After an enjoyable chat with Isis-san, I left the Death King faction to head toward my next destination. Fortunately, the party had only just begun, so most guests were still clustered by their respective groups, making it easy to make my rounds.
As I scanned the room for where to go next, my gaze suddenly locked onto a certain individual. Standing ahead was Kong-san, squeezed into a suit-like outfit so tight he was practically bursting at the seams. The sheer impact of the visual left me momentarily stunned.
At that moment, Kong-san seemed to notice me as well. He flashed a boisterous, wide grin and called out to me.
"If it isn't Kaito! Thanks for the invite today. Man, this ship is incredible! You really are something else!"
"Oh, hello. Good afternoon, Kong-san."
I had met him on several occasions, such as the banquet after my fight with Megiddo-san during the Six Kings Festival and the party for my new home's completion. My initial impression of him had been simply 'the guy Pandora-san beat to a pulp,' but he was actually a genuinely good person.
He was a very straightforward man with no hidden agenda. I remembered him praising me quite a bit during the festival for holding my own against Megiddo-san.
Well, that was all fine... the problem was his appearance. Kong-san looked like a gorilla. Aside from the horns, he was a massive gorilla in every sense of the word. Seeing a gorilla wearing a skin-tight suit was... well, it was hilarious.
The size was so clearly wrong that the fabric looked packed to the absolute limit. The strain on the shirt buttons was terrifying; honestly, it was a miracle they hadn't launched like projectiles yet.
Of course, no matter how funny it was, laughing would be incredibly rude. Laughing at someone's outfit is the lowest thing a person can do, and since Kong-san had clearly gone to the trouble of dressing up for the party, I should have been grateful. I shouldn't be laughing... And yet... couldn't he at least have found a better size? I was actually impressed he had even managed to get into a shirt that was so obviously too small.
"You're here to see the Boss, right? He's this way."
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
I pinched my thigh to keep a straight face while following Kong-san's lead. Even the view from his back was impactful. The shirt looked as if it were screaming for mercy.
Anyway, after moving a short distance, I spotted Ozma-san and Bacchus-san. It seemed the War King faction was gathered here, but Agni-san and Epsilon-san were nowhere to be seen, so they must have been elsewhere.
Wait, speaking of which, where was Megiddo-san?
"Boss! Kaito's here."
"Oh! Kaito, glad you could make it! Don't be shy, come closer!"
"............Huh? What? Me—Megiddo-san?"
I heard a rather adorable voice and shifted my gaze, only to find Megiddo-san in a completely unexpected form. He had curly, very wavy red hair cut in a semi-short style and two large horns. That much was fine, but his physique was only about the same as Kuro's. A young girl in a cute dress was beckoning me over with a cheerful laugh.
I could tell it was Megiddo-san through the sensations from my Sympathy Magic, but what was with that look? It wasn't his usual magic beast form, his humanized muscular male form, or even his original form as a glamorous woman. It was a mysterious young girl form.
"Hm? What's with that look on your face?"
"Boss, this might be the first time Miyama-kun has seen you in that form," Ozma-san explained.
Megiddo-san tilted his head in confusion but then nodded with a look of realization immediately after Ozma-san spoke. Ozma-san then gave me a brief explanation.
"Miyama-kun, the Boss has about four different humanized forms. He switches between them depending on his mood."
"Ah, so that's how it is. I see. I was surprised because whenever I thought of Megiddo-san's human form, I always pictured him as a muscular man."
"Yeah, I suppose I use that form most often. Well, it doesn't really make much of a difference, so don't sweat it."
No, it makes a huge difference! Even after hearing the explanation, my brain felt like it was glitching just trying to accept that this person with the voice and appearance of a cute young girl was actually Megiddo-san.
"...By the way, why that form today?"
"Ah, it's because of this dress. I bought it at the Hydra Kingdom's Founding Anniversary Festival recently. It incorporates the Hydra Kingdom's cutting-edge designs while also using old techniques from Symphonia and Alcreasia. I loved it at first sight. Well, the balance of combining multiple techniques still seems to be in the experimental phase, so it feels a bit cluttered, but I liked its bold style! And since I went to the trouble of buying it, I figured I'd wear it. This form was the best fit for it."
"I—I see..."
Indeed, the dress Megiddo-san was wearing had a cute design with plenty of frills; it wouldn't have matched the vibe of his glamorous female form.
I could understand the logic... but still, talking to him like this made it feel like my brain was going to crash.