66 Inteiru Expota - Inequality (1/2)

I reach the inn and go inside. There's one thing we forgot to do before we left. Purchase the available rooms for the next few days. Worst case, we only need a few for the ministers, and the rest of us will have to make do without one.

Apparently, the Neomeris government has already reserved twenty rooms for us. I show the receptionist my army ID card, and then he hands me a key. Makes sense to do it this way to avoid overcrowding of the representatives of the Inteiru Expota into one location. They must've met and planned this.

I head upstairs and then find my room. I close the door and lock the door before taking off everything.

Crap. I don't know how good their nose is, but couldn't they track my scent to this room? I walk over to the window and then open it. Well, this should do fine. I take off my sweatshirt, rolling it into a ball. Don't want to be seen doing this. I hide around the edge of the window and crouch. Then, I toss out my shirt before closing the window. It's in clear view in the middle of the street with a couple of confused bystanders.

I strip the remainder of my clothes before hopping into the shower. The blood is a problem. I might have to find a clinic with a healer to quickly close the wound. They might be able to track me that way. It's not that much, though. Should be enough to wash it off.

I finish with the shower and then dress my lower half. I shiver. It's a little cold coming right out of the bathroom. I wrap myself with a towel in the bathroom. It doesn't really help, but it's something.

Now, I just have to wait for Hina to arrive with my surprise. I unlock the door and leave it slightly open. I lay across the bed while I'm waiting.

There's some faint communication going on in the lobby area. Then footsteps coming up the stairs. Hina's here already?

I sit up and then open the door. I hold my breath, realizing that this isn't Hina. It's a young girl with short white hair. Big round white ears with a pink center on the top of her head. Two teeth are sticking out of her mouth, just like a rat. Unless it's all a prop, this has to be another one of the Xog. But, the skin on her face is white and hairless. The rest of her facial features are like a Human's. Same goes for the rest of the body, including the hands. Except for the furless tail protruding from the back end of her clothes.

With her eyes still closed, she wiggles her nose while leaning closer to me. Her nose has to be different because there's no way to wiggle the nose left and right otherwise. Has she not noticed me yet? I feel like it isn't a coincidence that a rat girl showed up at my door. I'm not sure what to make of this situation.

She definitely tracked my scent here, but with what lead? Is this the white rat that I captured? Somehow it turned into a normal-sized Human with rat features. God. This doesn't make any sense. What do I do?

She suddenly opens her eyes and asks, ”Are you who the Feloidians are looking for?”

”Uhhh…” I interject to stall for time. I'm certain that I'm the one she's looking for, but I can't get caught now. My heart is pounding. What would a normal person say in this situation? ”Who're you?”

”Oh, excuse my manners,” she says and bows her head before looking up again. ”I'm Pem.”

”Kai,” I introduce and hold out my hand. I'm afraid she might notice that I'm nervous, but I'm trying to stay as calm as one can be in this situation. ”Nice to meet you.”

She smiles and grabs my hand, but instead of shaking it, she lowers her head toward it.

I pull my arm back before she makes contact and ask, ”What're you doing?”

Pem gives me a look of confusion for several seconds and then says, ”Oh, I'm sorry. Humans don't do that?”

”No…” I answer, not sure what she was planning to do. I figure she might have never seen a simple handshake. It might not exist in Xog culture. ”Grab my hand with yours.”

She reaches out and grabs onto my hand. I continue, ”Now we tighten our grasps a little and move it up and down a little. This is called a handshake. It's our common greeting for meeting new people. Well, I'm sure Dwarves and Elves do it too, but I can't say for sure.”

”Oh, I see. Thank you for teaching me!” she exclaims.

She's still holding onto my arm while going through the up and down motion. I say, ”No problem. You're only supposed to do it for a few seconds tops. You can let go now.”

”Oh, I'm sorry. I need to check something. Can I come in?” Pem asks.

She's going to be suspicious if I reject her. But, what if she figures out that I'm the one she wants?

She walks closer to me and sniffs. Her cheery and calm demeanor is suddenly broken when she asks, ”Are you hiding something?”

Shit. Did she figure it out? No matter, I'll keep on playing the ignorance card. ”I don't know what you're referring to, but you're free to come in.”

I gulp as she accepts my invitation to come in. For the first time, I notice that she has two weapons attached to her Titanium belt. The hilt style reminds me of a rapier, but it isn't one. There isn't any blade for that matter. It looks almost as if the belt is the weapon. That would make more sense than the concept of a metal belt.

She narrows her eyebrows and paces around me. Pem says, ”Let me see your chest.”

That's what she's going for. That scratch the tiger guy managed to get on me?

”What are you waiting for? Take off the towel,” she demands.

My palms sweat, and my heart beats faster. I respond, ”No, I'm not gonna show you my chest for no reason.”

”So you are hiding something…” she says and wiggles her nose. ”You can't fool me. I smell your fear.”

What?! She can do that?! What do I do now? Fight her? My weapons are too far out of my reach. There has to be another way out of this. Wait. Fear… Monsters…

”So-sorry…” I mutter with a trembling voice. I make and break eye contact several times. ”I didn't want you to know because it's a little embarrassing… I'm kinda scared by you.”

Her expression loosens up. She bows her head again and says, ”Oh, no. I should apologize!”

I cock an eyebrow. I really don't know what to make of this situation. Her attitude changes so easily.

Pem continues, ”It's your first time seeing one of us Xog, right?”

”Yeah,” I answer. ”I'm not from around here.”

”Same here. What a coincidence,” she says and then laughs. When she's not giving me a death stare, she seems like an ordinary nice girl…with a few extra features. If it weren't for those front teeth bulging out of her mouth, she'd be quite attractive. ”I didn't know Humans were frightened so easily… I think you'll cry when you're in the presence of Feradians.”

”Cry?” I ask and then crack a skeptical smile. I quickly drop it, realizing I'm supposed to be scared. ”Maybe…if they're really that scary… What're they?”

”I'll tell you a few things for free to show that you don't have to be scared of me. I'm not going to eat you,” she says with a grin while patting me on the head. I don't like how she's looking down on me, but that's a good thing in this case. ”We Xog are the most diverse race on this planet. We're split into two categories. The Dociforms, who exhibit less beast-like characteristics, and the Feradians, who are the opposite. They look more like beasts, but none of us are what other races call monsters.”

”Who're the Feloidians then?” I ask, remembering that she mentioned it earlier.

”There's a second way we're categorized. By our physical features. The Feloidians are the feline beasts, and I'm a Muriform, a family of mostly rodents. Particularly, I'm a rat type, but you can't really tell most of us apart by glance. We all look similar other than rabbits or those who exhibit more beast traits.”

”Oh,” I interject. Should I ask more questions? Something more specific as to why those Felodians are looking for me. There's no mistake that those tiger guys I ran into were part of that group. But, I can't let her show any more nervousness. She's going to be suspicious, and I can't keep playing the scared card. Hina, hurry up! She's the only one that can get me out of this situation.

”Want to see something cool?” She asks with a grin. It seems like she's the one who wants to show me something, if anything. Before I can answer, she exclaims, ”Look!”

She raises her hand in front of her and then something crackles within it. Her wrist and fingers pop out of their sockets and bend in impossible ways. I blurt out, ”What the hell?!”

”Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!” she exclaims and returns her hand to normal somehow. ”I wanted to show you my special ability to soften and harden my bones. It pretty much allows me to dislocate my bones without any consequence. Cool, right?”

”Yeah…that's interesting,” I reply. I guess she only looks similar to us., Like Dwarves, Xog may have their own special adaptations that are unique to them. She mentioned that there were different types of Xog. It's a fair assumption to conclude that they have a variety of different features. If she can do this to her bones, she can essentially bend her body in any way she wants. I can't imagine what it would be like to fight someone like that in combat.

”So, what special powers do Humans have?” she asks with sparkling eyes.

It seems like she's genuinely interested, but only disappointment awaits her. We can't see in the dark, we can't melt rocks, and we can't do things like dislocating our bones. There's nothing special about us. We're weak and pitiful creatures unable to do anything right no matter how hard we try. It's so unfair, but we lost the game of life. I respond, ”Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

”Oh, come on. There has to be something! After all, you're different than other Humans.”

I knit my eyebrows. ”What do you mean? I'm the same as everyone else.”

”No, you're different,” she says and sniffs me. ”You smell different. You're different than the other Humans out there.”

I instantly think about my Mana. That's the only thing I know that's different than anyone else. I'm the only one with this Mana. Is that what she's referring to? How can she tell that by smelling, though? I can't afford to show her my Mana, so that's another thing I'll have to hide from her… The ignorance card is all I have. Hopefully, she can't smell lies. Otherwise, I'm screwed.

”There must be a mistake. I don't know what could be different about me, if there is.”

She pouts and answers, ”That's boring. If you let me inspect you, I might be able to tell you. You'll have to show me your chest first.”

”I assure you there's nothing special about my chest.”

”Show me! I need to see it.”

”Why do you wanna see my chest so badly…?” I ask, feeling like I might be treading into dangerous territory. She's going to notice that my concern increases after asking that question.

”I'm sorry for being rude all this time. I haven't told you anything,” she says and bows her head. ”I received orders from my boss to find the Human male with a diagonal scar across his chest. They gave me a small piece of his clothing I used to track here. So, can you show me now?”

Shit, shit, shit. That's definitely me. If I show her, it's over. If I don't show her, she's going to suspect something too. I think of something that might work, but I don't know. What other options do I have? None. She's probably already smelling the fear from me now. I need an explanation, fast.

”No, look. There's something you don't understand. I don't know if it's because it's normal in your culture, but…we Humans don't show each other our bare skins that easily,” I say. The fact that it's in the winter plays to my advantage. No one's walking around bare-chested in this weather. If this is her first time here, she hasn't seen that and has no reference. I continue, ”We need a certain level of intimacy and trust first, you know?”

”Hmm… I understand. Will you feel more comfortable if I bare my chest first?” Pem asks. She starts undressing her top.

Oh, no. What have I done? I can't tell if this girl is seriously sheltered or if Xog's values and common sense are that much different than ours. I could tell her to stop, but she might take offense to it. It doesn't make any sense as to why it might offend her, but at this point, I have no idea what to think.

In no time, she takes off her bra, revealing small but round and full breasts. I gulp as my lower half becomes quite excited despite those hideous teeth. Her face isn't red at all. It makes me think that she does this sort of thing all the time with her own race.

”Oh, I'm sorry!” she exclaims and bows her head. What's going on now? I've gotten used to her apologetic behavior. ”My master taught me not to allow weaker males to copulate with me. If you want to do that, you'll have to beat me in a duel first.”

”Pardon?” I mutter and cock an eyebrow. Did she just…?

”Oh, I'm sorry. I also forgot to mention there are laws preventing us from copulating with other races. So, don't get your hopes up,” she says with a grin. ”I fear you might die trying otherwise. I wouldn't want to accidentally kill you for nothing, ehehe. I would get into big trouble for that. Besides, I want to be friends with other races! That means you too!”

I sigh and palm my face. I can't believe I was scared of this girl. At this point, it's easy to see that she's just a naïve idiot. If I wanted to, I could convince her to…no, no, no. I have Marin.

”What's wrong?” Pem asks. ”Are you going to show me your chest now?”

”No, look. What I really mean was that when we lay ourselves bare, we plan to have sex.”

”Oh, I'm sorry!” she exclaims and hurriedly dresses. ”That's why you got excited. I'm sorry for confusing you. I can't do that with you. I'm sorry.”

”Yeah, it's okay. So, that's why I can't show you my chest,” I say.

”Don't worry, I understand,” she says. She tilts her head. ”That puts me in quite a pickle, though…”

”That window over there was open when I got here,” I say and nudge my head in that direction. ”Maybe the guy you're looking for went out there?”

”Oh…” she mutters and walks over to the window. ”The smell does seem to lead here.”

Pem opens the window and sticks her head out the window. She leans back inside moments later. ”I'm sorry, but I have to return to work.”

”That's totally fine,” I answer. Please leave.

She walks up to me and leans into my personal space. I don't move and try to keep calm as she sniffs me all over from head to toe without explanation.

”Okay, I've memorized your scent. I'll remember you as my first Human friend. Kai, right?”

”Yeah…and you're Pem,” I respond. I feel a bit honored that she'd call me her first Human friend when all I've done is mislead her.

”Yep. Thanks for showing me that Humans aren't as wicked as they say,” she says with a smile. ”I'll come to say hi when I'm not busy. Bye, and I'm sorry!”

She dives out the window. What's she sorry for this time? Wait… If she's looking for the scent, the shirt I threw is literally right there. I run to the window and look down. Pem is gone, and so is the shirt I threw.

The shirt is in her possession, and she memorized my scent. It won't take long at all for a nose of her caliber to figure out that it's been me all along. But isn't that why she apologized again? She already knows? This situation can't be any worse than it is. I sigh.

”What're you sighin' for?” Hina asks. What timing she has. She's at the door with a white thing in her hand, presumably my replacement attire. ”We're you talkin' to someone?

”Yeah, I'll have to catch you up again.”

”Nevermind that for now. Check this out,” she says and tosses me the white clothing.

That's when it's evident that Hina bought something new for herself too. A black sweatshirt with the image of a slice of cheese in the middle. Mine has a black rat in the middle. Seriously? I've had enough rats for one day.

”I had a hard time decidin', but I figure we should have matchin' tops, so people don't grow suspicious of us, you know?”

”You could've chosen something better…”

”Come on, there's nothin' better than this,” she says and giggles. ”With everythin' that's happened.”

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I grimace and shake my head before putting it on. At least it's warm. I replay the events that happened while Hina was on her shopping trip as I equip everything back on.

She looks at me like I'm hopeless and says, ”I can't believe you took advantage of that poor rat girl and made her strip. As expected of the lady killer.”

I can't believe that nickname has been spreading throughout the Castle. I swear, I'm going to kill Jetia one of these days.”That's all you have to say? I didn't make her strip. There're more important things we need to worry about here.”

”We don't have time to fancy your rat fetish,” Hina says. I stare at her blankly. ”I'm kiddin', okay? So serious…”

”Gee, I don't know. It's not because of a bunch of intelligible upright monsters with superpowers are all looking for me, and Pem has strong evidence that it was me. Her smell's so powerful that she can tell if I'm scared or even excited. And it's not because we're extremely late for our team meeting. Now, let's leave,” I say and walk out the door.

Hina follows and says, ”Well, to be fair. You don't need a superpower to tell if a man has a boner.”

I pretend that she didn't say that and move on. We eventually arrive at the Icy Tavern.

Ada and the others are practically scowling at us the moment we walk inside. They're at the same table as before. Lotrem and the Dwarves with him are gone.