Chapter 44 : A bathhouse episode, since the beach is cliché

‘This is crazy.’

If I were to tell the long and complicated story of how I ended up here, stripped naked,

truthfully, I don’t really know myself.

Shame came to kill me.

‘Calm down, calm down, calm down.’

There’s no way that would work.

No matter how many times I try writing the character for ‘patience’ on my palm, I can’t calm down.

No matter how I think about it, this is crazy.

[hurry up and come in!]

“that is. Just a moment.”

I don’t think of myself as male anymore.

The weight of having lived like this for over ten years is definitely not light.

Without needing a grand example, it’s something I feel every time I go to the bathroom.

Of course, besides that, the way others treat me is already the attitude of handling a lady from a noble house.

The past 10 years living as a Duke’s daughter have changed me into someone else.

My gait, table manners, even my laughter.

What if I had been reincarnated as the Duke’s son, my brother?

What’s certain is that things would have been very different from how they are now.

Even so, it was still hard for me to think of myself as a perfect woman.

Isn’t it common sense for a typical woman to usually like the opposite s*x?

Honestly, I don’t feel much interest in either side, but if I had to choose, women are better than men.

Despite the female hormones, the physiological aversion doesn’t easily fade.

In other words, I still view women to some extent as the ‘opposite s*x’ and ‘objects of romantic interest’.

Therefore, my hesitation right now isn’t particularly strange.

In the first place, isn’t it natural to be flustered when entering a women’s bath for the first time?

Right, this is truly a normal and common cultural practice among friends.

It’s not strange for friends of the same s*x to go to the bathhouse together, right?

It’s natural among close friends. Of course, of course.

I forced myself to think that way and took steps forward one by one.

Is it because of the hot steam? My head feels dizzy.

I want to lean against something and collapse right away.

Even though it’s inside a bathhouse, showing my bare skin without even underwear is extremely embarrassing.

Honestly, I want to at least cover myself with a towel before entering, but everyone else is fine, and I didn’t want to seem overly self-

conscious, so I decided to endure it.

‘This feels like being some kind of outdoor exhibitionist pervert.’

I remembered a scene I saw exactly once after coming to this world.

A young man and woman were naked, making love outdoors.

My father, who happened to be strolling and inspecting the territory with me at the time, was startled by the sight and covered my eyes.

That evening, he told me that it’s a great shame for a lady to carelessly show her body outdoors.

Thinking back, I think I started treating my body carefully from then on.

My legs tremble with every step.

Come to think of it, is this almost the first time I’ve shown my bare skin to others?

Usually, I even bathe alone without assistance.

Public bathhouses weren’t non-existent in the era I lived in, but trying to use one now, after 10 years, just feels awkward.

Actually, public bathhouses weren’t that rare in this world either.

As a world properly equipped with water and sewage systems, cities usually had at least one large-scale bathhouse.

Right now, it’s just me being overly sensitive; aren’t the other two accepting it comfortably?

Their reaction is probably the normal one.

“I’m, here.”

My voice dwindled until it was barely a whisper. Ah, I really mean the size of a bean.

The chest and lower body barely covered by my arms are embarrassingly inadequate cover.

“Hurry up and get in.”

The other two were already in the bath.

I glared at Amitère, who was submerged up to her neck in the water.

Even though she received expensive treatment at the temple, soaking her body in hot water seems like it would be bad for the wounds.

She dragged me here, spouting old-man logic like ‘this actually helps it heal faster’.

Teperi, well, she just happily tagged along.

It wouldn’t be polite for me to refuse now out of embarrassment.

Backing out at times like this is the behavior of an awkward social outcast who ruins the mood.

Yeah, when you think about it, it’s all her fault.

She acted as if she had never been embarrassed about someone seeing her body, undressed nonchalantly, and was the first one to go wash.

When I asked incredulously, she looked at me like I was strange, saying that undressing outside and undressing in a bathhouse are

completely different things.

Right, so I’m the one lacking common sense again?

“I’m coming in.”

The reason I’m reporting every single action is because I’m mortified and embarrassed.

It was a high-class bathhouse generally used by nobles, and perhaps because it was a weekday afternoon, there weren’t many people.

Thanks to that, the three of us could occupy the women’s bath as if we had rented it out.

I quickly dipped my feet into the water.

“Ah, hot!”

I was caught off guard; the water in the tub was extremely hot.

I jumped up like a ten-year-old child, startled by the hot temperature.

I needed to submerge my body quickly so my nakedness wouldn’t be visible, but because the water temperature was hotter than expected, it

wasn’t as easy as I thought.

[Be careful, you can come in slowly.]

Teperi, unexpectedly, was in the bath with Amitère without any resistance.

So I’m the only delicate one, huh?

Since the other two were already submerged and only I was exposing my bare skin outside, it was even more embarrassing.

I endured the heat and forced my body into the tub.

[You could have taken your time coming in.]

“It’s fine.”

Setting aside the embarrassment, the sudden warmth spreading through my body felt good.

The annoyed feeling instantly vanished, and my body became languid. Huaaah.

‘Surely, they can’t see through the water, right?’

Once I got into a comfortable position, I finally felt the warmth properly.

Of course, I was still wrapping my arms around my legs, afraid my skin might show.

My hair floated and spread widely on the water’s surface.

Amitère had her eyes closed and even her mouth submerged in the water.

‘Usually, bathing with pets can lead to parasites.’

It seemed I wasn’t the only one getting drowsy from the languor.

Teperi was also staring blankly at me with half-closed eyes.

“Teperi, you shouldn’t sleep in the bath.”

[Huh? I wasn’t sleeping?]

“What do you mean, drooling like that from the corner of your mouth.”

Did she dream of eating something delicious?

She had her mouth agape with an incredibly happy expression.

Hastily covering her face and wiping her mouth, she puffed out her chest and spread her arms wide to the sides.

A posture like a wicked mafia boss.

[Ahhh, this is heaven.]

“Cough, cough!”

Her chest, her chest is completely visible!

For me, who has lived as a virgin my entire life, this is too great a shock.

At times like this, it’s a huge relief that I’m not male.

There’s no outward sign revealing excitement.

…There isn’t, right?

Calm down. If I make a bigger deal out of this, it’s no different than announcing that I’m extremely aroused.

In this world, attitudes towards homosexuality are, frankly speaking, conservative.

If they saw me being restless in this situation, they would look at me strangely and despise me.

Acting natural is important.

I tried hard to act nonchalant and deliberately didn’t avoid her gaze.

Although my neck was a bit stiff, it was a posture that anyone could see was not self-conscious.

[Hng?]

Seeing that, Teperi approached me as if intrigued.

The calm water surface gently rippled and swayed.

To be honest, Teperi has a beautiful body.

Of course she does, she’s the protagonist.

Where would you find an ugly, overweight protagonist?

Her figure is flawless without a single blemish, and her pretty face is like a fairy-tale princess.

And such a person was approaching me naked.

[What’s wrong?]

“what.”

[Do you dislike me being next to you?]

“It’s not that I dislike it…!”

How should I explain this?

Teperi, seemingly teasing the obviously inexperienced me, playfully struck poses as if trying to seduce me.

Hey, isn’t this teasing a bit too much?

Then again, seeing a noble lady, usually as cold as ice, being this stiff, even I would feel like teasing her.

“It’s hot.”

Nice timing! …No, wait!

Amitère suddenly stood up bolt upright from the bath.

It was good that she drew Teperi’s attention, but she completely stole mine as well.

A healthy body with moderate muscle tone.

Although there were scars here and there, perhaps because her proportions were so good, they weren’t very noticeable.

You know it’s common sense to be completely naked in a bathhouse, right?

Standing up so suddenly like that is seriously flustering.

“I’m going to the cold bath for a bit.”

“Oh, okay.”

Perhaps feeling a bit too hot, she left the warm bath to find the cold one.

Instantly, only Teperi and I were left alone in this spacious area.

Once Amitère left, Teperi surprisingly sat down quietly next to me.

Right next to me.

Is my face flushed because of the hot water temperature?

“Ahem, hey.”

Still, sitting right next to me without saying anything is a bit burdensome.

As I tried to create some distance, Teperi silently grabbed my hand.

A light touch between friends, no different from usual.

It’s awkward to pull this hand away now.

In the uncomfortable silence, Teperi spoke to me first.

[Should I scrub your back?]

Believe it or not, Teperi was my senior when it came to popular culture.

Unlike me, who lived secluded in a back room focusing only on magic, she had lived an ordinary life.

Scrubbing each other’s backs when friends go to the bathhouse together would be one of the basic common sense things.

And indeed, it was.

” sure…”

[Then, hurry up and get out! Oof, I’m hot too.]

She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the bath.

I hastily covered my body and trailed behind her hesitantly.

Common sense, this is common sense… right…?