50: The new Shiori

I got close to Shiori who was still lying on the bed. It was time to see if this shard that Tenebria gave me works. It's the last solution I have.

She said I have to feed it to her. But I doubt that in her state she would simply swallow it if I put it in her mouth. I don't want her to choke either. I guess I have no choice but to feed her mouth to mouth. This isn't how I imagined my first kiss with her.

I put the shard in my mouth and slowly brought my lips close to hers. As soon as our lips met I started pushing the shard with my tongue down her throat alongside some of my saliva. I'm pretty sure I managed to insert it properly. I separated from Shiori and waited. I didn't have to wait long.

Soon, Shiori's body was enveloped in a purple light. Purple electrical sparks were emitting from her body. She screamed a bit. It was the first time she had any sort of reaction. The light was getting stronger and stronger. I had to close my eyes. After a few minutes the light and magical energy faded away.

Shiori opened her eyes and stood up. Life could be seen in her eyes again.

"Where… am I?"

"Shiori-chan!"

I couldn't hold myself back anymore. I leaped into her arms and gave her a big hug.

"I'm so glad that you are okay."

Shiori slightly blushed and moved her hands randomly. I guess she didn't know how to react. A little girl that you see for the first time suddenly leaps at you. How would you react?

She slowly placed one hand on my shoulder and with the other she started to pat my head.

"It's alright. I'm fine. There's no need to cry. So why don't you calm down first."

Ah. This gentleness. It's truly Shiori. My Shiori.

"Could you please tell me who you are and where am I?"

Before I could separate from her something fluffy hit my face. When I tried to touch it and push it away, Shiori let out a cute scream.

"Eeep!"

We were both confused at this point. Now that I take a better look at her…

"You're a fox…"

"What are you…"

I quickly picked up a hand mirror and showed it to Shiori. She now had 2 long blonde fox ears on her head and a fluffy gold fox tail with a white tip.

"Eeeh!?"

We both screamed at the same time.

------

I think it took us an hour to calm down. Shiori was as good as new except she was a beastman now. That shard turned her into a fox girl. Tenebria probably knew that a human wouldn't be accepted in the demon continent. Since I lost my earth magic I couldn't change her like I did with prez. Now, you're just showing off, aren't you, Tenebria? But I'm glad that you went this far.

As for the current Shiori…

Name: Shiori Watanabe

Age: 17

Race: Beastman

Class: Fox Priestess

Strength: A+

Agility: SS-

Endurance: S+

Magic: SSS

Luck: B

Overall Rank: S+

Well… how should I tell her that I'm actually Ryusei. I could just use recollection on her. But she might get scared of me if she sees that I killed all our classmates.

"This is almost like the time when we played in the sandbox when we were 5."

"Yeah. A lot of sand got in my pants and it was as awkward as…"

I stopped my sentence. Wait. Why did Shiori bring this up?

"I knew it. It's you after all. Ryu-kun!"

She grabbed my arm and pulled me into her embrace.

"You look different, but it's you. I thought I would never see you again. I was so sad. Ryu-kun…"

"Shiori… I'm happy too, but how did you know it was me?"

"You have the same scent you had on Earth. And my nose is more sensitive now, so I can tell. I had to make sure."

Okay. Do I really stink or something? First Persia kept referring about my scent and now Shiori. Even back on Earth, I took showers every other day. Do I have a unique smell that's attached to my soul or something?

"Shiori, can you let me go now?"

"No. You're too cute. I want to hug and cuddle you some more!"

I forgot that Shiori always had a soft spot for kids. Eventually she let me go.

"A lot has happened, Ryu-kun. I think I need lots of explanations. The last thing I remember was that after your death, we trained more until they sent us to the demon continent. Since the journey on the ship… my memory is getting hazy. I can't recall much."

" Well I guess I should start with the basics then. Over here I go by the name of Milla Walpurgis. And I'm the 11th ranked Demon King. The Demon King of Insanity."

"But… you're a loli."

I almost lost my balance and hit the floor with that comment. Aww, come on! Why does everyone react that way? Is it really that hard to believe that a loli can be a Demon King?

I really didn't want to use this with her, but I guess it's better to be honest. I got close to Shiori and placed my index finger on her forehead.

"[Recollection]!"

I poured my memories into Shiori. Well, not all of them. Just the basic ones. How I was killed, how I became a Demon King, how I recruited Momoyo and ofc, the state she was in under Ren and how I killed all our classmates.

For a few moments she fell silent. I was nervous because I didn't know how she would react. How will she see me from here on?

"Ryu-kun… you really had it rough. You went through all that… if only I could open my eyes better back then…"

"It's not your fault! Even I didn't think that someone would hate me so much that they would kill me. But… I turned out okay in the end."

Shiori stood up from the bed and hugged me again.

"You went through so much… and you even rescued me even though I said that I would protect you… Thank you, Ryu-kun."

Okay. This is turning out well. I really thought she would hate me for all the killing I did. But this works.

I just have to make her call me Milla now.

In the next moment the door barged open violently. It was prez and she was gasping for air.

"Is it true? Is Shiori-chan awake?"

"Eh? Momo-chan? Is that really you? You look… like a gyaru."

"And you… have ears…"

Then both of them shouted at the same time

"Milla/Ryu-kun… what did you do to her?"

So noisy. I need to make them shut up if I wanna give an explanation.

"Momo, sit!"

"Okay."

Like a faithful dog, Momo-chan squated down. And immediately her face went red.

"Would you stop doing that!?"

"Sorry, but you guys to stay put and shut up so I can speak. It's a long story after all."

Both prez and Shiori could only pout and finally listen to my story.