The Truth Revealed to a Friend

“Ah Jiu, you’re not angry anymore, are you?”

“Angry? Why would I be angry?”

After school, Fatty and I left the campus, intending to find a place to eat. Usually, he would walk beside me, but today, he ambled slowly behind me. It was clear he still felt a degree of awkwardness.

“So, you’ve forgiven me?”

“To be honest,” I paused, turning my head to face him, “you really should find a girlfriend.”

He gave a wry smile. “I want a girlfriend too, but look at me—I’m so fat. What girl would ever like me?”

“Then lose weight.”

Fatty sighed deeply. “If only losing weight were that easy.”

As he spoke, his gaze swept over my body. Since I had transformed into a girl, my physique had shrunk, making my school uniform hang loosely. Just as I was about to ask him what he was staring at, he murmured, “Ah Jiu, you have a good figure, but no boyfriend. Are shut-ins just destined to be single?”

What concern is it of yours whether I have a boyfriend?

“It’s true, it’s none of my business. But think about it, how long have we known each other?”

“From elementary school until high school?”

Fatty nodded. “Exactly. We grew up together. Logically, as my childhood friend, you should have a very close relationship with me, yet we became brothers, not lovers. I have a beautiful girl right next to me, but I feel absolutely nothing. That seems a bit strange.”

Nonsense. I used to be a guy. Even though your memories have been altered, your sexual orientation hasn’t. If you genuinely liked me as a girl right now, I’d be utterly creeped out, alright?

Fatty adopted a serious expression. “Ah Jiu, do you ever get the feeling that this world has been altered? No, to be precise, the world we see isn’t the real world. Beneath this outwardly calm surface, something world-shattering is hidden.”

Normally, I would have mocked Fatty’s deadpan expression whenever he got serious, but now, I found myself unable to utter a single retort.

Could it be that Fatty had actually stumbled upon clues to the Inner World from the inconsistencies in his memories? Was he unexpectedly perceptive?

“Have you been watching too much anime? Still so chuunibyou?”

“No, it’s not chuunibyou. Listen to me, I genuinely suspect there are supernatural entities in this world. Ah Jiu, I actually never used you as a ritual component.”

“What kind of act are you pulling now?”

Fatty fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, “I know it sounds foolish, but there’s no way I could be mistaken about my own memories. I know what the real Ah Jiu is like. We were as close as brothers, sharing everything. I know he’s a pervert who likes women in black stockings, and I know he likes a certain girl. I even know he once conspired with me to steal panties from the girls’ dormitory at school.”

“Huh? Are you trying to die? Do you really have to expose our dark history?!”

“But here’s the problem: many things we did together now make absolutely no logical sense. I originally had no memory of using you as a ritual component, yet when you asked about it, I inexplicably recalled the scene of me… using you.”

Fatty’s gaze sharpened, becoming resolute. This usually gentle and easygoing Fatty had never radiated such an authoritative aura before.

“If you were a beautiful girl, you wouldn’t have done those sordid things with me—things only a pervert would do. Why? Because I remember Ah Jiu was a shut-in.” He slapped his flabby face, emphasizing, “A shut-in, dammit.”

I never expected Fatty to be the only one besides my parents who remembered I used to be a man. Damn it, what’s going on? I’m actually a little touched.

My best friend’s memories were altered, he forgot many things, but he still remembers I was a twisted shut-in…

I think he’d be better off just accepting the current reality and forgetting those things.

However, some things were better left unsaid. Fatty was just an ordinary person, and I didn’t want him to get dragged into this. After all, he was my good friend, and I didn’t want him exposed to danger.

I looked at him calmly. “When did you start having these suspicions?”

“From the day you didn’t come to class.”

People continued to walk by on the street, but Fatty and I remained frozen in place. Some passersby, seeing us “gazing” intently at each other in public, assumed we were deranged and quickened their pace.

“Oh? Tell me how you came to that conclusion.”

“How I came to it…” Fatty frowned, sounding uncertain. “It’s just… suspicion.”

“What kind of reason is that? Where’s the factual evidence?”

“The factual evidence is that you’re a damn guy, because I just remember it!” Fatty exclaimed in exasperation. “The day you didn’t come to school, I found it really strange. You’d never taken a day off since childhood. Even though we didn’t love studying, you always adhered to this inexplicable rule: you would never skip class.”

“So I started thinking, ‘How could that idiot Ah Jiu be sick?’ The more I thought, the more wrong it felt. How did you become a girl in my memories? This can’t be right. I’m very clear about my complete lack of appeal to the opposite s*x; in that, you and I are alike. I just felt strange, ‘Did I imagine my best friend as a beautiful girl because I couldn’t suppress my adolescent desires?’”

“Then you returned to school, and it scared the hell out of me—you had actually turned into a girl. Someone like me can’t be the protagonist of a novel, so I’m very aware that a childhood best friend couldn’t possibly be a beautiful girl.”

I couldn’t help but give Fatty a mental thumbs-up. That’s too real.

“We’ve spent so many years together; some things are already etched into our DNA. Just thinking about it, my memories are riddled with illogical holes. For example, us happily peeing in the wind, seeing who could pee the furthest—how could that memory be altered? You’re a girl, so why do I faintly remember these things?”

“Don’t etch everything into your DNA!”

“So the question is, who exactly are you?”

It seemed I couldn’t brush him off this time. I gave a self-deprecating laugh, looking into Fatty’s eyes as I spoke:

“Your favorite actress is [Censored], you’re an NTR enthusiast, you used to peek at the neighbor across the street showering, and your favorite Galgame is [Censored]. On a side note, you’re also a big fan of magical girl shows—you love watching Pretty X Cure and My Little PXXXX…”

As I listed Fatty’s hobbies, he looked confused. “What are you trying to say?”

“It’s simple. I am Ling Jiu himself, the shut-in you know so well. Your suspicions are reasonable. Now, let me tell you the truth: You’re actually already dead.”

Fatty’s expression froze. “Huh?”

I nodded. “That’s right, you’re currently seeing everything as your own delusion. You were so starved for affection that you sexually harassed a classmate and were expelled from school. In despair, you took your own life.”

“I took my own life?”

“Yes, you are currently on the verge of death, and the male me is by your side, calling for you to wake up. In your delusion, I turned into a girl simply because of the perverse humor generated by your subconscious.”

“I’m going to die…” Fatty looked at his hands in despair, then fiercely pinched himself, wincing from the pain. “I think you’re messing with me.”

“Tsk, did you figure it out? Alright, no more jokes. Actually, you transmigrated. I am Ling Jiu from another worldline. In this worldline, I am a beautiful girl.”

“But how did I transmigrate?”

“Because you wanted to save the world. Humanity was going to be exterminated unless the human individual least likely to fall in love on Earth could successfully do so. Initially, we didn’t care, until we realized that individual was you. Since no one would ever genuinely fall for you, we sent you to this worldline, where I am a girl, to conquer me and save the world.”

Fatty was utterly bewildered. “Then can I, you know, do that with you to save the world now?”

“Go to hell!”

Fatty cried out frantically, “You’re still messing with me!”

I spread my hands. “Just kidding! We are Keepers, burdened with the heavy responsibility of saving the world. But during a battle, both you and I were gravely wounded. You suffered memory loss, and to survive, my body was transformed into a beautiful girl.”

Fatty had completely lost the ability to think. He was so thoroughly confused by my bluffs that he rubbed his temples, muttering, “This world is too crazy. Heh heh heh, I understand now. I’m dreaming.”

Fatty’s eyes were bloodshot as he approached me with a cold, lecherous smirk.

I watched him warily. “What do you intend to do?”

“What do I intend to do? Heheheh…”

Fatty, like a wild beast, suddenly lunged at me with a lewd grin. “It’s a dream anyway. Let your brother have some fun first!”