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I opened the door to the hotel room, feeling awkward that someone else was there.

“……”

The dazzling lights of human civilization blooming on the ground, the starlight in the sky that had become clearer unlike the ruined nature. Even with the fantastic night view as a backdrop, Helena seemed the most radiant to me.

It wasn’t just about her appearance.

Her profound nature, her considerate attitude, and the strength that was now hard to come by… Even just sitting with her legs crossed casually and her chin resting on her hand, it felt like she filled the room with her presence.

I thought I had made up my mind, but seeing her like that… I lost a little confidence.

Because I didn’t have answers or information that I could readily share.

“……gulp.”

I swallowed hard, containing my complicated feelings, and sat down next to her as she quietly admired the scenery from the edge of the bed.

Where should I start? Where should I begin to untangle this mess…?

Even though my 고민 wasn’t long, Helena came in without hesitation again.

“…You really don’t listen, do you? Even when I said you could brush it off as a joke?”

“No… I… I’m sorry.”

Isn’t this… isn’t this a manly apology…?

Even though I hadn’t really done anything wrong yet, her dissatisfied tone made me shrink back involuntarily. I think it’s a man’s fate to be weak against a beautiful woman’s anger. …Probably.

Her body, which had been facing the window the whole time, turned towards me.

“…Okay. Should we just start from the beginning, step by step…? First, your real name.”

“…Anastasia Valentine. I have another last name, but… I don’t think much of it. …There are a lot of problems tied to it.”

The format was question and answer. It was practically an interrogation, but I felt more bewildered than unpleasant.

Rustle….

“When did we first meet?”

“The first time we met in person was at the hotel… no, on Brightside Avenue.”

…Why? Because even though she was asking such serious questions, she kept stroking my hair…?

Rustle… rustle….

From left to right, from right to left. She messed it up as she pleased, then smoothed over the stray hairs and tidied them up again.

A service you’d only get at a hair salon, plus a spoonful of affection. I was about to fall for the soft touch and warmth when a terrifying question pierced through.

“You didn’t approach Grandpa Heinrich on purpose, did you?”

“!! Absolutely…! That’s absolutely not true! I can swear on everything I have.”

…I almost fell for a tactic designed to lower my guard.

If I really was a planner, I would have been caught in a trap investigation without even realizing it.

As expected… Helena Valentine is someone you can’t let your guard down around in many ways, even when she’s on your side. I reaffirmed that.

“Hmph…. You’re not lying, but you’re definitely hiding something… but you don’t seem like you’re going to talk. Then… one last thing.”

“……Huh?”

Before I could even exhale a sigh of relief, my shoulders were gently pushed back.

My upper body landed softly on the bed. Considering the softness of the mattress that I would sink into just by jumping on it, I would have to say it was a masterful control of strength.

But… what could the last question be that she’s putting on this pressure interview act?

“?!”

Helena’s face, her lips, slowly descended and stopped near my ear. The hair that had fallen down tickled my face slightly.

…That was a really stupid question. The fire that made me run away hadn’t even gone out yet, and I let my guard down just because she said she believed me.

“…Why did Asha keep looking at me like that…?”

I felt like I was getting burned by the heat that dug into my ear. Or maybe my eardrums were already burning, but my stupid brain was mistaking it for a different, sweet sensation instead of pain.

I could clearly feel Helena’s passionate gaze. …If, just if, I was admiring her beauty… grateful for her unexpected help… and glancing at her all day with that look in my eyes whenever I remembered the embarrassing memories of Neo Haven. What kind of signal would that have sent?

I blankly looked up at her face, which was flushed with a faint blush….

“!!”

Thud…!

I pushed away the arm that was trapping me and quickly retreated to the corner.

In the process, the blanket got tangled around me as I struggled, and my hands slipped, causing a mess, but Helena watched my pathetic display calmly from her spot. However, her expression still had lingering heat.

It was… as if I had stood Helena up, which made my heart ache and filled me with guilt.

My mouth opened on its own, and even words I didn’t want to say came out.

“It’s… it’s because my situation and my mind are a bit complicated…!”

“Mind…? Are you talking about having a male gender identity? What’s wrong with that?”

“!! Ah… you knew?!”

I wondered how lecherous my gaze must have been for her to notice, but thankfully, that wasn’t it.

“Well, I told my newly acquired little sister to call me ‘unnie,’ but she called me ‘nuna’ instead… and the kid who said she was only going to get a simple muscle enhancement procedure was staring intently at the gender reassignment surgery….”

“Ugh…!”

I was speechless at the history of clumsy actions that were listed as if they were a headache. But I think it’s also Helena’s fault for constantly provoking me.

“…Anyway, I don’t care if Asha is a bigender or something. It’s not like I’m a hater…. I never thought I’d say this, but you’re too attractive for me to care about that kind of thing…?”

“Wait! Wait a minute!! HelenaHelenaHelena…!!”

Even though she revealed the fact that she had noticed a long time ago, I didn’t show any signs of moving, so she released her demure waiting posture and quickly closed the distance using both her hands and knees.

How can I explain this well so that she understands…?

That I’m a person whose body was switched overnight, so it’s not just my mind that’s the problem, but my body too? That I’m worried about Anastasia’s consciousness that’s already mixed up to the point where it’s hard to distinguish?

No, more than that, wasn’t she subtly making very passionate expressions, taking advantage of the confusion…?!

To calm Helena down, I desperately gathered all the reasons that came to mind.

“Family…! We’re family!!”

“? Some people in high places only do incest, saying they have to preserve superior genes, so what’s wrong with that?”

“Well… there’s no productivity, is there?!”

“…Asha seems to have pretty outdated common sense and ways of thinking. There’s also the artificial insemination service provided by Enama?”

Those crazy Enama Corporation bastards…!! Why are you so enthusiastic about research!

Whether I was screaming inwardly or not, she went one step further and suggested a solution that made my mind go blank.

“……Or should I get gender reassignment surgery?”

“?! That’s absolutely not allowed—!! Helena is perfect the way she is…!”

“……Pfft.”

A scream was automatically ejected along with a brain-burning shock.

Only then did I understand a little. The concept of gender in this world was… thousands of times more ‘future-oriented’ than I thought I had understood while playing Neo Haven.

“…Ah.”

“……”

Helena’s silhouette, which had come close to my nose, was magnified. Perhaps because she was backlit by the room lights, the sense of intimidation was even greater.

Ah, no. There were no more excuses to make or ways to stop it. I closed my eyes tightly in resignation….

…Peck. Peck.

Once on my lightly lifted forehead, once on the hair scattered on the blanket.

A light but… dizzying and sweet kiss descended from the sky. I felt a tingling in my hands and feet as I realized that I had directly received some of the heat she possessed.

“It’s not like I’m going to force you to do anything… but this much is okay between sisters, right…?”

“……. Helena….”

“…Keep calling me ‘unnie’ until you make up your mind. …It’s the punishment for making me expect so much and then running away on your own.”

She pulled the pillow that was on top and hugged it, then lay down comfortably.

The bed, which I thought was wide for a single bed, was filled with a moderate warmth and weight as Helena lay on one side.

I touched my forehead and hair, where the tingling sensation still remained.

I’m sure I heard that there was some deep meaning depending on the part of the body you kissed. …And I also vaguely remembered that the forehead or hair had a much stronger meaning than the cheek.

“Asha, go to sleep soon too. This ‘unnie’ has to go to work again, so I have to take you home early and then leave….”

“…Why does ‘unnie’ work as a riot police officer?”

“Why… because the pay is guaranteed, and if you follow the rules well, you don’t have to worry about becoming a criminal…? So stop thinking about doing dangerous things, and find a normal… engineer job.”

“……Okay.”

I quietly took off my shoes and put them on the floor.

I solved one of the questions that had been bothering me since I met her. The venom and distrust that had made her the wolf of Neo Haven were missing from the current Helena Valentine.

This was… more concerning than my mental state, which was hard to define clearly.

I had a feeling that there might be something I could do for her….

Thump… thump….

“Ugh……”

Of course, apart from that, it was impossible to fall asleep comfortably until my pounding heart calmed down.

I usually learned that in these cases, the victim sleeps with their feet stretched out, and the perpetrator stays up all night… it’s really unfair.