Awakening from a deep dream.
It was a bright and sunny morning.
The early spring sun cast its warm light evenly across every corner of the land.
Golden-red sunlight filtered through the forest canopy, broken into scattered patches by the leaves, and fell softly upon the gentle face of the girl beneath the trees.
Her tightly shut eyes slowly opened under the sunlight, revealing a pair of wine-red eyes.
The one who had awakened, Krexia—or rather, Krexia now—stared blankly for a moment before suddenly sitting up from the ground and taking in her surroundings.
An unfamiliar forest, as if she had never been here before.
Then came a wave of disbelief.
“I… I’m still alive…”
“Really revived?”
She raised a hand to touch her neck; the skin was smooth and tender, glowing with healthy fairness under the sun.
Not a single scar in sight.
But she soon noticed something was off.
The texture felt… strange?
In the next moment, the words once spoken by Coutia flashed through her mind.
“Since you like crossdressing, why not take this chance to become a girl? It’ll fulfill your wish, just consider it a bonus service.”
A chill ran down her spine.
Coutia wasn’t lying—she really had brought her back to life. That meant what she said before might all be true!
So, her gaze shifted downward.
What met her eyes was a black dress very similar in style to Coutia’s clothing, along with strikingly silver-white long hair.
Milk-white, fair skin; slender, graceful fingers; rosy nails; a chest with gentle curves; well-proportioned legs; and feet much smaller than she remembered.
Every detail testified to her current identity and situation.
She was no longer the him she used to be.
“Eh, wait, are you serious about this?”
Krexia looked at her delicate hands trembling slightly, unsure if it was anger or excitement.
Excited about what?
Of course, it was because she had been given a new life. She couldn’t possibly have been hoping to become a pretty little girl, right?
“Yo, you’re awake?”
A familiar voice sounded by her ear, laced with unmistakable teasing.
“The contract’s been fulfilled pretty thoroughly. I spent a whole two minutes crafting this new body for you—perfectly inheriting my unparalleled beauty.”
“Coutia?”
Krexia jumped up from the ground and tried to locate the source of the voice.
But as soon as she stood, a strong wave of dizziness hit her, forcing her back down against the tree trunk, clutching her head and groaning softly.
“Don’t rush. Your soul has only been in this body for less than an hour; it’ll take some time to adjust.”
“Also, don’t call me by my full name in public. After all, I am an Old God. The World Will tracking my presence would be troublesome.”
Coutia’s voice came again, this time with a rare trace of seriousness.
Krexia gritted her teeth and held her head, the dizziness easing a bit.
“My voice… You—does that count as part of your so-called ‘contract price’?”
She questioned Coutia.
Krexia’s current voice sounded clear and pleasant, with a clean timbre—something that in her past life would have been top-notch for singing or voice acting.
But to her, it was uncomfortable no matter how she heard it.
After all, it wasn’t an original part of her, so feeling uneasy was natural.
“Huh? What are you talking about? Of course, it’s a complimentary benefit.”
“A sweet, soft female voice. Don’t like it?”
“I…”
Honestly, she did like it—just not when it was hers.
“If I said I don’t like it, can you change it back?”
“Of course. No problem.”
Coutia’s answer was surprisingly straightforward.
“What about the body? Can it be changed?”
“No.”
“Why not?!”
Krexia was close to losing her mind.
She wanted her original parts, no doubt about it, but if she had to keep this appearance and use a male voice…
The image was just too much.
“Because the contract’s already signed. Of course, it can’t be changed willy-nilly. Who told you to just stamp your seal without even reading it?”
“Damn, that piece of trash paper was full of nonsense no one could understand! You said signing it would bring me back to life, so I just sealed it!”
“Can’t blame me then. If you didn’t understand, you could have asked. I never said you couldn’t.”
“You!”
Krexia clutched her chest and took a deep breath.
Her head started spinning again, the world darkening at the edges.
She suspected this had nothing to do with the soul adjusting to the body; it was definitely from being pissed off by Coutia.
“So what about my current body? You just said it can’t be changed because of the contract, right? So you never intended for me to come back in a man’s body from the start?”
Krexia found a loophole in Coutia’s words and challenged her again.
“Emmm…”
Coutia fell silent—a rare occurrence.
“Speak up!”
“♩♪~ (whistling)”
“Seriously…”
Krexia had never wanted to hit someone more.
But Coutia was hiding somewhere, communicating with her in some inexplicable way. No matter how much she wanted to hit her, she couldn’t.
Besides, she definitely couldn’t win against her.
She couldn’t even take down an assassin, let alone a god. Krexia wasn’t exactly brilliant, but she wasn’t a fool either.
“Alright, alright, don’t be mad. It’s just that you’re in a woman’s body, not like I’m killing you. Why such a big reaction?”
After some time passed and the rejection symptoms of Krexia’s new body lessened a bit, Coutia finally spoke to soothe her.
“Liar.”
Krexia crouched under the tree, idly drawing circles on the ground with a stick she’d picked up.
Even Coutia couldn’t help but chuckle watching her.
Teasing this little one brought her considerable amusement.
After all these years of existence, stumbling upon a soul that resonated with her was rare—and one so interesting was an unexpected delight.
Maybe the days ahead would be particularly entertaining.
“You told me not to call you by your full name before. Then what should I call you from now on? Trickster God?”
Krexia suddenly spoke.
Coutia was surprised. This little one wasn’t as clueless as she’d thought.
“Well… look, I gave you a second chance at life, bestowed upon you a new body and soul, so I suppose that makes me your creator, right?”
“Although I’m reluctant to admit it, that’s true.”
Krexia pinched her nose in reluctant agreement.
“So how about calling me ‘Mom’?”
“Get lost!”