The Last Night
Rustle— rustle—
The soft whisper of fabric brushing against my pale skin and falling to the floor filled the bathroom. Piece by piece I shed my clothes until only a thin black undergarment remained to cover my body.
"...W-wait, Hera."
"Hmm?"
Athena stood in the bathroom doorway, glancing at me with wavering eyes. She seemed hesitant to step inside, rooted to the spot as if her feet had been nailed to the floor.
"What's wrong?"
"...I'm not ready yet..."
"Not ready?"
A faint flush had risen to her cheeks, painting her face with something that looked almost like embarrassment. I spent a long moment trying to read her intentions.
Don't tell me Athena is...
Is she shy?
Bathing with another woman was a common enough thing—something people of either gender treated as no big deal. But for someone doing it for the first time, it could be deeply embarrassing. Showing your bare body to another person was never easy.
I still remembered the first time I had bathed with Dania. I had clutched a towel around myself and stared at the floor the entire time, because her figure had been far too stimulating.
"Hehe... You don't have to be shy, Hera. Come into your big sister's arms."
The sight of Dania's bare chest that day was still burned deep into my memory.
They were like giant watermelons...
I wasn't exactly small myself, but Dania was on another level entirely. Thanks to her, I had eventually grown used to facing another woman's naked body, and bathing with the same sex no longer bothered me.
Athena, however, still seemed completely out of her depth. Then again, she had always been so extreme about avoiding relationships with people that her kindness toward me now almost felt suspicious. She had probably never bathed with anyone before.
Once I thought of it that way, her flustered reaction made perfect sense. Or maybe it was simply the sight of the usually imposing, self-assured Athena looking so bashful—either way, a mischievous smile kept tugging at the corners of my mouth.
I beamed at her, took her hand, and pulled her into the bathroom.
"He... Hera."
"Hehe... So even Athena gets embarrassed sometimes?"
Ordinarily she was the master. This time, though, it felt like I was the one who needed to teach her a thing or two.
I thought I was going to lose my mind.
Rustle—
As Hera's undergarment slipped away, her pale bare skin was revealed inch by inch. When she finally stood completely naked, I could only stare at her, dumbstruck.
Her body was so perfect it looked as though a god had sweated over every detail by hand. The sensual spectacle before me made it impossible to look away.
Her lips, redder and glossier than usual today. The faintly provocative line of her collarbone trailing down from her white throat. The two soft swells beneath it—and nestled between them, her...
A shiver ran through me.
The dizzying sight set my body on fire. I hadn't even touched the water yet, and already I could feel myself growing wet between my legs.
"You strip too!"
"Ah—"
Her bewitching voice made my whole body flinch.
Get a grip.
Hadn't I decided I was going to show her who the master was? If I kept letting Hera lead me around like this, I would never make her my slave.
Hera was the slave. I was the master. I was the one who was supposed to take the lead.
Hiding my fluster as best I could, I began peeling off the cloth wrapped around me, piece by piece. Two beautiful naked bodies now stood revealed in the bathroom.
Hera took one look at my bare form and reached a hand toward my stomach.
"Wow... Athena, you have abs...?"
"Hnh?"
She carefully laid her palm against my belly, gently kneading it with a look of pure curiosity. At the soft brush of her fingers my heart hammered wildly, and a sweet, tingling pleasure began to bloom across my stomach.
"...What do you think you're doing."
The words came out colder than I intended, born of sheer panic.
"S-sorry... Your abs were just so fascinating..."
She pulled her hand away and apologized. For some reason, a small pang of disappointment followed.
"Th-then... shall we wash?"
Hera carefully turned the handle, and a stream of warm water began to pour from above. Through the rising steam she stood completely exposed, washing herself without a care in the world.
...Does none of this bother her?
I couldn't even look straight at her naked body, yet here she was humming a little tune while she scrubbed herself down—as if my bare form meant absolutely nothing to her.
Something resentful stirred in my chest. How dare a slave stand there so carefree while her master was this unsettled?
The sudden surge of irritation carried me straight toward her.
How dare she... how dare she sway that ass so casually...!
I stepped up behind Hera as she washed, completely unguarded. One hand rose high—
Slap—!
"Hyaah?!"
I struck her bare bottom hard. The sensation of my palm colliding with her springy flesh—even that alone sent a jolt of pleasure through me. Why?
"Hngh... A-Athena, what are you...?"
Hera clutched her rear with both hands and turned to look at me. Between her fingers I could see the red imprint of my hand blooming across her white skin. The sight flooded me with a deep, wicked thrill.
"A-Athena...?"
My gaze drifted downward of its own accord, settling on her most private place—the treasure I had been waiting for, longing for. It looked as sweet as the golden apple the gods themselves had once warred over.
My mind was coming apart. Her temptation was snapping the last threads of my reason one by one.
I have to hold on. I have to hold on.
I had endured so much to win her heart. I couldn't throw away her trust now by losing control. One step remained—from family to lovers. I only needed to hold out a little longer.
But then I saw her looking up at me with tears welling in her eyes and a rosy flush across her cheeks, clearly still stinging from the slap—and something inside me simply snapped.
"....."
Yes. Thinking about it again, she was the one seducing me. So even if I forced myself on her, it wouldn't be my fault. Anyone who looked at a man—or a woman—with eyes like that while standing completely naked would be impossible to resist.
It was her fault. She had acted like a bitch in heat, so she had no right to complain if she got thoroughly claimed. I had held back long enough. Wasn't it finally time to taste that luscious fruit?
And so, reason abandoned, I slowly closed the distance between us.
This is your fault, Hera.
I should extend our stay at the inn by another week. No—I'll need a whole month.
Before I knew it I was standing right in front of her. And then—whether fortunately or unfortunately—just as I was about to lay my hand on the chest of the Hera who was staring up at me with a puzzled expression—
Skitter-skitter—
Whoosh—
"M-Mari?!"
"Kyuu!"
A blue lizard suddenly burst into view. At the appearance of that damned creature, Hera's attention left me entirely.
"Hehe... Want me to wash you, Mari?"
"Kyuu! Kyu!"
"Mm. Come sit on my lap."
"Kyuu!"
The two of them looked as warm and content as any parent and child.
"......."
I could only stand there like an idiot, one hand still outstretched.
"...You should wash up too, Athena."
Hera's tone was a little sulky—probably still sore about the sudden spanking. As the atmosphere cooled, my reason began to trickle back.
"....Ha."
...That was close.
I had been in real danger just now. If that lizard hadn't shown up, I almost certainly would have forced myself on Hera right here. And if that had happened, love would have vanished from our relationship forever.
I looked for a moment at the lizard beaming happily from Hera's lap. She was still irritating, but right now I felt genuinely grateful to her.
.....She didn't interrupt on purpose... did she?
An uneasy thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. Time passed, and somehow—walking a razor's edge against Hera's temptation the entire way—I managed to finish the bath without incident.
Though I nearly lost my reason again when Hera offered to wash me.
"Hahh... That feels so good..."
"Kyuu..."
Clean and fresh, Mari and I sank onto the bed. A languid drowsiness settled over me, and my eyelids began to grow heavy.
"...."
Athena looked thoroughly exhausted as well; fatigue was written all over her eyes.
"Tonight's the last night..."
The words left my mouth in a subdued voice. One more sleep, and we would have to return to the mansion. We wouldn't be able to live this comfortably anymore.
Athena let out a single sigh and flopped down beside me.
"You don't want to go back to the mansion?"
Her words, as if she had read my mind, made me flinch.
".....J-just a little..."
Athena looked at me with sorrowful eyes and gently stroked my hair.
"...It'll be all right now."
"Mm?"
"You won't have to suffer at the mansion anymore."
"...."
Did Athena know how hard it had been for me there? Well—considering how many times I had cried in her arms, it would have been stranger if she didn't.
...I hope she's right.
I didn't want to keep thrashing around in that swamp of self-loathing any longer. The feeling of hating myself had gone past merely bad—it had been horrific.
I turned my head toward Athena, who lay beside me with her eyes closed.
...It's okay.
Unlike before, I now had a family that was precious to me. I trusted Athena. No matter what happened, she would take my side. I would never live shriveled up and small the way I used to.
My precious family. Athena. And Mari, who liked me to a suspicious degree. And even Sepheer—a little eccentric, but always radiating bright energy.
Just thinking of them made the worries in my head begin to fade, little by little. I stroked the head of Mari, who was sleeping soundly in my arms, and smiled softly at Athena.
"Good night, Athena."
My precious family.