Takumi—or rather, Aria—remained on her knees upon the straw for what felt like hours.
The chill of the floor seeped through her threadbare nightgown, but it wasn't the cold that disturbed her most; it was the way she felt it.
Every gust of air that drifted through the broken window didn't just give her chills; it was a stinging caress that raced across her skin, far more sensitive than she remembered.
"Damn trash god..." she tried to say, but her voice barely emerged as a high-pitched whisper that made her grit her teeth.
She ran her hands over her thighs, checking the extreme softness of her skin. It was terrifying.
In her previous life, her hands had been calloused, and now, even the dirt under her fingernails felt like an unbearable nuisance.
As she moved, the friction of the cheap fabric against her new, small breasts made her shudder.
Her body was too sensitive; she felt exposed, as if the world could touch her just by looking at her.
[System Notice: Soul Synchronization at 85%.]
[Side Effect: Sensory Overload.
Your new body is processing the SSS Core.
Physical sensitivity has increased by 200%
to facilitate the connection with external
mana.]
"Two hundred percent? You're going to kill me!" Aria protested aloud, hugging herself.
But hugging herself only made things worse.
The pressure of her arms and the friction against her chest caused an uncomfortable heat to rise to her face.
Her heart beat far too fast for someone her age. The system hadn't just given her the body of a woman; it made every sensation feel stronger than normal.
Suddenly, the rotting wooden door burst open with a violent screech.
"Aria! Are you still wasting time, you filthy rat?"
A burly man with an unkempt beard and the smell of cheap alcohol stepped into the room.
He was the owner of the orphanage, a man named Gunter, who—according to the memories beginning to surface in Takumi's mind—made a living exploiting unregistered mages.
Gunter looked her up and down, his eyes lingering longer than necessary on Aria's thin legs and the way the damp nightgown clung to her figure.
Aria felt nauseous, but also an instinctive fear she had never felt as a man.
Her body, on its own, began to tremble.
"The Kingdom's collector will be here in two days," Gunter grunted, stepping closer.
His shadow completely eclipsed Aria.
"That Core of yours better glow a little, even if it's just E-Rank. If you're no use to the Academy, the slave traders in the capital pay well for girls like you."
Gunter reached out one of his calloused hands and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up.
Aria felt the rancid smell of his breath and the contact of his rough fingers against her now oversensitive skin.
It felt as if he were burning her face.
"Let go of me..." Aria said, feeling rage begin to swell inside her.
[Alert: Emotional stress detected.]
[SSS Core reacting to hostility.
Temporary mana flow unlock: 0.01%.]
A pulse of heat raced through her chest, spreading through her body in an instant.
Gunter screamed and jerked his hand away, shaking it as if he had been burned.
"What the hell...?" He looked at his hand, which was reddened. "You damn brat! Do you have fire magic?"
Aria didn't respond; she was too busy trying not to moan.
The small flow of mana had traveled through her veins, leaving a stinging heat that concentrated in her belly and her most sensitive areas.
Her legs stopped responding, and she had to lean against the wall. She was sweating; the perspiration made the nightgown become translucent, clinging to her skin and marking every curve of her developing body.
"You're going to make me a fortune!" Gunter, far from being frightened, smiled greedily.
"If you already have that power before the official awakening, the nobles will pay triple for a combat 'pet'."
The man advanced again, this time with a rope in his hand. Aria tried to back away, but her back hit the cold wall.
The contrast between the cold of the stone and the internal heat of the mana made her gasp involuntarily.
"Don't... come near me..." Aria pleaded, her voice on the verge of breaking.
Just as Gunter was about to lunge at her, a shadow crossed the window and the door flew off its hinges, striking him and sending him crashing against the water bucket.
Against the light, a tall and slender figure appeared.
She wore a tattered traveling cloak and leather armor that accentuated her athletic physique, along with a longsword hanging from her waist.
Aria blinked, trying to clear her vision clouded by sweat.
The woman pulled back her hood, revealing short ash-blonde hair and sharp blue eyes.
She was beautiful, but a thin scar crossed her cheek, making her look intimidating.
The stranger looked at Gunter with contempt and then focused her attention on Aria.
Her eyes widened slightly as she noticed the violet aura faintly emanating from the girl's body.
"Well..." the woman murmured in a calm tone.
"So the rumors from the Refuge were true... a diamond among the trash."
Aria tried to speak, but the heat from the system was overwhelming her.
Her eyes rolled back and she began to fall forward. Before hitting the floor, strong, warm arms caught her.
The contact made her shudder as if she had received an electric shock.
[Potential Bond Detected: Liora (Rebellion Huntress).]
[Soul Compatibility: High.]
[Initiating core cooling process via physical contact...]
Aria buried her face in the woman's shoulder, breathing in a scent of leather, rain, and something sweet, like wildflowers.
Her body, treacherous and sensitive, reacted to the contact with a shiver that ran down her spine.
"Take it easy, little one," Liora whispered into Aria's ear, her warm breath causing the girl to let out a small, involuntary moan.
"You're not alone anymore."
The last thing Takumi felt before losing consciousness was the pressure of the woman's firm breasts against her own and the safety of arms that, for the first time in this new life, did not seek to hurt her... at least not in the way she feared.