Splish-Splash

Listening in on the messenger's nearby conversation, I found out quite a bit about the north's situation. Over the last two decades, tensions have slowly risen between the Human Empire and the surrounding non-human kingdoms. The three large domains surrounding the human lands are the kingdoms of the beast people, the elves and the dwarves. While the humans have been antagonizing all three races with their xenophobic practices and political leanings, their largest disputes have been between them and the Beast Kingdom.

The passing of the previous emperor and his son's succession ushered in the current human supremacist political climate. The current emperor, Emperor Rory XIV, hates beast people with every ounce of his body. He has ruled that unenslaved beast people are not a thing that is allowed to exist in his realm. The Beast Kingdom has been amassing military strength at its border with The Human Empire, and they have been receiving support from the dwarves and elves. The continent is on a powder keg.

Hearing all this, I watched the muscles of Luna's face slowly tighten. She barely made it through all of her third helping of supper. I assured her that we would strive to be out of the empire before the situation is too far gone. After the soldier left, I handed Luna some more ale to help her calm herself. After downing a few steins, she was quite cherry-cheeked and a lot more relaxed. While Luna enjoyed some ale, I went to the lobby and talked to Emma to set up a reservation for one of the smaller hot spring baths. I collected some towels, bathrobes and a pair of keys for our bath.

Rounding up a red in the face Luna, we headed towards the first floor's rear side. There we came across a hall with numbered rooms lining one side. We found our room down near the far end. Opening the door, we entered a small tiled hallway. There were pictured instructions carved into the one wall to explain how to use the hot springs. The first instruction was to remove any coats and footwear in the entranceway and place them in the little area opposite the wall's instruction. After I took off my foot wraps, I followed Luna to the next part of the room. It reminded me of one of the large walk-through closets I had seen in video tours of fancy houses back on earth.

The main difference between this and a wealthy person's closet was that it contained no clothing, just spots for us to hang our own and undress. "Turn around for a minute Luna. I am going to go in first. We are to strip off our clothes here and put them in a basket according to the instructions. Then take a towel and go to the shower room. Once in there, clean ourselves, wrap the towel to cover ourselves and proceed to the bath." I directed Luna. Her cheeks turning even more scarlet than they already are, she spun around to look away.

I stripped off my worn clothing, placing each piece in the basket in front of me. I could feel my body tingle in anticipation of a shower and a long soak. I could notice a certain misbehaving dog-girl in my periphery, turning slightly to try and catch glimpses at me. I quickly grabbed the soap and shampoo we had purchased earlier from the store, along with a facecloth I had been provided, and slipped through a curtain to the shower room.

The shower was much more advanced than I was expecting, as the instructions laid out how using my mana, I could adjust the temperature through the magical stones on the wall that supplied water and heat to the showerhead. The room was all tiled, floor, ceilings and roof, with the floor sloping to a corner with a drain. I looked to the wall, near the curtained area to the next room. Spotting the hooks for the towels, I hung two there. One is to cover my private bits while in the bath, the other is to dry off after. Luna had her pair of towels as well. The towel to wear was designed with a clasp-like device to better keep it on yourself for mixed bathing.

I turned on the shower and marvelled at the feeling as the warm water ran over me. Rivulets running down my body, I felt some of the exhaustion of my old life wash away. Transferring to this new world, I had been going non-stop since I got here. I had yet to realize that I was free from my old life stressors, and I had a new chance to enjoy myself and make every day count. As I lathered and scrubbed my body, feeling all the grime of the last few days disappear, I thought of Luna and how the poor girl had suffered so great so far. Yet even though she had suffered, she had not hardened her heart to the world. She was still such a nice girl, who had treated me, a stranger from lands unknown, with such sincere kindness. She had shared food, a tent and even a sleeping bag with me.

Maybe once I have freed her of the seal and is genuinely free of control, I will ask about her feelings and see if we have a romantic future together. I could only be so lucky to find such a great woman upon my first real interaction in this world. Nearing the end of cleaning of my body, I realized I did not have a handled scrub brush to reach my back. I loudly asked Luna in the next room if she saw any cleaning tool over there to help me reach my back. Hearing her say no, I figured maybe I could use the longer towel that I would use as a wrap to do a two-handed buffing on my back. Just as I was coming up with potential solutions, I heard the curtain ruffle, and Luna called out, "Master, look away, I have come to scrub your back for you."

Quickly turning away, attempting to avoid a dangerous scenario from arising, I was about a foot out of the shower stream, where I stared at the wall. I looked at the hooks holding the towels as I felt Luna walk up to be right behind me. She asked me to put her towels on the wall as well. I held my left arm, which was farthest from the falling water, out to the side to receive the towels. At the very edge of my vision saw Luna's hand place the towels into my own as I resolutely held my eyes forward. I placed the towels on the hook.

Completing my task, I felt Luna's soft hands rest on my shoulders from behind as she guided me to the shower. She had brought an extra face cloth to clean my back, and she was currently lathering the cloth with soap. I felt sparks of arousal at the anticipation of her contact with me. Feeling her breath on my neck as she stepped in close, the slippery washcloth made contact with my back. Scrub. Scrub. Scrub.

The potential excitement I had been worried about went away as Luna methodically cleaned me in a way very reminiscent of a mother cleaning her child. It was then that I realized that this experience was much more of a family activity than a romantic one. "Do beast people view cleaning family members as a bonding activity?" I questioned luna as she had guided me to sit on a small stool and was now scrubbing shampoo into my scalp for a second time. "Yes, it is!" She chimed, clearly proud of the fact that I was able to understand this through her cleaning.

"Did you want me to clean your back as well then?" I asked Luna. "I couldn't ask you to do that, Master. I am expected to wash yours as your slave. But for a man to clean a woman. That is only expected if she is your w-wife." Luna nervously rattled off as she finished rinsing me off. I stood a strode to the towels, wrapping mine around my waist. Passing through the curtain, I replied over my shoulder, "Maybe sometime in the near future then..."

Entering the new room, I heard a little squeak from the befuddled girl I just left behind. Smugly satisfied with my teasing of the young maiden, I sank into the stingily hot water of the bath. I relaxed a bit too much, to the point of drifting off for a little while. Just as I was slipping into a dream, I was awakened by the feeling of Luna's shoulder touching mine. Opening my eyes, I saw that she had just climbed in, and she was stretching her joints to fully relax in the warm water. Pulling her arms above her head, I noticed something which made me ask, "Do you shave your armpits?"

Looking at me with a perplexed look on her face, "Do people have hair in their armpits where you come from?" She asked. I raised my arms to check my own. Staring at my smooth underarms, I replied, "I guess not..."