“Ah… this…”
Faced with Alice, who had seriously extended an invitation to her, Keti found herself momentarily unsure of how to react.
‘What should I say? Should I change back…?’
Well, Alice was actually right. After absorbing all that Potion knowledge in the temple, Keti already understood how to change back.
That Potion she had brewed during her drunken rampage could actually change one’s gender at will. If she brewed another bottle and drank it now, she could turn back into a boy.
But… for some reason, it felt strange. Although she could change back at any time, Keti hadn’t made a move. In fact, she hadn’t even tried to brew that kind of medicine.
Because…
She seemed to have already adapted to her current life. What would changing back even accomplish? Wouldn’t she just go back to being a socially anxious, useless Adventurer?
Even if she could activate Long Aotian mode, dominate the world, and build a harem, Keti felt it would be boring.
It was better to be a silver-haired girl and a Loli Teacher like she was now. Although it might be a bit ordinary…
At least that fellow Lynn was there…
As she thought about it, a crimson flush crept up the silver-haired girl’s face.
‘No, no, no. My lack of desire to change back has nothing to do with that enemy of mine. I just… cough…’
“Hey, Keti, why aren’t you saying anything? Hurry up and come back to the Stronghold with me to brew the Potion. I’ll buy whatever Materials you need. Let’s go, okay?”
Seeing that Keti hadn’t spoken for a long time and was instead standing there blushing like an idiot, Alice began to get anxious.
Snapping out of it, Keti let out a sigh. She eventually stabilized her emotions and began to reason with Alice in a gentle tone.
“Alice, I… I’m sorry, but I want to stay here for a while longer…”
As a result, as soon as those words left her mouth, the Twin-Tailed Blonde Loli in front of her immediately exploded.
“Wh-what do you mean? Why do you want to stay here longer? Keti… stop joking around. Why stay in this place as a woman? You could clearly be with me… Why?!”
“Then why did you drive me away in the first place?!”
Faced with Alice’s questioning, Keti also lost control of her emotions for a moment. The silver-haired girl took a deep breath and then loudly asked about the thoughts she had been harboring.
“Why? You know better than anyone, Alice — I cherished that team and all of you more than anything, didn’t I? So why did you suddenly kick me out… I…”
The silver-haired girl slowly crouched down. Her sobbing voice caused Alice to daze for a moment.
The Twin-Tailed Blonde Loli lowered her head in shame. She hadn’t expected that the plan she had secretly devised, which was originally intended to protect Keti, would cause him such deep harm.
“I’m sorry… I-I wasn’t being hostile back then. I was just worried you’d get hurt in the Dungeon the next day.”
“Also, Layla and Sylvia, those two women, were always sneaking around behind my back. I… I actually wanted to disband the team and then come find you alone, but…”
“Eh… wh-what?!”
Hearing this, Keti, who was already on the verge of tears, was stunned on the spot. She blinked her eyes in confusion.
So… that was how it was?!
No way. This reason was far too different from what she had originally thought.
Keti was stunned for quite a while before she finally couldn’t help but ask, “Wait, Alice, what do you mean by ‘sneaking around’ just now? Layla and Sylvia… you wanted them to leave? But why did they also agree to kick me out…”
Keti, completely bewildered, blinked her eyes in shock.
Upon hearing this, Alice’s mouth twitched. After holding it in for a long time, she finally couldn’t help but scream out, “Because… I love you! Not just me, but those two also love you! We love you so much that we all wanted to keep you for ourselves!!!”
“Huff… huff…”
After saying those words, Alice looked as if she were about to collapse, panting heavily. It was as if every vein and Magic Circuit in her body had been cleared.
Finally, this tsundere Twin-Tailed Blonde Loli had blurted out everything she had been bottling up for so long.
Although this confession came quite suddenly… if she couldn’t express her inner feelings under these circumstances, these words would probably have stayed suppressed in her heart for a lifetime.
Saying it was better than not saying it. Furthermore…
After a moment, Alice raised her head again, looking at the dazed Keti, and asked, “So? Those two have had plenty of contact with you during this time, haven’t they? What do you think? Between the three of us… who are you going to choose?”
“…Or rather… do you want all three of us…”
Now it was Keti’s turn to be utterly shocked.
Wow, that was a truly difficult question to answer. To suddenly be asked to choose one of her former comrades… or rather, she was really feeling a bit…
But did Alice really love her? This…
She had more or less sensed that Layla and Sylvia liked her.
Well, Keti couldn’t completely lie to herself. She had indeed once faintly hoped for such a thing to happen. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dated Alice in that illusion.
It was just…
After a long time, the silver-haired girl silently lowered her head.
A good while passed before she suddenly spoke.
“I’m sorry, Alice… Perhaps there are some things Layla and Sylvia haven’t told you yet. But… I feel it’s necessary for you to know.”
“I’m sorry, I… I already fully consider myself a girl now. And… I already have a man I like. I’m sorry, but I… I can’t make a choice.”
Was it really as Keti said?
Perhaps even the silver-haired girl herself didn’t know the answer. Maybe she had only said it to respond to Alice, or perhaps… those were her true feelings.
However, as she finished those words, she also felt a sense of liberation, similar to the one Alice felt after her confession.
And although she didn’t state it explicitly, when she mentioned the “man she liked,” an exceptionally clear face surfaced in her mind.
Alice’s eyes suddenly wavered, and an intense sense of dread instantly flooded her heart.
‘How can this be… it’s impossible…’
‘Is Keti… going to… abandon me?’
Noticing that the girl in front of her seemed a bit off, Keti quickly shook her shoulders.
“Um, Alice, what’s wrong?”
In the next second, the Twin-Tailed Blonde Loli suddenly lunged forward, pinning Keti down in a daze. Then… she immediately pulled out a bundle of thick hemp rope and began tying her up!
“Pugh-hehehe… I won’t let you run away, Keti. Come back to our hometown with me. The world outside is far too terrifying. Let’s stop being Adventurers, okay? Let’s go home! Let’s go home!”
“Hey, wait! Why are you so strong?! Let go of me — !”