I should be careful that waking up without remembering how I got in my Bed doesn't become a habit. I had a massive headache. I wasted no time using healing magic on my Head and then spent the next few moments gazing at the Ceiling. Is it a good idea to stay?

  So far, I have mostly been going with the flow, but is staying here the best idea? I am still trying to figure out how strong the local Religion is. If they are strong enough to sense a demon like me, I'm in big trouble. Luckily, I haven't seen a Priest jet. Just a few Necklaces and Symbols with a Sun and Moon.

  For now, staying until I understand more feels like the right decision.

  There was a knocking on the Door. Today, there was a bit of honey with the Gruel and a small bowl of thin hot soup.

  And again, just like yesterday, after I was done with Breakfast, there was another knock. In anticipation, I put on my Clothes from Yesterday and opened the Door. Janus wore a different set of clothes and a blue tunic.

  Again, I followed him, but we arrived at a different Door today. Behind it was a small library. There were three shelves filled with Books of all different sizes, two Tables with four chairs each, and a man who looked like the very Incarnation of Classy.

  He was a Man likely in his late 50s. His black hair had white streaks on the Side, and he donned a well-groomed Mustache. His Eyes were Black, and he Wore a black Tunic with white embroidery, black Pants, and black shoes.

  When his sharp Eyes landed on me and Janus, he smiled a little and gave an involuntary chuckle. He cleared his throat, put his heels together, placed his Left Hand on his Chest, and bowed while extending his Right Hand in Front of me.

  I hesitated a little and looked at Janus, who gave me a light push on my back. I took the Man's Hand, and he placed a kiss before letting go of my Hand.

  I didn't think much of it. In France, people kiss each other's cheeks as a greeting. But Janus seemed to have expected something else, maybe a Handshake. Because he criticized the Man right after his deed. The in-question Man, however, only laughed it off.

  After bickering, they started with what appeared to be a Lesson. It was clear now that I was not the only one annoyed about my lack of Knowledge of the local Language. The Man's Name was Otto, and he would be my teacher in the future. The Lesson was short but filled with a lot of Information.

  Otto was an outstanding Teacher despite his Frivolous Character. After the Lesson, Janus walked me over to the Sickbay again and excused himself. The Sickbay wasn't full of dying men this Time, and it looked like Benjamin had tidied up a bit. The young teen and the Sickbay were way cleaner. The patients were just soldiers who had gotten sick and women with daughters who had runny noses and wouldn't stop sneezing, and they were wearing inexpensive dresses. They could have been Janus Sister Margret and her daughter Emelia or the third Mistress Julia with her daughter Fiona. I could not tell them apart from Janus's picture.

  The Soldier had mild flu-like Symptoms, which I was able to deal with in a Heartbeat. The Daughter and her mother were a bit trickier. After a series of Hand gestures and the girl making a cute cat impression, I got the Picture. She was allergic to Cats.

  It seemed she liked cats. Her Mother looked equally troubled.

  I would need a different approach because Healing Mages can't heal allergies. An Allergy isn't a Sickness or foreign Body Part. It is an overreaction of your own Immune System. For the Same reason, Cancer isn't curable with healing Magic because your cells are growing out of control. However, Death Magic could kill the cells and genes in the girl's body, which causes the overreaction. Removing it for good.

  So, I put My Hand on the little Girl's Chest, and the sneezing stopped immediately.

  I had just absorbed the little Vitality from the Genes, and I was killed off when the girl giggled and hugged my legs. The Mother looked absolutely flabbergasted.

  She started to ask her mother question after question, and the mother nodded absentmindedly.

  When everyone was cared for, the Little Girl waved at me energetically. I waved back, and then she left, practically dragging her dazed Mother around.

  Two more days after encountering the little Girl, I met Rika again. This Time, her Hair was less messy. She approached me during my break in the lunch hall. She tried to start a conversation but quickly realized I only understood a few common Nouns. I only understood her saying the Words for Woman and Water before she pulled me to my feet and led me to the river.

  At the point where the river was about halfway through the Fortress, a small washing area was Partitioned with big hung curtains. A simple wooden roof was also put up to shield against possible onlookers from the walls or windows.

  On the other side of the river was a similar area for the men. Upstream was an area to collect water for cooking and washing, and downstream was an area for disposing of Chamber pots, wastewater, and rotten Food. I decided never to drink water without boiling or killing the Bacteria with Death Magic. It was nice to know that they at least did that downstream, but I felt pity for the People in the Fortress downstream.

  Because I still felt like a man inside, I hesitated. Even though it was my idea, I haven't accepted being a woman jet.

  But Rika thought I was shy and quickly shoved me into the washing area. When she saw that I wasn't starting to undress, she began to help me, and I started to shiver.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Even though only a few women were in the washing house, I began to be reminded of my first Day. Rika noticed this but showed no mercy and quickly tore off the rest. I tried to cover myself again, fearing to hear insults or them pointing fingers.

  I was pleasantly surprised to experience neither. The other Women were a bit surprised about my behavior but soon realized who I was and how I entered the Fortress. I could hear a few of them cursing about men, especially Joe. They must have been just as appalled by the Soldiers and Joel's behavior as I have been.

  After that, my tension dropped, and Rika handed me a hard grey piece of soap and a rough towel. The Woman would rub all over with the soap bar and then scrub our bodies with such vigor that they almost turned crimson. I later learned that we could only do this once a month because soap was expensive, and the river was cold Mountain water, so it was icy even during the Summer.

  I still felt a bit ashamed and couldn't stop looking around. My eyes shifted around.

  The Bodys were very different. Some were overweight or chubby. Some were skinny and frail. Though most had a relatively standard build like me. Some had wider hips, and some had almost none. Some chests were big and sagging, while others were Pointy and firm. Some had wrinkles, while others had none. Young and old. In short, all kinds of Women were in the Bathhouse.

  You wonder how I looked? Well, you pervert, I had no Imperfections like a baby's skin. I wasn't overweight for the first time in decades. My hips were wide, and my chest was probably a C.

  No one, including myself, was shaved and seemed to care about it. Now that I recall, all the men had at most a trimmed beard, and only Janus and his brothers could afford a complete shave. The dirt that previously covered their bodies flowed down the river. The Women's Bodies were sprinkled with minor Imperfections such as Moles and Freckles, as well as burns, scars, and the occasional Wart.

  When I saw the Woman who was Plagued with these minor Imperfections, I approached them one at a time, and with just a small amount of Magic Power, the Imperfections were gone. Well, all but the Freckles and Moles because I would have needed to use death magic for this, and in my opinion, I liked them.

  The First Woman I approached was a Kitchen Maid with a long, hideous burn scar on her arm. At first, she was alarmed, wondering what I was doing, but when she saw her arm, she started to cry and hug me. It was somewhat awkward because we were both naked. Thankfully, I was the only one who found it weird.

  Soon, the Bathhouse was awash with excitement. The Woman in the Washing area would form a line Pointing to the area that troubled them. Some of the ones who had freckles and moles approached me. Sadly, my Love for Freckles and Moles wasn't as universal as I Thought. Begrudgingly, I erased the Moles or freckles.

  No taste. What do you mean I don't have Moles and freckles myself? Well, you are right. I would just like to look at them, OK? Is that so wrong? I don't think so!

  After all the women were done, we noticed a shadow approaching from outside the Curtain, visible through the already low-hanging Sun. I wondered if we had spent too much time and someone was either angry or concerned, but the other Woman grew enraged when the others saw the shadow. Rika quickly picked up a wooden bucket and threw it through the small gap between the Curtain and the Ceiling.

  Janus Side

  It was the afternoon, and Ruby's daily Lesson had just ended. He and Otto had no idea how, but Ruby always remembered all the lessons they gave her and was learning quickly. I'm glad Father gave me the Time for this and that Otto, the Family's teacher, agreed to help me.

  When it happened, I was about to bathe in the river with the other men. Jack, who could never hold himself back in the presence of Woman, was creeping towards the Partition cloth of the Woman Bath. I ran over to stop him and tried to stay quiet so he wouldn't get in trouble... again.

  But before I could reach him, the Woman behind the Cloth noticed "Someone's" approach and started to Curse and throw things through the Gap between the Cloth and the Ceiling. One of the Things, a Bucket, flew past the now flustered and Panicking Jack and landed right on my Head.

  The next thing I knew was the half-naked Jack caring for me. When he noticed me waking up on his back, he stopped in his tracks and began apologizing. "I'm Sorry, Janus, you got pulled into this, but what were you doing there?"

  "What I was doing?" I almost shouted, "I was trying to stop you from ruining your reputation even further." Jack was Infamous for flipping skirts, pursuing Women, and pulling stunts like this.

  "No, I mean, don't you have a Girl already, so why were you trying to Peep?" he inquired.

  I explained, surprised. "I don't have a Girl. What are you talking about? And as I said, I wasn't peeping. I was trying to stop you from peeping."

  "Ouch, you should be glad that Ruby still does not understand our Language. Why do you care what I do?"

  "Stop being stupid. Ruby isn't interested in me, and I'm not interested in her. She has only been here for three days," I said

  "Sure," He answered, not at all convinced.

  "And I care for the same reason you are carrying me right now. I'm your brother. I want you to find a decent Woman and not die alone." These were my genuine Thoughts, but I also didn't want to be associated with a brother like that, even if I loved him.

  "Jeez, you are starting to sound like Your Mother. It's my decision who I end up with. After all, I'm just a Bastard." Jack never really appreciated my mother caring for him, and his real Mother never bothered with anyone. It was Questionable if she even had feelings.

  "You know we don't see you like this, and also..." Before I could continue my barrage, he interrupted me by saying

  "We have arrived," he said without even listening anymore.

  I asked like an idiot. "... arrived where?"

  "At the sick bay, your head is bleeding." I was stunned.

  He was right. There was still Blood trickling down my Head, and we just had this whole Conversation right in Front of the Sickbay. I was so angry with Jack that I didn't even notice where we were. Without saying anything else, Jack put me down and began to leave. I yelled after him.

  "This is not over. Don't think you can avoid this talk forever."

  When I opened the Sickbay, it became weirdly quiet before I could hear thunderous laughter. I turned around only to see Ruby and Rika laughing at me. I was close to leaving when Rika grabbed my hand and led me to sit down. I was still angry about Jack for calling himself a Bastard and not trying to change himself.

  And hearing Ruby and Rika laugh about my misfortunes didn't make it any better. Then I noticed their Hair was still wet, and my face reddened. When it happened, they were in the washing area.

  Ruby still had a slight smirk on her Face, and I now realized this was the first Time I had heard her laugh. She stepped closer to my Chest, now just a few centimeters in Front of my eyes. All the other Women around me always made Shure keep their distance, but she never seemed to care about it. She touched the Wound with her Hand, and a green light flashed before my eyes. It was a very pleasant, warm feeling.

  When she retracted her Hand, the Wound was gone, with only a bit of Blood remaining. Ruby grabbed a damp towel and began to wash the Blood away. During the whole process, I couldn't say a word. By the end, I had completely forgotten why I had been angry.