Chapter 8
It struck me again that a man's hands are large.
As I walked down the street holding Claude's hand, I had that thought.
As an adventurer who traveled the world, he was probably better built than a modern man, but he was a mage.
Compared to professions that used other kinds of strength, he couldn't help but be slender.
The existence of mages.
As a Wolpi, I saw them as nothing more than weak, unimpressive beings. I would never have anything to do with one for my entire life.
That was what I had thought.
Because I would instinctively follow strength. After all, it takes power to subdue me and keep hold of me.
And yet Claude had managed it.
Even though there had been an iron cage, chains, and drugs, he had subdued me with nothing but a mage's power.
I wasn't curious where that strength had come from. Questioning a man who had subdued me was unthinkable for a female Wolpi.
Of course, I also had a human perspective, so it wasn't as though I had no questions…
Anyway, that wasn't the issue. The issue was what came next—the story after he subdued me.
What am I supposed to do…? I don't remember.
I don't know why, but I passed out, and he didn't pounce on me.
To describe the feeling, it was like being about to sneeze without actually sneezing.
Like being all heated and aroused, on the verge of climax, when someone knocked on the door.
I had cooled completely, left in a strange state that was neither one thing nor the other.
If he'd really taken me that day, I might have willingly given him my body and heart…
Now I felt unstable somehow.
My body and instincts were searching for him, but my reason and heart remained steadfast and chaste.
To be honest, I liked the large hand of his that I was holding now.
I liked it, I really did… But was it really all right for me to like him?
It was a strange feeling. Why had I been born female?
The firmness at my fingertips. The pull. This moment of walking together.
Was I allowed to like him?
“Aris. We're here.”
We had stopped in front of a clothing store. It looked flashy and expensive from the entrance alone.
Could I really go into a place like this…?
“Master. I don't think this place is suitable for me.”
“Now, now.”
Claude took me straight into the store.
“If there's anything you want, take it.”
There were all sorts of clothes on display. I didn't particularly want anything.
Just some spare clothes for everyday wear. I didn't need many. One outfit would be enough.
I could also take them off to sleep…and sleep naked, but I was traveling with a man.
Or was I overthinking things?
Claude didn't seem to intend to force himself on me, either.
I was only a slave, anyway. If he had wanted to use me to satisfy his sexual urges, wouldn't he have done so already?
We were different species, and he had only subdued me to quiet down a slave gone wild.
Did he not see me as a woman…?
“Grrrr….”
“Hm? Aris?”
“Grrr…! Eek, ah. Yes. M-Master.”
His call startled me.
“What's wrong? Are you all right?”
“N-no. It's nothing. I'm fine. I-I'll choose some clothes.”
I hurried into the store, leaving him behind.
Why was I acting like that? I had suddenly gotten worked up…and angry.
There was nothing in particular to look at; I just stared blankly into space. Claude had been going to….
I didn't really know. Aris wasn't very bright, after all.
I glanced back at Claude.
His expression looked as if he were thinking, ‘Where is this place, and who am I?’
It was exactly the expression of a man who had entered a women's clothing store.
Apparently, I would have to choose my clothes by myself.
Secretly, I had hoped he would recommend something that suited me.
He couldn't even take care of himself, so how could he dress someone else up?
“Hello? Oh my…you're beastkin?”
Just then, an employee came over to me. I must have stood out as I peered around the store.
To be honest, I wasn't familiar with stores like this, either… Should I ask for help?
“Yes. I prefer light, casual clothes for everyday wear.”
“Light clothes, I see. But as for the tail opening…could you show me for a moment?”
As she said that, the employee came around behind me. Show her? What did she want to see?
My tail swayed gently. She spoke.
“Excuse me.”
“Hyaa!”
She grabbed my tail with one hand. I was startled, but I couldn't thrash about.
“I'm sorry. Your tail fur is so thick that I couldn't tell how thick it was.”
“U-uh…that's sensitive.”
There were many nerves concentrated in that area, making it particularly sensitive compared to other places.
The tail was used for balance and communication, and it also served as an erogenous zone…
“This outfit should be comfortable even for an active beastkin.”
“I see.”
She measured me and let me browse several different outfits.
Among them, I chose the most comfortable one.
“If you'd like, we can make a tail hole in the back. We'll finish it properly, too.”
“I'll take this one.”
“Yes. Understood.”
The employee who had been helping me took the clothes and moved away.
After a while, another employee approached and spoke to me.
“Hmm? Could you show me your wrist?”
“Huh? Y-yes….”
She examined my wrist roughly. The employee saw my slave mark.
Was she someone higher-ranking than the previous employee? Why was she checking something like this?
“So you're a slave. Hmph… Your master must be quite generous.”
“Y-yes.”
“If your kind master is providing all this for you, shouldn't you show him your gratitude?”
“Gratitude…?”
She glanced once at Claude near the entrance, then spoke to me.
“I see you've only chosen everyday clothes. A female slave should make herself appealing to her master, shouldn't she? You have a fine body, after all.”
“I-I don't know what you mean….”
The employee gestured with her chin as if telling me to follow her.
Her attitude was definitely different from before. So this was what being a slave meant.
“What's your budget?”
“My master will check when he pays.”
“Oh~ If he's got deep pockets, I have plenty of things I can recommend.”
The place she took me to had various kinds of underwear on display.
“I…I don't wear things like this.”
“These aren't clothes for you. They're for your master, aren't they? You're a slave, after all.”
“But….”
She paid me no mind, pulling out one thing after another and holding them up to me.
“Hmm. This one looks nice, too. Your hair color is pretty.”
“Why does this have a hole in it…?”
“Because men like it.”
Some panties looked as if they couldn't serve their purpose at all. The bras wouldn't support my breasts in the slightest, and some looked as though they would leave my whole body exposed.
“Would you like to try it on yourself? Or shall I put it on you?”
As she spoke, she kept touching my body. I hated it. But this was the store Claude had brought me to. I couldn't cause a scene, if only for his sake.
“I'll do it myself.”
Reluctantly, I tried on an evening dress so sheer that my body showed through.
Silk and lace decorated my body here and there, but left all the important parts completely exposed, which embarrassed me.
The reflection in the mirror was nothing more than a single lewd bitch.
“It suits you perfectly. Your master must be blessed to have acquired such a beautiful slave, don't you think? Let's show him.”
“Huh? I-I…no, you can't…!”
But she took the dress I was wearing and went over to Claude.
She intended to keep me from changing….
Unable to leave, I stood fidgeting in the fitting room.
“Aris? What's going on?”
“Here she is, sir. The customer said she really wanted to show herself to you.”
“Huh? Aris? Are you all right?”
Gasp. Claude was drawing near. Step by step…the sound of his approaching footsteps grew louder.
I…I… Is it really all right for me to be standing like this? What should I do? I want to run away, but….
Swish—the curtain slid open. The employee grinned and showed me to Claude.
“What do you think? You must be envious of being able to feast your eyes on such a beautiful beastkin every day.”
“A-Aris….”
I couldn't say anything and avoided his eyes. I fidgeted, but it was too late to do anything about it.
Didn't he see me as a woman anyway?
If he had seen me as a woman, he would have gotten me pregnant that day, for sure.
“M-Master…what do you think of Aris's clothes?”
Claude looked at me and swallowed hard. After staring at me in silence, he spoke to the employee.
“Did Aris really say she wanted to show herself like this?”
“Yes! Of course. It's a slave's little performance to please her master, you know? Please look kindly on her.”
Claude took off the robe he was wearing and draped it over me. And somehow…his expression looked frightening.
“Lying is wrong.”
“What…what do you mean, lying? It's only natural for a woman to appeal to a man….”
“I have yet to be acknowledged as Aris's male.”
As her male…acknowledged? Th-that….
I didn't know what to say, and felt conflicted.
The employee was flustered.
“M-male….”
She darted her eyes back and forth between Claude and me.
She seemed to have realized that something was wrong.
“Oh. I'm sorry. You must care for your slave very much.”
“She has a name: Aris.”
“Yes. Wouldn't you like to see your lovely slave, Aris?”
Claude turned his gaze toward me. Feeling embarrassed, I lowered my head.
“I would. But you can't force her just because she's a slave.”
“I'm sorry. I sincerely apologize for this. Please…forgive me.”
In the end, Claude pointed out the problem directly, and the employee quickly bowed her head again.
“Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Aris.”
“But….”
“Right now!”
When he raised his voice, the employee looked at me and let out a “Ngh….”
She lowered her head and apologized.
“I'm truly sorry, Miss Aris.”
The employee hurried away as if fleeing.
A little later, the employee who had fled returned with the store manager.
They apologized once again.
The manager bowed so deeply it looked as if his head might hit the floor.
“We're terribly sorry our employee was rude!”
“We apologize.”
Apparently, it was because I'd asked them to add a tail opening to my clothes earlier.
Since they'd already cut it, it would be troublesome if we didn't buy the clothes, right?
“What would you like to do about the clothes you ordered alterations for…?”
I wanted to just leave, but I needed clothes, so I couldn't leave without buying them.
“How about half price?”
“Th-that…that's too much. We're sorry, but there's the alteration fee, too, so please!”
“Thirty percent.”
Claude began haggling and eventually got us a discount. In a better mood, he spoke to me.
“Aris. Let's have you change out of that outfit. If you don't like something, you need to say so.”
“I'm sorry. I should have dealt with it properly.”
“Whew, I shouldn't have let you go alone. I'm sorry. You don't like…that kind of underwear, do you?”
As he said that, Claude looked at the lewd underwear laid out beside us.
“Master…do you perhaps like this sort of thing?”
“Hm? Ah, n-no, I'm fine. Wear whatever Aris likes.”
“I'm fine with it. If that's what you want, Master, I'll…buy it.”
Claude only shifted his eyes, looking flustered, and kept his mouth shut. He absolutely refused to answer.
But I could tell. When our eyes met, I knew for sure.
This man liked this kind of clothing.
I had been too embarrassed to meet his eyes then, but could I do it next time?
“Then please give me all of these.”
There were a few more pieces than planned, but Claude paid without difficulty.
He was spending this much on a slave's clothes….
Still, they included things to satisfy his desires, so maybe it was all right.
Once he had coolly finished paying, the store manager stepped forward and said,
“We're truly sorry. Even though we were rude…thank you for making a purchase. We've included a free gift.”
The free gift was ordinary underwear rather than the lewd kind.
They had also included one extra set of the everyday clothes I had chosen.
“Goodbye.”
We left the clothing store behind. I still felt a little uneasy, but I was surprised that Claude had spoken up for me.
He had understood how I felt and dealt with the problem for me.
If I had protested, it would have looked like I was insulting the master who owned a slave.
But Claude seemed to see things differently.
“Aris. If anyone looks down on you again just because you're a slave, knock their face off.”
“Then you'll be in trouble, Master.”
“Forget it. It's much better for me to be inconvenienced.”
I wondered if I should knock that smiling face of his off.
He's too handsome, and that's a problem….