That night, instead of being sent on some dubious mission to retrieve an evil religious text, I had been given a far more legitimate task as an adventurer. Stumbling back to the cheap inn with my financial sense thoroughly muddled, I found my traveling companion already fast asleep, having drifted off to dreamland ahead of me.
Upon reflection, I recalled him saying that since he had enjoyed a taste of home for the first time in a long while, he would probably sleep soundly and have pleasant dreams. We had been roughing it outdoors to save money lately – a measure which both Mika and I, having prioritized small savings over comfort, had agreed upon. As a result, sleeping in a proper bed since our departure would surely grant him a fine night’s rest.
The invitation to adventure could be postponed until tomorrow. There was no rush, and there was certainly no need to wake him rudely.
As I glanced over, I noticed Mika had already cast a “Purification” spell on the second bed as well. Even in the flea-infested and lice-ridden beds typical of a low-grade inn, the magical blessing rendered it clean and comfortable. It might not be the thickest mattress, but it was undoubtedly more comfortable than sleeping on the ground.
Grateful to such a considerate friend, I offered my silent thanks, knowing that it probably wouldn’t reach him in his dreams, and prepared to slip into the bed. However, as I pondered about the thin blanket and thin mat, I realized that the joy of travel, a bath, and the exhilaration of intense events made this bed feel as soft as the clouds in the heavens.
Not owning anything as luxurious as pajamas – such things belonged to the higher classes after all – I slipped under the covers in my traveling clothes and fell asleep almost instantly.
In such a restful slumber, I became aware of a single discomfort. Straddling the line between consciousness and sleep, in a space difficult to discern whether it was a dream or a waking sensation, I felt a strange sensation in my lower body.
Ah, I recognize this… It’s the sensation of bedwetting.
This was a rather embarrassing tale, but since I became aware of my previous life at the age of five, I didn’t fully outgrow bedwetting until I was seven. It wasn’t so much about lack of discipline, but even after using the restroom and avoiding fluids, it would still happen at times. My bladder must’ve developed a little slower than usual.
Because of such embarrassing experiences, I remembered the sensation of bedwetting vividly. Rushing to sit up, I could feel a cold, unpleasant sensation from below…
“…Oh gods, I did joke about you before, but isn’t this going a bit far?”
Was it because I declared “the gods are dead” in a world where they were still thriving and working hard? Still, as divine punishment goes, this felt a tad extreme, and a single teardrop slid down my cheek.
Perhaps it was the mere sight of a traumatic manuscript – even if I hadn’t read its contents – that affected me deeply… Regardless of the reason, I was utterly mortified. At thirteen years of physical age, this treatment was cruel.
Glancing over at the neighboring bed, I noticed Mika’s absence. His belongings were still there, so he had likely managed to make it to the bathroom in time. Quite the envious story.
There was nothing for it but to clean this up. I climbed out of bed and pushed my still recovering but necessary magic power to cast “Purification” on the bed – there were no actual stains, but for the sake of mental hygiene. Then, I took out a spare pair of underwear from my bag and started to change out of my pants.
Just as I was about to clean this up… Hm?
Ah, this is…
As I stripped off my pants, I realized what had occurred. This was something different – the kind of spill that, in a rather crude analogy, might earn a girl some red rice cakes…
“Ah… so, I guess that at thirteen, this happening is quite common, huh?”
It seemed like I had done something quite embarrassing.
Now, having been a grown man in my past life, I did have knowledge and even real-world experience with “that kind of behavior.” However, since I’ve been too occupied with various interests in this young body, I had been avoiding dealing with my own youthful urges. Naturally, skills and talent trees in this world also included elements related to certain… more indulgent activities, but because of the young body that lacked sexual maturity, I hadn’t pursued the subject.
Humans’ mental states, indeed, are significantly influenced by the physical.
Still, this was embarrassingly pitiable. Despite not recalling any explicit dreams, it seemed the omission of handling such urges led to this unexpected eruption. The thought of once again facing the frantic, maddening desires of my teenage years was daunting indeed. To confront them twice was surely something no one should endure.
It was a chaotic time – I had moments where I lost control five times a day, foolish spending, and even pointless posturing. Even if I left little trace of that here, the memories in my mind remained stubbornly clear. I would have to be careful.
Ah well, brooding about it won’t get me anywhere. I might as well look at it positively: with the increase in male hormones, my body would grow into a solid grown man, and I could become a robust adventurer.
Encouraged by this thought, I decided to tidy up the mess before Mika returned and headed toward the common well of the inn. Despite having cast “Purification,” I still couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. I didn’t doubt the spell’s effectiveness, but emotional comfort truly matters.
Slipping stealthily through the shadows toward the rear of the inn, I found a discreet spot where people who couldn’t afford baths often took a water rinse, hidden by the walls and the inn’s layout, shielded further by a row of trees.
But there, I encountered something unexpected – the sight of my friend cleansing himself.
He had mentioned before, hadn’t he, that sharing bathhouses with others was not his style. Thus, he chose to clean himself in this private spot, avoiding prying eyes.
Just as I was about to call out…
I noticed something that was… completely absent where it should have been.
This was not the typical revelation of “were you a girl all along?!” from some predictable plot twist.
Mika simply didn’t have the essential parts that would typically define male or female.
Under the silver glow of the moon, his pale body revealed a flat chest and a smooth contour where there should have been natural curves.
Mika lacked something fundamental – the reproductive organs that every living creature should naturally possess.
However, this was not grotesque or malformed. Rather, it possessed an almost artistic integrity and pristine beauty under this faint spotlight. It reminded me of statues standing silently in a museum’s closed gallery, beautiful without the necessity of anyone’s praise or admiration.
“Who’s there!?”
Ah.
I had been sneaking around unnoticed, but I forgot that someone else might be here. Mika had raised his voice, reminding me how I’d been walking confidently, only now aware of my loud presence. Of course, he noticed me as he lifted his head after washing his hair.
“Eh? Erich…”
Mika, who had been ready to level a stern gaze at any potential pervert, instantly crumpled his expression with a pitiful look upon recognizing me. It was as though he felt something deeply personal and unwanted had been witnessed.
“Mika…”
“Wait, wait, Erich, it’s not what you think, I… I…”
“You are…”
Ah, that’s right. My friend Mika, you are…
“Are you an angel?”
“…Huh?”
With that straightforward observation, my friend displayed an expression I had never seen before…
The awkward moment was eventually interrupted when Mika sneezed, affected by the chilly autumn night air. He quickly dressed, and now we found ourselves awkwardly perched on separate beds, soaking in the strained atmosphere.
Come on, right? Everyone knows angels don’t have gender. How could I not be reminded of Abrahamic religions upon seeing such a sight?
“…My bloodline, originally hails from the far north.”
As the oppressive silence thickened, almost leading me to suspect I might die from the pressure, Mika hesitantly lowered his gaze and began to speak.
It was the heavy story of his origins.
Mika’s clan resided on an island near the Arctic Circle, as it was called in the ancient tongue, an isle of darkness. Living in the polar region was harsh – winters brought extremely limited daylight, and in the summer where the sun never set, cultivating crops was impossible. Even in such a place where the God of Fertility’s reach couldn’t help, humans survived.
Only a slight imbalance meant death came easily. Prolonged poor fishing could swiftly starve a fisherman, and if illness spread among the sparse livestock, entire families would wither and die. And still, in such an island, northern raiders would occasionally invade for plunder.
Thus, only some specialized half-humans and humans could endure life in this brutal terrain.
Thick furred and fat layered sealmen who could swim in icy waters, or the highly cold-resistant bear-men of the western continent’s eastern region. They survived the harsh cold with their exceptional abilities and stood strong against any raiding parties.
In contrast, another closely related human species emerged by further heightening human adaptive characteristics.
A human subspecies that had overcome the inability to survive without male and female pairings, capable of adapting to almost any environment given time.
“I am… a neuter humanoid.”
Mika revealed his kind humbly.
A neuter humanoid. Though the name might invite some misunderstanding, they weren’t what is commonly known as “hermaphrodites”, but rather a close subspecies of humans whose genders “shifted” when necessary.
These neuter humanoids evolved to overcome the human weakness of being susceptible to death in the polar regions and the ease with which the balance between men and women could be disrupted.
Neuter humanoids were completely neutral in gender until they reached sexual maturity. After their bodies developed fully, they would undergo a monthly cycle, alternating between male and female.
Spending one month in a neutral gender, then one in either male or female. The gender would switch the following month. This cycling allowed them to constantly adjust “excess and scarcity”, ensuring a consistent population growth.
It was an efficient human race. If a female became pregnant, her gender would temporarily fix – until weaning – and the male gender would remain fixed for a while to protect the family unit. If they hadn’t appeared in the northern region, the ratio of humans on the continent might have been shifted much earlier.
“I wasn’t trying to deceive you, Erich…”
Yet, the humans of the Threefold Empire were not so ready to welcome such a kind openly.
Mika’s clan, unable to survive the harsh raids and the merciless cold three generations ago – for there’s a significant gap between mere survival and comfort – embarked on a long journey to the Threefold Empire. The empire was known to be accustomed to immigrants and less resistant to different species, and they put their hopes on this new start.
However, what happened was that such near-human beings were too similar for comfort. People fear what they truly cannot understand, but they fear even more those that seem too close but still different. It’s the same as encountering Lord Faige and Lord Raizen at once – they’re both human, yet the incomprehensible abnormality feels more dangerous.
The cold, mechanical fear that surrounded them led to Mika’s clan being continuously marginalized. They were not outright ostracized, but they avoided speaking up in gatherings, unable to fully enjoy the festivities.
Determined to break this treatment, Mika decided to knock on the Magic Academy’s doors. He thought, if he could return as a construction mage capable of handling the harsh northern environment, no one could look down on his clan anymore.
His parents sacrificed greatly to pay for his private tutor fees. His hard efforts in academia to stand out, gaining favor with the deputies to make it to the imperial capital, were far from trivial. Just how much did he endure to step into that castle’s threshold?
“Sometime, someday, I had to tell you… but…”
His voice, thin and strained, trembled as time went by. The glimmer catching on his long lashes illuminated clear tears under the moonlight streaming through the window.
“I… didn’t want you to dislike me.”
He confessed, wringing out his words. He had failed in making friends once before.
At first, he thought that changing the environment would help, so he openly revealed his species’ nature to his peers in the same academic circle. The result was, however, tragic – he was treated as a curiosity, with intrusive investigations into his past, and the relationships he formed were anything but genuine friendships. Their overly pure curiosity and lack of boundaries ruined everything, turning his attempts at friendship into a bitter comedy.
After that incident, he spent his academy life alone, without any friends.
That’s when he met me. As an apprentice who had just arrived, neither a student nor exactly a friend, he thought I might be someone he could befriend. That dazzling, refreshing demeanor was not innate but squeezed out with great effort.
Eventually, he did plan to reveal his identity, but the way he was treated back home and in the academy kept creeping into his mind, preventing him from finally saying anything…
“I didn’t want to be seen as some kind of rare exhibit by my first friend… by you, Erich. I didn’t want to be looked at that way. So, so I couldn’t bring myself to reveal it…”
His confession, through sobs, felt more like a confession of sins. For him, his own species must have felt so taboo. Finding it out unexpectedly during a supposed enjoyable first trip outside had struck him deeply.
The impact of this revelation on him was beyond what I could even imagine.
I am nothing more than an ordinary man. Neither in my previous life, cut short prematurely, nor in this one, did I ever face any significant setbacks, nor did I ever know the deep struggles of familiar yet distant beings.
Thus, I cannot truly understand this weight. Pretending that I do would be sinful. In a world where numerous near-species exist, it’s a grave offense to speak with assumed knowledge of another species’ unique struggles. How could a species that waged wars based on race ever fundamentally understand a different one?
So I, unable to offer Mika an easy word of comfort or explanation, remained quiet. And then, I simply embraced him. To avoid cutting further with the sharp words I might otherwise say, risking further wounding his already fragile spirit…
