前のエピソード――Chapter 4: Human Males Part Two

[Scrape]

[Scratch, Scratch, Scratch]

The sound of scraping and scratching echoed in the room in which Richard now found himself in after the situation of almost getting raped transpired. the village chief and the rest of the family join Pam in a neat semi-circle flanked only by Shima and Rhea respectively. Being as Pam the head of the family held what looked to be a cup of some sort of wooden material with an alcoholic beverage of some sort swishing about as Pam sighs to calm down and continues drinking, the scent of liquor reaches Richard. Alcohol seems to have set it her system but to Richard it is of no matter as he tries to avoid reality to consider his current options deep in thought.

[Scrape]

"Hmm, So these are the plates of the Heim Village" Mumbled Richard as he found himself sitting down near the same spot where he was assaulted some time ago as he even now continues to escape reality as if coming to terms with what just happened no so long ago. he scraped and scratched at his food and plate as he was lost in thought while he did so. fascinated by the craftmanship of the plates of the village of Heim he scraped along the plate with a semi blank expression and cloudy eyes on his face.

Richard can't go outside right now until they discuss what they'll do with him and they don't know how they'll introduce him to the other villagers which further added to the tension on his muscles as one thing after the other. Richard didn't remember ever feeling this stressed out in his life even counting the exam seasons for university he had studied so much for.

The topic of the assault that took place moments ago has been momentarily dropped by both Rhea and Shima under strict orders from Pam who gave them an ultimatum. Should they step over the line again and infringe on her authority, Pam herself will see to it that they're executed without batting an eye on regards to their family status.

Whether or not Pam can actually kill the two best warriors and/or hunters from the Heim village who happen to be her very wife and daughter is another question entirely. However, Pam's look and expression was so terrifying that both Rhea and Shima quaked in fear while Raksha herself was at that moment still passed out while standing due to her being exposed to Richard's nudity which only added to the boy's trauma at being seen naked out of the nowhere but what hurts him the most is that he turned down a possible opportunity to get laid in another world of all things with a wolf girl muscle mommy. Had this been on video, would Twitter be roasting him right now or not?

The stress of the University life in the other hand is quite different after all and vastly different to what the stress of having his life threatened by an extended period of time as he had experience while interacting with these villagers. In College or University, you usually study for a goal, and you get it over with and whether you pass or not, your anxiety mostly ends there with the anticipation of an answer, there is no need to walk on eggshells with everyone you interact with back on Earth. every second that goes by in this place is another second lived and just thinking of the eternity ahead made him feel sick. Einstein had a point; time is relative and my god how long it feels just dreading every second of it.

"Richard! What do you think? Tasty right?" Said Raksha in a loud voice beaming with joy as she pushed herself onto Richards right side him as her breasts swayed slightly from side to side. She was friendlier than what he thought she would be given that she saw him naked, one would at least expect a bit of blush on a unexperienced maiden given that porn doesn't even exist here, this goes even further since before him, Men have been something of a ambiguous existence. one cannot also discard the possibility that since they didn't know what a man was, they didn't know what to be flustered about too.

Richard wasn't blind to Raksha's beauty nor to the assets she had on her but even if he was slightly aroused just prior, now that he had somewhat settled down the visage of her mountain hill did nothing for him as he looked at them with indifference. He knew that even if he found them attractive, he couldn't so easily give in to his primal lust no matter how strong it was for his age.

"You know this meat is not from the boar you killed but it's the same boar specie big sis hunted down a couple of days ago you know." continued Raksha as she pointed at his wooded plate sitting atop his lap since even the village chief had no tables on this poor village.

The wooden plate had a very straight forward meal with little to no culinary art. The boar meat had been sliced into steaks and was sitting cooked on top of his plates followed with berries foraged from the forest and a couple of wild herbs and vegetables which possessed some similarities with those of earth but tasted a little different.

"Huh" answered Richard before continuing.

"Oh yes the meat. It's quite tasty" Answered Richard quite rapidly in between excitement and nervousness.

God Damn it. I can't believe I'm spacing out like this thought Richard. Sure, I was almost raped but I'm still alive and that's a win thought Richard in a bid to reassure himself with what had just happened hour ago.

That said food sure tasted good even without much condiment other than salt which to his expectation was a valuable commodity given the low amount of civilization present in this village, at the very least Richard hadn't seen a human nor their kingdoms but given what he had heard about nobles and what not his initial assessment of this era being somewhat around the time of medieval Europe seems to be right on the money.

"Is it to your liking Sir Richard?" asked Pam in from of me. She was holding a wooden fork and a primitive looking knife for her steak. the liquor odor still making it's presence know from the breaths she took as her cup didn't so much as leave her sight.

She had calmed down and Rhea was at her side followed by Shima who was to her left and looking at Richard as she wolfed down her steak without issue whatsoever. Does that woman even need a knife thought Richard in awe of her appetite.

"Yes Ma'am!" I answered feigning calmness as I had my knife and fork gripped awkwardly digging at my steak which was freakishly hard or at least it seemed that way to me since back home the meat would be more easily sliced whenever we ate beef.

"Good" She shot back before continuing further.

"Listen Richard I am deliberating on the decision of what to do with you since you're our guest here today, but we have arrived at the conclusion that we cannot keep you for long. You might not be from this world, so no kingdoms out there is looking for you." saying so she took a drink from a wooden square cup on her hand, licking her lips before continuing.

"You see, All it takes is that for whatever reason any human from any kingdom but specially the Nosfalt Kingdom to take one good look at you and make the decision that we demi humans kidnapped you from somewhere else to declare us the Village of Heim a harm to humanity or at the very least the men of their kingdom and call for arms to declare war on us and that's something we can't afford contemplate. Do you understand me?" said Pam with a very serious tone in her voice.

[Cough}

a sound came from Shima who was to the side of Pam and she looked at her mothers and then at Richard and decided to speak.

"Mother Pam, Will you have Richard make it on his way to the human kingdom on his own then? He isn't from these parts so he will not only get lost but can attract the humans to us as well. He'll need to be escorted there by me or Mother Rhea to make it there so that we can make sure no humans spot him either and to see that no harm comes to the village due to his existence" said Shima with a matter-of-fact tone.

"She's correct!" Rhea said loudly at the other side of Pam.

Rhea had been looking at her plate the entire time and had not directed a glance towards Richard the entire time and by the look of her plate which had rarely decreased in portion told Richard that she had a lot of things going in her mind which made it difficult to enjoy her meal.

"Shima is correct Pam. We can't let the boy go by himself and get himself killed or be seen by the humans coming from our village" continued Rhea with a listless expression.

Raksha who'd been in a very good mood right at the moment was now silent looking down and her arm was locking into mine. I can't find it in me to tell her that Men and Women don't lock arms if they're just friends but I know she has feelings for me or at the very least is leaning in that direction. I can't find it in me to shake her off.

"Can Richard stay with us for a little while?" said Raksha raising her face with a look of anguish, she stared at her mother Pam who was just contemplating her daughter's behavior. She was more shocked with the amount of change Shima had gone through so the impact wasn't as bad with Raksha but She had designated Raksha as the future head of the village and her daughter behavior even if she expected it to some extent, that knowledge couldn't do anything to assuage her fears.

Raksha had no feelings of attachment for the village, and she really wanted to get out of here. She was smart and given her interest in books, she clearly sought knowledge she wasn't going to find anywhere in these settlements around the village either. although she wasn't capable of reading the books she's been lovingly looking at for many years, she has spent hours trying to decipher the text of them by any means hungry for the knowledge the humans possess.

Well, there goes my breakfast and lunch thought Richard as he felt his hunger disappearing due to the somber mood. He quickly shook his head to the side and addressed the Matriarch Pam.

"Lady Pam" I spoke out loud.

Pam, Rhea and even Shima took notice of my voice and then looked my way while Raksha locked arm took a firmer hold on my arm. Damn this girl might look soft and feminine but her strength isn't anything to scoff at, I may be stronger in this world than my previous one but If i hadn't been chances are that my arm would have snapped. "What is it Sir Richard? Do you wish to stay here at the Hiem village? As I told you earlier, I'm sorry to tell you but we can't let that happen" answered Pam callously but I could understand her misgiving due to my presence since it did in fact meant real danger could come down to the village and as a leader, she would be a failure if she did not look after her people.

"No Ma'am" I shot back then followed further.

"I just want to ask how soon I would have to leave, and may I go through some kind of training here in the village before I leave?" I finished.

Indeed. Richard wanted to train his abilities and gain skills of survival to navigate this new world. It doesn't matter if he leaves and joins a human society since if anything that required him to escape arose, he would not be able to leave since he would just die stranded in a forest or die of starvation. having encountered these villagers were really a God Send to Richard's desperate situation.

Even if he managed to kill a Monster Boar back there, he had never taken one apart by himself nor prepared meat and that's not even the basics like staying away from predators and building shelters. the list could go on forever, but this was reasoning enough Richard deemed it necessary to ask this of Pam because if he didn't then he would be throwing away his one golden opportunity. He wasn't about to let such a fat udder go un-milked.

I think I know a Red Neck who once said that to me. I'm both in awe and a bit disgusted such a saying stuck to me.

"You want to train?" said Pam tilting her head and she decided to put down her cup with some kind of liquid that I'm guessing that's still the same kind of alcohol I had been smelling for a while since I could smell it from where I was sitting at very strongly.

Pam then looked at Rhea who was staring at me with awe and respect, While Shima had a big grin on her face as she looked at my way with a longing look that betrayed her muscular build. Damn I am not going to deal with her again.

"You want to acquire life skills boy?" asked Rhea with a joyful and gruff voice. Her golden eyes bored into me like that of a Wolf looking at her prey which wasn't off the mark given that she was a Wolf Woman with jet black fur and her golden eyes made quite a frightening contrast with her black robes like some kind of assassin.

Her wolf ears were standing at full attention however and she eyed Richard with interest.

"May I train him mother?" asked Shima not missing a beat and looking quite enthusiastic about the prospect. although seeing such a massive woman speaking politely felt all sorts of strange.

"Life skills? Ah, I see" said Pam nodding her head as she picked up her cup once again and filled it up with more drink. She looked at her wife Rhea to which she quickly answered.

"You see Pam this boy has a good head on his shoulders. Let em stay for let's say seven days no?" Said Rhea with a joyful expression. "The boy wants to make sure he stays alive and I can't say I hate folks that want to keep on living" continued Rhea.

"It would have been a waste of food after all if we just feed him and he winds up a dead carcass in the woods outside our view ya know?" Rhea said with a laugh.

That remark sent shivers running down Richard's spine since he once again was reminded that his life was on a thread here in the woods even in another world. No boy out of High School expects to finds himself dealing with death this way thought Richard very much annoyed and scared but he had to swallow his feelings and steamroll ahead.

[Thud]

Shima stood up and took her plate to clean it having finished her entire meal and then spoke up.

"Mother Rhea" Shima said with a similar gruff tone similar to Rhea herself. "I'm going to head out and check out the kill Richard here killed. We should start dismantling soon otherwise we risk it going bad after all. That hide will make a fine robe though." She finished.

"That's right" answered Pam. "Sir Richard, you want to learn survival skill right? then you'll go and learn how to take apart your own kill. unfortunately the hide requires a bit of time to prepare to make it into a robe to our own village's clothes smith can make it into a fine article." Pam continued as she was planning something which made Richard shiver a couple of more times.

"Alright" said Rhea. She also stood up and faced Richard while Raksha was still holding on to him and said. "You're gonna train in the ways of the sword with me boy" continued Rhea with a evil smirk on her face before adding. "You got the power but not skills to handle yourself kid and you need to learn how to manage a fight. We might be okay with you now but I don't know what other villagers might think,

"Right" said Pam as she touched her chin. "We also have to consider the Elves as well. They're the only demi humans who are under some amicable relationships with the humans." she continued.

That made me jolt and with a start to which got a question out of Raksha. "What is it Richard? Oh can I ask you to help me decipher some books I have with me? You're a human right? You might be able to tell me something," continued Raksha with a good mood knowing that she had at the very least seven days to spend with Richard.

"Books? Come to think of it. it's rather strange that I can communicate with you guys given that I come from another world. you're clearly not speaking in English but I can understand what you guys mean when you talk." I said in a whisper.

"Does that mean you could translate?" asked Raksha with a good mood as she suddenly got up and her extra personality bounced along with her good spirits. She got up and pulled both of Richard's arms since he was done with his food since a while ago.

"Raksha you're in charge of taking care of Sir Richard" said Pam with a matter of fact tone. "Take his plate and clean it for him. He doesn't have the time to fool around right now, We are on a tight schedule and we're going to drill some knowledge into him. hehe" said Pam with a sadistic smirk which made both Rhea and Raksha take a step back from Pam feeling the dangerous atmosphere she was letting off.

Damn she is creepy thought Richard as he was being pulled outside with great force by Rhea as if escaping away from Pam. Raksha had a conflicted look on her face and she called out to her mother. Mother Pam, Can I get Richard to teach me the human language?" Raksha moved quickly and grabbed her mother's hand with a puppy face to which even the stern Pam couldn't win against.

"Fine have it your way" answered Pam before getting up and heading to her room. "Come sundown and you'll have him to yourself Raksha, You'll be sharing your bed with him after all since you're about the same size and your older sister has proven incapable of behaving" Pam continued.

"Yes" exclaimed Raksha with joy to which shouted Richard who was currently being dragged outside.

"I'm sleeping together with a young woman!?" I shouted despite my efforts at behaving. How can these people call themselves parents if they're going to allow a young male sleep in the same bed with their future Chief thought Richard. Sure, he wasn't some scoundrel that would take advantage of the good intentions Raksha had for him, but such a move was head tilting to say the least.

Well, this is another world after all. I can't expect for our upbringing to align exactly, when in Rome do as the romans do right? thought Richard

"That at problem?" asked Rhea with a inquisitive tone. "Is something he matter Sir Richard? Do you prefer sleeping with me or Rhea? I'm sorry to tell you but as you know we are a couple. continued Pam staring Richard down.

I decided to swallow my spit alongside my complaints and followed after Rhea towards the village dismantling zone.

[Gulp]

I audibly gulped and thought that I should probably should shut my mouth for more than one reason. I'm a guest by merely flying by the seat of my pants here. I can't inject my common sense at this instance since I would be insinuating that I shouldn't be trusted. I would make the sure to be stomach ulcer enduring pains completely worthless.

I weakly shook my head from side to side to which Pam nodded and proceeded to her own inner chambers and left the dining area to just Raksha, Rhea and I since Shima had gone out since a little earlier to get preparations under way to handle the meat of the new kill, courtesy of yours truly of course.

This is a nice home I thought to myself as I walked through the spacious cabin making way for the village designated area."

"I'll be counting on you Richard" Waved Raksha behind my back as she headed to the cleansing area of the cabin taking care of the dirty dishes I had just left behind. It seems that today will be a busy day but I can't complain just yet because I'm still alive and kicking plus Elves are real.

A smiled crept to my face unknowingly as the thought of such beautiful beings came through my mind. dating such pretty women is a dream come true for any fantasy enjoyer no matter what I thought to myself.

It's up there with sex with a succubus I thought furthering my delusion as I talked to myself in my mind as Rhea mercilessly dragged me outside.

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------

--At the Dismantling Zone

I came outside of the home of the village chief and was immediately surrounded by many wolf girls who to my surprise were all much taller than Raksha by a bit and were all quite muscular. One of them was a wolf woman who seem to be about Raksha's age and her fur unlike Raksha silver fur, hers was a copper colored. her eyes were a radiant red. She was staring at me in surprise, but it was different from the look of the other women who seem genuinely curious for my own existence.

They were not coming nearer and were just looking at me as I made my way to the dismantling zone in the back of the village. It was both funny and kind of scary seeing a lot of women and girls make a pseudo duck line on my way to the designated area. As I made my way over I came face to face with the Monster Boar I had killed, Length alone put that thing around the size of a small yellow school bus. I can't believe I killed that thing.

"Yo Richard." Came a gruff voice from behind the boar. It was Shima and her height was as astounding as ever and don't let me get started on her physique. How does a woman grow that damn large on this world? Is it Magic? could magic be real?.

"Come here and stand next to me" She continued ignoring my thoughts and turmoil currently occupying my mind at the moment. She pulled me with great strength so much so that I thought my arms would be pulled out of its socket like a abused action figurine.

I walked over for the rest of the way soothing my aching arm and stood by her right side looking at the crowd that had grown to about maybe 250 residents if not more which reminded me of a small town election, not that I've been to one but it kind of looks like this on the movies when they portray small town elections where the politicians promise goods in exchange of your vote. there were a lot of young women and girls but rarely an older woman, I wonder what's up with that I thought.

"Listen here" said Shima speaking to the crowd of people that had surrounded us as she got in front of me on a protective posture that made me feel all sorts of conflicting ways.

"This here is a human called Richard" she said as she brought her left arm around my neck down to my chest as she pulled me to where she was standing "and he is under my house protection" she added as she took a small whiff of my scent without any shame. I was no longer shirtless by the way since i had been given a brown common robe made of monster hide. thankfully it the people of this tribe are quite big and they don't look like I'm wearing women's clothes "I would have just liked to not bring him in front of yawl but I have to now since he will be staying at our village for the next seven days." she finished.

She then took a step forward and let go of me and faced the copper furred woman that had been eyeing me just prior. "Silvia you look quite interested don't ya?" sneered the 200cm tall Shima addressing the woman called Silva who's ears perked startled at the call of her name.

"Tch" Silvia clicked her tongue audibly and looked me up and down before leaving without saying a word followed by a group of six other wolf girls of different sizes but their fur was brown all the same. As they left the other villagers opened way for her before losing interest in Richard. they knew he was human but not that he was a male, the robes he'd been given covered his entire body only leaving his head exposed tot the elements.

"Listen here Richard, What do you think is the most important thing about dismantling is" went the conversation but I wasn't really listening.

The Wild boar was being hung upside down from a giant tree and despite the fact that Shima was being very attentive. She looked to have already opened the incision to drain the blood from the body to keep the blood from spoiling the meat. I had to cover my nose at the smell coming off the boar since it was quite potent.

"Ugh" I let slip from my mouth as the massive woman kept talking about where to cut. from what I could see she made incisions down the middle and was now skinning the animal in front of me which made me go pale.

Shima stopped briefly and looked my way with a charming smile that had hints of ferociousness on it still and asked. "What's the matter Richard? first time processing a kill? hard to believe from what i saw you do to this creature when you killed it" said Shima reminiscing the spectacle she had seen Richard perform on the creature.

"Y-yes! well I come from a place where meat is processed and sold separately after all where the people can buy it that way after all. Even I could kill things it didn't mean I could make it so it was preserved and processed how it should be.

[Cut]

[Rip]

[Slice]

[Cut]

[Rip]

Shima kept working and now that she had taken the hide from the boar she begun to gut the animal to the sight that almost made Richard want to hurl so bad he had to put force in his mouth and pressure his stomach as he watched in abject disgust. Richard wanted to throw up so bad he couldn't help it but that didn't matter since what was happening now was like a ad that can't be skipped in YouTube. Richard had asked for this so he had no choice but to honor the lesson he was being given and watch as Shima took apart the giant boar by pieces.

[Gulp]

I swallowed hard trying not to vomit near the animal in a effort not to screw anything up. I can't afford to be seen as a hindrance after all. Not paying any heed to my internal conflict Shima proceeded to remove the organs and wash the animal with previously acquired water from the local river.

"That sounds troublesome" said Shima before continuing. "Doesn't look like your people can take of themselves, I mean what if something happened to the people in charge ya know" She looked back at me and continued to process the meat right before my eyes.

The sun was beaming down at us although it was already close to three in the afternoon by my estimations using the sun as a reference.

"That's true" I answered. "But when your civilization grows large enough society as a whole has no choice but to create industries specialized to fulfil the needs of the people you know. If your population is large enough thinking logically not everyone would be able to raise their own animals" I said without giving it a second thought.

"That so?" she looked at me with a glance before continuing to do her thing in front of me before continuing adding.

"In my opinion nothing beats being able to hunt down prey and the feeling of being to feed yourself you know" finished Shima was she stood right next to me covered in entrails and blood giving me a grin which if it wasn't for all the blood surrounding her, would make anyone heart skip a beat. well aside from the fact of how massive the woman is, I still can't believe how tall she is.

"Y-yeah I can't say I d-disagree with self sufficiency" came out a weak answer from my lips as I looked at her with a pale face. I was slightly trembling like a fawn which simply made me feel really pathetic. thank goodness this world doesn't have a standard for men otherwise I'd be called a damn pussy for being unable to stomach what this woman can.

Richard was dumbstruck as she saw the massive woman before him do such things without batting an eye. the people here are just built different he thought to himself. rather hasn't this woman been acting funny? She is a far cry of the no nonsense predator that tried to mount me earlier today.

"You're wondering why am I being so different?" Shima asked with a smirk. "A little bit" I answered with all honesty. "Well whose clothes do you think you're wearing Richard?" asked Shima with a toothy grin.

Come to think of it, Rhea had given me clothes to cover up my upper body since I had ripped my jersey apart to take on that monster boar, could it be that those robes were a belonging from Shima? well, it would make sense since Rhea gave them to me.

"What do you-" I tried to ask but she cut me off.

"Well, we're done here" Shima cut in "Anything you didn't understand?" she continued as she left the carcass exposed to the sunbathe the meat. She then proceeded to walk towards her other mother Rhea who was going at it with a couple of logs. She was cutting firewood it seems from the distance. As we made our way over, I realized that the villagers were keeping a distance from me just looking at me from a distance while going about their day in a small bustle.

I followed after her and replied "No I got the general Idea but does that encompass all monsters or animals?" I questioned.

She nodded her head and then replied "More or less yes. Smaller creatures are harder to do since the chances of you puncturing a organ or two increases and it contaminating the meat increases at the same time though. not that it matter here in the woods since most of the monsters are Monster Boars." she finished with a smirk.

"You got delicate hands so it would be easier for you" she added looking at my hands with interest which obviously paled in comparison to hers which were significantly bigger than mines, I can't wait to join human society, I bet they will be normal size and I will be able to assert dominance thought Richard trying to salvage his small ego he had since coming to this world.

*--------------------------------------------------

---Later that day

As I walked through the village and behaved like an absolute tourist from back in my world observing the cabins and layout of the village a voice called me over which turned out to be Rhea.

"Boy" shouted Rhea as she moved at a very fast pace chopping fire wood with her axe on hand. She was wearing brown robes different from her usual black ones that she was wearing today in the morning.

I made my way over and waved. "You're chopping some wood Lady Rhea? Can I help?" I politely asked her and she nodded. "You take that side kid" she pointed to her left while she went at it with her axe.

"Take that one over there and let me see your movements" She continued while she kept doing her thing. Shima was long gone as she was washing up the entrail she had all over her body due to the processing of the meat.

[Whack]

"You'd learn anything?" asked rhea as she split wood without stopping for a breather as the sunlight beamed at her figure that despite being slightly covered due to the more body adept style of the robes she was wearing, She was clearly muscular and well defined. Her black fur of pure darkness taking in the radiance of the sun with her yellow eyes clearly set on the target in front of her but her ears were scanning the surroundings for any that would be stalking us.

I grabbed the axe presented to me and begun going at it too, both Rhea and I begun chorusing together as we enjoyed the breeze of the forest that carried the smell of earth and leaves to where we where. This silence is one only men treasure or at least did until I came to these lands.

[Whack]

{WHACK]

[Whack]

[WHACK}

"Yes ma'am!" I answered trying to keep a serene face. I needed to show my manly side to the women of this world I thought to myself.

"Shima didn't try anything right? I made sure to warn her that if she did I process her like she did tot that boar" said Rhea with a chuckle.

I'm not a comedy purist or anything but dark humor like this made me shiver at this woman's lack of tact. "R-Really? Lady Rhea-"

"just call me Rhea kid" said Rhea in a gruff tone. "I dislike those stiff formalities of the humans" she continued before resuming to split wood. Although I am in a world different from Earth where Monsters and other races exist I've yet to see something Magical at all. This is kind of frustrating me a little bit but earlier during our meal i heard something about elves and there is no way I don't have any expectation since I was also informed that the humans also use Magic.

"I understand" I said before continuing with my work. We kept at it at a rapid pace and which had Rhea impressed since she thought my delicate looking hands wouldn't really handle it. that is a awkward feeling since I don't sense her being malicious just caring for my current well being but those are words that could be taken as mockery if it were coming from anyone person from my world I thought to myself.

"Rhea" I said as I continued to split wood alongside Rhea. What's the deal with that woman Silvia?" I asked genuinely curious. This made Rhea stop momentarily as she eyed me with suspicion before continuing to do what she was doing. "She is this village Liasson sort of speak" she said as she was dripping with workout sweat and she continued "She is in charge of trading with other villages and is in charge of interacting with travelling merchants" She added.

"Anyway kid, Listen my girl wants you to help her with her book matters so you can't keep her waiting." She said with a smile that gave some kind of vicious pressure despite looking quite normal. "How bout you go wash up? We got river water stored in Tanks up ahead" she said pointing at the village bathing area with her chin with was a large warehouse looking place but was filled with water tanks they had build with wood and animal hide.

"S-sure" I said and Put down the axe and looked over my work which had netted me about three hundred pieces of log that had been already cut down to size to distribute to the villagers as firewood.

"Richard" said Rhea as I was leaving. "Careful with Silvia okay? She's crafty and just as conniving as Pam is if not worse" she smiled wryly as scratched her nose with the hand that had the big axe on. "I already made preparations so that no one disturbs your cleaning session." she continued. "That should keep any repeats of what happened with Shima from happening again you hear?"

To that I nodded and kept walking.

As I left her to her own devices I thought to myself how since Rhea and Shima were the village hunters couldn't someone else do the fire wood processing instead of them? It would be more optimized that way instead of relying on them for everything. they're starting to look more like handymen instead of hunters to my eyes.

Or so I thought to myself as I approached the cabin of relegated to bathing so I could wash up. My shorts were already washed as I was wearing a robe but that too will need to be washed since i5 was filthy with dirt and sweat with the added bonus of chunks of blood and entrails that managed to land on me as Shima was telling me how to handle wild game.

At the warehouse I took my clothes off and came to the realization that there are no shower heads in this place nor are there bathtubs to submerge yourself with. "Damn it" I cursed to myself. I went ahead and went the old fashion way which is to say the use of a bucket.

"Holy" I scream as the bucket of water hit my skin from head to toe. "This water is freaking freezing," I was shivering like Bambi how do people shower with water this cold. However, I was already wet, and I couldn't stop. Trembling and all I kept throwing bucket after bucket till all the grime I had accumulated had washed away.

Unbeknownst to Richard a copper-colored Wolf Girl was silently looking at him from the rooftop of a nearby building. Her radiant Ruby like eyes bore into his flesh as he complained about the cold, and she couldn't help but feel mesmerized as she looked at his naked figure stopping at his crotch which made her feel all sorts of ways she didn't fully understand.

Another chapter hits the books.