I was invited to the mayor’s place. When I reached his house, it was already sundown and most of the shops were closing. Of course, there were still plenty of people out and the bars, dineries, inns were just starting business.

“Welcome,” the attendant welcomed me at the door. I’d come with Josie.

I’d have loved to bring Sen but she didn’t want to get attacked in this city and become some random slaver’s pet while I rescue her. Part of why she mostly stayed at the inn.

Same building, same wooden layout, yet for some reason it looked nice in this warm amber lighting. I suppose being rich did have its perks.

“My lady,” the attendant said. “This is a private invitation. You are of course free to have brought your guard, but it would be prudent if she were to stay back here. Fear not, our lord’s mansion is well protected and she would be well fed.”

Interesting. “Very well,” I said, and quite ignorantly at that too.

With a smile he knocked a couple of times on the door. “My lord, lady Claudia has arrived.”

Fun fact, they never really inquired much about my family or where I even came from. They just assumed based on my clothes and looks, I was some sort of a rich lady, with the possibility of being a noble lady or something like that. At least that was my best guess.

“Come in,” the voice came as the door opened.

A table. Some food. The nearly bald mayor and two guards by the door. I went in, greeted him and sat down.

“I wish I could have arranged a banquet for you but the city’s coffers are strained.”

Where the fuck would you even hold a banquet?

“This is plenty, my lord.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

And I meant that. He had all sorts of food. Roasted chicken, kebab, fried bread, ten types of soups, pottage, curry, pudding, rice, and even cake~!

He was being awfully sincere for some reason.

When I came here, I was fully expecting a rabid beast ready to pounce on me. But… huh, he actually managed to amuse me.

I ate small portions of nearly everything. You never knew what could give you a boost in stat, or even a new ability. I had my doubts but I still ate anyway.

Most of the dishes were alright. They weren’t super delicious but they weren’t cheap either. The cake though… too sweet and the butter was… weird.

Huh… my body felt a bit warm. Like one of those accidental boners kind of warm. He didn’t mix anything in the cake… right?

I was probably just imagining it.

We finished the meal and the man insisted I spend the night here. If he was going to attempt to rape me, he was being very sincere about it.

I of course wanted to decline him outright but the man had so far only been nice to me. Probably he wanted favors in return but for the time being, I thought I’d humor him once. After all, not all ugly bastards were… ugly bastards.

So, I indulged in his hospitality and was provided a nice guestroom. Except it wasn’t a guest room; it was the mayor’s room instead.

Sigh.

“My lady, how are you feeling? I’ve noticed you were only eating so little. Was the food not to your liking?” He gently patted my hair, almost like he was treating me as a child?

Click! He locked the door.

An act.

“No, it was fine.”

“Yet, you’re sweating so much. Perhaps it is hot in here? Maybe you should remove your dress while you sleep?”

But he was right. I was feeling quite hot. Enough to actually sweat for once. But no, it wasn’t just hot all over my body. Mostly just my chest and downstai- oh… so there was something in there after all.

“No, I’m fine,” I said sitting down on a chair. “Just a bit lightheaded.”

Calm down, you’re a dude. You don’t need to cleave off his head just yet.

“My, my, then we must remove your skirt at least!”

Feeling light headed? Remove your pants! Talk about reasoning.

He unhooked my skirt and well… wasn’t prepared to see the bulge.

Surprise. I’d only partially transformed. Mostly to keep my other half from literally spamming Mind fuck. I knew the moment I’d switched over to the female part, I’d be basically fingering myself all fucking night like the last time, so it was better this way. I felt super weird but-

Heh, I was still a man anyway.

No, at this point, you don’t really have a gender… sigh.

“Huh…” He stumbled a step back. “Well… I guess… I could use the other passage? Looks female enough…” The fuck was he even saying. “My lady… would you be interested in marrying me?”

Okay, now I was confused.

“What?”