"N-no, it's not that…" Theo quickly denied, seeing Damien sinking into shame.
Theo's face had grown even redder, almost like he had been in a hot bath, as he shyly looked down, fidgeting with his fingers.
"Well… um… there's this… nice smell coming from you that some women… uh, give off during certain… times…"
"Huh? What do you mean by 'certain times'?"
"You know… uh… during the time when they're… ready to, um, have children…"
Ah, must be a beastmen thing, Damien thought. Maybe they had something like a mating season.
So, Theo thought Damien was giving off the scent of a woman in heat? No wonder Theo had been so confused and hesitant to say anything!
"Hahaha! But why?!"
"I… I don't know… really. Are you… absolutely sure you're not a woman?"
Theo still seemed half-convinced that Damien might be female.
"I'm telling you, I'm one hundred percent a man. You can tell I'm not lying, right?"
Apparently, thanks to some magic, Theo could always detect lies, so it was strange that he still doubted Damien.
"Yes, but… Sebas mentioned that sometimes there are rare cases where people don't realize they're actually women…"
Damien sighed. Issues of gender identity were a topic he had heard about back in Earth too. Maybe something similar existed in this world. But this conversation was becoming a bit too complicated.
"Theo, come here for a moment."
Damien stood up, took Theo's hand, and led him over to the corner of the room, away from prying eyes—although, to be honest, there was no one else in the room. It was just for peace of mind.
"Look," Damien said as he unfastened his belt and pulled his pants slightly down, revealing the inside.
"See? I'm a man."
Theo, who had been looking confused, suddenly widened his eyes in shock. He stared intently, as if trying to make sense of what he was seeing. His gaze was fixed solely on Damien's… well, manhood.
He was staring so hard that it was starting to feel awkward. Damien realized that if he didn't cover up soon, this situation might take an even stranger turn.
"So? Are you convinced n—huh?!"
Suddenly, Damien gasped in surprise.
Before he could react, Theo had reached into his pants and started touching him. Damien instinctively clenched his fists, almost ready to punch Theo, but he stopped himself just in time.
"…It's real…" Theo muttered softly, almost as if he wasn't aware he had spoken out loud.
It seemed Theo had felt the need to physically confirm what his eyes saw. Damien was so taken aback that he missed the right moment to stop him. He realized that Theo wasn't doing it with any weird intentions—just out of genuine confusion.
But still…
...
...
Damien couldn't help but wonder if there really were no weird intentions behind what Theo was doing. Theo was touching him, stroking, even pulling back the skin… It was starting to feel questionable.