Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Can't Move from Acupressure
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Before I knew it, the world outside the clinic had been swallowed by deep twilight.
"Phew, you worked hard today."
The blue-haired healer Finley handed me a leather waterskin. I took it without hesitation and gulped down its contents.
Maybe because I'd sweated so much, the water soaked into my body like it was melting right through me.
Meaningful labor.
Water drunk after shedding meaningful sweat tasted this refreshing.
"Not bad for your first day. Must be that sturdy build of yours."
Finley slapped my shoulder and back with her palm. It packed a decent punch, but to me—tempered by Elfride's whippings—it was just a tickle.
My body really was tough.
Grown fat on the sweet nectar of capitalism, my height and frame stood out in this world starved for food and nutrients.
Finley said,
"Are all Samaritans like that? The Samaritan adventurer I saw before was huge too."
"There were plenty back home built like me."
"Oh... Still, you're pretty mild-mannered, Hassan. I figured all Samaritans were grumpy and loud."
Comparing me to this world's barbarians was about as insulting as lumping Chinese and Koreans together.
But from these foreigners' perspective, we probably all looked the same.
So I had no intention of clarifying that I wasn't Samaritan—just some otherworldly outsider.
It'd only lead to tedious explanations and stares like I was a lunatic.
We were chatting idly like that when—
"Oh, and Veneris was thrilled. Said his back pain vanished completely. How'd you do it?"
"Veneris?"
"The adventurer from earlier. Dark-skinned guy—"
"Oh."
I recalled the man who'd tossed me a silver coin.
His face was so ordinary it'd blend into any crowd, but that gleaming silver stuck in my memory.
I'd treated his lower back pain.
Probably thanks to that new grace I'd somehow acquired: *Amateur Handiwork*. That was my best guess—my brain couldn't conjure anything more plausible. Sigh.
"How'd you manage it? Even healing magic struggles with chronic conditions rooted deep in the body."
"Really?"
I was a bit surprised to learn healing magic had limits I'd dismissed as fraudulent.
Magic and graces were still alien to me as an outsider, and even after two years here, I hadn't encountered them much, so there was a lot I didn't know.
I said,
"Can't healing magic fix anything?"
"It works on fresh wounds like cuts or bruises, sure. But deeply ingrained karma or chronic ailments like that? They need long-term treatment. Some can't be cured at all."
I had no clue what "deeply ingrained karma" meant, but apparently healing magic wasn't omnipotent.
Maybe this new grace of mine was something special.
I was musing on that when—
"Um, that... Could I maybe learn that unique massage technique of yours?"
Finley, who'd been hemming and hawing, finally asked with a resolute expression. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked straight at the woman beside me.
"Learn it?"
"Yeah. I want to help suffering patients more..."
Even if it wasn't omnipotent, she could cast healing magic five times a day to fix most injuries. Yet here she was seeking other methods.
Impressive drive. To me, numb to Elfride's lashes, a woman showing such altruism was downright moving.
But could you even learn this?
I hesitated, fumbling for words.
"Um, if it's some advanced secret art, I'm willing to pay properly. Medical knowledge is priceless, after all..."
"Pay?"
"Yeah, 10 silvers..."
"Huh?"
"20 silvers."
"Wait, hold on."
The sudden turn left my brain scrambling. 20 silvers was a huge sum even for me.
Part of me screamed to snatch it up; another warned against scamming with an inexplicable power I couldn't even explain.
Above all, could I fleece someone as kind and gentle as Finley?
"Fine, 30 silvers. That's everything I have. Please?"
"No point refusing that. Lie face-down on the bed there."
It was too much to haggle over. That sum would buy my freedom outright—no need for second thoughts.
"Face-down?"
"Yeah, you need to experience it first to get the feel."
The foundation of learning massage or acupressure is understanding the sensations yourself.
Only by feeling where and how to press for relief can you replicate it on others.
Finley smoothly lay face-down on an empty bed.
"Kinda embarrassing somehow."
She buried her face in the pillow, mumbling uncertainly.
It was adorable, but I quelled any fluttering emotions—distractions could ruin the treatment.
"I'm gonna probe with my hands now. Don't be startled—I’m warning you ahead."
"Okay, sure. I'm fine."
With her permission, I placed my hands on her back. Even through her thin clothes, her slender back and waist were unmistakable.
I traced her spine with my fingers, casually noting,
"You're tilted a bit to the right."
"Huh!? Is that bad!?"
"Nah, everyone leans one way after a while living life. Yours isn't severe. I'll adjust it quick. Breathe in."
"Hoo..."
"Haah—"
I pressed both palms to her back, exhaling sharply and applying force. A sharp *crack* echoed from her delicate frame—louder than expected.
"Eeeek—!"
What startled me more was Finley's bizarre shriek.
"F-Finley? You okay? It might hurt at first."
"N-No... It just hurt more than I thought, startled me a bit. Done?"
"Not yet. Exhale again."
"Hoo..."
*Crack, crackle.*
"Eep—! Eeeeek!"
Only after kneading and correcting her waist and hips did I finally lift my hands.
Finley whimpered like a beaten pup, then slumped bonelessly onto the bed.
"You alright?"
"Just... let me lie here a bit longer..."
"It's supposed to hurt first time. But it'll feel good with practice. For real results, do it two or three times a week consistently."
"R-Really? Kinda feels nice now, actually..."
She seemed too drained to rise. I straddled her waist.
"Hassan? Wh-What...?"
"30 silvers means I gotta teach you thoroughly. I'll hammer in basic acupressure points and their effects. Feel it closely. The body has these spots called pressure points."
I placed both thumbs side-by-side along the line of her neck.
Where neck meets skull base—in that hollow—I pressed hard and circled.
Finley thrashed beneath me.
"Hiii..."
"Hurt?"
"N-No, just chills down my body... What's that spot for?"
"Insomnia."
"I-Insooo-mnia...? Hnnngh."
I recalled Finley suffered from insomnia—she volunteered for night shifts because of it.
Hence the dark circles marring her pretty face.
Unlike with Veneris's back pain, though, stimulating her neck point showed no sign of easing her insomnia.
What gives?
Wrong spot?
I rose from her waist and eyed her prone form head to toe. First, the palms—hands are mini-bodies, with most points concentrated there. Second, the soles—second body.
"What're you—doing!?"
She yelped as I went to slip off her sandals, startling me too.
"Huh? Just checking your feet for the massage."
"D-Doing that!? No way!"
"No?"
"No! Touching a woman's feet casually is taboo!"
Shit, didn't know about that taboo.
I'd truly never heard. Suddenly I felt like a sexual harasser caught red-handed.
"Didn't know the rule. Wasn't intentional."
My mind flashed headlines: 'Barbarian Slave Sexually Assaults Female Healer. Castrated—'
No newspapers here, of course, but manhandling women was grave sin in both worlds.
"Really didn't know!"
"Sigh... Samaritans wouldn't know Gaia Continent customs. Anyway, be careful. Touching a woman's feet is... deeply embarrassing."
Face flushed scarlet, she hastily re-sandaled.
That instant, the sole she'd guarded so fiercely flashed before my eyes.
There, smack in the center of her dainty white sole, was a red blotch like spilled ink.
It resembled the mark on my finger knuckle from curing my headache, or Veneris's waist lump.
Could it be...
Struck by insight, I seized her ankle. Slimmer than my grip could encompass.
"Hassan?"
"Still essential for treatment. Medical procedures aren't embarrassing, right?"
"Treatment...?"
"Yeah. You change clothes for immobile patients or whatever."
I remembered today's work with Finley.
Healers didn't just nobly chant spells—they handled dirty jobs like Earth's nurses or caregivers.
Dealing with the bedridden meant witnessing embarrassments aplenty, yet healers like Finley acted unfazed.
"Just think of it as treating an injured foot."
"But mine's fine..."
"It's figure of speech. Vital for my technique, so... gonna remove 'em."
"W-Wait. Hoo..."
She sat up on the bed, taking deep breaths.
Baring herself to male eyes seemed more shameful than handling nude patients.
Her blushing tension made me tense too, stirring something lewd.
Just from removing sandals, my junk stirred. Good thing the baggy clinic robes hid it.
"Um... Just a little, okay."