Chapter 8
“…Wow.”
The moment I stepped into the bathroom, I was left speechless by the spectacle before me.
From outside, it had seemed merely a little big, but once inside, I was overwhelmed by its enormous size—it occupied an entire floor.
Somehow, I felt as though all the knowledge about life I'd accumulated until now was being shattered.
So this was where rich people washed themselves….
As I murmured my admiration, I shortened my stride so I wouldn't slip and walked forward demurely.
“Ria! Over here!”
Karina's red hair suddenly popped out from a booth in front of the baths.
“Wash yourself here before getting into the bath!”
“…Yes!”
I had been carefully looking around for somewhere to wash myself, so I was glad Karina happened to show me the way and scurried over.
“Yap~!”
“Eek?!”
“Ria's are huge even at a second glance… Huh?”
I jumped and nearly fell when Vika's hand suddenly reached in without any sense of personal space.
“Goodness, it's slippery, so be careful not to fall.”
Fortunately, Vika caught me just as I was about to pitch forward, so I avoided falling, but….
Whoever had cursed my legs, they kept giving out on me.
I need to keep my legs tense so I don't fall, for goodness' sake….
“Come on~. Let's go wash!”
“W-whoa…!”
While I was checking whether my body was all right, Vika, the dark-elf gyaru, dragged me to a shower booth and sat me down inside.
“I-I can do it myself….”
“Just stay still~. Otherwise, I'll spray you with cold water.”
“Yes, ma'am….”
There was a small chair in the booth, so I sat down and let her wash my hair, only to find myself staring straight at that thing between Vika's legs.
Following her long legs upward to her healthy, muscular thighs….
…So people with white hair have white hair down there, too.
I was grateful to have gained such utterly useless yet useful knowledge, and enjoyed the gentle atmosphere as my hair became covered in foam.
“Do you like it~?”
“Yeeees….”
“Hehe~. Acard said he liked it, too~.”
I flinched at the word Acard for a moment, but since I was a lone outsider among a group of married women, I decided not to let it bother me.
“Hehehe~.”
As I watched Vika hum and stretch out each strand of my hair with her long, slender fingers, a memory from my childhood somehow came to mind.
A beautiful, blonde, blue-eyed mother washing my hair gently with loving hands…?
What the hell? Who are you?
My mother looked exactly like an ordinary Korean middle-aged woman!
Where did Mrs. Shin Mi-hyeon go?!
Even so, the more I thought about my mother, the more vividly I pictured a blonde, blue-eyed woman smiling beautifully at me.
I should come to my senses by admiring Vika's heart-shaped pubic hair, so the moment I opened my eyes wide—
“M-my eyes!!”
“Are you okay?! Oh my! Shampoo must have gotten in your eyes!”
I'd stupidly forgotten that shampoo-laced water was dripping from my hair and let the surfactant soak directly into my eyes.
“I'll spray you with water, so blink!”
“Aaaagh….”
In the end, I couldn't even carry out my lewd little scheme of admiring Vika's pubic hair, and could only repeatedly blink as water poured over me.
“All right, shampoo's done!”
Once the commotion was over and my stinging eyes had recovered, Vika squeezed a generous amount of body wash into her hand.
“…I'll do it now!”
“Nope~. I'll do it!”
“Huh?!”
Once again, my expressed wish was ignored, and I had no choice but to let her wash my body.
If I'd been a man, I would have gladly accepted those hands, but having someone else's hands touch this soft female body made me feel… What was the word? Hmm.
All the strength drained from my body, and a sense of humiliation rose up, but—
It wasn't unpleasant, either. It was addictive…?
Anyway, when I came to my senses, Vika had covered my entire body in fluffy foam.
During the brief moment I'd been dazed, it felt as if she'd touched every place she should and shouldn't have, but… I supposed it didn't matter.
“Ria. Hands up!”
“Hands uuuup….”
At Vika's command, as if I were a baby, I raised my hands high and let the water pouring from the showerhead wash over me.
How long had it been since I'd showered in actual hot water?
The pleasantly warm stream flowed down from my head and glided along my neck.
The water slipping down between my full breasts was more soothing than I'd expected….
…!
“Ria? Are you already getting into the bath? All right~.”
It felt as though something I'd been protecting as a manly man had shattered into pieces, so I hurried out of the booth.
“…Haaah, haaah….”
Without even becoming short of breath, I looked around while letting out soft, rapid breaths.
Just then, I spotted a cold bath beside the hot bath, so I dashed over and plunged only my head into it.
…Maybe my head had gone weird for a moment.
I'd actually thought that bathing was happiness.
It wasn't exactly a bad thing, but the fact that I'd unconsciously followed a line of thought I never would have had as a man sent a shiver through me.
“Phaaah…!”
After about thirty seconds with my head submerged in cold water, when my skin had grown taut, I suddenly lifted my face.
Get a grip, Ria… No, Hwangshin…!
My body had become a woman's, but my mind was exactly the same as when I was a man!
Yeah! Get a grip!
I clenched my fists and nodded, putting on all the needless theatrics I could muster as I crept toward the hot bath.
“Come in. The temperature is perfect.”
Karina, who had already gotten in with a towel on her head, smiled sweetly as I cautiously placed my feet into the hot bath.
The water was not too hot, but exactly as pleasant as could be, so once my tentative test was over, I slid my entire body in.
“…Haaah.”
Like a cat sprawled out in the heat, I got into the bath and began soaking my whole body.
As someone whose hobby on Earth had been visiting public bathhouses, this sensation was deeply nostalgic.
The emptiness of showering with cold water and scrubbing myself with river water for two months after coming to this world….
For someone like me, who carried around the sensibilities of a modern person, it had been a time of suffering and endurance.
But now I knew that this world had baths not so different from those of the modern world.
Blub blub—.
I even submerged my head in the bath and enjoyed the comfort of my entire body sinking beneath the water.
In that state, my playful side returned, and like a child, I spun an imaginary timer around in my head to see how long I could hold my breath.
“Phaa!”
When nearly sixty seconds had passed and I thought I couldn't hold it any longer, I lifted my head and sucked in a breath.
“You can hold your breath longer than I expected.”
“I thought you were dead~.”
“……”
At some point, Karina, Vika, and Mira had all gotten into the bath and were watching my feat.
“…Ahem. I was just happy to be taking a bath for the first time in a while….”
I felt embarrassed when I realized I'd been putting on a little show, but I used all my social finesse to make a natural excuse.
“Hm? You said it's been a while since you took a bath?”
Karina looked puzzled by my excuse and asked.
“Taking a bath after two months…? It's been two months since I properly washed myself.”
“…Wait a second, Ria. Aren't you affiliated with the church?”
When she heard that I'd only properly washed myself after two months, Karina raised one eyebrow and approached me.
“I-I only joined the church less than a day ago…?”
For some reason, her gaze suddenly grew intense, so I backed away nervously until my back hit the edge of the bath with a splash!
“Ria. What is your occupation?”
With nowhere left to run, she grabbed me by both shoulders and demanded my occupation.
…What on earth was this situation?
Oh, Karina's bare breasts are gorgeous…. No, that's not the point.
Should I say I'm a nun? No, I'm not one yet. I'm only an apprentice, so I'm technically nothing.
“…A homeless person.”
Since it felt awkward to claim I had an occupation, I mumbled and chose the one that best fit my current life, just as I'd done when speaking to Acard.
“Don't lie. There's no way a pretty woman like you could be homeless.”
Although I told her the truth, Karina assumed I was joking, gave a small smirk, and tried to question me again.
“It's a lie…, right?”
I began to sense that something was wrong from the gaze of this utterly honest and guileless woman.
“Y-you're really homeless…?”
As Karina's face turned deathly pale and she grew increasingly flustered, I drove the point home by nodding to confirm that it was true.
“I'm sorry for misunderstanding you!!”
Karina suddenly hugged me and began consoling me.
“You must have had such a hard time until now…! You've really been through a lot!”
“Um…, excuse me….”
Sensing that the situation had taken a strange turn, I gently patted Karina's back and tried to pull away.
“Ria! We're family now, too! Call us anytime, and we'll help you!”
“Ghk….”
Vika, her eyes brimming with tears, hugged me from the side.
“…Since our fates are intertwined, we're practically family!”
Mira blocked my final escape route by hugging me, completely sealing off every way out.
“Kkh… I-I can't breathe….”
Why were these women so strong…?
No matter how much I struggled to escape, my resistance had no effect at all, and I felt like I was going to die.
The sensation of the three women's breasts rubbing against my body wasn't exactly unpleasant, but….
“P-please… I can't breathe….”
Why were all three of them hugging me so tightly around the neck, almost strangling me?!
Let go, you bitches!!
I'm going to die!! Before I can even become a wife or anything, I'm genuinely going to die!
When my face turned bright red from lack of air, Karina apparently misunderstood and hugged me even tighter as she shouted.
“It's all right! From now on, you're going to live with us!”
Vika shouted, too, rubbing her soft breasts against me.
“Ria! Come live with us!”
Naturally, Mira clung to me as well…?
Hey, where are you touching, you bitch?
Why are you pinching my nipple…?!
You little—! You're getting revenge for me pinching you!
When I glared at Mira as she pinched and toyed with my soft, premium nipple, she stuck out her tongue and lightly mocked me.
…You little bitch?
Crunch—my rage began to boil over—yeah, right.
“Ria! Get a hold of yourself!!”
“N-no!! Ria! Don't die!!”
With the three women embracing me in the hot bath and cutting off my oxygen, all the strength left my body, and I sank underwater with a gurgle.
I twisted my body like a snake underwater and slipped behind Mira.
“You little—!!”
“Eeyak?!”
I grabbed Mira's ample breasts tightly and burst out of the water.
“How dare you make a fool of my breasts!?”
“Eek…! There…!”
“You're the one who caused all this! You astrology-boob junkie!!”
I grabbed them intending to ravage her ample breasts for my own enjoyment, but with every squeeze, my anger gauge dropped until it quickly reached a negative value.
By the time I came to my senses, I wasn't taking revenge at all—I was happily massaging Mira's breasts.
“I-I said I was sorry, so stop now….”
“Stay still.”
“…Eek.”
I learned one thing today.
…Mira was actually a very good woman, too.
Big-breasted women are all kind and good. Obviously.
I toyed with her breasts, mixing revenge and ulterior motives in a ratio of one to ninety-nine.
…I absolutely must never reveal that I used to be a man.
“Ria, are you all right?”
As I silently massaged Mira's gently rounded breasts, I heard Karina ask worriedly.
“I was just playing around! Ehehe….”
I told a devilish lie and smiled innocently.
“Then that's a relief…. We'll be heading out now.”
“Already…? It hasn't even been ten minutes.”
No, my boobs…! Don't go!
“Sorry, Ria~. The three of us are going to do some hell training together before bed tonight~. Do you want to join us?”
“…Ah, n-no.”
Vika bounced her pert breasts with a bright boing and made an invitation that was anything but cheerful, so I shook my head vigorously.
Considering those women's strength, if I joined that hellish training, I would undoubtedly end up as a desiccated corpse somewhere.
“I'll just keep enjoying my bath here…!”
Since training was out of the question for someone who had vowed never to exert herself, I immediately let go of Mira, whom I had been holding in my arms.
“Nooo!!”
Freed from my teasing hands, Mira screamed and scurried out of the bathroom.
Goodbye…, my astrology boobs.
“Staying too long isn't good for you, either, so enjoy it in moderation.”
“See you in a little while~.”
I watched as Karina and Vika followed Mira and disappeared into the distance.
Goodbye, Karina's pink boobs… and Vika's ripe, light-red boobs, too….
Rrrr—! The moment everyone left and the door closed.
The noisy bathhouse suddenly fell silent, except for the sound of water I made as I moved around.
“Haaaa….”
I decided to enjoy the bath for another thirty minutes or so.
With only my head peeking out, I placed the towel Karina had left behind on top of my head and achieved perfect union with the bath.
Starting tomorrow, I'd be washing my face with cold water again, so I had to enjoy this while I could.
“Yap.”
I interlaced my fingers, scooped up water between my clasped palms, and tried shooting a water gun through the gaps between my fingers.
I made waves in the spacious bath and played my own version of tower defense, smacking away the waves as they came back at me.
I relaxed my hands, let myself float, and felt the power of buoyancy.
Just as I was about to act on the lewd thought of taking a sip of the water in which the three beauties had soaked—
Rrrr—! The bathhouse door opened, and I heard someone enter.
“…?”
I wondered if Karina had come back for the towel she'd left behind and rose to look toward the door, but the steam billowing everywhere made it hard to see.
Figuring she'd come back to retrieve something she'd left behind, I slid my body back into the bath.
-Splash, splash.
-Click.
-Whoosh—.
I heard someone walk over from the shower-booth area and turn on the water.
“Who is it?”
Unable to resist my curiosity, I peeked my head out again and called toward the shower booth.
“…Huh? Mira?”
The sound of the shower abruptly stopped, and instead of a woman's coquettish voice, an unpleasantly handsome voice answered me.
“Damn it….”
Perhaps because I'd stayed in the bath too long, Acard had come to wash himself.
I had been running happy little circuits at the thought of seeing those pretty breasts again, but my expression soured, and I submerged my face up to my lips, bubbling with anger.
When I received no answer, the shower came on again, then the water abruptly stopped.
He must have walked over here, because the wet slap of his footsteps came to a complete stop right behind me.
Then a muscular male body cautiously slipped into the spot beside me in the bath.
Just as he turned his infuriatingly handsome face toward me with a gentle smile and spoke—
“Mira? Why aren't you training today…?”
“What.”
“……”
“Do I look like Mira to you?”
I took the towel off my head, revealed my identity, and mocked Acard.
“!?!”
Instead of Mira's purple eyes, Acard met my clear blue eyes, and he was so startled that he literally went boing and flew out of the bath.