The bath had gotten quite chaotic. Even when most of the girls were chatting among themselves, it still sounded loud in such a confined space.
I didn't really mind it, though. Watching their liveliness brought a quiet sense of satisfaction to me.
The noise also helped distract me from the more… distracting thoughts running through my mind.
Though my hands clearly didn't get the memo—they were still busy groping the wolfkin girls beside me. Roxanne and Setsuna didn't seem to mind in the slightest, instead leaning into my arms contentedly.
After a few minutes, the noise gradually settled down.
Taking that as my cue, I decided it was time to move on to washing their hair.
After telling Roxanne, I stepped out of the bath—with a stiff wet boner making things slightly awkward—and went to grab the soap and buckets from the other side of the room.
I won't lie… I did feel a bit self-conscious.
The moment I stood up, the chatter in the room had died down almost instantly, and I could feel every single pair of eyes on me.
Thankfully, once I sat down behind Roxanne, their attention slowly drifted back to their own conversations.
Still… I would rather not repeat that experience.
From tomorrow onward, I decided that I would just move the soap and buckets to this side before getting in the bath.
Shaking off the lingering awkwardness, I focused on the task at hand—washing Roxanne's hair.
Her hair was already silky smooth, making it a pleasant experience. Her wolf ears felt soft and warm in my hands, and from this angle, I also had a perfect view of her wet cleavage peeking from the water.
All in all… it was a very enjoyable position to be in.
"It was nice to see you get along so well with Wendy today," I said, gently massaging her scalp.
"Yes, Wendy is very kind," Roxanne replied with a soft smile.
"It looked like you two became fast friends almost instantly," I said with a chuckle.
"Wendy and I have quite a lot in common, so it was easy to talk to her. I especially liked how respectful she was toward you, Master," she added warmly.
I couldn't help but smile wryly as I could think of two other similarities between them that stood out even more.
"Setsuna would like to meet Wendy," the wolfkin girl said from the side, her voice filled with excitement.
"Hehe, you will like her too. She is quite wise and intelligent—as she was able to recognize Master's greatness so quickly," Roxanne said happily.
Hearing that, even Lillia seemed interested in meeting her, and soon the girls began chatting among themselves about how respectfully Wendy had treated me after learning I was the Hero.
From their conversation, I could already tell—they had started to think of Wendy as part of their growing group… one that seemed to revolve a little too much around "Worshipping their Master."
Sometimes, when they spoke like this, I couldn't help but wonder—
were they even talking about me…
or some ideal version of me that didn't really exist?
Was this what idol worship felt like?
Just as I was about to finish applying soap to Roxanne's hair, she suddenly asked something that made me freeze.
"Master, about the princess we met today… she is your friend, right?" Roxanne asked curiously. "So did you meet her after leaving your Master's training, before you arrived in Vale City?"
"Uhm… that—" I coughed awkwardly. "First, close your eyes. Let me wash the soap off," I said quickly, dodging the question as I tilted her head, placing it above a bucket and poured water over it.
The lie I had told them—about the imaginary old Master, about living isolated in the mountains—was starting to catch up with me.
I quickly began thinking of a way to cover it up.
Rolena had stayed in Border Town for the past three months, and before that she must have been in the Imperial Capital.
Matching our timelines wouldn't be easy…
Maybe I could say we met briefly and became acquaintances?
"Master, you also seemed to know quite a lot about that witch, Nightingale—even without meeting her," Sherry said thoughtfully. "Not to mention everything else you knew about witches. Roxanne-san even mentioned how you solved a major problem that even they couldn't figure out."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"How exactly did you come to know all of this, Master? Surely it can't just be from reading some ancient book?"
Her words were a clear jab at the excuse I had used before—about gaining knowledge from old books during my time with that fake 'Master.'
Judging by her expression, there was no way that same lie would work again.
"Ah… I feel so refreshed. Thank you, Master," Roxanne said happily, running her fingers through her freshly washed hair.
I could only smile wryly at how nonplussed she looked after thrusting me inside this sea of landmines.
Several of the girls had gone quiet now, their attention fixed entirely on me as they waited for my answer to Sherry's question.
Technically, I could dodge this. I was sure Roxanne would jump in and deflect things with her usual—"Because it's Master."
But if I kept doing that…
they might eventually stop asking questions altogether.
And while these moments weren't exactly comfortable for me, they were still one of the few ways I could understand just how different my knowledge—and common sense—was compared to people in this world.
More importantly…
I didn't want them to start thinking their Master was lying or hiding things from them.
…Even though I absolutely was.
"Sigh… alright," I said, straightening slightly. "Looks like it's time to tell you all another one of my secrets."
"Master's secret?" Roxanne repeated, stunned.
"Ooh, I love secrets!" Shea said, bouncing in the water.
"We would like to know Master's secret," Ram and Rem said together as they moved even closer.
In fact, not just them—every girl in the bath drifted toward me, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Seeing all these naked girls crowding around me while I sat there with my erect dick made my thoughts immediately spiral in a very different direction.
For a brief moment, it almost felt like they were all gathered here waiting for me to spray my seed all over their faces!
"Alright, quiet down. Let Master speak," Roxanne said, clapping her hands sharply.
The sound snapped me out of my fantasy instantly.
"Master, please speak about your secret freely," Roxanne added with a gentle smile.
"Right… but Setsuna, come here. Let me wash your hair while I talk," I said, gesturing her over. It was already getting late, and I didn't want to waste too much time.
Setsuna obediently nodded and moved in front of me, mimicking Roxanne's earlier position.
I gathered some foam and began washing her short blue hair. It felt a bit rougher compared to Roxanne's silky strands, but I was sure that with time—and regular baths—it would soften too.
"Master, you were about to tell us how you knew about witches," Sherry reminded me, sounding a bit impatient.
"Right," I said with a wry smile. "So… after my bloodline power awakened, I started having very vivid dreams."
"Dreams?" Jasmine muttered, intrigued.
"What kind of dreams?" Anastasia asked.
"Were they good dreams?" Ram added.
"Were they bad dreams?" Rem followed up.
"Neither, really," I said, gently working the foam through Setsuna's hair and around the blue and white fur of her ears. "If I had to describe them… I would say they were just very strange."
"Strange dreams, huh…" Shera muttered, blinking thoughtfully.
"Ooh, ohh! I once had a strange dream where I was riding a big Kyupiko and flying through the sky!" Shea said, hopping excitedly with a wide grin. "But then I fell off my bed because I was hungry, so I quickly ate a Kyupiko I had hidden!"
She said it all so quickly—and so proudly—that the other girls could only stare at her in confusion.
So she was just hungry… and dreaming about food. Makes sense.
Though the image of a rabbit girl riding a giant carrot through the sky was… quite funny.
Although I was sure she would be dreaming about riding something else very soon!
"Dreamu… being fish-desu!" Miria chimed in with her broken speech. "Swimming freely… eating more fish-desu!"
…So in her dreams, she was a fish… and she was still eating more fish?
"Girls, don't interrupt Master. Let him speak about his secret," Roxanne said, clapping her hands again before turning back to me expectantly.
I had been half-curious to hear what the others dreamed about, but Roxanne and Sherry clearly weren't going to let this turn into a story-sharing session.
"Right," I continued, "as I said, these dreams were very vivid. And they were strange… because they weren't about me, but about someone else."
"Someone else?" Kunou murmured, fascinated.
"Yes. Each dream was about a different person. They showed me glimpses of their lives—sometimes short, sometimes long. And every time, I was watching from above… like I was watching a mov—"
I paused for a split second.
"—a play. Like watching a theatre performance," I corrected smoothly, hoping they at least had theatres in this world.
"Ah, a theatre play! I've always wanted to watch one!" Shera said excitedly.
"Really? That's just a pastime for rich people," Remu said with a scoff.
"That's true. Mostly only nobles go to watch theatre," Viviana added with a nod.
"It's that stingy Actor's Guild," Anastasia said with a huff. "They only perform in the Imperial Capital, and their ticket prices are ridiculously high—even for a single seat. Even merchants don't scam people that badly."
"Well, hearing that only makes me want to see one even more," Jasmine said with interest.
"I… I have seen a couple of theatre plays," Erina said hesitantly.
"Really? Tell us what they were like!" Shea asked eagerly, clinging to her arm while pressing her boobs close.
"Well, it depends on the actors and the script," Erina replied modestly. "I wasn't that interested myself, but I do know that for especially popular dramas, even the royal family sometimes attends."
"Wowww," a few of the girls reacted in awe, making Erina blush slightly.
"Okay, that's all nice, but can we get back to Master's secret now?" Sherry said, clearly irritated by the constant interruptions.
Personally, I didn't mind them drifting off-topic—I was learning quite a bit.
For example… an Actor's Guild existed.
Which meant there was probably an Actor job too.
Was performing on stage—or in front of an audience—the requirement to obtain it?
…Yeah, I would definitely have to look into that later.
I coughed lightly and brought myself back on track as all the girls' attention shifted toward me again. Meanwhile, I was just about done washing Setsuna's hair.
"So, these vivid dreams are always about other people," I said, my tone turning serious again. "Sometimes they're just about their daily lives… but most of the time, they're about them struggling or suffering."
"That sounds like a nightmare," Nyx muttered, her distant gaze softening slightly as she looked at me with a hint of sympathy.
"Yes… most of the time, the dreams end with them still suffering," I admitted with a wry smile. "But sometimes… they end with them overcoming those struggles."
"That sounds really nice, Master," Lillia said with a gentle smile.
"At first, I treated them as nothing more than dreams," I continued with a sigh. "I didn't even connect them to my bloodline powers."
"But then… I started meeting people I had seen in those dreams."
I paused briefly.
"And I realized that while their stories didn't match exactly, a lot of what they were going through… was the same."
This was the explanation I had come up with—
or more accurately, the lie I had constructed.
Dreams were the easiest way to justify my meta knowledge.
It wasn't the truth…
…but it was believable.
And more importantly—
This lie didn't leave as many holes in it for someone to question.
"Wow, Master… does that mean you can see the future?" Shea asked in surprise. The other girls gasped in amazement as well.
"No, weren't you listening? Master can dream about someone's future," Shera added, trying to correct her.
"No," I said with a wry smile, shaking my head. "Like I said, sometimes a person's life is nothing like what I see in those dreams. Some of them are far too bizarre to be real."
"So… who have you dreamed about, Master?" Vesta asked curiously, scratching her head.
"Master must have dreamed about witches… like Nightingale," Yasaka said thoughtfully.
"Yes. Not just her, but also the third princess, Rolena," I replied. "In fact, because of what I saw in those dreams, I already knew quite a bit about her… and the problems she would face. That's how I managed to convince her to accept my claim of being an old acquaintance of hers."
"Ah! You must have done that when you asked me to guard the door," Roxanne said, connecting the dots.
I nodded in agreement.
"I also learned quite a bit about the princess's sisters… as well as Nightingale, Wendy, and some of the other witches. In fact…" I added with a faint smile, "I had even dreamed about some of you before we met."
That line was deliberate.
If they believed I had already seen parts of their lives… it would make it easier to explain any slip-ups later.
Sherry, however, narrowed her eyes at me.
"Master…" she said slowly, "…don't tell me these so-called powers of yours—the ones that show you other people's lives—only lets you dream about… girls?"
I stared at her.
…and realized I had just walked straight into that one.