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Book Lovers: Guys, it's guild raid tonight! ❤️
Ditter Man: COUNT ME IN!!!
Mad Scientist: I'm busy.
Book Lovers: Awww, come on, Ferdi! We won't have fun unless everyone is here.
Eggplant: Who changed my username again? I swear, these hackers...
Shumil Emperor: Since it’s a time-limited event with good rewards, you can count on me. ^^
Book Lovers: Yay! That’s my soulmate for you! ^^
Shumil Emperor: O.O
Dusty: Get a room, you two. -.-
Tequila: Finally done with overtime.
Loltz: OMG! These battle passes are getting too expensive.
Avatar's Number One Follower: This humble servant is always ready to serve his liege, whether day or night.
Eggplant: Disgusting.
Dusty: Disgusting.
Loltz: Disgusting.
Archduck: Disgusting.
ForeverSingle: These usernames are stupid.
Myne chuckled as she watched the guild chat descend into chaos. At least most members seemed ready for the upcoming raid. She was sitting alone in her tidy room, her computer desk illuminated by the monitor's glow. A few open books rested on her bed behind her. Though she wasn’t much of a gamer and preferred the comfort of a good book, her online friends had somehow managed to rope her into this one game.
The clock on her monitor displayed 20:48. The time-limited event was about to start, so she checked her character one last time. Myne wasn’t a fan of fast-paced action, so she designed her character as a healer-supporter, allocating most of her stats to MP and Resistance. Her guild was currently ranked in the top 10 leaderboards, thanks to several whales who were willing to spend generously. Myne, on the other hand, didn’t mind supporting game developers with a small contribution now and then, but she much preferred spending her money on books over in-game items.
As time ticked down, a countdown appeared on the screen. She put on her headphones and connected to Discord, ready to strategize with her guild.
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
As the countdown hit zero, a sudden bright flash burst from her screen, causing Myne to shield her eyes.
"What the...? No warning? They could get sued for this!" she muttered, squinting against the light. But before she could react further, a wave of drowsiness overcame her. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she felt her consciousness slipping away.
"Wait... the... raid..." she murmured faintly, before succumbing to sleep.
"Zzz..."
A bird chirping could be heard, and I slowly opened my eyes. It seemed I had fallen asleep while waiting for the guild raid. Since it was already bright outside, I could assume I had completely missed the time-limited event. The guildmaster was sure to yell at me again.
"Ughhh. It's morning already." Bright light filtered through the window. But as I looked around, I realized this room was definitely not my own. Pink dominated the décor, and the furniture was arranged differently. Even my voice sounded strange. "What is going on?"
I pushed myself up from the chair, only to stumble. I was far shorter than I remembered, and my hands looked smaller. Despite the oddness, I managed to walk over to a full-length mirror, and what I saw made me gasp in horror.
"What a cute girl." Instead of seeing a young woman with dark blue hair and generous proportions, I was greeted by the sight of a petite pink-haired girl dressed in fluffy pajamas. I didn’t know who she was, but she was definitely not me. "Wait a minute. Did I get reincarnated into an alternate world as the princess of some doomed kingdom where I have to fight the demon king to save my people?" My otaku tendencies kicked in.
I slapped both cheeks lightly to calm myself. I instantly regretted it. The girl in the mirror looked so delicate and frail that I worried I might have actually hurt her. Thankfully, her cheeks remained unscathed.
Overthinking wouldn’t help, so I took a closer look at the room. It was far larger than mine, with rabbit plushies scattered about. The bed looked incredibly comfy, and there were posters of muscular men wrestling above the study desk—a total contrast to the otherwise cutesy atmosphere.
"Hannelore, are you awake?" a voice called from behind the door. The language was familiar, which relieved me. At least I wasn’t in a world where I couldn’t understand anyone. The door opened slowly, revealing a tall woman with a strict aura. "You need to get ready, or you’ll be late for school."
"Ah." Her clothing was more modern than I expected. It dawned on me that I wasn’t in an isekai world but still in the same one I knew—just in someone else’s body. "U-understood." I forced a smile, trying not to sound suspicious.
The woman’s expression softened as she approached and patted my head. This girl, Hannelore, must be very short because I felt like a dwarf standing in front of her. "Once you’ve changed, come down for breakfast. I made your favorite today."
"Thank you," I replied, enjoying the headpat. Come to think of it, Dad used to pat my head a lot when I was younger.
The woman nodded and left, closing the door behind her. I exhaled in relief. At least she hadn’t noticed anything was off.
Suddenly, a loud and unfamiliar song blasted from the bedside table, startling me. It was a cutely designed smartphone, though the heavy metal ringtone was hilariously mismatched. The caller was an unknown number, which made me hesitate to pick it up.
"Hannelore, are you going to answer that?" the woman’s voice called from downstairs, clearly able to hear the obnoxious ringtone.
I quickly apologized and answered the call. "H-hello?"
"Whoever is in my body, please don’t do anything reckless!" A panicked female voice came from the other end.
"Huh?" I was left dumbfounded. But piecing things together, I finally asked, "I-is this the owner of Hannelore’s body?"
"Y-yes! I’m sorry for startling you. I woke up in a body that isn’t mine, so I panicked and called my number," the voice explained, sounding calmer now. There was something familiar about it, but I couldn’t pinpoint what. "A-anyway, I’ll try not to mess things up too much, so please—"
"Myne, breakfast is ready!" a voice called in the background from her end of the call.
"Mom?" I blurted out. No one answered, but the realization hit me like a truck. I had swapped bodies with Hannelore, and she was now dealing with my family.
"H-Hannelore, if I may ask, could you please try to get along with my family until we meet and figure this out?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," she replied with a chuckle. "I’m leaving my body in your care, Miss Myne. Since we seem to live in different towns, let’s arrange a meeting soon so we could discuss this situation. Anyway, I have to go for now."
"Lady Hannelore, would you like some cookies? I baked extra today."
"Perhaps you’d like to join me for tea?"
"Lady Hannelore, you have to hear this! My brother finally brought a girl home, and my parents are thrilled!"
How did things end up like this? I masked my horror with a forced smile as waves of well-bred young ladies swarmed me—Hannelore. Apparently, her petite and charming appearance made her very popular. To make matters worse, she attended an all-girls school, and the frilly uniforms were overkill.
Now that I thought about it, I was a bit of a tomboy as Myne, spending my days either reading books or hanging out with boys my age. I’d never interacted with this many girls at once, and I was internally crying for help.
When classes started, I thought I’d get some respite, but the lessons were shockingly advanced—far beyond regular high school level.
As expected of an elite school, I thought, staring at the complex material being taught. Fortunately, as a young adult librarian who had already graduated, I managed to keep up. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this situation was completely wrong.
"I'm so tired." I collapsed onto the bed, still wearing the frilly uniform. My hair was still tied up in girly pigtails, but I had no energy to undo it.
Living as Hannelore for a day was a nightmare. Between girls gossiping about romance at every corner of the school, other girls trying to flirt with her, the NASA-class academics being taught, and her overly protective yet hardboiled family, I was completely drained. A deep sigh escaped my lips.
"Please, at least let me read a book." Reaching my limit, I threw a tantrum, cradling my head on the bed. If there was one thing I’d realized, it was that this girl was silk hiding steel. She was part of the sword art club, and despite having zero fighting experience as Myne, I managed to clash swords with several skilled students in her body. It still felt surreal. Worst is, the only book I’d seen all day was my notebook from class. "Argh. I want a cup of ramen."
The food wasn’t bad, per se, but it was way too refined for my tastes. Even at 23 years old as Myne, I still ordered kids’ meals whenever my family went out to restaurants. Luxurious snacks and overcomplicated flavors just didn’t appeal to me.
"Hannelore, dinner is ready," her mother called from downstairs. Despite their wealth—far greater than my own family’s—they seemed to live a relatively modest life. Her father was a politician, and her older brother, Lestilaut, was a college student.
I sighed, dragging myself off the bed. I changed out of the uncomfortable dress and headed downstairs, holding on to the small hope that dinner wouldn’t be overly extravagant.
"..."
This makes no sense. No matter how many times I pinched myself, I couldn’t wake up. Instead, I stared in horror at the reflection in the mirror.
Just a moment ago, I’d been in my modest room, which I shared with my two brothers, waiting for the time-limited event to start. As usual, Ralf was loudly chatting with his girlfriend while lounging on his bed, so I had tried to immerse myself in the game. I’d recently been promoted at my part-time job while catching up on my studies, working toward a better future. But now? Now I was in a situation I couldn’t comprehend.
"Who is this chick?" I muttered, watching as the young woman in the mirror mimicked my every move. She was stunning—silky blonde hair, a generous figure, and wearing clothes I could never dream of affording. "Is this a dream?" I pinched my cheek again, and the reflection did the same.
"The heck?" My scream echoed in the empty apartment mansion, its girly pitch only adding to my panic. There was no one around to answer my millions of questions.
My younger brother was acting really weird this morning. I knew Lutz could be a bit odd at times, but today he was downright ridiculous. He complained about everything, freaked out over the smallest things, and even lost his mind over a cockroach.
Is fame getting to his head or something? I thought to myself. I knew he was one of the top students at his school and had managed to land a well-paying part-time job. Instead of giving his salary to our parents, he decided to save most of it. I’d been angry at him for it in the past, but he yelled back, saying the money he was saving would be useful for the future. Since Mom didn’t seem too upset about it, we eventually let it slide.
With the new day starting, I had to rush out of the house toward the workshop. Our family was pretty poor, so the three of us brothers had to do our best to support everyone. Dad was breaking his back day and night, but his efforts alone weren’t enough.
I’d had to drop out of school because the tuition fees were too expensive, and so had my other brother. Lutz, however, found a good job and decided to re-enroll in school. At first, we thought he was wasting his hard-earned money, but he insisted it would come in handy someday.
"Yo, Ralf. Ya look kinda gloomy today, dontcha?" my childhood friend Frey said in his usual rough tone. Like us, his family was poor too, so we often worked the same jobs.
"Yo, Frey! That Lutz decided to ruin my day first thing in the morning," I complained, changing into my work uniform. "Seriously, it’s all because of that laptop of his. He keeps insisting he needs it for work, but I swear, all he does is play on it."
The two of us finished getting ready and moved into the factory, where a tall, loud, muscular man barked at us to get moving. Looked like it was going to be a long day.
Shumil Emperor: It looks like we swapped bodies X.X
Book Lovers: T.T
Loltz: Eeeeeeekkkkk! I just saw a shiny thing behind the desk. Someone save me!!!
Eggplant: I am losing my mind here -.-
Book Lovers: I've read a lifetime's worth of books just today @.@
Shumil Emperor: I am so jealous. I want to return to my body as soon as possible.
Loltz: I share that feeling.
Book Lovers: Same.
Eggplant: Should we meet up to discuss this? I don't even know where I am right now. Everything seems so foreign, and everywhere I go, people are dressed in clothes I could never afford.
Loltz: T.T
Archduck: Guys, help.
Shumil Emperor: Let me guess, you swapped bodies with someone else?
Archduck: 💀
Book Lovers: 🤗
In a dark room, an individual stared at the screen with amusement. They had a blanket draped over their shoulders, as well as serving a some kind of hood to hide their face, while a mug of hot cocoa sat on the desk beside them.
"Looks like it worked," they mused. "Now then, my dear test subjects, feel free to amuse me~"