Chapter 7: The First Night

Chapter 7:
The First Night

 

THAT NIGHT, I finally took a warm bath for the first time in ages. I could barely believe Mr. Chotos’s house even had one. The bathroom was constructed from wood and tile and was quite splendid. If forced to describe the bathtub’s unique shape, I would liken it to a drum container. Apparently, a relatively high-grade mana tool was required to install it.

Come to think of it, what exactly was a mana tool? Was it something I could use, too? The only mana tool I’d seen in use so far had been Master Speria’s earring. I’d been able to mess around with some goods in the mana tool shop, but I didn’t know how any of them worked.

Most of the tools in the shop had looked like nuts, bolts, dice, and small tchotchkes. Then again, they were the scraps left in a shop on the brink of bankruptcy. It was unlikely that any of them were particularly cool.

Nevertheless, for a merchant on the verge of poverty, Mr. Chotos kept a deluxe bath. I was in the lap of luxury. For tonight, I could forgive him for being himself.

“Phew…” I sank into the water down to my shoulders and gazed up at the bathroom ceiling. Dense steam obscured the wood. So warm… In addition, it was wonderfully fragrant. Mysterious leaves floated on the water’s surface, and they smelled kind of like jasmine.

I was dying of pent-up anxiety from all the things Gol had done to the punks. However, every last ounce of that fatigue melted away in the heavenly water.

“Hmm…now that I can see them, my legs have grown quite sturdy…”

Observing my legs through the water, I noted that the muscles had grown larger and more defined. Of course, I’d done nothing but trudge through an uninhabited wasteland for the past week or so. Anyone who did that much healthy exercise was bound to gain some muscle.

“Ha!” I struck a kicking pose, arching my toned leg out of the bathtub. “Behold, my beautiful calf!”

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the bathroom entrance. What was that? There wasn’t supposed to be anyone in the changing room on the other side of this door.

Wait. Had Gol snuck in? I had asked her to wait in the small hallway out front.

“Gol, what are you doing?” I called out, but there was no response. Nothing but the plip-plop ripple of water. After several seconds of more nothingness, the door creaked and gradually opened. Through the crack in the doorway, a pair of familiar white ears fluttered. My eyes continued down to the slender, trembling body of an elf.

“Ah, so it is you. Just as I thought.”

However, Gol wouldn’t face me. I could only see her back. She was halfway between the changing room and bathroom, but her face remained hidden behind the door as if she were embarrassed. Her lovely white bottom swayed anxiously. Frankly speaking, this was quite suspicious behavior.

“Hey, Gol. I’ve told you over and over that you can’t follow me to the toilet or into the bath.”

Her white butt tilted as she cocked her hip. Was she really reflecting on her actions…?

“There’s no need for you to stick with me around the clock. Feel free to do whatever you want inside the house. If you’d like, why don’t you go play with Teru in the living room?”

As I suggested these wholesome free-time activities, Gol’s hip movements, which had been fervent, became despondent and weak.

“Eh? Do you not want to?”

Gol’s butt swayed faintly. Was this an affirmation? I guess Gol didn’t want to go to the living room.

“I see… Then, sorry to ask, but do you think you can wait a bit in the hallway?”

Gol’s lower half continued to sway reluctantly before it retreated back through the door, which then closed.

Once I was sure my partner had left, I once again sank into the bathtub. Alone, I turned my eyes back up to the wooden ceiling.

“Gol and I just had an entirely butt-based conversation…” It seemed the accuracy of our nonverbal communication had improved, at least since our early days.

But why had my partner hidden in the changing room in the first place? Was she being a dutiful bodyguard? Well, it was true that bathrooms were a place where we as a species were the least alert. Historically, plenty of warriors and military personnel were assassinated while bathing. No matter your mastery of martial arts, a bath is a narrow space with few points of egress. Furthermore, you’re stripped down to your birthday suit with no weapons or other defenses at your disposal. Presently, I was also in this defenseless state.

Furthermore, in the past, bathing had taken place outside. I was sure anyone would die if they were attacked while naked outdoors. I definitely would.

I couldn’t be more grateful to my partner for being so vigilant with my safety. I really did need to show Gol my gratitude. Time to get up and go. My ever considerate partner was surely waiting patiently for me.

As I crossed the wet tile floor toward the changing room, I noticed a small, unfamiliar bottle on the shelf next to the soap.

“What’s this?” I picked it up. It was made from something like colored glass, and when I shook it, liquid sloshed inside. I opened the cap and sniffed the contents. “It smells like sandalwood…”

It had a sweet, refreshing perfume. Was it a kind of lotion? I poured the contents over my body.

“Wha—?! It’s all slimy!”

The mysterious liquid had an unexpectedly high viscosity and felt like slime on my skin, so I reflexively let out a strange voice. When I did, a loud crash came from inside the changing room.

“Eh?”

I turned in the direction of the sound. When I opened the door a little, a long, white ear popped out from the opening. My lotion-covered shoulders sagged.

“What now, Gol? Are you still hiding…?”

 

***

 

After my bath, I entered the bedroom Mr. Chotos had prepared for me on the second floor. A lovely scent drifted from my warm body. I’d had to bathe again to rid myself of that strange liquid.

I was delighted at the prospect of finally sleeping on a bed again. For such an occasion, I decided to wear that pair of lame pajamas I had brought with me from my original world.

“When was the last time I wore these guys? Back in the basin?”

As I slid my arms through the sleeves, I pondered again why I had bought them. They were so lame that I compulsively questioned their existence. On a blue background, yellow cats…no, they were raccoons, right? Anyway, the faces of these mysterious animals printed in a repeating pattern were a really strange focal point for a design. You could even say there should be some kind of law against full-grown gentlemen wearing them in public spaces. Disturbance of the peace, for instance.

Fortunately, only Gol and I were in the room. This was a private space for family. No matter what outfit I wore, there was no one to complain. And anyway, Gol liked my pajamas.

“Now then. It’s nice to have changed into my sleepwear, but it’s too early for bed.”

To kill time, I nosed around the room. This was my first time staying in a place still inhabited by people in this new world. I had so many questions. My scholarly curiosity about this world’s culture burned as I began my investigation.

Mr. Chotos’s house resembled many of the wooden structures I had seen thus far. Its interior wasn’t much different from that of Luvel Zairein’s hideout.

Was it possible there were mana tools in this room as well? Now that I thought back on it, some pieces of furniture in Zairein’s hideout had appeared to be mana tools. However, I hadn’t known of the existence of mana tools at that time, so I had just ignored them for being unfamiliar.

“Ah, right. Speaking of unfamiliar furniture…”

One item in this bedroom particularly interested me: the strange device illuminating the interior. It was placed in a corner of the room and looked like some kind of white stone. Was this a mana tool?

In terms of size, it was roughly that of a desk lamp, and it gave off a pale white light. I suspected this was the same type of lighting used inside the cave behind the Grand Stone Gate, where I had discovered Zairein’s skeleton. Its light quality felt slightly different from that of fluorescent or LED lights.

Exactly what principle made them shine?

I hadn’t been in the mood to ask Mr. Chotos about them, so instead I had indirectly interrogated Teru earlier, to which she had said: “When Papa touches it, it lights up, and when you leave it alone, it turns off.”

As expected of Teru. So clever and precocious—far more so than I. But alas, I was a narrowminded and incompetent adult, so I couldn’t fully understand this keen girl’s explanation…

Furthermore, because Teru had been so excited by her guests, she had tired herself out and was too exhausted to answer any more questions. It would have been beyond the pale for a gentleman to push a conversation past the point of his partner’s stamina. Therefore, I began my own scientific examination.

“Shall we take a look?” I moved to the wall and fiddled with the lighting device. When I touched it, it really did feel like some kind of stone. But truthfully, I couldn’t tell much from touch alone. Perhaps if I knew how much it weighed? However, when I tried to check its weight, I realized it was fixed to its base. I couldn’t lift it. Could I remove it? No, if I dismantled it without permission, Mr. Chotos would totally crawl up my butt about it.

I was left rubbing my hands over the device, hoping to glean answers.

Suddenly, I felt someone lightly tugging on my pajama sleeve. So very modest. So very timid. I knew this feeling. This was my partner’s way of asking for attention.

“What’s up? Do you want to play? Do you think you can wait a bit? I’m right in the middle of a scientific investigation of this world’s lighting apparatus…” I said as I reluctantly turned.

Gol clung to a corner of my sleeve with her right hand as her shoulders shifted restlessly. In her left hand, she held a moist piece of cloth.

“Ah, you want me to wipe your body? That was supposed to be a daily thing, wasn’t it? And here I haven’t done it at all recently. All right.”

I would go all out on wiping her down tonight! Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d wiped her since she turned into an elven Greek statue.

Eh…? First time? My hand froze. This was the first time…? When I realized this fact, I was beyond astonished.

Why had I been so neglectful? Why had I waited until today to finally perform Goltarou’s—now Gol’s—favorite daily activity?

I supposed that since we lost a portion of our luggage in the fight against the ancient Earth Dragon, the water supply we received from Master Speria had been limited. I hadn’t been able to waste our water. Even the spare piece of cloth I used to wipe down Gol had been blown away by that dinosaur. Those were all valid problems, and given them, I wasn’t in the wrong.

However, what about the days before that event?

On the evening of the day Gol changed into a beautiful elf goddess, we met Master Speria. During the several days the three of us traveled together, Master Speria’s Water attribute skills had meant I hadn’t needed to worry about wasting water, nor had I lacked any relevant pieces of cloth. At that time, I had even had Gol’s special cloth safely tucked away in my possession.

Yet despite all that, I had never wiped down Gol’s body, not once. Why, exactly…?

I already knew the answer. Ah, I couldn’t… I couldn’t lie to myself any longer: I was ashamed of being seen polishing this beautiful feminine figure in front of a cultured stranger like Master Speria! What if he’d taken me for a pervert?!

I knew this was the truth from the bottom of my heart. Even though I swore that I would forever treasure Gol no matter what form she took, I…I—I had discriminated against her based on her appearance.

I shuddered. I felt the ground underneath my feet crumble. What an abominable, twisted wretch I was. Even though this girl loved nothing more than having her body wiped, even though she never asked for anything else and she looked forward to it every day, for the sake of my worthless pride, I had neglected my gentle partner.

I was sure I had hurt Gol. In the first place, my partner had only transformed into a bishoujo figurine out of consideration for me, although that had been based on a misunderstanding.

I was the worst. I couldn’t even call myself civilized. No, I wasn’t even human.

“Gol, I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry. I’ll properly polish your body every day from now on. No matter what happens. No matter who we’re with. Even if there are people watching! Forgive me. Please forgive your stupid partner…”

While still in my lame pajamas, I embraced her. I lowered my head and begged for forgiveness, and the kind Gol softly and tenderly embraced me, too. She stroked my back like she was handling a fragile treasure. This only made my heart constrict further.

Several minutes later, I had already switched gears. Quickly switching gears was a wonderful quality of mine. “Then I guess I’ll start cleaning my amazing partner. I’ll make sure to wipe you down thoroughly for all those missed opportunities.”

Although, presently, there weren’t any dirty spots on Gol’s body. In fact, she didn’t get dirty at all. Well, mostly.

Gol would, on occasion, deploy grotesquely brutal methods to kill monkeys. As such, naturally, large splotches of blood would splatter her limbs. However, she would cleanly flick off the blood after a fight, just like a samurai flicking the blood from their blade. Even when I checked her limbs afterward, no blood or dirt ever remained.

Notably, that time she was knocked down and immobilized in our battle with the ancient Earth Dragon, I had noticed dirt sticking strangely to her body. But once she recovered, she went right back to being pristine.

In that sense, I didn’t need to clean her. I was convinced her body was made of a relatively dirt-proof material. There might even have been some sort of invisible power deflecting all filth. However, as long as Gol wanted to be scrubbed, scrub her I would.

“The important thing is showing my gratitude to my partner for her care!”

I continued to speculate as I poked Gol’s cheek with my finger. When I touched her like that, I didn’t feel any repelling force. Instead, the material of her body moved under the pressure of my finger’s movements, and it felt similar to human skin.

Had the surface of her body been like this before? The first day I touched Gol’s body, it had been rough, but at some point a while later, she had become smooth. By the time we left the basin, she was faintly soft. When she offered to block the wind for me back when we were camping outside, she had felt like silicon. Now, as I squished her cheeks, they were even more pliable.

I recalled a similar chain of evolution. Gol had gone to great pains figuring out the perfect way to cut the glorious cranberry-apple. At first, I found her cuts were a little too refined, and I couldn’t bear to eat them. Over time, she meticulously developed her technique by closely observing my reactions during meals, and eventually the cuts gradually, gradually…

It was like…yes, like she was circling closer and closer, little by little, until her prey was trapped with no chance of escape.

At that moment, the light flickered and its intensity softened.

Teru had said: “When you leave it alone, it turns off.” Was this dimming a warning for its automatic shut-down? If so, we probably didn’t have much time before the light went out entirely. I needed to hurry up and wipe Gol before it was dark. I once again turned to where she sat next to me on the bed, obedient as ever.

Her appearance now was dramatically different from the time she had spent as Goltarou, but her bodily structure remained largely intact. I could wipe her down just like I used to, then. I would start by having Gol bend over and raise both her arms, then make my way down from her face.

“Gol, could you stand and—”

Before I could finish, Gol flopped down on the bed. She lay face-up as she stared at me, utterly still. Her white body, illuminated by the pale bedroom light, was bewitching.

Hmph, what should I do about this? Well, to be honest, it probably was easier to wipe her down while she was on the bed. I could just flip her over when I needed to reach her back. “All right, then. Stay still, now.”

I carefully began wiping Gol’s face with the cloth. Her crimson eyes shone like a fire glowed within them. For some reason, the emotions churning behind her eyes felt stronger than usual.

When I diligently wiped her ears, Gol stirred and her ears twitched. That weak gesture belied the growing intensity of the glow in her eyes, which remained fixed on me.

When I tenderly wiped her neck, Gol twisted her body a little.

Yup, I bet it feels good. Dogs love neck skritches, too.

I swept down from her neck and moved to her collarbone. As I did, my hand brushed the thin garment on Gol’s shoulders. The silken stone garment slipped.

“Wh-what…?” My eyes widened.

Gol’s white shoulder now lay exposed, leaving her shoulder in a strange state of half-undress. What in the world? She could take off her clothes?

“What does this mean? How exactly could this…?”

This was extremely dangerous knowledge. My scholarly curiosity about golems once again flared.

I had one prior experience in investigating golems for the sake of research. At that time, I had grown distracted while fiddling with a headless golem in a shrine as I sought to understand the fundamental structure of these Greek statues. In case it isn’t obvious, I was not being a pervert or a bishoujo figurine fanatic. I was performing a serious academic examination for the sake of deepening my knowledge.

That shrine golem had worn a robe similar to the one now slipping down Gol’s shoulder.

Of course, that headless golem had been broken and the hardness of its stony surface fixed, quite unlike Gol’s current state. However, even putting aside the brokenness quotient, the nature of the headless golem’s clothes had clearly differed from Gol’s.

While it had at first seemed that the shrine golems wore clothes, those robes were in fact more like carvings. Apart from the fluttering hems, their robes and bodies were practically one and the same. They were less “clothes” than they were “designs.”

But here, just now, Gol’s robe had slipped. That meant it was more like actual clothing. No, but…that would still be strange.

Before this moment, I hadn’t realized Gol’s clothes were clothes-as-such. I was with Gol all the time, but I’d never touched her body before. Well, never on purpose. She stuck so close to me all the time—whether in battle or just in our daily lives—that I couldn’t help touching her quite a bit, perhaps even too much. And I could always see her, often from quite close-up.

Gol sometimes exposed her thighs in one of her flashy kicks. She really did move so differently from those stiff shrine golems. And if I were to lift the loose skirt flowing around her hips, I had no doubt now that it would behave like normal cloth. In other words, I could flip Gol’s skirt.

Of course, I had yet to try this.

Even so, despite the malleability of this “clothing,” it was all still part of Gol’s actual body. On that point, she was the same as the shrine golems. There was no way her robe was a piece of clothing that could be removed. There was no way that I, her owner, wouldn’t have realized such a thing.

In that case, what was going on? Had this girl changed the structure of her body’s surface in such a profound way?

Wait a minute, did this mean Gol wasn’t an upgraded version of a shrine golem but was, in fact, a completely different type?!

No, wait, could she actually remove her clothes?! Was this robe clothing or not?! Could it be detached from the rest of her body?!

Ah, no good. I really want to know!

My curiosity burned like a raging fire. Knowing me and big red buttons, there would be no stopping me now.

I impulsively flipped up the thin skirt covering Gol’s lower half, exposing her white thighs.

Gol’s body jerked.

That didn’t matter to me now. I’d seen Gol’s thighs countless times in the heat of battle, but what lay past the skirt was unknown territory. What would happen if I kept going?

Unable to help myself, I continued to make my way up her body, pulling aside the clothing blocking my path.

Gol stirred.

What? This girl’s got a belly button?!

How did a golem get a belly button? Did it even have a purpose? I pressed my finger in a circle across the smooth skin around it. Hm, it felt like a normal belly button. It didn’t seem to have any built-in special function.

Wait. Maybe if I stick my finger inside, I’ll get it.

“Here I go…” I lightly inserted my finger into Gol’s belly button.

Gol’s body arched on the bed.

“Whoa! Y-you all right, Gol?” I was shocked for a moment, but when I checked on Gol, she slowly laid back down as if nothing had happened. “Huh? You good? O-okay… Let’s keep going, then.”

I moved my finger back and forth inside Gol’s belly button. Maybe it was my imagination, but every time I moved my finger, Gol’s temperature rose just a touch. However, that reaction did nothing to rein in my curiosity.

My gaze slid down Gol’s abdomen, at which point I noticed something strange. “Is that…?”

I had been so preoccupied that I’d completely overlooked it. Gol appeared to be wearing something akin to underwear. It was pure white, so it looked like the elegant silk underwear that high-class ladies wear.

Or, well, to be precise, the amount of cloth was slightly, uh, lacking. It was most akin to a lady’s “special” underwear.

Suddenly, I had a new thought: Was this “underwear” also removable?

Augh, no good! Once my curiosity is piqued, there’s no stopping it!

“All right, let’s check it out.” I extended my hand toward Gol’s abdomen—and stopped at the last moment. I had a sudden intense premonition that removing this “clothing” from the rest of Gol’s body would be an act that could never be undone.

However, my desire to learn knew no bounds. I extended my finger toward her crotch.

The tension between us reached toward climax. A mysterious aura Gol had silently emitted this whole time flared, and she gave off a heat so intense that I started to sweat.

“Hey, Gol, you’re really hot.” As I wiped the sweat off my forehead, I looked up from between Gol’s thighs.

I could no longer deny that the way she was heating up was unnatural. Gol usually had perfect control over her body temperature. Was there something wrong?

I postponed my investigation to express my discomfort to my partner. As I lifted my gaze from Gol’s lower half to her face, I finally noticed the greatest abnormality.

“Eh…?”

Gol’s eyes were dyed a cloudy pink. Her irises were usually red, but now they were as pale as sakura petals. Was she malfunctioning? All the blood drained from my face.

“Hey, Gol! You all right?” I jumped up in a panic and shook Gol’s shoulders.

Her body limp, she looked at me in a weakened daze, her suspiciously pink eyes glazed and her body pulsing warmth. There could be no doubt; she was definitely malfunctioning.

I was racked by a horrible regret. I had ignored so many signs! First the terrible spasms, and now her wildly fluctuating body temperature. Furthermore, in the latter half of my investigation, it had been clear Gol was acting strangely. She reacted violently to my slightest movement, sometimes even thrashing. It was as if she were trying to endure a truly awful sensation.

Had Gol been feeling poorly the whole time? When had it all gone wrong…? There could be only one conclusion.

“Right. An extension of her body…”

Gol’s skirt looked like a piece of clothing, but it was in fact an extension of Gol’s body. Perhaps it functioned as a sort of external cooling device! And here I had forcibly removed it, and worse, I had stuck my face between her body and that vital component.

In so doing, had I compromised her ability to properly handle excess heat?! Had she desperately trembled and clung to my pajama sleeve all because she had to withstand the suffering caused by the removal of her extension?!

“How could this be? How could I have done such a thing…?”

This whole time, my partner had suffered in silence. I hadn’t even bothered to think. I was so caught up in my pursuit of knowledge that I blithely continued my investigation!

I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Gol! Forgive me. I promise I won’t forcibly remove your extension ever again.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Gol. I should’ve noticed sooner…” I apologized over and over again, fervently nursing Gol. As I wiped her flushed face with a wet cloth, the light in the room suddenly disappeared. The time limit on the lighting device was up.

In the darkness, I tightly grasped Gol’s hand and shook with regret. If Gol didn’t recover, what would I do?

I didn’t care what other people said. The first thing the next morning, I would have Mr. Chotos introduce me to a good golem doctor. I didn’t care how much it would cost me. I had to fix her.

Feeling brave and determined in the face of tragedy, I held Gol’s hand. But my exhaustion had reached its peak, and I grew drowsy. Gol and I had done quite a lot that day, and after taking that bath, putting on my pajamas, and spending all this time on a warm bed…

Soon, I lost consciousness.

 

***

 

Before I realized it, the morning sun climbed up into the sky. I opened my eyes to pale sunlight filtering through the curtains.

Two bright, crimson eyes entered my view.

Whoa, your face is close! Ah, it’s just Gol…

My thoughts rapidly revived and I jumped up from the bed.

“Gol! Are you all right?” I grabbed her shoulders, but she looked puzzled. Her eyes were no longer a cloudy pink. “Th-thank goodness…”

I was relieved from the bottom of my heart. From what I could tell, she was her normal self, just like one of the shrine golems. It was as if everything that had happened the night before was a dream.

Then I noticed I was holding something in my left hand—a dry piece of cloth. It was what I had used to tend to Gol before I fell asleep.

So it wasn’t a dream. My hand really had lightly brushed the robe-extension covering Gol’s shoulder, and the cloth had slid over her skin, exposing that seductive white stretch of…stone?

As I moved Gol’s robe-extension back to its proper place on her shoulder, I let out a deep sigh. Apparently that horrible misjudgment of mine hadn’t been a dream after all.

I dropped my shoulders, depressed, and Gol leaned against my back; it felt almost like a hug, and her body temperature was slightly higher than normal.

The distance between us was closing.