The squid head was still that same squid head.
But the figure beneath the shirt had already become feminized, something even the thick winter clothes and vest couldn’t conceal.
Lucia pressed again, as if confirming whether it was some kind of implant.
Combined with what the mutant guys had just said—”that appearance,” “that look”—it wasn’t hard to guess this was the condition her brother had encountered, and it was probably the reason he was fired too.
“What exactly is going on?”
Lucia didn’t understand. Why had it turned out like this?
However, everyone present didn’t know how to explain it, and each person even had their own different understanding.
To Ji Ge and the other mutants who had seen “the loli Squill senior” once, this was perhaps a side effect left over from turning into a little loli, a debuff that wasn’t cleared in time after the state was dispelled.
They felt more sympathy about it.
After all, “Squill’s” head was still a squid head, and his voice had returned to a man’s.
So, these huge things on his chest were clearly parts that shouldn’t exist. It was only natural that Squill would want to hide them.
He even wore a very tight turtleneck sweater, surely trying to flatten the curves on his chest as much as possible.
Senior… hasn’t had an easy time after leaving the company.
But Clara understood very well that this was Mossima failing to stabilize his form.
Because his… their self-perception was shifting towards female, even affecting the mimicry.
This tendency had already appeared last time during the coconut hotpot.
For Mossima, mimicry wasn’t a specialty. Maintaining this “having a head and a face” state required a continuous expenditure of energy.
If he was mentally focused and concentrated, it wasn’t a big problem. However, the reason for expending energy now… was alcohol.
Originally, when they were having the celebration banquet in the next room, Mossima had already drunk a few glasses.
Now, with two glasses of sojuu down, the bacterial colonies that constituted his body began to destabilize.
While he wouldn’t get drunk, as a fungal swarm intelligence, Mossima’s actions required the fungi constituting him to reach a consensus. Alcohol made this somewhat difficult, a side effect she hadn’t anticipated.
She was aware of the problem herself, but pulling back the chest curves in front of Lucia didn’t seem like an appropriate course of action.
Moreover, her mental state wasn’t very stable either. If this continued, she might not even be able to maintain this erroneous female posture…
It’ll recover later…
“Sorry, Lucia, for you to see me like this… but it’s fine.”
“Squill” spoke up: “This is a side effect from the previous accident. It’ll recover after some more time.”
Seeing that her brother still wasn’t prepared to explain clearly, Lucia looked at Ji Ge.
“This…” Ji Ge was a bit troubled.
“What was the accident at the Reconstruction Department you mentioned earlier? The last mission Senior Squill participated in required confidentiality from above. And if the senior himself isn’t prepared to talk about it, is it appropriate for me to say it?”
***
Qiexiya stood behind Lucia and knocked on the partition of the private room.
The small company president, with a simple action, made everyone involuntarily look at her.
“Lucia, don’t get too worked up. Look around first.”
Lucia looked up and noticed people from other rooms occasionally peeking out, curiously looking over here. Continuing to press about this matter here would only make her brother more embarrassed.
She bit her lower lip and closed her mouth.
Only then did Fran step forward, putting a hand on Lucia’s shoulder to persuade her.
“Miss Lucia, your brother seems to have difficulties speaking about this. This tavern is crowded and full of loose talk; it’s not the place to discuss such matters… Shall we change locations to talk?”
To this proposal, “Squill” also nodded and stood up.
Lucia intuitively felt the shrinkage in height. She had noticed it last time during the hotpot too, but hadn’t paid it much mind then…
Something definitely happened to her brother. This made her very concerned, even worried.
As for the celebration banquet, they just had to end it early.
After bidding farewell to Ji Ge and the others, Clara and the others settled the bill and left the small tavern.
Mossima’s slip-up made “how to keep hiding it” a problem burning at their heels.
[Clara, Minister Mossima’s condition has improved a bit.]
Nyx offered comfort, continuing:
[Next, we need to find an explanation for that posture.]
For now, it could only be explained as a side effect of “that accident.”
[Making Lucia believe your body has taken on a female form, continuing to hide the fact that you are Clara—is this acceptable?]
As Clara herself, she was in the eye of the storm, the “Hero” under scrutiny. The Fourth Calamity acted without principles, and the fact that Lucia was her sister couldn’t get out…
Although she felt sorry for Lucia, she couldn’t tell her yet.
[Mm, let’s go with that then.]
Nyx interpreted Clara’s thoughts.
[Next, please leave it with confidence to Nyx.]
Compared to Clara, who was so nervous her stomach hurt, Qiexiya’s demeanor was very natural.
“Where shall we talk? Back to the dorm, or get a room at a nearby hotel?”
She glanced at her phone to check the time, then asked with her hands in her pockets.
Qiexiya nodded, then casually hailed a floating car from the sky.
“The dorm is fine, no need to spend extra,” Lucia answered.
“Mhm~ We’re going back anyway…”
However, this was an expensive, high-end taxi.
“Didn’t we completely fail to save any money?!”
The five of them, their plans disrupted, returned to the dorm early.
“Sorry, for dampening everyone’s mood because of me and my matters…”
Instead, Clara was full of self-blame, since this was essentially everyone keeping her sister in the dark. Lucia apologized quietly, but of course no one would blame her for it.
Still, this was all for her safety.
Clara comforted herself with this thought.
Qiexiya waved a hand, controlling the room’s curtains to close automatically.
She sat down on the sofa, crossing her legs.
“Alright, let’s talk now. Or should the three of us step aside, letting you siblings talk alone?”
Lucia didn’t know what to say, just looking at “Squill” and asking softly, “Brother, is that okay?”
“There’s no need to step aside. It’s nothing major.”
“Squill” shook his head, then “explained”: “Just like what Ah Ji said in the tavern, I was fired by the company because of an accident. And the result of the accident is what you see…”
“Becoming a squid mutant with a body that’s neither male nor female.”
“…Is there a way to recover?” Lucia pressed.
“There is. I originally planned to act like nothing happened after recovering, because I didn’t want you and our parents to worry. I didn’t expect today to be so unlucky…”
“Then, when will you recover? Can’t you go to the Abyssal administration bureau either?”
“This… I don’t know. But the bureau is even more out of the question. Because the mark left by the accident is this posture. Going to the bureau would only prolong the recovery time.”
“Mark overlay… like dad’s situation…”
Lucia looked at “Squill’s” chest with mixed feelings, then glanced at Clara.
Finally, she squeezed out a smile.
“It’s okay. Even if you become a sister, I don’t mind.”