Chapter 20. Too Wet

  'She's so domineering... Well, maybe I should have expected this from a young lioness. However, I hope that after she's done with me, I'll still be able to walk...', Lucy fantasized in her mind as she was being carried in Rina's arms, the prolonged contact between their bodies making Lucy increasingly aroused.

  Unfortunately for Lucy, as her mind began to form various scenarios in which she was 'devoured' by the young lionkin woman who was carrying her, Rina wasn't on the same wavelength, as the confidence and boredom she was displaying were merely a mask to hide her uneasiness.

  'Why did I have to bring this catgirl with me? Have I lost my mind like the others?' Rina wondered, not understanding why she had acted so irrationally in the last few minutes. 'Maybe I should just throw her by the side of the road and leave the village for a few days? I have a feeling that once this catgirl enters my house, I'll never get rid of her... Huh, what's happening? What's with that shy look? Why did she start blushing? Don't tell me she's in heat...' Rina thought as she noticed Lucy's movements, who had begun to involuntarily rub the insides of her thighs together.

  "Hurry up, please... I'm on the edge..." Lucy whispered in Rina's ear, her sweet and hot breath almost making the young lionkin woman's heart leap out of her chest.

  'Crap! I'm sure she's in heat! I can't leave her in this state in the middle of the road! I need to get home as soon as possible...', Rina thought, immediately speeding up, as if she were holding a bomb ready to explode the moment she slowed down.

  'It seems she's just as impatient. Let's hope her bed will be sturdy enough, hehehe..' Lucy thought, convinced that her fantasies were about to become a reality soon.

  However, to Lucy's surprise, her final destination was not Rina's bed, but a large wooden tub into which Rina had placed her as soon as they entered the house.

  "Huh, what's happening?" Lucy asked, confused, looking at Rina who bent down to pick up one of the two buckets filled with water next to the tub.

  "Splash!"

  "Shit! What kind of foreplay is this? This isn't how you make a woman wet..." Lucy exclaimed nervously after Rina poured a bucket of cold water over her head.

  No matter how much Lucy fussed, Rina couldn't provide any more explanations because the sight before her was too overwhelming – Lucy's wet clothes clinging to her body, with water droplets trickling from her hair down her exposed neck, increasing her attractiveness by approximately 54 percent.

  'Damn it. What is this sensation?... No matter how hard I try, I can't take my eyes off her... No, this is bad... I feel like I'm about to lose control. No, Rina, you need to snap out of it. Don't fall into the trap set by this catgirl. She'll only bring you trouble...No, I need to do something immediately...'

  Although Rina was about to pounce on Lucy, she eventually convinced herself to fight against these urges she had never experienced before in her life, in which the only thing that interested her was becoming a stronger warrior. So, gritting her teeth and with clenched fists, she bent down, picked up the remaining bucket of water, and, under Lucy's vigilant eyes, poured it directly over her own head, hoping that this gesture would somewhat bring her back to normal.

  Seeing what the young lionkin woman had done, Lucy, who had expected Rina to try pouring another bucket of water on her, remained puzzled by how the situation had evolved.

  "What does this mean? Are you saying that now that you're wet too, we're even? Don't think you're getting off that easily... Mnnhmm!"

  "Please, be quiet... I need some peace... for a few minutes..." Rina told Lucy between deep breaths while covering her mouth with one hand and trying not to look at her, in order to avoid falling back into the state she had just escaped from.

  Reading the fatigue in Rina's voice, Lucy realized that her expectations had been too high, and the chances of her fantasies coming true that day were almost nonexistent. So she made an effort to calm herself and let Rina gather her thoughts.

  After Rina withdrew her hand and sat down on a chair to quietly analyze the events of the past half-hour, Lucy got out of the wooden tub and bought a cleaning potion from the Ninja Shop to dry herself and a healing potion to alleviate the earache caused by Rina's bite.

  'Hmph, why do I have to suffer for a woman who doesn't want to take responsibility...', Lucy thought as she consumed the two potions, which made her feel as good as new in a matter of seconds.

  To avoid stressing Rina and out of curiosity about the level of development in this new world she found herself in, Lucy began to explore the room and analyze both its structure and the objects within it.

  'Hmmm, it's a rather nice place. Not only do the walls seem to be very sturdy, most likely made of bricks or stone, but they are also tastefully decorated with various wooden ornaments...', Lucy thought after lightly tapping a wall twice, a gesture that made Rina flinch for a few seconds but wasn't enough to stop her train of thought.

  Although Rina's house was not very spacious, as it had been designed by Rina herself, who was planning to live alone for a long time, it had everything she needed for a decent life, the room where Lucy was bought by Rina and which seemed to be intended for daily activities, such as cooking or washing clothes, having both well-made and quite complete wooden furniture, as well as all kinds of devices that Lucy suspected were powered by magic.

  'I'm not sure if Rina's financial situation is representative of this world, but considering she lives in an isolated village in the middle of the forest, I can conclude that people in this world don't have it so bad...', Lucy thought. Although she wanted to explore the rest of the house, she considered it impolite to do so without Rina's permission, as Rina was still lost in thought. So, Lucy sat down on a chair and bought an apple tart from Ninja Shop, which seemed freshly baked, and she started eating it immediately to replenish the calories she had lost during the fight with the lionkins.

  "Huh, where did you get the pie? And how did you manage to dry yourself so quickly?", Rina asked, brought back to reality by the rumbling of her stomach provoked by the smell of the apple tart that Lucy was eagerly consuming.

  "Well, I have a skill that provides me with a space where I can store various items, and I filled it with all sorts of snacks for the days when I'm unable to cook. As for drying myself, I used a cleansing potion.", Lucy replied, not intending to tell Rina anything about Ninja Shop until she was sure she could trust her. "Judging by the sounds of your stomach, it seems you're quite hungry. Would you like to eat with me? Although I swore I wouldn't let anyone else eat the food I make except my future wife, I think I'll make an exception for you to thank you for your hospitality...", Lucy continued, her last words spoken as she looked at the wooden bucket into which Rina had placed her immediately upon entering the house.

  "I'm sorry... I thought you were in heat and I tried to calm your symptoms... But given how quickly you recovered, I must have been mistaken..." Rina told Lucy, now calmer than when they had entered the house.

  'In heat? I've heard that term before in biology class when they talked about the reproduction of mammals... So the reason she poured cold water on me is that she confused my state of excitement with being 'in heat'? But why did she pour a bucket of water on herself too? Could she have made the same mistake about herself? Don't tell me... hehehe... Maybe the road to fulfilling my fantasies won't be so long after all...", Lucy thought, her mood improving visibly.

  "Oh, I see... So you just wanted to help me. Then I hope that by sharing this apple tart with you, it will be enough to reward you. By the way, my name is Lucy. We've been so busy since we met that we haven't had a chance to introduce ourselves..." Lucy said, moving to an empty chair about half a meter from Rina and placing the tray with more than half of the apple tart in Rina's lap.

  Although Rina wasn't accustomed to eating food offered by people she didn't know well, something deep inside her told her that the catgirl next to her had no intention of harming her. Plus, the apple tart smelled truly delicious, better than any dessert Rina had ever eaten in her life.

  "Okay. I'll accept your gratitude gift. If you haven't figured it out yet, my name is Rina.", Rina told Lucy, and then she started eating as well, making a great effort to hide her excitement at the chance to eat such a delicious dessert.