I Met Her First... The Mid-Grade Spirit, Undine

"Ugh..."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, it's just... a bit bumpy..."

Carrying Sein on my back as we moved camp, I let out a dry chuckle at his whining. I hitched him up, readjusting my grip under his thighs to secure him, and did my best to keep him steady before taking another step forward.

"Better now?"

"Thank you, brother."

"It's a relief that the annoying human is at least strong!" Undine chirped merrily as she drifted around us.

Watching her float effortlessly without carrying a single thing was honestly a bit irritating. Since Undine didn't have the strength to carry even a single bag, Sein had to wear his backpack while I carried him on my back. Meanwhile, she was having the time of her life.

"I told you to go scout ahead."

"I told you, there's nothing there~! I'm bored!"

"Geez. We need to find a way out so we can leave this place."

"Yeah, yeah~ I hate nagging!"

Covering her ears and whining loudly, Undine suddenly whipped her head around ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and flew ahead. As I watched her go, her translucent blue hair fluttering behind her, Sein spoke up from behind me in a low, quiet voice.

"You two seem to have gotten quite close..."

There was a distinct edge to his words. It was almost cute how this little punk was trying to probe my intentions.

"What are you talking about? Even when we're together, she does nothing but talk about you. I'm sick of hearing it, honestly."

When I playfully assured him of Undine's unwavering devotion, Sein tried to play it cool, but his voice betrayed his pride.

"It's just because she's still immature, really..."

Glancing back, I saw Sein grinning foolishly, clearly satisfied that Undine's heart hadn't strayed from him. He buried his face against my back.

It wasn't entirely a lie. Over the past few days, whenever the two of us went scouting, I had subtly dropped hints and tried touching her, but Undine's loyalty remained firm. It seemed their childhood bond was a massive advantage.

It was frustrating because I couldn't think of a way to seduce Undine before we found an exit or gathered enough magic stones. A spirit was too valuable a prize to just stand by and watch her fall into the hands of Sein, who was acting all innocent while secretly weighing his options.

Just as I was pondering my options, the blue-glowing girl came flying back toward us at high speed. Her face was flushed, and she was waving her hands wildly—a dead giveaway that she had found something.

Skidding to a halt in front of me like a cartoon character, Undine began babbling in a state of high excitement.

"If you go straight from the pond we played at yesterday, there's a staircase! I took a quick peek, and it goes down!"

"Is that it?"

When I asked in disbelief, Undine nodded emphatically. "Yep!" I couldn't help but chuckle. I balled my hand into a loose fist and gently tapped her forehead.

"Geez, you."

"Ouch! Why did you do that?! If there are stairs, there must be goblins too! Let's go look, quick!"

"Alright, let's get Sein settled first, then we'll go."

"Sein~ don't worry! I'll go gather magic stones right away!"

Sein silently watched Undine, who had clenched her fists with determination. He gave a slight nod and buried his face back into my back. The oblivious Undine simply assumed he was tired and floated ahead, chattering away. But I knew exactly why Sein was acting like this.

Ever since breaking his legs, he had undoubtedly fallen into an endless abyss of self-loathing. Everything was fucked, nothing was going his way, and his absolute faith in Undine being his partner was beginning to waver. He probably loathed himself for feeling this way, while simultaneously feeling resentful of Undine's carefree attitude.

I licked my dry lips, adjusted Sein's weight on my back, and quickened my pace.

"There we go..."

I laid out a cloak and some cloth against a corner of the wall and gently set Sein down. I adjusted his splint to make sure it was secure and asked if he was uncomfortable anywhere, but he simply waved his hand to say he was fine.

"Alright, we'll be back."

"Sein, we'll be right back!"

Placing a waterskin by his head, I stood up. I did a quick check of the supplies in my small pack, and once I was sure we had everything, I led the whining Undine out of the camp.

Glancing back, I saw Sein watching us with an incredibly dark expression. Since I had told him we would be scouting for a bit longer this time, his dejection was painfully obvious to anyone.

Even the clueless Undine seemed to realize Sein was in a terrible mood; while we were setting up camp, she had been unusually careful with her words so as not to upset him. A spirit walking on eggshells around a brat who wasn't even her contractor... She really was too sweet for her own good.

"Sein is going through a rough patch, but he'll bounce back soon."

"...Yeah. It's been a really long time since I've seen Sein like that."

"A long time?"

I tilted my head. Undine, twiddling her fingers as she floated beside me, spoke in a quiet voice.

"Yeah. When we first met at the pond, he used to swear a lot and get angry, saying he wanted to leave the village."

So that was Sein's true nature? To recognize a spirit back then and suppress his temper just to keep her around... The kid was a manipulative little bastard from the start.

"But after we left the village together, he was always smiling, never got angry, and seemed so happy..."

"It's only because he's badly hurt right now. If I were in his shoes, I would've thrown an even bigger fit."

"Really...?"

I nodded and patted her shoulder. Undine flinched slightly at the touch, but then she smiled sheepishly and kept twiddling her fingers. After spending the last few days together and maintaining constant physical contact, she no longer freaked out at a light touch like she did at first.

"The best thing we can do for him is to either form the contract quickly or find an exit."

"Yeah... the contract..."

She had been so desperate for that contract at first, but with Sein's growing hysteria, she seemed to be harboring a tiny, almost imperceptible doubt about it. This was exactly what I had been aiming for, and I welcomed it with open arms.

We continued chatting about trivial things until we reached the spot Undine had mentioned. It was a three-way fork. The center path continued straight ahead, the left path led to a small, closet-like room, and the right path contained the stairs Undine had spoken of.

I lightly flicked the forehead of the wide-eyed Undine as she stared at the stairs. With a soft *thwack*, she gasped in surprise, darting upward into the air and glaring down at me.

"Hey! Wh-what was that for?! Why did you hit me?!"

"You only mentioned the stairs. Why didn't you say anything about the path and the room?"

"W-well..." Tapping her index fingers together, Undine hesitated before sheepishly backing away with a grin. "I got so excited when I saw the stairs that I ran right back... I remembered there was more, but I figured I'd tell you later~"

I let out a wry smile at her childishness. Scolding her any further would only make her shut down, so I raised my hand over her head again.

Fearing another flick, Undine flinched and raised her hands to shield her head. Instead, I opened my palm and gently stroked the spot I had just tapped.

"Something dangerous could have come out of those places you forgot about. Right?"

"...Yeah."

"We left Sein at the camp thinking there were only stairs. But what if we went down, and a goblin or something else crept out of the other paths and headed straight for him?"

"...! Oh, right! You're right!"

Undine's eyes filled with worry. She had been so thrilled to find a new path, but the realization of what could have happened clearly terrified her. I kept stroking her head to calm her down.

"We just need to check the other areas first. Next time you find a place like this, make sure to tell me everything. Got it?"

"Yes! I will...!"

At first, she darted her anxious eyes around, unable to hide her panic. But as I continued to stroke her hair and soothe her, she quickly calmed down, closing her eyes and leaning into my touch like a purring cat.

Time to move. As I pulled my hand away to prepare for our search, Undine let out a small, disappointed "Ah..." If I showed too much interest now, she might put her guard back up, so I pretended not to notice.

"Let's check that small room first."

"I'll scout it out first!"

With a cartoonish *whoosh*, Undine's figure vanished into the small room. Since she was eager to scout, there was no need for me to rush in first. Resting my hand on the hilt of the sword at my waist, I walked over slowly. Undine poked her head out of the room and called out to me.

"No goblins! But there are some weapons and other stuff in here!"

At her words, I let go of my sword and stepped inside. The air was thick with the smell of iron and grease. It was clearly a stash of looted gear and junk. Stepping carefully around the equipment scattered on the floor, I walked toward the center. There was a surprising amount of stuff.

There were chainmail shirts, leather armor, longswords, shields, shortswords, and various other weapons. The goblins had been quite thorough in their looting. Some items were completely rusted, but a vast majority of them were actually in decent, usable condition.

I should grab some of this later if I can...

Wondering if there was anything better than my current longsword, I scanned the floor. In a corner, I spotted a scabbard that looked brand new.

Shring—

I drew the blade. It looked like a sword straight out of an old video game. Back when I joined the mercenary group, the Captain had droned on and on about different types of swords and shields until my ears bled, but I hadn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠retained a single word of it.

It was longer than my old sword, and the weight felt just right. I tossed my old weapon onto the pile of gear and strapped the new sword to my waist. Intrigued by my find, Undine floated over and asked.

"What's that? Is it new?"

"Yeah. It's much better than my old one."

"Wow! Then let's find something for Sein too!"

"Sure. Let's finish looking around first, and we'll grab something on our way back."

"Hehe, Sein is going to love it!"

Leaving Undine to happily scan the floor while muttering, "What should we get~?" I searched the rest of the room. I combed through the pile, but found nothing else of value. I had a feeling that if we went down the stairs, we'd find much better loot.

This place is probably just a temporary storeroom. The real gear and food must be downstairs.

This had been a colony led by a Goblin Shaman, after all. They likely had a systematic way of organizing their food and equipment. Since I hadn't seen a single goblin with facial markings over the last couple of days, the Shaman was definitely dead.

Pulling Undine away from her window-shopping, I stepped out of the room and began calculating our odds. Was there a chance of goblins returning through the center path? Considering the scouting party we killed yesterday, I couldn't rule out the possibility that they had sent reinforcements.

But sitting around waiting for them was a waste of time. The only logical move was to have Undine scout the center path while I waited by the stairs.

Having made up my mind, I called Undine over and explained the plan. She pursed her lips and nodded vigorously, ready for action.

"I'll be right back! If I spot any goblins, I'll wave from far away, so make sure you come running, okay?"

"Got it. I'll wait here."

"I'm off~!"

As Undine zipped away, I leaned against the wall, staring blankly into space. Soon, my mind began to wander. I thought of Rachel, whom I had left behind in the city, and the other women I had known.

It had been a while since I last emptied my balls, and just a brief fantasy was enough to make me rock hard. Rachel was a fine woman, but the one who stood out most in my memory was Sonia, the female knight I met during the Orc subjugation mission commissioned by the Count.

Our first encounter hadn't been pleasant. Righteous and utterly inflexible, she had insisted on tearing apart all the cargo of the merchant caravan we traveled with. And when the subjugation began, she had rubbed her superiors the wrong way, making life unnecessarily difficult for herself.

I couldn't just leave her to suffer, so I struck up a few conversations and looked out for her. Perhaps because she was being ostracized, she quickly warmed up to me, and we ended up talking and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eating together often. But that didn't last long. Although we successfully took down the Orc Chieftain with her help, the senior knights, who despised her, refused to give her any credit. Instead, they dumped all the glory on me. Outraged, Sonia had challenged me to a duel.

I thought we had talked it out, but then she overheard some nasty gossip I had spouted under pressure from the other knights. Devastated and weeping, she was a mess. I held her close, comforting her, and demanded something erotic as the prize for our duel. At first, Sonia was absolutely horrified, waving her hands and struggling to push me away. But as I held her tight and whispered softly in her ear, she eventually gave in, barely hiding her flushed face as she surrendered her body to me.

At first, she had recoiled in disgust, asking why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on earth she had to lick *that*. But as I showered her with praise and affection, she eventually reached the point where she would ask if she could suck it first. Remembering how she would eagerly take me into her mouth, sucking and nibbling as we shared wet, sloppy kisses, made a sudden wave of pleasure surge through me. I barely managed to hold it back.

We eventually went all the way, but once her squire of several years caught wind of our relationship, she began to stubbornly refuse me. So, I pretended to lose interest and distanced myself. When I left after the mission was over, she glared at me with pure hatred—but I knew her heart felt otherwise. She was a woman incredibly weak to affection, and I found myself genuinely looking forward to the day we would meet again.

Ah, I remember that other bitch too. The mage with nothing going for her but her massive tits... I heard she settled down in some rural village.

I recalled the details from a letter sent by a former colleague I still kept in touch with. Back then, whenever we went on small-scale deployments, I would casually sexually harass her or grope her body. Since she never put up much of a fight, I had teased and tormented her to no end.

Lost in the rhythm, my hand stroked my cock faster and faster. Feeling the throbbing shaft twitch in my grip, I knew I was about to blow. I pulled a cloth from my waistband, preparing to catch the mess, and opened my eyes—only to find Undine standing right in front of me, her wide, glowing eyes locked onto my dick.

I tried to cover my glans with the cloth, but I was so startled that my hand wouldn't stop its stroking. Overstimulated, my cock violently spasmed and erupted.

The thick, hot semen shot straight forward, splashing directly onto Undine's forehead, cheek, and nose, before slowly trickling down her face.