Being in a new body was quite the experience though, for both sides. Despite Celia's happiness and delight at finally being able to 'live' as the Sage of Fluff, she… was tired. And quickly her soul fell asleep to try and regain some strength, leaving Rou as being the only one in his new body. He stood there in Affection's domain, undressed, staring at a mirror.

  But strangely? Affection seemed… a little dissatisfied with how he looked at the moment. Something Rou noticed out of the corner of his eye in the mirror and turned, "What's wrong?"

  "Oh, nothing, don't mind me. Just an idle thought."

  Rou frowned a bit, walking over to Affection to peer at her more closely. But she was trying to not make eye contact at the moment and finally Rou realized what it was as they still had the shared senses up.

  "Really? You… you dislike how I look now?" He snorted in amusement and frustration. Of course, it made so much sense. They shared tastes and he had heavily customized his previous form - manually at that - and coincidentally their shared tastes are what helped them bond. But now, instead of the pretty, but masculine form he had… he'd gone from 'prettyboy' to 'girly boy' at best, and honestly, with how pretty Celia was, his body now being a combination of his old, and hers?

  It was almost like he transitioned. Reminded of those in his old world who went through such desperate measures to have this effect and here he was, his 'eternal partner' not wanting to look him in the eyes because she was rather annoyed at how he wasn't quite as attractive as he was to her in the past.

  Well… they'd work it out in time.

  –

  "...mother? Father? What's wrong?"

  When Rou returned home, sure, Celia and Dominic were there to hug him, Millet as well, though they all seemed rather confused at first before he explained why his body looked different. Millet was terribly awkward of course, but happy to see he was safe.

  But his parents? Something was different, and he didn't quite know what it was.

  "Is this even… our sons body?" Dominic asked in confusion, Rou looking down at himself as he now wore a plain robe like he usually did. "It's me, yes. My body… it's hard to put into words, but was damaged enough that another body was used to prop mine up. Despite being gods they can't just… create a body out of nowhere, they need time to actually let it grow. So in theory they could let me get one eventually in a few years, but it'd take time. Besides, there's nothing wrong with this body, right?"

  What Rou hadn't expected was his mother looked upset. Not happy. This wasn't how she'd been most of his life! Why did she seem to have a different reaction than what Rou would have expected. Even Dominic seemed sour about it and suggested Rou to just go. Especially as he'd promised not to worry them anymore and now here they were.

  Rou was absolutely crushed. Even at his lowest point, his father had always supported him. Sure, his mother was prone to emotions but she'd always been that way. But his father? Rou just quietly turned and left, leaving Millet to hesitate before following.

  "Rou… are you going to be okay?" she asked as they were back in his room. But when Rou went to hug Millet for comfort, he could tell even the mouse was a bit awkward. "Sorry, Rou, your new body just isn't… it's hard to explain. I know it's you, I love you and I'm not going to treat you badly, but… can you just give me some time?" Millet asked, turning to reach out with her hand and touch him to make a point. "Look, you're all soft and squishy now. Your old body was nice and firm and… it's what I was attracted to." She felt awkward admitting that. "Not that I didn't also care for you, but surely you know what I mean, right?"

  Wait, his body… was soft. He hadn't thought about it. But his status? His draconic legacy that he had inherited, finally he put it to thought what was different.

  Rou felt weak. His whole body didn't feel so full of life and strong as before the events with Borgain.

  Status Screen 1.05

  Name: Rou Erial(Celia Erial)

  Titles: [Pathetic] [Miracle Child] [Affection's Pet Project] [Affection's Partner] [Feral Cat Tamer] [System Tester] [Beloved of the Gods] [Adored by Laughter]

  Strength: 10

  Agility: 10

  Intelligence: 25

  Constitution: 5

  Charisma: 5

  Magic - Power: 5

  Magic - Perception: 999

  Magic - Control: 5

  Magic - Capacity: - 5

  Perks

  [Subject to the whims of the Gods] [Immaculate Soul] [Customized Looks - Partially Active] [Contact: Any God] [Redemption Ticket] [Cutie]

  Status

  [Immaculate Soul] [Twin Souls] [Sublimated Soul II - 7%] [Sublimated Soul I - 73%]

  Well, it made sense that his screen would look different thanks to Aether having made changes, but there were certain things missing. His entire draconic inheritance. His strength, his agility, his constitution…

  "Aether, what's going on?"

  "Mm? Oh… right. Your previous body was so badly damaged, we couldn't quite carry over certain things from it in the same way. Laughter seems to think you can eventually recover, but with your current body and fragile soul, it's best not to push things."

  "But why does it feel like everyone is looking at me differently? I don't think it's just how I look. Something else is wrong."

  Aether was quiet for a bit as she tried to suss it out. "Ah, yes. Your Charisma. You received a major boost to your general appeal, physically and emotionally, thanks to the draconic inheritance. But you also had a magical effect on your body that generally made you more… interesting to others. It's not mind control or anything so crass, but more of a natural distinction between… life forms? It's hard to explain. To us high-dimensional beings it makes perfect sense but you, as a mortal, probably have no idea how to even understand distinction between levels of life. You were a higher rank life form than them and they were naturally in awe and desired you, but now you aren't a higher rank life form and for others it will take time for them to reacclimate."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  As Millet had given Rou a gentle kiss on the cheek and wandered off to try and figure out how to get over the differences, he sat on his bed, wrapped up in several blankets and somehow, despite it all, felt terribly cold.

  This new life, where everyone looked at him happily, with love and adoration, he had become addicted to it.

  But now he was reminded of his old life where no one wanted to look at him and even when they spoke they were overly critical of even the smallest things.

  –

  "You're really going out NOW? After you just got back and now you're going to make us worry even more? …I don't remember raising you to be this selfish." Dominic's words stung, hard, leaving Rou shaking slightly as he tried to let it pass as he knew what was going on. It hurt though, badly, his mother not even speaking as she seemed just as upset. "I'm sorry. I thought if I left, you would be happier."

  "Go on then."

  The dismissal from his father left a whine and tears in Rou's eyes as he quietly stepped outside, practically trying to hide and not be seen.

  But it wasn't just his parents either. Everyone who looked at him was much the same. It wasn't the look they gave the Sage of Fluff in the past. Did they even think it was him? He didn't have the same distinctive appearance. Some things were similar, the colorations and all, but that was about it.

  Rou wasn't even wearing his normal clothes at the moment, the light and airy attire he favored wasn't thick enough. He was cold. It was winter outside. The light snow on the ground and the chill in the air left him feeling something he hadn't felt since he was a child in this life.

  And as he didn't even have the proper clothes, he had to ask Affection for help, who did so happily even if she was having a hard time getting over her vanity. Sure, she hadn't been attracted to his draconic life rank as others would have been, but she was exceptionally vain and everyone knew it. It was a lot for her too despite being a high-dimension life form. Especially one who sat in a body all day unlike others.

  With the clothes tightly hugged around his form, curled up like he was going to freeze, Rou just went to the first place he thought he'd always be welcomed no matter what.

  Vitor's manor.

  Only what he saw confused him.

  Vitor had invited him in, sure, but even Vitor looked at him with uncertainty.

  Of course, Vitor, sweet as he was, pushed it aside and even gave Rou a much needed kiss - the sage melting into the brief warmth before Vitor pulled away and apologized. "It's a little strange now, Sage. You know I'm into men, yes?"

  "...how could I not know? Do you think I'm a woman now or something?"

  In frustration, Rou grabbed Vitor's hand and put it between his legs, proving he was male. Of course, Vitor looked a bit guilty before saying, "Yes, but you're so feminine now. Pretty I can appreciate but… look, if you came to me for comfort, I accept. I can't promise to be eager but if you just want relief–"

  "I DIDN'T COME TO YOU FOR THAT, DAMNIT, AAAAH!"

  Rou whipped around, torn up and angry as Laughter actually stepped out of the high dimension in front of Rou and put a hand on his shoulder. "What now, you too?"

  For a moment he lashed out only to realize he was lashing out and looked down, "Sorry, this isn't your fault, you saved me."

  The smile of Laughter remained but he didn't speak. Just patted Rou's shoulder before stepping aside and leaving.

  Vitor and Laughter looked at each other before Vitor, feeling a bit guilty, admitted, "Sorry, Laughter, I have a type. I adore him and will be with him forever if he wants, but I don't want to lie to him that I'm… attracted to him like this. You're more my type."

  Laughter and Vitor stared again before Vitor realized his candidness got him in trouble again.

  Though Vitor also received a pat on the shoulder, he also received a kiss on top of his head from Laughter for amusing him and then Laughter was gone again.

  –

  Part of Rou wanted to run to Penelope. Surely SHE would still not look at him strangely. But he knew in his heart that if Penelope was also strange around him, distant, cold, that he couldn't handle it.

  –

  A scene that was quite similar to not long ago. A red panda in the port area of the capital, on a bridge over a river. Leaning over the railing, not to jump off, but still certainly risking more than they should. Balancing on their stomach and just… passing the time riskily.

  Not that there was any risk. Rou had Affection with him 24/7 and if he ever was in danger, now that the barriers were being ignored, she would come to him immediately. But Rou found himself grabbed from behind and thrown off the railing by someone he'd never expected.

  W'elma.

  "Have you lost your mind?! Suicide!" Rou was so stunned to see not only W'elma but Ellie that he didn't even have the mental capacity to try and tell them it wasn't suicide. Especially as W'elma had slapped him as hard as she could, having been experienced with his past body and assuming he would be fine.

  What the three hadn't expected was the much thinner, more frail Rou was knocked across the bridge and left with a broken nose and bloody mouth from his teeth cutting into his cheek.

  "OH HELL, ROU!" W'elma ran to him and picked up the battered Rou, utterly confused. She couldn't use light magic, or anything of the sort, only for Affection to appear and use her high-dimensional energy to push the aether around them to start healing Rou.

  "Yes, it's a shock to us all. We're all so used to his old body that we're still getting used to the new one." Affection's voice was soft, usually she'd be bristling with anger but she very much understood the uncertainty here. Rou didn't blame her either, finding it funny despite still surprised just how much it hurt.

  Before leaving, Affection gave him a gentle hug and even a kiss, forcing herself to get over the strangeness of it and then she was gone. Of course, Rou was now standing with W'elma and Ellie and feeling quite awkward and a bit vulnerable. "As you can see, I was in no danger. At worst even if I fell in she'd have come got me. But… thank you for worrying about me."

  Even with W'elma, a former adventurer who was always much larger than Rou, being taller still - he was actually that much shorter now as he stepped up to hug her in thanks for worrying about him. He needed that, very much needed to feel like someone was worried about him and not just angry.

  But what surprised him the most was Ellie actually looked concerned for him too. The normally placid, unmoved look on her face wasn't there.

  "Where were you going?" W'elma asked, patting his back while he hugged her. "I wasn't really going anywhere, just trying to get away from everyone. I can't stand the way I'm being looked at right now. Everyone is looking at me like I'm… disgusting." Seeing him shake like that, Ellie wanted to hug him but was stopped by W'elma who promptly picked Rou up and carried him 'Princess Style', leaving him quite embarrassed.

  "You shall come with us for now then. And don't bother complaining. I'm stronger than you now it seems."

  His cheeks burned with embarrassment at that, but silently along with things.

  Was Celia's personality affecting him in some way? Well, they were together now. It wouldn't come as a surprise.

  –

  Where had they gone? Well, W'elma and Ellie were on their way to a warehouse in the port to inspect goods, and once there, though the locals looked at Rou strangely, they didn't say anything as W'elma had glowered them off.

  Though once they were inside and alone, Rou couldn't help but ask, "Are you two only so concerned about me right now because you, uh… are more into feminine types?"

  W'elma snorted and thumped Rou's forehead as she sat him down on a box, gently this time. "Well, I do think you're cute still but you're not quite my type at the moment. It's… hm."

  Aether suddenly appeared besides them. "Pardon the intrusion."

  W'elma and Ellie both tensed up, trying to seem polite but Aether waved them off. "Normally I wouldn't just come down but I wanted to clarify something for Rou and all involved before any misgivings are had. W'elma used to be an adventurer dear." she turned to 'face' Rou in her high-dimensional form, who nodded before starting to think about a possibility. "She was very strong, and her soul is quite sublimated. Those whose souls are stronger would have had been drawn in a much lesser fashion by your Draconic factors. So W'elma here, and Ellie too… never really were swayed by that."

  Rou looked at Ellie. "You were an adventurer?"

  Ellie nodded. "I was. I always greatly looked up to W'elma, and wanted to become one to be part of her group. But she retired before I could, and after I caught up to her strength, I, too, retired to come work with her privately."

  "So you two always… huh."

  Aether nodded and reached over to gently pat Rou's cheek. "No one hates you Rou, it's just going to be different for a good long while because the life level difference isn't in effect. I've gone and had a talk to all your friends, partners and even your parents and after they realized what was going on, they all felt a bit guilty about it. Probably won't be the same, but they've all calmed down and promised not to lash out at you over small things."

  "...thank you Aether."

  And then Aether was gone, leaving Rou with W'elma and Ellie.

  "So you really are tied up with the gods. Fancy that." W'elma laughed, Ellie smiling for a change and reaching over to hug W'elma's arm in an affectionate manner.

  "Mm. I am."

  "Want to stay with us for a bit? Until everyone adjusts?" W'elma and Rou were both surprised by Ellie's soft side. Ellie snorted, "What? You thought I was just a bitch for no reason? I don't particularly enjoy playboys, and Rou very much was just that."

  "And now?" Rou asked as he laughed.

  "Mm… well, now you're just a little pathetic, and I don't mind that as much."

  Ellie and W'elma seemed confused as to why Rou looked like he was in pain from laughing until he shared his screen with them.

  Status Screen 1.05

  Titles: [Pathetic]

  Naturally they all began to laugh, Rou even crying slightly as he finally felt like someone wanted to be around him again, and didn't think he was unattractive anymore for something out of his control.