"I'm not washing! Don't touch my dragon horns!"
"Huh?"
"…That actually feels kind of nice?"
"Ah~"
Pff, pff, pff—
Akira squeezed out a generous amount of body wash and gently worked it into Marei Rhein's flame-red hair, slowly piling up soft white foam.
"Hmph~ human~ didn't you eat dinner? Use some strength~"
Marei Rhein sat on a small wooden stool, leisurely swinging her smooth jade-like feet, her arms crossed beneath her chest. Her casual tone carried a faint, barely concealed provocation.
Faced with her urging, Akira smiled helplessly.
This woman—no, this dragon—had been resisting with all her might just moments ago, and now she was actually enjoying the bath.
That said, Marei Rhein wasn't wrong. With the power of destruction protecting her body, dust and grime could hardly cling to her skin. Moreover, after transforming into human form, her skin was astonishingly soft and delicate, radiating a warm heat—likely because her primary magical attribute was fire.
After thoroughly washing her hair, Akira carefully cleaned her small dragon claws.
To make things easier, Marei Rhein retracted most of her draconic traits. Only a few dragon scales remained on her limbs, concealing her sharp claws.
During the process, Akira noticed that the dragon scales on her limbs differed from those on her tail. These were far harder—so tough they looked capable of withstanding the cutting edge of any weapon.
Once her hands were done, Akira shifted his attention to Marei Rhein's small feet.
"Lift your foot."
"Human~"
Marei Rhein raised her soft, fragrant jade-like foot and placed it in Akira's hands, saying arrogantly,
"Touching my flesh is the greatest honor of your life. Why aren't you kneeling and thanking me for my grace?"
Akira frowned slightly. This arrogant dragon still hadn't realized who held the upper hand. It seemed she needed a proper lesson.
He gently squeezed her foot.
In an instant, a surge of magic flowed into the sole of her foot.
This magic—tainted, lustful energy originating from a succubus—was overwhelmingly intense for Marei Rhein, who was in human form and completely unguarded.
It wouldn't harm her, but the sensation was violent enough to make her skin flush crimson and her entire body tremble.
"Y–You! What did you do to me?!"
Marei Rhein glared at Akira, her crimson eyes filled with shock and fury.
An intense impulse surged within her—to kick Akira away with all her strength—
But at that moment, a cold command stopped her.
"Don't move."
With that single order, Marei Rhein's body went rigid, completely immobilized. She stood there like a life-sized dragon-girl figurine, utterly at Akira's mercy.
Akira gently stroked her dragon scales, his voice calm and soft—yet utterly unquestionable.
"Be good when you're bathing."
He continued washing her feet carefully, his fingers gliding lightly over her skin, bringing with them an indescribable sensation.
That electric, tingling feeling made Marei Rhein's eyes widen in shock. As a young dragon who had lived for over ten thousand years, she had never once been touched like this—especially on the soles of her feet. The novelty of the experience sent a powerful jolt through her immature heart.
"Stop it! Don't touch my claws!" Marei Rhein shouted.
Akira ignored her completely and said flatly,"The soles of the feet are one of the places where sweat accumulates most. They need to be cleaned properly."
"You—!"
"Quiet."
"Mmmph—!"
Marei Rhein struggled, but her resistance was pitifully insignificant.
Akira paid no attention to her protests.
After thoroughly washing the dragon girl's delicate feet, his gaze naturally drifted upward—to the snow-white expanse completely mismatched with her petite stature.
That expanse was covered by only a single red dragon scale. It looked as though one light flick of a finger would reveal everything beneath.
And below that—also concealed by just a few dragon scales—
Ahem.
Akira poured body wash over the snowy curves and gave a short command.
"Wash it yourself."
Under his order, Marei Rhein's hands moved on their own, carefully cleaning the areas that Akira couldn't—or shouldn't—touch.
The swaying whiteness was dazzling, almost blinding…
Ahem.
Akira knew his limits. Some areas were off-limits for now—touching them would likely cause Marei Rhein to turn on him immediately.
But—!
His gaze shifted to Marei Rhein's dragon tail.
That was his real objective.
He stepped behind her and gently lifted the plump dragon tail.
The weight was noticeable, but not excessive. Judging by feel, it was probably around fifty to sixty pounds.
Akira poured body wash over the tail and spread it evenly. He slid his fingers into the gaps between the scales, intent on cleaning those areas thoroughly.
The moment his fingers slipped into the scale gaps—
Marei Rhein's eyes flew open wide, her entire body freezing in place.
H–He—What is he doing?!
Her entire dragon being was stunned.
She never imagined Akira would actually clean between her dragon scales!
Did he not know that the gaps between dragon scales were a forbidden zone for dragons?!
Second only to that place—
How dare he?!
Yet under Akira's command, Marei Rhein couldn't move, couldn't speak. All she could manage were muffled "mmph" sounds, which only fueled her fury.
Damn it!
This guy is definitely doing it on purpose!
Definitely—
…Wait?
Why does cleaning the gaps between my tail scales feel… kind of good?
Mmm~
Two hours later…
"Whew—done."
Akira wiped the sweat from his forehead. Washing a dragon tail was far more complicated than he had expected.
Making sure every single scale gap was clean had taken a full two hours.
Never again. He was never bathing Marei Rhein again—this was exhausting.
Once the control lifted, Marei Rhein regained her freedom.
She slowly turned her head, her watery, luminous eyes staring straight at Akira, filled with tangled emotions.
She was angry at his insolence—but she couldn't deny that cleaning the scale gaps had felt incredibly good. The sensation was as if Akira had flipped some hidden switch inside her, triggering an indescribable wave of pleasure.
"Hmph… I'll let you off this once. Without my permission, there will be no next time."
Her legs trembling, Marei Rhein stood up and snapped at him angrily.
Then she hurried out of the bathroom, rushing straight toward the bedroom.
"You're not even dry yet!"
Akira had just taken out a clean towel when he realized she was already gone.
He shrugged helplessly and turned his attention to the system prompt in front of him.
[Marei Rhein's Favorability toward you +5! Current Favorability: 25!]
"…One hell of an episode," Akira muttered, heading toward the bedroom.
When he entered, he found Marei Rhein already asleep, hugging her dragon tail tightly.
The collapsed bed still hadn't been fixed—and it was already occupied. Looks like he'd have to make do in the guild hall tonight.
At that moment, Nata emerged from the crystal orb and appeared beside him.
When she saw Marei Rhein's sleeping posture, a gentle, motherly smile spread across her face.
"She sleeps so adorably~"
"..."
Akira strongly disagreed.
Nata slowly turned around, her beautiful eyes sending him a very clear message.
"Mr. Akira~"
"Since Rhein is already asleep… then now~"
…?