Leave a comment

As we arrived in town, we entered a nearby shop to have a late lunch and to plan our next course of action.

『The fact that we don’t need to talk silently in this situation is quite nice. Once we get back, let’s have the Leader command everybody to learn this.』
『I’m really glad to hear you say that much about it. Originally, this was just my last resort though.』

After all, if I was able to talk even after transforming into a dragon, I probably wouldn’t have tried to learn telepathy. You really never know what the world throws at you.
But still, it seems like Nera-san has gotten the hang of it since she can use it pretty smoothly now. As expected, she isn’t a captain for nothing.

『Mh~m, this meat is delicious…… The issue is that random thoughts get sent if you aren’t careful, I see.』

It seems like they have a good supply of meat here, probably because we’re near a mountain. While eating the steamed boar and herb roll she ordered, Nera-san accidentally said something through telepathy. Maybe it was just that good.
I always make sure to turn off my telepathy every time, so I’m safe.
Well, it’s not like the grilled rabbit I ordered was so delicious that I almost did the same thing too or anything, you know?

『It might be annoying but it’s best if you cut off your telepathy every now and then.』
『I see, it seems I should practice more so I can turn it on and off smoothly.
Now then, about our next move, I would like us to gather information in this town first before we start investigating them. Searching blindly would be inefficient, so let’s figure out the general location of the bandits to some extent.
Since we don’t have much time left for today, we’ll head to an inn after gathering the information and investigate tomorrow, alright?』

『Got i~t. So will we split up for this?』
『…… No, let’s move together. While we’re at it, since we finally have a uniform, let’s go ask the people together to increase the public’s recognition of the Order of Mages.』

I see, we really aren’t that well-known after all. Seeing us together wearing the same uniform would probably leave a strong impression, so it might be best to do so.

『Roger. Since we have this chance, let’s put it to good use.』

Finishing our discussion, we focus on the meat. Yup, it’s not as good as the ones you can get from hunting in the forest but it’s still delicious. This place is also closer than I expected, so maybe Ruti and I can visit here on our next break. Ah, but we can’t go without flight permission, huh.

After enjoying the meal, we walked around the town, gathering information. Maybe since we’re near the rumored place, most of the people know that they’re probably near this town. After hearing the people talk about it this much, I was worried that there has already been some sort of damage done here but it seems like there hasn’t been any direct harm done to the town itself.

However, they say that the bandits have been targeting the wagons passing through the highways, so there is a lot of indirect damage with goods not coming in or with the people here being unable to sell their products to other places.

『It seems like there have been quite a lot of victims. It’s just that the damage reports haven’t reached the Royal Capital yet.
From the rumor and the geography of the land, we’ve managed to pinpoint a few places as candidates for the location of the hideout, so let’s rest at an inn and prepare ourselves for tomorrow.』

With that, today’s inn is this one!
…… Well, it’s just a normal inn though. Nothing particularly special about it, the normal inn.
Well, the bathroom is relatively clean, I guess?

「Come to think of it, this is the first time we’re soaking together. Shall we wash each other’s backs then?」
「Yup, sure. Then Nera-san, I’ll wash your back first, okay?」

Now that she mentioned it, there is a shower room that the Order of Mages can use to wash off the sweat after training. But since there is no bathtub there, this will be our first time soaking in a bathtub together.

Scrubbing and washing off Nera-san’s back, it would be rude to ask, so I don’t exactly know but Nera-san should be fairly older than me, right? But her skin is super smooth. Is this some unique scalekin trait? I’m a dragonoid, so I think I have a similar trait too but I’m not really sure about it. It’d be nice if I did though.

Next, the tail. As I thought, it’s probably sensitive like mine, since it’s twitching as I wash it.

「Nera-san, your tail feels really nice to touch.」
「Is that so? Fufu, thank you.」

Her scales are really fine, supple, and smooth. It feels like the texture of silk, I guess?
In contrast, each scale on my tail is as big as my fingertip. It’s just as smooth but it feels more like… a polished metal or stone?

After I finished washing Nera-san, we switched places. Now it’s my turn. Scrub a dub dub~

「Nevertheless, we certainly have it easy, don’t we?」
「Fueh?」

Since Nera-san just hit an itchy spot, it felt so good that I let out a weird voice. It often gets really itchy around the base of the wings, you know?

「I mean, both you and I don’t really need to take care of unwanted hair, don’t we Natsuki-san? Occasionally, the others at the Order get envious, right?」

Ah~h, that. That’s true, we don’t need to spend time, money, and effort after all. Even for me, I sometimes feel some indescribable stares from Chris or Firu when I change my clothes, so yeah.
Still, being smooth down there does feel a bit weird, though.

「Ruti is the same as us too, but are there other races that have a trait similar to this?」
「Let me think… I’ve heard that forestkin also don’t grow enough to require actual grooming. Even so, there seem to be some folks that are still conscious and take care of it.」

Forestkin, so Ryzna-san, huh. Come to think of it, even though he’s a guy, I don’t particularly remember any traces of beard hair growing from his face. So it’s the same for both genders.

After we finished washing each other off, we got in the bathtub. Today, I flew the entire day and went around asking for information, so I’m really tired. I’ll probably have a deep sleep tonight.