Episode 37: My Hate-Cursed Master Tries a Blindfolded Hug
'No matter what, even under that curse making her hate me, she barely shows it. Ugh...! She's so damn smart, a real genius. ...Still, losing a whole month's memories together like that—it's making my eyes water. Gotta break this curse no matter what...'
I reined in my bipolar, seesawing emotions—like I had mood swings or something—and forced a cheerful tone as I showered Sylvia with praise.
"But Sylvia, you're seriously brilliant! It's not like you could pull that off even knowing about it—making such sharp judgments even after losing your memories... My master really is a genius witch through and through! Right, Eyeball? You agree?"
[Hmm. Master's master is honestly outstanding beyond her years.]
Clap clap clap clap! Even looking at it again, it was a total miracle survival. Under a hate curse, and she only showed that much dislike—I felt like I'd come back from the dead.
Sylvia didn't turn her head, just responded to my clapping and praise.
"...Heh. Hearing it without eye contact makes even your annoying compliments sound kinda okay. Ugh. More than that, I can't believe I can't recall losing my virginity! My body's definitely gotten way more sensitive in this short time, though..."
"I'm sad too, but doesn't it feel natural that you wouldn't remember from the start? Yet you're this upset about the memory loss?"
"I had tons of sex with my slave, but I still feel like a total virgin! Haa... You've got no idea how frustrating it is to know I did all sorts of naughty stuff but can't even imagine how."
"Yeah... that sounds super frustrating..."
Unknown territory... She seemed a bit snappy when off-guard, so I gave a yes-man response.
"It's like having naughty dreams but not remembering them—get it? It's so unfair!!"
What kind of analogy is that... Like a horny high school boy. But cute. Man, I wanna see her face right now. No major hate reaction so far, but this stifling curse situation pissed me off all over again.
It's like she has this vague sense she's been discharged from the army, but suddenly she's back to buzzcut private days...? Holy shit!? That's brutal.
Imagining random stuff to empathize with Sylvia, I hit on a horrifying thought and shoved it away. She was avoiding eye contact and hiding her hate, but it was ultimately self-deception—stressful as hell. So I suggested:
"Wanna try that blindfold the professor gave you now? You used to melt into a puddle getting petted and stroked by me."
"Wha...!? Why would you pet me... That's like some delusion of mine..."
"You don't remember, master, but after summoning me, you said it was normal for slaves to pet you and demanded it every chance you got."
"Uh, uhh? Oh...! R-Really!?"
"Block out sight and sound, and see if it really works! Let's test it quick."
"Sigh... I do get annoyed and irritated seeing you, but if I prioritize that you're a guy and let you pet me, it's not so ba—ah. Mouth slipped again... Ngh..."
To be considerate, I kept my distance instead of closing in, suggesting from afar. Truth be told, not touching her for a bit left me feeling awfully empty too.
"Fine! You're my slave, after all! Tch. I'll wear the blindfold—go ahead and pet your master!"
Growing weary of dealing with me, Sylvia quickly donned the blindfold. I called out to her, and she clearly couldn't see or hear a thing.
"Alright then... hug!"
As I embraced her, her cheeks flushed red beneath the blindfold, her body stiffening rigidly. No instinctive wrap-around with her limbs like before. Hmm... familiar softness, but an unfamiliar reaction. Just like she said in the admin office, I worried about her current headache from suppressing emotions and the guilt from recovered memories later.
Regrettably, I recalled the curse couldn't be lifted solo—we both had to go together, the two targets of hate and being hated. Only then could we reliably get it undone. Incomplete removal was pointless, apparently? Meaning Sylvia would suffer suppressing her feelings toward me the entire trip.
After stiffening for a while, Sylvia slowly buried her face in my chest and sniffed. Some things don't change even without memories.
"Sniiff... My first hug with a slave... Ngh... Having to block senses like this..."
"Nah, we do it all the time."
"Ugh... somehow... this smell calms me... Huh... my head's getting fuzzy...? Sniiiif... Wow, not bad at all..."
"Ah! Right, you can't hear my voice."
"It's one or the other anyway... Holding back anger staring at you... Or forgetting you exist and soothing myself in a guy's arms... Hng... Obviously the latter. This embraced feeling... so good... Gotta travel just like this..."
"My master. Talking to yourself, huh... Yeah! I trust master! I trust the master who trusts me!"
I patted Sylvia's back, signaling I'd let go. Probably best she didn't face me when uncovering her eyes. But she clung tight, refusing to release—yep, felt like classic Sylvia even without memories. We stayed hugged another five minutes before barely prying apart.
"Let's head out quick... Better shake this curse ASAP... So I can glare at your annoying face freely... Ngh! Ugh, body and mind not syncing is the worst..."
"Like our super-smart master said, the aftermath scares me."
"Ugh... Having such a devoted slave... annoying, but. Can't believe it. Feels gross, but. Ngh, picturing your face brings negative vibes again...! Haa... Holding back repeatedly is tough."
Unable to stand her furrowed brow clutching her smooth forehead, I spoke up.
"Hmm... Instead of holding back, how about venting once? Just once."
"No way. If you're gonna spout nonsense like that... Damn! Even a slip makes it happen. Sigh... I know myself. With a slave I've bonded so deeply my body craves him this much, if I lash out... Regaining memories might put my life at risk..."
"That serious...?"
"Yeah. Seris would get torn to shreds by my hands once memories return."
"Ah... her life's on the line, huh."
"So best to live blindfolded as much as possible. I'll cast the spell—slave, you handle directions."
"[Map: Map]!"
Sylvia, grimacing but holding it in, cast the spell. I sensed a surface map projected in a corner of my mind—like a hologram. Reminded me of the minimap in Diablo II from childhood. Damn, it's huge.
"Here's a paper map. The shared one in your head's oversized for you. Match the volcanic zone I marked here with the mental one and head that way."
"Got it. This I can handle."
"...Don't take it so lightly! Ugh... Slipped again."
That was it? Our Sylvia master's too nice, isn't she?
Before departing, she pulled a sphere engraved with a horse golem from her belt bag. Whirr! Clop clop. It expanded into a horse golem, trotting in place to assert presence. Sylvia waited blankly blindfolded, so I scooped her up and settled her on the saddle. She didn't realize, but that might've been subconscious—waiting for me to place her instead of mounting herself. Or maybe everyone with slaves does this.
Mounting up, I positioned her facing me in my lap, wrapped her arms around my waist, then launched the horse golem airborne. Sensing the lift-off, Sylvia gripped tighter—blind and deaf, a bit scared maybe.
"......You're irritating, but getting hugged by a guy? No reason for a girl to refuse..."
Anxious in the dark, Sylvia muttered to herself. Facing her in this embrace, picking the volcanic zone direction, I realized my long-suppressed erection had finally happened. Shit... No sex till curse lifts... Wait. Blindfold means no problem, right?
"Eek...!? Something hot...? What's this...? No way, a dick!?"
Feeling it against her lower belly, Sylvia subtly ground to confirm the shape in detail. C'mon, master. She got super excited, like touching a dick for the first time.
"Th-That's it... this is a dick...! Right! Even without memories, I'm still master, so a little sex is fine, yeah!?"
Who said otherwise? Smart master thinks on the same level as me about sex. Heh. As our bodies touched, was it lust rising? I had no words for my pervy chattering master. She couldn't hear anyway.
"Ugh... sex... I want sex too...!! You! Fuck me too!!"
We're in the sky, lady. Calm down. Sorry for the boner. Finding my dick ignited her lust, it seemed. Checking distance via paper map and mental [Map: Map], I buried her whining face in my chest. Squirm squirm... sniff sniff... lick... haa... Soon she settled, just sniffing my scent. Eyes off her, I gauged travel time.
Even max zoom on the map, it barely shrinks per minute... Boosting horse golem speed, straight-line flight looked like two days. Kek. Modern mental math... I got skills? Wait, shit!? Math fucked up bad? Recheck: one day at this pace. Ignoring time to find the primordial flame spirit or whatever. But ghosting the math like that. Accurate this time? ...Yep. Double-checked. Ground travel would've taken forever! Thanks to strong, pretty Sylvia master, private jet vibes.
Yeah! A life hitting jackpots won't crumble to some curse—yea! Let's go!!
Thus began our one-day adventure with Sylvia.