“So… uh, I wanted to ask something. You said that hundreds of people visited you here,” I said as I sat down on the chair Elyssa offered to me.

“I’ve lost count, but yes, many people visit me here.”

“And… you’ve always told them how impressed you are that they found you…?” I carefully asked.

She frowned and went silent as her eyes wandered to her window.

“I have… Until you came along two days ago. You were the last person I said that to.”

Huh?

“Well, after our meeting, I thought for a bit and I realized that… since there were so many people coming here, surely, the word had spread about the trick with the bushes. And if it did, finding me here wouldn’t exactly be impressive anymore.”

That… was exactly it. But…

“Why just now…?”

I knew Elyssa wasn’t dumb. Someone like her had to have realized it way sooner.

“Who knows?” She shrugged. “Maybe I was blessed with intelligence by a certain divine being.” She smiled at me.

“I told you… I’m not…”

“Yes, yes. I understand. Well, either way, our little chat two days ago definitely opened my eyes in many ways. And even then, you were the first person I had a proper conversation with in ages. A conversation I haven’t already had a hundred times, at least.” She chuckled.

“Well, um, glad to help…?”

“No need to be shy.” She chuckled again. “By the way, I see you’ve taken a liking to that form.” She pointed at my big blue fox ears.

“Uh, yeah…” More than just taken a liking. “It just feels better like this… I guess? I don’t really know how to explain it.”

“That’s alright, I fully understand what you’re saying. I’m glad I was able to help you, even if this isn’t your true form,” she said with a warm smile.

“Well, I mean… I’m not sure I really understand that. What even is this true form supposed to be? Why do you make it sound so important?”

“Hmm, that’s a fair question. Let’s see… How should I explain this?” Her brows furrowed as she mulled over it for a moment. ”Think of it like this. Every living being has some kind of physical form, right?” I nodded. “But that form isn’t always what the living being really is. It’s a… placeholder, you could almost say.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

A… placeholder? The heck?

“A lot of people simply get used to their original form and it doesn’t bother them all that much. But for some people, getting used to it is impossible. Their true form, the form they should have, is too different from the form they do have, and simply existing causes them a lot of discomfort and anguish.”

Discomfort and anguish…

“A true form is exactly what it sounds like. A form that is true to the living being it belongs to. No placeholder, no mask, it is what they truly are.”

“I… see…?”

Part of me could only see it as some kind of magical chosen-one mambo jumbo nonsense. But at the same time, it would explain why I’d felt the way I did whenever I was stuck in my original form. After all, I really did feel more comfortable in this fox form. Although…

“But you said this isn’t even my true form.” I gestured at myself. ”What is my true form? What is this form supposed to be?”

She gave me a wry smile. “I’m sorry. But I don’t know, unfortunately. It’s the first time I haven’t been able to bring out someone’s true form.” Seeing me sigh, she lifted her finger and smiled. “But. Even if this isn’t your true form, I’m certain it is at least close to what your actual true form is.”

“Right… Well, if I ever find out what my true form is, I’ll definitely let you know then.”

“I would be delighted! This is very fascinating to me.”

“So… anyways. About the… gods of this world. I’m still a bit scared about what they might do to me, but I thought of a way to contact them relatively safely.”

“Oh?” Elyssa’s eyes widened.

“Do you know of the announcement boards in the cities?”

“Of course.” She nodded. “Hmm, so you are planning on sending them a message through there…? Would they even take notice?”

“Yes, they will,” I said, a grin creeping onto my face. “You see… when you put up an announcement, it automatically fills in your name, right?”

“Right…” Her brows furrowed.

“Well, the thing is, I don’t have a name in this world. So if someone views my name… it’s apparently a bunch of nonsensical moving characters.”

“Oh…?” Now her eyes widened. “Your true name… is incomprehensible to even the gods?”

“Ye-- wait, true name? This again?” I stared at her, a little peeved at my train of thoughts being interrupted.

“Of course, you said it yourself. Well, I forgot about the announcement boards last time you were here, but you are right, they always display your true name.” She put a hand on her chin. “Fascinating… Could you be a divine being even above this world’s gods?”

“No, no, no… I’m really just a normal kid. I can just… see portal things, that’s it.”

She gave me a wry smile. “Isn’t that already plenty abnormal?”

I could only sigh in defeat.

But… wait.

“Actually… I’m going to bring my friends over here tomorrow. They are normal kids just like me. And I bet that their display names will be the same nonsense as mine!”

Elyssa chuckled. “You sure are adamant about proving your non-divinity.”

Ugh…

“Well, isn’t it fine? I look forward to meeting your friends. Whether they are the same as you or not, I’m certainly curious about all the mysteries surrounding you.”

“Right…”

To be perfectly honest, I was too. But at the same time, I was afraid of what I would discover. Was I really some kind of divine being, as Elyssa kept saying?