After hastily finishing the shower, I shook the water out of my hair.

Maybe it was because I’d been cleaning the floors every day, but there wasn’t as much dust on me as I thought there’d be. Still, the unpleasant feeling from sitting on the floor for hours was finally gone.

I glanced at the clock—about twenty minutes had passed.

Usually, I’d be done with a shower in about ten minutes, but ever since my body changed, it always took at least twenty.

There’s no real reason for it, except for this strange embarrassment I feel when touching my own body.

I’ve already come to terms with the fact that this is my body now and that I might have to live with it for the rest of my life. But every time I catch my reflection in the mirror during a shower, I can’t help but feel like I’m spying on someone else.

Even though my hair is cut short, it still reaches down to my shoulders, which adds more time to the whole process.

"Hah…"

Still, I finished as quickly as possible since Jane had said she’d be here soon.

She mentioned it would take about thirty minutes on the phone, so she should be arriving any moment now.

As I stepped out of the shower, I heard the owner talking to someone.

…A customer? At this hour?

"Oh, you’re done?"

"Ah, yes. Thanks for letting me use the shower."

"Turns out the person picking you up is a pretty decent friend. Seems reliable."

"Huh?"

"They’re waiting for you, so go ahead. How close are you two? They got here pretty fast."

…They’re already here? But she said it would take thirty minutes?

Poking my head around the corner at the owner’s words, I saw a familiar face sprinting toward me.

"Urk!"

"Boss! It’s been so long!"

"…Boss?"

"Ah, uh… She’s a younger friend I used to play with. We had this game when we were kids, and I guess it stuck…!"

Before I even had time to complain about the pain in my waist from the sudden hug, the owner looked at me with curiosity about the "Boss" title, so I quickly tried to brush it off.

Jane, realizing her mistake, started nodding her head vigorously, backing up my story.

"Yeah! It’s just a nickname from back then! Kind of like a pet name!"

"Hoo, is that so? Then should I call you Boss too?"

"Please, spare me…"

"I’m just kidding."

This girl. I’ve told her time and time again not to call me "Boss."

I moved my hands to place them on her waist, which was conveniently exposed due to her revealing outfit—an ideal spot for some payback.

"…Boss? What are you doing… Gah!"

"Shh. You don’t want anyone to get suspicious, right?"

Even though Jane’s body was well-toned and her legs were long and sleek, it wasn’t like there wasn’t any fat to grab.

I grabbed a handful of her stomach and twisted as hard as I could. Even though my body wasn’t as strong as before, I was determined to use all the strength I had left.

No matter how well-trained someone is, no one can really toughen up a place like this.

Tears welled up in Jane’s eyes as I pinched her waist.

"Well, thank you for everything, sir."

"Of course. Come by whenever you have time. I’ll give you a good deal."

"I’ll visit often."

"You’re good with words. It seems your sister’s so happy to see you after all this time that she’s crying."

"Haha… Yeah, she’s just really happy to see me…"

The owner seemed to interpret Jane’s tear-filled eyes as tears of joy, believing it was an emotional reunion.

Jane, clearly wanting to avoid further trouble, forced a smile, even though I could tell she was dying to explain that wasn’t the case.

The moment we left the bar, that forced smile quickly vanished.

"Boss, that was too much… That really hurt…"

"That’s what you get for calling me that in front of other people. If you do it again…"

"I won’t! I won’t ever do it again!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Absolutely, sis!"

She almost called me "Boss" again, but after seeing the look in my eyes, she quickly corrected herself.

I don’t mind her calling me that when it’s just us, but if she does it in front of others, it’ll cause misunderstandings.

…To be honest, I’m not exactly thrilled about her calling me "sis" either, but it’s better than "Boss" or "Lady Ophelia."

"Alright, then lead the way."

"Got it."

With that, Jane started walking, and I followed her down the street.

"…This place is interesting."

"Didn’t you live around here, sis?"

"I did, but I never really spent much time outside at this hour."

Back when I was still at the academy, I spent all my time there during school hours, so I never had the chance to explore the streets around here.

And when I worked at the bar as a bartender, my schedule was flipped—working at night and sleeping during the day.

Since the bar was only open at night, I’d sleep through the day and never had a chance to wander around this area at this time.

…It kind of feels like I’m in a foreign country.

Well, more like a whole different world.

"…Hey, sis. Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"You always used to talk about going back to the academy. Even the last time I saw you, you were working there as a teacher."

"Yeah."

"Then why are you here now?"

I knew this question was coming sooner or later.

I figured she’d ask me why I was here as soon as we met, but she probably held back since there was someone else around.

Now that she’s asked, I’ll have to answer.

"I got into some trouble and had to run."

"That’s a lie."

"…What?"

"You’re not the kind of person who would run away, Boss. I know you better than that."

I had told the bar owner that I couldn’t stay at the academy anymore because of the trouble I caused, leading to me running away.

But Jane rejected that story right away.

"The academy is the place you’ve always wanted to be. I don’t believe for a second that you’d just run away. Something else must’ve happened."

"…I’m telling you, I ran away."

"I understand that you want to say that right now, but Boss, I believe in you."

"…"

"Whenever you’re ready to tell me the truth, I’ll be waiting… Ouch! Boss, it hurts! It hurts!"

"Who said you could call me Boss again? We’re still in public, you know?"

"Aaaaah! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll never do it again!"

"You said that earlier, didn’t you?"

"This time I really mean it! I swear!"

"Reeaally?"

"I swear! I promise!"

"…I’ll let you off this time."

"Haa… I thought I was going to die…"

I glanced at Jane, who was dramatically rubbing her stomach after being pinched again.

She sure knows how to talk.

I just hope she didn’t notice how red my face got from the whole exchange.

Before she could get her bearings back, I hurriedly nudged her forward.

"Let’s go. People are staring."

"Ugh, you’ve gotten so cold, sis…"

Fortunately, Jane didn’t seem to notice my blush. She continued walking, rubbing her pinched waist along the way.

"So, how are the kids doing these days?"

"Too healthy for their own good. They kept crying, asking when you’d come back. Now that you’re here, at least I won’t have to deal with that anymore."

"Yeah…"

"Oh, do you want to bring them a gift? They’d love that."

"Sure. A big whale plushie should do, right?"

"More than enough. They’ll go crazy for it."

Kids love plushies. Even those raised in good environments can’t resist them, let alone the ones who grew up in the rough streets.

Even though Jane mentioned they moved, I doubt they’d have the means to buy toys for all those kids.

And since it had been a while since I’d seen them, I picked up a large whale plushie I spotted nearby.

"Wow, this is huge…"

"Yeah, it’s bigger than I expected… Ngh…"

"No, I wasn’t talking about the plushie… Never mind. Can I carry it?"

"Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable?"

"It’s fine. I’ll draw less attention if I’m holding it."

"…?"

I had no idea what Jane was talking about, but she didn’t elaborate.

What was that about?

We continued walking and chatting about random things as we wandered through the streets.

At first, I was just curious about the new place Jane mentioned.

…but as time went on, I began to feel uneasy about the changing scenery around us.

Are we going the right way?

"Hey, Jane."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Are we on the right track?"

"Yeah. We’re almost there. Just a little further."

"Almost?"

I glanced around at our surroundings.

All I could see were fancy buildings. Most of the houses had large yards, and some even had swimming pools.

…This looks like a rich neighborhood.

Did they really manage to get a place in a neighborhood like this?

"Here we are. It’s a little big, isn’t it?"

"A little…?"

"Heh, heh heh."

Ding-dong.

I watched Jane press the doorbell with a light touch, staring blankly at the mansion in front of me.

…What on earth happened while I was gone?

[Who’s there?]

"It’s me, you jerk. Open the door, unless you want to get beaten."

[…You really need to work on that foul mouth of yours. Haven’t I always told you? The leader shouldn’t—]

"Shut up and open the door. The Boss is here. You really want to keep them waiting?"

[…! I’ll open it right away!]

BANG.

The mansion’s door swung open in a hurry, and Jane smiled as she turned to me.

"Boss, come on in!"

"Uh… okay…"

Now I was really curious.

Had they really gone from that rundown place to here?

…How?