Chapter 9: Hide-and-Seek in Another World
After leaving Buren's house, Milk arrived home just as the sun was setting and dusk was falling.
"Son did you learn well from Buren?"
"Y-yeah! Auntie was really kind and taught me well."
"Oh really? 'Kind' isn't a word I'd usually associate with Buren. Hohoho are you hungry? Come in, I'll give you dinner."
"Okay, Mom "
Milk couldn't possibly tell her that he'd exposed himself and masturbated in front of Buren, so he just glossed over it to ease her worries.
He nursed at her breast and, exhausted from his day with Buren, fell asleep early that night.
The memory of having to masturbate in front of his beautiful aunt would likely linger in Milk's mind as an embarrassing black mark for a long time.
[Go to sleep, Milk.]
"..."
Normally, he would have replied, but he was so tired that he fell asleep the moment he lay down, unable to answer Ru.
Understanding his exhaustion, Ru quietly began her work: gathering and concentrating a numbing agent in his penis to protect him from Buren's advances the next day.
[Work will be complete in two hours. Expect only minimal internal sensation, no external shock. 1, 2, 3 control complete. All minor sensations eliminated. Work will finish in 1 hour 59 minutes.]
Like a well-programmed system, she did everything she could to protect his body.
Tomorrow, after Tree Day, would be Iron Day. Since Buren's lessons were on Water and Tree Days, Ru's goal was to help Milk survive just one more day before he could rest.
The numbing agent would also protect him from any unexpected moves by Buren.
Milk's penis was gradually losing sensation, but the effect would last only until Buren's lesson ended. Since prolonged use could cause side effects, Ru planned to redo the process each night, but never for three weeks straight.
All of this was to ensure Milk could live safely. Once the achievement quests were complete, everything would return to normal, even if it meant more work for Ru.
The next morning
When Milk woke up and went to pee, he was startled by the strange sensation below and called out to Ru.
'Ru! Ru!'
[I'm here.]
'I can't feel anything down there! What's going on?!'
[The numbing agent has been properly concentrated. It will remain until today's sex education is over. I've set it so sensation will return as soon as the lesson ends, so don't worry.]
'Ugh... I didn't expect it to feel like this... It's so weird. I can't feel anything when I pee just a sense of something leaving me... It's totally strange!'
[I've made sure there's no impact on your health. Please just endure the discomfort for five days. After that, it's all over.]
'Ugh... Okay. This is really weird...'
Thanks to Ru's help, Milk was able to get through Buren's lesson that day much more comfortably, since he felt nothing in his penis.
That day, Buren finally touched his penis, explaining its function and touching the inner flesh as part of the lesson.
If Ru hadn't intervened, things could have gone badly his sensitivity was definitely developing. If a woman's hand had touched him, who knows what might have happened.
'Haa... haa... Milk's penis. A little boy's penis!'
That day, Buren indulged herself by looking at and touching his penis as much as she wanted. She was still acting rationally, but with four days left, would she be able to keep her composure?
Milk finished the lesson safely and, after Buren saw him off, returned home and fell asleep as soon as he lay down, just like the day before.
The next morning
"Milk Milk!"
"Mmm..."
Milk accidentally overslept and woke to his mother Millie's voice. Seeing the sun already up, he realized he'd slept in and quickly got dressed and ran outside.
"Sorry, Mom! I overslept..."
"If you're tired, it's okay. Now, eat first."
"Okay!"
He latched onto Millie's breast and filled his belly with her delicious milk. After he finished, Millie asked,
"No sex education today, right? Are you going out?"
"I'm going to play with the kids. I'm heading to the square."
"Then have fun. Don't do anything dangerous, okay?"
"Okay, Mom "
He went out and, needing to pee, headed for the toilet. Watching the urine flow, he sighed in relief.
"Whew..."
[How's the sensitivity down there?]
'Ah Ru, it's fine. Nothing feels strange.'
[You seemed tired last night and went to sleep without checking. If anything feels off or hurts, let me know right away so I can help.]
'Okay! Thanks, Ru.'
Happy to have his sensation back, Milk remembered his promise to the other kids and headed to the square.
There, he found the same girls as before, paired off in groups of ten, once again facing off. Apparently, they'd forgotten his previous scolding, as Bel and Yuke were back in the center, locking horns and glaring at each other.
"Both of you, freeze!"
At Milk's arrival, the two girls stopped. As he stepped between them, he gave each a gentle flick on the forehead to break up the fight.
"Ow!"
"Oof!"
Again, there was no way a six-year-old Milk could actually hurt the sturdy ten-year-old Holstaurus girls.
Regardless, Milk's appearance broke up the fight, and the two groups returned to a cold war.
Even if they fought, they couldn't do it in front of Milk the boy they liked couldn't see them being violent.
"What should we play today?"
"Let's play tribe again. As always, I'll be Milk's wife."
"Hey! It's my turn today! We agreed to take turns, remember?!"
Bel, with her calm expression and one eye covered by hair, claimed to be the wife, but the tall, voluptuous Yuke immediately objected.
The two girls glared at each other, but with Milk in the middle, they couldn't fight openly and just mouthed silent threats.
'No matter who's the wife, I'm just a prop...'
In this game, Milk barely did anything. He just responded to the girls' actions or showed affection to whichever "wife" sat beside him.
From the scenario to the actions, the girls did everything. There were many roles: the wife, her supporters, and the concubine and her faction trying to steal Milk away. It was more like an adult drama than a children's game, but for kids their age, it was just a role-play.
"Hey, everyone "
"Huh?"
"What, Milk?"
"Milk spoke !"
"Ahh his voice is so nice "
Normally, Milk didn't take the initiative in these games and was almost like a doll among them, but today he decided it was time to revolutionize their play culture.
He couldn't stand being a prop any longer he needed a game he could actually participate in.
"I thought of a fun game. Want me to teach you?"
The game that came to mind was hide-and-seek, something he often played with other orphans in his past life.
It was simple: the seeker had to find everyone hiding. Depending on the skill of the hiders and seeker, the game could be short or long.
Since this world was different, and neither humans nor demi-humans had much in the way of children's games, Milk checked with Ru to make sure it was okay to introduce something new from his memories.
Ru's answer was positive. Since his memories hadn't been erased, he was free to live as he wished.
He also learned, a bit painfully, that his memories hadn't been erased because it was assumed he wouldn't be able to invent anything scientific, given his background as a construction worker.
Milk explained the rules of hide-and-seek, and the kids quickly understood. After a few trial runs, everyone got the hang of it.
"This sounds fun!"
"Wow Milk, you're the best!"
"I'll be it! I'm fast, so I'll find you all quickly!"
"You need good eyes for this! No matter how fast you are, if you can't spot people, it'll take forever "
"Does there have to be only one seeker? There are twenty-one of us; two seekers seems better."
With a new game, the kids organized themselves, deciding on two seekers and nineteen hiders.
"One! Two! Three!"
"Five! Six!"
As the two seekers counted, the kids scattered, laughing and searching for hiding places.
Milk also ran to find a hiding spot. He spotted a large jar used for storing fruit and quickly dove inside as the counting finished.
The light body of Milk fit easily inside the jar, and as soon as he was hidden, he heard the seekers shout, "Ready or not, here we come!"
Holding his breath, Milk was genuinely excited, giggling and wondering when he'd be found.
[Milk. You sense someone behind you.]
'Huh? Behind me?'
At Ru's words, Milk turned around and saw Bel, the slim girl with bangs covering one eye, looking at him in surprise.
The jar was big enough for both Bel, who was thin and 140 cm tall, and Milk, who was still small at about 90 cm.
"M-Mil...!"
Thump!
Startled, Bel tried to call out, but Milk covered her mouth. He wasn't strong enough to actually restrain her, but it was enough for the moment.
"Where are they?!"
Outside, the seekers' voices called out as they searched. Their innocent excitement was clear.
Milk kept his hand over Bel's mouth to keep her quiet, then put a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.
Bel nodded in understanding, then blushed as she realized the situation.
'Ahh... Just the two of us, Milk and me, in here!'
Usually, it was hard to be alone with Milk without other kids or adults around, but now they were together, just the two of them, in a small, dark jar a situation so thrilling she could hardly believe it.