Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Nati - Chapter Seven

"I need to confess that I'm not the Goddess of Luck."

On my third morning here, I gathered the orcs in the courtyard. They fed me enormous amounts of magnificent meals and I felt terrible for leading them astray. So far I haven't even told them my real name and was still called Goddess. Charlotte took me in without a word but supported the idea to come clean.

She let me stay in her shack and while it wasn't particularly comfortable, I had a place to sleep and food to eat. Their settlement lacked comfort and their clothes were primitive but they were friendly. This was not how I imagined orcs, but their chieftain gave me everything I needed, in case they had it. Except as usual in the mornings, she disappeared.

I had Mabel to support me instead, the little girl who volunteered to braid my hair every day. Or rather, she demanded me to let her do it, but I appreciated her efforts since I never had hair this long before. When I saw them on Alexandra, they looked stunningly beautiful but came with troubles and challenges. Of course, I didn't even consider to cut them off.

They belonged to a literal deity so it would have been nothing short of blasphemy to damage them. The longest locks anyone had in the tribe were less than half of mine and belonged to Mabel, who wore them in braids. She followed me around all day.

The orcs normally did not care much about beauty and preferred low-maintenance, sturdy, and functional things. But I understood why she was captivated by my extremely long, silky black hair when I fell in love with them at first sight.

Mabel held her breath now, along with the tribe, and looked at me curiously. I probably paused for too long but struggled to talk about these. I couldn't come to terms with everything just yet and had to take a deep breath before I blurted it out.

"I'm not even a girl," I said, but the surprised gasps I expected did not come. Maybe I wasn't the only one from another world? I rushed out the rest. "I don't know the details, but I used to be a man, who died in another world. Then Alexandra transferred me into her body for some reason, but my real name is Nati."

"Oh, so you are like Hank?!" The little orc girl yelled with wide eyes. "I knew something was odd about you, refused to come with me to the stream too when the girls washed up."

The stream that cut through the village took a small turn behind their settlement and was hidden by a dense treeline. The orcs widened it artificially and used it as their bathtub. They washed up there daily in small groups and the tribe's kids went all together, regardless of gender. The wildlife in the area was too hostile for them to wander alone, so they were accompanied by their mothers, and never left unsupervised. The children hated this but Charlotte said, wolves attacked the village three days ago.

Adults were strictly separated though, and I was too embarrassed to go with either group. They protested for some time, but I bathed alone since they believed me to be a Goddess. Even with my eyes closed, that was the most difficult part of my day and I knew for a fact, that I didn't want the orc males to stare at this body. I couldn't simply group up with the girls, but I got lucky when they reluctantly let me go alone. Being their esteemed guest granted me some unfair privileges. But I needed to focus on the conversation.

"Hank? Is he someone like me?" The name sounded unfamiliar, although I could not remember everyone in the tribe. A huge orc smashed its fist on the table.

"I'm not Hank! Call me Hana! How many times do I have to tell you?!" The creature grumbled menacingly at Mabel by my side, even larger than Charlotte. Like an inverted triangle, they had chiseled, muscular body, well-defined jaws, and face covered in dark stubble. The clothing on the other hand was similar to what the girls wore in the tribe. "I am a woman! You have to respect that decision!"