The two of them walked along with Tamaki leading the way, while Amamiya followed behind him.
Amamiya looked to the left and right, observing the activities of the villagers. Many children were playing, while others were trading. Everything seemed lively and full of warmth.
Seeing that, Amamiya smiled faintly to herself, lowered her head slightly, and then remembered her old world, where people were too busy with themselves.
The atmosphere of the city, which felt suffocating, made Amamiya recall unpleasant memories from when she was still alive in her previous world.
Everyone avoided her, and there was not a single shoulder for her to lean on and rest. The feeling of knowing other people, being in a position where there were so many people around her, yet not a single one of them knew what was happening to her.
Her relationship with her family was also distant. She even struggled to show her emotions.
For a moment, she remembered Tamaki's face, smiling in front of her. He had always been there during her worst moments.
"Ah—"
Amamiya bumped into Tamaki's back, instantly bringing her back to the world she was in now.
Tamaki turned around with a confused expression.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" he asked.
Amamiya looked up slightly toward his eyes because of the height difference between them.
"It's nothing, I was just surprised that you suddenly stopped," Amamiya replied with a relieved expression.
After that, however, she forgot all the burdensome thoughts she had been feeling before.
Tamaki stepped aside from Amamiya, giving her a clear view of what was in front of them.
"So this is the inn we'll be staying at," Tamaki said while pointing at it.
The inn was built entirely out of wood without using any other materials. It had two floors and was larger than expected.
"The inn is bigger than I thought!" Amamiya shouted with a surprised expression.
Tamaki chuckled softly at Amamiya's reaction, which was just as surprised as his had been when he first saw the inn.
"I thought the same thing when I first saw it. Oh right, we were given one room with two beds, in case I forgot to tell you."
"One room with two beds?" Amamiya asked in a rather confused tone.
Tamaki fell silent for a moment as he processed Amamiya's words, then his cheeks became slightly red. "Ah! Eh!? I mean, we got two separate beds, that's what I meant..." Tamaki explained in a stammering voice due to embarrassment.
Amamiya looked at Tamaki with an innocent expression. "Eh? Oh, alright then," she said before walking toward the inn on her own.
Tamaki slapped his face in annoyance. "I'm a guy too, you know..." he muttered.
"Does Amamiya even understand the situation?" he muttered.
But the more he thought about it, the more unsettled he became by his own thoughts. In the end, he let out a sigh, pushed those thoughts away, and quickly went after Amamiya.
The two of them finally entered the inn's lobby. Amamiya stopped and waited for Tamaki so they could walk together, then the two of them proceeded at the same pace.
There was no conversation between them, only an awkward atmosphere as they walked through the hallway.
"Are we going straight to the room?" Amamiya asked, turning toward Tamaki.
Tamaki nodded, his gaze unmoving and focused on the hallway. "Yeah, I've already kept the key, so we can go straight into the room without having to ask for it."
"That's true, you can't communicate with them anyway," Amamiya added, ending their conversation.
Then Tamaki stopped in front of one of the doors along the hallway.
"This is our room," he said while facing the wooden door, marked with room number 12.
Tamaki reached into his pocket and pulled out an iron key with a numbered tag matching the room number.
Inserting the key into the doorknob, Tamaki turned it clockwise, and a loud sound came from the door, indicating that it was no longer locked.
He turned the knob and pushed the door open.
Inside were two beds separated by some distance, a table and a small drawer beside each bed, a lantern for lighting, and a window overlooking the outside scenery, complete with a bathroom.
"Here is the room," Tamaki said while showing the inn room to Amamiya.
"Wow! Damn, it's actually really big!" Amamiya exclaimed in surprise.
Tamaki only chuckled softly before entering the room, followed by Amamiya from behind.
Amamiya immediately threw herself onto the bed closest to the window. "Wow, it's so soft..." she said, letting herself sink into the mattress's comfort.
Tamaki smiled faintly at Amamiya's more cheerful behavior.
"You should take a bath first. Your clothes are already on the table beside your bed, and the bathroom is through that door," Tamaki said before sitting beside his bed.
"Oh right, that's true," Amamiya said as she immediately got up from her bed and went to take a bath while carrying her new clothes.
Inside the bathroom, Amamiya was surprised by how complete the facilities were. There was a sink and mirror, a shower, and a bathtub.
"Wow!" she exclaimed from inside the bathroom, loud enough for Tamaki to hear.
Amamiya looked at herself in the mirror, seeing her beautiful appearance and body that had already changed into a more feminine form. Amamiya still found it difficult to gather the courage to look at her new body.
Because even though she had biologically become a woman, her mentality was still masculine.
"Ahh... damn it... why did I have to change..." Amamiya muttered, looking at herself in the mirror with a worried expression.
However, the longer she looked at herself in the mirror, the more she realized that she looked beautiful with this new body.
[Skill; Charm; activated]
"Now that I think about it, I look pretty cute too. If that's the case, would Tamaki be captivated by me?" she asked and answered herself while staring at her reflection in the mirror.
"Ah, no way. Tamaki knows I'm a guy," Amamiya didn't think much about it and began showering.
Outside the bathroom, Tamaki lay on his bed while staring at the ceiling, doing nothing.
"What should I do after this?" he muttered, confused about his purpose in this new world.
Several minutes later, the bathroom door slowly opened, accompanied by hot steam drifting out.
Amamiya stepped out of the bathroom wearing her new clothes, a dark blue dress with a simple design that nevertheless looked elegant.
Her long hair was still slightly wet, as Amamiya still did not fully understand how to dry hair this long.
Tamaki lifted himself up from the bed to look at Amamiya.
[Skill; Charm; activated]
From Tamaki's point of view, Amamiya seemed more radiant, her gaze felt luxurious, the beautiful curve of her eyes becoming one of the defining features of her beauty, while her long hair swayed naturally, giving her an effortless charm.
Tamaki shook his head vigorously, trying to erase the strange thoughts from earlier.
"Ahh... no... Amamiya is a guy, I should respect him more," Tamaki muttered quietly.
[Skill; Anti-charm; activated]
Amamiya turned toward Tamaki with a confused expression.
"What's wrong, Tamaki? Why are you shaking your head like that?" Amamiya asked.
"Eh? It's nothing, I was just spacing out," Tamaki said in an awkward tone.
Amamiya looked at Tamaki with a puzzled expression, but she did not think much of it and walked toward her bed.
Tamaki could only let out a relieved sigh. Perhaps from now on, he would have to be careful not to lose control, especially when sharing a room with Amamiya.
Even though Tamaki's Anti-charm skill was active, that did not change the fact that Amamiya was indeed beautiful.
Perhaps these awkward days would never come to an end from this point onward.