Date A Mysterious Being

Chapter 55 - Fairytales

"...Uh, eh..."

Lucas groaned softly yet articulately while peeking through his fuzzy eyes. It was difficult to distinguish whether reality was blurred or if the blur was reality.

He tried wiping his eyes to get rid of the blurryness, but---

"Huh?" In that moment, he felt something off. It felt as if his field of view was exponentially expanded, to a point where he could see objects from behind him without turning his head.

His body parts felt strange, as if they weren't human. And... that was precisely it.

"...?" He looked down on his hand and feet, they had a green-ish like tone, glossy and jelly like, but also rough at the same time.

His 'hands' only had three fingers which felt kinda rubberized, and his feet were the same shape.

"I'm....a FROG??!!" Yes. His body's features could only lead to that of a frog's. Tiny, so tiny that grass looked like mountains. In the moment, he kind of felt grateful to have a big body, although it's unrealistic for a human to be the size of a small frog.

At that moment, Lucas realized something critical. He was currently on land, with the hot burning sun and temperatures not according to the current season.

"It's hot...." Lucas muttered, as he stared at the bright light from above. He felt extremely dry, and that was only natural.
He was currently a frog, and frogs need to be close to water, and definitely not in harsh direct sunlight right now.

"Shiiiiiit...!" Lucas pressed his feet in a motion that felt so surreal, he would probably never get used to it. He jumped up into the sky to look if there was any source of water nearby. Though, that wasn't much of help, since as a frog, he couldn't jump high enough to see everything around his surroundings.

"Damn it....I'll die at this rate!" Lucas jumped hurriedly in a random direction, hoping to find a source of water nearby to moist and refresh his skin. Frogs can at best survive maybe 5 minutes on land, but due to direct exposure to harsh sunlight, it would be a miracle if he survived for that long.

After what felt like an eternity, and many, maaany hops, he caught the glimpse of a small lake under a linden tree.

"...!" He wanted to cry, but his body was so dry, nothing left his eyes. After a few more hops, with the last bit of energy he had left in this tiny body, he enthusiastically dived into the water.

The water immediately refreshed his skin, and Lucas relaxed at the feeling. Hos body felt so empty, so light as if he was floating in heaven.

---If that heaven had no such things as frog-eating bass.

"Bbbbwbwbwwwbvv....??!!!" He screamed, but of course, shouting in a space with no oxygen around is practically useless.

A large bass dashed at him from the side with its jaw wide open, ready to swallow Lucas whole.

Lucas reacted just in time to move his tiny legs and paddled out of the way, but of course, the bass came for another try.

Lucas put all his energy into his tiny arms and feet, and swam all the way out of that lake, and onto the surface. Luckily, bass can't walk on land like frogs can. He turned to see the water, where the bass was lurking on the edge. Even though fish aren't dangerous species, the kind of felt horrified.

"Haah...." Out of his tiny mouth, he exhaled his breath.

Then suddenly, he heard footsteps that crushed the grass behind him. When he turned his eyes in that direction, he saw a beautiful girl that was clad in a dress fitting of a princess. But the princess-like appearance isn't what caught his eye. It was just....