I managed to reserve a night at the inn despite the previous embarrassment. I got something to eat, having been mostly eating rations the last month. After killing monsters every day and eating limited meals, my body no longer contained an ounce of the fat I once had. Even I had to admit that I was a muscular, fit man now.

As I sat down with a bowl of stew, which fit well with this world’s substandard level of cooking, the barmaid spoke to the innkeeper. She shot me an angry look and puffed out her cheeks. She was upset that I didn’t take her up on the offer. I just wasn’t comfortable paying a woman for that kind of service. Admittedly, most of the women I did do that with were slaves whom I owned, but that wasn’t related to my ownership of them.

Although I owned many girls, I hadn’t slept with all of them. Faeyna, Salicia, and even Carmine had not been touched by me. For some reason, my mind felt a little off when it came to Carmine. Perhaps, I had developed feelings for her I hadn’t realized since we had begun this little adventure. Although she was an expensive woman, she was also reliable and supportive. She was also a tough woman, someone who was strong, courageous, and beautiful.

She had been in the Demon Prince’s hands for nearly a month, and there was no telling what he had been doing to her. I shook slightly just thinking about it. Finishing the tasteless stew, my passion for cooking must have been something else lost to me during my soul severing, I stood up and asked for the bath. The barmaid glanced my way, and she had a look of temptation like she might try to sneak into my bath anyway.

I felt like it might be one of those scams, where she gets me to spend the night with her and then in the morning tries to make me pay for the abortion whether she’s pregnant or not. I didn’t want to end up being extorted out of a bunch of money. When I got to the indicated room, I controlled the water stones and heat stones to get the right level of comfort. I then shut the door and made sure to lock it.

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With that, I stripped, washed, and then bathed in my private tub. These were much bigger than the tubs where I lived. That was one of the nice things about this world. Where I used to live, baths were barely large enough to cover up to your hips. Baths here were always deep, and you could immerse yourself up to your ears if you wanted to.

Just as I was starting to relax, letting the heat wash away dirt, sweat, and aches… I started to hear a noise at the door. Through the foggy room, I saw the doorknob jiggle. A moment later, the door unlocked. The door then tried to push open. I had considered that the barmaid would have a key, so I had added another layer. I had stuffed a shirt in the crack as a doorstop. She only managed to bring it open an inch before it stopped.

Suddenly, there was a kick, and the door flew open. I stood up in shock, but there was too much steam to see the barmaid as she stormed in. I know I told her no, but this was getting ridiculous. Just then, a naked person leaped into the bathtub with me. I went to grab them and ended up falling right on top of her. She let out a cry as I grabbed her body and pinned her down. I was really angry now. She was going too far.

“Oh!” A voice caused me to look up, the fading steam allowing me to see the barmaid standing at the door. “I guess you’ve already found someone sir… I didn’t realize you were into that kind of person.”

Her eyes narrowed and then turned around, her braided hair lashing as she slammed the door shut. With most the steam cleared out the open door, I looked down to see who I had pinned under me. It was a small child. No!

“Rubee?”

“Ah! It’s you again! What a small world!” A drunken dwarf looks up at me and smiles.