Free Time (2)
I stared at the oil Sherry had handed me, a flicker of doubt crossing my mind. Had she actually known what this was when she gave it to me? Given her personality, it seemed impossible that she would pass along something like this.
“Miss Sherry.”
“Hmm?”
“Did someone give this to you, by any chance?”
“Oh, Risa lent it to me. Why do you ask?”
“......”
For some reason, I could clearly picture Risa flashing a thumbs-up. No, what the hell had she done to this oil?
I inwardly shook my head in disbelief and handed the bottle back to Sherry. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Huh? Don’t tell me you don’t like it?”
“Ah, it’s not that. It’s just...”
“Just?”
“It seems like there are some impurities mixed in.”
At my words, Sherry fixed me with a look that asked how I could possibly know that. I scratched my cheek and offered a vague excuse.
“I saw some strange mana dwelling inside it.”
“I-I see.”
“Instead, allow me to use the one I brought.”
I pulled a fresh bottle of oil from my subspace pouch. The next moment, her expression brightened again. She must have been anxious that I might refuse.
“Then I’ll lie down here for a bit.”
With those words, Sherry stretched out on the mat in front of me. I quietly scanned our surroundings with Mind’s Eye. At some point the rest of the group had vanished, leaving only the two of us.
Hmm. Those two definitely aren’t the type to see this and just walk away.
Since Risa and Kanya were missing, I suspected they had lured the others elsewhere. Still, that was beside the point.
I poured the oil into my palm with a wet splash, rubbed my hands together vigorously, and placed them on her back.
“Eep!”
She flinched, startled by the cold touch of the oil.
“Are you all right?”
“Y-yeah. I was just a little surprised, that’s all.”
She nodded, cheeks flushed. I studied her quietly.
Is this because of Mind’s Eye?
Her mana circuits appeared in vivid detail. Perhaps because my level had risen, I could see the exact state of Sherry’s pathways with perfect clarity.
Since it’s come to this, I might as well do it properly.
With that thought, I began to move my hands.
At first, the mere idea of receiving a massage from Baran had filled her with overwhelming embarrassment. After all, his hands would be touching her body. She would be lying there in what was essentially underwear disguised as a swimsuit. Naturally, she had expected the experience to feel incredibly good.
But contrary to her expectations, it was simply… average. Aside from the initial chill, it felt like an ordinary massage.
However.
“Hngh! Haaah!”
Before long, every time he kneaded her muscles, her entire body grew burning hot.
W-was a massage always supposed to feel like this?
Having never received one before, she had no frame of reference. The heat was so intense that she wondered whether her body should even be capable of growing this warm, given her natural resistance to flames.
“Are you all right, Miss Sherry?”
“Mmm… yes. I’m fine.”
Sherry nodded with a dazed expression. Hearing her answer, Baran continued. Everywhere his fingers pressed, the tension drained from her body. It felt as though every tightly wound muscle was finally loosening.
“Hngh! Haaang…”
Each time, an embarrassingly sensual moan slipped from her lips. She tried desperately to hold them back, but the sensations were far too vivid to suppress.
Whew.
Meanwhile, every time Baran heard those moans, he was silently reciting the national anthem in his head. He was simply massaging the clumped circuits of mana while applying oil. He had never imagined she would let out such seductive sounds. If anyone else saw this, they would undoubtedly misunderstand.
“The back is finished, Miss Sherry.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. Then we should probably stop here…”
“Do the front too.”
She cut him off, grabbing his hand. Her eyes looked up at him with desperate longing. Refusing now would somehow make him feel like the villain.
Ugh. Just a little longer.
Having collected himself, Baran looked down at Sherry as she lay on her back. Because he was concentrating, her form appeared in sharp detail.
They really nailed the heroine design.
Red hair, crimson eyes, elegant features that perfectly complemented them, and a voluptuous chest.
Did she choose the bikini to match her hair?
Seeing her lying there in that swimsuit stirred something strange even in him.
“Baran?”
“Ah, forgive me. I’ll begin right away.”
He must have been staring too long. Shaking off his thoughts, Baran slowly moved his hands. The first place they landed was her collarbone.
“Hngh.”
The stagnant mana there gradually unraveled. With each pass, the tips of her ears grew redder. Baran pretended not to notice her moans and slowly slid his hands lower. This time they came to rest on her shoulders. Perhaps because of her generous chest, the muscles there were especially tight.
“Haahng!”
She let out particularly loud moans whenever he worked her shoulders. The situation embarrassed him as well, but this was what she had asked for. He completely cleared the blocked mana in her shoulders.
The stimulation is too intense.
Under his touch, Sherry’s body trembled uncontrollably. Even the back massage had felt quite stimulating, but the front was on an entirely different level.
“Hngh!”
This time his hands moved to her abdomen. The moment he began rubbing there, her whole body flared with heat as if set on fire. A strange sensation began rising from below as well.
“Haa… haa…”
Sherry’s breathing grew ragged, her body quivering. Despite her moans, Baran continued the massage with iron resolve. At this point most men would have lost control, yet his patience was remarkable.
Does he really not see me as a woman?
Just as disappointment began to creep in—
“It’s finished, Miss Sherry.”
He wiped the cold sweat from his brow as if the ordeal were finally over. Sherry let out a small sound of regret at the thought that the massage had ended.
“Ah…”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
He stood up in a hurry. Seeing his haste, Sherry’s expression turned sullen. Even though he claimed to be blind, she had expected him to become conscious of her during such an intimate act. Yet he had done nothing but give a purely professional massage. It seemed he truly didn’t view her as a woman.
“Haa…”
Just as she let out a deep, disappointed sigh—
“Sherry? How was it?”
Risa had appeared at some point and was tilting her head curiously. Sherry answered in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz.
“It seems like a failure. I get the feeling Baran doesn’t see me as a woman at all.”
“What? That can’t be right.”
“Can’t be right?”
What was she talking about? According to the plan, Risa should have been keeping the others occupied with Kanya. So why was she saying something like that? There was no way she could have seen what just happened.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Well, when I walked by earlier, Baran’s face was completely flushed.”
“Huh?”
Come to think of it, she had been so embarrassed that she hadn’t looked at his face properly. In such a mortifying situation, how could she have? Sherry quickly grabbed Risa’s shoulders.
“R-really?”
“Yes, I’m certain. It was the reddest I’ve ever seen his face! It looked like he was extremely conscious of you too.”
Now that she thought about it, his movements had seemed rather urgent. At first she assumed he simply disliked it, but apparently Baran had been just as embarrassed.
Baran is seeing me as a woman.
With that realization, Sherry broke into a triumphant smile.
After finishing Sherry’s massage, I practically fled the scene. Without exaggeration, if I had continued even a little longer I might have crossed a line. Her appearance had been that seductive.
Whew. Let’s head to the hot springs to calm down.
I needed to settle my mind. If I stayed at the pool any longer, strange thoughts would keep swirling in my head. With that decision, I made my way to the hot spring bath.
A sign was posted at the entrance.
SWIMSUITS PROHIBITED
It seemed swimsuits weren’t allowed inside. With no other choice, I wrapped a nearby towel around my waist.
In novels, this is exactly when the protagonist runs into someone.
But such convenient encounters don’t usually happen in reality. Besides, the students were currently under restriction because of the pirates. The chance of meeting anyone was extremely low. Thinking that, I opened the door to the bath.
—Freeze!
My face stiffened instantly. And for good reason.
“Baran?”
There stood Luden, covering himself with nothing but a thin towel. It seemed even he couldn’t fully relax in the hot springs.