This time, I was the one who was surprised.

  How did she know!? My jaw dropped. Staring at me intently, Inea continued.

  "I admit it is a strange way to put it. Well? Am I wrong?"

  I couldn't say anything back. Because she was absolutely right. Taking my silence as affirmation, she nodded as if things finally made sense.

  "I see. You seem to be quite an aberrant existence."

  "How... did you know?"

  "I can sense Qi (Life Force). So I examined you. At a glance, I felt nothing from you, but deep within, I sensed another presence acting as a core. If that is the case, there is no other explanation."

  I was even more surprised. Is that even possible!?

  "I have never seen such a strange being like you. It is almost miraculous. Then perhaps, are you..."

  Showing a gesture of slight contemplation, she asked me probingly.

  "Have you ever heard the word 'FabL'?"

  "That's...!"

  I didn't expect that word to come up here. Just how much does this person know?

  "I knew it! Then, are you a FabL yourself? Or perhaps related to one?"

  "I am a FabL."

  "I see..."

  Narrowing her eyes slightly as if recalling something, she said:

  "No, I myself am not a FabL. But my master in Qi Sword Arts, Jilph Arise, was one."

  I see. That's why she knew about FabLs. Jilph Arise. It's the first time I've heard that name. Are there more FabLs besides him and Ena?

  "My master once said: 'If someone with the same fate as me ever appears, please help them.'"

  Saying that much, she stared into my eyes again. With sharp, earnest eyes that seemed to see through everything about me. Her aura was so intense I involuntarily held my breath.

  She closed her eyes again for a moment, pondering something. When she opened them again, the piercing harshness in her gaze had faded.

  "I want to hear the details. Let's go inside. Will you tell me everything about yourself?"

  "That's..."

  "Don't worry. I won't do anything bad to you. Besides, I will tell you various things as well."

  Being told that much, I couldn't refuse. More than anything, I wanted to hear from this person too. Because it might be a clue to knowing myself—and this incomprehensible thing called FabL.

  "I understand. But please don't tell anyone."

  "Of course. Let this be a secret between just the two of us."

  Thus, I was guided inside the Qi Sword Arts building and ended up explaining everything that had happened so far. I didn't hide anything.

  She seemed quite knowledgeable, and from her tone and caring attitude, I felt she would truly be an ally. When I finished telling everything, Inea opened her mouth heavily.

  "I see... Still, you've caught the eye of a troublesome fellow. I have faced Will once. He was a terrifying opponent."

  "Really!?"

  I'm constantly surprised by Inea. To think she had met him. I wonder how she survived.

  "The Lasil Great Plains. Do you know that a great magic empire once existed there? It was called Edel."

  "I heard about it from my friend Alice."

  When I heard about the Plains of Death where I collapsed, she mentioned that country too.

  "Is that so. Actually, it is generally believed that the country was destroyed by the failure of a massive magic experiment, but the truth is different."

  Inea revealed something outrageous.

  "He destroyed it overnight on a whim."

  "Wha...!"

  That ridiculous, vast area, in just one night...!? Logically thinking, it was unbelievable. But considering how out of the norm he seemed, I felt he was capable of anything. I felt he had unfathomable depths, but he really was an outrageous monster...!

  And I've caught the eye of such a guy and been made into his toy— I realized the horror of it anew.

  How would I be toyed with by him from now on? It was too scary; I didn't even want to think about it.

  "His ability, [Interference], is tremendous. In the end, after destroying Edel, he left somewhere... But if he felt like it, the world would have had no choice but to perish entirely."

  "The whole world..."

  The scale is too big; it doesn't feel real. My imagination can't keep up. But for her, who was involved, it must be an undeniable fact. There was a bitterness in her tone that carried a sense of urgency.

  "He possessed such overwhelming power. My master and I challenged him, but we were no match at all. Though I was just dead weight..."

  Saying that, she looked distant and somewhat sad. Seeing my face involuntarily sympathizing, Inea relaxed her lips slightly. As if to say it's over now, don't worry so much.

  "Well, that's fine. By the way."

  "Yes. What is it?"

  "It is not that I do not trust you, but could you show me? That male form of yours. If your story is true, you can transform anytime, right?"

  It was a sudden proposal. And for me, a huge problem. I was so shaken that I pushed even thoughts of him to the corner of my mind.

  "Eh... right now, here...?"

  "Yes. Is there a problem?"

  "No, well, um, my clothes."

  If I transform now, it's going to be super gross. I mean, I'm still wearing the outfit that disgusted me when I thought about it in the bathroom the other day!

  Seeing me completely flustered, Inea actually looked like she was enjoying it. Is she a sadist!?

  "What. No one but me is watching. There is no need to be shy."

  "...Can't I go get a change of clothes first?"

  "That would take time. Rejected."

  No good! She won't let me escape! Feeling the irresistible pressure, I had no choice but to transform, crying inside.

  Ei...

  When I focused and chose the male body, my whole body became hot and writhed.

  Strength filled my limbs, the swelling in my chest retracted smoothly, and that thing rose in my crotch where it had been empty, sending a strange sensation through me.

  In reality, it's an instant event, but subjectively it feels longer. It's strange. When I transformed in the grassland, it really felt like an instant subjectively too. Usually, it's different.

  It seems that how much I want to skip the transformation, my feelings at the time, and the degree of urgency change even my perception of time. Maybe the situation of being in a daily setting and being watched makes it feel longer.

  —Phew. It's done.

  ...I can't see myself well, but right now, I am undoubtedly a man cross-dressing.

  I can feel the clothes stretching tightly. Ugh. This is the one thing I didn't want to do!

  Inea stared at me with her arms crossed. I couldn't bear her gaze and turned my face away. Soon, she raised a voice of admiration.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "Hoh. I knew it, but that is splendid Qi. With this—it might work."

  And then, as expected, she laughed heartily as if it were funny.

  "Still—Ahaha! What is that! It looks even funnier than I expected!"

  "Ah, damn it! That's why I didn't want to transform! I'm going back now! I am!"

  Ah, geez. I told you I didn't want to! My heart was in turmoil, but I immediately re-transformed back to a woman.

  Just like before, my whole body writhed with heat. My hair rustled, the male symbol regressed, my waist formed curves, and my chest swelled. I tasted the change filled with dynamism and biological pleasure in fast-forward. It feels different from when I turn from female to male.

  Maybe it's a girly kind of pleasure? I don't know well. It feels a bit lewd, or forbidden.

  When the change ended and the heat of pleasure cooled, my thoughts were immediately pulled back to reality. Seamlessly from right before the transformation. I'll say it again, in reality, it's just a split second. From the outside, nothing is understood except that the body suddenly changes.

  Inea was still chuckling.

  "Kuku—but... kuku. Except for the clothes being tight, it suited you surprisingly well."

  "Ah, is that so."

  Yeah, yeah, I have a girly face and I'm not manly. Although Inea laughed off my shameful state, she didn't just end it with teasing. She seemed to have an idea.

  "However, having to change clothes every time you transform is inconvenient. Alright, I shall prepare some convenient clothes for you."

  "Is there such a thing as convenient clothes?"

  Forgetting that I was about to get moody, I bit onto the bait completely. Lifting the index finger of her crossed arms slightly, Inea said triumphantly.

  "Yeah. Conveniently, when you are a man, you have absolutely no Magic Power, and when you are a woman, you are overflowing with it. Let's use that."

  "Hmm?"

  How will we use that? To me, whose head was full of question marks, she continued with a wink.

  "Normally they are men's clothes, but when they react to your Magic Power, they instantly change into women's clothes. If we make such clothes, there will be no problem, right?"

  "Oh, can you make something like that!?"

  I finally understood. If there is such a convenient thing, I won't have to change clothes secretly while worrying about people watching anymore. I'm grateful from the bottom of my heart.

  "Who do you think I am? Leave it to me."

  Inea puffed out her chest confidently. Yes! That really saves me. She looked at me, who was inadvertently frolicking, with a warm gaze, but then cleared her throat to direct attention back to her.

  "Now, Yu. Asking you to show me the transformation earlier wasn't just out of mere curiosity. Fufu. Well, there was that too."

  She probably laughed remembering it for a second, but immediately tightened her expression.

  "I obtained sufficient information about your body from that. Let me tell you what I understand."

  "Eh. Really?"

  "It seems you still know nothing about yourself. You want to know, don't you?"

  I nodded strongly. Ever since awakening to this mysterious ability called "The God-Vessel," I haven't understood anything about myself, and I've been feeling hazy. If I can know, I want to know anything.

  Seeing me nod, Inea said "Sit down" and sat in seiza (kneeling) on the tatami mat right there. Following her example, I sat in seiza in front of her. After seeing me correct my posture, Inea began her explanation.

  "First, the premise. In the common sense of this world, Magic Power is said to be the ability to accept Magic Element (Mana) into one's body and utilize it, correct?"

  I nodded. I heard that from Alice.

  "But that is merely the definition in a narrow sense. From my master, who was a FabL, I was taught about Magic Power in a broader sense."

  "In a broader sense, is it?"

  "Mhm. Listen well. In that sense, Magic Power refers to the power to take external elements into oneself and utilize them. Conversely, Qi (Life Force) refers to the power to take internal elements out to the external world and utilize them."

  "That became quite abstract."

  "True. By convention, we call them Magic Power and Qi, but in reality, they refer to more abstract forces."

  "I see."

  That was the first time I heard it. It seems I have to considerably correct the image of magic and Qi I had arbitrarily drawn in my mind.

  "As I just said, the vectors of these two forces are exact opposites. Therefore, they repel each other. Consequently, usually, the stronger the Magic Power one possesses, the more their Qi is suppressed, and the stronger their Qi, the more their Magic Power is suppressed and weakened. Are you following so far?"

  It's a bit difficult, but I think I'm okay. When I nodded firmly, she continued.

  "Now, from what I saw, absolutely no Qi can be sensed from your female body."

  "It seems so. I don't really feel it myself, though."

  "Usually, living things always possess vitality (Qi), whether large or small. Therefore, no matter how weak, one should possess Qi."

  "Putting it that way, it sounds like I'm not alive..."

  "That is why it is strange. In reality, you are living normally. Why is such a thing possible? I observed closely during your transformation earlier..."

  Inea twisted the corner of her mouth and groaned slightly as if thinking again. As I waited for her next words with bated breath, she eventually spoke.

  "It seems that your female body is active by constantly being supplied with vitality and such from the male part that serves as the core deep inside."

  "Is that so!?"

  "Yeah. Perhaps because of that, your female body lacks the very function to manipulate vitality, which normal living creatures should definitely have."

  "Then, is this body of mine like a puppet?"

  "That would be the conclusion."

  Heh. It feels strange. I'm breathing normally and moving properly like this right now. To think that all such life activities cannot stand without depending on male-me.

  "Vitality is the most fundamental and basic of internal elements. Without the function to manipulate it, one cannot utilize any internal element of the self. Thus, since it cannot be expressed externally, Qi disappears completely."

  Hmm. So that's the reason I have no Qi. ...Though, I still don't really know if I have it or not.

  "And conversely. Because there is no Qi, you can accept any external elements, such as Magic Element, without repelling them at all. That is why the Magic Power possessed by your female body is abnormally high."

  Even the reason why my Magic Power is higher than normal people was explained at once. With facts becoming clear one after another, I was completely intrigued.

  "On the other hand, when you are a man, the female body retracts inside you. So during that time, there is no need to supply internal elements there."

  "Then, I'd have too much to spare."

  "Mhm. Then, the high supply capacity possessed by the male body turns directly into the capacity to release to the outside world. Consequently, the male body comes to possess extremely high Qi."

  "Ah, I see. Which means..."

  In the case of a man, the exact opposite phenomenon of when I'm a woman occurs. So that's why! Inea continued exactly as I had surmised.

  "You understand now, right? Because the Qi is too high, it repels all external Magic Elements and keeps them away. The fact that the male body's Magic Power is zero—that is, too weak to be detected by the magic meter—can be explained by this."

  I felt like the mystery was solved clearly. The divergence in Magic Power values between genders, which I thought was a coincidence until now, had such a background!

  There, her expression became more serious. I gulped and listened intently.

  "The important part starts here. I said Qi and Magic Power repel each other, right? Therefore, a single human cannot possess strong Qi and Magic Power at the same time. It is a human limit."

  "A human... limit..."

  "Yeah. However. By having two bodies with completely different characteristics, you have broken through this limit, however imperfectly."

  "Umm. I guess that's true."

  I don't really feel it, but now that it's mentioned, it might be true. I just have to transform. Compared to my sense of "I see," Inea-sensei's words had a compelling heat.

  "Yes. This is amazing, Yu. Your ability is by no means a boring thing that just lets you transform, as you yourself are thinking."

  My ability... isn't boring!? It was a shock.

  Just as Inea said, I had been looking down on this ability all along. In fact, it has rarely been useful, and I didn't think it would be in the future. I mean, it's an ability just to become a girl, you know? It's natural to think so.

  It was useful during the survival in the plains, but that was an exception among exceptions. Rather, I was only worried about what kind of trouble I would get involved in if it was revealed to the world that I have such a strange ability. I didn't expect to be told something like that.

  "Indeed, your ability is not strong. Looking at just one body, it is a fact that it is at best at a human level. You probably cannot win in power against monsters like my master Jilph, or especially Will."

  I know that in my bones. I don't feel like I can beat him at all. And this Jilph person seems amazing from what I hear. He's the master of Inea, who looks amazing herself.

  "But you possess two bodies equipped with properties that are opposite in a sense. This is a weapon unique to you."

  "A weapon... unique to me..."

  "Exactly. You have the aptitude to touch and learn many things far beyond human limits by using the two bodies and complementing each other."

  "I have... such aptitude...!?"

  "Yeah. That growth potential is not to be underestimated. You are truly a vessel that can surpass humans. You are."

  I was simply overwhelmed by the things she was saying. I could become an existence surpassing humans!? Me!?

  That wasn't the only thing to be surprised about. Inea added one more thing.

  "Also, this is a hunch... but I feel there is still a secret in that body that even I haven't noticed. If there is a one-in-a-million chance you can oppose them, it would be there."

  I shuddered. Does this body, currently only weak, hide such a terrifying possibility!? There is a slight chance that I can oppose him instead of being used. A possibility to oppose such a monster... It was hope, but at the same time, it seemed like something chilling and terrifying.

  Suddenly, it came to mind.

  『I am a monster in human form. And eventually, you will become the same.』

  That he had certainly said that. "The God-Vessel." Why did he call my ability that?

  Surely, he had seen through it. If it were truly a useless ability, he almost certainly wouldn't have named it like that. He would have treated it much more like trash. I only talked to him a little, but I can tell that much.

  Certainly, it's not orthodox. At a glance, it's a ridiculous ability. But does that mean this ability, like his [Interference], was an ability that could overturn the logic of this world?

  Ah. No good. My head is confused.

  Anyway, too many things were revealed for the first time. It seems it will take time to organize my thoughts.

  At that moment, Inea made a face as if she had been careless, so I stopped thinking and looked back at her.

  "Ah, right. I forgot to mention."

  "What is it?"

  "About FabLs... actually, I don't know much either."

  "Is that so!?"

  That's unexpected. Since she's so well-informed, I thought she would know to some extent about FabLs.

  "Unfortunately. My master kept his mouth shut and didn't tell me anything important."

  She, who had been speaking in a calm tone until then, showed strong emotion for the first time here.

  She might be pretending it's nothing, but I didn't miss her sighing slightly, oozing with unconcealable frustration. I felt that sigh contained her regret.

  Surely Inea herself wants to know more about FabLs. That must be why she went out of her way to invite me, who knows almost nothing. She must have tried to know something even by providing all the information she had.

  Judging from her way of speaking, Inea seems to adore her master Jilph from the bottom of her heart. And it seems he is no longer by her side... I guess she wants to see him again.

  Inea fell silent for a while... but eventually opened her mouth quietly.

  "However, still. It doesn't change the fact that my master is the most important person to me."

  She closed her eyes as if reminiscing deeply. I thought my guess was probably correct.

  Opening her eyes, Inea looked at me this time and showed a fearless grin.

  "So, I shall follow my master's words to help a FabL."

  Huh. Could it be she intends to do something for me?

  "Um?"

  "—Hmph. Let's see. This is about the only help I can give."

  Inea stood up smoothly. And she did something mysterious and astonishing.

  Just as her right hand flashed, from there—a pure white sword sprang out!

  I was extremely surprised, my gaze glued to it. Emitting a powerful radiance, it was exactly the same as the picture painted on that back gate. Not made of matter—a sword of Aura, of Qi...!?

  Pointing that special sword right in front of my eyes, she said.

  I will never forget it. It was the moment she—Inea-sensei—became my precious master.

  "Yu. Learn Qi Sword Arts here. If it is you, you can surely master it. It should definitely be possible."