Actually, when you got right down to it, she and I weren't related at all. She'd taken me in as her goddaughter, and things had ended up like this. The only thing to blame was—
this damn apocalypse.
There was nothing to be done.
Time had changed everything. During all the years I'd been "dead," Juanjuan must have regretted it at some point. But regret was useless in this world. As the leader,
she couldn't afford to back down. Otherwise, the sheep behind her would scatter, and once they did, the tigers would have their chance.
If I were in her shoes, I'd do the same. I'd force myself to stay calm, over and over, until eventually I really did become calm.
That was probably what Juanjuan was like now.
Anyway, this was a good thing. She had the ability to maintain such a large survivor settlement and expand beyond it. All in all, she hadn't disgraced the name of "Princess."
Come to think of it, twenty-two years had passed since 2027. The only thing that hadn't changed in all those years seemed to be me.
Maybe I'd changed a little... After all, my appearance had become a woman's. No matter how strongly I insisted that I was a man, I couldn't escape the blow of reality.
In fact, I'd read some novels about men turning into women before. Their protagonists often refused to accept that they were women, resorting to binding their chests, faking their voices, and all sorts of other tricks.
But in reality, there was no arguing with it. I'd gotten used to a woman's body. If I suddenly turned back into a man now, it would probably feel strange to me.
Come to think of it... if my memories hadn't gradually returned this time, I might