19 – Demi-human traits
"Hm..."
It had been a week since we entered the forest.
At first, I thought that we would have arrived at the Ryuto village by now. But I had miscalculated the distance.
...That, or the map that I was given was inaccurate.
Probably the latter.
In this sort of world, maps were valuable treasures. I'd forgotten until now, but in the medieval times, maps were definitely royal treasures. They could make or break the tides of battle, after all.
All of that to say, after a week of moving in a straight direction through the forest, we still hadn't seen hide nor tail of the supposed Ryuto village that should be up ahead.
"Master..." Sylvia finished killing a porcupine monster that popped out at us and then flicked blood off her sword, sheathing it. "...Not to doubt your navigation, but are you sure this is the correct way?"
Lia swept her gaze around the surroundings and frowned. "...Goshujin-sama. There still isn't a path or a proper clearing... Are we fine?"
"Well." I tucked the map back into my shield's inventory. Then I said, "This is fine too."
The whole point of heading this way was mostly just to get out of the kingdom's sphere of influence.
We might have taken a wrong turn, but it wasn't like that was a bad thing.
I looked at Lia and Sylvia to follow up with a debrief on the next steps.
But then I noticed something important. Something that I hadn't really been paying attention to until just now.
Namely, the fact that the equipment they initially had was now WAY too tight on their grown bodies.
...No, were they even that grown yesterday morning?! What the heck?
Lia tilted her head. "Goshujin-sama?"
I frowned and quickly checked my party screen and our levels.
===
[Party]
Naofumi Iwatani(?) - Lv. 10
Lia - Lv. 18
Sylvia - Lv. 18
===
Ah.
That would do it.
Until now, they had been under level 18.
But since Demi-humans had their age of maturity determined by their level...
They had both become adults.
Which meant rapid growth.
Which meant they were now fully mature.
And which meant the clothes and equipment I had prepped for them as tweens was now MUCH too small for their overnight adult bodies.
I closed my eyes and rubbed the bridge of my nose. Then I slowly said, "Lia. Sylvia. Since when were you two going to tell me that your clothes didn't fit you anymore?"
"A-Ah." Lia blushed. "I-I thought they were a bit small now..." She tugged at the hem of her shirt, which now barely covered the bottom of her breasts, looking like a VERY short croptop. Then she tugged at the bottom of her skirt, which reached WAY too high on her thighs. "...It feels nice though. The wind on my skin, I mean."
Sylvia blushed as well, her clothes very much in the same state as Lia's. "I-I thought Master enjoyed it...?" Her fluffy white tail shifted as she said, "We look beautiful, right? So... It's fine...?"
I sighed. "...Okay. Break time. I'm making you new clothes."
===
After an hour break where I got the updated measurements from Lia and Sylvia, I used <Synthesis> make them a new set of clothes.
It was a bit awkward making undergarments, pads, and other things... but they were necessary so I just kept a pokerface on as I did.
After another hour of forcing them to change in private and then making sure they weren't just saying they were comfy and actually WERE comfy, we finally sat together at a makeshift campsite.
Sylvia's fox ears twitched as she took a look at the sky-blue tunic I'd made her from woven Mush threads and bunny furs. "...This is almost too pretty for someone like me, Master..."
Lia's tanuki ears twitched as well as she ran her hands along the crimson tunic I'd made her from the fur of Red Wolves that had attacked us, along with Crimson Balloon leather. "...I agree, Goshujin-sama. This is a bit much, isn't it? We're yours, so it would be fine if we just wore rags..."
"First off, no." I immediately reject Lia's words. "You are not 'mine.' You are, nominally, my slaves. But you are also people under my protection. How do you think it would look if we met people and you two were scantily clad?"
Sylvia winced. "I... see Master's point." She tugged the hem of her new tunic and said, "...They would think that Master is a degenerate. But Master isn't!"
Lia quickly nodded. "That's right! Goshujin-sama would never take advantage of us like that! Even though Goshujin-sama could!"
"...Please don't say the last part in public, Lia. Even if it's true, it gives a weird implication..."
I would never do that to them. But other people wouldn't think that. Especially with the whole 'me too' allegation I had on me from that Bitch.
Lia flinched. Then she let out a nervous laugh. "S-Sorry, Goshujin-sama. But..." She gave me a warm smile and said, "...It's true though, isn't it?" She reached up and tugged a bit of her tunic resting over her blouse. "...You say we aren't yours. But because of the slave crests, we ARE. And... if you wanted..." She blushed and looked away. "...We wouldn't say no. I-I wouldn't..."
Sylvia blushed as well and nodded. "Y-Yes. If Master asked...?"
I sighed. "First of all, I don't think you two even understand the implications of that... Well." I paused. "Okay, maybe you do. I don't know how demi-human physiology works after all."
Maybe they had a weird ancestral DNA thing where they just knew all the important knowledge like instincts once they hit maturity at level 18 or something...
"But either way." I continued and said, "We've known each other for just over a week, and you two have been adults for less than a day. I know for a damned fact you went to bed last night still looking like pre-teens, so don't go thinking you can suddenly start trying to seduce me just because your bodies matured."
Sylvia turned a bright red. "I-I wasn't thinking about that, Master!"
Lia turned red as well and looked away. "Th-That's... I-I...! ...O-Okay, maybe I was a little curious...?"
I crossed my arms. "No. Even if it's socially acceptable here, and even if you're technically mentally matured, it's still weird. I need at least another month to get used to the idea, and maybe a year before we do anything beyond the courting stage, got it?"
Sylvia let out a sigh of relief. "...Okay. That's fine." She smiled and said, "...Nothing changes, right, Master?"
Lia relaxed a bit and said, "...If that's what Goshujin-sama says, I agree. But, um... I-If we have questions...?"
"...I will grudgingly answer them." I sighed. "...Like I said, you ARE under my protection. Even if that means I have to explain awkward things like biology. And... reproduction." I deliberately used a clinical term to mentally distance myself from the situation.
Lia turned an even deeper shade of red, almost matching the tunic she was wearing.
Sylvia tactfully decided to change the subject and said, "S-So Master! If we are not going to Ryuto village... or in case we do not go, then what is the plan?"
"Thank you for asking, Sylvia."
And for changing the subject.
I focused and said, "For now..." I swept my gaze across the terrain and said, "...I don't detect anything that's a threat to us. So... I'm sleeping."
Sylvia blinked. Then her violet eyes glittered in excitement. "Master's finally sleeping?!"
Lia gasped, then her tanuki ears wagged in excitement. "Does that mean you trust us to keep watch over you now so you can rest, Goshujin-sama?!"
"Yep." I smiled. "I think it's about time I finally get some real shut-eye. So... let's make a proper shelter for us. Then you two can take turns keeping watch while I get proper sleep."
"YES!"
"Hai!"
I paused and tilted my head at Lia's response. "Lia... I've been meaning to ask."
"A-Ah!" Lia blinked and said, "Yes, Goshujin-sama?"
"...Are you calling me 'Goshujin-sama?' Like, as a title?"
I was fairly certain that the shield was autotranslating words to English.
Or at least, I had THOUGHT it was.
But now that I thought about it some more...
Maybe it wasn't.
Maybe everything here WAS in English and it was the Japanese that wasn't being translated?
Lia shifted. "...It just seemed natural to me? I-I know a bit of my parent's language, but not a lot..."
I hummed. Then I slowly said, "Nihongo. Wakarimasuka?"
It was stilted and sloppy. But...
Lia's eyes immediately lit up. "Hai! Wakatta! Goshujin-sama, nihongo hanasemasuka?"
"Sorry, Lia. But I only know a bit... Hm... Sukoshi wakarimasu?"
"Oh! It's okay, Goshujin-sama!" Lia giggled, placing her hand over her heart. "...This is plenty. It's nostalgic... Natsukashi desu..." She smiled. "The fact that Goshujin-sama knows even a little... it's like proof that time still exists."
Sylvia tilted her head, looking confused.
When I saw that, *I* was confused. "...Eh? Sylvia, you don't understand it?"
Sylvia shook her head. "No, Master. ...Should I?"
I frowned. "Aren't you from overseas?"
"I... am. But..." Sylvia tilted her head. "...I do not know that language. I know the commontongue here that we are using. But the one from my childhood is different."
"Hm..."
I stared at Sylvia, thinking.
The Slave Trader said she was a 'rarebreed from a noble bloodline overseas...'
And I had thought she was like a kitsune. But... Maybe...
"Nǐ liǎojiě wǒ ma?"
One of the very few phrases I knew that I had picked up from a phrasebook while I was visiting mainland China for a work trip back in the day.
Sylvia's eyes immediately brightened and she said, "Wǒ míngbái! Wǒ míngbái!"
"Huh." I blinked and said, "Ah, sorry, Sylvia. That's all I know."
Sylvia's fox ears drooped a bit. But then they immediately went back up as she said, "That's okay! I can teach Master!" She hugged me and said, "The fact that Master knows even a little... It makes me happy. Very, very, very happy..."
Lia joined in the hug and said, "Me too! Goshujin-sama...!"
"Okay, okay." I smiled and wrapped an arm around both, hugging them. "That's enough. Now, I think I've earned my sleep. So let's set up a shelter and bed for me, then you two can make sure your precious Master and Goshujin-sama here rests."
"Hai~!"
"Yes, Master!"