Want to be human, but cube-like

Tall and slender, with a full bust, a slender waist, long legs, a delicate and beautiful face, pure and bright red eyes, and slightly pursed cherry-pink lips that are as delicate and luscious as flower stamens moistened by dew.

This is the kind of look that would fascinate any man and arouse envy in women.

But in any case, it has nothing to do with the word "square".

Seeing her somewhat questioning look, Alex became anxious.

"I didn't used to look like this!"

She stretched out her hands, as if trying to draw a cube-shaped figure out of thin air.

"I used to be square like that too! My mom always said I was cute that way!"

In fact, Xiangzi found Alex's current eagerness to explain quite adorable.

"My head used to be square too! My hair wouldn't blow around in the wind like it does now, and my legs were much thicker! They were a very reliable rectangle!"

No, I don't think that's reliable at all.

It's more accurate to say it's a bit scary.

Xiangzi kept these words to himself and didn't say them out loud.

She couldn't even imagine how abstract it would be if Alex in front of her were shaped like a cube.

"Hands aren't arranged in this strange, separate shape with individual fingers; they're a single, perfectly square shape..."

After Alex finished speaking, she grabbed Xiangzi's small hand, as if she wanted to describe to her just how cunning she used to be.

"But...but then something unexpected happened..."

But as he talked, he became depressed.

"No, it's not strange at all that the fingers are separated."

Unable to resist retorting, Xiangzi's gaze fell upon the small hands clasped in front of her.

Compared to her own hands, which had deteriorated after months of odd jobs, Alex's hands looked smooth and supple, as if they had been carefully maintained.

Despite the firmness of her handshake, Xiangzi felt as if she were grasping a soft, cloud-like object, as if it were boneless. Yet, the slender fingers appeared distinctly boned. Instinctively, the delicate, slender fingertips touched her fingertips, and a soft, light touch followed.

"...Toyokawa?"

Alex's puzzled voice came through.

Then, Xiangzi realized that he had been holding the other person's hand in a daze for a long time.

She instantly released Alex as if she had been electrocuted, her small hands shrinking back, one hand pinching her burning earlobe, the other hand awkwardly placed behind her back.

"I think you're fine the way you are now..."

Xiangzi's cheeks were flushed a light pink, and even the roots of her ears were tinged with a lovely crimson. She turned her gaze to the side, mumbled something, and said something.

"Is that so... But I've become like this ever since I appeared in your world. It must be the rule of this world."

Completely unaware that Xiangzi was blushing, Alex sighed and said.

It's not that she can't understand; every world has its own rules.

Alex was already used to this common-sense setting. The rules of some worlds she had experienced were even stranger than the world that had turned her into what she was now.

"Let's go, I'll take you back."

After saying that, Alex turned around and gestured for Xiangzi to follow.

"So, you really are from another world, right?"

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Xiangzi caught up with her and asked.

"Didn't I say that?"

Alex paused, tilted her head, and thought for a moment.

"It seems I haven't said that."

After all, she had never met anyone who cared about such things.

"I only came into this world yesterday, I don't know anything, and my mother who has always been with me is gone..."

Turning around, she softly recounted the events of the past two days, her tone tinged with a hint of confusion.

"I only just discovered that there was something hidden under the stairs."

A portal leads to this floating island world.

Since arriving in this world, Alex has spent most of her time in a state of confusion and bewilderment. In reality, there is not much to describe; it can all be summarized in just a few words.

"...This floating island world?"

Noticing that Alex's mood had soured, Xiangzi randomly picked a keyword and started a new topic.

"Isn't this the world you were in before?"

She keenly discerned the difference between the two.

"I guess I'd call myself an explorer who travels everywhere?"

After thinking for a moment, Alex organized her words.

“Every trip is an adventure into a new world. My mother would take me to different worlds. Originally, it should have been the same when I came into this world, but something unexpected happened, and then…”

Her words trailed off there.

Then, her mother disappeared.

Xiangzi automatically added the sentence he had already said to her in his mind.

"..."

Xiangzi hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't speak for a long time.

comfort?

Do such simple words really have any meaning?

Shoko Toyokawa understood this principle deeply and had personally experienced similar feelings.

When separated from loved ones, mere verbal comfort from others is less effective than quietly licking one's wounds alone in a secluded corner.

If you cannot help someone with actions, then verbal help seems even more ineffective.

Suddenly, Xiangzi remembered the past and the way her childhood sweetheart chose to help her.

Just find something that she wants to strive for.

That's enough to dispel the confusion.

"And what about this burger joint?"

She suddenly spoke up and asked.

"It must have come with me. Before I came to this world, I heard my mother talking about hamburger shops and such... It probably just happened to be generated on this plot of land after I came to this world."

"I'm quite experienced in this area," Alex replied.

"So, do you want to run it properly in place of your mother?"

Xiangzi ignored what Alex was saying, which she didn't understand, and continued to ask questions.

She suddenly had an idea.

“You’re not very familiar with this world, are you? I can teach you that, and I can also help you run this burger shop better.”

This is not a one-sided act of pity or charity.

"In exchange, please let me know more about the other world."

Rather, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement between the two of them.

"And the matter of this 'Witch's Kiss'."

This is simply an equivalent exchange.

…………

Volume 1: Chapter 13 The Weak Me Has Returned

Reopen the oak portal and step across the boundary between worlds.

It's hard to believe that I achieved the feat of traveling to another world so easily.

They even made it back safely, a process that was hardly more complicated than entering or leaving their own bedroom.

After all, if he wants to get back to his bedroom at home, he has to be careful to avoid the beer cans that might randomly appear on the floor.

Looking up, the surrounding scene had returned to the familiar high-definition realistic textures. Xiangzi rubbed her temples, feeling a little uncomfortable. She had been observing those abstract pixel blocks for too long, which had caused her vision to become slightly blurry.

"Well……"

Just as she was about to walk up the stairs with Alex, she suddenly lost her balance, swayed, and almost fell.

"Be careful."

Alex, who had been watching her closely, turned around just in time and took her little hand as she spoke.

"Sorry, I'm a little... visually impaired..."

Xiangzi clutched his chest, feeling a pang of fear.

"Yeah, it's really hard to get used to. There are so many details in the models in this world, and the lighting is so exaggerated."

Alex nodded in agreement.

"When I first came to this world yesterday, I was also overwhelmed by everything. It's true that blocks are more intuitive, right?"

No, quite the opposite.

Those pixelated blocks were making it hard for Xiangzi to tell what was in front of him.

Too lazy to correct Alex's strange views on different worlds, Xiangzi simply shut up and followed her lead, walking together to the back door of the hamburger shop.

"You can stay here and sleep for the night."

As she opened the door, Alex casually mentioned it.

After learning about the deal Xiangzi wanted to make with her, Alex was no longer insistent on letting her stay, since Xiangzi had said he would come back to find her later.

"No need to trouble yourself. I didn't bring any other changes of clothes. It's more convenient to go home."

Xiangzi placed her hands in front of her, nodded slightly to Alex, and then walked out of the alley behind the back door.

Immediately afterwards, a gust of cold wind blew in his face, causing Xiangzi to shiver.

January in Tokyo is the coldest time of year, especially since it's late at night.

Gritting her teeth, Xiangzi remained silent. With her back to Alex, she endured the biting cold, took out her phone, and was about to check the time to estimate the subway schedule.

Then I realized that it was already past 1 a.m.

The last subway train had already stopped running.

Xiangzi never expected that he would have wasted so much time here.

"..."

Xiangzi took a deep breath of the cold air and fell into thought.

During this time period, the only mode of transportation is the taxi.

But given her current financial situation... she might as well just find a spot on the roadside to sleep for the night; the only difference is whether she starves to death tomorrow or freezes to death tonight.

If you choose to walk back, it will take at least two hours to walk from Ikebukuro back to Akabane.

She'd rather freeze to death; at least she wouldn't have to work so hard.

"Snowing……"

A gentle voice came from behind, making Xiangzi realize that she actually had another option.

"..."

But the girl's stubbornness made her hesitant to speak.

During the time of hesitation, the snowfall gradually increased, and tomorrow, the entire street may be covered with a layer of silver frost.