I am Haiyarn. Currently, I am a white rabbit.
I used to be a sexy beauty — bouncy breasts, perky butt, the whole package. It's true, I swear.
But through various circumstances and twists and turns, I ended up as a male white rabbit.
You never know what life has in store. That's what makes it so interesting.
And here I am, back in the Lab in this world once again. It truly is a miracle.
So, I established the Haiyarn Trading Company to manage the Lab and secure research funding.
But I went wildly off track, got carried away, and after Wof punched me, I came to my senses.
So I stepped away from the Haiyarn Trading Company, and now it's back to daily research at the Lab.
Research is nice. Even just perusing the Lab's archives with a cup of coffee is pleasant enough.
Occasionally Wof throws in unreasonable demands, but it reminds me that I am an alchemist after all.
Whenever I create something, my heart soars.
However, Akindura keeps pressuring me for new products.
I want to put out new products too.
The light orbs are still selling steadily, and that probably won't change going forward.
But I can understand wanting new products on top of that.
So I've been racking my brain about new products too.
But nothing particularly good comes to mind.
Even staring at the vast archives... it's just "hmm" every day.
Anyway, today is the monthly Lab inspection.
Maintenance work to check for any issues in the Lab. Tedious, but it has to be done.
"Usually the maids handle this, though."
At some point, that was just how things ended up, so I left it to them.
For them too, this Lab is special. You could call it their birthplace.
But the maids aren't in this city. They're away from me because of what I did.
Shouldn't they be coming back soon?
I need to apologize to them too. They might string me up, though.
"This area looks good. This too. Seems like no problems."
I think with relief. I should start exploring beyond the Lab complex before long.
I want to figure out once and for all where exactly this place is.
I probably can't do it alone. But with Wof, it feels like it might be possible.
He's got plenty of irritating qualities, but he's reliable.
And besides — I look up at the ship in the hangar.
It's a peculiar ship with a large sphere attached to its bow.
Apparently, it was sunk in Haizen's Reeve Lake.
He got it as a reward from the will of Haizen's dungeon. As usual, he's a strange one.
Haizen, huh.
I'm curious what it's like, and apparently Wof is building a dungeon there.
Dungeon Ruler... I thought that was just a fairy tale... but they actually exist, and that guy is one.
That's not all, though. There was something else that surprised me. For some reason, a nursery rhyme with me as the protagonist had spread around.
"Haiyarn's Three Eggs" — well, there were indeed eggs in this Lab.
The Holy Egg of Elixir. The Eternal Egg of Talisman. The Revival Egg of Phoenix.
These were artifacts unearthed from Labyrinths, as dungeons were called back then, from around the world.
Each had tremendous effects and was an absurdly powerful legendary item with infinite spawning.
They would undoubtedly shake the world.
Right now, Wof has the Holy Egg of Elixir.
Come to think of it, it's said that whoever collects and possesses all three eggs holds a vessel for a king's soul.
If that's Wof, hmph — he'd probably become a Harem King or something like that.
I also know he's been called the Night King or something.
I... can't... forgive... you... I'm... so... jealous...
Just you wait. The flames of jealousy burn everything.
Oh right, about that nursery rhyme — but that's fine. If it's praising me, I'm all for it.
But hey. What's this about me, Haiyarn, being a bald old man!?
Because I'm an egg, I'm smooth and shiny? How very rude!!
"Good grief, and I'm such a cute rabbit... Hm? The hatch is open?"
Strange. The lower hatch of the Etrange was open.
That Wof, leaving it unlocked. Not that any outsiders would come to the Lab.
I have no idea where this place even is, but at least I have no memory of any attacks.
"Hmm."
The inspection was done, so I let my curiosity get the better of me and entered the ship through the hatch.
This ship, like the Lab, is full of mysteries.
It's outright trespassing, but they shouldn't have left the hatch open.
Besides, this hangar is under my management.
"Well now, this is luxurious."
This living quarters. Was it originally a section of a giant carriage custom-ordered by the witch?
A spacious living room and kitchen, plus guest rooms. There's even a bath.
Absolutely over the top in luxury.
I suppose that's just how the witch is. Even I have to admit that much about her.
As I was looking around with those thoughts, there was a clatter.
From the kitchen? That's odd. This ship is supposed to be uninhabited.
I boldly headed to the kitchen, jumped up onto the counter, and declared:
"Who goes there!?"
There, a suspicious figure was huddled up, wearing a white coat with a white hood pulled over them.
A thief, hm? From the build, it's a woman.
"...A diminutive... rabbit...?"
The suspicious woman turned around, murmured, and stood up.
"Who are you calling diminutive!? I am Haiyarn!"
"Haiyarn..."
"For the record, I am not bald."
"What are you talking about?"
"Hey — hey, stop patting my head!"
"As I thought. A diminutive rabbit."
"I told you, I'm not diminutive. Now — off with that hood!"
"Aah!"
I forcibly yanked the hood off, and the face that appeared — oh my. No way.
"...Megadira...!?"
It was the face of my twin sister.
Arc Lab.
Inside the Lab hangar.
General-purpose multidimensional transit ship Rujitsa No. 4 — Etrange.
Living quarters, 2nd floor. Nechia's bedroom.
"..."
"......"
Nechia sat on a chair, I stood on top of the chair, and we stared at each other in silence.
Naturally, it wasn't my twin sister Megadira.
But she looked incredibly similar.
Black hair. Purple eyes. Tanned skin. Beautiful features. An unimpeachably gorgeous face.
Well, my original body was the spitting image, so this is basically self-praise.
But even I have to admit this is ridiculous.
This is four thousand years after the era I lived in.
Civilization seems to have declined for supposedly the future, but that's neither here nor there.
Still, she really does look just like Megadira.
My twin sister Megadira was the spitting image of my original body, but her personality was the polar opposite.
That said, we didn't have a bad relationship.
After she married her fiancé and took over the family, we drifted apart, but she used to send letters occasionally.
I would reply from time to time. We had this peculiar, distant relationship.
I was busy with research, and I'd always had a poor relationship with my family anyway, so I didn't go back.
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen her since her wedding.
I never imagined that would be our farewell in this life.
And I never would have imagined I'd actually meet her descendant.
"So you're also related to the Megalopolis family by blood?"
"Y-yes. If Haiyarn says so, then I suppose so."
Nechia. Sitting there on the chair, she really does resemble her.
For starters, her figure — those are truly magnificent breasts.
Really wonderful breasts. Makes you want to squeeze them.
And what a superb hip line. Makes you want to touch them.
A very well-endowed body. Excellent. Truly excellent.
"Still, while Megadia was the spitting image of my original body except for height, for Nechia to be a perfect living copy of Megadira in every way — this Haiyarn is truly astonished."
"Even if you say that, I'm not sure whether I should be happy about it."
"I suppose so."
I smile wryly.
I'm the only one left who knows my twin sister Megadira.
"Nechia, you said? I didn't know there was a resident on this ship."
That Wof. Keeping this from me.
Nechia made a troubled expression.
"There are circumstances. I can't really go outside this ship much."
"I see."
"But I'm not inconvenienced. The witch and Wof have both helped me. If anything, I feel bad about it. That's why I learned to pilot the ship."
"You can pilot it!?"
I thought only Riv could do it, but then again, how could Riv pilot it in the first place?
"I can."
"Is that possible for a rabbit too?"
"That's probably going too far, I think."
"I figured."
So it really is impossible after all.
That said, a human body is... going back to a female body feels somehow unpleasant.
But being a human male is out of the question. It's horrifying. Besides, I don't understand the body structure at all.
Especially that.
That thing between the legs... it's nothing like a male rabbit's, so — ugh. Horrifying.
Anyway, I'm fine with this male rabbit body as it is. It's cute and suits me.
Strange as it sounds, I have to take my hat off to Raada's taste in putting me in this body.
That person's aesthetic sense has always surpassed mine.
Whatever they did with my body, they wouldn't have used it for anything weird.
Hm. Strange to say, but I don't bear a grudge against Raada.
They knew that I didn't think very highly of my original body in the first place.
Operating the panels is a bit awkward, but I'm still fond of this rabbit body.
Also, this rabbit body that Raada prepared — it's definitely not an ordinary rabbit.
"I heard it from Wof, so I know. Haiyarn is the head of this Lab, and you created Isibara's body, right?"
"Isibara... ah, that spider woman. Yes, I magically modified her to bring her closer to human form."
The concept of magical modification. The light orbs too. It's frustrating, but I don't have Wof's creative vision.
But I have the alchemist's skill to bring his ideas to life.
That's something he doesn't have. Fuhahaha!
"Even I, as a queen, was amazed by that."
"Queen?"
"It's impressive. Wof said that that perverted rabbit could accomplish pretty much anything. He called you a perverted rabbit."
"Perverted... how dare you... ahem. I am an alchemist, after all. So. Is there something you'd like me to craft with alchemy?"
"What's alchemy?"
"It's creating things. If there's something you want, just say the word."
As I cleared my throat and offered, Nechia gave a gentle smile.
"You know, I prefer hot food over cold food."
"Hm?"
"I often leave food to eat later, then fall asleep, and by the time I wake up it's cold and not very tasty. When I was a spider, I didn't care about things like that, but after becoming human, I started to care. Delicious food is wonderful."
"Spider?"
"So... I was hoping you could make something that lets me eat food warm even after time has passed."
"Hmm. Something that keeps food warm even after time passes, you say."
That's quite the challenge.
Warm... so, temperature retention? Then I just need to add a warming function.
Hm hm. There was a technique in the Lab archives that used fire stones for temperature retention.
A warming plate — no, a container. A box. A box. Something with a warming function... a lunch box. A lunch box!
A lunch box with a warming function!
"Hey. Think you can make one?"
Nechia tilted her head and asked.
That gesture. It was exactly what Megadira used to do when she asked me for favors.
I smiled and nodded.
"Nothing is impossible for this Haiyarn! I'll show you just how great I am. Watch closely. The power of an alchemist! This is what it means to be Haiyarn!"
Exciting. This is exciting. A lunch box with a warming function.
A warming function means hot food anytime.
This could be a new product for the Haiyarn Trading Company. Yes, it can!
Fuhahahaha! I've found my way out!!
Just you wait, Akindura. Anstanshiruu.
The time has come for the Haiyarn Trading Company to soar across the world once more!!