Chapter 4: Taking a Bath in a Male's Body

Distant howls of danger beasts engulfed the wide mountain ranges of Ruzas.

Green lush leaves whistled with the swift chilling breezes from the freezing country of Xurias on the east.

However, through these creeping dangers was a golden carriage carved with dragon figures and reined by Poison tailed Crimson Panther, a high tier danger beast, slowly marching southward facing the summit of Ashiya, and beyond it was none other than the mortal country of Eleseiya.

All servants lined after the carriage. Were they just walking? How pitiful.

Ziro was silently seating in front of his father. The atmosphere was suffocating as though she would drown by her cold sweats crawling down on her forehead.

It was five hours after they departed yet they still haven't got to cross the second of seven mountains of Ruzas.

"Lixardo... we should rest for a while for now."

The king looked by the window at a silver armored bulky guy with a huge sword sheathed on his back.

It was Lixardo, the first class general of Eleseiyan soldiers. As you looked at his face, you would definitely notice his closed left eye with a long scar on it; seemed caused by a sword cut.

He was riding his contracted beast, a White Ghost Horse which raged white fire on its horseshoes as it gallops.

"Halt! Rest for now everyone!"

Lixardo pulled the reins and all of them stopped.

Hearing what the general yelled, the servants flopped on the ground. Some quickly grabbed their bottles and quenched their cracking throat.

Thank goodness, they stopped or they might die! As they thought.

"Uhm. Father. May I go outside? I humbly wanted to go and take a bath. This prince was overly conscious in terms of smell."

Ziro hardly keeping up on her formality, she just looked at his father straight on the eye.

It was actually true.

Since from her past life, she was a girl and she was taught how to be hygienic especially when it comes to her hidden treasures!

Not to mention her Red Auntie visited her every month, she was forced to become a neat freak.

The old man didn't deny her composed look as he also threw the young prince a glaring gaze.

For the second time, he was shocked when his son didn't even flinch!

The corners of his lips suddenly curved up as he gently stroked his beard.

'Looks like my son really changed for good... er... just forget the feminine part. Haaa. How I wish he could cultivate. That would be miracle upon us.'

Ahem He cleared his throat as he was pulled out from his thoughts.

"Go ahead."

He waved his hand on to his eager 'son'. With this little improvement, even just a bit, his heart felt assured about the next ruler of Eleseiya.

Ziro's eyes sparkled.

Without any second thoughts, she jumped outside and asked for a bathing robe and some clothes.

A minute later she found herself running in the woods with her hair swiftly dancing with the vortex sheds made from her sprints. Siwaliw was just above her, flying and following her tracks, guarding her.

But she didn't care. Her attention was poured on to the dampness of the cruddy woods and its strange humidity.

Rotten dead leaves hugged the ground were soaked. Are they sweating?

'Ah! Smells like spring!'

Her eyes made a glint then she suddenly stopped. She quickly lifted her chin and with her chest heaving up and down, she tensed nose and sniffed the place.

SWIISH!

"What is it, your Highness?"

A gentle breeze flapped Ziro's face when Siwaliw gently landed on a tree branch with his dove wings still unfolded.

"Ah... is there a spring in that direction?"

She quickly pointed her finger in the east direction.

"N-no, your highness. That actually ends in a thickest part of this forest. If you wanted a spring, follow your pace just now after few minutes you would end on a wide one."

He said in a calm voice.

"Hmm? Really? Did my nose have me wrong?"

Ziro frowned. Feeling perplexed, she gently touched her nose.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, your highness. Remember, keen eye was my innate ability."

The wingman made a calm smile for assurance.

'Ah! Yes I totally forgot... he has that kind of ability.'

Some people who were gifted may had this Innate Ability. A special ability that only one person could have. It actually depends on your personality and blood line.

As for Siwaliw, his gifted Innate Ability was Keen Eye. As long as he gets serious, he could see clearly up to three kilometers as though his eyes were built to be a telescope.

That was actually the sole reason why he became Prince Ziros royal guard.

'But I really... Nevermind!'

Ziro immediately shook her head then kept her original pace.

******

"This place is breathtaking."

While her mouth in awe, her chest haggardly heaved with her heavy breathing.

As the blue-greenish water spewed white smokes that burned the atmosphere in sweating humidity, Ziro strolled down to the edge of the spring expecting to look for her reflection but the hot steams halted her gawk.

'It was indeed a hot spring as Siwaliw had said.'

"Hey! Siwaliw. Dont you want to dip a little bit?"

"Ah. N-no need, Your Highness. I probably just slip in to a new robe."

"...seriously? Then, if that's what you want. How can I force you? Anyways, thanks for finding this place."

When a welling gratefulness pumped her chest, Ziro sweetly smiled towards her servant.

"Er... Right, your Highness."

Siwaliw who landed on another branch with ease, quickly averted his gaze from the young 'man'.

He found it really awkward how his Highness looked at him and how 'he' behaved in front of him.

It was because the past years, Prince Ziro had always been shy when talking, with the fact that the young prince couldn't even look into Siwaliws eyes.

But now, it was the other way around! It was Siwaliw who couldn't look straight towards the 'prince'.

Clueless with what the wingman was thinking, Ziro put down all his unused clothes then started undressing.

But his fingers suddenly twitched.

'This makes me shy.'

When she was already halfway removing her purple robe, she suddenly stopped then her face immediately flushed reddish pigment as a realization came.

This would be the first time she would ever see a male's sword, a living one! And who'd ever thought that it would be her sword!!!

Her hands trembled. Hoo! What could her sword be? Was it as big as Lixardo's? Or was it just small as a spatula? Was it formidable?

Just thinking of it, her face became anxious. How would be her future in this world? Is she going to marry a princess? Haha. Of course she couldn't do that. Then would she marry a prince instead? But how would they do it?

Do what?

You know do that thing removing clothes touching partner's body and intertwining above a heavenly cotton mattress.

Poof! Her nose gushed tons of blood. Just imagining these things made her head explode with white smokes. She immediately clawed her head because of self-embarrassment.

'Damn it. This is harder than I thought…'

In a second, her face grew even more anxious.

'How should I clean it? Do I need to stroke it like those in xrated films with sfx... flap... flap... flap? The hell... I can't do that!'

No! That's not cleaning! Shutttaappp! My pure mind!

In the end

"…!"

She just joyfully jumped on the hot spring with her inner garments on.

******

While Ziro was sweetly humming with her body dipped on that steaming hot spring, a streak of light suddenly shot on the vast valley of Hell Tundra in the Gold Continent an ocean away from where Ziro was.

Actually mortal realm had three continents: Pearl, from the Southeast; Gold or Ophir, Northwest and Diamond, found on the North of the lower realm. Well, Ziro was from Eleseiya which was found in the south part of the Pearl Continent.

At instant the light just vanished without a single trace. But who knew that single ray could set the whole Gold Continent into turmoil.

"Your Majesty!!!"

A rotund eunuch dripping with cold sweats scurried into a glittering throne incised with pearl patterns.

"Lower your voice, you dimwit!"

A coarse voice thundered from a huge old man with a long white beard in a western robe. His imposing pearl crown could only mean that he was the king!

It was King Asmodeus from the country of Goetia in the continent of Ophir.

His eyebrows firmly knitted just when he saw his servant luridly ran towards him. What could've happened for his servant to be like that?

In a swift, the eunuch slumped and kowtowed in front of that sneering king.

"B-but sire!"

The tiny yet ball-like servant lifted his sweating visage and opened his mouth again.

"...g-gg..."

But no clear words came out. His whole lips were actually trembling, not with his fear towards his majesty, but about what he just heard from the knights outside.

"Spit it out or I'll rip your mouth!"

Blood veins popped out on King Asmodeus temple when he lost all his minute temper.

His bleached skin all inflamed in boiling hot lava. He immediately threw the sticky meat on his hand and slapped his palm on his pearl seat.

Pearl? It was actually because the kings from Ophir used to love milky yet sparkling pearls while the royalties from the latter treasured gold as the sign of their wealth and power!

Seeing how the king enraged, the eunuch shook hardly and banged his head on the marbled floor.

"Lady G-general M-makai had returned from the dead!"

This time, Asmodeus crimson look suddenly fell and turned ashen. It was very clear that he didn't really like what his servant just said.

"Makai? General Makai? The strongest princess who had been ambushed five years ago in the Hell Tundra Valley? Preposterous! How could she return from the dead?"

"B-but your majesty your knights said it so. It was so unlikely that they would tell a lie, would they?"

The eunuch had lost his breath when he pressed his lips together hardly. Spats of cold sweats continuously fell on the floor together with his hand extremely trembling.