A Choking Trauma
A Choking Trauma
"Who the hell masturbates first thing in the morning...?"
I was dumbfounded, so I opened my mouth irritably. Kylon, who had cleaned his body using Clean Magic and was putting on his clothes, chuckled and donned light attire.
"No, it's just that I can't get used to it. Isn't it normal for it to go down right after it gets hard?"
"Absolutely not..."
I didn't know what kind of sex education he had, and I didn't want to know, but the scent of ignorance seeping through his words felt utterly creepy.
So, I decided to pretend not to know and move on, and began to change into my Nun's Habit.
Slowly, I wrapped the soft black fabric around my body, put on the stockings that covered my legs, and even the Garter Belt to prevent them from slipping down.
I shook it out and checked it one or two more times in case there was any dust, and only after putting on the Veil on my head could I move.
When my elegant low heels clicked, I lifted my head, thinking Kylon would have finished dressing, but instead of changing, he was looking at me with the corners of his mouth turned up.
"...What are you doing?"
"Admiring."
"Crazy... Why are you staring so intently at someone changing clothes?"
"Well, with the Saintess-nim changing clothes right in front of me, is there anyone who would deliberately look away?"
There wasn't a separate room, and in places like this, bathrooms aren't equipped in every room either, so there was no proper space to change clothes.
So, I carelessly changed my clothes, thinking that we would politely turn our backs to each other and change, but I didn't know he would stare so intently and impolitely.
What was even more absurd was that he hadn't changed his own clothes at all, just to watch me change.
As I looked at him with a gaze full of dissatisfaction, Kylon shrugged and moved his mouth as if to give me a chance for revenge.
"Well, if you're annoyed, you can watch too. I'd welcome it if you watched."
"Ah, no thanks. I'll just sit with my back turned."
But that wasn't a chance for revenge for me, and at the same time, the thought that it might excite a guy who might have exhibitionist tendencies, enough to masturbate outdoors, made me quickly turn my head.
'I watched you, so you watch me.' What kind of psychology is that, seriously?
Thinking that, I pulled out a chair with a *drrrk* sound and sat down with my back to Kylon, when a voice came from behind me.
"What kind of virgin-like reaction is that?"
"No, it's not that I'm embarrassed to see a man's body, it's that I don't want to see it...!"
It's unnatural for men to look at each other's bodies like that, yet I couldn't understand what he was thinking, arbitrarily judging me as a virgin.
As I held my throbbing head and sighed, he, who had changed clothes in the meantime, called my name.
"Veronica."
"...Huh."
"I'm all dressed."
I, who had been bowing my head, let out a groan, then lifted my head and slowly turned to look at him.
What I saw was not the Hero in splendid iron armor, but just Kylon, the Hero, in simple, rough attire.
"Where's your armor?"
"At first, I was all hyped up and wore it, but now it's just heavy, so I'm quitting. Let's go."
Only after going through such a commotion first thing in the morning was I able to come out.
It was still morning, not even lunchtime, but it was a start that made me wonder if a person could get this tired.
*
After eating and heading out to the Royal Capital, many guards were patrolling the Royal Capital.
As I watched the numerous guards patrolling for a long time, Kylon was the first to speak.
"...Were there always this many guards?"
Since I didn't know what the usual guard situation was like, I just blankly furrowed my Glabellum at his voice.
After a long period of thought, I realized the reason.
"Surely it's not because of me, is it?"
"Ah, that would be it. I forgot that I quietly snuck you out from where the King had imprisoned you."
Wow, he released soldiers to find me?
Because I got goosebumps, even though Kylon was next to me, a sudden itch seemed to flare up.
So I raised my trembling hand and scratched my neck furiously.
Damn it.
That itchy sensation that wouldn't go away even when I scratched it kept crawling all over my body.
Cold sweat was breaking out, and soon, my fingernails scratched my neck with a *pit* sound, making it bleed.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"No, it's just... Ugh."
I should stop, but normally, if Kylon were next to me, it should alleviate it a bit. Why isn't it like that now?
I wondered if it was because my anxiety didn't just disappear simply because Kylon was next to me, and my Glabellum naturally furrowed.
I wanted to say I was fine, that it was nothing, but my body couldn't respond that way.
Even with Kylon watching, my hand raised its nails to erase the itch, scratching my skin, then scratching the wound on my skin, then scratching the flesh beneath the wound, making it bleed.
As the white scarf around my neck turned red, Kylon grabbed my hand and abruptly pulled it away.
"Stop it...! You're bleeding from your neck!"
It's itchy, the itch won't go away. Kylon.
"I... I can't breathe."
The symptoms became too severe, and I shed tears.
My breath became ragged. It felt like I couldn't even speak properly.
I desperately tried to breathe out, but just like when my neck was choked by a rope, I couldn't take a single breath, and it was only agony.
"Gasp."
There's nothing on my neck, so why?
I couldn't understand the reason.
I only felt the sensation of blood rushing to my head as I struggled to breathe.
As blood rushed to my head, my thoughts became sparse, and soon, my skin trembled as if my face would burst, my pulse was fully felt, and I felt a sensation of being completely filled.
"Hey, hey... Snap out of it!"
My vision blurred. I had never heard of someone being unable to breathe due to trauma, and I felt my mind fading, wondering if I was going to die like this.
Kylon's voice, as if from far away, reached me, and at the same time, I felt a sensation of being held.
He seemed to be holding my arms and shaking my body as if to tell me to snap out of it, but even that sensation felt distant at the moment, so I couldn't react much as there was no distinct feeling reaching me.
Although I wouldn't die anyway, that didn't mean the moment of death would be comfortable.
So, I swallowed my tears in agony and let out a groan.
And at the end of that endless, continuous agony, I desperately wished.
I thought it must be human psychology to wish for anything when facing death.
So I prayed to God.
To save me.
To free me from this pain.
Even though it was just more soldiers patrolling the streets than usual, if it was the King's measure to capture me, I couldn't help but be scared.
Fear seeped into my body and seemed to engrave anew the painful experiences I had gone through before, as if asking if I remembered them.
Please. Save me.
I don't want to hurt.
Was I praying to God? Or Kylon?
Or myself?
As I desperately wished, not even knowing who I was praying to, something seemed to instantly seep into my body.
At the same time, I felt a gentle touch.
I instinctively knew what it was, that it was a form of Divinity.
I, who accepted this unknown knowledge as if I had already known it, squinted my furrowed eyes.
When I came to my senses, what I saw was the large figure of Kylon, holding me in his arms and running somewhere.
Kylon, running breathlessly through my blurry vision, where on earth was he going?
"...Why, what's wrong?"
I barely managed to release my blocked breath and moved my mouth, and only then did Kylon, who had been frantic, seem to snap back to his senses.
"I thought you were going to die!"
"No, I'm fine. I'm fine..."
"Your cold sweat is no joke, you know? You really weren't breathing earlier."
Hearing that, I quickly realized that my body, held in a Princess Carry, was drenched.
Wondering if I had been that overwhelmed, I let out a groan.
"I'm fine now, so please put me down for a moment."
Holding my dizzy head and placing my feet on the ground, my churning stomach felt somewhat settled compared to before.
"Phew."
"Are you okay?"
"A little."
I, who answered that way, carefully brought my hand to my neck.
There was no trace of the wounds on my neck, which I had scratched until it bled, and at the same time, the sensation of the rope choking my breath seemed to have vanished without a trace.
It was an unpleasant sensation.
With the anxiety symptoms that occasionally flared up even after enduring, my pupils trembled, wondering if I was going crazy.
But how did I recover? I snapped out of it and searched my memories.
Gathering the faint, residual memories, when I racked my brain to find the reason, I recalled that the answer lay in prayer.
I was dumbfounded by the sight that seemed to confirm God's existence, considering I was a believer, a worshipper, a nun serving God, and even a Saintess with Divinity, closer to God than anyone.
No, was it my own mental state that was dumbfounding?
Maybe I found stability by believing in God.
Though it was funny that I could find stability in such a thing.
I, who tightly gripped the cross around my neck with one hand, caught my breath and composed myself while receiving Clean Magic from the Hero.
"...Are you really okay?"
"Probably."
"You said it was because of trauma?"
"I'm fine now..."
I answered that way and moved my even more fatigued eyes.
Wondering if I could see soldiers around, I seemed to be unconsciously scanning the area.
"Should I just sweep them all away?"
"Then the story will be ruined. Don't make our future gloomy too."
"...Our future? Why do you keep subtly seducing me? Is this a proposal?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
I, who had been slowly walking while leaning on the wall, left Kylon, who was suddenly making another strange joke, behind and walked straight ahead.
I just wanted to go somewhere and rest.
And soon, thinking that the sun shining down from above was quite hot, I raised my head and looked at the sky.
It wasn't the cool morning air from earlier; it seemed to announce that it was noon.
I furrowed my Glabellum and turned to look at Kylon, and Kylon, who was once again looking at my butt, came into view.
"Stop staring at my butt... Is it lunchtime now?"
"Uh, yeah. It's almost time to eat, but you looked tired, so I thought we might eat a bit later."
"What are we doing after we eat?"
"I know Flora's location, so we should go there. Even if the story hasn't started, finding her in advance won't take long."
"Alright, do that."
I said that and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
And followed the Hero's guidance to the dining hall.