I'm Not A Man

"A man...? I'm not a man. I'm a futanari." Ruka replied to the women, who screamed when they saw Ruka's very mighty Excalibur and the sack that hung underneath. This caused Ruka to frown at being offended and confused at the same time.

Catherine stood in front of the women to prevent them from seeing something indecent. When she heard what Ruka had said, she asked, "A-A futanari? What is that? Is it related to your race or just you?"

Ruka didn't know how to answer that since even she didn't know. Appearing from the corner of her eye, Luna explained, "Mistress, it seems that futanaris are unknown to this world, therefore causing this reaction. It is not exclusive among races, as it's purely genetic. However, you can just say that it is related to orcs for the sake of your relationships."

Nodding in her thoughts, Ruka explained, "Yes, it is related among the orc race. We, futanari, are neither men nor women, but a combination of both."

Looking back at the women, who all looked at each other as if they had heard something so absurd, Catherine turned back and couldn't help but ask, "A-A combination of both, you say? You have breasts, we can see, but even a lady's most private place?"

All these questions were starting to irritate Ruka, since she felt alienated and judged. "Yes, we even have a lady's most private place. Look, are all these questions really necessary? I don't plan on doing anything weird. I just want to take a bath."

Catherine made the women turn around before saying, "I apologize if we have offended you, Ruka. It is just that we have never seen a "futanari" before. However, I'm afraid we will not be joining you in the bath."

Leading them into the house, Catherine watched as Ruka shook her head before entering the bath. Not wanting any longer, Catherine entered the surprisingly fully furnished house, taking a seat at the table where the rest of the women were sitting.

None of them talked, and all had flushed faces. Even Catherine, since this wasn't the first time she'd seen a male member, it was just that, "Why is it so big?" one of the women, Bethany, Princess Fiona's personal maid, spoke for her.

"Bethany!" the other maid, Emma, Victoria's personal maid, had reprimanded her for making that indecent comment. Bethany shrugged and defended herself. "What? I'm sorry, but I'm sure everyone was thinking the same thing when they saw it. I mean, Catherine, you've changed with the other knights, right? Is there anyone who's... like her?"

Catherine couldn't believe what she was asked, "What kind of question is that...?"

Bethany apologized, but she urged her to answer the question. Catherine just sighed and placed her left hand on her face before shaking her head. "Yes, I have seen more than enough, and no, there is no one as well-endowed as her—or him—or it. I don't know what Ruka is, really, but no. I do not think that would fit, and it would probably kill a woman the moment it entered them. Gosh, what am I even saying..."

Hearing Catherine's explanations, all the women shivered and gently placed their hands on their stomachs, now shivering once again at the thought of how painful that would be.

"...Stop." All of a sudden, a small, icy-cold voice sounded throughout the room, and four of the women turned their heads at Victoria, who had a serious expression on her face.

Catherine asked, "What's wrong, Victoria?" while Princess Fiona and Emma placed their hands on both of her shoulders, looking at her with concern. They knew that Victoria was a woman with few words, so it was unusual for her to speak, let alone involving something as indecent as the topic they're talking about.

Victoria didn't change her expression or her tone but explained, "Ruka is... our savior... our friend... stop being mean..."

All the girls looked at her with surprise, as they didn't think Victoria would care so much about someone like Ruka, even if she had saved them. They knew a certain fact about Victoria that contradicted her words at the moment, but something about Ruka must've really struck a cord with her.

Unknowingly to the five women, Luna had been eavesdropping on their conversation, and when she heard how Victoria stood up for her mistress, she smiled. "I like her..."

Luna then flew out of the window and hovered over the large bath tub Ruka had built for everyone to enjoy, but it seems like only Ruka was the one who would. Giggling softly, Luna teased, "It seems like you scared your new friends."

Splashing water toward Luna, though it went straight through her, Ruka hushed, "You know, for all the things you've taught me, you didn't think to mention that taking off my clothes in front of other people was a big no-no?"

With big gestures of her hands, she said, "Back where I'm from, mixed bathing is a very common thing. Plus, I don't have all the information in the entire universe. I didn't know that futanaris don't exist here."

Allowing her body to sink further into the water, Ruka just felt embarrassed by the women's reactions to her body. It wasn't like she was ashamed that she was a futanari, but feeling as if she was the only one here in this big world felt like she was some sort of alien, even though she technically is.

"Don't feel so bad, Mistress." Luna said and flew right next to Ruka, who looked at her with a downcast expression, "Look at it this way. You're not going to please everyone in this world. There will be some who will hate you for simply existing, and they would wish you dead a thousand times over."

Ruka frowned at Luna. "That's not helping. Like, at all." to which Luna had said, "Let me finish, Mistress."

Luna explained further, "And yet, you'll eventually find people who will accept you, all of you, and will be willing to fight with you against the whole world. For every person who denies you, it brings you one step closer to those who you can truly call friends and family. If those women cannot accept you, then so be it. You'll find others. If you find no one on this planet, then go to another one. And if you can never find anyone, then at least you have me."

Looking at Luna, Ruka felt two tears fall from her eyes. She felt a lot better now that Luna was here, and she said what she said. Taking a deep breath, Ruka decided to disregard these negative thoughts of hers and focus on enjoying the bath.

...

A while later, when the bath was starting to cool down, Ruka got out and allowed the nanobots to cover and dry her body before she put her clothes back on.

Walking inside the house, Ruka could see the women at the table eating, and there was a bowl filled with soup settled by a large empty seat, right next to Victoria and Catherine.

The women all looked at Ruka, and they couldn't help but remember what they saw a bit ago, so their faces flushed, and they turned their attention to the food.

None of them said a word, and Ruka planned on going to one of the rooms that she had built for herself until Victoria called her over to eat the food that the maids had prepared for everyone to enjoy.

Deciding that there was no harm in doing so, Ruka sat down at the table and thanked Victoria and the maids gratefully. Picking up a wooden spoon and picking up a spoonful of the soup, she was about to consume it before she stopped for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Catherine asked, and the girls looked up and looked at Ruka, who adopted a strange face. Ruka, the person in question, just shook her head and smiled. "Nothing. It's just that the soup smells delicious. Thank you once again."

Ruka put the spoonful of soup into her mouth, savored the taste, and continued to eat until there was nothing left. "That was the best soup I've ever tasted. I couldn't have made it any better myself."

A few moments later, Catherine had to ask Ruka, "So, if you don't mind me asking, what level are you? I can't seem to sense your aura, and it's been bothering me ever since I saw you."

Ruka didn't know how to answer since she didn't know, and when Luna told her, she answered, "I'm level 82."

"82?!?!?!" The women, aside from Victoria, stood and backed away from the table. They knew she was strong, but to be this strong, they didn't want to believe it. It wasn't that they couldn't believe it, but "The highest level anyone has reached was level 60, but to say that you're level 82...? Are you sure?" Catherine asked her for reassurance.

"Huh..." Ruka didn't know that she had achieved something incredible, but then again, she wasn't from this planet to begin with. It made sense that she wouldn't exactly follow this world's limitations or standards for power.

Already, she was not exactly fitting in with the only people thus far who have been kind to her, or at least kinder. She was different in every sense of the word. She was a futanari, half dragon, half orc, which orcs don't apparently exist here, and now her strength is something beyond their understanding.

'I should've expected something like this.' Ruka sighed before telling them. "My level doesn't matter. At the end of the day, I'm still me. A person. I'm not one to throw my power around or brag about it. Now, please. Have a seat and act like I'm only level 1 or 2."

Remembering that Ruka hadn't done anything so far as to give them suspicions, at least obvious ones, they slowly nodded and sat back down at the table. "I apologize for our repeated outbursts, Ruka. I hope you can understand that you are beyond our level of understanding, so it's not easy to digest everything that you tell us." Catherine said, speaking for the women who agreed with her.

"It's fine; I know." Ruka knew that she might continue to do things that may not make sense for anyone. After all, how could she? She's not even from this world, so it's hard to fit into their standards.

Giving a fake cough, Princess Fiona decided to change the topic away from Ruka's personal life. "So, Ruka. Are you planning on attending the Great Magic Academy? We were actually stopping at the kingdom before setting out. You can follow us if you'd like, or if you intend to travel alone, I can have someone give you a map to the academy."

Catherine looked at Fiona with a questioning expression. "Why would Ruka want to go to the academy, Your Highness? Ruka is obviously a warrior, so there would be no need for—"

Princess Fiona then interrupted her. "Yes, you would be right, Catherine. However, the Great Magic Academy had decided, with there being so many warriors, to open its doors and rename the academy to the Great Aura Academy to teach all students, not just magicians."

Ruka looked at Catherine, who stood up and slammed on the table with a shocked face. "Your Highness, do you mean?!" to which Princess Fiona had nodded and confirmed, "Yes, you will be able to attend this year if you pass the entrance test at the academy. The Kingdom of Perlington and others believe that this is necessary to strengthen our kingdom and its people, especially with the recent monster hoards."

Feeling overwhelmed with excitement, Catherine raised her fist to the air and screamed. "YES!" It was as if she were a little kid being given something she'd always wanted.

Feeling as if this was a good idea to learn more and broaden her horizons, Ruka decided to accept Fiona's request to attend the Great Aura Academy. Perhaps there she could learn magic, not just things related to physical combat.

Once everything was said and done, and when the women had talked more about the academy and the entrance test, they decided to go to bed in order to get up early tomorrow to head back to the Kingdom of Perlington.

...