Tanaka Masao stood behind Jahy and reached out with slightly trembling hands.
Even though Jahy wasn't in her complete form right now, to Tanaka Masao she was still very much a member of the opposite sex.
[Masao, Masao, keep yourself under control.]
After silently repeating this to himself several times, Tanaka Masao forced himself to calm down.
He made himself stare fixedly at the little stool.
Peripheral vision? What's that?
[I am so calm it's terrifying.]
With extreme difficulty, he focused his attention on Jahy's hair and began rinsing it.
"Don't touch my ears."
The moment Tanaka Masao's hand brushed against the two cat-ear-like appendages on Jahy's head, her body shuddered and she immediately shook his hand off.
"Those are your ears?"
Seeing Jahy clutching her head and staring at him warily, Tanaka Masao asked in surprise.
He had thought they were just part of her hairstyle—he never imagined they were real ears.
Jahy glared at him viciously. "What, is that not allowed?"
"It is, it is. I'll be careful."
Tanaka Masao hurriedly promised. Jahy looked at him suspiciously, hesitated for a moment, and only then sat back down.
As he continued rinsing her hair, Tanaka Masao's gaze was inevitably drawn to the cat ears atop her head.
[You tell me not to touch them, and now I want to touch them even more.]
As everyone knows, humans have a rebellious streak.
The more you tell someone not to do something, the more they want to do it.
Like forbidden knowledge—once it's banned, you suddenly use every bit of intelligence you have to hunt it down through every possible route.
Tanaka Masao was no exception.
Sneaking a glance at Jahy, who had her eyes half-closed in enjoyment,
his sinful hand reached out once again toward her cat ears.
"Yah—!"
When Tanaka Masao touched her ears again, Jahy completely lost her temper and kicked him out.
"Unbelievable! If I had my magic right now, I'd have turned you into a bug already!"
Jahy sat back down on the stool in a foul mood. Fortunately, the foam had already been rinsed from her hair, so it wouldn't get into her eyes again.
She picked up the body wash and spread it over herself. The slick, slippery sensation pleased her so much that she even started humming.
Meanwhile, outside the bathroom, Tanaka Masao—who had just been kicked out—listened to the sounds inside, looked down at his own hand, and felt deeply regretful.
"I messed up. I should've held back just a little more. If I had, I could've helped apply the body wash too… such a perfect opportunity, wasted."
He glared angrily at his right hand and slapped it hard with his left.
"This is all your fault. Zero self-control."
"How am I this hopeless? They're just cat ears—it's not like I've never seen them before. So why couldn't I control myself?"
Filled with regret, Tanaka Masao left the bathroom.
...
After soaking comfortably in the tub for a while, Jahy came out wrapped in a bath towel.
Ignoring the water still dripping from her feet, she trotted straight over to the refrigerator.
She opened it, took out a bottle of milk, popped it open, and went glug glug glug in one go.
"Hah~ This is amazing!"
"An ice-cold drink after a bath—this is pure bliss."
Watching how effortlessly she did all this, Tanaka Masao remarked,
"You adapted pretty fast. You're already enjoying yourself."
"Of course."
Jahy puffed out her chest proudly.
"I was born to enjoy life."
She looked at Tanaka Masao and urged him,
"Alright, you should go take a bath too."
"Okay."
Tanaka Masao didn't pay much attention to her urging. He grabbed the pajamas he'd prepared and went to bathe.
Watching him head toward the bathroom, Jahy flashed a mischievous grin—the look of someone whose plan had worked.
...
Inside the bathroom, Tanaka Masao hummed as he bathed.
As everyone knows, every man becomes a legendary singer once he's in the shower.
Meanwhile, outside in the changing area, a sneaky figure quietly slipped in.
Jahy looked at the tightly shut bathroom door, then tiptoed over to the basket where Tanaka Masao had put his clothes.
She rummaged through them.
Her target was, of course, the core of Tanaka Masao's battle armor—but he always carried that on him.
Even when bathing, he stored it in his system space.
So Jahy's efforts were, naturally, in vain.
"Why can't I find it?"
Just as Jahy was seriously "searching," the bathroom door suddenly opened.
Their eyes met.
Completely naked, Tanaka Masao stared blankly at Jahy, who was squatting on the floor holding his clothes.
And Jahy, hearing the sound and looking up, saw someone greeting her—very directly.
"Hey—what are you doing— huh— hm—"
"AAAAH!" ×2
The two froze for a few seconds before screaming at the same time.
Jahy covered her eyes, furious and embarrassed.
"You bastard! Why are you bathing without clothes on?!"
"What do you mean 'bathing without clothes'—listen to yourself, does that even make sense?!"
Tanaka Masao bent over, covering his vital parts, just as angry.
"And you've got some nerve—why are you in here while I'm bathing, rummaging through my clothes?!"
Knowing she was in the wrong, Jahy naturally had no intention of arguing this point.
She dashed out, and before slamming the door shut, she even stuck out her tongue.
"Bleeh~"
Watching Jahy run off, Tanaka Masao felt helpless, completely unable to understand what she was up to.
Looking at his disturbed clothes, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
[Could this be that classic anime trope… She likes me and was sniffing the scent left on my clothes?]
Rubbing his chin, Tanaka Masao accepted this explanation.
[Seriously… if she wanted to smell them, she could've just said so. Why sneak around?
Tomorrow I'll work out all day. Clothes soaked with sweat—that rich scent—Jahy will definitely love it.]
At the same time, Jahy—who had fled the bathroom—had no idea Tanaka Masao was already planning to gift her a very fragrant present.
She stomped her foot angrily in the living room.
"Damn it, why does he finish bathing so fast?! I didn't even have time to retreat. And where on earth did he hide that thing? It's not on him, not in his clothes…"
"He didn't stuff it inside his body, did he?"
"Inside… wait."
Jahy suddenly realized something. "Could it be he has some kind of storage ability, like spatial magic?"
Jahy herself had such an ability, but since Tanaka Masao had no magic, she hadn't considered it at first.
Now that she thought about it, he likely had some storage method she didn't know about.
"Looks like sneaking in at night is still the best plan."
Jahy began carefully plotting.
...
"Wow, that's so cute!"
Tanaka Kazumi exclaimed as she looked at Jahy, now changed into her pajamas.
Jahy was wearing a set of pajamas Kazumi had bought—decorated with little cat patterns.
Jahy already had outstanding looks; putting her in normal clothes instantly maxed out her cuteness.
"Is it? I think it's pretty good too."
Jahy spun around, examining herself, clearly very satisfied with the pajamas.
"Here, here—try this one too."
Tanaka Kazumi, clearly enjoying the fun of a dress-up game, took out more clothes she had bought for Jahy to try on.
Tanaka Kenji sat on the sofa, watching the scene with a classic doting-father smile.
[Daughters really are the best.]
At that moment, he happened to glance over at Tanaka Masao nearby—and immediately looked a little displeased.
"Hey, Dad, you just looked at me with obvious disdain, didn't you?"
"No, I didn't."
Unlike the silent father-son pair, the two women—one big, one small—were having a great time changing outfits.
...
Eleven o'clock at night, inside Jahy's bedroom.
She turned off the light, lay down on the soft bed, pulled up the blanket, her face filled with happiness.
"Good night."