Hello, my name is Karnatia Seri Anabald.

This wasn’t always my name, you see; Before, I was called Ooshima Kanata, a Japanese male high school student.

I still haven’t been able to comprehend or accept my situation until now.

After being a boy for nearly 2 decades in Japan, not only did my gender change, but I even became a newborn who had to depend on people for his regular needs.

It all happened so suddenly.

I still remember that day’s events like the back of my hands, my death day...

 

 

“Ugh... Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed up late yesterday. Tomoko-san seemed strangely adamant about killing the final boss though. No complaints here, I finally reached the true endgame after this raid anyways.”

Tomoko-san, or as I usually call her, Ito-san is a childhood friend of mine.

I first met her at first-grade elementary school, she was my front-seat classmate, making interactions with her unavoidable.

In the beginning, I was actually kinda afraid of her.

Unlike other children who were playing or doing whatever children do as six-year-olds, she was reading a very thick book about a topic I never understood even in high school, she was a veritable genius.

However, imagine my surprise when she turned out to be even better at games than me, she was very easygoing as well!

My Gameboy high scores were all set by her back then and I never beat them.

She always complained that my gaming time is too long and that it would affect my studies, but what she did only served to strengthen my decision of focusing more on gaming.

Our little study groups as kids with Aiko-san and Segawa-san were all we needed to get the highest grades. Tomoko-san’s explanation and tips were like magic to us, as if the information is directly poured into our brains in the simplest form.

I didn’t need to care about studying, and Tomoko-san became more of a mentor and teacher to me than Hayashi-sensei.

My respect for her turned into near worship when she protected us from those child predators, however, that incident also revealed that, compared to us, Aiko is her favorite.

The guy that kicked me only got a broken leg while the guy who nearly touched Aiko-san was paralyzed from the waist down by her. This showed how high Aiko-san is in her heart compared to the rest of us.

Our friendship wasn’t affected by this revelation though, and I even learned later that our acceptance of her violent side was what broke through the last barrier she had set up against outsiders.

But enough reminiscing right now, I gotta hurry up and get ready for school!

Hastily putting on my uniform, I wolf down the sandwiches mother made for breakfast, then grab my lunch and leave.

On my way there, I spot Tomoko-san walking unhurriedly to school. Her mentality seems to have gone through some sort of transformation after her latest trip, and a bigger change seemed to have taken place this week.

“Good mornin’, Ito-san!”

Without even turning around, she returns my greeting with a distracted smile.

“Mornin’, Kanata. I hope you’re satisfied by the ending of the game yesterday.”

Huh...? She usually calls me Ooshima... Something’s up, but as always, I know I’m getting no information from her.

The mysterious and isolated vibe around her seemed to be getting heavier lately, but I can still clearly feel the warmth radiating from her when she's with us, her three childhood friends.

The only other person who seems to share this warmth is Wakaba-san. Ahh, that reminds me of a bad memory.

I once tried to fit in with the boys in our class by confessing to her even though I knew I would be getting rejected, but then I was caught by Tomoko and got scolded for 2 hours straight!

Even the other boys dared not think about offending her afterwards, and that time when she knocked out Natsume with an over-shoulder throw cemented that idea.

Remembering Natsume’s expression of doubting the meaning of life made me chuckle a bit.

Seeing her current distracted expression, I stopped bothering her and just silently followed her to school.

“I’m going to hang out with Shun-kun. See you later, Tomoko-san.”

Tentatively trying to call out to her with her first name, I’m surprised by her non-refusal, then her reply got me confused.

“All right, Kanata. Take care of yourself and always remember my advice for you.”

After leaving those words behind, she turned around and left, mostly going to Aiko’s location.

She always seemed to know our positions, as if she has a radar in her head or a tracker on us. Her talent in Kendo was greatly supplemented by this, but her calculated self-destructive style is scary.

Her last sentence was weird though, I can’t seem to get my hands on the reason, but it sounded like a farewell for a long-time separation.

Sigh... I wish you would let us help carry your burdens, Tomoko-san. Just like you always protected us and solved our worries...

After that strange intersection with Tomoko-san, I found Shun and Kyouya and started boasting about last night’s boss fight.

“Tomoko-san is a monster at the game, I tell ya! The only one who could fight her is Baldie with his incredible mechanics.”

“But if they fight, it’ll probably end in a tie. Baldie is too fast and can dodge everything while Tomoko-san always plans every move ahead as if she has a god’s perspective cheat on.”

“Yeah, Baldie would try to dodge and advance but then he will be held back by well-positioned spells thrown by Tomoko-san, it’d be the most intense fight of this decade!”

Ahh, that’s true. Only Baldie could draw with Tomoko, and both have the same solo playstyle.

I mean, Tomoko doesn’t bother to join in when I’m with Shun and Kyouya, but she’s always there when I’m alone as if she’s waiting for me to be alone.

The same happens with Aiko and Segawa...

As the sound of the bell announces the start of the first period, we break up our gathering and move to our classroom.

School days are boring as ever, I wish they’d make ‘em shorter.

I don’t mind attending Ms Oka’s class in full though, she’s fun to be around even if I don’t get much learning done during her class.

We were listening to one of her lectures when agonizing pain suddenly assaulted my body, I couldn't even utter a scream as I promptly pass out.

 

That was the last day of my first life.

After waking up, I found myself being carried by someone. Trying to struggle, I was terrified to find that my body was too weak to do so.

I thought I was kidnapped like that incident with Tomoko-san, but then I discovered the abnormality of the situation.

For some reason, I was back to being a baby again.

And that... was terrifying, and even more frightening was the discovery of my gender change.

My mind just went blank, and I lived out my days mechanically like a puppet on strings.

Many times, I felt my mind splitting into two, or had doubts about my rebirth being the result of me stealing this young girl’s body and killing its owner in the process.

I also couldn’t get used to female living habits, always feeling that something was wrong.

Only my days with Tomoko, Aiko, and Segawa helped me remember basic women’s common sense, so I tried my best to imitate them.

My parents, Duke and Duchess Anabald didn’t realize that something was wrong with me, they were happy that their daughter was turning out to be such a perfect genius.

On the outside, I was always the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect actor.

I learned a lot about this world from my tutors, things like levels, systems, monsters, and even more.

This game-like world knowledge only fueled my inner fear and confusion.

The first time I actively worked towards a goal was when I learned that humans can check on our status, by using a magical tool with the skill Appraisal contained in it.

After finding out about this, and although I was told that using it comes with an intense headache dangerous enough to kill humans, I didn’t care and spent the system’s “skill points” to get the skill.

I acquired Appraisal without hesitation and wanted to use it to confirm the truth about myself, am I Karnatia or Kanata...?

The results... disappointed me, Appraisal needed a higher level to give any useful information.

What I got about myself was just this.

<Human>

Strangely, no mind-blowing headaches followed, but it was fine by me as it means I can level it up without worries.

I didn’t have to wait for it to level up though as the upcoming event could help with that.

Today is my Appraisal Ceremony. It is a social debut ceremony for noble children who come of age.

A magical tool is used to Appraise the child for the first time in front of present guests to determine their worth, it’s an event that perfectly fits the sick minds of the nobles and their twisted conspiracies.

Despite that, I was only worried about whether the results would reveal the truth about me, and whether I would be burned like some demon who took over a newborn’s body.

“Karnatia-sama, Lady duchess is calling for you, please hurry before the ceremony.”

Waving my maid away, I make my way to my mother’s room.

I’m puzzled by her sudden request for my presence at such a critical time.

Knocking on her door, I adjust my body into a posture living up to the noble etiquette I’ve been learning for years, then waited for her reply.

“Come in.”

Opening the door, I inquiringly look at my mother who’s intently staring at an expensive-looking locked box.

“You called for me, mother dearest?”

She looks at me for a moment and then exhales as if she’s made a decision about something.

“Karnatia, my daughter, I do not care about the results of the ceremony, and whatever happens, you’ll always be my beloved daughter.”
Standing up, she unlocks the box revealing a breathtaking bracelet.

It looks as if it is made out of some scaley material, it has shiny metallic purple as its base color.

Magical runes are inscribed on its inside giving it a mysterious aura.

What stunned me, however, was not any of this, it was the connection I felt to the bracelet.

It was as if it is calling to my soul, and my soul was longing to reunite with it.

“This bracelet, my dear Karnatia, was made by a renowned space mage with the scales of a mermaid. Mermaids usually live far away from land and people who saw them and lived can be counted on one hand.”

Mermaids...? I thought there were only humans, elves, and demons in this world.

“Mermaids don’t have a good relationship with us humans, they are also in an antagonistic relationship with the elves, and they are neutral with the demons. What caused this was an incident where some humans and elves tried to enslave one of their kind a couple of years ago. It caused them to retaliate by massacring hundreds of elves along with the participating humans.”

Of course, that would happen, they tried to enslave them, and they got their revenge, nice and clear.

“The mermaids didn’t have a single casualty in that battle. The reason for this is their incredible talent for space magic. In fact, their talent is so high that their shed scales retain that property and are the best material for making space magic items. This bracelet contains a long-distance teleportation spell that will activate should the wearer find themselves in a mortal situation, teleporting them to the pre-recorded coordinates. It is currently linked to one of our safehouses in another country.”

So, they are rarely seen because they teleport around...?

Mother surprises me by pushing the bracelet past my fingers and letting it rest on my arm.

“I hope you’ll always be safe, my daughter. It’s time, let’s go.”

The moment I wore it, I felt my numb soul being awoken from its slumber, and my mechanical movements become smoother.

Going through the door to the huge hall reserved for events, I find a lot of guests standing around waiting for me.

My Appraisal will take place at the start of the event, and etiquette forbids any political discussions before that.

Walking to the podium, I gaze at the magical item placed on the elevated stand, an Appraisal stone that my father borrowed from the royal family. It allows the usage of level 10 Appraisal.

Putting my hand on it, I feel as if my soul is being seen through, but some of the information seems to be blocked.

The guests burst into murmurs as they examined results displayed on a projector-like magical tool, and the presence of two unreadable skills does nothing to help stop them.

One of them is called [n % I = W] while the other is just a bunch of unreadable symbols to them.

I can’t be bothered about them though, as I could clearly read the name and effect of the second skill.

It said:

<Soul Marked: Your soul is marked by a loved one, they deeply wish for your safety and well-being that they cut a piece of their own soul and left it in yours. When turned on, acquire skills [Heretic Nullification] [Space Perception LV 10]. Effect: Allows hiding own skill names when viewed by Appraisal. +Correction to Spatial & Heretic magic proficiencies. May your life be free of danger and confusion.>

Someone cares about me this much...? Who could it be...?

Turning on the skill, I feel some power being released from deep within me, shielding me and fixing all my mental problems.

Suddenly, the last conversation with Tomoko-san comes to mind.

“All right, Kanata. Take care of yourself and always remember my advice for you.”

Ahhh, what was her advice back then...?

I remember now, it was after she forgave me for my attempt to confess to Wakaba-san.

“Kanata, it doesn’t matter what people think, it doesn't even matter what YOU think. All preconceived or predetermined thoughts serve as nothing but a burden. Just let everything go, adapt and live your life without a care, the most important thing is your own happiness granted that it doesn’t affect unrelated people.”

I see... You were always looking out for me, huh...? It’s like you knew I would end up in such a state someday. As mysterious as ever, Tomoko.

A tear slips down my cheeks as a blooming smile appears on my face, my first real smile in this life.

“Thank you, Tomoko.”

 

 

Somewhere deep below the ocean waves, a stunning beauty of a woman with a half-human half-fish body suddenly stared in the direction of Duke Anabald’s mansion.

“Katia’s first, huh? My shed scales even made their way to her hands somehow. D made it very troublesome by changing that into an on/off skill. I still can’t find the other two... If those elves dare to hurt them though, I don't mind helping the demons exterminate that sinful race.”