her answer.
"Ah, I got shot down~." He didn't seem sad, though.
"It's not like you… aren't… interesting? It's just… physically impossible for me."
"I'm aware of that. I was just messing around~."
"Eh, you know…?"
"Yes, to be more exact, I know basically everything about you."
"That's… seriously creepy."
"It is, isn't it? Anyway-" He has a very easygoing personality.
"He's actually trying to just ditch the subject."
"Want me to change it for you?"
"Change what now exactly…?" She felt like she missed something along the way.
"You being unable to be with a man."
"W-Wha-" Lila was too shocked for proper words.
"I'm able to grant you a new body, together with new DNA, hormones, and all that. Well, it's no guarantee, but there's a chance you'll be able to fall in love with a man that way."
"…" Silence filled the area.
"How about it? Before I summoned you, you seemed to be unhappy about your current situation."
"Y-You saw that too, huh…?" She remembered her depressed grumblings from earlier. "… Thanks, but no thank you…"
"Oh?"