Tail Massage (1)

Watching Coco ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flee the Adventurer's Guild as if running for her life, the first thing that hit me was the crushing certainty that I'd made a terrible mistake — followed immediately by a wave of regret.

I'd only squeezed her tail once. Just once. I'd even rationalized it as part of the upper body. I never imagined she'd bolt in such pure terror.

I'd momentarily forgotten one of fantasy's classic clichés: a beastgirl's tail is an erogenous zone. Even so, picturing that enormous fluffy tail as one giant sensitive spot had been a stretch — even for me.

It wasn't like her chest or her rear, either — places you cover with clothes. The tail hung right out in the open, which only made it easier to treat carelessly.

The whole point of the massage was to keep Coco from quitting our guild…

She was the shy type who hated making a scene. Odds were good she'd never show her face here again — if only because of me.

Guildmaster Aisia had called her one of the guild's reliable sources of income, and I'd driven her off with my own two hands. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The guilt sat heavy.

…Though the Guildmaster herself had just shrugged and said, "She was going to leave eventually anyway. Don't worry about it," trying to console me.

I keep trying to put Vitality Massage to good use, and all I do is screw things up.

Letting other adventurers overhear Senior Ellin's embarrassing moans. Scaring off a Gold-rank adventurer. Those were the results of my first two massages, and frankly, I felt a little wronged by the universe.

Still, Coco's disappearance wasn't a reason to shut down guild operations. I did my best to keep my feelings off my face and went back to my actual job as the Adventurer's Guild receptionist.

…Though I did pull up my Unique Ability's translucent window between tasks to check the results of those two massages.

It wasn't like I was slacking. Guild work only got hectic when adventurers flooded in; most of the time it was quiet enough that I could spare a glance.

…It had ended in disaster thanks to my blunder, but the massage itself up to that point must have been a success — because Coco's profile was now registered under my Unique Ability.

Whether I'd ever see her again was anyone's guess, but I checked her newly added profile information anyway.

So Unique Abilities weren't limited to one per person.

Maybe you needed at least two combat-oriented ones to earn Gold-rank status at the Adventurer's Guild.

I'd thought she looked a little young, but she was just barely past the age of adulthood. Whether beastfolk and humans shared the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same age of majority in this world, I had no idea.

The rest of her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠numbers felt similar to Senior Ellin's, yet slightly different.

Senior Ellin had high fatigue and low stress. Coco's fatigue was low, but her stress was quite high.

She's in a physically active profession, so fatigue stays relatively low — but her timid personality means she takes on a lot of stress?

The fifty percent muscle tension was probably because I'd worked through nearly all of her upper body today. As for libido… I still had no idea what that number actually meant.

It was higher than Senior Ellin's, which meant she had more desire built up than her senior did… Maybe touching her erogenous zone at the end of the massage had something to do with it.

It'd be nice if there were a way to relieve libido, too.

The first thing that sprang to mind was, of course, sex between a man and a woman. But whether Senior Ellin — or Coco, whom I might never even see again — would want to sleep with me was an entirely different question.

I thought both of them were pretty and adorable, so if either one asked to share a bed, I'd welcome it anytime. Their feelings, though, might not match mine.

Even in a world where men were vastly outnumbered by women, I had to tread carefully around anything sexual. If I came on too strong and got branded a man-whore, Senior Ellin and the Guildmaster might start looking at me with contempt.

And the last thing I wanted was to be hated by the two women who'd helped me first after I arrived in this world.

"Mmnh… mmm… mnya…"

"……"

I checked on Senior Ellin, who'd dozed off in the warm midday air after the adventurers cleared out, then quietly pulled up the numbers that had changed after her second massage.

Unlike yesterday, when I'd only worked her shoulders, I'd loosened her back as well — and the numbers were moving in a positive direction.

Why libido had gone up again was a mystery, but at least I'd confirmed a causal link: massages raised libido afterward.

In a world short on men, even this much physical contact with an adult male might be enough to stir desire. For Senior Ellin, it was probably stimulation she never got in her everyday life.

The way to relieve her libido without getting labeled a man-whore was to make her ask me first… But could I really draw that kind of reaction out of someone who seemed so pure?

If I used massage as an excuse to put my hands on her chest or her rear, it probably wouldn't be impossible — but by the time she allowed that, her heart would already be open.

Thanks to Coco's sacrifice, at least I'd figured out roughly what Vitality Massage was capable of. Small mercies.

Still, I should probably hold off on massaging anyone at the guild for a while. I'd already caused two scenes. No need to dig myself a deeper hole.

About a week had passed since the day Coco bolted from the guild mid-massage.

For all the drama of my first day — filling the Adventurer's Guild with Senior Ellin's moans — the week that followed was remarkably uneventful.

I did my job as a receptionist. I calmly fielded the advances of adventurers who hit on me simply because I was a man.

I appraised materials, purchased the ones that checked out, and put a little distance between myself and the adventurer who started flirting the second the transaction was done.

I gently talked down a strange woman who demanded adventurer registration without any paperwork and sent her on her way. I processed commission acceptances. When an adventurer who'd just accepted a job started hitting on me, Senior Ellin got angry on my behalf and chased her off.

I took a materials-gathering request from a woman who carried herself like nobility, and when she started making moves on me, Guildmaster Aisia smoothly escorted her up to the guildmaster's office. The ordinary daily life of a male receptionist in a guild full of nothing but female adventurers.

In a sense, I was living through the absolute peak of my personal popularity. The female adventurers of this world were all beautiful, and many of them had charms all their own.

Of course, the only women I trusted so far were Senior Ellin and Guildmaster Aisia. So I turned down every advance from the spirited adventurers who flirted with me at every opportunity without even knowing my name.

In my previous life, turning down a date with a woman I couldn't even have approached would have stung a little. But in this world, being a man was enough to make you popular — so there was no need to rush things from my end.

A few adventurers, like Coco, had even offered to pay for a shoulder massage of their own. I declined them all politely. After causing two incidents already, repeating the same mistake would leave me with no face to show Guildmaster Aisia.

Knead. Press. Knead.

"How's this, Senior?"

"Nngh… mmh… th-there feels good…"

I limited myself to occasionally massaging Senior Ellin's shoulders, back, and lower waist in the staff break room, where no other adventurers could see — just enough to satisfy my own private selfishness.

I'd finally gotten used to receptionist work, and I was just starting to think my days had settled into something resembling ordinary routine, when—

Creeeak.

The front door of the Adventurer's Guild swung open slowly, and a familiar face walked in — along with an enormous tail.

"…Huh?"

My second massage client. The reason I'd sworn off massaging people at the guild. The beastgirl Coco Skywalker.

I'd assumed her habit of switching guilds whenever she caused a scene meant I'd never see her again. Yet here she was, poking her head into the Adventurer's Guild after a full week. I couldn't keep the surprise off my face.

"Hah… hah… haaah…"

Scrape. Drag. Scrape.

Breathing hard, Coco hauled a massive sack across the guild's wooden floor.

She'd returned carrying a bag stuffed full of Minotauren Horns, and she was heading straight for the guild counter without the slightest hesitation.