Questions in the Bath
The conversation with the noble lady lasted far longer than I'd expected. I'd figured we'd trade a question or two and be done with it. After all, how long could a casual chat while bathing really drag on? That was the plan. But it turned out I was wrong.
"Where'd you learn staff techniques? From a senior in a mercenary band I used to follow around. He was ridiculously strong, and for some reason he took a liking to me and taught me all sorts of things. Thanks to him, I've been putting it to good use ever since."
Clearly, the two of us knew almost nothing about each other. I knew plenty about Theo, but most of it came from the future. When it came to his past, there were only a handful of details I could recall. There had probably been some scattered hints during the game, but I'd missed them because I wasn't interested. So listening to his stories was surprisingly entertaining. Even as the protagonist of an eroge, he'd lived an incredibly turbulent life.
Conversely, to Theo I must have seemed like a complete mystery. Thanks to the intimacy I'd built up while playing the game, I'd approached him without hesitation, but from his perspective I was just some random girl acting overly familiar. A beautiful stranger suddenly getting all chummy? If I were him, I'd have started worrying about my own chastity first. It wasn't easy.
Since there was so much we didn't know about each other, it was only natural the questions and answers kept piling up. Theo had plenty of his own questions for me, too.
"Whoa. How can something attached to a human body be this soft and squishy? And it's heavier than it looks. You really walk around with these all day and don't feel uncomfortable?"
...He was asking about me, right? The direction of his questions had been getting a little strange for a while now. Anyway, the answer was that it really wasn't uncomfortable. For most people it probably would be—they're heavy, after all. But this body belonged to a beastman. Low magic affinity, but they made up for it with raw physical ability. Issues like center of gravity, shoulder strain, or stretched ligaments? Basically nonexistent.
That left things like a lack of clothes that actually fit, or worrying about men's stares. Clothes weren't a problem in an eroge world. The whole point was dressing up cute female characters to sell them, so a little extra chest size was never going to cause issues. If anything, the problem was usually the opposite—too little clothing. I'd never struggled to find something wearable.
As for the stares, I wasn't the type to care anyway. Throughout the entire conversation, Theo's hands never stopped moving. His large palms squeezed and kneaded my breasts, savoring the texture. The shape shifted like water balloons with every movement of his fingers. He cupped them from below and made them sway and jiggle. It was the same little game I'd played a few times myself. Watching them bounce up and down, side to side, had a strangely calming effect.
His fingertips flicked lightly at my areola. The sensation was ticklish and made me shiver, but not in a bad way. He kept touching my chest like that the whole time we talked. Eventually it started to feel natural.
"Oh. They're getting hard."
My nipples had stiffened. Well, that was normal. If a guy kept playing with his dick, it'd get hard too. It wasn't like I was some pervert who got turned on just from being washed. Still, a strange sense of embarrassment crept up on me and I found myself speaking less.
As if teasing me for it, Theo's fingers moved again.
"Hn...!"
Tap, tap. He drummed the very tips of my erect nipples. Every time his fingertip brushed against the sensitive buds, already overstimulated from earlier, a tremor ran down my spine.
"How's that? Feel good?"
There was obvious playfulness in his voice. It was annoying, but I still had to answer.
"Yeah..."
"Tell me exactly where and how it feels good."
I'd given a short answer on purpose, so now he wanted details. Seriously. An old doujinshi line suddenly popped into my head: 'Guys who keep asking if it feels good are the worst.' For some reason, it felt especially relevant right now. Still, since he'd asked...
"I like it when you touch my breasts and flick my erect nipples with your fingers... Ahhn..."
"How about this?"
"Ahn...!"
This time he pinched them between his fingers. Not hard—just the same amount of pressure you'd use to hold chopsticks at dinner. Even that light touch felt intense. Pleasure spread through my chest and radiated outward, far stronger than anything I'd felt touching myself. The sudden stimulation left me unable to answer, but Theo seemed to take my reaction as confirmation.
"So that's what you like. Got it."
"No, it's fine. That's enough... Aaaah...! Hnn...!"
Theo ignored my protest and kept moving his fingers. Every time he touched my nipples, an uncontrollable moan slipped out. I tried to hold them back, clenching my jaw, but the twisting pinches forced my mouth open anyway. When he rolled the buds between his thumb and forefinger like little beans, my back arched like a bow.
Had my breasts always been this sensitive? Even when I'd masturbated, it hadn't felt like this. The strongest sensation came when he pulled. Grabbing my nipples like handles and tugging them forward turned my pretty teardrop-shaped breasts into sharp points, sending lightning bolts of pleasure crashing through me. Words couldn't describe it.
"Alright, let's wash this side too."
Theo's hands left my chest and moved downward. They slipped into the recessed part of the concave chair and found my most private place. His fingers touched my already slick folds. I could feel my face burning red. This was a bathhouse. I was supposed to be washing. There was no way to tell if the wetness was from the water or something else. But the moment he touched me, the difference in viscosity made it obvious. Along with that realization came a sharp spark of pleasure where his fingers pressed.
It was still faint, like static electricity. Once he really started moving, it would flare up and spread through my entire body like oil catching fire.
His thick finger—much thicker than mine—pushed between my soft lips. Not the tip. The side of his finger. Not much room for technique there. Even so, I could feel something rising deep inside me. It was the same sensation I'd experienced several times while masturbating. Climax. My body was already burning from the attention to my chest. If this continued, I might come on his hand.
The thought cleared my pleasure-fogged mind a little. No. That would be... too embarrassing. At least if we'd been doing something lewd it might've been different—though that wasn't the case. If we were having sex, an orgasm would be expected. But right now we were just bathing. Just washing, and yet getting so worked up that I came on my own? The mental image alone was mortifying.
With trembling hands, I reached out and grabbed Theo's wrist.
"W-wait."
"Hm? Why? We've still got a long way to go. You haven't even finished washing your chest yet. We should clean this part properly too."
That's because you kept playing with my chest the whole time. If he'd washed me normally, we'd have been done with lathering and rinsing ages ago. I could've washed my hair twice over. The complaint bubbled up, but I didn't voice it. Right now, holding back the approaching climax was more important.
I quickly racked my brain for a plausible excuse.
"...Ah! Right. It wouldn't be fair if only I got help. This time I'll wash you instead."
"What? You helped me last time, so I figured it was my turn... but if that's what you want, I'm not complaining."
"S-see? Then turn around. I'll wash you this time."
At my urging, Theo obediently turned his back to me. Ah, right. Now that I thought about it, he'd already finished washing while I was washing my hair, hadn't he? Whatever. If he'd already washed, he would've said so. The important thing was avoiding a situation where I was the only one being teased.
I grabbed the soapy cloth and started scrubbing Theo's body. It took less than five minutes to lather and rinse his arms and legs. Washing someone else's body took longer than it would have for my own. Why had it taken so long when he'd done it? After finishing his back, I moved to his front.
"......Theo."
"What?"
Theo answered with a wide grin. He knew exactly what the problem was. When I tried to wash the front of his body, his erection—pointing straight up at the ceiling—kept poking my stomach. The excitement I'd barely managed to suppress stirred again.
"This... isn't going to work, is it?"
I knew full well that erections didn't happen on command. It was just something to say. I considered reaching around from behind to wash him, but that would press my breasts right against his back. Normally I might've done it as a service, but right now I didn't want to. My chest was far too sensitive. Just the friction might make my body react on its own.
Doing my best to ignore the hot, hard sensation tapping against my upper stomach, I finished washing the front of his body. Only one spot remained.
"Why the hesitation? You have to wash everything."
Theo was still grinning, his cock twitching. I'd been terrified of coming, but he looked completely relaxed. A spark of irritation flared up. If that was how he felt, then he should experience the same worry.
I grabbed his shaft firmly. Normally I would've kept contact to the bare minimum, but right now, with my annoyance rising, I wasn't in the mood to be gentle. He needed to understand just how embarrassing it felt to get turned on from something as simple as washing.