“…Thank goodness. Then I can just apply for reinstatement and retake the semester.”
“But, do you really think you can go back to school?”
“Is there any reason I can’t? I’ve paid the tuition, so I have to graduate.”
As we were talking about university, I felt a strange gaze on me.
It was my younger sister.
“What?”
“Nothing, I just thought you were pretty calm.”
“Why, what’s wrong now?”
“Honestly, you’re probably the only one who would think about school right after waking up in that condition.”
“Then, what else would I worry about? Of course, I’d worry about school.”
“Is there any guarantee that university life will go smoothly? Just being a mutant and standing out in front of people will attract a lot of attention.”
It sounded like she was trying to express concern, but honestly, it just seemed ridiculous.
“Hey. That’s only for a day or two. If I don’t do anything weird and just attend class, the attention will fade. Anyway, I’m an outsider in the department, and I don’t have that many close friends, so who’s going to care?”
“…..Sigh. Is this really my brother? No, I guess it’s my sister now. Hey. But that’s only possible because you were a guy before. Now that your face has changed, you don’t think guys will flock to you?”
She did have a point.
With my current appearance, I definitely looked alluring to anyone who’d glance at me…
There was no way guys wouldn’t be interested.
Of course, not everyone, but the crazy minority of guys obsessed with women would likely cause all kinds of trouble in university communities.
Ugh, gross.
Just imagining it made me shudder.
Some guy following me around saying he liked me?
Oh my…
I’m not that open-minded, so I might get creeped out if I saw something like that.
“Ugh, creepy. But it’s fine.”
“What’s fine?”
“If they get too annoying, I’ll just show them a trick.”
“A trick?”
“Yeah. The trick where you fold a coin in half.”
“Just that much, and there won’t be anyone who’ll try to approach me.”
Well, why? What?
I grinned as I watched my younger sister’s bewildered expression.
It seemed like it would be fun if I really tried it.
“It’s reassuring to see you so calm, my daughter.”
“Why not just call me son? I’m still not used to it.”
“Doing it this way will help you adjust faster. Are you okay?”
“Well, I… don’t really mind. It doesn’t matter whether I’m a son or a daughter. Oh, but there is something I’m a bit upset about.”
“What is it?”
“If this had happened in my first year, I wouldn’t have had to go to the military. At least, I’m glad I don’t have to go to reservist training.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They said I’m exempt from reservist training. There’s a precedent for it…”
The conversation continued with various small talks for quite a while.
Since I looked like I had just come back from the brink of death, my parents must have been really worried.
Of course, my younger sister wasn’t worried.
But since I seemed more at peace than they expected, it looked like they were relieved.
During the three months I was unconscious, my family must have learned a lot about how mutants were changing the world.
They probably knew more about mutants than I did.
They were likely aware of the dangers and other aspects.
Since I didn’t show any of that, it was understandable they’d be relieved.
Anyway, as soon as my family left, the doctor quietly stopped by my hospital room.
Since I had a question to ask, it worked out well.
“Doctor?”
“Yes, what’s the matter?”
“When can I be discharged? I don’t feel sick or anything… I think it’d be better to be discharged and just visit periodically for check-ups.”
“Would you like to do that?”
“Huh?”
“The agent mentioned that you’re controlling your strength well. There’s no need for further procedures, and since no abnormalities were found in the medical check, it seems like just visiting periodically to monitor your progress should be enough.”
“Oh. In that case, please go ahead.”
“Since it’s already late today, you should rest in your room for the night. You can take care of the discharge procedure tomorrow. Also, contact your family.”
“Okay.”
With the remaining time, there was really nothing to do but scroll through the internet on my smartphone.
The internet was flooded with mutant-related stories.
There was even a whole new community specifically for mutants.
But… as I kept reading, it was actually pretty interesting.
[Ugh, seriously;]
Planted a tree, but it grew too much and broke through the building.
What do I do now?
? Why did you plant a tree all of a sudden?
Because I’m an elf…
Are you an elf?
Without trees, the air is so bad it’s hard to breathe.
How are you going to cover the cost of repairs for the building?
I don’t know, I’ll have to deal with it somehow… But why did it grow so fast?
Isn’t it an elf trait?
Even so, this is too much;;
What about getting a job at a botanical garden? You could make some money as a gardener.
Oh, that’s a good idea!
[Vampires need to live…]
It’s really hard to get blood packs;;
Everyone, please donate blood more…
Pig’s blood tastes terrible.
What does blood taste like to vampires?
It just tastes like blood, but it feels really good.
You must be crazy for coagulated blood ᄏᄏ
I used to think coagulated blood was gross, but now I only eat it lately;;
There were mutants who seemed to be elves, and some who appeared to be vampires.
There were even mutants who had transformed into harpies, sprouting wings.
It was really starting to feel like fantasy had come to life in the real world.
Of course, not everything was happy and fun.
[What the hell is this guy?]
“Why can’t these people just behave quietly if they’ve lost their minds? Why are they causing trouble on the streets? It’s hard enough living as a mutant…”
If I see this guy later, I’ll go beat him up.
Really?
Obviously, that’s a lie, you idiot.
He clearly looks like a Minotaur-type mutant ᄏᄏ.
If he doesn’t get flattened, we’ll be lucky.
But honestly, the ones who get angry easily among mutants are the most pitiful.
How messed up must their self-control be to act like that?
There’s a higher proportion of mutants who don’t cause accidents.
That’s true too, the vampire above doesn’t attack people and just uses blood packs and coagulated blood to get by.
[Hey, but seriously, all kinds of species are coming out now.]
Reality has turned into pure fantasy ᄏᄏ
Elves, dwarves, harpies, vampires, various animal-humanoid mutants…
I think I heard there are even slimes?
Is there anything else?
There must be dragons somewhere, right?
If there are dragons, it’s going to be chaos.
Oh wow;; Are they breathing fire or something?
Speaking of which……
When I was in the hospital, there were rumors circulating.
They said there was a mutant who seemed to be a dragon.
Really??
It’s been about 2 months since I woke up as a mutant, right?
But at that time, they said there were still people whose transformation wasn’t complete.
Wow;;
But what about you?
A 2-month mutant is rare, isn’t it?
I’m an elf, but apparently, I’m a bit different from a regular elf.
Is it a high elf or something?
Wow, if there’s a dragon, that’s a bit scary;; Won’t there be a big accident?
I don’t know, but they say the longer the transformation process takes, the more mentally stable you become? The doctor said that.
Really?
I didn’t feel confused or anything either.
[By the way, what’s the difference between a high elf and a regular elf? Sounds interesting. I’ve never met an elf friend, so I don’t know much. But I hear plant voices… weird?]
I froze for a moment as I read the post on the internet.
The mention of a late transformation and the possibility of being a dragon…
It seemed likely that they were talking about me.
I never expected to see my story in a place like this.
Maybe the person they were calling a high elf is someone who woke up in the same hospital as I did.
After that, I kept searching for more information on what had happened.
Looking through the history of mutants, I realized just how many strange incidents had occurred.
Then again, fantasy had arrived in everyday life, so it would be stranger if nothing was happening.
Some of the stories seemed serious, while others made me laugh. Eventually, I tried to sleep.
When I woke up, it was already morning.
I scratched my messy hair and then felt something on my head.
“…Ah.”
It was a hard, tightly coiled, jet-black horn.
This still feels unfamiliar. It’s human nature to touch something like a bump on your head, but this… this is definitely a horn.
Even though I was fiddling with the horn, I didn’t really feel any strange sensation from it.
It just felt like a hard bull’s horn.
I heard that I also have wings and a tail, but I don’t know how to bring them out.
I’m not sure about the tail, but I’d like to try using the wings at least once… well, I guess they’ll come out eventually.
After a moment of zoning out, I realized I needed to contact my family.
It was… 9 a.m.
At this time, my mom should at least be awake.
I casually stretched my fingers and called my mom.
“Hello? What’s wrong?”
“Hey, Mom. They said I can be discharged starting today.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. My condition is really stable, and I don’t need any extra practice controlling my strength in daily life. They said I can just leave the hospital and come in weekly for check-ups.”
“So, what will you do? Will you go straight to your studio apartment?”
“Yeah. I’m planning to stay there for now. By the way, have you left the apartment untouched?”
“Oh, I forgot to mention that. I gave up your apartment. With the maintenance costs… since no one was living there, I decided to end the lease as soon as it was up. I also got Seo-ah a new officetel.”
“It’ll be nice for the two of you to live together.”
“Ah.”
“And I talked to Seo-ah about it. Since you’re no longer a guy and now a girl, there will be times when you’ll need her help. So, I thought it would be good to live together. Is that okay with you?”
“No, no. It’s fine. I’ve lived with her when we were younger anyway… And like you said, I think I’ll need her help sometimes.”
I felt a bit disappointed, but it didn’t bother me too much.
After all, it was because Yoon Seo-ah, that crazy girl, insisted on having two apartments.
“So where do I need to go? Can you send me the address? Also, I don’t have anything to wear right now… can you bring me something simple to wear?”
“I’ll be there soon. Wait a bit. While I’m at it, I’ll buy you some clothes. I know you probably don’t have much of an idea about your size now.”
“Okay…”
About an hour later, my mom arrived at the hospital with my younger sister.
“How have you been?”
“I saw you yesterday, what’s up?”
“She means, how are you? Can you discharge now?”
“Yeah. I packed everything… I can just leave. By the way, did you bring a hoodie or something?”
“Seo-ah packed it. If you go out like that, it’ll be a disaster.”
“Oh~ How unexpected of you!”
“What do you mean? Isn’t that just obvious?”
“Honestly, I thought you’d forget.”
“Die.”
“By the way, I need to buy her some underwear. Let’s go to the department store first.”
“Oh, can I buy some clothes for myself while we’re there?”
“What clothes? You already have a lot.”
“No, I really don’t have anything to wear these days.”
“Alright. But make sure to pick out some clothes for your brother, too.”
I thought this kid was suddenly being obedient, but of course, she had an ulterior motive.
Since the semester had just ended, and summer was approaching, it was obvious she wanted to buy some summer clothes.
“Okay, fine. But what about your measurements? Should I take them?”
“Don’t. The store staff will freak out if they see you.”
“Yeah, good idea.”