This is Kilika’s viewpoint.
H28.11.21 Typo correction
① As we slumped in defeat and Liliana gave a wry smile, Sophie, who had been overhearing the conversation, snatched the male-transformation artifact with a beaming smile. →… , from the side of our conversation…
2021.7.18 Typo and other corrections.
I am Kilika, a summoner who plays a part in offense and defense for the adventurer party “Princess Harem.”
However, our combat strength has plummeted because Mimi No. 1, my most relied-upon summoned beast, is mimicking Sophie’s missing arms…
Lately, when I have free time, Mai and I have been browsing antique shops and junk stores in the old town of the Imperial Capital Granza.
Our goal is to find an artifact-powered wig.
More specifically, we’re looking for something to enhance our breasts.
It might have been a coincidence, but Freya found one, so it should be possible for us too.
The whole thing started when Hal and Ly brought back a near-death Sophie.
According to Ly, she was there to tend to her distant relative Sophie, but due to bad luck, Sophie survived.
If it were just that, it would have been a beautiful story, but Sophie suffered from a troubling special fetish: a fondness for beautiful girls.
The resurrected Sophie played pranks on us, the “Princess Harem” party members, who are a gathering of beautiful girls.
So, we held a “denunciation trial” or “trial in absentia,” including Hal, to confirm her guilt.
After a warning, we planned to have Mimi, the mimic slime that I and Hal control, “punish” her if she continued her pranks. We also intended to dress her in a girlish dress and wig and then severely discipline her.
However… the next morning, Sophie appeared in the dining hall on the first floor not in her ambiguously gendered “Princess Knight” body, but transformed into the soft physique of a “Princess from a sheltered home.”
I couldn’t believe it at first, especially since the changes in her chest were so remarkable.
Sophie’s body was originally similar to mine and Mai’s, with a flat, sheer cliff of a chest, but overnight it had transformed into a pair of spiritual peaks rivaling Ly, who is known for her large breasts.
That was definitely not some flimsy geological event.
According to Sophie, the cause was the wig we had put on her the previous day.
That wig was a shabby piece of junk that Freya had bought, but its true identity was an artifact from the Ancient Magical Civilization Era.
We couldn’t afford to miss this information!
Mai and I, who were struggling with our small breasts, immediately confirmed with Freya.
It was strange that Edele, who also had small breasts, didn’t show much interest.
“Hey, Freya. Tell me about the artifact wig you put on Sophie.”
“Mm, tell me.”
“That wig is, you see—”
When I asked Freya, she told me that wig prices were currently soaring in the Imperial Capital Granza.
Apparently, the noblewomen who were allowed to ascend the White Castle were all having their heads shaved and wearing wigs, which caused the surge in demand.
Come to think of it, Princess Elizabeth, whom Hal had helped before, had her head shaved.
That seemed to have started a trend among noblewomen.
Alicia, who hadn’t appeared in social circles even after being granted the title of Viscountess, said, “That was a close call,” but it seems that shaving heads, or rather, hair cutting, is rampant in the social circles of the Espana Imperial Kingdom.
Speaking of hair, I myself had my pubic hair shaved off during Hal’s “Health Check” because I took a rebellious attitude.
And they said it was “permanent hair removal”!
Hair is a woman’s life, yet what a tragedy.
For that reason, wig prices were soaring, and Freya, as the “Princess Harem’s” accountant, who proudly calls herself a competent accountant, was determined to find a cheap wig with pride.
Naturally, clothing stores that officially sold wigs were experiencing shortages and high prices, including for defective inventory.
So, she went around antique shops and junk stores looking for inexpensive used wigs.
However, it seemed that others had come to the same conclusion as Freya, and the prices of used wigs had also skyrocketed.
Freya, searching for an inexpensive used wig, went all over the shops in the old town, relying on her “past experience,” and stumbled upon the wig in question, which was an artifact.
Furthermore, she vaguely remembered that there seemed to be other items besides that wig.
However, because she was searching exhaustively, she didn’t know the location of the antique shop where she bought it.
So, Mai and I decided to search for the wig in question.
The antique shop we were looking for was a small, old-fashioned shop typical of the old town, and the owner was a greedy old hag.
With only that much information, we set out on our search.
“…Mm, that!”
“Is that the shop…? It certainly fits the description Freya gave.”
Mai and I were exploring the old town of the Imperial Capital Granza when Mai, with her sharp eyes, spotted an antique shop.
Mai, who excels at exploring and verifying information within “Princess Harem,” was also skilled at finding shops.
However, there are countless antique shops and junk dealers in the old town, and we searched until our legs felt like they would fall off.
“Excuse me.”
“…”
Mai and I entered the antique shop she found, but the owner was a bald old man.
Still, just in case, we searched for wigs, but we didn’t find what we were looking for.
“Another miss…”
“…Mm, that!”
Mai found another antique shop.
This time, the shop looked like it was about to collapse, or to put it nicely, it had a certain rustic charm.
“Excuse me.”
“…”
The owner of this shop was an old woman.
Based on her appearance and attitude, it wouldn’t be wrong to call her a greedy old hag.
This place seemed worth investigating.
“If you’re just browsing, please leave.”
“We are looking for a wig.”
“…Well, let’s see… Why don’t you look on that shelf~?”
“Understood.”
“Mm.”
Mai and I followed the greedy old hag’s instructions and began digging through the pile of junk that was haphazardly stacked up.
“Don’t mess up the neatly arranged merchandise! Please put it back on the shelves while you search.”
The greedy old hag said something convenient for herself, but we had no choice but to comply.
Mai and I silently dug through the items.
“Kirika… this!”
“It’s old, but the box is well-made. Inside the box is a short-haired wig and a manual, I suppose…? I can’t read these characters, but Liliana might be able to make sense of it.”
After about an hour of searching the place, Mai discovered an old box containing what appeared to be a short-haired, silver wig amidst the piles of junk.
Furthermore, there was an indentation inside the box, as if a long-haired wig, like the one used for Sophie, had been placed there.
Also, there was something written on the old parchment in characters I didn’t recognize.
In other words, the wig artifact seemed to have been sold as a set of two.
“Excuse me, how much is this?”
“My, my, you have discerning taste~ To find this… How about 5 gold coins (equivalent to 500,000 yen)?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“It may look old, but it was brought in by a noble of noble lineage~”
“What are you talking about! The contents are dirty, and the indentation here shows it’s missing parts. Besides, I want to be compensated for the effort of having to sort through your merchandise.”
“I have no choice… I’ll sell it for 1 gold coin (equivalent to 100,000 yen) at a loss, that’s the best I can do.”
“Old woman, I doubt there are many eccentrics who would buy this junk other than us—”
In the end, I managed to haggle it down to 2 silver coins and 5 copper plates (equivalent to 25,000 yen).
If it were when I was confined in that dilapidated abandoned house, which was merely called a detached palace of the Kamiyar Holy Nation, such negotiation would have been extremely difficult, but after joining “Princess Harem,” I learned to haggle for fabrics and accessories for my hobby of cosplay.
Freya’s haggling skills are incredible, and I secretly consider her my master.
Thus, Mai and I returned to the “Princess Harem’s” base mansion with the desired wig.
However, after searching the house for about an hour, Mai and I were tired, so we forgot that we had taken off the Valkyrie-shaped mask that obscured our vision.
◇ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◇
“Ah, is that!? ‘Killing Doll No. 46’!? I thought it had been deactivated long ago. It’s survived… It should be disposed of immediately.”
◇ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◇
Mai and I walked to the checkpoint on the Imperial Capital Granza’s city walls. After going through the usual procedures, we boarded a shared carriage that circled near the “Princess Harem’s” base mansion, which stood on a small hill in the suburbs.
“That was hard work today, Mai.”
“Mm, I’m okay…”
I praised Mai for her cooperation, but her gaze was fixed on the old box I was holding.
In the end, we only found this one accessory wig.
Once we return to the base mansion, a bloody conflict might ensue over who gets to use it.
The maneuvering had already begun, and Mai and I had entered a state of cold war.
The friendship between maidens is as fragile as this.
Incidentally, besides us, there were three men who looked like farmers, two women who looked like farmers, and one person who looked like an adventurer, wearing a hooded robe like us and a deep hood.
The shared carriage arrived at the foot of the hill where the “Princess Harem’s” base mansion stood without any problems, and we disembarked after paying the fare.
“Tirna, I’m back. Is Liliana here?”
“Welcome back, Kirika, and Mai. Liliana-sama is currently in the living room on the first floor, training Zofie and Ilisha in greeting etiquette.”
When I opened the entrance door of the base mansion and entered, Tirna greeted me.
I asked Tirna for Liliana’s whereabouts, as she could understand ancient languages.
“Ilisha, when you greet someone, bend your waist to this angle. And Sophie, Elder Sister, what have you been doing as a former princess of noble birth! You’re not suited for this at all!!”
“Yes, Liliana-sama.”
“Hey, Liliana, why do I have to learn greetings now!?”
“Sophie, Elder Sister, before greetings, your speech is improper. We’ll have to do it again.”
“Tch! Damn it!!”
“Sophie, Elder Sister! That’s not how a former princess of noble birth should speak.”
Passing through the hall that led to the entrance and going to the living room in the back, I found Liliana training Ilisha and Sophie in greeting etiquette.
Ilisha, being a recently created homunculus, had no knowledge, but she absorbed information like “blotting paper absorbing water.”
However, considering Ilisha’s body, it was pitiable.
On the other hand, Sophie, who should have lived as a princess of noble birth, was also being drilled.
Apparently, Sophie had been slacking off on her etiquette training as a princess by using her “Princess Knight” training as an excuse.
This is probably a case of self-inflicted misfortune.
Previously, Freya, who was simply raised as a girl from the old town, was being drilled. Perhaps history repeats itself.
“Liliana, may I have a moment?”
“Welcome back, Kirika and Mai. So, is something the matter?”
“I have something I’d like you to read.”
“Could it be that you found… that item?”
“Well, something like that.”
I handed Liliana the box containing the artifact wig and the old parchment.
“Indeed… although it’s short hair, it’s a wig similar to the one we put on Sophie. And next to it is an indentation as if a long-haired wig was kept there, and the text on the parchment is from the extinct Ancient Magical Civilization Era.”
“So, what does the parchment say?”
“—Yes… it says… the title is, Fairy Wing Shasei… Wig Set…”
“Then, it’s definitely the right one.”
“Yes— It seems this box contained the ‘Prince Dream,’ which is the counterpart to the ‘Princess Dream’ used by Sophie.”
“So, this short-haired wig is ‘Prince Dream’… I had a bad feeling about it, but isn’t it the opposite of the breast-enhancing artifact we were looking for!”
“Indeed. It says it’s a male-transformation wig that shrinks the breasts into a flat chest and grows a robust male appendage in the crotch area.”
Mai and I slumped in defeat as Liliana explained the contents of the parchment.
“This, this is mine!!”
As we slumped in defeat and Liliana gave a wry smile, Sophie, who had been overhearing the conversation from the side, snatched the male-transformation artifact with a beaming smile.
“Ah!? So, so, Sophie, Elder Sister! Wait, no!!”
*Boom!* *Hissss*
Ignoring Liliana’s attempt to stop her, Sophie put on the male-transformation wig, and there was a bursting sound followed by white smoke.
“Wh, why!?”
Sophie looked confused.
“Sophie, Elder Sister, this is to be expected—”
According to Liliana’s explanation, even with the help of an artifact, gender transformation puts a great strain on the body.
Therefore, it was designed to be used only once per person, and if one attempted to use it again, a safety mechanism would activate and the artifact would self-destruct.
In the end, it was settled with Sophie compensating us for the money we paid.
If Freya had chosen “Prince Dream” instead of “Princess Dream” at that time, Sophie’s body would have been gender-swapped, and she would have had a real penis growing in her crotch.
It was unfortunate for Sophie, but we were also in a dangerous situation.
Thank you for reading.
Episode 26-4, “First Customer is an Assassin!?” Part 1, is scheduled for pre-release on November 22nd at 0:00.
