“Okay now. Hey, Aoi, would you look the other way for a sec?”
When we finally reached the bottom of the steps, Ann set down her bags and put her hands together as if praying. Though she kept up her kobold form when we were outside the labyrinth, she always changed back into her human form when we returned. I dutifully turned away from her. Apparently being seen while transforming was a lot like having someone watch you change clothes.
“...”
Mary’s jaw dropped in surprise when she saw Ann turn into a pretty girl.
“You can look now! Oh, what’s wrong, Mary?”
“She seems surprised. Wonder why.”
Ann had been all skin and bones when we first met, but now she was the very picture of health. In her kobold form especially, she was wonderfully soft and fluffy. What was there to be surprised by, I wondered.
“How shocking. And even more shocking is seeing how commonplace you two treated it. This really is the other side of the world. Are you in fact a human, Ann?”
Ohhh, right, the transformation itself had caught her unawares. Yeah, that’d confused me too, the first time. She and I had slept together at first as if she was the family pet, but then she’d suddenly shapeshifted into a beautiful human girl. It was such a strong temptation, and it’d come on so suddenly, that I’d almost done something terrible to her back then.
“Ann is a half kobold. These are both her real forms, and she has the strengths of both a human and a kobold.”
“Since she’s such a pretty girl, I asked her to change into kobold form outside of the labyrinth to help keep her safe. You’d have to be another kobold or close family to tell if a kobold was normal or pretty, right?”
“Um, I see. Well, I may have lived a sheltered life, but far be it from me to be frightened off by something like this.”
Mary couldn’t hide her surprise, but at least she was understanding.
“Am I a strange-looking human?”
Ann looked down at the ground and rubbed her hands together nervously. It seemed she’d spent most of her life in kobold form, so she wasn’t too comfortable with her appearance as a human. I thought she was absolutely beautiful, but you try convincing a girl of that.
“No, perish the thought! You’re simply adorable!”
Mary rushed over to stroke Ann’s head. Oh, good call, she liked that.
“Naturally, I understand why you would find it safer to appear to be a kobold in this part of the world. What surprises me is that a child can be born from a union between a human and a kobold in the first place.”
Fair enough. I’d played my share of games, but half kobolds were a new one to me.
“Are mixed races common in the Great Dark Lord’s territories?”
She looked to me for an answer, but I was the wrong guy to ask.
“Where I’m from, we only have humans.”
Despite being one of the Great Dark Lord’s labyrinth managers, I was just a human from another world. I wasn’t an expert on local anthropology.
“There’s lots in the cities especially, but most of them prefer one form over the other and just live that way, so people don’t really realize.”
Ah, that made sense. You’d never really know a half kobold from a kobold if they never transformed.
“Is there a reason you use your human form in the labyrinth?”
“Yeah, because Aoi’s here! I’m safe as long as he’s around.”
Her radiant smile warmed my heart. We’d been through a lot of happy times, and also a lot of worrisome times since Ann had started using her human form with me. Like when she would have trouble sleeping and undo most of the buttons on my button-down shirt that she used instead of pajamas, leaving her practically naked on top of me. Or when, half-asleep, she would hug me tight and nuzzle my chest. Both of those were a daily occurrence. Honestly, you probably got less fanservice from a typical visual novel than I got in my regular life with Ann. But I had to hang on to the tattered shreds of my self-control and act like this was all no big deal, just one of those things that happens when you lay down for a nice, relaxing rest. I just wished she’d make it a little easier on me!
Now, look, I’d obviously feel lonely if she stopped acting so intimate, but she was taking it a bit far! Still, I wasn’t in Japan anymore, and she certainly wasn’t Toto. I was in another world, and one where she was considered mature and self-sufficient. Rationally, I knew that the proper thing to do would be to introduce her to the adult world as soon as possible, but when I thought about Ann losing her purity, my hand wavered. Ann herself wasn’t aware of the temptation she represented for me, and I could see that the fondness she felt for me was more that of a doting younger sister idolizing her big brother. But regardless of how we ended up, I was prepared to do right by her. I wanted to watch her back, and to be there by her side as she matured into an adult, however long that took her.
Don’t misunderstand me, though. I wasn’t being wishy-washy, asking myself if Ann was really the girl for me, or anything like that. I’d made my decision on that front a long time ago.
You see, one thing I’d learned was that, corresponding to the wild variation in races inhabiting Daemon territory, there was also a wild variation in reproductive customs. The laws took this into account, only stipulating two requirements for marriage: that the two parties must consent, and that when two people wanted to be married, they should notify the village mayor or city warden. The people also seemed completely accepting of interracial marriage.
In other words, I had options.
Now, just ask any gamer: what’s the best possible romantic outcome? The harem ending, of course! Ann was the only girl I had my sights on at the moment, but it was important to dream big.
“So, a half kobold and a human. You must have interesting family reunions. I must admit, I’m envious of the trust you have for each other, as I never had a brother myself.”
I got the feeling Mary had misunderstood our relationship, but I didn’t feel comfortable correcting her. Well, whatever the official records said, Ann and I considered each other family, and that was what mattered.