The frosty words, delivered to his ears by his sister's voice, rattled Ken's mind to the point where he couldn't even form any words to respond. Despite that, he was quite sure of one thing.

That whoever he was talking to was not Kyouka.

"Tsk." Kyouka's impostor clicked her tongue as her face screwed up in disgust and annoyance. Her fingers still firmly gripping onto Ken's hair, she dragged him off the bed, letting him crash onto the floor.

"Ack!" He yelped in pain before shakily trying to get up, his trembling eyes locked with his sister's. "Y-you're not K-Kyouka... who are you..."

"Shut it." She pushed his head down with her foot while she spat out her next words. "Who or what I am is of no importance. What's important is that you remember who you are, Reivan."

"Reivan...? Why do you keep calling me that? I think you have the wrong person..." Ken trailed off as his words were caught in his throat. For some reason, the name was incredibly familiar.

'But why?'

His first guess was that the name was used in one of the novels he'd read. But that could immediately be ruled out.

He didn't know any characters with such a crappy name.

Ken bit his lip and clenched his fists in determination as he strained his brain to remember. But no matter how long he spent digging through his bank of memories, he just couldn't find what he was looking for. It always felt as if the answer was about to fall into his grasp, but would disappear just before he touched it.

As Kyouka's imitator looked down on the fool squirming around on the floor, her eyes grew colder by the second. Soon, her contempt became exasperation and reluctant acceptance. She sighed and started muttering under her breath. "I can't believe that this is my wielder... but I suppose I wasn't spoiled for choice in those god-forsaken corridors..."

While Ken swam through his sea of memories, the young woman standing beside him also had an internal debate.

"Hmmm..." Humming a low note, she closed her eyes while her head hung low. Sounds of her foot tapping on the floor filled the room — which was now unrecognizable from how it previously was.

The carpet-strewn floor was now a vast stretch of pitch-black darkness, making those who stood upon it think they were standing above a bottomless pit. Every piece of furniture was gone, with the walls and ceiling replaced by an endless expanse of twinkling stars.

"Fine. I've decided!" The fake Kyouka exclaimed, her eyes filled with determination.

'If you die, I die after all. I'm not gonna gamble my life on the hope that you eventually get better!'

Ken, who was just about to find the answer for the umpteenth time, snapped out of his daze when the person that looked exactly like his sister started shouting. "Wh-what the hell is wrong with you...?"

Completely ignoring his words, she bent over and poked Ken's forehead with her finger, a serious expression on her face. "Let's do some shock therapy."

The moment the tip of her willowy finger touched his skin, Ken spasmed violently as he felt a stinging pain — akin to being spit-roasted above a roaring fire — surge through his body before he fell limp. His consciousness began to sink into oblivion, but he managed — through sheer power of will — to remain awake long enough for him to catch his fake sister's last words.

"Wake up."

'What the hell is that supposed to...'

With that final thought clouding his mind, Ken passed out.

"Hah!" Ken awoke with a start. He gulped down a mouthful of saliva with difficulty as he wiped away the countless beads of sweat on his forehead. While he sat cross-legged atop a bed, the sounds of his erratic breathing filled the otherwise silent chamber. The disgusting feeling of his shirt — now sopping wet — clinging to his skin made him grimace. "Ugh..."

'Wha-what the... where am I...?'

After he managed to regain a fraction of calm, Ken's head swerved left and right, taking in his new surroundings.

He was no longer in the hospital with his beloved sister. Nor was he in that strange and fantastical place together with the impostor.

'Was that a... dream?'

It was, perhaps, a natural thought to have.

How could a place like that possibly exist? Or rather, how could someone who looked exactly like his sister, had the exact same clothes, and even had the same voice show up in his private ward just to mess with him?

It was easier to think that it was all a strange dream.

But then there was the baffling fact that he'd woken up somewhere he couldn't recognize. There was even one more thing that he found strange.

'The pain...'

It was all gone. The constant agony Ken felt for such a long time has vanished. Moreover, he felt that his body was filled with strength. Even though he was way shorter than usual for some reason, he was quite sure of his body's explosive power.

He was healthier than ever before.

Suddenly, Ken was snapped out of his thoughts when a black python flew out from behind to float right in front of his face.

That's right. It flew. And then it floated.

Ken didn't go out of his hospital room a lot — or rather, he never did — but he was pretty sure that snakes didn't fly. Nor did they float.

'Am I dreaming right now...?'

He lightly pinched his thigh just to make sure, but the pain that followed made him wince a bit. Being far stronger than he'd ever been, he accidentally put too much strength into it.

'Dammit. Does pinching yourself in a dream even snap you out of sleep in the first place...?'

As Ken massaged the bloody welt he'd inflicted upon himself, he thought about how foolish it was to think that his dream self experiencing pain would snap him out of it. That meant that all of this being one weird dream was not out of the question.

That was the only way to explain this strange situation after all. His body being much smaller than usual was one thing, but now, there was even this weird snake thing.

'That said, it's kinda cute...'

A smile crossed his face as he reached out to pet the snake. Perhaps he should've been a bit more cautious, but his mind rationalized that if a flying snake was behind him and it didn't kill him immediately, then it probably wasn't going to do so after floating in front of his face.

Well then, maybe touching it would somehow anger the snake?

Ken naturally knew that as well, but he really wanted to boop the adorable danger noodle on the head. He carelessly thought the risk of being bitten was worth it.

Luckily, it didn't appear opposed to his touch. The nope rope adjusted its head to make it easier to pet, all while hissing in what seemed like glee.

'Cute.' His smile grew wider the happier it got. 'I wonder what this lil' guy's name is... or is it a she? Uh...'

He wasn't trying to sound woke or anything like that, but he didn't know what the snake's preferred pronouns were.

Unexpectedly, the serpent stopped the stroking session itself. As if remembering something, it stiffened for a moment before hissing frantically while pointing at a baseball-sized ball on the ground.

"Uh..." Ken just stared blankly at it, not really knowing what to do.

For some reason, he felt like he should understand what it was saying, but the unintelligible snake hisses were... well, unintelligible.

After coming up with a possible scenario, Ken hopped off the bed and walked over to the ball, picked it up, and lightly threw it across the room. "Fetch!"

The serpent tilted its head for a moment, before flying over and picking it up with its tail. Then it zoomed in front of Ken and plopped it down on the ground.

"Huh... that wasn't it, huh?" Ken's brows furrowed as he bent over to pick the ball up again. The tube dude's confused appearance made it obvious that he'd failed to properly read its intentions.

'And I was so good at telling a dog's thoughts...' His shoulders shrank in disappointment before sighing in acceptance. 'I guess snakes are out of my area of expertise...'

BANG!

Ken stiffened when the door to the room burst open.

"Rein! I just realized something!" An extremely pleasant and energetic voice sounded out from outside. "You're constantly under the effects of the Beast King's Ichor, so you can't be that tired! You little rascal! You tried to escape from me but I won't let you be so cold!"

'Woah...' Ken couldn't help but gawk as an impossibly beautiful woman walked in.

Her snow-white hair fluttered along behind her as she walked briskly, while the wolf ears atop her head twitched from time to time. The elegant black nightgown she wore clung to her impressive and voluptuous figure as her fluffy tail swayed from side to side.

All the usual compliments a beautiful woman usually got were just descriptions of her.

As for her breasts...

'Holy fuck. Those are some enormous honkers!'

Ken was by no means someone who just went around staring at women's tits, but it was impossible not to notice when they were that huge. It was to the extent that her very authentic-looking animal ears and tail were completely overshadowed in Ken's mind.

Now, as for the texture and softness of the massive mammaries, he was able to confirm that almost immediately.

"Got you~!" The woman cooed as she closed the ten-meter distance between them in just a fraction of a second. Wasting no time, she scooped up Ken's tiny body and hugged him tightly, smothering his face with a delightful warmth and softness. She then began nuzzling against his hair, deeply inhaling his scent. "You're gonna go and sleep together with me, okay?"

Ken's normally calm demeanor was completely blown away when he heard that. His inexperience when it came to contact with the opposite sex made him panic when such an attractive woman — that wasn't his sister — came into such close contact with him like this.

Hence, his next words were blurted out before his mind could stop them.

"W-wait, ma'am! There's a proper order to these things... please take better care of your body..." He tried to push her away but found that his efforts bore no fruit. It was like a grasshopper trying to push aside a sixteen-wheeler careening down from a downward slope. His face burned red with embarrassment as a seductive scent overcame him. "At the very least, I should take you out to dinner before we sleep together..."

"What in the world are you talking about... huh?" The woman tilted her head in confusion before she raised a brow as she looked down to see...

Ken's raging boner.

'Oh my god. Someone kill me right now!' His face became as red as a tomato, his arms reaching up to cover his face in shame.

The absence of his disease's effects gave his body a lot of leeway to feel... other things — which apparently included erections.

"Is this a..." The animal-eared beauty's eyes widened as she beheld Ken's third leg. She merely stood there for a few moments before the shock and disbelief finally caught up to her. "Why!?"

"I'm so sorry!" Ken exclaimed. Even though his reaction was a perfectly normal reaction to have when such a beautiful woman just came out of nowhere and shoved your face between her tits, he still felt like he had to apologize.

"H-how could you be like this..." Despite the slight blush on her cheeks, she looked him in the eye with a severe expression. "I'm your mother!"

"Huh?" His brows furrowed. "You are?"

"Yes, I am!" She put him down on the floor and lightly pinched his cheeks, annoyance caused her pretty face to scowl. "Stop playing games. How dare you pretend to forget?"

"O-oh..." Ken trailed off as he felt like he was struck by lightning.

The unfamiliar room radiating an aura of extravagance; his smaller body, which was filled with vitality and health; the weird but also very adorable snake that could seemingly defy the laws of physics; and finally, a drop-dead gorgeous woman with furry ears and tails claiming to be his mother.

As an avid fan of the genre, the string of strange circumstances naturally caused a certain suspicion to grow within Ken's mind.

'I...' He gulped. 'I got fucking trucked to another world...'

Specifically, it seems like he was transmigrated into the body of some bigshot's kid — who had a cute pet and a hot mom.

If that was the case, then there was only one thing to do.

'I gotta try my best to avoid suspicion!'

He naturally had to act like the kid he was now possessing. Luckily, he was confident in his acting skills.

Ken laughed in a childlike manner while trying to look as innocent as possible. "Sorry, mommy. I don't really get what's happening to my weewee either!"

'How's that! Pretty good, eh?' He inwardly puffed his chest out in pride, confident that he'd be able to get through this.

"Who the heck are you and what have you done to my son!?" The pretty lady exclaimed in alarm as she took a step back, her wolf ears and tail standing upright in caution.

'I got busted immediately!?'

Right after he had this thought, he felt a chilling breeze surround his body. Soon his legs were encased in ice and the joints in his upper body froze over as well.

In but a single moment, all bodily movement below the neck was taken away from him. Even his little guy was iced over!

'Shit shit shit... what do I do!?' Ken racked his brain for an answer while cursing.

The wolf woman walked over and knelt on one knee while her trembling eyes gazed into Ken's. As she frowned in an attempt to look stern, she asked, "Who are you? Speak!"

As he watched the woman try — and fail — to intimidate him, her anxiety was obvious to Ken. It was clear that this woman cared quite deeply about the original owner of the body he was transmigrated into.

'I can use this...'

He could hold the body hostage to ensure his safety. Extracting information out of this woman would also be easy if he did that. With the information he got from her, he could more easily pretend to be the original!

Ken didn't particularly want to fuck anyone over, but this woman — who could freeze his entire body in less than a second — was way too scary! His survival was naturally his top priority at the moment and a hot MILF who seemed super strong was the perfect ally.

"Actually, I'm—

—holding this body hostage. So if you don't do as I say, its original owner is as good as dead!" he was about to say. But the words died in his throat before he could utter them.

Ken's face twisted into a grimace, looking as if he'd eaten shit. Of course, he'd never actually eaten feces of any kind, but he assumed the rancid taste in his mouth would be quite similar. Sludge and Ten-year-old mold were close runner-ups.

For some reason, he suddenly felt like the idea of tricking this woman was incredibly unpleasant.

'Ugh...' He inwardly groaned in disgust as he felt like a glob of bile was boiling in his throat. If he wasn't so utterly incapable of movement, he would be doubled over and unloading his latest meal onto the carpet-strewn floor while furiously scratching at his neck.

It was a sensation he was all too familiar with.

'It's like those times where I'm forced to lie to Kyouka and Hanzo...'

Whenever Ken had to lie to the people who cared about him, this taste would always fill his mouth. It was a sort of mental trauma he'd almost forgotten from how frequently he'd experienced it.

'Why the heck do I feel this way about her?'

As far as he knew, he'd never met this woman. Maybe he'd read a comic with a character similar to her in appearance, but he was pretty sure this was their first meeting.

'Fuck...' Ken sighed in resignation.

No matter how much he vehemently denied it, he was aware that he was a person that let his emotions move him more than his logic.

Heart over Brain was the way to go for him. He'd have to give up on the easiest route this time.

'Time for plan B!'

"Actually... uhm, I can't remember anything..."

It was time for the "Pretend you have amnesia" plan!

The news that the second prince had forgotten most of his memories spread throughout the castle like wildfire.

Queen Vianna's raging screams as she charged out of the castle to find the culprit did not help to keep this fact a secret.

A somber mood hung over Aizen's capital. Even though the citizens weren't privy to the details, they naturally sensed how the knights were a bit more twitchy than usual. They no longer smiled to reassure the citizens of the country's continued peace, nor did they spare anyone from even the slightest of offenses. Criminals were punished in a much more severe manner, almost as if the knights were venting their anger and anxiety.

Despite all of this, the person responsible for this mess was actually relaxing comfortably in his room.

'It's becoming a total mess down there...' Ken mused as he leaned on the window frame, staring at the city below. 'It's like a witch hunt.'

After he'd explained that he couldn't remember anything, his supposed mother — who was apparently called "Vianna" — doubted him at first, but the way he stared at a handsome young man — who ended up being his brother, Roland — as if he was a stranger was enough of a confirmation for Vianna.

Ken's erection when she hugged him also didn't help.

Vianna had immediately decided that it was the work of some mysterious assailant. Then, she charged out while shouting profanities and all sorts of cruel punishments that probably shouldn't be heard by a ten-year-old kid like Reivan — the child that Ken had apparently transmigrated into.

His "brother" had then checked him over before running off and reporting to their father. Naturally, he'd made sure to have a bunch of bulky knights guard Ken from inside the room.

A week had passed since that day. Seven days since the hunt for whoever caused the prince's amnesia began. Every single day, Ken would watch as the massive city below grew visibly less energetic.

Airships that caused him to gape in awe during his first few days here were now completely absent from the skies. The innumerable people who hustled and bustled about had dwindled enough that counting them had become feasible. There was even a large, bubble-like barrier surrounding the entire city!

'Oh my god... my lie is causing trouble for so many people...' Ken frowned while clenching his fists, suppressing the guilt he felt in his heart. 'It's especially bad since they think this was caused by someone.'

Naturally, there was no such person.

'Or maybe there is...?'

Ken didn't know if this whole transmigration business was caused by someone. As far as he knew, he was peacefully sleeping in his bed after taking a crap-ton of sleeping medication before all of this transmigration stuff.

"Ugh..." Ken winced in pain as he clutched his head. For a moment, the image of Kyouka looking down at him with a cold expression crossed his mind, but he shook it off.

His sister would never look at him that way. Unless he was perving out or something.

"Your Highness! Are you okay...?" A middle-aged knight with black hair and eyes rushed over to Ken's side, a worried look on his face.

"Ah, yes... I'm alright." Ken righted himself before smiling warmly at the knight. "Thank you for worrying about me, Sir..."

"This humble knight is named Harold, Your Highness." Harold stood ramrod straight and placed his fist upon his chest; some sort of knightly salute, it seemed.

"Ah, yes. Sir Harold." Ken nodded sagely in an attempt to look somewhat regal and prince-like. "Thank you."

"Tis' nothing, Your Highness." The knight quickly returned to his original spot, standing at attention — just like he'd done for the past few days, not even taking a single second of rest.

Returning his gaze to the city below, Ken inwardly sighed. He didn't miss the trace of pain in the middle-aged knight's eyes as he gazed at Ken.

'What a fucking mess...'

He couldn't help but curse at what a shitshow his life was turning out to be.