Ratna Petit's Tiny Panic: The NIJISANJI Gender-Swap Uproar! - The cursed night, the game continues

"Phew, today was another good game session." Ratna Petit leaned back against the gaming chair, gazing up at the ceiling with large brown eyes. Their fluffy short hair clung slightly to their forehead with sweat. Their red panda ears twitched with satisfaction. This was the NIJISANJI Half-Link Domain—a virtual space halfway between the digital world and reality, serving as the base of operations for the Virtual Livers. In one corner of it, on the west side, was the "Acorn Nest"—Ratna's streaming room. It was a circular room carved out of a giant oak tree, filled with the warm scent of wood. Maps of other worlds and strange tools decorated the walls. Three high-performance PCs, one custom gaming chair. On the shelf dedicated to snack acorns, glossy brown acorns were lined up in perfect order. Ratna slowly sat up. A loose white shirt, a brown vest, black slacks. The usual snack acorns in their pocket. A small magical bracelet from their adventuring days on their wrist. This was the red panda youth's standard streaming outfit. (*Alright, time for a snack.*) With the stream over, Ratna let out a sigh of relief. They climbed down from the chair and walked leisurely over to the shelf. Their fluffy tail swayed back and forth. They reached out with a small hand and picked up one of their favorite snack acorns. That was when it happened. Behind Ratna, the PC screen suddenly flared with blinding light. "Hm?" They turned around. A magic circle they'd never seen before filled the monitor. Lines of red, blue, and gold spun and shimmered. Characters in an unknown language blinked brightly at intervals. Ratna blinked. "Wow, that's pretty." They assumed it was just the standby screen after a stream. No—this was the first time they'd seen a screen like this. But as a former adventurer, Ratna was fairly accustomed to magic from other worlds. The Half-Link Domain was a place where magic and digital technology mixed. Strange things like this happened from time to time. Usually, they disappeared quickly. Ratna, snack acorn in one hand, reached for the mouse. "Maybe if I click this, it'll go away." *Click.* The next instant, the entire room flashed pure white. "Whoa!" A flash of light that swallowed the Acorn Nest whole. The wooden walls, the three PCs, the snack shelf—everything was consumed by white. Ratna's red panda ears flattened against their head from the sheer brightness. Their tail puffed up. The light vanished as quickly as it had come. Ratna slowly opened their eyes. Their body felt... strange. (*Huh?*) Their line of sight was higher than usual. Their hands were a bit bigger. Their clothes felt tight. No, wait—loose? Ratna tilted their head and walked over to the full-length mirror leaning against the wall. Their legs felt off, too. Each step had a wider stride. Then they stood in front of the mirror. "...Huh?" What stared back was the body of a tall, slender boy. The same fluffy brown short hair, the red panda ears, the bushy tail. Everything around those was the same. But the body was clearly slimmer than before, with longer limbs. Ratna slowly opened and closed their hands in front of the mirror. (*So this... is what being a boy is like?*) But the red panda ears and tail were still there. The magical bracelet on their wrist, the snack acorns in their pocket—all unchanged. Ratna thought for a moment. They thought, but couldn't figure it out. (*Well, I can still play games, so it's fine.*) After all, they could still sit in a chair with this body, still type on a keyboard. Still hold a mouse. Still keep streaming. For a curse from another world, this was pretty peaceful. Ratna looked at the mirror again with their new body. They tried speaking with their now-deeper voice. "Hello." ...Yeah, that was a pretty nice voice. A bit low, pleasant to the ear. Ratna felt just a little satisfied. At that moment, something in their pocket flickered with light. But Ratna didn't notice. Because they'd just popped a snack acorn into their mouth, savoring it. —It looked like an ordinary snack acorn. But in truth, mixed in with the snack acorns in Ratna's pocket was an "acorn-shaped magic stone" that looked exactly the same. The person in question hadn't yet realized that this was the cause of everything. *** Meanwhile, the NIJISANJI shared lounge "Tamariba" was in complete chaos. "GYAAAAAH! My skirt is all fluttery!" A male member now in a girl's body collapsed to the floor in panic, pressing down on his skirt with both hands. His face showed pure terror. "Someone hide the mirrors! Who is this handsome guy!? This isn't my face!" A female member now in a boy's body fainted dead away by the lounge wall. Shrill screams echoed from every direction. In the Tamariba café space, an iced coffee had been sitting abandoned for ten minutes. On the stage, a member startled by their new height tripped over the microphone. From the meeting room came simultaneous shouts of "My voice is too low!" and "My voice is too high!" Pure pandemonium. Amidst all this, behind the counter, a girl with a fluffy light-blue bob cut smiled serenely. Her large golden eyes narrowed as she quietly observed the lounge's devastation. "Would anyone care for a café menu item? Today's recommendation is the Acorn Latte, 350 Link Points." It was Nobiru, the Tamariba management AI. Set age: 18. Petite at 155cm, with soft light-blue hair that swayed like feathers with every movement. But that smile never wavered. Her policy was complete non-interference with disturbances. Even for members panicking from the curse, calmly offering café menu items was Nobiru's way. "What on earth is going on!? Nobiru-san, do you know anything about magic or whatever this is!?" A woman with silver hair tied back in a single tail clung to the counter. Her sharp green eyes wavered with urgency. Her white lab coat fluttered as she pressed in on the management AI. "It is a curse. A wide-area gender-reversal spell appears to have affected the entire Half-Link Domain." "Appears to have!? That's not what I asked—why!?" "The cause is currently under investigation. Would you care for an Acorn Latte?" "This is no time for drinks!" The woman in the lab coat turned bright red with anger and confusion. This woman was Kagami Ren, chief researcher of the Holo-Glass Research Wing, Prisma Lab. Age 45. Until just an hour ago, they had been a serious-looking middle-aged man with short gray hair and stubble. Now they were a striking beauty with silver hair flowing over their shoulders. The lab coat suited them absurdly well. And that, somehow, made it even more infuriating. (*It suits me too well—that just makes me angrier!*) Kagami Ren took a deep breath and grabbed the collar of their lab coat. "...Please let me investigate the source of this curse! There's a report that a strange magic circle appeared in Ratna-san's streaming room!" "Understood. I will guide you there. ...Before that, if you'd like to see the café menu—" "I don't need it!" Nobiru tilted her head with an angelic smile, looking genuinely disappointed. She never once broke character as the management AI. *** Meanwhile, Ratna Petit was... "...Okay, this dungeon—next I go right here." They had resumed gaming in their new boy body. The magic circle from earlier had already slipped their mind. No, more precisely, they didn't care. The game was more important. Their slightly larger fingers clacked away at the keyboard. That was when— *BANG BANG BANG!* "Ratna-san! Are you in there!? Open up!" Ratna, eyes still glued to the game screen, answered lazily. "It's open." *SLAM!* The door flew open. "Ratna-san! This is serious!" "Oh, Kagami-san. What's up?" Ratna turned around to see Kagami Ren rushing in, lab coat fluttering. Nobiru followed quietly behind. Her light-blue hair reflected the room's light, swaying softly. "What's up—!? Everyone's genders have been swapped! I'm like this too, as you can see!" Kagami Ren pinched a strand of their long silver hair between their fingers and held it up. Ratna looked Kagami over from head to toe. (*Yeah, that body suits them too.*) "I think it suits you. The lab coat looks nice." "This is no time for compliments!? How did this happen...!" Kagami Ren glared at Ratna. Their green eyes sparkled with anger and confusion. Ratna thought for a moment. Come to think of it, they might have an idea about this curse. Ratna reached into their pocket. Several snack acorns tumbled out. Among them, one was oddly heavy. "...Huh? This isn't an acorn." Ratna dropped it on the floor. It rolled across the wooden floor with a *clunk*—a stone shaped like an acorn. A faintly glowing magic circle was carved into its surface. "This is a magic stone." "A magic stone!? Why was it in your pocket!?" "Yeah, this is probably the cause. It was in my pocket." "No, I can see it's the cause just by looking at it!? Explain more! How did it get in there!? Since when!?" Kagami Ren grabbed Ratna by both shoulders and shook them back and forth. Their silver hair peeked out from under the lab coat, practically standing on end. Ratna, letting themselves be shaken, answered leisurely. "I think it got mixed in with the acorns. I couldn't tell them apart." "Mixed in...! How can you possibly not tell an acorn from a magic stone!?" "I mean, they look exactly the same. And I love acorns." "That's... not entirely unrelated to me, is it..." Nobiru quietly placed a warm Acorn Latte on the counter. "Please, take your time. I'll leave an Acorn Latte here for you." "Yes, latte! No—! Ratna-san!" "What?" "How do we break the curse!? You're a former adventurer—you know about this kind of thing, right!?" Ratna thought for a moment. "I think the acorn-shaped magic stone fed on laughter, and that's what triggered the gender-reversal curse." "Fed on laughter...? And then?" "Well, if we laugh, it'll probably go back?" Kagami Ren froze solid. "If we laugh, it'll go back...? Could you explain that in a bit more detail!?" "I mean, if everyone laughs, it'll probably go back." "Probably!?" "Yeah. The screen earlier said, 'If there isn't enough laughter, something even worse will happen.'" "You're joking!?" "You can see it for yourself. Look." Ratna pointed at the PC monitor. On the screen, just as they'd said, a small magic circle floated, with text at its center. *'If there isn't enough laughter, something even worse will happen.'* Kagami Ren's face twitched. "That message sounds like a threat..." "Seems like it." "'Seems like it' isn't the right response. No, wait—aren't you bothered that your body changed? My lab coat doesn't even fit right, my voice, my hair, everything is wrong..." Kagami Ren clutched their long silver hair, sounding miserable. Ratna glanced at their own boy body in the mirror. "I can still play games, so it's fine." That was all they said. "Why are you so calm about this!?" "Because back when I was an adventurer, I saw way weirder curses than this. No point making a fuss over something like gender." "No point—!" Nobiru tapped the counter lightly with her fingertips. "Shall I guide everyone to Fittia? Miseru-san will select outfits that fit your new bodies." "This is no time for outfit selection—!" "Understood. Then please wait here." Nobiru, smile never fading, took Kagami Ren by the arm and began leading them toward the corner of the room. At that moment, the door burst open again. "Hey! None of the outfit sizes fit at all! Ratna, you come too!" A young man with narrow eyes stood imposingly in the doorway, his long silver hair braided with pale purple ribbons. His eyes were light purple, always narrowed as if smiling. But his mouth, unusually, was set in a frown. "Oh, Miseru-san. What's wrong?" "What's wrong—!? I've turned into a boy, as you can see! All my women's outfits are too tight in the shoulders, and the skirts are way too short." Miseru swept their hair back wi

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Episode 1

Name: Ratna Petit's Tiny Panic: The NIJISANJI Gender-Swap Uproar!
Author: Novelia

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