The festival was tomorrow, and I was going to kill Gale before he could see it. I dipped the lower part of my face in bathwater, blowing bubbles of frustration. I raised my hand, grasping a small ball of suds, and overlayed his dumb head on it. I clenched my hand, scattering the Gale-bubbles across the room. 

He had been appearing with frightening regularity at my job, never kind or understanding, but demanding and expectant. The other employees had taken to calling him my husband, and it seemed no matter how I tried to avoid him, he remained rooted in front of me like a bad case of mold. My body sank into the water as the thought drained my energy. 

My hair, tied up with assistance from Ciel, nearly dipped into the water, so I pushed my feet against the far end of the tub and readjusted my position. I still recalled her scolding when I’d appeared in the dining room with wet hair for the third time in a row. 

“You can’t get your hair wet every night if you don’t have anything to treat it with!” She had said. How could I possibly know what would be damaging to hair? It wasn’t like the “Girl Manual” was uploaded to my brain the moment my chromosomes changed. I had suffered through Ciel’s 40 minute monologue, only escaping because she had been distracted with an unruly customer. 

It was rather surreal at how quickly I’d fallen into the beats of my routine. The clothing no longer bothered me, and my body, which I’d thought might hold some appeal as a previous member of the opposite gender, seemed no more interesting than a wall of dried paint. How could you feel anything at the sight of your own arm?

Gale and I were still sharing a bedroom. He had asked repeatedly for another room, but with the incoming festival, distant relations of the village had appeared like bandits, pillaging any spare drop of hospitality they could. My heart twinged a bit with regret when I recalled my earlier teasing. We had been like cats and dogs, oil and water during the day, arguing about useless details, but perhaps due to my guilt, at night we were calm, close, and without incident. 

I dried myself off and returned to the room. Gale was sitting on the bed, reading a book he had picked up from a nearby store. I smiled. This guy, brain fried from his phone, was constantly bored in a world without internet. I’d never seen him pick up a book in his life, but now he was like a scholar, hoarding any piece of entertainment he could get his hands on. My item box was already filled with various useless things we’d picked up and tossed in. We’d been in the village for a week and I already needed to clean it out. 

I closed the door behind me and walked to my side of the bed. “Hey,” I said, sitting down. He looked up from his book with a gentle smile. His still-wet hair hung on his face like an adornment of spun gold. I had to admit, this guy was unreasonably handsome. 

He set his book aside and scooted over, giving me a bit more space. I settled in and pulled the covers over me. Our feet met, but perhaps due to the frequency of the occurrence, neither of us moved. I was secretly glad - Gale was like a generator of heat, my own personal oven. I had fallen asleep by myself a few nights ago when he’d stayed late drinking with other patrons, and I felt a bit ashamed at how large the bed had seemed alone. 

“Ready for tomorrow?” He asked. I nodded. I was ready to never work as a waitress again, largely in part of the fool laying next to me. I frowned and shot him a dirty look. 

“Leyland’s next, right?” I asked. We had spoken briefly on the topic, but the idea of moving to a new city filled me with anxiety. I liked Shortleaf. I liked its people. We had a mission to do, but somehow the idea of settling down here pulled a smile to my lips. 

“Yeah,” Gale replied, “Who names an area and a city the same thing?” 

I shrugged at his grievance. “Earth was full of dumb names too,” I retorted, “And Earth didn’t have magic.” I raised a hand, light raising from my hands like gold turned to smoke. 

“True.”

I pulled the blanket over my shoulder and turned on my side towards Gale. He slid down, reached over and turned the lamp off. The room fell into darkness, and the only thing I could see was the side of his face covered in a sliver of moonlight from the room’s window. The sound of his breathing had become a white noise, a comfortable presence for me as I fell asleep. I closed my eyes, smiling.

I awoke to the feeling of my hair being ruffled. I lazily flicked my hand, shooing away the disturbance. Suddenly, a whoosh of cold air shocked my eyes open when Gale pulled the blanket from over me, casting it to the floor. I trembled, looked towards him angrily, and flipped him off. He wore an arrogant smile, shining with the light of victory. 

“Get up, we have shit to do.” 

I rolled out of bed, letting myself fall to the floor. I groaned in agony, my voice slowly pitching higher until I yelled, “Fuck off! Let me go back to bed!” 

Gale ignored me, grabbed my ankle, and pulled me away from the blanket’s warmth. Monster! Ingrate! I would have cast a spell at him if it wouldn’t just make him stronger. I cursed the system in my brain and sat up. Hair stung my eyes as it hung down, but I pushed through the pain to stare daggers at the Demon Lord standing in front of me. 

The staring contest was my victory; Gale laughed, pushed my hair from my eyes, and helped me stand up. He readjusted my clothing for me as he looked in my eyes seriously. 

“You were complaining yesterday about not having Hero Points right?” His eyebrow raised in question. 

“Yeah…” I mumbled, eyes turning to the side. He gave a dazzling smile, “Then let’s go save some people.” 

It was with a heavy heart that we departed the inn. I gave a longing look over my shoulder. Gale slapped my back in encouragement, and we set off. 

It didn’t take long to find someone complaining. He was a pot-bellied man, his hair combed in an awkward position as a desperate attempt to conceal the ravages time had on his follicles. His face was red, lips curled into a snarl as he verbally berated a teenaged boy in front of him. 

“You little fool!” He shouted, “Your father gives you money for ingredients, and you spend it to woo some girl!” 

The boy’s cowed expression changed, becoming fierce, “Jessie’s not some gir!” He shouted, before tearing away from the man’s grasp and running off. The man’s face, twisted by frustration, fell into a quieter expression tinged with melancholy. He sighed and rubbed his face as we approached. 

“Problem, sir?” Gale asked. At his words, the man looked up, surprised at our appearance. His gaze traveled from Gale to myself, and his countenance became wistful. 

He shook his head, sighing, “That boy is the shame of our family.” He crossed his arms, his lips twisting into a frown. 

“I sent him to buy some herbs for the stand we’re setting up for the festival, and he went and bought some trinket for the girl next door.”

Gale smiled awkwardly. “Is there anything you need help with, Mr…?” 

“Ah, forgive me, I am Bryan, and the useless whelp that just ran off is called Rickard.” The man gracefully introduced himself, his voice settling into a tone used to dealing with customers. 

 “Unless you have spare coin for herbs, I’m afraid I can’t offer you anything.” 

I mentally counted our pittance of coin, and held back a frown. We couldn’t help financially, but…I really wanted those Hero Points. 

“What herbs were you trying to buy?” I asked. “Are they nearby?”

Bryan nodded, saying, “Yes, but the forest they grow in is rather unsafe for those of us who are untrained. It’s an hour’s walk north into the forest. The monsters pose little danger to the adventurers who retrieve them.”

“Adventurers?” I asked. Though familiar with the term, it had been the first I’d heard of it since arriving in this world. 

Bryan raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You don’t know them? I had assumed the two of you were of the trade.” 

“Just helping out for the festival,” Gale replied easily.

“If you can bring me some, I’d be glad to let you sample our wares.” The eagerness in his voice was apparent.  ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel·fire.net

“What do you sell?” I asked. 

Bryan’s face transformed, becoming a mixture of a slimy salesman and a bootlicking subordinate. 

“We sell a variety of things necessary for the rigors of daily life! Potions to relieve exhaustion, elixirs to clear the mind, and even guard the sanctity of couples such as yourself!”

I raised an eyebrow. Sanctity of couples? I looked at Gale, whose face had become as red as a tomato. I lightly tugged on his sleeve. “What’s that mean?” I asked. 

He refused to answer; instead grabbing my shoulder and steering me away from Bryan at a quick pace. He waved over his shoulder, shouting, “We’ll get you some before tonight!” 

“Gale, what did he mean?” I asked again, looking up at his face. 

“Worry about it when you’re older,” He replied coolly. 

“I’m literally older than you.” 

Gale’s mouth stayed sealed, so I dropped it. Those Hero Points would be mine! I’d only collected an additional 35 points from Gale’s daily adventures, and the Hero Store hadn’t updated with any new goods. Nothing new for a week! This useless system was really something else. Isekaied, and not only had I become a girl, I hadn’t even received any god tier cheats yet! 

My face twisted into a manic grin as we left the village gates.