104 – Suddenly, Ninjas Appeared! #1
I dipped my body into the warm water.
The fatigue of the day seemed to vanish completely.
“Ah—, this feels nice.”
A sound like that of an uncle escaped my mouth.
Well, I was technically correct since I am an uncle.
And besides, there was no one else to worry about here.
Splash, splash—.
At that moment, I heard someone stepping on the wet floor of the bath barefoot.
Turning my head, I saw Tsukki, who was slightly covering her body with a towel and her arms.
“Can I really join you?”
Tsukki asked me.
She meant if it was alright for her, a female, to bathe with me, a male.
I paused for a moment in thought.
Tsukki.
Though she possesses a female body, she likely considers herself ‘male’ in her heart.
However, even in this world of the Fifth Industrial Revolution where Nymphs and Elves actually roam, unique individuals like Tsukki would undoubtedly have drawn many eyes and whispers.
Bathing.
It was clear she would prefer to bathe alone, away from prying eyes.
I felt sorry for Tsukki.
“Come on in quickly. The water temperature is just right.”
I decided to fully accept Tsukki as a male.
Although she has a large chest and wide hips, she is a man.
Soon, Tsukki shivered slightly.
“Y-yeah, that’s right. Between men, there’s nothing strange about it, right? That’s right… I’m… um… a man…”
Swish—.
Tsukki gently dipped her white foot into the bath.
Soon, she plopped in, submerging up to her chest in one go.
“…Am I weird?”
Tsukki asked.
I thought about how to respond so as not to hurt her feelings.
“What’s weird about it?”
“My, my body…”
Tsukki hugged her arms around herself.
But I thought there was nothing strange at all.
So I looked at her confidently, without sneaking glances or stealing looks.
“It seems you have trained a lot. I’m jealous. Do you exercise often? If so, what kind of workouts do you do?”
“Uh, not really, I don’t…”
Not exercising but having such a toned body?
It seemed her muscles were well-defined too.
“Wow. Truly a blessed physique. Is it common for strengthening Awakened ones to look like this? My Squirrel Beast, Kkungkkungi, is also from the strengthening category. Very strong body.”
“Oh, I see. A blessed physique? I’ve never thought of that.”
That was the end of the conversation.
………
A rather silent bath.
Am I the one who needs to find a topic to discuss?
“Are you getting engaged because of the match tomorrow?”
“Uh? Ah, yeah. Something like that.”
Tsukki’s face turned very red.
Is she weak to hot baths?
I thought Japanese people generally enjoyed and were good at soaking in hot springs and baths.
Guess that was my bias.
Tsukki said, “Is it strange? That I’m engaged to women…”
“No, it’s just. The idea of an arranged marriage is a bit foreign to me. It’s a bit odd for corporations or groups to be pairing their children with each other.”
I was from a common background.
These days, common people’s marriages are typically love marriages.
Marriage is supposed to be with someone you like, right?
With the person you feel is the one for you?
Media like movies and dramas portray it that way.
But arranged marriages occur without considering the parties’ feelings, based on pragmatic calculations.
Long ago, everyone married as arranged by their parents, but—
In the 21st century, even if I could ‘understand’ it, I couldn’t feel that emotion.
Nor did I want to give the outdated advice that one should marry the person they love.
I wasn’t qualified to do so, nor was I someone who could evaluate arranged marriages as wrong.
I was just curious.
What it felt like.
Splash—.
At that moment, Tsukki submerged herself up to her neck in the bath.
“I hope you won’t laugh when you hear this. I like pretty things.”
“Is that so?”
“Reiko and Ye-rim are both beautiful. Their ankles are slender, their waists are thin. Their skin is smooth. They look like dolls that children used to play with when they were younger… Their eyes are big, and their eyelashes are long—so feminine.”
I see.
Now that I think about it, that does seem to be true.
Tsukki likes beautiful women.
It’s only natural for a man to like beautiful women.
“Women are really pretty. Small, precious-looking. They give off a good scent. Reiko and Ye-rim always played princess roles during childhood plays. I was the prince standing next to them….”
I understood now.
It wouldn’t be strange if I developed feelings for Seo Ye-rim and Reiko, having grown up together.
Soon, Tsukki asked, “Squirrel Beast Haildo, what type of women do you like?”
It’s common for guys to talk about women when trying to bond.
Suddenly, I recalled what type of woman I liked.
“I don’t really have a specific type. If I had to say, someone who smiles a lot?”
I didn’t particularly have an ideal type.
But I was weak to those who laughed at what I said.
My former classmate from the first class was like that, and so was Cash.
Whenever I said something like, “The Gundam speaks—,” everyone would burst into laughter!
Of course, unfortunately, neither Yujihyun nor Cash ended up with me!
# # #
Thud, thud—.
Tsukki’s heart raced.
It was her first time bathing with a man.
“We should probably get out soon.”
Splash—.
Haildo, the Squirrel Beast, stood up.
The revealed male body was bursting with tension, like a statue that had been roughly carved out of stone.
The scars in various places were quite striking.
‘…That is a real man’s body…! It’s my first time seeing a male body other than my dad’s…!’
Haildo.
I had heard rumors about the Squirrel Beast he raised, the Honey Ant, the Ghost Spider, and the Tiger Owl.
He was said to be a man who trained incredible animals to execute extraordinary feats.
People would say about Haildo, “He’s lucky—he makes the animals fight and relaxes himself.”
But as Tsukki faced Haildo’s back, she didn’t think that was entirely true.
‘This is a man’s… warrior’s back… Is this the body of a first-generation Awakened from Korea where the first cracks opened in this world?’
Swish—.
Tsukki scrubbed Haildo’s back with a foamy towel.
Kooook—.
She pressed her fingers against his back, but it was so well-trained that it barely indented at all.
It felt as if several layers of solid rebar had been compressed together.
‘It’s a body finely carved to the extreme.’
It was a physique that felt almost ascetic, painfully self-denying, and even a bit mad.
What exactly had he pushed himself for to this extent?
Training the body to extremes doesn’t automatically raise an Awakened’s rank, you know.
And above all, what was astounding was—
Gently.
Tsukki peeked over Haildo’s shoulder to glance at the front.
‘It’s like a goblin’s club…! Is this real masculinity…? Someone like me couldn’t possibly imitate it…! Isn’t it heavy? It must be uncomfortable to move with!’
Crash—.
Tsukki’s face turned red.
Until now, she thought she was less feminine and more masculine.
But being compared to fragile princesses like Reiko or Seo Ye-rim from an early age made her feel like something was wrong with her.
Tsukki had grown tall and strong since childhood.
As she entered puberty, the difference became stark as women became more feminine.
She was referred to as a ‘prince’ because of her strength and height.
She was significantly stronger than most men.
At some point, Tsukki began to wonder if she wasn’t a woman but perhaps a man.
But no.
This—
This exudes the qualities of a forged iron wire compressed into layers.
This fearsome goblin club represents true ‘manhood.’
The difference between Tsukki and the male Haildo.
It was vastly greater than the difference between her and the delicate women like Seo Ye-rim and Reiko.
There was truly an insurmountable wall.
A pillar that one could not surpass loomed high.
“Tsukki. I think that should be enough. Let me wash your back now.”
Swish—.
The man turned around.
Tsukki jumped in surprise.
“Ah, uh, okay! I’m a man—so yeah. Right—.”
Swish, swish, swish—.
A large, strong hand rubbed the towel over Tsukki’s back.
Tsukki had felt this way from earlier, but now she felt even more embarrassed.
‘I am… a woman after all…!’
# # #
As he washed my back and I washed his, Tsukki seemed unfazed.
It appears she truly was a ‘man.’
Becoming an Awakened tends to occur around puberty, a time when emotional tension dominates the body.
It was not strange for such Awakened individuals to feel confused about their identity.
“All done.”
Swish—.
I finally splashed some water over us.
Our bath session ended there.
As I was getting dressed again, Tsukki, who had already put on her clothes, approached me.
“…You have an incredibly trained body. What kind of exercise do you do regularly?”
Swish—.
As she said this, Tsukki placed her hand on my chest.
It seems she envied my well-defined muscles as a man.
She had discerning eyes?
I had spent a long time in D-grade, and to be safe, I would exercise daily until I was out of breath and fainted.
That habit continued, and I still worked out in the same way.
“I just do a little bit of everything. But I doubt you’d develop muscles like mine. Everyone has different body types.”
“Is that so… so true men are different…”
Tsukki’s face turned red.
I felt flustered.
Had I inadvertently hurt her feelings?
“Muscles differ from person to person. Tsukki, may I touch your chest a bit?”
“Huh? W-what? What do you mean?”
“Even though we are both men, touching each other’s bodies might be seen as rude due to cultural differences. However, I can gauge how to train if I feel your body roughly.”
“Um, if it’s between men… men touching… I… I…”
Tsukki was very flustered.
Like a broken cuckoo clock, Tsukki stumbled over her words.
“I, I… actually… I’m a girl…!”
Pop—.
Tsukki finally shouted.
And I felt a shock as if the world was collapsing.
“You’re a girl?”
“Yes! No matter how you look at it, I am… a girl…!”
So Tsukki was a girl!
She wasn’t a boy after all?
If so, everything I had done until now was merely one-sided ‘sexual harassment’…!?
If this leads to a breakdown in Japan-Korea relations and sparks World War III, I will—
Just then.
“Do mo—. Tsukki-san. This is an ambush. Ninjas!”
Paf, paf, paf—.
Lockers in the bath began to open one by one as ninjas jumped out!
“Uh? Ninjas? Why are there ninjas…!? What??”
I was completely taken aback.
I wondered if this was some sort of event.
It felt like everything was just a hidden camera aimed to trick me, Haildo.
But Tsukki, as if used to it, clenched her fists and said,
“Which ninjas did you hire? Do you know who I am, the successor to the Dark Dragon Yagami, Yagami Tsukki!? They said there were suspicious beings on the island, and you guys were it!”
