The forest was quiet again.
Smoke drifted lazily from the scorched earth near the lake, the air still carrying the faint metallic smell of burned scale and shattered bone. Jax stood at the shoreline and slowly exhaled.
His body still buzzed with energy.
Too light.Too strong.Too… everything.
He glanced around.
No movement.No shouting armies.No more dragons.
Just trees. Wind. Water.
"…Good enough."
He peeled off his tattered, dragon-soaked clothes and dunked them into the lake, scrubbing grime from the fabric before draping the shirt and trousers across a fallen tree to dry.
Then he stepped into the water himself.
The lake was cold — but not painfully so. Refreshing. Grounding.
He sank under briefly, scrubbing blood and ash from his hair and shoulders, then surfaced and caught his reflection in the water.
He blinked.
He tilted his head.
Huh.
"Not bad," he murmured. "Whoever designed this version of me… good choices."
Broad shoulders. Defined muscle. Balanced frame.
He didn't remember ever looking like this…
…but he was pretty sure he'd remember looking like this.
He squinted lower.
"…Okay, that's… also new."
He laughed softly.
"I really hope that wasn't an accident."
He drifted a little deeper into the water, running his hands along his arms again, still marveling at the strange combination of familiarity and total mystery his body gave him.
Then he heard voices.
Female voices.
Close.
"HEY!"
"Get out of the water!"
"There's a dragon in this area!"
Jax snapped upright, water splashing.
He looked toward the shoreline.
Four figures stood at the tree line — alert, armed, scanning the clearing.
For a split second his heart jumped.
Another one?
He called back.
"Another one?"
The women exchanged confused glances.
"Another one?" one repeated. "You've… already seen a dragon?"
They approached cautiously — from the side.
Which meant they hadn't seen the body.
Yet.
Jax sighed.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "About that."
The four came into full view now as they stepped along the lakeshore.
One had deep red hair and small black horns curling back from her temples. Her eyes were sharp, confident, slightly amused even in tension.
A blonde stood beside her — tall, straight hair, elegant posture… and unmistakable pointed ears.
The third woman had bright blue hair and tall bunny ears, her expression warm but wary, muscles coiled in alert readiness.
The last had soft green hair and gentle features, watching everything with quiet concern.
Jax blinked.
"…Am I in an isekai?" he whispered to himself.
He glanced at the dragon corpse.
Then at the women.
Dragon.
Demon girl.
Elf.
Bunny girl.
Green-haired possibly-not-human-maybe-human girl.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Feels like an isekai."
The horned woman froze mid-step.
Her eyes widened.
"…It's dead?"
They finally saw the body.
The elf's expression hardened instantly.
"Where is the army that killed it?" she demanded.
Jax lifted a hand slightly from the water.
"About that—"
The bunny girl jogged closer, eyes wide in awe.
"The head…" she whispered. "It's completely blown off."
The elf inspected the severed neck carefully.
"This wasn't magic," she muttered. "No scorch point. No mana residue."
The bunny girl tilted her head.
"I've… hit things so hard the back explodes before…" she said thoughtfully. "This kind of looks like that."
The elf's eyes narrowed.
"Impossible. No human could do this."
She turned toward Jax — who was still waist-deep in the lake.
"What weapon did you use to slay this dragon?" she demanded. "Where is it?"
Jax cleared his throat.
"I, uh… didn't use one."
Silence.
"I punched it," he added.
The four stared at him.
Then at the dragon.
Then back at him.
The demon girl snorted.
"…You punched an S-class fire dragon?"
"I punched it," Jax said, shrugging helplessly. "Really, really hard."
He suddenly became acutely aware that he was:
naked
waist-deep in water
explaining himself to four very intense strangers
The elf's bow lifted.
"Get out of the lake," she ordered. "Hands up."
Jax winced.
"I really can't do that right now."
"Because you're hiding a weapon," she snapped.
"Because I'm not wearing pants," he replied.
A beat.
"I was covered in dragon guts. I was washing off. My clothes are actually right behind you on that log."
"I will not fall for deception, human," she said sharply. "Exit slowly. Hands visible."
The arrowhead shimmered — mana crystallizing into a diamond-tipped structure.
Jax sighed.
"…Okay."
He raised his hands.
"I'm coming out."
He walked out of the water.
There was a full three seconds of stunned silence.
The bunny girl blinked rapidly.
"…Is he part ogre?"
The demon girl burst out laughing.
"Not the weapon you were expecting him to pull out of the water, hm, Llandra?"
The elf — Llandra — turned bright red.
"I— I— I didn't— I wasn't—"
She turned her head sharply away.
"I am… very sorry."
Jax walked calmly past them — hands still up — completely unbothered, casually strolling within arm's reach as if nothing at all was unusual.
He reached the fallen tree, picked up his clothes, and began dressing.
"See?" he said mildly. "Told you. Clothes."
The demon girl eyed him thoughtfully.
The bunny girl smiled awkwardly.
The green-haired girl tried very hard not to look at all.
Llandra cleared her throat — professionalism reasserting itself.
"…We will resume questions," she said stiffly. "Once you are clothed."
Jax tugged his shirt on and nodded.
"Yeah," he said. "That's probably for the best."
The dragon's body loomed quietly behind them.
The world had just gotten… much more complicated.