The Second Massage (2)

Press.

"Nngh!"

Squeeze.

"Hnnngh, hah!"

A brief rest after finishing lunch. The moment the meal was over, Ellin and I were back in the guild counter chairs, putting the leftover minutes of our break to good use with another shoulder massage — just like yesterday.

Presss!

"Nngh, hah, mmmh?!"

Apparently the lewd moans she'd let slip inside the Adventurers' Guild last time had been mortifying enough that today she clamped both hands firmly over her mouth, trembling as I worked. From where I sat giving the massage, the sight was plenty erotic in its own right… but at least we weren't about to fill the whole guild building with her cries the way we had before.

Still, I didn't expect her to agree this easily.

After something that embarrassing, I'd braced myself for a flat refusal. The fact that she said yes meant my massage must have felt that good to her. Whether it was the actual relief in her muscles or the thrill of those stifled little sounds, I still wasn't sure.

"Your shoulders are definitely softer than yesterday. Looks like what I worked out last time is still having an effect."

"Mm-hmm…. A-after Beor massaged my shoulders, they really did feel better…. Nnhaah, hah?!"

Every time she tried to answer one of my casual remarks, another moan would surge up and she'd scramble to cover her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mouth again.

…Was it too mean of me to look at that and want to make her moan even more?

It was genuinely hard to hold back. Watching someone as cute as her keep letting out those filthy little sounds right in front of me was enough to make it feel like we were doing something far more indecent than a simple massage.

The shoulder work's basically done already…

Thanks to yesterday's session, there was almost no tightness left, so the shoulder massage finished faster than expected. Ending it there felt far too disappointing, though — so this time I quietly slid both thumbs down onto Ellin's back, keeping my other four fingers draped over her shoulders as if I were still working the same area.

Press!

"Nnhmmph, haah?!"

Caught off guard by stimulation somewhere she hadn't expected, she failed to keep her mouth covered and a moan slipped free. Judging by that reaction, the more knotted the spot I worked, the deeper her sounds became.

Maybe her libido was getting stirred up right along with it. I still didn't fully understand every effect of Vitality Massage, but I had a strong hunch that, used the right way, it could lean plenty far into the erotic.

Press!

"Nnhmmph?! B-Beor…?"

"Yes, Ellin?"

"Th-that's not my shoulder — that's my back…"

"…Ah, so it is. But since I've already started, let me just work out this one tight spot a little more."

Presss!

"Nnhaaaaah…!! …Hah, mmph…!!"

Busted or not, I put real pressure into my thumbs against her back, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and her lewd cries deepened in answer. The fact that she'd even forgotten to cover her mouth for a second told me it must have felt pretty damn good.

"……"

"……"

Thanks to that, a few adventurers outside the counter had already started glancing our way one by one. Figuring I should wrap this up before we repeated yesterday's scene, I focused on just two of the acupoints along Ellin's back.

Presss!!

"Nnhah, hnnn, nnghmmmph…!!"

Both hands clamped over her mouth, Ellin fought to swallow the cries welling up from her throat. Under my thumbs, the two orange points on her back loosened into green, then faded from her body the same way the ones on her shoulders had.

"All done, Ellin."

"Haaaah, h-hnn, hah…"

"Senior?"

"……Ah, mmmh?! I-it's over…?"

"Yes. Your shoulders weren't as tight as yesterday, so it went a little faster."

"Ah, mm-hmm…. I-I see…"

Still flushed, she answered half a beat late. And just like yesterday, there was that faintly disappointed look on her face — so once again I floated the same gentle offer.

"If you're still not satisfied, I could work on your back and lower back a little more?"

"That again…?"

"It just seems like you've been building up fatigue in your back and waist too. When I brushed them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠earlier, the muscles felt a bit hard and knotted."

"……"

"…Ellin?"

Unlike yesterday, she didn't refuse right away. She actually seemed to be thinking it over seriously. I found myself ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hoping for a different answer this time — and sure enough, with a noticeably looser attitude than before, she gave in.

"I-if it's just the back…. A little more…"

"Not the lower back, then?"

"Mm-hmm…. J-just the back a little more, please…"

"Yes, Senior."

Satisfied by how much her defenses had softened compared to yesterday — even if only a little — I set both hands on her back again. Until lunch break ended, Ellin's muffled cries quietly filled the space behind the guild counter once more.

The moment lunch ended, the Adventurers' Guild was busy again. Ellin and I spent the afternoon handling the flood of adventurers pouring in.

"I-I'd like to register as a new adventurer."

"Ah, yes. Could you fill out the forms over here, please?"

"Finished the Northern Ice Mountain yeti-hide collection request."

"Ah, yes~! I'll check that for you right now~!"

"How do I accept a request?"

"For request acceptance, bring the request slip from the board and we'll confirm whether your adventurer rank qualifies you to take it."

"…Material appraisal."

"Yes, one moment please~!"

Adventurers clustered at our counter in groups. It was the same feeling I'd had yesterday — a guild full of nothing but female adventurers was still deeply disorienting.

And their outfits weren't the standard gear male adventurers would wear either. Everyone was dressed in something that felt… lewd. Honestly, I barely knew where to look.

A priestess's robe cut open at the chest and thighs was on the modest end of the spectrum. There were mage dresses so tight they showed off every curve and left the navel bare, and female knights in plate armor that somehow covered the chest and hips while still exposing the midriff and thighs. A woman who looked like a martial artist had her enormous breasts barely wrapped in a single compression bandage, and the thieves were basically just wearing tiny sports bras and hot pants.

Whether they stripped down for mobility or I'd simply landed in a world with completely warped fashion sense, I couldn't say. Then again, a world where women were stronger than men was already nothing like a normal medieval fantasy — all I could do was adapt to its common sense as fast as possible.

…That said, my eyes still drifted helplessly toward the thin bikini armor that looked like it was designed purely to seduce men.

"Handsome oppa, mind settling the monster materials I brought in~?"

"…Ah, yes. Material settlement, right? J-just a moment, please."

"Heh heh, take your time. I've got plenty."

"Yes, yes…"

"…And I've got free time this evening too. What about you, guild oppa? Want to grab a meal somewhere nice?"

"……Ah, no. I've got overtime tonight, so I'm busy."

I barely managed to crush the temptation that almost made me say yes, I'd love to.

Honestly, part of me wanted nothing more than to leave work with this bikini-armored warrior, share dinner, and let the mood carry us somewhere good — but I had to hold back. This was a world where only women possessed Unique Abilities. I happened to have one despite being a man, but Vitality Massage was clearly not the kind of power that could protect my own body.

If all she wanted was a physical fling, I'd take her up on it in a heartbeat. But there was always the chance a genuinely rotten woman might try to kidnap me and sell me off. Until I'd worked at the guild long enough to learn the regulars' faces and judge for myself who was trustworthy, I needed to avoid anything that could put me in danger.

"Heh heh, cute~. All right. I'll ask again next time."

As if she'd expected the rejection from the start, the red-haired warrior left with an easy smile. I had a feeling I'd be seeing more of her — and by then the long line of adventurers had nearly cleared. The last person to approach my window was a beastkin martial artist with long bangs covering one eye.

"Th-this…. Settlement…"

"Ah, yes. Monster material settlement, right? One moment."

The brown-haired beastkin set a large, expensive-looking horn on the counter. With one eye hidden behind her bangs and a pair of faintly squirrel-like ears on her head, she waited while I checked the material with the Appraisal Orb.

A Minotauren Horn was worth one gold coin at guild rates.

Bringing in material worth nearly a million won by my old world's standards meant that, despite her small frame and gentle looks, she was relatively skilled.

Following guild procedure, I settled the one gold coin purchase price for the Minotauren Horn and handed it back — and that should have been the end of the long line of adventurers. Instead of leaving with her payment, though, the squirrel girl set the gold coin right back on the counter and returned it to me.

Slide.

"…Was the appraisal value wrong?"

She shook her head.

"W-with this…"

"Pardon?"

"I-I want…. A shoulder massage, t-too…"

"……Pardon?"

…Hmm.

Was I even allowed to do this?