As if!
“Nyx, explain this to me. Why is the Combat Body generated using my own data not my original appearance?”
Hope, which had just hurriedly left, dragged Squire’s mood down to rock bottom.
[The data is only used as reference material. The Combat Body is not a complete copy.]
For example, when I used Gorilla Monster’s data before, I didn’t turn into a gorilla either…
“Can’t you just make a perfect copy for once?!”
Fuming, Squire yelled and shouted in the middle of the street.
Yes, even using her own data to generate a Combat Body, she was still a short, black-haired girl. Not only was her gender unchanged, even her physique was the same—a slender frame barely one and a half meters tall.
If there was any noticeable change, it was that her previous ponytail had come undone, and now several thin tentacles poked out from under her hair. They worked just like her original tentacles, though their smooth, suction-less surfaces were now a soft pinkish-purple, looking almost cute, like shy little snakes hiding in her long hair.
“So, my data just… just generated a few tentacles?”
What an excessive stereotype! Isn’t there more to a squid than just tentacles?!
Since the original data was available, it should theoretically be possible to achieve something close to “Transformation Reversal.” Yet Nyx clearly had no intention of doing so. She replied:
[Facial features and attire have also been adjusted according to the ‘Squid Monster Squire’ data.]
Squire vaguely realized that Nyx wasn’t just some emotionless system. Contrary to the impression given by her cold tone, this thing had her own preferences—and was quite willful about them…
Thinking about it, was the Disaster of the Modification Department really an accident?
Worse still, she had no bargaining chips to confront Nyx at all, having become nothing more than her plaything.
Maybe the one malfunctioning was Nyx herself…
Squire deeply regretted it—regretted putting on that belt in the sewer. Even being caught by a Hero would have been better than being toyed with by a Driver. If she wasn’t afraid of being fired by the company, she’d have turned herself in to World Tree Technologies by now.
For now, all she could do was take things one step at a time.
Resigned to reality, Squire looked down to check her new clothes.
The top was a simple sleeveless white shirt, but the hem faded into black as if dipped in ink.
The bottom was a light, tiered short skirt—each layer a sheer black gauze. The upper layers were opaque from the overlap, but near the knees, her slender legs could be glimpsed through the translucent hem.
Over this was a semi-transparent coat, like the outer membrane of a squid, left open in front—a bit like the white lab coat Fulan wore.
None of these pieces seemed appropriate for late autumn, yet surprisingly, she wasn’t cold at all.
“The squid theme is obvious in the design… But isn’t this outfit way too revealing? Even more than that dress! Can’t you at least give me some men’s clothes? Or even just pants!”
Though she complained, Squire knew Nyx would never listen to her.
Helpless, she fished out her phone from the translucent pocket, turned on the front camera, and pointed it at her face to see how her features had been adjusted.
“…Is this really my data?”
Yeah, she definitely didn’t look like Shenwei now.
More like her own little sister…
Compared to her sister as a child, she was even cuter now. But Squire felt no joy at becoming cuter, so the little loli in the camera wore a deadpan face.
Nyx’s voice interrupted Squire’s self-examination.
[Reminder: Don’t forget what you need to do right now.]
“I haven’t forgotten, so don’t try to boss me around.”
Though Nyx’s attitude was infuriating, Squire still returned to where Shenwei had passed out. She’d just dumped her by the roadside; if Shenwei showed up in the news tomorrow, Squire would never get any sleep.
It wasn’t far to go back.
The Magical Girl in the red dress lay sprawled on the ground like a pile of mush, and sure enough, a few shady figures were sneaking glances her way. If Squire did nothing, given the terrible security in Blue Court District, Shenwei would be in real danger…
“Sigh, what a mess.”
Squire sighed and used her tentacles to hoist Shenwei onto her back.
“Ugh, hic~”
Shenwei reeked of booze, and the sharp stench of stomach acid lingered on her breath—she’d clearly vomited. One belch nearly made Squire throw up herself.
This woman was a disaster.
She was shattering not just her admiration for Heroes, but her whole impression of women!
“Maybe… I should just dump her at the police station?”
But the police station was still a ways off, while her own rented apartment was just ahead. But as a Monster, bringing a Hero home was just…
“Whew, I’m back.”
Though she lived alone, Squire still said this out of habit.
She entered, closed the door, and without even taking off her shoes, dropped Shenwei on the floor by the entrance.
Yep, she’d ended up bringing this drunkard home.
“I’m exhausted. This woman is way too heavy!”
Squire was just a small-fry Monster, so even her Combat Body, made from small-fry data, only had a little more strength than an ordinary person.
And Shenwei, though she looked petite, was still a Magical Girl famed for her fighting skills—her body was solid, muscles dense as rice cake. If Squire had tried to drag her all the way to the police station, she’d have died halfway there…
She quickly hid any traces of being a Monster. Once Shenwei woke up in the morning, she’d kick her out. Besides, looking like a little girl now, there was no way Shenwei would suspect her of doing anything…
Having settled on that, Squire started tidying up.
Her rented apartment was small; the kitchen and bathroom were right at the entrance, followed by her studio and bedroom where she drew manga.
No living room, so of course, no sofa—that’s why she dumped Shenwei on the floor.
No way was she putting this booze-soaked woman on her own bed.
Absolutely not…
Though she was a thirty-five-year-old single man, Squire wasn’t a slob. Even if Shenwei didn’t mind, she herself couldn’t stand the stench.
So what if she’d lost to Squire once? Was that really a reason to fall into such a drunken mess?
The apartment was small, so there wasn’t much to tidy up. She stuffed the men’s shoes in the shoe cabinet, bagged up the unwashed men’s clothes and hid them in the wardrobe, and stashed things like beer and ashtrays—anything unrelated to a little girl—into the cupboards.
Looking at Shenwei again, she still showed no sign of waking, even unconsciously scratching her booze-bloated belly under her shirt.
“Why did I even bring this walking disaster home?”
Still, leaving her like this would just get her sick.
She’d already brought her home, so letting her catch a cold would be too much.
Helpless, Squire dug out some spare bedding from the wardrobe and made up a spot for Shenwei on the floor…
Ugh, now even the bedding would reek of alcohol.
It would be best if she could take a bath first, but that was obviously impossible. Giving a drunk a bath was exhausting even to imagine, and explaining it afterward would be a pain, so Squire didn’t even bother taking off her clothes—just stuffed her into the blanket.
Then she opened the window to air the place out.
After all that fuss, Squire didn’t go wash up or go to bed. Instead, she sat down at her desk, took out her pen and paper, and started working on ideas for “Magical Girl Clara.”
She was tired, and it was late, but the daily habit of drawing had to be kept up—especially since inspiration was bubbling up like a hot spring…
Now was no time for sleep!
(And then she fell asleep at her desk.)