Butt Spanking
Butt Spanking
Atra had a lot she wanted to say.
Didn't you promise to stay put, keep out of trouble, and come back in one piece? Didn't you say you'd be fine? So why did you go to China? Why did an incident break out there? Just like during the Sipnaha Incident—do you go sticking your head into danger on purpose?
And what's with the news from the Calamity Flame Family? Why is that violent clan treating you like their sweetheart?
And what in the world is that chunk of metal strapped to your left arm?
Scolding, reprimands, worry, nagging...
All kinds of thoughts swirled hazily in her head. She couldn't even settle on a place to start, so finding her first words was difficult.
"Ah..."
She couldn't get them out.
The only thing that slipped past her lips was a faint, dizzy sigh.
Atra barely managed to hold on to her fraying sanity. At any moment instinct might swallow reason and make her act on impulse.
Just barely reining herself in, she pulled Lee Ha-yul into a tight embrace.
It had been like this before, but... now his even smaller frame fit snugly in her arms.
An almost indescribable sense of fulfillment flooded her chest.
Her body trembled with a feeling of oneness, as though something that had been missing had finally clicked perfectly into place.
And in the middle of it all, that distinctive scent kept teasing the tip of her nose.
She peeled her tightly shut eyes half open and saw a head of hair so white it was unlike anything she'd ever glimpsed.
It was a purer shade than the Heaven Snow Flower, which might bloom only once every few decades on the summit of one of the rare high mountains deep in the Demon Realm.
A sweet scent rose from there that was hard to believe could be human body odor.
The sweet, rich fragrance of honey, and the cozy scent of blankets dried in crisp morning sunlight...
That was Lee Ha-yul's unique body scent.
Atra's eyes quivered.
Even before, his scent had been fragrant and impulse-stirring to the point of being hard to endure, and now it was even stronger.
She couldn't resist.
She buried her nose in the hair that was stoking her urges so fiercely.
"Ssshh... haaah..."
As she drew a deep breath, the scent filled her nostrils.
Atra's body shivered. She went on burying her nose in his hair in a daze, drinking in his scent.
"Uh... um, hold on. You look... kind of... well... right now...?"
Liana, who had been at a loss for words with her mouth opening and closing, ventured a timid remark.
Startled, Atra looked around as if gauging the room.
To Liana's eyes, the sight was extremely dangerous at a glance.
Atra's appearance couldn't be described as good even as a polite lie.
Her once-glowing golden pupils had turned dull and were trembling, as if unable to find a place to settle, and her eyes were heavily bloodshot.
Her hair, which normally flowed sleekly, had gone brittle, and deep shadows were cast beneath her eyes.
She looked like a burnout case. Honestly, it wouldn't have been strange if she'd had a cigarette or a bottle dangling from her lips.
In fact, Atra had considered seeking out alcohol or cigarettes several times. In the past she'd always used cigarettes to relieve stress.
She hadn't been able to bring herself to reach for them.
Because she had a shocking memory from past experience with Lee Ha-yul.
If she'd touched them, Ha-yul would certainly have thrown a fit and struggled.
And then Atra's already unsteady heart might have shattered completely and she might really have become a wreck.
With her looking like that, trapping Lee Ha-yul—who had become so small—in her arms, burying her face in his hair, and inhaling deeply... Atra looked like a very dangerous person.
Even in the face of Liana's hesitant remark, Atra didn't particularly restrain herself.
She didn't have the composure to worry about such trivial matters.
She only clutched Lee Ha-yul close and ceaselessly indulged in his scent.
"Haaah..."
How much time passed?
Once she'd worked through a fair amount of the impulse, a sliver of reason returned to Atra.
It felt as though the vague fear and pain she'd suffered over the past few days were on the mend.
A faint light touched her dull pupils.
Exhaling a dizzy sigh, Atra lifted her head slightly.
The pure white hair moved away.
"...Huh?"
And she saw Lee Ha-yul's face, twisted as if he were about to cry.
His docile, gentle eyes drooped, heavy with gloom.
Atra's heart plummeted. Along with it came a vertigo like stepping off a cliff.
"I—I'm sorry. Did I... hold you too tightly? Did it hurt, or did it upset you...?"
Had she surrendered too much to impulse?
The tiny shred of reason that had returned sounded an alarm.
Belatedly, the thought struck her that he might have felt awful.
Before, she'd only stolen sniffs when his attention had been elsewhere or when he was asleep, but this time she'd been far too blatant.
Atra fumbled to adjust the way she was holding him and kept on apologizing.
Lee Ha-yul's eyes trembled.
Then, as if holding back a surge of emotion, he clamped his mouth shut and buried his face against Atra's chest.
[I'm sorry...]
"Hmm...?"
The Confession Necklace around Lee Ha-yul's neck, wrapped several times because his body had grown smaller, clicked.
[I'm really sorry...]
Apologies kept coming.
The sound of sniffling even echoed from within her embrace.
Atra and Liana both hurried to soothe the tearful Lee Ha-yul.
* * *
Before I went to China, I honestly hadn't thought the trip would be free of danger.
China is a region with quite a lot of dungeons and monsters.
It would have been far too optimistic to think I could sneak in there, deal with a Death God Cult branch, and subjugate monsters along the way without any danger.
So I'd prepared an emergency escape measure of my own.
A long-distance Spatial Leap using the Authority of Space.
Since I'd memorized the coordinates in advance, I'd planned to flee in a truly critical moment.
That was why I'd been able to act with a fair amount of nerve even if the Death God Cult's leader came to kill me personally.
In terms of skill, I'd improved by leaps and bounds and could coordinate decently with my master, so I was also confident I could handle things.
But what appeared wasn't the cult leader—it was the Twin-headed Poison Dragon.
Having partly caused that disaster, I couldn't bring myself to turn tail and flee.
And since there were people in harm's way within my reach, and I wanted to reduce the damage even a little... I threw myself in.
I wandered between life and death several times.
Without that inexplicable bodily regression, my corpse would have melted away, saturated with poison.
It hurt terribly.
The sensation of my poison-soaked body dying was horrifying.
The feeling of my body burning from the aftermath of Three Ends, freezing, returning to earth and crumbling—that was truly terrifying.
Dying alone in some unknown place, squirming like a worm—that was frightening.
[I'm sorry...]
But this hurt far more than any of that.
I directed what little of my recovered Heart Power I could spare and activated the Observation Authority.
With the range narrowed, my master's appearance came into view.
She looked terrible.
Her eyes, which used to sparkle like morning sunlight, had gone dull, and the ends of her hair were so brittle they split.
Professor Liana told me that after I'd gone missing and was rescued, it hadn't taken a full week to get here... but my master had grown so haggard.
Because of me.
[Guilt]
[Remorse]
[Culpability]
[I really am sorry...]
My heart ached.
My master had been in pain because her worthless disciple had caused her so much worry.
Even after causing her worry, to my shame, tears welled up.
It was an incredibly shameless thing to do, but my master and even Professor Liana comforted me. That brought a fresh prickle of tears.
"...Ha-yul. Do you truly feel you've done something wrong?"
[I did wrong...]
[It's my fault...]
A moment later.
When my master, who seemed to be mulling something over, asked that question, I didn't hesitate. I nodded with my face still buried against her.
"Really? If you've done wrong, you have to be punished, you know."
[Yes...]
"Hmm..."
Again, I nodded without a moment's hesitation.
I was well aware I'd made a serious mistake.
At that, my master gave me a peculiar look.
It was hard to interpret.
I could see hesitation, like she was wondering if this was the right thing to do... a swirl of various emotions.
Still holding me, my master plopped down in the chair behind the desk.
Then the hand that had been stroking my back moved lower and began to stroke my bottom.
- Gulp.
I swallowed hard and steeled myself.
I still hadn't been told what kind of punishment was coming.
Fear crept over me, but in the end it was my karma, so I resolved to accept it willingly.
Just as I was tensing my body with that resolve...
The hand that had been stroking my bottom lifted, then struck lightly.
- Pat...!
- Eep!?
For a moment, little stars flashed across my dark field of vision.
.
.
.
A tingling sensation spread through my bottom, then ran up my spine. My back straightened by itself.
It was a sensation I'd felt fairly recently. Back then it had been much stronger; now it was gentler, but... this bizarre, bewildering sensation wasn't something I could forget.
[M-Master...?]
When I asked, my body trembling, my master didn't answer. She simply moved her hand again.
- Pat...!
My body jolted.
A ticklish... and strangely hot sensation rose.
I finally understood what kind of act this was.
Corporal punishment... specifically, a spanking, the sort of thing you'd do to a little child.
Heat rushed to my face. Even though I wasn't a child, the fact that I was receiving a spanking filled me with embarrassment, humiliation, and similar feelings.
My face flushed red on its own.
To hide it I buried my face back against her chest, and the patting stopped.
"Does it hurt a lot?"
Instead of patting, I felt a stroking touch.
My master placed one hand on my head and the other on my bottom, stroking as she asked.
"If it hurts so much you can't stand it, we'll stop here."
Her voice was laced with unmistakable worry. Even though she'd raised her hand to scold me, she seemed afraid that it might hurt too much.
I gauged the mood and replied.
[It doesn't really hurt...]
My bottom was hot, and it tingled... but it wasn't truly painful.
I didn't know the exact specs of this body now that it had gotten younger and changed in all sorts of ways, but it definitely didn't have the delicate flesh and bone structure of a truly ordinary child.
This kind of embarrassing butt-patting wasn't going to cause any injuries.
It was also a much milder punishment than I'd imagined. Honestly, getting my bottom spanked a little didn't even register as a punishment.
"Then you'll take a bit more."
[Yes...]
Still, I felt embarrassed.
While I couldn't manage to lift my head, her hand continued.
- Pat! Pat! Pat!
'Ugh...'
It didn't hurt.
It was just... hot. And it tingled. There was also shame and embarrassment.
Considering the effect these feelings had on me, I thought that maybe this actually held meaning as a form of discipline.
If I never wanted to feel this embarrassment again, I'd be more careful about my actions.
- Pang!
'...?'
Then it happened.
An inexplicable feeling came over me.
- Pat!
A hand pressed gently against my bottom.
For a moment the palm cupped my butt, stroked it a few times, and then pulled away. Then the action repeated.
I could feel affection and worry in those touches.
The impression of "hitting" gave way even more strongly to the impression of "patting."
Suddenly my brow twitched.
The identity of that unknown feeling gradually became clear.
In a corner of my mind, an image surfaced: a parent gently patting a baby's bottom.
Into that image... other people inserted themselves.
The Confession Necklace rattled.
[Comfort]
A flat, mechanical voice rang out around me.
"...What?"
The hand stopped. My master's expression went blank.
'Ah.'
My mouth opened.
While my thoughts had wandered for a moment, the necklace had once again carelessly spat a single word from my consciousness.
[Stability]
[Touch]
[Affection]
[I like it when you pat my bottom]
- Click, click...
The flat, mechanical voice echoed through the now-silent room.
My already red face went as uniformly red as an apple peel.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Atra Clyde
●●●●●●●●○○(84▷86/100)
｢Master｣ ｢Expectation｣ ｢Stability｣ ｢Craving Affection｣