39. Tea Party Practice

39. Tea Party Practice

Time flowed by endlessly, and soon it was the time shortly before the tea party.

Today’s lecture was Basic Physical Training.

As always, it was a class with an incomprehensibly low intensity.

After the professor had us, the students, including myself, casually walk around the track just once, he approached me with a seemingly subservient posture.

“G-Grand Duchess. How is it? Did you like today’s lecture?”

The professor, with a stiff smile, his back bent, and his hands clasped together, rubbing them as if they were on fire. The cold sweat trickling down his forehead was visible.

Did I like it? Why was he suddenly asking me that?

As I pondered for a moment, staring intently at the professor, his face began to turn pale blue. The professor was sweating profusely.

I opened my mouth.

“It was alright.”

Although I said that, I didn’t actually like it much. It wasn’t even a hundred laps around the track, just a casual walk around it, not even running. For me, it was an effort that barely registered.

But then again, when I thought about it, the lecture title itself was ‘Basic Physical Training,’ so it might be a class focused on building basic physical strength rather than training. Thus, I held back my words.

Besides that, I was the type to always check ‘Very Satisfied’ for every lecture evaluation, regardless of the content, and then submit it.

Upon hearing my words, the professor gasped for air, his expression one of relief. If he had hesitated even a moment longer, he might have died from suffocation.

And then, the other students were looking at me with strangely sparkling eyes.

Those were eyes of admiration. Not the eyes of fear commonly seen in other lectures, but gazes that looked up to me.

… Why?

What was so admirable about my actions just now?

I tilted my head and made eye contact with the students. Of course, looking at men was biologically impossible for me, so I only made eye contact with the women.

The girls were blushing.

… I really don’t understand why.

——

While strolling through the academy to cool down my body, which had been moderately warmed by the moderate exercise.

I met Golden Sun.

“Hello?”

Golden Sun, speaking in her usual frivolous tone. I waved my hand and greeted her back in the same way.

“Did you get any letters?”

“Letters?”

To Golden Sun’s question, I thought hard. Letters, you say….

“Ah, my sister’s letter? It hasn’t arrived yet. It’ll probably take a few more days for it to arrive.”

“Really? That’s a shame.”

It was my sister’s letter that hadn’t arrived, so why were you disappointed?

I tilted my head at Golden Sun’s inexplicable reply and moved closer to her.

As I got closer, Golden Sun naturally started stroking my tail. A strange sensation flowed up my spine, directly connected to my tail.

As I suppressed the slight tremor in my body, Golden Sun asked.

“By the way, you look happy. Is something going on?”

“I look happy?”

“Look, your tail is wagging.”

My tail, which Golden Sun pointed out, was gently swaying left and right. It was a movement that indicated anticipation or excitement.

Hmm. I can’t deny it now.

A beastman’s tail is like a channel for expressing emotions. Whether I wanted it to or not, my emotions were involuntarily revealed through my tail.

-Sister, you say you don’t like it, but your tail is honest?

-Freya….

… A memory from the past briefly surfaced.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and said to Golden Sun.

“There were two good things that happened. First, my test score went up.”

“Test… Ah, Basic Swordsmanship?”

“Yes.”

Golden Sun, who was taking the same class, quickly understood what I meant. I proudly puffed out my chest and said.

“It went up by a whole 10 points. It’s a remarkable achievement.”

“… Oh, congratulations. You said two things, right? What about the other one?”

Golden Sun asked, playing with my tail fur. The sensation was slightly ticklish, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Umm, well, it’s like this… Hiiik, hey, could you stop that? It’s ticklish.”

“Why? Stroking a tail is a normal thing, isn’t it?”

Golden Sun said as if it were obvious.

“… That’s true.”

I had no choice but to nod in agreement. Stroking one’s tail is a common, everyday thing for beastmen.

Hearing my answer, Golden Sun increased the speed of her hand movements.

Her tanned fingers dug deep into the tail fur, skillfully stroking the tip as if tickling it. A strangely ticklish yet refreshing sensation ran down my spine.

“Hiiik.”

It felt like receiving a ticklish massage. The method was quite different from Priscilla’s, who just hugged me.

A weak sound, one I only made when I was with my sister, escaped my lips. My tail twitched slightly. Golden Sun asked.

“So, what happened?”

“Well- Ugh.”

Every time I opened my mouth to answer, Golden Sun would immediately stroke my tail as if she had been waiting for that moment. Then I could only stop trying to speak and close my mouth, letting out a groan.

“H-hey. I’m still talking. Could you stop?”

“Your tail is saying it feels good, though?”

Golden Sun thrust my tail towards me. My tail, against my will, was swaying left and right, revealing its feelings.

A sway that felt strangely alluring and seductive.

“Hick!”

With the subsequent stroking, I let out another groan.

Golden Sun, as if knowing my weakness well, continued to stroke my tail. With a smirk, she looked like she found the current situation incredibly amusing.

I had to bite my lip and struggle to hold back the sounds that wanted to escape, just like when my sister used to thoroughly stroke my tail at home.

Actually, my tail didn’t always feel this way. After I reincarnated, the first time my sister stroked my tail, it just felt like a nice, refreshing massage.

However, the more my sister stroked it, the more sensitive it became….

Hiiik.

But isn’t this ‘common sense’ for beastmen? This strange feeling I’m experiencing now must be a normal sensation for other beastmen.

That’s why, even though I flinched every time my sister touched me, I endured it without saying anything.

-Sister, Sister~

-F-Freya- Hic.

-Heehee….

“Huh? I asked you to speak.”

“Wait, Hic.”

I felt as if Golden Sun was overlapping with my sister’s image.

“… Hooo.”

Golden Sun stopped stroking only after I was exhausted and gasping for breath. Only then could I resume our conversation.

“Tea party?”

“… Yes.”

“Hooh.”

When Golden Sun heard that I was going to a tea party this Saturday, she let out an exclamation of admiration. When I asked if she perhaps wanted to go together, Golden Sun shook her head regretfully.

“I already have plans on Saturday. I can’t go.”

“Then there’s nothing we can do.”

It’s a shame. I wanted to bring all my friends with me, now that I know tea parties can be attended by multiple people.

Golden Sun continued.

“More importantly, do you know what a tea party is?”

Her tone suggested she assumed I wouldn’t know.

While I could have taken it as a slight, considering Golden Sun’s personality, it was probably genuinely concerned that I wouldn’t know.

I smiled and nodded.

“Of course, I do. It’s a party where women drink tea and snacks and chat, right?”

“Uhm-hmm, you know it correctly.”

Hearing my answer, Golden Sun let out a sigh of apparent pity. She seemed disappointed that she couldn’t impart her knowledge.

“Hehe, even so, I don’t not know these things.”

I also know that afterwards, women mingle and touch each other extensively. Even though it’s knowledge learned from books, it should be sufficient for practical use.

Golden Sun pondered for a moment, resting her chin on her hand, and said.

“Then do you know how to drink tea?”

“How to drink tea?”

What special method could be needed just to drink a cup of tea?

I widened my eyes and looked at Golden Sun. Golden Sun smiled slyly, as if she had expected this, and said to me.

“When nobles drink tea, they have to follow basic etiquette. You don’t know any of it, do you?”

“… Really?”

I had never drunk tea before in my life. The only beverages I had ever consumed were water, milk, and occasionally coffee brought to the North.

I had already known the concept of ‘tea’ by comparing books read in this world with memories from my past life, but I had no idea that there were any such etiquettes for drinking it.

After all, in the North, where monsters roamed freely, if I had taken my time with etiquette, I would have undoubtedly been ambushed by monsters while eating.

This is a fact I can vouch for, having been attacked by monsters while eating meat in the snowfields.

However, there aren’t many monsters here. As I realized that, I thought that perhaps such etiquette might actually exist.

Golden Sun said.

“I’ll teach you. How about it?”

“… Okay.”

And so, I followed Golden Sun obediently.