When we returned, Sherry was still busy doing her sword training with Father.
“Hyah! Hyah! Hyaaaah!”
Kaboom! The dog-sized rock that was standing in front of her was split into two. And she didn’t even need to actually connect her sword to the rock. She did it by just swinging it in a powerful downward slice from a distance.
Suddenly, I felt a pat on my shoulder. It was Father’s. “Sorry Hugo, but she totally outclasses you, even though she has only trained for a week.”
“I know, Dad.” I crossed my arms with a grump, sighing. “I really can’t compete with her super strength.”
Of course I was grumpy. I had trained for an entire year, yet I couldn’t even brag about it to either Sherry or Marina. The former could pretty much kick my butt, with or without a sword, and the latter, well, I changed my mind on trying to show off to her. With how much better she had gotten in magic, there was really no point in me bragging how I could do basic swordfighting now. I couldn’t even break a rock yet.
“Not just talking about that. The way she handles a sword—she’s a complete natural.” Father continued his praise. “And thanks to her strength, she’s perfectly suited for my style of swordsmanship too. She’s the student I always wanted!” He said with a laugh.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad. Really, now I felt like my old self again, whenever my parents praised my siblings instead of me.
“What? So I am not a student you want?” I said with a huff.
“N-no! Not at all, Hugo! Not at all!”
Sorry, Dad, but I just couldn’t help myself.
“Oh, don’t be so down on yourself, Hugo.” Marina interjected with a smile, messing up my hair as she often did. “You’re good at magic after all! When you reach my age, I have no doubt that you’d be better at me at it! Right, Father?!” Whew, she sent him a chilling glare that outright reminded me of Mother when she got angry.
“R-right, o-of course you are right, Marina!” He quickly answered with a cough. Ah, he really was weak to a woman’s glare like that. Well, I wouldn’t blame him. It really was quite scary.
Noticing our presence, Sherry stopped her training. The moment she saw me however, she quickly averted her gaze before running away. Huh, what? What did I do?
I would only know the reason later on.
—–
Sherry
Ooh, I couldn’t believe it! I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t even look at him now! This was all her fault! She didn’t need to tell me all that, did she?
It had been only a week since I became a Greenwood, and yet I felt as if I had already been with them forever. Mrs. Renee, or as she insisted, M-m-mother—Ooh, I still couldn’t call her that!—had been really good with me. She made me sleep with her, where I could indulge in the warmth and love that I desperately wanted, even if I myself refused to admit it. She truly loved me, just like she loved her children. It didn’t take long until I no longer minded having my face buried in her large chest. There was nothing embarrassing about it. In fact, it was a wholesome expression of her motherhood. It was normal for a woman’s breasts to grow big when she became a mother. At least, that’s what Nicole told me.
But then, last night, she told me something. About how it was Hugo who fought for me to be adopted into the family. “He stood up and said to us with this really serious look on his face, ‘Father, Mother, I have a request for you two’. He then told us all about you, still with that serious look. Really, it was a mixture of both cuteness and coolness. What a sight that was!” She told me with a dreamy smile and a giggle. I could tell just how much she was proud of him for that speech of his. “‘I won’t let you insult her, Mother!’ he then said with anger when I teased him about you, calling you ‘wild and a bad influence’. Oh, sorry about that by the way. Didn’t mean that in the slightest.” She ruffled my hair with a smile. If she were a stranger, I probably would’ve been furious. I was never able to take any insults directed to me in stride. All the kids that teased me—I beat them up until they all stopped doing so in fear. But her, she was different. I knew she was just putting on an act, but what she said was true. I was wild and dangerous. Anyone who angered me would be hurt by me sooner or later. Even Mrs. Farla, who I was only patient with because I thought I could make her love me one day. And I knew that once I lost that desire, I could end up taking her life in a fit of rage. Such was my selfish self, only ever caring about my own needs and well-being. And so I said nothing, other than a flash of sadness on my face. To my relief, she continued onward, seemingly not noticing the change in my expression.
“At that moment, I knew that you’re not just a flight of fancy of my son. That he truly cares for you and wants you to escape the horrible life you have endured all this time. In fact, I dare say that he likes you, Sherry.”
Wait, l-like? A-as in, r-romantically? N-no, t-that can’t be right! N-no one would ever—
“Now, now, before you go into denial, let me tell you something. You are a really, really cute little girl, you know.”
“C-cute?! N-no! I’m not cute! Not cute at all!” I quickly denied, waving my arms around as I blushed terribly.
“Nonsense. Your long and straight raven hair—many girls would die to have such amy dear.” lustrous hair. Look at how smooth they are.” She then combed her fingers through said hair. “Guys love playing with long hair like this, you know.” She smiled knowingly, as if she spoke from her own experience. Oh, right. She normally put her long blonde hair up in a bun. But now, she’s sleeping with it flowing freely down her back.
“I-I think blonde hair like yours is much prettier though… I-I mean, the Saint has long flowing locks that goes down to her feet! A-and she’s supposed to be really, really beautiful, isn’t she?!” I would’ve brought up Nicole as well. She too had pretty golden locks that I was jealous of.
“True enough.” She continued to smile, still playing with my hair. “Milicis is certainly portrayed like that by the Church, doesn’t she? Well, as a blonde myself, your black hair matches perfectly with your emerald eyes. With some dressing up, you would be so cute and adorable that Hugo would never be able to pull his eyes away from you.”
“N-no! I-I don’t want to be Hugo’s lover or anything like that!” I blushed even harder.
“Oh? Is my son not good enough for you?” Her eyes suddenly went cold.
“N-no, not at all! He’s a really good and cute boy! Any girl would be lucky to have him!” I didn’t notice what I just implied, until she let out a giggle.
“I see. So you think he’s cute, hmm?” Damn it, I’d fallen into her trap! “Then, if, and this is just an if, you end up becoming his lover once you two are older, would it be to your liking?”
I paused. I didn’t know how to answer. I was about to tell that no, she was wrong, that I had no feelings whatsoever for her son. But, that would be a lie. I did have some feelings for him. He was so genuine and sweet that I could not help but be fond of him. He was the first boy I had ever liked in my life.
But as a romantic partner? A lover? A-and a wife even? Immediately my imagination ran wild. I saw him, kneeling before me, offering me a ring as he proposed to me. And, like the shameless fool I was, I imagined him first as his child self, with his innocent, bright smile, before transforming him into what I imagined him to look like once he was older. Still with the same smile, but much, much more charming.
I had made him into a Prince Charming with me as the blushing princess, straight from the stories Nicole liked to tell me, even though back then, I always thought that she was better fitted for the role.
This, naturally, only increased my embarrassment even further.
“I-I don’t know.” I answered her, averting my face away. Ooh, it must be really red right now. “I-I certainly think that whoever he ends up marrying would be very happy… b-but that can’t be me, can it? H-he certainly doesn’t like me that way! A-and I would make a bad wife! I-I have a bad temper, a-and I can’t cook at all!” It’s true. Mrs. Farla tried to make me learn how to, but after months of trying, the cook who was supposed to teach me gave up. “This girl has no talent in cooking whatsoever!” He declared with passion, after I burned Mrs. Farla’s omelette for the 34th time. Yes, he counted it all. In the end, he had to be employed to act as the house cook, to Mrs. Farla’s dismay. It seemed she wanted to save money by making me do everything.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.” She smirked. “I’ll teach you all you need to become a good wife, alright? I too had to learn all this stuff, you know. Cooking, cleaning, satisfying him in bed…”
“S-satisfying him in bed? Y-you mean d-doing—”
“Oh, oops! You’re still too young for that.” She giggled. “I’ll tell you all about that when you’re older, alright?” She winked. I knew what she was talking about. All thanks to Nicole accidentally borrowing the wrong book from the town library. No, to be more exact, she thought it was just an ordinary fantasy book like the ones she always had. But then, we got to the scene where the hero visited the heroine’s room after they had faced a tough battle and won. We didn’t get far, as Nicole quickly closed the book, apologizing for reading such a “sinful” book, before hurrying back to the library to return it. But I remembered how the hero pushed down the heroine to the bed before grabbing her breasts, and that apparently made her moan.
When Nicole returned, I couldn’t help but ask what the odd scene was. She could only answer, “I-it’s something intimate between two lovers. Husband and wife stuff. W-we’re too young to be reading that kind of stuff, really.” She gave me a nervous grin as her face reddened once again, walking away from here to end the conversation. I wasn’t satisfied however, so I went to the library myself, and read the rest of the scene on my own.
And thus, I lost my innocence. I now knew what lovers did in their bedroom together at night, in the exact, graphic detail. My knowledge of the term “satisfying him in bed” came from there as well.
A-and to think I would have to do all that with him? W-with Hugo? I would have to let him push me down and grab my chest before throwing kisses all over my neck, as I moaned lewdly? Then he would take off his pants and take off my panties and thrust his—
”Oh dear, you seem to already know about a wife’s duty in bed already.” I didn’t know how, but she just read my mind completely!
“N-no, I don’t—”
“Shh, that’s fine. That’s perfectly fine. The first time I read a dirty book, I was also eight, just like you. It was my older brother’s actually. Oh, the look on his face when I asked him about it.” She giggled again.
“But enough about that for now.” I sighed inwardly in relief. Thankfully, it seemed she had decided to change the subject of our conversation, saving me from further embarrassment. “So, how about it? Do you want me to teach you all there is to know about housekeeping and being a wife?”
I paused once again. Cooking and cleaning. If I were to be honest, I never liked doing either, not when I was in the orphanage, and certainly not when I still lived with Mrs. Farla.
“Y-yes! I would love to!” I accepted, not because I liked them, but because I wanted to be grateful. I wanted to repay her and her family for accepting me, a complete stranger, as one of their own like this. If I could help around the house by cleaning and cooking and doing the laundry, I would certainly do so.
“Great!” She clapped her hands together. “We can start tomorrow morning with breakfast, alright?” I nodded. “Oh, and one more thing…”
—-
“Ahhh… warm baths after a long day of training really are the best…”
I was now inside the bathroom, sitting inside the bathtub filled with warm water. Thanks to the heating pebble placed inside, there was no need to warm up the water beforehand with firewood (or a fire spell). Thanks to our close proximity with Mira, we can buy magic objects like this pretty cheaply.
And then, all of a sudden, the door opened. Ah, I forgot to lock it again.
“Dad, is that—w-whoa, S-Sherry?”
“Y-young Master Hugo! P-please allow me to wash your back!”
My jaw dropped. There she was, standing in front of the door, wearing what was most definitely a maid outfit.
I blinked once. And twice. And thrice, just to make sure that I wasn’t hallucinating.
Yep, she’s still there, alright, in her glorious frilly maid outfit. She even got the headdress on. The design looked like your usual, prim and proper maid outfit, with a long skirt plus apron and long sleeves. There was just a little twist to it. The chest area was white, as the black dress was open on that part, with her wearing a white underdress underneath.
C-cute! Too cute! And her getting all embarrassed only makes her cuter! I was normally more into blonde loli but she was undeniably, blindingly cute at this point! So much so that I went into panic mode!
“I-I’m coming in!”
“W-w-wait, Sherry, I-I’m naked right now, you know! Naked!”
“T-that’s fine! I-I promise I won’t look! Y-you can just sit on the edge of the bath away from me a-and I’ll wash your back that way!”
Clearly, she was as embarrassed as me. Hell, she might even be more embarrassed.
But for her to do this, there must be a good reason. And I could only think up one single reason. One person, to be exact.
Mother put her up to this, didn’t she?
I sighed inwardly. Ever since Sherry became part of our family, I noticed how she was clearly matchmaking me and her. And this would just be yet another one of her schemes.
Even though I already told her that we’re not like that…
Well, I probably wouldn’t mind actually going out with her once we’re older though… She’s pretty cute after all, hehe…
For someone who had died a virgin like me, I have to take any chances I could to get a girlfriend! That’s one of my resolutions when I was reborn here!
She walked in, still as red as a tomato. She tried to keep her eyes away from my naked upper body, but it didn’t escape me that she would steal some glances here and there when she thought I didn’t notice.
“H-hey, Mother told you to do this, didn’t she?”
“N-no! I-I’m doing this out of my own will! Now would you just shut up and let me wash your back? N-no, I-I mean, p-please turn around and let me wash your back, Y-Young Master Hugo!”
Oh God, the way she corrected herself like that! She’s so cute I feel I could get a heart attack from the cuteness!
I did as she asked, slowly lifting myself upward until I sat on the edge of the tub. I couldn’t help but blush however, as even though I could cover my little guy with my hands, my arse would be fully visible to her.
H-ha… Why am I blushing like this? She’s just an eight year old girl! And you’re supposed to be a pervert, for God’s sake! You can’t show off a little butt to a cute girl? It was like this too in my old life. When I was still a popular kid, I pushed away the girls that took interest in me, simply because I was too shy to engage with them.
That decision haunted me for the rest of my life. I could have become a real deal harem protagonist, goddamnit!
“U-umm, you’re supposed to rinse off with water first, right?”
I couldn’t see how she looked as I was looking away from her. But I could tell that she was definitely still blushing, just like me.
Using the water bucket placed nearby, she poured half of it on my head, making me shiver as the water there was colder than the water in the bath. Then, she gave the washing rug a little soap, before rubbing my back with it. Of course, that soap was quite different from the liquid soap I was used to back in my old world. It was an alchemy concoction, and since this world didn’t seem to have industrialized magic production, a bottle of soap could cost you a fortune. So she had to be careful not to waste even a single drop.
“O-ouch! H-hey, don’t be so rough!”
“S-shut it! I just want to clean you up all proper—I-I mean, o-of course, Young Master! I-I’ll try to be gentler.”
She’s really bad at this maid stuff, isn’t she?
Well, might as well enjoy it while it lasted.
