The nights in Axel were cold, but Eris's heart was colder—frozen solid from trauma, to be precise.
We stood before the receptionist of the cheapest (and most mildew-scented) inn at the corner of a dark alley. The sign said "The Prancing Pony," but the inside looked more like a chicken coop with rotting mattresses.
"Sorry, kid. Only one room left. It's a single, barely enough for one person. You want it?" asked the innkeeper, whose eyes wouldn't stop wandering over Eris—her clothes were still tattered and translucent from the slime incident.
Eris trembled, hiding behind my back. "Yuuji... one room? Alone? With you?!"
I turned to her, putting on my most sanctimonious face. "Listen here, Sky Skank. The money from scooping the sewers is only enough for this one room. If you want to sleep in the stables out there with that poodle that tried to bite your butt earlier, be my guest. I'm not doing it."
Eris visualized the poodle, then the cold sewer floor. She swallowed hard. "B-but... there's only one bed..."
"Relax. I am a man of honor," I said, accepting the rusty key from the innkeeper.
Ding!
[Lie Detected: You have no honor whatsoever.]
[Degeneracy Points +20!]
The moment the door opened... CREEEEAK.
The room was the size of a wardrobe. It contained one mattress with sheets that had turned from white to a sickly yellow, and one bucket of water for washing. No en-suite bathroom. Just a thin cloth curtain that couldn't even hide a shadow properly.
"Alright, Eris. Since you smell like a drain and the gunk is starting to crust on your 'so-called' holy skin, go wash up first," I said, flopping onto the bed, the springs groaning beneath me.
"Wash here?! With just this cloth curtain?!" Eris glared, her hands clutching her chest where a button had popped off thanks to the slimes.
"No other choice. Or do you want me to wash you? I have a 'Fast Hands' skill, you know."
"NO THANKS! PERVERT!" Eris snatched the bucket and the Degenerate Soap I'd just bought. She scurried behind the curtain.
The sound of splashing water began. Through the thin fabric illuminated by the oil lamp, the silhouette of Eris's body was vividly clear. From her slender neck to her narrow waist, down to... well, that 'Charisma 100' stat clearly wasn't just for show.
"Yuuji... don't peek! I'm warning you!" she shouted from behind the cloth, her voice echoing as she scrubbed herself.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm busy calculating points," I replied, though my eyes never left the silhouette.
Suddenly...
"KYAAAAAAA! THE SOAP IS TOO SLIPPERY!"
THUD!
"Owwwww..."
"Eris? You dead?" I asked, stifling a laugh.
"Yuuji... hic... I slipped... my towel... it got caught on a nail and tore!"
I immediately stood up and swept the curtain aside without permission.
"Hey, are you oka—"
My sentence died. In front of me, Eris was sitting on the wet floor without a single stitch on. Her hands were desperately trying to cover her top, while her long legs tried to shield her bottom, failing miserably in her panic. The towel had literally ripped into two useless scraps.
Her pale, smooth skin was now flushed from the warm water, and remnants of soap suds still clung to very strategic places.
"YUUUJIIIIIII! GET OUUUUT! DON'T LOOK!" Eris screamed hysterically, her face turning red all the way to her ears.
[Degenerate Act Detected: Enjoying the sight of a Naked Goddess at close range.]
[Bonus: Making a Goddess cry from shame in the bathroom.]
[You Earned: 300 Degeneracy Points!]
"Hey, I was just trying to help. You said your towel ripped? Here, just wear my shirt," I said, pulling off my t-shirt and tossing it onto her sobbing face.
Instead of leaving, I squatted in front of her, watching her struggle to put on my oversized shirt. Since it was the only thing she was wearing, the bottom... well, let's just say it was very short.
"Yuuji... why are you still here?! Get out!" Eris whined, her eyes welling with tears.
"Eris, this room is tiny. Where am I supposed to go? To the altar? Just put the shirt on and go to sleep. I'm tired."
Once the bath drama was over, Eris slept on the far edge of the bed, pressed against the wall, clutching my shirt as if it were a suit of armor. She jumped every time I moved even slightly beside her.
"Yuuji... if you dare try anything... I'll curse you into a toad..." she muttered with a trembling voice.
"Shut up, IQ 1. I'm thinking of how to get more points tomorrow," I said, tugging at the single, thin blanket.
Because the blanket was small, it became a tug-of-war. Every time I pulled, Eris's smooth thighs were exposed. Every time she pulled, my feet froze.
"Give me the blanket! I'm a goddess, I can't catch a cold!"
"A goddess catching a cold? How pathetic!" I yanked the blanket so hard Eris rolled over and ended up pinned on top of me.
Our faces were only inches apart. Her breath, smelling of fragrant soap (with a hint of sewer), hit my face. Her clear blue eyes stared at me with terror mixed with... I don't know, maybe Stockholm Syndrome.
"Y-yuuji..."
"Eris... you're surprisingly heavy. Turns out goddesses aren't just made of light, but meat too." My hand "accidentally" (lie, it was totally on purpose) rested on her soft waist.
Ding!
[Degeneracy Points +50: Making a Goddess's heart race from fear/arousal.]
"GET OFF ME, YOU DEGENERATE!" Eris kicked my shin and scrambled back to the wall, sobbing uncontrollably. "I hate this world... I hate boba... I hate Yuuji..."
"Go to sleep, Eris. Tomorrow we have a new mission: Stealing the Knight Commander's underwear. The points are massive."
"I DON'T WANNAAAAAAA!"
That night, Axel city was a silent witness to how a Great Goddess finally fell asleep clutching a scumbag's shirt, dreaming of being chased by giant slimes carrying cameras.