Chapter 45 : Lathering up

“No, you really don’t have to… I can do it myself.”

It’s true.

After 10 years of washing alone, I’ve developed the incredible ability to scrub every nook and cranny of my back.

But Teperi forced me to sit down and show her my back.

No matter how I try to hide, my butt shows a little, which is embarrassing.

Even if we’ve seen everything there is to see in the bath, with mirrors all around, just sitting there feels undignified.

I quickly grabbed a towel and placed it on my lap, which made me feel somewhat more at ease.

Although the posture still felt awkward.

[Ay, this is something you do for friends at times like these. What’s the big deal between friends?]

Is that so?

It’s true I don’t know much about the culture surrounding same-s*x friendships, and maybe washing each other’s backs is a basic thing

friends do.

Honestly, if you’re not conscious about the body aspect, it’s just an everyday act, right?

Thinking that way put me a little at ease.

Splash, water from the basin scattered onto my body.

My long, waist-length hair got soaked and clumped together.

Cold!

It was lukewarm water, but since my body had been in the hot bath, even the normal temperature gave me goosebumps.

My hands instinctively covered my chest.

My ears felt hot, a flushing sensation.

[Was it cold? Sorry!]

Teperi said that and trickled warm water over me with a hose.

It was a very thin stream, but that single stream brought warmth back to my body.

Haaaah, my crossed arms relaxed, and my nerves eased.

[I’ll lather you up now.]

It’s a random thought, but soap is incredibly common in this world.

As if to crush any wicked idea I might have had about coasting through life by inventing soap.

It was fortunate news for me.

It’s much better to use good things others have made.

Teperi lathered soap in her hands and rubbed my back.

A careful touch, neither too fast nor too slow.

She touched every corner of my body like an expert.

As if she had done this many times before.

That couldn’t be possible, so she probably has a talent for being a bath attendant.

[Lift your arms.]

“My arms?”

That’s a bit embarrassing.

Even if we’ve seen everything, striking a ‘hurray’ pose like a child felt a little shameful.

I don’t have any belly fat, but it’s still embarrassing.

As I hesitated, she started by stroking my sides, gradually moving her hands upward.

” that tickles!”

I finally pushed her hands away and used the soap suds on my body to lather my chest and underarms myself.

If she went any further, even I would feel really embarrassed.

It’s ticklish too.

Fortunately, Teperi seemed to understand it was too much and didn’t say anything particular.

Instead, she gently stroked the part of my back connecting to my neck with meticulous care.

[Your skin is really nice. Seeing it in the light is the first time… no, it’s not.]

“You say that as if you’ve seen it before?”

[I saw it when you changed clothes. You always hid because you were embarrassed.]

The answer came out immediately, as if she had prepared it beforehand.

Of course, that couldn’t be the case.

“You remember all that? Perv.”

Now she doesn’t even react much to being called a perv, just giggles.

Well, it’s true I always undressed quietly in corners of caves or under the shade of trees.

Teperi was holding an exfoliating towel she must have gotten from somewhere.

Ugh, seeing that gives me PTSD.

I had some harsh experiences with it when I was young.

[Does it hurt a lot?]

Just as expected, the moment the towel touched my skin, it scraped, and a stinging pain instantly washed over me.

I’ve experienced fierce battles with dragons, but that pain and this pain are different kinds.

My already heightened senses brought about more intense pain than usual.

“A little. It hurts a lot.”

The word ‘little’ and the adverb ‘a lot’ have different meanings, but they make a fitting combination here.

It hurts quite a lot.

Metaphorically, it feels like pouring rubbing alcohol on my back.

It stings like being slapped on the back.

“Sorry, I don’t think I can handle this.”

What should I do if I feel pain even during such everyday things?

I think I need to seriously contemplate this for a while.

However, as I reached for the hose to rinse myself, she grabbed my wrist and said.

[Then, I’ll do it with my hands. It should hurt less, right?]

“With your hands? Won’t it be dirty?”

It would definitely hurt less.

But for someone else to do that, isn’t it a bit… dirty?

While I was hesitating, Teperi’s hands were already on my back.

This lack of inhibition is her strong point.

[It’s fine.]

“Kngh, please do.”

Her hands gently swept over my back once, then she applied pressure and started scrubbing squeakily.

[You’re clean. No dead skin is coming off at all.]

“Well, did you think I’d be dirty?”

Even if there’s a basic buff you get when becoming a woman, not taking care of yourself at all is a shortcut to ruining your body.

This was just a special case; I usually keep myself clean.

Her hands started moving a little lower.

Actually, there was something I was slightly worried about when she offered to wash my body.

The worry of what I would do if I made strange noises or reacted weirdly every time she touched me.

‘Nah, no way.’

A normal person’s body doesn’t get aroused just from being touched a little, like in lewd comics.

Unless it’s some third-rate thing beyond measure.

Unlike men who can feel horny anytime, for women, the atmosphere and situation are very important.

It definitely should have been like that.

Thump, I hastily covered my mouth.

What was that?

A sound escaped my mouth involuntarily.

Every time she fumbled with my body, a shiver ran down my spine.

‘These damn senses…!’

As I quickly flinched, the towel covering me fell to the floor.

This is all because of my severely heightened senses.

No matter how I think about it, this isn’t a lucky encounter, it’s a disaster.

[What’s wrong?]

“Ah, no, it’s just.”

Am I supposed to tell her the truth?

That a strange feeling on my back made a sound leak out of my mouth?

I’d rather die.

I am the daughter of a Duke.

“…It’s nothing. Continue.”

I deliberately put on an unfazed expression and straightened my back even more.

If she found out I reacted just from having my back touched, I might just kill myself.

[…Alright. Tell me if it hurts or feels strange.]

Teperi, mischievously, scrubbed every nook and cranny of my body thoroughly.

When she washed around my waist, it was really dangerous.

I desperately clenched my toes to endure it, but I couldn’t stop my body from trembling.

‘Why am I going through this…!’

It’s so unfair I could almost cry.

Whenever a sound almost escaped, I clamped my mouth shut, pretending it was because it tickled.

Teperi watched my reactions and, as if teasing, sometimes precisely poked the ticklish spots.

Damn her.

[Phew, all done. I’ll rinse you now.]

Ahh, it was a long time of humiliation and persecution.

Since my body was quite clean, it wasn’t actually that long time-wise, but for me, it felt longer than sitting through a liberal arts class at the

academy.

Teperi poured water over my head.

The soapiness washed away.

Phew, I feel a bit better now.

I’ll never entrust my back to anyone again.

[Have to clean your ears too.]

“No, this I can do myse… Hnngh.”

She cleaned my ears thoroughly, even deep inside.

My ears had also suddenly become sensitive recently, and I hadn’t found the cause yet.

[All done, now the front…]

“Ah, the front, I can do it myself!”

I grabbed the fallen towel from the floor to cover myself and dashed out.

The back might be one thing, but the front, where my chest is visible, is absolutely not okay.

Absolutely not.

Perhaps because of the splashed water, the chair I had sat on was slightly wet.

“I feel alive.”

Amiter appeared before me with wet hair, having seemingly washed up somewhere.

Her wet bangs looked like they would obstruct her vision.

“You mean girl, happy now that you abandoned me and left?”

“What nonsense are you spouting again?”

‘Outside she throws tantrums, but inside the bathhouse, she’s completely defenseless.’

‘Aren’t dog-type beastmen usually supposed to have tanned skin?’

‘Everyone around me has pale white skin.’

‘Although it’s only two people.’

Swaaa, warm water poured from the showerhead.

‘I feel sorry for abandoning Teperi and running away, but I’m too embarrassed to face her.’

‘Surely she won’t treat me like a weirdo and avoid me, right?’

“Excuse me.”

“…What are you doing now.”

Amiter, who had approached from behind, stood right behind me as if embracing me.

‘If our genders were reversed, this would be a very dangerous position, but I guess this is also common sense?’

With her eyes closed, she rested her chin on top of my head, letting the water stream hit her.

Because of the height difference, her chin rested on my head even though we were both standing.

Her chest touched my back.

She didn’t seem conscious of it, but the soft feeling on my back couldn’t be ignored by the one experiencing it.

A brief silence flowed.

Only the sound of water flowing from the shower could be heard.

Perhaps because of the water temperature, my body felt warm.

“Reinse. Are you going back?”

She, who had been quietly clinging to me, opened her mouth.

‘Is she still concerned about that matter?’

‘Honestly, the events in the Black Forest were so intense that I almost forgot about it.’

“If I made a promise, of course, I have to go.”

“…Thank you.”

“More importantly, you’re heavy, so move.”

Whether it’s her head or her chest, it’s heavy.

Looking down at my own chest anew, my heart felt heavy too.

She hesitated slightly before stepping out of the bath area.

‘Was it just my imagination, or did Ami hug me slightly?’

I took a bath, but I feel rather tired.

I went to look for Teperi, who was washing by herself.

I found her in the same spot as before.

[Oh? Y-You’re back soon?]

Teperi was in an awkward posture with the chair I had sat on placed in front of her.

When I arrived, she carefully adjusted her posture and sat down properly.

“…What were you doing?”

[Me? Oh, just washing up.]

‘There are quite varied ways to wash, I see.’

‘Well, I haven’t really seen how others wash.’

‘Let’s just leave it at that.’

“If you’re done, let’s go out. Let’s have some drinks tonight.”

Maybe because I’m tired, but it’s a day I feel like getting a little drunk.