Handle

I took off my dust-covered clothes. A Sarak-sarak sound was heard, and the cool air touched my skin. When I shivered slightly, Claudia teased.

“Cold? Want a hug?”

“…I’m fine.”

I looked in the direction of the voice, then quickly turned my head away. This was because Claudia’s voluptuous yet firm naked body, which was starkly revealed even through her clothes, was visible.

 …It’s surprising, but it’s really big.

Now that I think about it, even though I’ve been subjected to ‘those kinds of things,’ it feels like this is the first time I’ve seen Claudia’s bare body today. Somehow… I felt like the order was strange.

By the way, if they’re that big, isn’t it uncomfortable when working? I’ve never seen her work directly, so I couldn’t imagine it well. When I imagined her fighting… all I could see were jiggling lumps of fat.

When I glanced at her again, I saw scars left on her body. I always only saw her clean face, so I didn’t know… she had such wounds. The scar crossing her arm and shoulder was quite large. She could probably get rid of them, so why did she leave them?

With a jingling sound, Claudia, who had taken off something from around her neck, smiled.

“It’s fine to look boldly instead of peeking.”

“…No need.”

As if she noticed my gaze, Claudia thrust out her voluptuous body as if to emphasize it. To change the atmosphere that was about to become strange, I brought up the topic of her scars.

Actually, I was a little curious.

Someone of Claudia’s standing could go to the Temple, or, though a bit expensive… apply a high-performance healing potion to remove the scars.

“That… what are those scars?”

“Oh, these?”

She replied in a light voice, as if it were nothing.

“It’s a scar I got when I was a rookie, messing around without knowing anything. I deliberately left it to remember that time.”

“…I see.”

“Want to touch it?”

“No.”

“Weren’t you interested?”

“…Isn’t it strange for it to lead to touching?”

Claudia retorted in a voice that implied nothing was wrong.

“Didn’t you ask because you were interested? And you can touch it, right? It’s not a scar in some strange place, is it?”

“That’s… true.”

…For a moment, I forgot that my current appearance was that of a cute girl with light pink hair. It’s possible that in Claudia’s eyes, I looked like a girl admiring the scars that beautifully adorned her body.

“Go in and touch it while you wash. Honestly, it’s a bit dirty right now, so even I’m a little embarrassed.”

“…You were someone who knew embarrassment?”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

I mumbled the words that had slipped out of my mouth and went inside. Cecil and Veronica, who had gone down first, were wetting themselves. Cecil, who spotted me, smiled brightly.

Veronica, who was next to her, widened her eyes, then saw Claudia entering behind me and closed her mouth. For Veronica’s sake, I also had to try my best not to look.

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“….”

But Claudia’s questioning voice couldn’t be helped.

What’s more, Veronica, who had wiped each other’s bodies during the day, now seemed embarrassed. She dragged Cecil, who was sharing one of the only two showerheads, to where she was.

…I came down thinking of washing with Cecil, who is at least controllable, but what am I supposed to do if you take her away? Cecil also puffed out her cheeks, seemingly displeased.

“Veronica-nim. Cecil wants to wash with Shaa-nim.”

“Huh? Uh… that… Oh! You can just go into the bathtub a little later, right?”

Veronica flustered as she looked at Cecil’s displeased cheeks, then said so. Cecil’s eyes widened in surprise, and she perked up her ears and exclaimed. Her Bung-bung wagging tail was a bonus.

“Bathtub! Shaa-nim! Are we using the bathtub today?!”

Veronica, who was hiding her body behind Cecil, and Cecil, whose eyes sparkled brightly, began to look at me. It wasn’t in the plan, but when I reluctantly nodded, Cecil began to wash her body in a hurry.

Since she took her, I hope she washes her thoroughly.

When I turned my body to face the stream of water pouring from the other showerhead… as expected, there was already someone there.

“I wanted to try this once.”

Claudia was looking at the showerhead with curiosity, letting the pouring water hit her. The first thing I saw was the cleavage where water had collected.

…What am I supposed to do if I see it even when I don’t want to?

Her hair, which had been dusty, was now clean and clung to her skin, making her look slightly different from usual. If her face, which could have looked sharp, was always covered with a smiling expression, making her seem friendly, now… what should I say…?

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to wash?”

“Ah, yes.”

It seemed already too late, but I averted my gaze and moved in front of Claudia, trying my best not to look. Then the stream of water barely reached my head. It felt a bit uncomfortable, but as I was getting my hair wet, thinking I’d wash properly once Claudia was done, she pulled my body closer.

“Eukkyak!?”

“So, can you wash cleanly?”

“Ah, no, I-I’m fine.”

“Why are you being shy? We’re just girls.”

Claudia’s soft lumps of fat pressed against my head. If my hair had senses, I wondered if it would be extremely aroused by now. From behind, I could feel her firm abs, probably because she was pressing so close.

If it weren’t for the small something poking my butt crack, I might have carelessly let my guard down and become giddy.

It wasn’t the sight that usually grated on my nerves, but that blunt object, too dull to be a clitoris, poked my body. It was as if she was calm, wondering why I was so aroused by just a naked body.

Embarrassed by my own overreaction, I looked to the side and saw Cecil humming and cheering for the bathtub, and Veronica stroking her hair.

Before, when Claudia and I got this close, Cecil would growl, but now, perhaps the inexplicable hostility had faded considerably… she seemed to have little interest.

Or perhaps she was just distracted by the bathtub.

While I felt relieved by that sight, I also thought that instead of being so anxious, it would have been better to just openly confess… But now it was too late. To do that… I had done too many embarrassing things.

If I had intended to do that from the start, I should have told her from the beginning. The lie I started, thinking I would return to my original body soon anyway, had taken a strange turn.

…Is this karma for trying to use Claudia’s goodwill? 

Anyway, since it’s come to this, I’ll have to be thorough.

“…It was just a bit sudden.”

“Really?”

Feigning nonchalance, I picked up the soap and made foam. Claudia, who let out a chuckle, also picked up an extra bar of soap and started making foam. Breaking my expectation that she would wash her own body, she began to play with my hair.

“…Aren’t you washing?”

“My hair is short, so I can wash quickly. Shaa’s is long, so it must be hard; I’ll help you.”

It sounded like a reasonable explanation, so I agreed and entrusted my hair to her. It was surprising, but my long hair bothered me. It had been quite a while since I left it, thinking I’d return to normal soon.

Even thinking about it again, it was full of inconveniences. Just as Claudia said, even a quick wash required a long struggle, and drying it took ages. Moreover, it would get tangled every morning, which was uncomfortable.

And it was so heavy.

“Should I cut it short now….”

“Huh? You’re going to cut it?”

“Ah… Yes, because it’s uncomfortable.”

Claudia gently stroked my hair with her foamy hands and replied.

“Well, it’s Shaa’s freedom, but. It’s a bit of a shame.”

“A shame?”

“If your hair is long, you can try many things. For example…”

Claudia gathered my hair and lifted it up. Like what is commonly called a ponytail. The reflection in the mirror was quite a sight. Except for the fact that Claudia’s… *ahem*… ‘that’ was visible on both sides.

“Like this, for instance.”

As if that wasn’t the end, Claudia then divided my hair in half and lifted it above my ears. To express it in the terms of my previous life… it would be twin tails. To be honest… it was my first time seeing it in real life. That’s because… it wasn’t common to see people walking around with this kind of hairstyle in reality.

Combined with the animal ears perking up on my head… it was quite cute. The problem was that it was my appearance. Suddenly, I remembered that in my previous life, there were people who called these ‘handles’.

…I shook my head. Anyway, I blamed it on the events of today. When I shook my head, Claudia released her hands.

“Was it bad?”

“No, well… it wasn’t bad.”

There was no way I could say it was because I thought of them as ‘handles,’ so I vaguely mumbled.

“Then that’s good. As for cutting your hair… it’s entirely Shaa’s choice, but I personally prefer it not cut.”

“…Then I guess I should cut it.”

“Isn’t that too much?”

At her complaint, a Puhuhu laugh escaped me. Thanks to that, I felt a little more relaxed. While washing my body and planning an outing to buy furniture, Claudia’s hand began to fiddle with the animal ears on my head. Was it because I had relaxed too much? At the touch that thoroughly massaged even the inside, I unconsciously….

“A-eung….”

I ended up letting out a strange moan. My peculiar moan echoed in the quiet Bathroom.

Embarrassment washed over me. It felt like my face was about to burst, as if all the blood had rushed to it.

A voice tinged with awkwardness came from above my head.

“…Sorry, I should have been more careful.”

“Ah, no… I-I’m the one who….”

Somehow… the thing that was poking my butt crack felt harder… that must be my imagination, right? I hope so.