Chapter 1466: Chapter 208 - The Merchant (6)
The room we had rented for the night was decent, at least by the standards of someone who had spent enough time traveling to know that not every place could be luxurious.
It wasn’t particularly large, and it definitely wasn’t the kind of room people would brag about staying in, but it was clean, quiet, and had enough space for the two of us to rest without feeling completely cramped. The walls looked sturdy enough, the atmosphere was peaceful, and most importantly, it gave us shelter for the night.
That alone was worth appreciating.
The only real issue was that there was only one bed.
Still, I didn’t think that was going to become a major problem.
Considering that a roof over your head was something everyone needed if they wanted to sleep peacefully and wake up without regretting their life choices, this room was already doing exactly what it needed to do. Besides, if it came down to it, I could always sleep on the floor. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t exactly a tragedy either.
"Well then, shall we get to bed?" she asked.
As soon as she said that, she casually started removing her clothes.
For some reason.
I stared at her for a moment.
Then another moment.
And then one more moment because my brain needed a second to process what exactly was happening in front of me.
"Hey..." I said.
She paused slightly.
"Do you have some kind of habit of trying to flirt with me or something? Are you trying to seduce me?"
The moment I asked that, she suddenly froze.
It was almost like she had only just become aware of what her hands were doing.
She blinked once.
Then twice.
Her eyes slowly moved downward toward her own body before a look of realization appeared on her face.
"Oops."
A small embarrassed smile formed on her lips.
"I’m sorry, Mr. Faust. I was incredibly tired, so I started removing my clothes out of habit. I always sleep without my clothes on, so I wasn’t really thinking about it. Please forgive me."
She bowed her head apologetically.
Well.
If that was the reason, then it wasn’t really a problem.
People had their own sleeping habits, and honestly, there were worse habits to have than taking your clothes off before going to bed.
At least she wasn’t one of those people who somehow managed to occupy an entire bed despite being the only person sleeping in it.
Those people were terrifying.
"Well, if that’s what you normally do, then I guess you can go ahead," I told her.
"Is that so?" she asked. "Would it bother you if I removed my clothes, Mr. Faust?"
"I’ve seen a lot of beautiful bodies before," I replied honestly. "I don’t think whatever you’re hiding underneath those clothes is going to faze me."
"I see..."
She didn’t seem offended by that response.
If anything, the look in her eyes suggested that she had accepted it as some sort of challenge.
That probably wasn’t a good sign.
Without saying anything else, she continued removing her clothes.
A moment later, her dress slipped from her shoulders and fell to the floor.
My gaze naturally shifted toward her.
Even though her legs were noticeably hairy, the rest of her body looked surprisingly clean and well-kept. There was very little body hair elsewhere, and her skin appeared almost spotless.
Almost.
The only thing that really stood out were the dark markings scattered across parts of her body.
They resembled birthmarks.
At first glance, they seemed unusual.
However, the more I looked at them, the less they felt like imperfections.
In a strange way, they actually complemented her appearance.
The patterns created a unique contrast against her skin, drawing attention without taking away from her beauty. Instead of standing out in a negative way, they somehow made her appearance more memorable.
Beauty wasn’t always about perfection.
Sometimes the things that made someone different were exactly what made them attractive.
And honestly, that seemed to be the case here.
As expected, her breasts were large.
Very large.
She also wasn’t wearing a bra beneath her dress, which meant there was absolutely nothing hiding them from view.
Everything was fully visible.
A faint smirk appeared on her face.
"It has been quite a while since I’ve shown my body to anyone," she said. "Although, this is the first time I’ve shown it to a man, so I have to admit that this feels a little... apprehensive."
"Then are you really sure about showing yourself to me like that?" I asked.
"Well, I don’t see anything wrong with it."
She answered so casually that it almost sounded like we were discussing the weather.
"I don’t think showing one’s body is inherently bad. Those ideas mostly apply to people who have marriage or romance in mind. Personally, I don’t think being naked in front of someone automatically means anything special."
She shrugged lightly.
"More than anything, I think it’s fairly normal. Humans used to walk around the world naked, after all."
I couldn’t really deny that.
Historically speaking, she wasn’t wrong.
Humans had existed for a very long time before clothing became what it was today.
Still, modern society tended to have slightly different opinions about those sorts of things.
A lot of people would probably panic if someone casually started undressing in front of them during a normal conversation.
Actually, most people would probably stop functioning entirely.
But regardless of what society thought, she seemed perfectly comfortable with her own perspective.
And if she was comfortable with it, then there wasn’t much point arguing.
I certainly wasn’t going to complain.
"Hopefully, Mr. Faust, my sleeping habits won’t bother you too much," she said. "I can be a rather messy sleeper."
"That won’t be a problem," I replied. "I’m planning on sleeping on the floor anyway. Thankfully, I have a sleeping bag with me, so I should be perfectly fine."
She stared at me.
For a second.
Then another second.
And then she suddenly laughed.
"Fufufu."
The laughter wasn’t mocking.
If anything, it sounded genuinely amused.
"Although I think what you’re doing is quite gentlemanly, I have to admit that it’s also rather disappointing, Mr. Faust."
I blinked.
"Disappointing?"
That definitely wasn’t the reaction I had expected.
"What exactly is disappointing about it?"
Her smile widened slightly.
The look on her face suggested that she found the entire situation entertaining.
"If a woman is standing completely naked in front of you," she began, "and she isn’t making any effort to hide herself..."
She paused briefly.
"And if that same woman doesn’t even mind sharing a bed with you..."
Another pause.
Then she folded her arms lightly beneath her chest.
"What do you think the natural conclusion would be?"
I stared at her.
She stared back.
The room suddenly felt a little quieter than before.
The expression on her face made it impossible to tell whether she was genuinely asking a question or simply teasing me for her own amusement.
Honestly, it could have been either.
There was a good chance it was both.
Meanwhile, I found myself wondering how a conversation that had started with discussing sleeping arrangements had somehow ended with me being interrogated by a naked woman who looked entirely too pleased with herself.
