Day Four of the Dungeonless Week
I slowly moved out of bed, I was a little confused over what just happened. I let out a sigh and turned down to Hestia who wore the same outfit she always did. I smiled softly at her sleeping form.
I think today is a good day to get some new clothes!
Mysterious Dream Sequence? I'm sure it will make sense later! I normally didn't dream though, so I was just going to assume this was connected to my Persona or something like that. Either way it didn't seem to make me explode or anything, so it was probably fine!
Though that did make me consider who my Persona even was? Whoever I had the Persona of didn't seem to be a shounen protagonist like me, or at least not in the same way. After all I'd at least try to fight this mysterious 'Goddess' first. Though maybe he already tried that? Perhaps I'll find out in the future!
Yet for now I have an ultimate mission.
Today is the day. Today is the day I finally take a shower!
I don't care what it takes, I don't care what must be done. I shall become clean! I'm icky and gross, it sucks!
When I'm fighting and working up a sweat they are simply the 'waters of battle' but when I'm just walking around they become a hindrance in so many ways.
I'm a Shounen Protagonist, not a NEET that avoids showers!
Hestia seems to never really get dirty or sweat, truly she is a lucky Goddess!
"Hestia, I'm going on a quest to find a shower."
She seemed to stir awake for a moment before nodding and passing right back out with a few words coming out of her yawning mouth.
"Alright, have fun."
I nodded down to the Goddess and 'silently' climbed up the ladder and cracked open the hatch. Belle was staring at me while slowly setting her knife down.
"Ah, sorry if I scared you Belle."
The bags under her eyes and frown on her face made me slowly walk out of the chruch, but her words cut me off.
"Where are you going?"
"To find somewhere to bathe-"
It was like she teleported next to me in an instant, a great desire in her eyes of which I hadn't seen until now. Ah, she was someone with money right? So she probably wasn't used to not being able to bathe.
That sucked!
Fear not my companion, we shall find a place to become clean!
"Are you ready then?"
She let out a grunt and I'd never seen a more determined Belle in my life! I gave the girl a bright smile and patted her on the shoulder. I already knew what I had to do.
Foolish Belle. Don't you know that I'm way faster than you?
I picked her up and bolted off into the city.
"Wha-"
I sprinted and started running through the city, I needed to find a Hotel or something. Little Inn's probably didn't have baths or anything of the sort so we needed to find a big place that clearly catered to rich people!
Was it wrong to live with Money in Medieval times?
My pouch of 15,000 Valis would hopefully be enough, though once we got our own place I'd hire a mage to make a shower. If they could even do that . . . Perhaps Welf could? A magic shower nozzle that made water and a magic drain that deleted it?
He truly was a reliable guy . . . probably! He was honest at the very least, and I couldn't fault him for that.
The bunny attached to my back clung on for dear life as I slowly stopped outside of a large building that seemed to have remained open throughout the night.
Cool! Belle unfortunately seemed to be quite dizzy so I opted to keep carrying her.
"Sorry Belle, cleanliness waits for no mortal!"
She seemed to be trying to say something as I walked inside, but she kept cutting herself off and was talking like she had a bank account with 12 Billion Dollars in it so I couldn't really understand her.
"Y-you insolent- L-lech- Y-you- I-"
"It's alright Belle, words are hard!"
I let out a small sigh and patted her on the shoulder as a woman who was probably double my age approached us.
"What can I do for you on this wonderful morning sir? Anything I can help you with personally?" Her voice was sultry, sort of like my older cousin when she was trying to talk to all the girls her age that I somehow ended up getting involved with in my previous world.
This poor woman . . . she was just as socially awkward as my older cousin! She truly had it rough. I gave her a sad look for a moment before I grinned and plopped a hand on Belle's shoulder.
"Yep! Me and my companion here are looking for a private bath, is it possible we could only book it for an hour?"
The fair skinned woman let out a light laugh and her sizable breasts bounced with the movement. Her hair was tied in a bun and she had olive eyes. She was quite the beauty! However I could not be swayed with an adorable rabbit by my side!
"Only an hour? Not very confident in your abilities are you?"
I just shrugged. An hour was a long time for a bath anyways, though perhaps the people in this world were just super slow when it came to bathing? It was entirely possible with baths being rare that they had special techniques!
Could I learn such a power?
Belle seemed to regain some of her sanity as her jaw dropped. Her face was beat red and she seemed to be shot through the heart with rage as my next words left my mouth.
"Maybe you could teach me then?" I smiled at the woman, and she smiled widely right back.
"Of course I could young man-" The woman spoke but was immediately cut off by Belle who interrupted her with a venomous tone.
"That is not up the choice of my foolish companion. Do not tread what you can not handle."
The woman snorted lightly and gave a dangerous smile to Belle. However I decided to interrupt what was going on. I didn't want the Rabbit to be mad at this nice lady!
"Well if Belle doesn't say it's alright then it's not alright." Perhaps she just wanted to teach me herself? The woman let out a faint sigh but smiled nonetheless.
"So be it, that will be 3,000 Valis per person."
Just for the hour!? What the hell was that!? Alas I promised Belle cleanliness, and as of such she would receive it.
I handed the woman the money and she started to look at our pair slightly differently. It was a bit odd, sort of like we were being compared to each other? Was I being judged? Was Belle being judged?
I didn't really care, but it was still a curious thought!
"Alright you two, enjoy."
The woman set us into a small room with white marble tile, there was a decent sized bath in the center. Along the walls were tons of different things.
Some kind of drink? There were actually a lot of different drinks, I recognized one of them as some kind of wine (probably) but some of these were pink and purple. It took me quite a while, but eventually I did find what I was looking for.
Belle's expression was dark as I turned around. However I simply had to show her what I'd found! However as I spoke she was taking off her shirt with a fiery blush. Was the heat already getting to her?
Nonetheless I found what I needed after a bit of searching!
"I found the Soap! Let's do this!"
She spoke just after me and I was confused by her words, as they didn't make any sense with what I'd said!
"You beast to force such a thing upon a Lady- wait, what?"
"What?"
She looked down at her breasts and I followed her eyes, they were pretty small, but they were cute.
Wait a second. Didn't my cousin say that I shouldn't stare at a girl's breasts? That it was rude?
"Ah, I'm sorry Belle. Let's just take our bath and go, I can look away if you'd like." At those words I turned around with a sad sigh. I'd bathed with my Mom before, I suppose I saw Belle as family to soon . . . a faint tear threatened to leave my eye yet her next words cut me off.
"I-It's alright."
I whipped around with a smile and gave her a hug, though it was a bit awkward because she was half clothed and I was fully clothed. For some reason she kept staring at my pants, but I couldn't really get why.
I started to take them off and she practically reeled back, yet her eyes still locked onto my lower area.
Belle was a weird girl, seriously, my eyes are up here! Oh, maybe Belle was bad with eye contact, that was a sign of Autism . . . that would explain so much actually!
Belle was certainly on the spectrum! Everything made sense now!
Isabelle Cranel POV
Beast. Lecher. Pervert.
All words I'd prepared to use to describe him if he tried to force me into such a situation with the baited promise of cleanliness.
Yet I could not speak them in good faith as I stared.
Grandmother had told me of the countless perverted men, and warned me of the tactics they'd attempt to use.
However I could not be prepared for such deviousness from Andrew. I'd thought him a Fool, yet he was far more Foolish than I could have ever anticipated!
He was far too honest, and honestly quite idiotic.
I continued to stare at his underwear as though looking for something before I blushed with extreme embarrassment and turned away.
W-was I the pervert? Could it have been that all those times he offered to 'sleep' with me he truly only meant just that? I heard no lewd sounds from Hestia, so it was entirely possible.
I buried my face in my hands, the sheer audacity of the situation blindsiding me.
Yet I had never shown to be a pervert in the past, so why now? Why with him?
Why did I not turn him down so readily?
I must have been stock still for far too long because water fell on my head, and liquid soap started to run through my hair as he washed it with gentle hands. It felt good, unlike how rough Grandmother had been with me.
I bit my lip and let out a weighty sigh that I felt I'd been holding back for far too long. I'd felt myself letting go, and I could not prevent anything from resisting the sheer care of which he treated me.
"Used to have to watch my younger cousin all the time when he was a baby, so I got pretty good at washing other people. You look stressed, so just lay back and enjoy Belle!"
His voice was so jovial, as though he lacked a care in the world despite how much he'd claimed to desire and be capable of.
I spoke to him, the words leaving my mouth without a thought. Just a question I'd felt I'd had to ask, because I HAD to know his answer.
"How can you be so happy when you set out to accomplish so much? How aren't you weighed down by everything?"
He paused for a moment before taking a seat next to me on the stone bench inside the water. He looked straight into my eyes, as though he'd been looking straight into my soul.
"Belle you're a lot smarter than me." I blushed at the compliment, but he continued. "I know you can see the problems with this city, all of the injustice, pain, greed, hate, and despair."
I let out a slow nod, curious to where he was going with this. He just gave me tons of reasons why fighting was so hard, why it hurt so much simply to exist, pains I knew far too well.
"I'm certain so many have gotten hurt trying to be good, trying to be kind. To the point where living with kindness and joy is seen as weakness."
"Then why, why be weak?" Grandmother had told me weakness was a sin, and I'd do my best to correct it. That was all kindness could ever be-
"It makes me stronger."
I blinked at his words. What? Before letting out a defeated laugh, he really was a Fool. His casual smile made my heart accelerate and his words made my chest hurt.
"Inaction leads to depression and stress. Action leads to positive change and hope." He chuckled.
"When I was kid my dad told me something I'd never forget. He pointed high to the sky and shouted to the heavens that 'If you see someone suffering, do something, allowing that to happen causes your heart to suffer. So let's fight for the sake of everyone's hearts!"
I let out a faint breath. His logic was ridiculous.
"Couldn't I just hide away and never see the suffering of the world then? Couldn't I distance my heart until I felt nothing? What if I couldn't do anything at all, what if every time I made an action in a desperate attempt to bring happiness to someone it was ruthlessly crushed. What then, what if everything I do doesn't matter?"
He gave me a hug and whispered in my ear. It sent a chill through my body, to the point where I'd completely forgotten we were both basically naked.
"Would that make you happy?" He gently peeled away and looked at me with faint tears in his eyes. He let out a sad smile and continued.
"Belle, the truth is that everything we do one day is going to turn to dust at the hands of time. Every single action we take doesn't matter on the cosmic scale. It's insignificant to the greater world."
Then WHY-
"Yet, we aren't cosmic beings, we are insignificant beings who value insignificant acts. We like to read stories despite them not providing nourishment, we like to spend time with those we love even though it may not grant us shelter, so many actions we take don't directly contribute to our survival yet we take them anyways."
He took a breath and continued his speech.
"We are strange beings in an even stranger world. Even if someone tries to tell me that it will all be undone, even if everything will one day be erased, I will keep fighting!"
He gave me a radiant smile, a crazed look in his eyes I'd never seen before. As though he was facing off against a mighty monster with a blade in hand and ready to defeat it in order to protect the city behind him.
"Even if we fade, someone else will bear the torch for as long as they can, for as we inspire, as we save, as we act as Heroes, others will rise to the occasion! They too shall pass on that flame, and while I know it will one day burn out, the positive change to the lives of countless people will be worth it! Even if I can only save one person, that is still one person I've saved! Don't you get it Belle, it's not the scale that matters. It's the desire for action and action itself!"
At this point he was standing on the stone, pointing forwards at nothing in particular. However I couldn't help but feel as though he was pointing towards the most important thing in the world.
"I fight for joy, I fight for kindness, I fight for love, so I ask of you my treasured companion . . . Will you not only fight for what you believe in, but experience the fruits of your compassionate heart as well?"
I wanted to be happy. I wanted to be a Hero. I wanted to be so much more than an Avenger, yet those feelings still weighed me down. I wasn't a Hero in the same way he was. I was wreathed in darkness, but I could feel his hand pulling my heart up despite the tugging feelings. It was confusing but I had come to a conclusion.
I still spoke the words, my heart knew what it wanted.
It wanted to experience the joy this world had to offer instead of falling into despair.
It wanted to be saved. It wanted to fight alongside and become a Hero.
"I will."
Is it Wrong to Find Joy in Fighting the Dungeon?
"Then I'll be glad to have you by my side. Until the very end."
He gave a heroic smile that warmed my heart alongside his words, yet my eyes slowly fell down to his exposed p-penis and I couldn't help but blush and splash water at him in order to block my vision.
I was still a noble Lady after all . . . so why did I hesitate to block my view!?
I stared into his eyes while he gave me a laugh at my actions.
He was a Fool, yet one I had no doubt could one day become something great. His heart was that of a true Hero, and I couldn't help but look up to him for that.
We'd finished bathing shortly after that, and I still was uncertain if I'd be able to refuse him if he asked that of me. In fact I think I might just get enraged if someone else dared try to take my Hero.
Yet I still felt a feeling I did not understand. A desire, a heartbeat, a rush.
Could it be . . . n-no. I can't get distracted, also there's no way I'd be such an easy woman! I refused to be seduced so quickly!
If you'd like to give me some support, you can do so below. Every little bit helps me put more time into this, and there are even some benefits!
P a treon . com (slash) BobOfTheHedgefield
AN: I wrote this in a fugue while drinking some Green Tea. Anyways in this one Andrew takes Belle to a Love Hotel and shenanigans ensue. Shenanigans go from 'this is quite silly' to 'this is hopeful but also a bit depressing!' really fast!
Also I can't believe the Noble Lady is this perverted! I can't believe so many older women are perving on Andrew! Though at least Belle is his age . . .
Feel free to leave comments or questions down below, I read them all!
Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one!