After thinking it through over and over, Mira finally made her choice. She didn't come into this new life to go around looking for trouble. If trouble came for her, then fine, she would deal with it. But going into her parents' bathtub to take a bath? That was her inviting trouble straight into her lap. So even though the thought of bathing openly made her whole body stiffen with dread, she still chose the river.
But by then it was already nighttime, the sky already dark, her body tired and sore. So she crawled into bed and decided firmly that tomorrow, she would go to the river to have her bath.
The next day arrived.
Mira got up, retrieved the items she brought through her system—the holographic inventory thing from yesterday—and packed them neatly inside a basket. Even though she had mentally agreed she would bathe in the river, she was still shy. Still nervous. Still very much not prepared to be naked in public.
So she waited until the sun was fully up and rested at noon.
Her plan made sense in her head: people who had things to do usually washed early in the morning, then left for work. By noon, the river should be nearly empty.
Should.
So when it was finally noon, she grabbed her basket and headed toward the river. Not the fishing river from yesterday—a different one entirely. She relied on Stella's guidance, mixed with the old Mira's memories, which were extremely useless since the old Mira had clearly abandoned this body a long time ago.
After a long walk, she finally arrived—and froze.
Shock slammed into her so hard she almost turned back on the spot.
The river was FULL. Packed. Crowded. Overflowing.
The number of people standing, talking, laughing, splashing, washing, and basically parading around NAKED made her whole chest tighten.
Nope.
Nope, nope, nope.
She was NOT doing this.
She couldn't.
Why were people still here?! Didn't they have things to do?! Jobs?! Responsibilities?! Why were they all still bathing at noon?!
But Stella's voice chimed in her mind, all cheerful and encouraging.
[Host, you can do this! You've survived worse! Just breathe and go slowly. You'll be fine!]
Mira closed her eyes, took a deep breath, forced her heart to settle, then stepped closer.
The closer she got, the bigger her eyes became.
Different beast races—tiger, fox, leopard, serpent, wolf, deer, you name it (she could only tell their beast form because most of them still possessed some of their beast traits even though they were currently in their human form) —were all standing or swimming in the water. They washed casually, comfortably, shamelessly. Men and women alike were going about their bathing routines without a hint of awkwardness. Mira wanted to scream.
She wanted to know why although this was the fox clan territory they were other beast here.
To that Stella answered explaining that territories or clans weren't restricted or clan-specific area. Leaders only restricted their clan area if they wanted private land, and of they wanted to live among their tribe alone, but these leaders wanted "community exposure," whatever that meant. So most territories were open to beast men of every tribe.
Mira stood on the sandy shore, caught between fear and disbelief. She looked at the groups of men in the water—tall, muscular, gleaming with river water—and a tiny, silent part of her whispered that maybe… maybe this could eventually become a relaxing spot. A place to enjoy the view of handsome beast men while pretending she was simply observing nature.
But she shook that thought away, grabbed her basket, and stepped into the river.
Immediately she noticed that most people bathed in groups. So when she passed one group, they gave her dainty looks—side-eyeing her, judging her, basically shooing her away with their expressions. They clearly thought she wanted to join them.
She ignored them. As if she would willingly join strangers while naked. Please.
But of course, gossip had legs.
She overheard someone whispering, "Who is this ugly person? She looks so dirty. She'll stain the water."
Someone else answered, "That's the unwanted daughter of the first clan leader, Herord—" and continued gossiping loudly enough for the dead to hear.
She heard everything but ignored them, moving toward a secluded part of the river. She muttered to herself, I didn't even want to be near any of you anyway.
When she reached the secluded corner, she placed her basket on the water. It floated gently. She took a deep breath and started.
She shampooed her hair first, scrubbing thoroughly. She washed and washed, watching the water darken with dirt until it was nearly brown. The lather slowly changed from gray to white. The dirt flowed away down the river. And when she rinsed and looked at her reflection in the water, her hair was no longer that dull brownish-blond but a clean, soft blonde.
Next came her body. She scrubbed every inch of herself. The amount of dirt that washed off almost made her gag. But she repeated in her mind:
Mira, you can do this.
Mira, don't give up.
She moved to her face last, washing carefully.
By the time she was done, she was exhausted but clean. She wrapped herself and stepped out of the river.
And immediately… she felt it.
Eyes. Dozens of them. Staring.
When she looked up, some beastfolk were gawking at her in open shock.
One whispered, "Wait… isn't this the same Mira we were just talking about?"
Another nudged their friend. "So… her ugliness was because she was dirty? That's it?"
Others muttered among themselves, staring in disbelief as if she had transformed into a completely different person.
Mira ignored them all. She'd had enough drama for the day.
She picked up her basket and walked home.
When she got home, she immediately took her razor and shaved her face carefully. Then her eyebrows—shaping them beautifully, giving her face more structure. When she finished, she washed her face again using some extra river water she'd taken along.
After that, she looked at her reflection on the glass made mirror and almost screamed.
Her mouth dropped open.
She couldn't believe this was what had been hidden under all those layers of dirt and facial hair. She had guessed the original Mira might be pretty underneath it all, but she didn't expect it to be this good.
But there was something she didn't understand.
If the original Mira had seen her own face before, what made her suddenly give up bathing altogether? Or had she really never bathed since birth?
She pushed the thought away. Not her business.
She looked presentable now—that was what mattered for her temporary stay here.
Mira ate her last pieces of leftover fish before climbing into her bed. Why was she already sleepy? It wasn't even that late. She was about to drift off when she heard a knock on her door.
"Wow," she muttered. Knocking? On her door? This was new.
"What's the issue?" she called out. Too lazy to stand up since her door was locked.
A voice answered, "it's a message from your father."
She told them to speak—she was listening.
The person continued, telling her that her father said to remind her of Beast King Kade's ceremony they were supposed to attend in the next seven hours. Her father instructed the messenger to let Mira know that he, her mother and sister would be leaving earlier, before the set time. So Mira had to come alone. It was compulsory. She was not to be late. And she dared not defy his orders.
Mira sighed and acknowledged the message. The person left.
She lay back down, thinking bitterly.
If she was such an embarrassment to them, couldn't they just go without her entirely and claim she was sick? How powerful was this Beast King—or the Beast Kings in general—that her father, of all people, who hated her presence, still wanted her standing there at the ceremony just because the invitations demanded family members present?
Whatever.
He clearly had it all planned. They went early without her, and she was sure that after greetings and introductions were done when she arrived, they would immediately ignore her in public and pretend she wasn't theirs.
She yawned.
A quick nap wouldn't hurt.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep instantly.
When she finally ke up, she froze.
Everywhere was dark.
And right at that moment, Stella's urgent voice chimed in her head—
[Host, the Beast King's ceremony..... you're late!!!!]