I'm Really Fine

Between classes.

Chen De lay facedown on his desk.

He wasn't sleepy.

He was in pain.

From his spine to his toes, every joint was sending complaint emails to his brain at a different frequency.

Especially his shoulders.

They ached as if he'd spent the entire night hauling cement.

He buried his face in his arms and silently cursed three times.

Qubi crouched at the corner of the desk, its tail hanging motionless as its emerald-green eyes watched him.

"You don't look too good."

"Duh. You wouldn't look good either if someone took your bones apart and put them back together."

"I don't have bones."

"Then quit being so sarcastic."

Chen De shifted how he was lying.

He switched from his left arm to his right.

The pain moved from his left shoulder to his right.

It had shifted, not lessened.

"Qubi."

"Yeah?"

"What would happen if I took the patch off right now?"

"A stunning beauty would pop out."

His fist clenched.

"Talk properly."

"Fine, I don't know exactly what it'd look like."

"But judging by how much pain you're in, this change will probably be huge."

"How huge?"

"Probably bigger than all the previous changes combined."

Chen De fell silent.

Bigger than all the previous changes combined.

The previous changes had already made him two or three centimeters shorter, thinned him out, changed his voice, and turned his face white as if it'd been soaked in bleach.

If this time was bigger than all of that put together—

He didn't dare imagine it.

When Qubi saw Chen De stop talking, it stopped too.

The noisy chatter in the classroom filled the silence like white noise.

Just then, Jiang Ping walked over.

He patted Chen De on the shoulder.

"Dezi."

Chen De reluctantly lifted his head.

"What?"

"You..."

Jiang Ping tilted his head.

"What brand of shampoo did you use yesterday?"

Chen De froze.

"Huh?"

Jiang Ping didn't give him time to react.

He leaned right in, brought his face close to Chen De's hair, and took a sniff.

"Smells pretty nice."

Chen De's entire body went stiff.

His brain exploded.

Not the kind of explosion where inspiration struck.

The kind where a social-death nuclear bomb detonated right over his head.

A high school boy who was five foot ten, in a classroom, in front of the entire class, leaned over to smell another boy's hair.

Chen De's fists clenched.

He almost threw a punch.

"O-okay."

"Don't get so close to me."

Chen De shoved Jiang Ping away.

He didn't use much strength, but his attitude was firm.

Jiang Ping stumbled back a step, looking innocent.

"I just took one sniff."

"What are you sniffing for? Are you a dog?"

"No, but you really do smell good."

Jiang Ping looked completely serious.

"Your hair used to smell like regular shampoo, maybe with a hint of sulfur soap at most."

"Today's different. It smells a little like flowers, and a little like..."

He frowned and thought for two seconds.

"Milk?"

Chen De nearly smacked him in the face with his textbook.

"Say that again?"

"It's just a really faint milky scent—"

"Jiang Ping."

"Huh?"

"Go sit back down."

"I haven't finished asking—"

"Sit. Back. Down."

Jiang Ping looked at Chen De's expression.

Yeah, murderous intent was already spilling over.

He wisely retreated to his seat, but his mouth didn't stop moving.

"It really does smell nice. Tell me the brand later, okay?"

Chen De didn't answer.

He turned to face the other side and took three deep breaths.

Qubi poked half its head out from the desk corner.

"That milky scent he mentioned—"

"Shut up."

"It's part of the body odor changes, magical girl—"

"I said shut up."

Qubi pulled its head back in.

Chen De rubbed his temples.

Even his body odor had changed.

The patch couldn't do anything about that.

The patch handled visuals, not smells.

In other words, people couldn't see that he'd changed, but he already smelled different.

What was that supposed to be?

Visual deception, olfactory exposure?

"Qubi."

"Didn't you tell me to shut up?"

"I'm telling you to open your mouth now."

"Does the shop have anything that blocks smells?"

Qubi rolled its eyes—if a cat could roll its eyes.

"Yes."

"Odor-blocking patches. One hundred a day."

"More patches."

"Can't you make products in some other form? Pills would work too."

"There are pill versions."

"How much?"

"Two hundred."

"Why are pills more expensive than patches?"

"Because pills can block both body odor and bad breath."

"What about my breath?"

"Nothing, but what if?"

Chen De decided not to waste any more time on this topic.

"Not buying it yet. I'll spray some perfume when I get home to cover it up."

"You have perfume?"

"No, but the convenience store downstairs has air freshener."

"You're planning to spray air freshener on yourself?"

"Lavender-scented. I can live with that."

Qubi fell silent for two seconds.

"You're the cheapest magical girl I've ever seen."

"Thanks. I take pride in that."

The bell rang.

Math class.

Chen De forced himself to sit upright.

His spine let out a faint protest.

He ignored it.

The math teacher wrote a function problem on the blackboard.

Chen De stared at the board.

He realized he could see it unusually clearly today.

He used to sit in the fourth row, and he had to squint to make out the small writing in the far-right column.

Today, he didn't need to squint.

Every word was crystal clear.

"Qubi."

"Yeah."

"Did my eyesight get better?"

"Body alteration includes sensory enhancement."

"Your vision, hearing, and sense of smell will all improve."

"So the reason I can smell Jiang Ping's sweat isn't because he didn't shower."

"It's because your nose got sharper."

"Right. Comprehensive sensory enhancement is standard."

Chen De fell silent for a second.

"So that rotten apple smell coming from the backpack in the third row—"

"That's real too."

"Damn, it really reeks."

Chen De pinched his nose shut.

He could now smell things he hadn't been able to smell before.

What kind of buff was this?

Enhanced senses might be useful in combat.

But in a high school classroom, it was torture.

The body odors of over forty people mixed with all kinds of unidentified smells.

They all flooded into his nostrils.

Chen De's expression nearly cracked.

The dismissal bell finally rang.

Chen De was the first to rush out of the classroom.

He stood at the end of the corridor and took several deep breaths of the outside air by the window.

Even if it was the air of an industrial city, it was still far better than the toxic mixture inside the classroom.

Jiang Ping followed him out.

"Dezi, what's wrong? Did you have a falling-out with the classroom?"

"No. Just getting some air."

"You haven't seemed quite right lately."

Jiang Ping leaned against the railing, his arms folded across his chest.

"It looks like you're getting shorter, your voice has changed, your face is getting paler, and now you even smell nice."

"Are you hiding something from me?"

Chen De leaned against the window, his expression calm.

"Why are you listing so many symptoms? Writing a medical chart?"

"I'm serious."

Jiang Ping's tone truly turned serious.

"If there's something wrong with your body, don't try to tough it out."

"I might not be able to help much, but at least I can go to the hospital with you."

Chen De looked at Jiang Ping.

He was silent for three seconds.

"It's fine, really."