Behind the curtains on the window, I observed light coming in. I opened the curtains and found that the sun was slowly rising, painting the city with a golden hue.

There were more people on the streets now—some opening their shops or stalls, while others were out on their morning walks.

A slow, drawn-out yawn unfolded on my face, so I closed the curtains again and climbed into bed for a long-awaited sleep.

However, my mind couldn't rest easy knowing a literal goddess was bathing in my bathroom, so… in the end, I couldn't fall asleep.

The door of the bathroom opened slightly, and Ume's head popped out, scanning the room.

"Why didn't you give me something to wear below?" she asked, finding me in my night suit on the bed.

"What? I clearly remember giving the pair to you."

"Yes, I got this garment to cover my upper body, but there's only an undergarment to cover below," she replied, sneaking her hand out and showing the sleeves of the shirt.

"Ume, the cloth you're wearing below is not an undergarment," I sighed. "It's called shorts, and girls wear them to sleep. Some also wear them outside as fashion."

"You're lying!!!" she shouted, almost accidentally opening the door. "No woman could wear such revealing clothes outside."

"Ume, why would I lie? Times have changed. You need to adapt to the modern era, or people will think of you as an old woman."

She stared at me for a couple of seconds in suspicion before parting her lips.

"Alright, I believe you, but I'll get really mad if I find out you lied to me," she hissed, letting go of the door.

She awkwardly stepped out, spreading the wet gown she was wearing previously in front of her legs to hide them. A towel was placed over her shoulders to prevent her clothes from getting wet due to her soaking hair.

"What are you doing?" I chuckled, seeing her cute and clumsy walk.

"I'm trying to adapt, but it's still so embarrassing," she murmured, looking down.

I took a brief sigh, grabbed the blanket, walked toward her, and wrapped her body in it before taking the gown from her hands.

"You don't have to force yourself," I said. "There are many things that I'm also unaware of in this world. So let's take things slowly and learn together, hmm?"

I spread her gown onto the table closer to the window and turned to realize she was standing like a statue in her place.

"You're going to wet the whole floor with your hair," I said, picking her up in a princess carry.

"What are you doing, Raj?" she blurted. "No one has shown such audacity to carry me like this."

"So may I become the first one to princess-carry you, Your Majesty?"

"What's the point of taking my permission?" she hissed, wrapping her hands around my neck. "You're already carrying me."

I placed her at the end of the bed with her wrapped legs hanging freely.

"Why didn't you dry your hair?" I asked.

"I don't know how to do that. The maids used to do it for me."

"That's a spoiled Queen for you," I sighed. "May I do it for you?"

"You may."

I took the towel that was placed over her shoulders and gently rubbed her hair, slowly reaching from bottom to top.

Her furry ears were also dripping wet, screaming at me to stroke them, but I decided to hold back.

"Do you want to touch my ears?" she asked, noticing me holding back even without seeing me. Must be a woman's instinct.

"May I?"

"Of course not," she rejected firmly. "You may not until this finger is no longer empty."

She raised her right hand, hinting at her ring finger.

I didn't say anything to that. After drying her hair to the best of my abilities, I left the room to her and decided to move into hers since she didn't want to come outside in shorts.

"Finally, I can rest now."

I stretched my arms, jumped onto the bed, and fell asleep immediately.

---

After passing the whole morning in bed, I woke up at noon to Nymeria's call from the door.

"I heard you started giving lessons on bathing?"

This was the first thing she said, with a raised eyebrow, the moment I opened the door. She had definitely knocked first on the door where I was originally supposed to be. Seeing Ume inside the room must have surprised her greatly, and Ume had surely informed her of last night's events. So now the question was… how much tea did Ume spill?

I ran my horses and came up with the most logical and practical response to her inquiry.

"Do you also want one?" I replied nonchalantly, rubbing one eye with one hand and scratching my stomach under the shirt with the other.

"As shameless as ever," she clicked her tongue before speaking further. "Come out, we are going to visit the city."

"Are we going on a date?"

"What's a date?"

"Nah, it's nothing. Let's go," I replied with a smirk, running a hand through my hair.

We climbed down the stairs, where that annoying snake of a receptionist greeted us with a ninety-degree bow, to which both Nymeria and I didn't respond, and exited the inn.

"Ume isn't coming?" I asked.

"No, she accidentally drenched her gown while bathing, so she told us to buy some clothes for her."

"Thankfully she didn't tell her how that accident really happened," I breathed inwardly.

The weather outside was cozy, with white clouds covering the sky. The streets were not as busy as I thought they would be. They were only filled with the petroling guards and the people that seemed like travelers.

"Where are we going first?" I asked.

"To make you look human again," she replied, pointing to the fourth building across the street.

Its outer wall was made entirely of glass, and on top of it, in fancy writing, "The Tux Shop" was written.

As we were about to enter the shop, Nymeria immediately turned and stared at the empty corner of the street.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I just felt a familiar but very annoying presence," she replied, still gazing at the street's corner.

"Must be a misconception," she murmured after staring for few seconds, then turned her attention to the task at hand.

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