Chapter 2: Killing a Little Rabbit

This goddess must be really bored with nothing to do if she’s turning a grown man into such a sissy personality.”

“That’s because I haven’t given you the last gift I mentioned just now. You’ll understand when you get to that world.”

“Anyway, I won’t trick you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let you see the light again, nor would I have given you my own hairpin.”

I ignored her—silence was my best reply.

“Now, listen carefully. Give me an answer.”

“Oh!” I straightened up sharply as if in military training, puffing out my chest and pulling in my stomach, shouting loudly, “Please give the order!”

“Next, we set off for that new world. Your new name will be Sairi. Isn’t it perfect?”

“Sairi? Isn’t that name a bit… feminine for a guy like me~~”

“Ahahaha, it’s fine. You’ll understand when you get there. So, are you ready?”

“I’m ready!”

“That’s too quiet~”

“I’M READY!!! I’M READY, I’M READY, I’M READY, CAPTAIN!!!”

“Good, very spirited. Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

“By the way, in that new world, remember to cherish the hard-won friendships, your friends, and live well. Enjoy the journey, and under no circumstances give up.”

Suddenly my nose prickled with emotion, and I nodded. “Yes, I’ll remember those words. I’ll cherish every day!”

“All right, let’s go!” The goddess snapped her fingers, and the space around me began to slowly collapse and fall apart.

“Rest well on the way. You should sleep now.”

Her words felt like magic. Sairi suddenly felt very sleepy and slowly closed her eyes, drifting off. (From now on, I’ll be called Sairi, and I probably won’t say ‘I’ anymore.)

A long time passed before Sairi’s consciousness awakened.

The first thing she noticed was the wind, continuously stirring her hair, teasing her strands, lightly brushing against her cheeks and forehead, sometimes swaying side to side, touching her head.

She seemed to be lying on soft grass, warm and comfortable. The weather appeared clear and bright, and it was very quiet—no cicadas chirping or birds singing, only the howling wind.

“Ugh…” Looking up at the bright blue sky and white clouds, Sairi was even more certain she could really see.

She turned her head left and right. Around her was a lush green forest, the colors so vivid that Sairi felt excited.

Thanks to the goddess’s blessing, not only could she see again, but her mind was also filled with much knowledge—like the concepts of colors and health… things she had difficulty understanding before now appeared clearly in her mind.

It seemed the goddess had even patched and optimized her to make full use of this knowledge: the sky is blue, grass is green, clouds are white…

Still, none of that lessened Sairi’s excitement. She lifted her head high and spun around, scanning the entire sky.

“So… this is what blue looks like… It’s so beautiful…”

“Uh-huh,” Sairi sat up, rubbed her head, and started stretching her body. Suddenly, she felt something was off.

(•.•)?

Why did her lower body feel so cold, like she wasn’t wearing anything? Sairi reached down to check.

“Huh? My skin is so pale? And why do my hands feel so much smaller?”

“Wait! It’s gone? What’s going on! WDF?”

Sairi explored further and realized that the ‘little brother’ that had followed her for years was gone—completely gone, transformed from a plug into a socket.

This made Sairi start inspecting her body. She was no longer wearing ordinary shorts and a T-shirt but instead had on a long-sleeved jacket and an inner shirt, with a bow tied around her neck.

Below was a pleated skirt? Did this world even have skirts like this? Underneath were pure white tights, and on her feet were a pair of Travel Boots—warm and smooth inside.

She’d never felt anything like this before, and she worried the next step might make her foot slip out of the boots.

Could it be she had turned into a girl? But why was she so flat? Why was there no curve at all on her chest? What’s going on? Becoming a girl without fully committing, and why did she feel so short?

Just as Sairi was puzzled, a voice sounded inside her head.

“Hey there, cutie. Do you like this body? I specially forged this body for you and gave you a silly personality.”

“Eh, goddess sister, is that you? Why did you turn me into such a girl? I know almost nothing about living as a girl. And you made me dumb—what if I encounter some sudden danger?”

“Don’t worry. In dangerous situations, you’ll suddenly become sharp. The dumbness is just to help you make friends more easily. Don’t worry, I’ll always be watching over you, and I’ll contact you when I can.”

“Until then, you have to get used to the new world and new life. Stop asking so many questions. The boat will find its way to the pier naturally.”

“Hmm, alright. But where exactly am I now?”

“I placed you on a grassy clearing in a forest. If you go east from here, there’s a small town. You slept very well just now, right? It’s time to set off. Remember how to use your system and the hairpin.”

“Okay, I’ll head east first.”

“Of course, but remember to hunt some Magical Creatures and collect herbs, or you won’t have money to spend. Well then, have a pleasant journey. See you next time!”

“Got it! Goodbye, goddess sister!”

After that, the goddess’s voice vanished from Sairi’s mind for good. It seemed the connection was truly cut, but since she promised to always watch over her, there was nothing to fear.

“Ah! New world!! Here I come~” Sairi stood up, stretched lazily, looking around at everything, curious about all the new things. “Let’s go!”

But first, she had to check her status. She couldn’t just leave in such a sloppy way.

“System-chan! Come out!” Sure enough, the Status Interface unfolded right before her eyes.

Name: Sairi

Gender: Female

Occupation: None yet

Status: Not bad

After a quick look, there was not much information. This interface seemed mainly for viewing others’ info—not some all-powerful cheat, but it was nice for checking if others’ self-introductions were truthful.

Okay—next, head east. There’s a small town there, but the goddess mentioned gathering herbs and hunting Magical Creatures too.

Just like those other isekai stories.

No time to waste, set off! With curiosity and excitement, Sairi wandered along, exploring everything around her as she began her journey.

What’s this? (ov●)

After walking a while, Sairi passed by a riverbank, where a strange kind of plant grew on both sides.

“What is this? So weird.” It looked like a lantern, hanging with a fairly large container filled with some liquid that seemed corrosive. Sairi noticed dead mosquitoes floating on the surface—rotted corpses.”

“That liquid must be dangerous. But the plant had flowers beneath? And at the top hung a little light, just like the lanternfish in documentaries, probably to attract mosquitoes.

Actually, Sairi didn’t really know what lanternfish looked like, only imagined it from documentary narrations, but the idea of a fish with a light on its head and a big mouth made her think this plant was similar.

At that moment, Sairi opened her system to see what it was.

Lantern Grass: A carnivorous plant that uses bioluminescence to attract tiny mosquitoes for food.

The cage-like branches above are very smooth; mosquitoes that land fall into the corrosive liquid below and die, becoming nourishment for the Lantern Grass.

The petals of the flowers that grow beneath can be used as medicinal herbs, clearing heat, detoxifying, and treating coughs and sore throats.

The juice secreted by the branches has disinfectant, analgesic, and numbing properties.

Hmm? This is a good thing! There are plenty of these here, but unfortunately, no container. This time, I’ll just pick the petals.

Sairi then devoted herself entirely to picking the petals.

After a while, she had gathered a pile of petals as tall as a small mountain—almost as tall as herself.

“Phew, I don’t know how much these would sell for in town, but it should cover a few meals or a couple of nights at an inn, right?”

Still a little worried, Sairi looked up. The sun hadn’t set yet—hadn’t even started turning red. Grandma once told her the sun changes color before setting, and the knowledge the goddess gave also mentioned this.”

“So it was probably around 4 PM. There was still time, so why not go hunting? Maybe catch some wild boar or rabbit. If no one buys them, she could just roast them herself.

That was the plan.

Sairi tapped her hairpin, then silently commanded the warehouse. The petals in her hands disappeared into her small storage. After a few minutes, she had stored all the petals safely.

“All right, let’s go! Rainbow Sword!”

With that, the Rainbow Sword suddenly appeared in Sairi’s hand, just like the weapons in Armor Warriors. She began walking eastward while venturing deeper into the forest on both sides, testing her luck.

***

“Rustle rustle~” The sound of moving bushes came suddenly.

“Who’s there!” Sairi’s nerves tensed. She raised the sword, pointing at the bushes, and the two stood off for several seconds.

Seeing no reaction, Sairi cautiously stepped forward to check. Suddenly, two rabbits jumped out and quickly ran away.

“White, hopping, big ears… must be rabbits?”

“Wait! Rabbits! Meat!?”

Without hesitation, Sairi took off chasing one of them. “Mr. Rabbit! Wait for me! I mean no harm! I just want to treat you well!”

But Mr. Rabbit clearly ignored her and ran desperately, leaving Sairi behind.

“Ah, huff huff~ ahh!” Honestly, after turning into a girl, Sairi got tired so easily. Seeing the distance growing, she was truly anxious.

“Damn it, take this!” Frustrated, Sairi threw her Rainbow Sword at the rabbit. Caught off guard, one of the rabbit’s hind legs was cut, blood oozing out. The pain affected its movement, causing it to limp twice.

Good! It worked. Let me try again.

“Rainbow Sword!” With a snap, the sword vanished from the ground and reappeared in her hand.

Without hesitation, Sairi swung quickly. Swish! The blade carved a large wound on the rabbit’s back.

The rabbit started bleeding heavily. According to traditional hunting skills, Mr. Rabbit wouldn’t survive long. Usually, the right thing to do would be to stop there.

But Sairi didn’t play fair!

She cheated!

She ambushed!

This poor little bunny had just started foraging. Was this okay? No, it wasn’t.

Sairi kept chasing because she knew the rabbit was now only running on adrenaline. After a few more steps, it wouldn’t be able to keep going and would die—becoming her meal.

Unbeknownst to her, on the trail behind, several black Wolves appeared. They sniffed the blood trail and silently followed.

Finally, the rabbit, drained from blood loss, collapsed to the ground, twitching a few times before closing its eyes obediently.

“Phew, chased you for so long, finally caught you. I’ll sell you in town. If no one buys, I’ll roast you myself!”

Sairi reached out, grabbed the rabbit’s big ears, and flicked its round fluffy tail. “That was fun. Okay, I’m tired of chasing you. Time to head into town.”

But the next second, she heard a flurry of footsteps around her, accompanied by sparse panting.

A chill ran down Sairi’s back. She summoned the Rainbow Sword and held it defensively before her, ready for whatever might come.

Then she heard what sounded like wolves howling. Seven or eight Wolves suddenly surrounded her.

Damn… damn it!

Though she had the system and the Rainbow Sword, she hadn’t really fought yet. Facing so many wolves, surrounded like this, things could go seriously wrong!

“Ah! I’m telling you all! Don’t come closer! Or I’ll show you the power of my Rainbow Sword!”