Merlin didn’t brush her off as rudely as she used to; she simply sighed helplessly and shook her head.
“Alright, stop being so touchy-feely. Your fiancé will get jealous in a minute.”
Li tilted her head and retorted with perfect confidence. Her lively eyes scanned the natural princess—who now radiated a regal, aristocratic aura—from head to toe.
“What’s wrong? We’re both girls now. Can’t I even hold your hand?”
Merlin nodded.
“Aren’t you already a married woman?”
“We’re both girls! It’s not like I have to cut off all social contact just because I’m married, right?”
Instead of backing off, Li grew even bolder and moved closer to Merlin. She even stretched out her arms and pulled Merlin into a hug, as if she were holding a porcelain doll.
Merlin let out a whimper, sounding like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on.
“Ugh…”
Merlin had originally thought this behavior was just the general culture of the Zelion Royal Academy, but even her childhood friend was like this.
Why did girls always want to poke, prod, and hug her? It wasn’t that Merlin hated it, but… this excessively intimate physical contact, the soft sensations, and the overwhelming feminine scent made Merlin feel a wave of shyness. Her body tensed up involuntarily.
“Wow, Boss even has a faint floral scent. It smells a bit like Lady Ophelia’s.”
“That’s Mom’s shampoo.”
Because Merlin had been living with Ophelia lately, she had been bathing with her under Ophelia’s somewhat forceful invitations. The mother and daughter likely used the exact same shower gel, shampoo, and even body lotion, until the scent had practically soaked into her skin.
“Wow… ‘Mom’… huh.”
As Li caught the word “Mom,” she deliberately elongated her tone, her eyes becoming playful. This was the first time she had heard Merlin call Ophelia “Mom.”
One had to remember that the former boy had always called her “Ophelia” to their faces, rarely even using the more respectful “Mother.”
Now that Merlin had become a girl, had her mental defenses softened along with her body, jumping straight to calling her “Mom”?
Li looked at the Elven Princess, whose cheeks were starting to turn as red as a ripe apple, with a smile.
In truth, she had known for a long time that Merlin only called Ophelia by her name out of shyness and a “tsundere” personality. In reality, Merlin loved Ophelia very much; she was just clumsy and poor at expressing it.
She hadn’t expected that after becoming a girl and shedding that hard shell, the softened version of Merlin would be so candid and cute.
Although Merlin always grumbled about how girls were constantly initiating excessive physical contact with her, she couldn’t really blame others.
The current Merlinlia constantly emitted a soft, fluffy aura, much like a fuzzy little animal in the forest. Just by standing there obediently, looking up with those innocent, wide eyes, she made people want to reach out and rub her head or pull her into a hug.
“Enough, I’ll call her whatever I want. Don’t keep teasing me. Mom is Mom.”
“Yes, yes. It’s for the best that the mother-daughter relationship is so good.”
Merlin felt a bit of embarrassed rage. She placed both hands on Li’s shoulders and pushed her away with a bit of strength. Her eyes flickered; she glanced at Li, then looked awkwardly at John, who had been holding back his laughter nearby.
“Hmph, stop teasing me. As long as you two are happy, that’s fine.”
The teased Li did not back down at all.
“Boss, we’re doing great, don’t you worry. Do you want to learn some things too? Maybe our silly Boss doesn’t understand yet—”
She trailed off with a meaningful tone, her lips almost brushing against the curve of Merlin’s ear. Her warm breath fanned against that sensitive, pointed ear, sending a small shiver through Merlin.
“Our Merlinlia probably doesn’t understand much about ‘girl things’ yet, does she? It’s wonderful, you know. Want Big Sister to teach you a required course?”
With a “boom,” it felt as if a steam train had blown its whistle inside Merlin’s mind.
Merlin instantly turned into a “steam girl.” Her cheeks turned so red they looked like they might bleed. The crimson spread all the way to her neck and the tips of her ears. Her entire skin took on a slight pink hue, and it felt as if steam was rising from her body.
She wailed incoherently.
“Guh-huuuuuuuuuu! I don’t want to!”
“It seems our little Merlinlia hasn’t tried it yet.”
“I’m not trying it! I’m a decent person!”
“What!? How is this indecent? This is a very proper matter. If Ophelia hasn’t taught you yet, it’s fine for Big Sister to teach you.”
Li elongated her tone again. She glanced at John, who was pretending to look at the scenery, then turned back to Merlin and whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
“The feeling of having no CD… don’t you want to try it?”
Merlin was so embarrassed she didn’t even have the strength to speak. She slumped limply into her chair, only able to manage a delicate, whining reply.
“No…”
“Why not? You’ll have to learn sooner or later.”
“Not… it’s not the time.”
“Haha! Clearly, when you were a boy, you were making dirty jokes in the slums every day. Back then, you were always cursing like a sailor in front of girls. Why are you so soft now, Merlinlia?”
Li looked at the little cutie curled into a ball in front of her and couldn’t help but reach out to poke her scalding cheek.
“Ugh… ugh… I was wrong. I won’t make dirty jokes anymore. Just stop teasing me, ugh.”
“No, Big Sister isn’t blaming you. I just thought you’d be quite knowledgeable about that kind of thing. How can you have zero resistance now that you’re a girl…”
That!
How can that be the same!
Previously, Merlin had been in a state of knowing absolutely nothing about being a girl!
You think it’s fine just because I’ve become a girl?
It’s even more of a problem now, ugh…
Because she was the subject of the conversation now, her face was turning red and hot uncontrollably just by hearing those words. Her whole body was heating up; she was really turning into a steam girl!
Li seemed to thoroughly enjoy the pleasure of bullying her former boss and continued her devilish whispering.
“Fine. But even if you don’t want Big Sister to teach you, you can try it yourself. Heh heh, it’s a completely different experience from being a boy. Really.”
Li spoke every word slowly, as if dipping them in honey—so sweet it made one feel faint.
“Baby, think about it. How powerful is a mage with no skill cooldown? And a mage with several times the mana perception at that.”
Merlin tried to escape reality by taking the words literally.
“I can’t use magic.”
“Heh heh, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“I don’t!”
John had originally wanted to rescue Merlin, but he was too late to step in.
The current Merlinlia was a girl, a delicate Elven Princess. Having grown up in the slums, he was well-acquainted with the ways of the world and human nature. He keenly realized that he could not interfere here.
Between the “steaming” Merlin and the mischievously grinning Li, there was a unique atmosphere that only existed between girls.
Li continued whispering, dropping her final killing blow.
“Mhm. But Big Sister suggests that when a novice mage practices magic, they shouldn’t use a staff. Really, I suggest doing it personally…”
Merlin could no longer handle the information overload and the crushing shame. She let out a scream and tore herself away from Li’s embrace.
“I! I’m not using anything! Waaaaaaah! I hate you! I hate you!”