It was the end of July, the height of summer, but the city didn’t feel stifling in the heat. Maybe it was the fact that the sea was nearby—or maybe the start of summer vacation was enough to put everyone in a cooler mood.

That was why people looked so sympathetically at any child who still looked like a student on the bus. Perhaps they were reminded of the days when cram school had ruled their lives.

But right now, things didn’t seem to be going quite that way.

“Hey, hey, look over there. There’s an insanely cute little girl.” One boy tugged at his friend’s sleeve.

“She’s like a kitten. I want to take her home and raise her.” A few girls seemed to be making a dangerously bold declaration.

“A child that cute needs to be careful not to run into any bad people.” The older girl beside them looked worried.

Delicate features and fair skin—like a precious, fragile doll. She made you want to cradle her gently in your hands and protect her.

Someone that cute, capable of winning over men and women, young and old alike, was bound to catch most of the passengers’ attention. Under normal circumstances, even I might’ve found myself admiring her.

But I wasn’t in the mood for that now. After all, I knew better than anyone that I was the cute little girl they were talking about. And I knew even better that until yesterday, I’d been a perfectly healthy boy, body and mind.

Just a few hours ago, after realizing I’d turned into a girl, my mind had been a complete mess. Now I could face it calmly—even change clothes and head out to shop for groceries.

Maybe I had a pretty good ability to accept things as they came. But I thought the bigger reason was that I’d been reborn—and into a world where my parents were safe and sound.

Thinking of the call I’d had with them not long ago filled me with warmth and contentment.

“This is enough.”

I wasn’t greedy. As long as my parents were alive in this world, that was the best answer I could ask for.

“And this isn’t so bad, either.” I turned to look at the charming figure reflected in the bus window and said it to myself.

The only real problem was that I was just too cute.

I could tell exactly how much of a weapon my appearance was now, judging by the blatant—and increasingly intense—stares all around me.

Just as I was starting to feel overwhelmed, the bus reached my stop, letting me escape those scorching gazes.

“From now on, I’ll do my best to live as An Tong.”

I watched the bus pull away, as if it were leaving the past behind and heading into the future. I took a deep breath and made my decision. When I opened my eyes again, the confusion was gone.

“All right. My next task is to buy enough food and daily necessities at the supermarket.”

Pushing a little shopping cart meant for children through the supermarket, I flitted from shelf to shelf like a busy little sparrow, picking out the things I wanted.

But as I passed the shelves of electronics, I suddenly stopped and looked up at the LCD screen hanging overhead.

It was playing a CG ad that looked like a scene from a movie. But I knew exactly what it was about—

Era.

Developed on a second-generation engine, the virtual MMORPG Era swept across the globe as soon as it launched. It was well on its way to becoming humanity’s second world.

In my previous life, I’d been a third-tier Archmage in the game—a fairly well-known expert. Era had slowly helped me emerge from the shadow of my parents’ departure, so it held a special meaning for me.

“It should be delivered by the time I get back.” I murmured to myself. Thinking of the equipment I’d ordered online not long ago, I couldn’t help getting excited.

The price of all that excitement was that I’d gone a little overboard with my shopping.

“How am I supposed to get all this home…?” I stared at the several bulging bags in front of me and couldn’t help worrying.

Just then, a hand suddenly landed on my shoulder.

“Gwah!” The unexpected “attack” made me let out a strange noise without thinking.

When I heard a soft laugh behind me, my shock instantly turned into pure embarrassment and indignation.

I was about to give them an angry little-girl glare and make them feel thoroughly ashamed—when I turned around and met a bright, smiling face.

Her eyes curved gently like crescent moons, with limpid autumn waters seeming to ripple in them. They could melt away anyone’s resentment or displeasure. And now, the girl with that gentle smile was looking at me with interest.

“Gwah?”

“I-I was startled!”

My face flared red. That noise really had been embarrassing.

“Oops. Sorry, sorry~”

The girl looked apologetic. “I was just wondering why you were standing here alone, little one. Did you get separated from your mom and dad?”

Her apology dispelled what little resentment I had left. After thinking it over, I told her I’d bought too much to carry home.

“I see.” The girl’s eyes darted around. “How about I take you home, then?”

She wore a gentle smile, but for some reason it made me feel like a little devil was luring in its prey.

No, it was rude to imagine things like that about someone.

I quickly shook my head, then asked a little cautiously, “Um, wouldn’t it be a bother?”

“Of course not. ‘Bother’ isn’t a word you use for a cute child like you.” The girl smiled and patted me on the head.

A pretty big sister like her probably wasn’t a bad person.

Thinking that, I nodded.

The girl looked delighted that I’d agreed. She waved to someone nearby.

“Can we finally go now, big sis?”

A handsome, refined-looking boy walked over with an exasperated expression. But when he reached us, he stopped and looked at me in confusion. Clearly, he had no idea what was going on.

He only understood after the girl gave him a quick explanation.

But for some reason, he looked a little strange—especially when he glanced at me. There was a hint of inexplicable sympathy in his eyes.

“Had enough of staring? If you look at a cute child like that, you’ll get arrested as a creepy old man.” The girl beside him smiled, but there was a veiled warning in her voice.

The boy shivered, quickly took charge of all the heavy bags, and hurried ahead.

I could still just barely hear him muttering.

“If anyone’s getting arrested, it’ll be you, Cousin.”

I blinked.

I still didn’t know what had happened, but in the end, I got into the sports car the boy had driven over in without a problem.

Maybe she was naturally outgoing, but the girl took the initiative and started chatting with me. Before long, we were talking away, and I learned that they were heading back to log into Era and level up.

When she found out I’d bought a connection device, the girl happily told me her in-game name and the name of the boy in the driver’s seat.

“Be sure to get in touch with us, okay?” she reminded me, even as I got out of the car.

“Mm-hmm. Thank you, big brother and big sister.”

I let out a sigh of relief only after the sports car disappeared into the distance.

She seemed so gentle and refined, but while we were chatting, she’d nearly managed to get me to tell her the color of my panties. Girls really are terrifying creatures.

“But I feel like I’ve heard that big sister’s name somewhere before…”

I didn’t have time to think it over, though. The arrival of the connection device drew my attention away.

For me, this thing was both a blessing and a curse. The curse was that my remaining living expenses might not last until my parents came back.

Jokingly speaking, there’d even been a moment when I considered going out and asking someone to support me. But that would’ve thrown off the market, and the prisons might’ve ended up overcrowded. So, to avoid adding to the police’s burden, I decisively gave up on that unrealistic idea.

As for the blessing, it was the bold plan I was about to put into action. That was why I’d passed up the cheaper headset.

“Perfect.”

After assembling the device, I tested the display by my bed and confirmed that I could bring up the settings panel. I couldn’t help giving a little cheer. Now my plan was foolproof.

I checked the clock. There was still a long time until dinner, so I lay down on the bed and reached over to switch on the connection device.

A moment later, a transparent screen projected from the display and spread over the entire bed like a protective film. I closed my eyes, and the electrical signals carried me into sleep.

I selected Era in the virtual space and entered the game. An option soon appeared in front of me.

System: Create a game account?

Yes.

System: Player does not meet the age requirement for adults. Minor protection mode has been enabled automatically.

System: No character records found for this account. Create a character?

Yes.

System: Please select your character’s starting race.

Soon, countless particles came together before my eyes, forming a magnificent game world. As the scene appeared, so did several characters about my height: humans, elves, beastfolk…

Each character was based on the player’s appearance and build, with a few racial features added. With my already delicate features as a base, even someone without decision paralysis would probably have a hard time choosing between all these adorable little girls with their different styles.

Even so, I chose human without hesitation.

After all, I’d been a member of the human empire in my previous life. If I didn’t make the same choice now, wouldn’t all the advantages of being reborn go to waste?

System: You have selected human as your starting race.

System: Please select your starting class.

The main human classes were broadly divided into Warrior, Mage, Marksman, Rogue, Paladin, Priest, and Warlock, each with further specializations based on its abilities.

Mages, for example, were mainly divided into Elemental, Arcane, and Word Mage. In my previous life, I’d been a Dark Word Mage.

If I went with my original plan, there was no doubt I’d choose this class. After all, just like choosing Human as my starting race, I already knew plenty of tips and tricks for it.

But if I did that, there’d be no point in having bought the access device.

Before the class’s reference character appeared, I suddenly cut off the connection and returned from the game world to reality.

The side effect was a slight headache, but I didn’t care. I scrambled out of bed as fast as I could, opened the access device’s settings panel, and connected the handheld computer I’d prepared to it. Then I rapidly searched through the mass of data filling the screen.

Of course, I wasn’t some kind of hacker.

I’d only seen these instructions in a post in my previous life. The original poster claimed to be one of the people involved in developing the Era, and said they’d stumbled across a character-related loophole left behind in the basic programming. It was still there even now.

Quite a few people replied that they were eager to give it a try, but the original poster quickly poured cold water on their excitement.

By then, the Era had already been refined for years. Almost nobody could break through its firewall, which was as intricate as a diamond’s structure. Even if someone managed to get past the outermost defenses, the Era’s central computer would soon detect them. And then they’d be facing a prison sentence.

“I figure this loophole might only be exploitable during the early days after launch.”

That was the original poster’s guess back then.

Even so, people’s enthusiasm barely waned. They began discussing how to make the most of the loophole if they got the chance, and one comment from a skilled hacker drew the most attention.

Now I was trying the method they’d suggested. It was only theoretical, but there was always a chance it’d work—like, say, in the very next moment.

“It worked!” I clenched my little fist excitedly as a panel popped up on the screen, then hurried back onto the bed and reconnected to the access device.

And what this loophole allowed me to do was…