Chapter 22
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Body Search - Hero (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was a desperate act born from the sight of all hope slipping away.
If things kept going like this, I'd be heading straight to becoming the Hero's slave.
But...
'Did it actually work?'
The Hero's cheeks were flushed a deep crimson.
Her lips twitched as saliva trickled down her chin.
"...My body. What's wrong with it?"
The Hero's arms, pinned against the wall, trembled faintly.
Her eyes were half-lidded in a daze, yet her gaze remained locked on me.
Judging by her reaction, it seemed the Hand of Abstinence had kicked in properly...
But why no response when I touched her... only after I spanked her?
"This sensation... it's been so long."
The Hero stroked her own rear as she let out ragged breaths.
"Yes, pain. I can't even remember the last time I felt physical agony like this."
"......"
Having felt pain after so long, the Hero looked utterly exhilarated.
"Four years? Has it really been that long since I felt such vivid sensations? After Envy died, I thought all feeling in my body died with her. I figured it'd never come back..."
The Hero poured out words to me in a voice thick with excitement.
I never imagined I'd see her like this.
It was different from the angry, tearful woman from moments ago.
"It was just a faint twinge, but it was definitely pain. And such a delightful kind..."
The Hero's lips curved into a sly grin.
As if all her previous smiles had been fake, she looked happier than ever.
"Gatekeeper? Answer me. What was that? Tell me quick. Why is my body acting like this?"
"......"
The Hero was starting to get excited, like someone who'd eaten something bad.
Her once-lifeless eyes now sparkled with vitality.
"Ah... is it some secret technique you can't talk about? I respect that. But is there really a technique for spanking a virgin's butt? I'm not judging. Just tell me."
I had nothing to say. Did any technique like spanking exist anywhere in the world?
I decided to brazen it out a bit more.
"......During the inspection, you seemed sleepy, so I played a little prank. Don't friends joke around like this?"
"Oh... yeah. Envy would spank me when she got bored. Is that how it is with all friends? I don't have many, so I wouldn't know. You're right... sorry, Gatekeeper."
In this bizarre situation, I was the one who'd spanked her, yet she was the one apologizing.
What friends spank each other...?
But reasons didn't seem to matter to the Hero right now.
"Honestly, I don't care about the reason. So, what did you do exactly?"
"A technique."
"A technique... huh."
Would she buy it if I said it like that...?
Please don't ask any more.
And someone, get me out of the Hero's grasp already.
"But it's different from normal pain. Yeah, it stung where you hit my butt, but now everywhere your hand passed is tingling."
What was this now?
I didn't know exactly what 'pleasure' meant to her, but it was clear her version wasn't normal.
For now, it seemed the effects of the Hand of Abstinence were finally ramping up.
I had no idea why it was kicking in so late.
Did the spank reopen her senses?
- Ah.
The Hero's trembling body froze abruptly.
Her twitching lips, the drooling saliva, her shaking arms—all stopped.
"It stopped..."
The Hero's eyes turned cold once more.
She lowered her empty, lifeless gaze to scan her own body.
Then she lifted her head again.
"...Gatekeeper."
"Yes."
Her voice, cold as ice, filled the gateway.
Had she snapped out of it? Was I about to get punished for the spank now?
- Crunch.
A hard cracking sound came from the Hero's hand embedded in the wall.
She slowly pulled it free and took a step back.
"...You can do it again, right?"
"Pardon?"
Then she unclenched her fist.
'Shit.'
As her hand opened, stone dust scattered into the air.
"You can do it again, right?"
"......Yes."
Thankfully, she didn't seem intent on punishing me.
"Gatekeeper..."
"Yes."
The Hero's lips parted again.
All I could do was respond whenever she called.
"By any chance... why do you carry those gloves?"
"......"
The Hero pointed with her index finger at my glove rolling on the ground.
Was she asking me to put them on? At least here, I didn't need to lie.
"Sometimes... people faint, so I wear gloves to tone it down."
"Faint...? Ah... so compared to those people, how am I doing?"
Pointing at the glove, she seemed to think it was part of the technique, but it felt like she'd caught on to my ability somewhat.
"I didn't faint."
"......"
My breath caught.
I had to wrack my brain for an answer.
"Some... don't faint."
In the end, that was all I could say.
"...Does it get better if your hand touches directly?"
"Yes, generally speaking."
Sweat was beading up now.
Was she suspicious of my ability...? It felt like an interrogation.
"Me?"
"Yes?"
The Hero pointed at herself with her index finger.
"You did it bare-handed on me. Were you giving it your all?"
"......Yes, I gave it my all."
Now I got a sense of what she meant.
Was that your best?
Honestly, it scratched a bit, but pushing further wouldn't be an inspection anymore.
Doing a full-frontal on the Hero... that was beyond me.
My instincts rebelled against it.
"So, in conclusion, the closer to the skin, the stronger the technique?"
"Uh... yes."
The Hero smirked at my answer.
"Then let's do this."
- Rip, riiiip.
The Hero grabbed her collar with both hands.
She yanked sideways, tearing her uniform right open.
"Hero...?"
Her actions left my brain blank for a moment.
But the Hero ignored my call and kept going.
She shredded her top completely, then tore her pants apart side to side instead of pulling them down.
Did the Hero undress like that...?
No, but why strip here...?
As her sudden flirting left me dazed, the last scraps of her clothing fell limply to the ground.
At least she was wearing those regenerative undergarments from last time.
"This should make it stronger, right?"
"......"
The Hero murmured after shredding her uniform entirely.
She kicked the rags aside.
Bare skin showing—how could this be a body search? The words nearly escaped, but I swallowed them.
Look at those eyes.
The Hero's pupils had lost all life; staring into them was terrifying.
How could I talk back to eyes like that?
"Do the body search. Same as before."
"......Yes."
In the end, I had no choice but to turn behind the Hero again.
In retrospect, was this good luck?
One goal—awakening the Hero's senses—had succeeded.
Though the flow was veering off in a direction I hadn't expected.
Still, I'd managed to button the first step.
"I won't stop you this time. Do whatever you want."
"......"
What did 'do whatever' mean in a body search?
"Was it like this...?"
The Hero wiggled to position her peach-like rear as before.
"N-No need to stick it out that much... just pull it back a little."
She wouldn't stop without me saying, so her butt kept approaching.
Panicking, I grabbed her rear with one hand.
"......Did I go too far?"
Thankfully, her rear halted right in front of my lower body.
Snapping to, I felt a touch worlds apart from before.
Her soft flesh seeped between my fingers, enveloping my hand.
I yanked my hand away in a hurry and checked the Hero's reaction.
Never thought I'd grab a woman's bare ass during gate duty...
"......"
But even bare, the Hero showed no response.
"Then... I'll proceed like before."
"Yes, same as before."
I reached for her waist again and slid up.
Unlike over clothes, her elastic skin pushed back against my fingers.
- Swoosh.
The tights material rubbed against my hand with a cool sound.
I swept down her arm, back to her waist.
Then placed my hand on her rear where I'd touched before.
Just like earlier, her warm flesh wedged between my fingers.
At this point, how was this an inspection? But it didn't matter to the Hero anymore.
"......"
As expected... no reaction from the Hero.
I'd anticipated it, but mere touching didn't awaken her senses.
The Hero kept glancing back, her expression unchanging as I'd predicted.
- Smack.
To test, I gave her rear a light tap.
Much softer than before, it made a crisp sound.
- ...... Twitch.
A moment later, her shoulders quivered faintly.
'This is insane.'
I'd suspected it deep down, but I couldn't believe it.
A psychopath Hero who gets off on spankings.
This was bad...
My plan was to awaken her senses, then make her lose interest in me.
But they only awakened from spankings, and even then, briefly.
An uneasy feeling stirred in my chest, but I pushed it down.
"What are you doing... finish it quick."
"......"
The Hero stared at me, her face slightly flushed.
What I had to do from here wasn't changing.
Eventually, my hand rose to her rear again.
- Flinch.
This time, her waist—which had shown no reaction—jerked up sharply.
Unlike before, even bare touch made her react sensitively...
My hunch seemed right.
Half-doubting, I swung down to spank her.
Or tried to.
If not for the sound from somewhere.
"Hic...!"
A cute hiccup.
At first, I thought it was the Hero.
But it was too adorable for her.
Sudden chills ran down my spine.
What if someone was watching?
Worse, someone we knew...
Please no... I slowly turned my head.
The Hero, sensing something off, turned with me.
But against my hopes.
"What are you doing, not... "
"Uh... good morning...?"
There stood the Saintess, her face red as a beet.