kscans

Chapter 58 - Inner Conflict

"...I'm never doing that again."

"It was stronger than expected. My goodness, even I'm terrified of my own talent."

After battling for about an hour, Takahashi was sitting on the floor looking completely exhausted. Honestly, I never imagined the Legion of Old Hags would be this effective against someone of Takahashi's caliber.

"Thanks. I got some excellent data."

I thanked him while healing him. Though this only heals wounds and physical fatigue. Mental exhaustion is another matter entirely.

"You know... between this and that disgusting combo where you gender-swap enemies and force them into erotic costumes, there's seriously something wrong with your head."

"You were totally into it when I did that to those Death Gods."

"I was caught up in the moment then... but thinking about it calmly, it's pretty messed up."

"Haven't you heard 'where there's life, there's hope'?"

"Sure, but forcing someone to live their entire life in such a form. That's beyond humiliation."

"I made it so they could wear coats or cloaks over it, didn't I?"

Does that just make it more perverted? Fair point.

Actually, I did it precisely because it's more erotic that way. I just love that scenario, what's secretly underneath a thick coat...

"...And those clothes fly off after some time, right?"

"Yep."

"And the timing is completely random. Could be an hour later, could be three minutes."

"That's right."

"I sense nothing but malice."

It's not malice. It's my fetish. You're saying forcing that on others is malicious? Come on now. It's more like a penalty. Those guys picked the fight, so it's their fault.

"By the way, I was wondering... did your new technique really need to be tested on me?"

"Of course."

"I get it. You needed someone with a certain level of skill."

That's exactly right.

I hate to say it, but weaklings would be instantly destroyed and wouldn't make for a proper experiment. Finding a woman who's strong enough to fight the Legion of Old Hags is extremely difficult. There are skilled women in the supernatural world, but getting them to be test subjects would require making formal requests. Too much trouble.

Takahashi is amazing in that regard. Despite being away from combat for nearly twenty years, he's still among the top tier fighters.

"What I'm saying is, couldn't you have used Saionji? She's back in action and has recovered a decent amount of her power, right? She would've been fine."

Sigh... this guy just doesn't get it.

"There's no way I could put Chika-san through something like this. Are you an idiot?"

"Huh? So I'm fair game, is that it?"

Whoa, he's getting seriously angry. I immediately switched to my brown-nosing bastard mode.

"Sorry, sorry. I just took advantage of our friendship. But you know, you're the only one I can be this comfortable with."

I put my arm around his shoulder, desperately emphasizing our friendship.

"I-I'm the only one..."

His face is red. He's embarrassed. He always had that manipulative side to him. Acting like he doesn't care about Valentine's Day but then shrewdly winning over the girls' affection and ending up with chocolates anyway.

"...Well, if that's the case, I guess it can't be helped."

"Exactly, can't be helped! Alright, break's over, yeah? Let's go for a drink!"

"You're always so upbeat... you've been like this since forever."

"Hehe, don't be like that. So, where should we go? It's my treat, so don't hold back."

"After what you put me through, I shouldn't need to hold back... but you know, I'm not in the mood for a bar."

"Should we do it another day then?"

"No, let's drink at your place."

And so it was decided. Takahashi and I teleported to near my home, stocked up on alcohol and snacks at the convenience store, and headed to my apartment.

"Hmm, surprisingly tidy, isn't it? Your room used to be quite messy back in the day."

"I've grown up too, you know. Anyway, make yourself comfortable."

"Sure."

I spread out the alcohol and snacks on the table. We might have... well, definitely bought too much... but hey, that's fine.

"Cheers!"

We lightly clinked our cans together in a toast. I gulped down the fizzy beer at once, drinking about half before pulling away.

"Ahh... summer really calls for this. Maybe beer should be counted as the blood of gods alongside wine?"

"I hear that."

"Man, Takahashi, you got comfortable real quick."

He's lounging around like this is his own home.

"It's just really relaxing here."

"Oh? Thanks?"

"Why are you thanking me?"

"I don't know either."

We burst out laughing... This silly back-and-forth is nice. Feels like old times.

But there's something different from the past. Alcohol. Being able to share drinks with an adult Takahashi is... pretty wonderful.

"By the way, Takahashi, do you cook? Not like occasionally making something fancy, but..."

"You mean regularly? Yeah, I do. Living alone means I have to cook for myself."

"Seriously?"

That's surprising, even setting aside the fact that he's now a woman.

"Don't you cook?"

"Not really... Even when I make something, it's only simple stuff."

Cutting and grilling, that's about the extent of it.

"You've probably got that belly from eating out and only having what you like."

"Come on, I can't even deny that."

"But why bring up cooking all of a sudden?"

"Oh, our company president apparently got into cooking and keeps lording it over me."

"What's the president doing? And you too. You're way too casual with him."

"The president and I just click."

When the president shouts 'Tsu!', I shout 'ka!' in perfect harmony. (t/n: this is a play on words, but it's hard to localize in english. 'two pead in a pod' in summary)

I remember how we really hit it off with super personal conversations during my interview. There was a time when people gossiped that I was the president's favorite, but I shut them all up with pure skill.

"But I see... even Takahashi cooks regularly."

"What do you mean 'even me'? That's rude. For your information, my boxed lunches are quite popular at work."

"Really? Maybe I should start cooking too."

"Sounds good. You might develop healthier eating habits."

"True. Hey, from a woman's perspective, what do you think of a man attending cooking classes?"

"There's nothing wrong with that. These days, men do housework too."

"Really? Wouldn't people laugh at a guy wearing a dorky apron?"

"No one would laugh. You're strangely timid about the weirdest things."

Our private drinking session was incredibly lively, and before we knew it, it was late at night. Takahashi was completely drunk, drooling on the table in deep sleep.

(If he were still a man, I could just let him sleep like that, but...)

Despite the circumstances, he's a woman now, so leaving him like this isn't right. I sighed softly, picked Takahashi up, and carried him to the bedroom.

As I carefully laid him on the bed so as not to wake him, his breasts jiggled slightly.

(...I wonder if it would be okay to cop a feel just once?)

And so I spent about thirty minutes in inner conflict. In the end, I did not touch the breasts.