Chapter 8
The Great Bathing Mutiny
Jamie's pov
"Yh, we don't bathe," Lucien replied, his voice flat, completely oblivious to the sheer horror he was causing. "Only male omegas bathe because they don't turn into their beast form. We lick our body clean after turning into our beast form."
I stared at him, utterly awestruck. The image of a massive, manic tiger licking himself clean flashed through my mind, and I shuddered.
"Papa had his head smashed and he forgot many things," Benjamin mumbled, staring at me with a profound confusion that was almost insulting.
What kind of beast law is that? An unhygienic disaster! Such barbaric, savage reasoning! The stench of unwashed bodies mingled with the natural, musky beast scent was going to drive me insane.
"I don't care," I declared, my voice firm. "Every male and beast being in this house must bathe. It's a new law." I muttered the decree before walking to the still-burning fire where the large pot of water I'd boiled for cooking sat.
Lucien immediately walked over, taking the pot from my hand with infuriating ease, as if I were some delicate flower, some kind of lady in distress.
"Don't worry, I can carry it. I'm a guy, not some woman," I remarked, walking faster into the house. I poured the hot water into the massive bathing bowl—a large, molded tub that was already filled with cold water from the river. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised they had it; beast folk liked working and weren't usually lazy.
"You keep saying strange words—'guys,' 'woman.' What are those?" Lucien questioned, his gaze piercing into my skull. "Did those slave leaders teach you strange words?"
I nearly stumbled. Was I being exposed already?
"Host is acting suspicious," the System's voice echoed loudly in my head.
"Eem… kind of," I replied, trying to sound calm and natural, all the while escaping that quiet but peering gaze of his.
I quickly called the kids. They looked at me strangely, utterly bewildered, as I beckoned them toward the bathing room. It was clear they had never been inside.
"Host, the real owner doesn't allow the kids in. He sees them as filthy creatures," the System helpfully supplied, saving a disaster.
I sighed, now looking at their frightened, confused faces. I only had one choice: I had to teach them how to bathe. But since there were boys and girls, I decided I needed to bathe them separately before they got the idea that communal bathing was a great idea once they were older.
I looked over to see Adrien and Fiona. Though they hadn't caused much trouble since I arrived, their looks were still filled with deep suspicion and stubbornness.
"First, the ladies, then the males," I muttered, watching them stare at me even more strangely.
"Host, they're not used to 'woman' and 'lady.' It's 'female' and 'male,'" the System corrected, saving another cultural misunderstanding.
"Females first, then males later," I repeated. But this time, the kids didn't move; they retrieved backward, clustering together.
"Are you gonna eat us? Fiona says you eat cubs after separating them," Carlos asked innocently, his large eyes welling up with tears.
I let out a long, weary sigh. I was already exhausted, and the emotional exhaustion was worse than the physical. "I just wanted chocolate ice cream to cool my head," I muttered under my breath.
I looked over to see Lucien engrossed in sharpening his spear, utterly ignoring the current domestic crisis. I didn't know what to do or say. Will a sweet bribe them? Or what?
"I give up!" I nearly screamed. "Host, take me back to my world! I'm no more interested in any mission!" I pleaded, directing my thoughts at the System.
I never knew that having kids would drain me like this. There was a clear difference between wanting kids and having kids. I thought I wanted kids; now I just wanted my old bachelor life back. A loner's life suddenly seemed to fit me more perfectly than I ever imagined.
"Host can't go back to his previous life. He died in his previous life," the System replied automatically, its voice devoid of emotion.
"You must be kidding me! I was half way asleep while waiting patiently for my order!" I muttered inwardly, accusing the System of lying.
"The fan, remember?" the System replied, finally leaving me in shock.
I thought back to my cramped apartment. That ceiling fan was having serious issues, rattling and swaying, and I ignored it because I couldn't fix it myself or afford to pay for its repair.
Don't tell me that the fan fell on me while I was sleeping and I ended up dying from blunt force trauma?
The mere thought of it sent a fresh wave of goosebumps across my body. I almost felt faint.
"Don't disrespect your papa," Lucien said, finally looking up from his spear and saving me from my internal freak-out.
I returned my focus to the matter at hand. The bath bowl was massive, large enough, like some mini-pool, that could easily contain ten people.
I slowly began to take off my clothes. I couldn't afford to wet those. The rest of the clothes I saw in the room were all oversized tops, only with little, loose, pant-like cloths to cover the groin. The top was big, made from coarse cotton or fur, and could cover my thighs, but I still felt naked in it. I'm not gay, so it felt weird and wrong to walk around like that. I couldn't risk wearing it.
Now, with only the pant-like cloth on, bare-chested and bare-legged, I gingerly lowered myself into the water. With a sponge and my own fragrant soap—collected instantly from the Millar app—I slowly let the two girls, Ella and Fiona, step into the water. I began scrubbing them slowly.
Their whole bodies were greasy, covered in thick oil, dirt, and various other unidentifiable substances. I had to let the water escape from the little hole at the end of the bowl, which was covered with bamboo, three times. Immediately, the filthy water washed away, I filled it with clean water and started washing them again.
It was only then, as the dirt washed away, that I noticed that Fiona's hair was a startling golden color, and Ella's hair was a vibrant blonde. I'd thought they were just a dirty, drab brown since I arrived here. Thank goodness! I thought, suddenly feeling better about my efforts.
Once they were clean enough, I let them out, looking nice and fresh. Watching them walk around barefoot, I earnestly wanted to give them shoes. Ladies aren't supposed to walk around shoeless!
I checked the Millar app again, looking at the prices of simple slippers. Just a single pair. I sighed and gave up. I would just have to turn a blind eye to their poor, shoeless feet.
Immediately after the girls were gone, I totally forgot about the boys. I turned around to see four pairs of wide, expectant eyes staring at me. Adrien, Benjamin, Carlos, and Daniel.
I was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally.
"For Christ's sake, I'm about to lose my fucking mind."