บท 51: Chapter 50: Cleaning Before the Bath
Despite the attention we were getting, we try to get ourselves completely undressed and moving on while not minding the other people. Ume seemed ecstatic to get in the contact-consented bath, but we haven't been given permission to go in yet. In the meantime, we went to the washing stations so I'd show her the routines taken place here that's similar to how they're done back in Japan. In one station, I'm currently sitting behind Ume and marveling the sapphire gem-like scales on her back, while Ren and Erizora start their own routines in another next to ours.
"I see, so soaking in the bath is more of a place to relax, and it'd be rude to jump right in while still all dirty when there are other people sitting in the same water, so these are made for us to clean ourselves first," Ume says after I dump water on her nude form and start off with lathering shampoo in her cerulean locks.
"That's right."
"Interesting, even the cleaning has a way of relaxing yourself. Having my hair washed like this is pretty soothing. Do humans help each other like this all the time?"
"No, in the bathhouses where I'm from, it was more normal to wash by yourself even if you're with a group. Having people wash each other like this sort of shows how close they are and that they're bonding through what we call skinship back home."
"And this can go between those of the same sex as well as those that are opposite?"
"I imagine couples would do this from time to time, but I think it varies for those of the same sex. I never had another guy help me out like this, so I can't say for certain, and of course, I've never seen two girls washing each other either … until now, that is."
Seeing Ren and Erizora help washing each other, they may as well be a pair of sisters with how smoothly they're doing this. They must've helped each other a lot in this regard when they were still under the Todoka family's ownership. This moment could be seen as wholesome in a girl's perspective … but with me noticing how much their wet, sudsy bodies are rubbing together as they clean each other, especially when their very different chests were involved, it's as if they knew I'm watching and are putting on a show for me. Maybe it's part of how they're trained as slaves to entertain their owners?
Hell, everywhere I look in the washing area, whether the girls are alone or with a friend, especially being of such different races, the ways they clean themselves and each other are completely different experiences to behold. Lamias dexterously use the end of their tails holding soap-soaked towels to wash their backs and hard-to-reach pleases before cleaning the rest by hand after curling them around; Harpies are really careful in rinsing and washing the feathers on their wings to give them a glossy-clean shine, which likely requires the help of a friend; finally, the Centaurs, Arachnes, and Giant Ants, if they don't have someone helping them, they use the provided long brushes to clean as much of their larger lower animal/insect bodies as they can.
<"Jinma! Look at that Lamia's bazongas! No, no, wait, that Harpy's ass is succulent, too! Wait! I think I just saw a Centaur's puffy pussy! Damn, the guys' balls next to her are huge."> With Nyra possessing one of my eyes, she makes one commentary after another, a few of which I'd rather not see and know about.
You know what? I probably shouldn't be doing this. I got girls here with me already, especially one right in front of me while washing her hair. I should focus on the task at hand.
<"Oh, come ooooon.">
If you were here with us in your own body and didn't get in trouble, I wouldn't mind you ogling anywhere you please, but unless I was here by myself, I should give my girls here the proper attention they deserve. Haven't you given your previous sex partners the attention they needed when you jack them off until they shoot the goo? Especially if it's one-on-one? If you leave them limp and hanging, they'll get hurt in their balls and their hearts.
<"… Damn. Well, I can't argue with that logic. Even in a gangbang, one girl could only get so many guys off with her own body.">
"Okay, Ume, I think I got enough of your hair washed. I'm going to rinse you off and wash your back and tail next. Can you do your front while I'm at it?" I ask.
"Aren't you going to do the front for me?"
"… I'd be happy to, but this isn't a good time and place for that. I don't want to risk getting things in a different direction when there are kids here."
"Ah, fair point." Despite sounding disappointed, she resigns herself as I rinse the suds off her hair with a tub of water. I then get a soap-soaked towel for each of us and start cleaning our assigned areas. I make sure to be thorough and get as much between the scales as possible.
"Ooh~, that feels niiice~," Ume coos while her tail sways side to side.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it."
I continue my work and things between us get silent for a bit until I notice Ume's shoulders getting a little tense. "… I've been meaning to ask, but how much stronger did you get after defeating all of those guys?" she asks.
"… A lot."
"Were you able to learn 'Hide Magic' after leveling up?"
"Yeah."
"I see, that explains how I couldn't sense anything from you since I came back. It may be best that you keep it that way. I learned the hard way that it's standard for those with high magical power to learn that skill as early as possible. To those around you, whether or not they're sensitive to magic, affects them in ways you'd be surprised to see, especially other demons being as magically influenced as they already are. It's also better since your magic is unique compared to others."
"I figured as much, but thanks for your input."
"More importantly though, after I thought it over, I'm a little mad at you, Jin."
"Huh? Why?"
"Sure, I may have been … in a daze at the time from your signs of affection, you should've said something to me if you felt those humans being hostile towards you."
"Like I said before, I thought they just wanted to pick a fight at the time and they were aiming more towards me. I didn't want to bother you with my problems, especially when you were getting fitted for your new dress."
"That's not right, though!" Ume then spins herself around and stares me down. "Even if you were capable of handling those guys by yourself, I'm your mate now, your problems are as much as mine as it is the other way around. Not only that, we're part of a party now, and last I checked, adventuring parties are supposed to work together and fight for each other."
"Th-That's right!" Ren exclaims as she stands next to us, her golden-yellow eyes are hard and sharp like her primary dagger weapons. "You're also our leader, our master! As your slaves and companions, we are at your command! You say the word, and Eri and I will take them down without having you lift a finger for even once! I will use my honed skills and senses as a Werewolf Thief to track down and eliminate anyone for even speaking about laying a hand on you! I heard those bastards saying all of those awful things about you back at the guild, and with no settings restricting my movements, I was this close to slitting their throats right there!"
"I may be banished from a tribe, but as long as the blood of the Ogres flow inside me, I will crush anyone in my sight as a Savage! They will see how fearsome an Ogre's rage can be when angered for besmirching my master's great name!" Erizora adds from where she sits on her stool.
"And of course, no one who thinks they can get away after hurting my mate will be able to avoid my magic unscathed if not dead," Ume says while baring her claws. "I don't know how you managed to get this far on your own and not collapse from exhaustion after all that you did for us and this city within these last 36 hours, but it's not just you fighting battles anymore. Let us help you and fight with you, as a team."
"As a pack!"
"As a harem!"
"… A family?" I ask.
"Whatever it is, you're not alone anymore, Jin. None of us want anything bad happening to you if we can do something to avoid it. If you keep going off doing everything on your own … no matter how much attention you might give us through sex, I don't think we'll be any closer to you than when we first met, maybe even before that when we were still alone … right?" Ume turns to the others when she asks that and they nod in agreement.
<"Don't forget about me,"> Nyra barges in my mind. <"If you think you're by yourself, I'll annoy you as much as possible until you acknowledge my existence. No matter how bad things will get, you're stuck with me, and that's as much of a curse on you as it is for me, so I'd work on your sense of humor if I were you.">
"Guys …"
I wonder how long it has been since people have offered to help me so much … no, when Mom died a couple of months ago, aside from the funeral, I pushed everyone away while I tried to work out my issues on my own, and look how that turned out. Just when I decided to do something for myself like she asked me to on her deathbed, when I quitted that company that's so toxic to our clients' lives, I was marked for a hit so I wouldn't pose a threat to them. Though I probably should've considered it, I didn't intend to try and leak anything important, I just wanted to quickly move on in my life.
When I got tailed, I didn't want to put anyone in danger, especially my aunts, but I should've thought of asking them for help first thing when they offered it so many times before. Like Mom, they were not your average girls back in high school, and they know how to put up the dukes when the situation calls for it. That still holds true today.
Alas, that never happened, and who knows how they're handling my death right now just when they lost Mom not too long ago? Even now, if I hadn't gotten my hands and these cheat-like skills and abilities, who knows whether I'd meet that fate again in that backlot?
When I came to this world, I was completely on my own with no one to rely on if I don't count Ms. Obina contacting me through the bracelet. Now I got Ume, Ren, and Erizora, and all I've done so far was made them worried over me. They probably tried to hide it during our feast as I was telling my tale.
I need to fight in order to live decently in this world, but now, I don't need to do it alone anymore as I had all this time. I need to make sure that every moment I make with these girls counts, whether it's on or off the battlefield.
"You're right," I say after thinking and bow my head to them. "I'm sorry for making you all worried. I promise to work hard and be a good leader … a good mate who relies on you girls when I need you. I hope you can be patient with me as I try to work this out, and I'll be in your care."
"Honestly, to not even consider me and my assets, it's such an insult to my pride, but since it's you, I'll let it slide this time. Just know that there are things in this world that you just can't do without us, like reading."
"Please don't remind me. It kind of hurts knowing I'm the most illiterate person here."
"Well, it can't be helped. I myself will just have to teach you how to read, then."
"Can you really?!" I ask while looking up.
"Yep. I got a wide array of books stowed away in my [Storage]. We can use those as references while I'll also teach you what you may not already know about magic."
"That would be awesome!" I hold both of her claws/hands together in mine while I deeply bow my head. "Thank you so much, Ume! Thank you!"
"H-Honestly, with your LUCK, it's a miracle you even have someone like me around to help you. Aren't you grateful?" she asks with a slight shake in her voice.
"I am grateful! Really! I feel so left out not being able to read when most of everyone else here can! To be able to give me this chance, Ume, I feel like the luckiest man in the world to have you with me as my mate! I will love you forever!"
"L-L-Love?!"
"Oh, wow, Ms. Umeiyon is turning so red in the fleshy areas."
"I've only seen so few Ogres from my tribe that red before. I didn't know a Lizardman's ears would move like that, either."
Curious from Ren's and Erizora's respective comments, I look up and indeed, the parts of Ume's body not covered by scales got so red she might be overheating, and the fin-like ears are flapping like a fish would while swimming. The expression in her face is especially unreadable.
"J-J-Jin will … l-love me forever? Th-The kind of 'like' that's g-greater than a normal 'like'? Th-That love?" she asks more to herself than anyone else.
Come to think of it, I never mentioned that when we had sex, did I?
I only explained to her the process of reproduction, then she decided to stay with me anyways, and we gave each other our virginities at the heat of the moment. I did mention how people would have sex for different reasons other than procreation over our 'talk,' but did she not expect such intimate feelings would get involved between us? She seemed happy enough when I was kissing her in public, right? Does that … no, actions may speak louder than words at times, but it's important to voice your feelings as well, or how else would we be able to properly communicate?
I was also unsure of my feelings for her both before and after the act, but I swore to myself I'd take responsibility as a man for her. Thinking back how willing I was to mutilate Luke's body for thinking about doing such awful things to Ume, I think that speaks levels for how much I care for her, doesn't it? Would I not get so heated up over it if it involves somebody I'm not close to?
We may not be doing this relationship in the right order and this may be a weird time and place for us, but as long as the subject is present, I should still own up to it.
"Ume," I say while squeezing her claws and I stare right at her flustered, wavering eyes. "I'm saying this to you not as a human to a demon and not just as one member of a family to another, but I'm saying this as a man to a woman, a male to a female … I love you, Ume, and just as I said moments ago, I will love you forever."
""Oooooh~!"" Not just Ren and Erizora, but the other bathhouse patrons are also cooing with delight and excitement at this sudden turn of events. I try not to pay them any mind, however.
With Ume's claws still in my hands, I bring my face close to hers, closing my eyes, and feel her shuddering breath on my lips as they make their approach.
"C-C-C-C-CREATE WATER!"
""Aaaaugh!""
"Huh?"
At Ume's squeal of a chant and the bathhouse patrons' panicked screams, I open my eyes and notice she pulled one of her claws and held it straight up in the air.
I look up just as a ginormous blob of water comes crashing down on my face.
ZABOOSH!
""COOOOLD!"" Ren, Erizora, and I exclaim as all four of us get caught in that tidal wave of ice-cold water. The other patrons look to have seen what was about to happen and made a break from it before they got caught in its splash zone. It went quite far, even wetting some of the changing area and just ways away from the baths.
Even with my 'Body Temperature Stability' skill, it takes a bit for it to kick in, which leaves me trembling and chattering from the cold like the rest of us were.
"W-Was it s-s-s-something I s-said?" I ask through shuddering breath.
"P-Please don't misunderstand!" Ume exclaims while holding a claw out to me, her non-scaly flesh now back to its pasty color … well, maybe paler than usual from the cold, but seeing how hard and erect her nipples currently are is getting my dick warmed back up already.
"I-I was so happy, embarrassed, and other things that I don't know what I'd do with myself if you kissed me like that right then." Ume's face blushes again and averts her gaze while fidgeting in place. "W-We're not supposed to do that here, right? I don't think I could restrain myself if that happened, so … can we pick this back up when we get to the contact-consent bath, please?"
""Ooooh~!"" The bathhouse patrons are even more enthused at this sudden development.
"So … you're not turned off by me and my confession?"
"Absolutely not."
I sigh with a hand to my chest. "That's a relief."
"The bath isn't ready for us to go in yet, right? In the meantime, why don't I help clean you next while we wait?"
"Yeah, sounds good." She may want some time to calm herself down after that surprise there, so I'll let things go at her pace. We change spots with Ume behind me before she starts washing my hair first. I'm starting to get where Ume's coming from. How her claws gently scratch my scalp as she lathers my hair is pretty soothing to me. I wonder if Ren also felt something similar when I petted her at the park a while ago. The other bathhouse patrons went back to their own cleanings while going over gossip at our moment.
"Ren, Erizora, why don't you two warm up for a bit before you join us?" Ume asks.
"Eh?! Is that really all right?!" Ren exclaims.
"I mean, with that moment, we figured you two might've wanted to keep it to yourselves," Erizora adds.
"It's the least I can do after getting you two caught up in that cold splash. Looking past your social standing, I want to bond with the people in our party. We can make it as a special bond of skinship like Jin described."
"Ume, I think what we'll be doing in there goes beyond what's considered 'skinship.' Aside from that, as long as Ume's all right with it, I'd also like to get closer to the two of you as well."
"Besides, with how … energetic Jin was with me earlier, I'm not sure how I'd fare an hour with him alone, but as his primary mate, I get first dibs," Ume adds. I could imagine her blushing as she said that.
"We'd be more than happy to be of service for Master! Right, Eri?!"
"If Ms. Umeiyon being a Lizardman was having trouble keeping up with Master earlier, then … I wonder how rough he'll be with me? He was really on edge in those bedchambers, too. Oh, god, this isn't good. I'm already getting wet~."
"Uh … she'll be fine," Ren says before straining a smile, answering for Erizora while she smiles perversely.
<"Daaaaamn, Megatits is a bigger bitch in heat than the actual bitch!">
"Isn't Erizora already wet from my magic earlier?"
"It's not that kind of 'wet,' Ume."
"… Ohhh."
When Ume finishes washing my hair, she rinses it with the tub of warm water instead of her magic like earlier. As I get started lathering my arms and front, I thought I heard whispering coming from behind me, but since I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the 'activities' in the bath, I didn't pay it much mind.
Suddenly, a pair of blue scaly arms appear in my peripheral and wrap around my waist before I feel a pair of large, malleable breasts sliding against my back. Their erected nipples tickle me as they run over some of the scars that are on my back.
"Ahh …"
I could only recognize that sigh dripping with lust to be Ume's as she moves her face close to mine, specifically my ear where I could feel her hot breath on it.
"I will always love you forever, too, Jin."
It's such a low and quiet whisper that I'm not sure Ren could hear it with her heightened Werewolf senses.
I then feel a pair of lips on my face that makes a smacking sound from the peck before a cheek rests on my own, my body is pulled into a loving embrace from behind.
With a contented sigh through my nose and a gentle smirk, I close my eyes, rest a hand on Ume's arms, and lean my face against hers. I relish one of the moments I've always wanted to share with the love of my own, and I pray I could use every point of my stupidly low LUCK that I have to experience more of these with Ume and the others in the near future.
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Orange_Rain
Orange_Rain I may need to split the next chapter into two parts and publish them together at the same time.
Boy, compared to the beginning of the first volume, this one is just fanservice, fanservice, and more fanservice. While I like making them, I'm really hoping to get back onto the main plot soon.
On another note, I put an entry to one of the Writing Prompt Contests called 'My Castle.' If you can, let me know and comment on what you think. Fair warning, it's a little tragic.
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