Chapter 20: At the Washing Area

I was gently pushed into the bathroom by Yuna. Then, following her lead, I sat down on the stool in front of the shower.

"Okay, let’s start with how to wash your hair. First, you need to comb it before getting it wet."

As she said that, Yuna brought a comb to my hair. The sensation of her touching it felt pleasant. Partway through, she handed me the comb, so I tried brushing it myself—the silky silver strands flowed smoothly through the teeth.

"Next, rinse it thoroughly with warm water for about thirty seconds."

Yuna turned on the shower, checked the temperature, and then directed the stream at my hair.

A soothing warmth spread through my scalp. As Yuna gently ran her fingers through my hair, she made sure the water soaked all the way in.

"Now, lather the shampoo in your hands, then use your fingertips—not your nails—to gently massage it into your scalp like a massage… Ah! Don’t use that one, okay? Use this."

The 2-in-1 shampoo that Father and I had been using up until now was dismissed with a “don’t use that.” I picked up the shampoo Yuna pointed to, lathered it in my hands, and applied it to my scalp. A pleasant scent—just like Yuna’s—drifted through the air.

"After that, spread the foam down to the ends of your hair and wash it gently."

I worked the shampoo through to the tips. Having such long hair made even that much quite a chore.

"When you're done, rinse it thoroughly with the shower."

Once again, I directed the shower at my hair and rinsed everything out.

"After shampooing, apply conditioner from the ends up to about halfway—yes, like that. Be careful not to get it on your scalp. Once that’s done, rinse it out, and that’s it for your hair."

I did exactly as Yuna told me, step by step.

"With the repair function, I feel like I don’t need to go this far..."

"Sure, damage can happen no matter what you do—but saying it’s fine to damage it from the start? A girl should never treat her hair like that!"

"...Okaaay."

I could understand what she meant... though I couldn’t help but think it was a bit of a hassle.

"Next is your body. How have you been washing it until now?"

"I just put body soap on that scrubbing towel and scrubbed away—like, really hard."

"What are you doing!? That’s terrible for your skin!"

"Yeah, it got red and all stingy… so yesterday I just used my hands instead."

"...Using your hands is actually a good idea. Alice seems to have pretty sensitive skin. Come to think of it, how did Alicia handle it?"

『I usually just rinsed with water. If my hair or skin got damaged, I used Repair on it…』

"Honestly, you two... Alright, I’ll show you properly. Just follow along and remember how to do it."

"Got it." 『Understood.』

"First, before you wash your body, rinse yourself thoroughly with the shower. Though to be fair, most people already do that while rinsing their hair, so it’s not a big deal… Technically, you're supposed to wash your hair first before your body, though."

As she said this, Yuna rinsed herself off with the shower. Our household bathroom only had one showerhead, so using it at the same time wasn’t possible. On top of that, the washing area was a little too cramped for two, and our skin kept brushing together more than I was comfortable with.

"Now, take a bit of body soap in your hand, lather it up, and start washing. Focus carefully on areas where you sweat a lot or get dirty easily, but don’t scrub—wash gently."

Saying this, Yuna spread the lathered body soap across her own skin.

The way her hands moved across her body was incredibly sensual. It made me feel like I was watching something I wasn’t supposed to.

Overwhelmed by that strange tension, I hurried to focus on what I should be doing. I lathered the body soap in my hands and began spreading it over my body the same way.

Neck, shoulders, arms, underarms… chest… stomach, navel, waist… the tops of my thighs… thighs, calves, feet.

…Mimicking Yuna’s movements in front of me, I silently ran my hands over my body in sync with hers.

『…Nn…』

Yuna gently translated Alicia's breathing, which occasionally escaped her lips, as a sign of being ticklish—but I decided to ignore it.

Even though we hadn’t gotten into the bath yet, my body felt strangely flushed and overheated.

…Maybe I stood under the shower too long.

As I let out a quiet sigh after finishing the full-body wash, Yuna—who had been watching me—spoke up.

"...Alice, did you wash between your legs properly?"

"…U-uh, that… well…"

Her question blanked my mind completely. I remembered Yuna washing that area when she cleaned herself earlier. But once I realized that, I quickly averted my eyes in a panic, so I didn’t see how exactly she did it.

That’s why… I had no idea how to wash that area properly. All I’d done was nervously run my hand across the surface.

"I understand it feels embarrassing, but it’s an area that gets dirty easily, so you have to wash it thoroughly…"

"B-but… I… I can’t do something like that…"

"If you don’t wash it properly, it’ll start to smell, you know?"

"...I don’t want that. But… I’ve only ever touched it when using the bathroom, so… I really don’t know what to do…"

Tears welled up in my eyes without me realizing it.

What if I touched it the wrong way and hurt myself? What if I tore something—like a hymen or something?

But I also didn’t want Alicia’s body to end up smelling because of me.

"...Sigh. If you’re okay with it, I can wash it for you—just for today. What do you want to do?"

"…Please."

At that moment, desperate to avoid touching it myself, I grabbed onto her offer like it was a lifeline.

But now, thinking back on it with a calm head, I realize what a ridiculous thing I asked for.

…I honestly don’t want to remember what came after that.

I underestimated how sensitive a soapy fingertip could feel.

Yuna did her best to pretend she didn’t notice my reaction… and for that, I was honestly grateful. Yeah…