Chapter 3 :  Let the Brothers Go First

Did I stumble into some kind of theater? 

Or is this one of those immersive roleplay experience venues?

Su Xiaorang’s shock lasted for quite a while before he was finally brought back to his senses by a beautiful, somewhat familiar voice.

“Lanafit? Witch Lanafit! What’s wrong with you?”

Coming to, Su Xiaorang recognized the voice — wasn’t it the same one that had guided him in that hazy in-between moment?

He turned his head toward the figure with deep wine-red wavy hair, but the moment he laid eyes on her, he found himself unable to look away.

Beautiful.

Unbelievably beautiful.

Far more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen.

For a moment, Su Xiaorang couldn’t think of a single word that could do justice to this woman’s beauty. 

Compared to her, the entire world seemed dim and dull.

A flush rose to Su Xiaorang’s cheeks. 

Faced with such a stunning woman, someone who had been stuck in a never-ending “loading screen” since birth didn’t know what to do with himself.

Roseithe noticed Su Xiaorang’s odd reaction. 

She covered her mouth with a soft laugh, not the least bit surprised.

After all, she was fully aware of her own beauty. 

For someone as breathtaking as her, gender hardly mattered — anyone, male or female, would fall under her spell.

Still, the new witch’s reaction amused her. 

It was like watching an innocent boy meeting his first love — entranced yet awkward, tempted yet overwhelmed.

“What’s wrong, my adorable Miss Lanafit? Is there something on my face that has you so entranced?”

“…N-No! I, I… uh…”

Su Xiaorang — or perhaps now Lanafit — turned away, face red all the way to the tips of her ears. 

All she lacked were little puffs of steam coming out of her head.

She didn’t even notice what Roseithe had just called her.

“S-Sorry… you’re just so beautiful… I lost myself for a second…”

Although she could spout all kinds of shameless banter in the dorms with her buddies, in front of such an overwhelming beauty, Su Xiaorang suddenly became a tongue-tied mute. 

Maybe this is what it feels like to have never had a girlfriend.

“Aww~! What an honest little thing. Let me introduce myself. I’m Roseithe Elodé, the 34th Witch, in charge of love and lust. I suppose that makes me your senior. Thank you for the compliment — it makes me very happy.”

She winked playfully at the now utterly flustered Su Xiaorang.

“But Lanafit is very beautiful too~.”

This wasn’t just flattery. 

Su Xiaorang really did look beautiful now. 

Though her hair was a pale gray-white that gave off an aged feeling, and her body was thin and frail, that face alone was breathtaking. 

In fact, her delicate frame only amplified others’ protective instincts.

Roseithe expected Su Xiaorang to blush again, maybe wave her hands and modestly deny the compliment. 

Instead, she looked genuinely confused.

“Um… Who’s Lanafit?”

Roseithe had been using that name the whole time, but Su Xiaorang, who still thought of herself as Su Xiaorang, had no idea who that was. 

She’d been so dazzled by Roseithe’s beauty, she hadn’t even thought to ask.

“Eh?” Roseithe blinked in surprise, but quickly realized the truth. 

Lanafit must’ve still been mentally spacing out during the announcement.

So she explained.

“Why, that’s you! From today onward, you are the 35th Witch. The Demon God himself granted you the name Lanafit. You’re now the Witch of Curses and Calamities — an official member of our Witches’ Covenant.”

Sure enough, her voice faltered slightly when mentioning the domain of curses.

But as she spoke of the Witches, pride lit up her face. 

After all, they were the ruling elite of this world — second only to the Supreme Creator, the Demon God. 

To the average mortal, Witches were no less than goddesses.

Then…

Lanafit raised a hand uncertainly and spoke up.

“Um… since it’s called the Witches’ Covenant, shouldn’t everyone here be a woman? But… I’m a guy.”

“…Hm—?!?!!?”

A bombshell.

Roseithe stared wide-eyed at Lanafit, dropping all pretense of elegance and allure.

“You… you said… man?!”

She looked the girl up and down. 

That beautiful face, that delicate frame, that average teenage-girl height — even though there wasn’t much of a bust, there was no way she could be a guy… right?

“Yeah… huh? Wait, what’s going on — why am I wearing a dress? And my hair? Why is it so long? And this color… Aah! My voice!”

At last, the slow-to-react Su Xiaorang realized something was very wrong — and a wave of panic surged in her heart.

What the hell is happening?!

I, Su Xiaorang, do not have a habit of cross-dressing!

And what’s with this hair? 

Is it a wig?

She reached up, grabbed a handful of the long hair, and tugged firmly.

“Hiss—! Ow!!”

A pained expression twisted her face as she opened her trembling hand. 

Several strands of gray-white hair had been pulled loose — and the pain was very, very real.

Those pale, delicate fingers were clearly not her own.

Yet now, she could move every finger with ease.

What… what is this?

Am I dreaming? 

This has to be a dream… right?

But if it was a dream, why did yanking her hair hurt so much?

Maybe I hit my head while sleeping?

Yeah! 

That must be it. 

I need to wake up, quick!

No way would I have a dream like this.

It must’ve been Yuan Shang — that bastard must’ve gotten me too drunk, and now my brain’s all fogged up, which is why I’m dreaming about… this…

…

…Wait.

Yuan Shang and I… hadn’t even started drinking yet.

Su Xiaorang remembered:

Just as he and Yuan Shang had agreed to go out and drink their sorrows away, a dark, gaping hole had opened beneath his feet. 

He’d fallen in — lost consciousness — and when he awoke, he was here.

Her slender hand touched the smooth floor. 

She could clearly feel the uneven texture where the tiles met — this couldn’t be fake.

Then she looked up at Roseithe.

As unreal as Roseithe’s beauty was, Su Xiaorang felt it deep in her bones — this woman was real, standing right there in front of her.

Given her meager experience with beautiful people, Su Xiaorang knew:

Even in a dream, she couldn’t have conjured up someone this enchanting.

Just then, Roseithe made a move that utterly stunned her.

“Lanafit, I need to verify something.”

With that, she stepped behind Su Xiaorang and lifted her long black dress.

Instantly, Su Xiaorang felt a draft rush across her lower half — a surge of indescribable shame and humiliation flooded her mind. 

She frantically pressed the dress back down. 

The swish of fabric brushing her skin confirmed something terrifying:

She wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

“What the hell is going on——!!”

Su Xiaorang nearly lost it, clutching the dress and scuttling away to the side. 

Her face was so red it seemed like it might burst into flames, and steam practically hissed off the top of her head.

First all this absurd, terrifying stuff happens…

And now this impossibly beautiful woman just lifted her skirt…

The worst part?

She was completely bare underneath.

Having that seen by someone so stunning — Su Xiaorang wanted to die from the shame. 

It was unbearable.

…

Wait.

Just now, when the skirt fell back down…

She didn’t feel anything underneath touch the fabric.

BOOM—!!

Like a bolt from the blue, a deeper, more primal fear exploded in Su Xiaorang’s chest.

She looked down — eyes wide with horror — and began to pat her lower abdomen through the dress, again and again.

All she felt was skin.

“…It’s gone. It’s gone! It’s GONE!”

Driven by utter panic, Su Xiaorang completely forgot her earlier embarrassment. 

She turned around and lifted the dress to check.

But in the end… she could only lower her hands, helplessly.

The “big guy” that her dorm mates had once envied — was gone.

What now…?

Was she heading toward that kind of story?

Her old dorm bros… surrounding her with pervy grins, leering as they say:

“Now that you’ve turned into a girl, of course you’ve gotta let us bros have a little fun first~!”

…

…

“Noooooooo——!!!!”

A sharp, anguished scream rang out, startling Roseithe, who had still been lost in thought. 

She jumped a little, thinking to herself: What’s with this 35th witch being so jumpy all the time?

But then again — she could understand it.

If Lanafit had really been a man, and suddenly woke up in a woman’s body, then yeah… she’d be screaming too.

To turn into a stinky squid-scented man? 

No way! I’d rather die!

Exactly…

As the Witch of Love and Desire, Roseithe Elrod had always preferred the forbidden allure of girl-on-girl relationships over the typical heterosexual kind.

In other words — she was a hardcore yuri girl.

Still, she took her job pretty seriously. 

When a couple truly in love, regardless of gender, ended up together, she would offer her blessing.

Of course, if it was two girls, the blessing would be at least three times stronger — a blatant case of mixing personal bias with professional duty.

Watching Lanafit kneeling on the floor, muttering something about dying now and not wanting to be defiled by the animals back in her dorm… Roseithe could only roll her eyes in exasperation.

She had thought her harem might finally be getting a new junior-type addition — especially one so delicate and easy to pity. 

But now that she realized this “girl” used to be a man… her interest had cooled significantly. 

She just couldn’t get over the physical side of things.

Still — she couldn’t just abandon her.

The task of guiding a newly appointed witch always fell to the previous generation. 

As the 34th Witch, Roseithe had a duty she couldn’t shrug off.

At the very least, she couldn’t let the new girl continue looking like she was about to jump off a cliff.

With a reluctant sigh, she said:

“35th, come with me. I’m going to take you to someone — she might know why you’re in this situation. There’s a chance she can fix it.”

Of course, that chance was pretty slim.

Roseithe added that mentally, keeping it to herself.

Her earlier graceful and enchanting demeanor was completely gone now — ever since she’d found out the truth about Lanafit, her attitude had turned cold and indifferent.

But the moment Su Xiaorang — still in the middle of an existential crisis — heard there might be hope, she leapt to her feet.

If there was even a chance she could go back — back to being a man — nothing could be more important.

What? 

The responsibilities of a witch? 

The will of the Demon God?

Right now, Su Xiaorang cared about one thing and one thing only: changing back.

All that talk of duty and divine intent? 

Already forgotten — or more accurately, never taken seriously to begin with.