Chapter 6: Into the Bath, Into the Unknown
I used to be a man.
A healthy, 20-something guy who’d even served in the military.
And now they’re telling me to take a bath with a bunch of girls?
Objection!
“Um, I… I can wash myself.”
No way.
Absolutely not.
At my age, bathing with girls?
What if I get reported?
Well, maybe not, since I’m a girl now too.
It’s hitting me that I still haven’t fully processed being a girl.
Of course I haven’t.
It’s not like I had time to adjust—this happened overnight.
At most, I notice my lower eye level and the way my hair keeps getting in the way.
But this?
This is too much, too fast.
“It’s fine. We’re all girls here, so what’s the big deal?”
Meiko says with a refreshingly carefree laugh.
Sure, it looks that way, but inside, I’m still completely a guy.
I glance around.
I’m surrounded by all the women.
No escape…
Meiko’s kind smile, Luka’s intrigued gaze, Miku standing quietly, Rin smirking with her arms crossed.
I’m done for.
Not a single ally.
Do these people have no wariness toward strangers?
Oh, maybe it’s because Master brought me.
His credibility must be higher than I thought.
“Um, but… you’re all women…”
“Huh? You’re a girl too, aren’t you?”
“Ah, uh…”
I’m speechless.
To everyone else, I’m unmistakably a girl.
No one would suspect otherwise.
But I know.
I’ve got a man’s mind and no confidence I can stay calm seeing women naked.
I can barely handle seeing myself.
[Why hesitate? No one will think it’s weird. Just go in! Enjoy the female body!]
[No way. You’re a man at heart. It’s not the time. Insist on bathing alone. Stand firm.]
An angel and devil whisper in my head.
Go in.
Don’t go.
Both make sense, and I’m torn.
But while I’m agonizing, my body’s already being dragged along.
This is dangerous.
No matter what, my mental fortitude isn’t strong enough to bathe with girls after just one day.
I have to stop this somehow.
But how?
If I come out and say I was a guy, would anyone believe me?
No, they’d probably think it’s a joke.
But I can’t just go along with this either.
What do I do?
I see the changing room at the bathroom entrance.
Meiko’s voice rings out, warning the guys not to come in.
By that logic, I shouldn’t go in either.
My conscience starts to ache.
My body starts trembling slightly.
Am I scared?
Yeah, I’m scared.
What am I scared of?
I don’t even know, damn it!
Meiko approaches, and the others start undressing.
I quickly shut my eyes and turn away, but the glimpse of pale skin I caught makes my heart pound.
Thank God I’m a girl right now.
If I were a guy, I’d have reacted and given myself away.
No, if I were a guy, I’d be bathing with the men, so it wouldn’t matter.
Right…
“Come on, IA. Look here.”
No way.
I can’t look.
This is the devil’s temptation.
Opening my eyes would mean crossing a river I can’t come back from.
“You don’t have to be shy. No one cares.”
“Yeah, yeah. We’re all girls here, so what’s the issue?”
No.
My body may be a girl’s, but my heart is still a rugged, military-serving adult man.
Duty and resolve!
Wait, that’s not right.
“Um, I really think… I’d rather wash alone…”
“No need to be shy! Unless…”
Meiko’s voice suddenly lowers.
The vibe feels off.
If I resist any more, something scary might happen.
But I have my limits.
Just because I’m a girl now doesn’t mean I can just waltz into the women’s bath thinking, “It’s fine, I’m a girl now. No one can stop me!”
My face isn’t that thick.
What do I do?
What do I do?
What do I do?
Work, brain!
Find the perfect solution to get through this without suspicion, as smoothly as possible!
[Sorry, no such thing.]
You jerk!
“If it’s too much, you can just stay still. Just bear with it, okay?”
While I’m flailing in my head, Meiko seems to have decided something.
I don’t know what she means, but I just need to stay still?
That’s… not ideal either.
At my age, being washed by someone else?
But let’s think.
Which is worse: insisting on washing myself or just going along with this?
…Your Honor, I know nothing.
My eyes went blind three days ago.
Aaaagh!
“Tell me if it stings.”
“Ahh… feels nice.”
“Rin, behave in the bathroom.”
Who am I?
Where am I?
Mountains are mountains, water is water.
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form… or something?
I don’t know.
I can’t think straight.
The careful touch on my hair, the sound of water, the voices around me.
I know nothing.
I’m done thinking…
“Your hair’s amazing. It really comes alive after washing.”
“Where? Wow…!”
Stop it!
My life gauge is already at zero!
*
It was like an endless hell.
No, it wasn’t that bad, was it?
Being cleaned felt… nice.
No, nothing!
Teacher, Judge, Buddha, Allah, Jesus, Confucius—I know nothing and thought nothing.
After being thoroughly washed, slathered with various cosmetics, and dressed in borrowed clothes—Rin’s were too small, Meiko’s and Luka’s too big, so I got Miku’s old ones—I look in the mirror and lose my words.
“Wow…”
“So pretty!”
Who’s that in the mirror?
The girl I saw in the side mirror had a mystical charm, but now… I hate to say it, but she’s like a fairy from a storybook.
Is this the power of makeup?
No, you idiot.
“Thank you…”
I bow cautiously, and they wave it off.
“No, no, don’t worry about it.”
“Yeah, think of this as your home and relax. We might become family soon, right?”
“Family…”
It’s a strange word.
Family…
No, better not think too much.
Cut it there.
“Where’s IA sleeping tonight?”
“Probably with Yukari’s group. We don’t have any spare rooms here.”
Wait, I have to meet more new people?
My brain’s already at capacity!
“Don’t worry too much. The kids there are nice too.”
That’s not reassuring at all.
For an introvert like me, this is too much.
Meeting so many people in one day, introducing myself to all of them…
Ugh!
This is for extroverts!
But I have no veto power.
I can only be dragged along.
While I’m zoning out, Meiko pulls out a device and makes a call.
“Hello. Yeah, Maki? It’s me. We’ve got a new person today. Got any spare rooms? Cool. See you at dinner. Yukari? Sleeping again? At this hour? Alright, see you later.”
Her brisk, to-the-point style is so cool.
But… it’s not even been half a day, and I’m already going somewhere else?
Is this okay?
My confusion must show, because Luka approaches quietly.
“Don’t worry. We’re all one family, even if you sleep somewhere else.”
“Yeah, yeah. We eat together often, meet for discussions… you won’t even feel like you’re living separately.”
It’s not that I’m lonely or anything…
Well, whatever.
It’s just next door, when you think about it.
Phew, okay.
I’m sorted.
So much happened in one day, my mind was a mess for a bit.
Now I’m calm.
“By the way, how old are you, IA?”
“16.”
“Nice age…”
Meiko, who looks in her early to mid-20s, gives a wistful look, like she’s seen it all.
“16 means you’re the same age as Miku. You going to school?”
Ugh, school.
I don’t want to go to that hellhole.
School is a prison.
Students wear uniforms like prisoner outfits…
Ugh, my head.
Anyway, I don’t want to go.
At my age, what am I supposed to learn?
I can already see myself failing to fit in and drifting alone.
“Not really… I don’t want to go.”
“Really? Think it over carefully. Not going could put you at a disadvantage.”
She’s trying to persuade me gently, but my mind’s made up.
Across history, I’m not the only one who hates school.
At my age, going to high school—not even college—is ridiculous.
Absolutely.