We went into town following Yolin since she had visited before.
The Oni guided us to an inn.
It was a nice, cozy building. The city's Church was a block to the north, and the market a block to the east.
One silver coin a day. An absolute deal in my opinion.
I was excited for various reasons.
The most important was finally having a proper bath after a whole nine days of using enchanted towels.
The inn, however, had shared baths.
Why? Because the building was small, and the city it was built on catered to Chasers... the most unhinged members of civilized society.
But! It was afternoon! Nobody would be using it.
Right?
Wrong!
The news of my arrival traveled faster than a famous actor being canceled on the internet.
What would the most unhinged members of a society that sees my species as great protectors and objects of worship do?
Try and sneak a peak.
And what, then, would that mean if that same society does not shame sex or naked bodies?
I believe the answer is obvious.
----------------------------------------
There I was, having a well deserved shower in a large tiled bath.
There were no individual units like one would expect if being naked was something to be ashamed of, or considered as privacy.
My golden beauty was there for everyone to see if anyone was to walk into the bath.
And well, again, I am a bit of a narcissist now that I have such a perfect body... which made my lips curl up into a cheeky smirk if anyone looked at me while naked.
I let out a sigh and washed my hair with a big helping of shampoo.
“Needed it that bad, huh?” Yolin chuckled to my right.
I closed my eyes and washed my face. “Yep,” I replied.
“Need help with your hair?” Alyssa probed, taking a shower to my left.
“Sure,” I accepted with a nod. “Make sure to get it sparkling clean, please.”
“Will try,” the Luzo giggled and moved behind me, then grabbed the 150cm of golden hair.
I used a lot of soap to clean my armpits, genitals, and butt.
The enchanted towels do a good job when removing bodily waste, but I can't rest easy unless I use water, soap, and shampoo.
I don't feel clean otherwise, if that makes any sense.
As the water took the sweat away I started singing. “Waiting inside her eyes, was my tomorrow~ Then something changed her mind, her kisses told me~ I had no loving aaaarms.... TOOO HOOOOOLD MEEEE~ EVERYDAY I WAKE UP, THEN I START TO BREAK UP~ LONELY IS A MAAAN WITHOUT LOOOOVE~”
A few meters away, Pokora started laughing.
“Your Excellency has an impressive singing voice,” Hanna commented from a distance away.
I took a cheeky glance her way.
The Ork had a towel around her waist. She also had a fit body.
This shared bath business is actually genius, I considered, taking my eyes off the Scout. But where and how does she hide that chest? By the Gods! “Thank you,” I chuckled and continued singing. “THE BEST THING ABOUT BEEING A WOMAN IS THE PREROGATIVE TO HAVE A LITTLE FUN AND~ OH, AH, OH~ GO TOTALLY CRAZY~ FORGET I'M A LADY~”
“That's silly,” Alyssa chuckled behind me.
A set of footsteps came from the entrance to the bath.
I wiped my face and looked at the door.
Around fifteen people came in, looking around.
They were all naked and noisy.
“I heard Her Excellency went here,” one said.
“Ah, there she is,” another pointed out.
The group locked on to me and made their way to the showers.
“No, wait,” a familiar voice called from behind. “She won't like it,” he warned.
Bonte went into the bath, naked as well, following the people that barged in.
Thelea was right behind him with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.
Hanna and Elena rushed from their showers and blocked the group's view of me.
“Leave at once!” Elena demanded, spreading her arms to cover as much of me. “Her Excellency does not require your presence!”
“So you chose this day to die, huh?” Hanna threatened and produced a dagger.
The men that had gone in stopped advancing.
“She went into the bath with a weapon?” One dude muttered.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Don't worry,” one of the women of the group spoke up. “We'll protect you... and I doubt Her Excellency will allow violence in a bath.”
“What?” I blurted out. “You'll protect the men?”
The woman that spoke turned to me. “Obviously,” she ascertained. “You don't think we'll let a woman assault a naked man, right?”
I blinked a few times in confusion, then looked at the men that came in.
They were nodding among themselves and chatting.
“See?” One nudged his friend. “I told you a Warrior Halve would be that muscular.”
“I have to get serious in my training,” another laughed and gave himself a few slaps on the face. “Just look at those arms!”
I tilted my head in confusion, then turned to Alyssa. “Why are men here?” I whispered.
The Luzo looked at me as if I asked the most retarded question in the history of creation. “What?” she blurted out.
I mean, I thought and looked around. Not that I mind, but... what about the others?
Nobody seemed to care that naked men had entered the bathroom while we women were showering.
“There's no law that prevents us from using the facilities we pay for. No matter who is inside,” the woman leading the group argued with Hanna. “Even if it's High General Odnik, the Urvunas Supreme, or Her Excellency Natasha.”
“Who?” I whispered to Alyssa.
“The ruler of a country of Changelings,” she replied, figuring out which one I meant.
I'm too confused to make sense of this, I concluded. “Okay,” I spoke up, then raised my voice, “Shut the fuck up!”
Everyone went quiet and turned to me.
“Good,” I muttered and continued with my shower. “A bath is a sacred place to relax. Just don't bother us.”
I heard Hanna and Elena click their tongues in annoyance, then walk back to their spots.
The rest of my bath went without problems. I finished showering with Alyssa's help and then moved to a pool on the other side of the bath.
Eyes followed me all throughout, commenting and nodding.
I won't lie. My bi ass was greatly enjoying it.
Once the group moved into the pool as well, I noticed them looking only at me.
Hanna said she had relationships with men only, I recalled, looking at one of the men, an Elf. So I made the wrong assumption that men would give a shit if their partner has a cock. That was pretty stupid of me.
The Elf I was looking at blushed and looked away.
Heh, I chuckled inside. So... I could get a boytoy, too? Like, I like having sex with women and all, but a gal needs the D every once in a while. I'll bring it up with my partners later.
We finished after a while and went to our room.
Alyssa, Lapia, Yolin, and me went into our room. Bromisnar, Bonte, and Thelea went into another. Elena, Hanna, and Pokora went to another as well.
I noticed the Satyr went with the Tigea and Goliath, and that caught my interest but I didn't mention it.
Once in our room, I gathered the four of us.
We sat at the table.
“So,” I began. “I have summoned the council once again to ask about partners.”
The three nodded with raised eyebrows.
“In regards to men,” I tentatively suggested.
Alyssa bit her lips and sighed. “It's a bit complicated, Natasha.”
Lapia and Yolin nodded in agreement.
“Can I hear why?” I requested, resting my elbows on the table and my chin on my hands.
The Luzo nodded. “Natasha, what do you know about sex roles in a natural setting?”
I tilted my head in confusion. “I'm not sure I understand your question. A natural setting?”
“Yes,” Alyssa confirmed, then sighed. “Okay, Natasha. What do we call a substance that greatly alters the behavior of people?”
My eyebrows joined in confusion.
“A drug,” Lapia supplied.
“Right,” I muttered with a nod.
“Now,” Alyssa continued. “What is the label we use to refer to people who use drugs on others, then have sex with them?”
I squinted my eyes. “Rapist...”
“Correct,” Alyssa sighed in relief. “Now... in a natural setting, everything female is, by definition, a rapist,” she uttered the most stupid sentence I have heard in all my lives.
I chuckled, “No? Okay, Alyssa,” I sighed. “If you don't want men to join us, that's okay. But please don't gaslight me.”
“What's gaslight?” She asked.
I covered my eyes and groaned. “Holy shit. You're serious?” I asked in disbelief.
“I am,” the Healer insisted. “Now, I don't know how things worked on Earth, but here we consider releasing pheromones on non-consenting men a crime.”
I shook my head. “But they.. don't work, do they?”
The three bit their lips and nodded.
“They didn't?” Yolin asked in genuine confusion. “Back on Earth, I mean.”
“Fuck me,” I whispered, using both hands to cover my face. “No, they didn't. For a very long time as far as I know.”
“Well,” Lapia sighed. “They do here.”
I let out a long sigh. “Is that why I haven't seen one man with many women?” I asked.
“The usual dynamic is many men for one woman for that reason,” Alyssa explained.
I put my hands down and shook my head. “Sorry, but that doesn't make any sense. What about Thelea and Bonte?”
“Bonte is a higher level than Thelea,” Lapia pointed out. “And he can shift through shadows... to run away if need be.”
I winced. “How strong are they?”
Alyssa sighed. “They make men lose their sense of reason and...” she bit her lips and winced. “Have sex with everyone around them.”
I nodded. “Okay, so... no man would want to be with us?”
The three nodded.
“Well... mostly you,” Lapia shattered my expectations.
“You're a Halve,” Alyssa pointed out.
“And being a Warrior at your level makes you the strongest person in the world,” Yolin kept hammering the last nail to the coffin where my desires to fuck men rested.
I opened my mouth to argue, but closed it. After a few tires, I recalled something. “What about Nilenna and Yulianna?”
“Nilenna has two male partners,” Yolin chuckled. “The ratio checks.”
“Yulianna was with Perculis,” Lapia pointed out. “And no mortal man as far as we know.”
I closed my eyes and got ready to cry. But then, something popped in my mind and I opened my eyes. “What about Desseyr, and Miraztor?” I suggested with excitement.
My three girlfriends chuckled.
“Miraztor has only men as partnets,” Alyssa revealed.
“I will not have a relationship with a former student,” Lapia finalized.
I knew not whether to cry or laugh.
I just want a crumb of dick! I complained in my mind. I don't care if it's a man or... I froze and looked at where the other members of our group were. Hanna.