No Clothes!
“My God! Mr. Sema! What is that form!?”
“Heh heh heh. How about it? It's half-done, but this is my humanized self.”
As soon as I stepped into the guild management office, Sera spotted me and came rushing over with a shocked look on her face. I couldn't help but feel great about it, so I proudly showed off my bare upper body.
“W-Wow... Th-That's incredible. I already thought you were impressive in your monster form, but this...”
Hmm... I wasn't sure exactly what was so incredible, but her blushing face and words didn't seem like a bad reaction at all. I savored Sera's response for a bit before gathering with the other adventurers to draft the report on the Hero Eater subjugation quest.
As Sera reviewed the report while listening to the adventurers' accounts, she looked at me again with wide-eyed surprise.
“My God... So in the end, you played the biggest role, Mr. Sema! At this rate, the lord might even give you the reward personally?”
“Oh... The lord...”
Hmm... I didn't want to waste time meeting the lord right now. There were one or two things I had to handle immediately with this body. For starters, I needed clothes, and I had to find a place to stay going forward.
When I explained that to Sera, she flashed her idol-like guild receptionist smile and replied, “If you include that in the report, they'll probably consider it and summon you in a few days. It's not an emergency call—just for the reward. Don't worry too much!”
I guess I had to meet him once. The first time I came to the city, I hadn't even met the lord directly—just someone who seemed like an aide. But thinking it over, it seemed like I needed to anyway. Since those world-destroying bastards would keep showing up, I'd need to negotiate info-sharing with the higher-ups to get details on them.
With that in mind, we wrapped up the report with the adventurers, and everyone started to disperse. Some grabbed their gear and left the office, while others headed to the restaurant next door and filled the tables.
Lizbet, who had been helping with the report nearby, came over to me. “Sema. All done? It's late—let's grab dinner before we go.”
“Oh, Liz. What about Als?”
Als's arm had broken, but everything else was healed, and even his broken arm had been partially mended before Klea's esser ran out, so he was in pretty decent shape. Still, just in case, he'd gone to the church with the other injured, planning to stay there overnight.
Anyway, thanks to my changed form and today's events, that wall I used to feel from Lizbet was gone. No—in fact, her smiling face seemed even more open than before, like the barriers had completely crumbled. What had felt hopelessly stuck at first now felt wide open.
I went with Lizbet to the restaurant and sat across from her at a table.
This sensation of sitting in a chair for the first time since coming to this world...! It was so moving I felt like crying.
“Sniff... Being able to use my hands and sit in a chair... I could cry...”
“Pfft, you like it that much? Aren't you overdoing it?”
As I raved to Lizbet about having hands, a busy server rushed over amid the influx of adventurers and took our order.
“Ha... Seriously... Even if it's only half-humanization, it's too damn good... I've got so many things I want to do now, I can't decide where to start.”
“Come to think of it, you've got a lot on your plate for a while, huh? Clothes to buy, a place to stay...”
Right now, I was basically naked except for a cloth wrapped around my lower half. The fabric that had covered my horse body was generous in size, so it adequately hid my bottom when tied, but walking around like this was still awkward. At least with all the variously dressed adventurers around, it didn't stand out too much—but in front of regular folks, it'd be a problem. And lodging! I'd been feeling more and more depressed about the warehouse. Thinking of Lizbet's room, the inns here seemed pretty comfortable. A soft bed and a refreshing shower... Just imagining it made me grin.
“Ugh... I'm so excited...!”
As Lizbet and I grinned at each other, our food arrived on the table: meat fritters that looked like fried chicken, a salad topped with a few chunks of steak-like meat, and triangular potato-like slices drizzled with sauce.
I speared one of the chicken-like meat fritters with a fork and stared at it.
“...No way half-humanization means I still can't taste anything, right?”
“Oh yeah, you said you couldn't taste before. I'm curious... Try it quick.”
Lizbet watched me intently with a curious look. Please... I've had enough of a life chewing grass with no flavor... My head's still a horse head, but at least let me taste food...!
I popped the fried meat into my mouth...
“...It's delicious...! Real meat flavor!”
The unique juices and umami of meat spread across my tongue! There was a slight gamey aftertaste, but that was forgivable at this level. The nutty, salty savoriness wasn't exactly like chicken, but it felt utterly divine.
I chased it with the beer-like drink nearby. Turns out it wasn't beer—just fruit wine with alcohol flavoring! But this crisp, fizzy refreshment was pure bliss!
“Kaaaaah! So good!!!”
“Pfft. Glad it worked out. That's the happiest face I've seen on you yet.”
For some reason, I could swear the cook in the back was smiling. That guy had been preparing separate piles of grass-like fodder for me all this time...! Thanks, man...!
Watching Lizbet laugh happily at my emotions, I thought I could probably score tonight—but I decided to hold off. There were things to sort out first, and for some reason, pushing it today felt like a waste.
With that settled, we chatted amiably as we polished off more food than two people should need.
“Ha... That was so satisfying...”
“Good you liked it. The guild office restaurant's just average fare.”
Even so, after four months of grass-chewing, this was a feast fit for a king. We left the office laughing, but outside it was already getting dark. Street vendors had packed up, and many shops were closing.
The places still open were probably late-night bars or entertainment spots.
“So... where are we sleeping tonight? Going back to the warehouse like this feels kinda lame.”
“Hmm... I hear there are inns or hotels you can stay at by the night, but I don't know where. Als and I originally stayed in guild-recommended lodging for two months after talking to the guild, then moved to where I live now. Never had reason to check them out...”
Hmm... Even in the dim night, wandering around wrapped in just this cloth felt off. Maybe scrap the plan and head to Lizbet's room under the guise of “handling lust”?
“Liz. If it's okay... could you put me up tonight? Handle some lust processing too?”
“......No. You've humanized now, so the lust processing is done.”
Lizbet blushed, flustered, then mumbled softly with her head down.
Fuck. Right, it was only until I could humanize!
Resigned, I decided to execute the plan I'd thought of over dinner and parted ways with the now-quiet, blushing Lizbet. Her reaction suggested the plan would work—I was looking forward to it—but letting tonight pass was still a shame.
Too lazy to hunt for an unknown inn, I returned to the warehouse. In the dim space lit only by moonlight filtering through the windows, I unwrapped the cloth to inspect my junior.
“...As expected...”
I'd vaguely anticipated the heavy feel, but hadn't been sure without seeing it. My junior was exactly as it had been on my horse body: that massive horse cock and horse balls intact.
I pulled out the somewhat plausible-looking sheath, and in the faint moonlight, the ferocious horse dick was fully revealed.
“Hmm... I thought humanization would shrink it a bit... Well, it doesn't matter much now...”
The problem was: would there be pants big enough to cover this thing? I had a bad feeling...
For now, I'd hit the shops first thing in the morning when they opened. With that decided, I shifted back to horse form—too awkward to sleep like this—and lay down on the hay pile to sleep.
The next morning, as people started work and shops opened, I shifted to human form, wrapped the cloth around my lower half, and headed straight for the clothing store I'd seen while passing by.
The stares that used to be like, Oh, that's the divine beast guy~ were now all shocked faces. Even the women were blushing through their surprise... Looked like I needed clothes ASAP.
Thinking that, I entered the shop to look for underwear first...
But they had no clothes for me!
“Aigoo, divine beast sir. Our shop doesn't have anything to fit your build. Probably the same at others.”
When I explained to the startled owner, he said there were no clothes that would fit me.
What? Isn't this place like Lianna's high-end shop— just piled with ready-made stuff?
“Your build is way bigger than any bulky adventurer I've seen in my years here... Your arms, your thighs—they're too thick. Hard to find off-the-rack. Custom order's your only bet.”
Comparing my frame to the elderly shopkeeper's words, it hit me. I'd gotten used to the high vantage point from my horse body and hadn't noticed, but now I towered a full head above the average isekai local. With my bulging arm and thigh muscles, finding clothes would definitely be tough.
“The high-end shops below the noble district take custom orders... If you don't know any, it'll take time. They do reservations and take a while to make.”
High-end clothing shops below the noble district... That sounded like Lianna's place.
But... that meant showing my entire lower half to Lianna. No big deal in horse form, but even after half-humanizing? Still, no choice. Without quick clothes, I'd be wandering like a pervert in just a cloth.
Oh, wait—if Lianna's husband was a hero... maybe I could just turn her into my mare right then?
With that thought, I hurried to Lianna's shop.