I'll Nurse You Back to Health

Beneath a night sky lit only by a round, solitary moon, the rusted hinges let out a long, grating shriek.

The door swung open to reveal the dim, cramped interior of a wooden shanty coated in black mold. Its layout was modest to a fault—just a living room, a kitchen, and a small bedroom. It was the abandoned house where I had lived four years ago, right after being knighted. Seeing a place so steeped in memory stirred a flicker of nostalgia, yet it was also a home I would rather have forgotten.

The moment I stepped inside, the rotten floorboards groaned beneath my weight as if on the verge of splintering. The pungent stench of mold wafted up, tickling the back of my throat.

"Cough, cough."

"Oppa. You're late."

Slender arms snaked around my waist from behind, pulling me into a soft embrace. I turned my head to find Kenna.

"Yeah. I had to, if I want to earn a bit more coin."

Suppressing another cough, I reached back and gently stroked her hair.

"You're already a knight, aren't you? Shouldn't that mean no more worrying about money?"

"We'll need more if we're going to buy a proper house. We're going to live together for a long time, after all."

Without thinking, I laid my hand over hers where it rested against my stomach. Instead of smooth skin, rough bandages met my palm. I turned around and saw her fingers wrapped in scraps of cloth, riddled with cuts.

"You know that knight who helped you out? His wife gave me some piecework, so I've been practicing."

My gaze drifted to the dark table, where scraps of fabric bearing clumsy embroidery stitches lay scattered. The thought of her sitting in the dark, pricking her fingers over and over without so much as a candle, made an ache blossom in my chest.

"...If you're doing this because you're worried about our finances, you don't have to."

"Don't worry about it. You have me by your side, remember? Just don't push yourself so hard."

Kenna unwrapped her arms from my waist and offered a bashful, beaming smile.

I looked back toward the open doorway, where pale moonlight poured inside. The silvery radiance cast an ethereal blue tint over her flowing violet hair, transforming her frayed, white hemp garments into what seemed like an immaculate gown. Her innocent, radiant smile was enough to coax a genuine grin out of my exhausted face.

In that moment, it felt as though the goddess of the moon herself had descended upon this hovel.

My feet moved of their own accord, and I opened my arms to pull her into a tight embrace. Her waist was so slender it felt as though the slightest pressure might snap it. Her body heat seeped into my chest, and her warm, rhythmic breath brushed against my neck.

When I eased my hold and moved to step back, Kenna caught my face in both of her hands. The touch was gentle yet insistent, drawing me in as if pleading with me not to go. I found myself leaning forward without resistance.

Her breathing grew heavier, her gaze softening with the tender reverence of someone beholding their most cherished treasure. She drank me in with her eyes for a long moment before pressing her scarlet lips against mine.

At first, it was a gentle graze, our lips brushing lightly against each other.

Then, without warning, a slick, fervent tongue slipped past my lips, invading my mouth.

Chup. Slurp.

Wait. My memory didn't go like this.

I tried to pull away immediately, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my body refused to obey. Her tongue explored every crevice without mercy, sucking desperately as if intent on draining everything I had.

Chup. Chuuuup.

In the dead silence of the abandoned room, the lewd, wet sounds of our kiss echoed endlessly.

I pried my eyes open a fraction, and Kenna's face filled my entire field of view. The heavy weight pressing down on my chest told me she was lying directly on top of me.

I tried to focus and see what she was doing, but a vicious, skull-splitting headache forced my eyes shut again. My fingers and toes were completely numb, tingling as if struck with paralysis. The world spun sickeningly behind my eyelids, churning my stomach with intense nausea. With every thudding heartbeat, a spike of agony ripped through my flesh; it hammered so fast and violently that I caught myself praying my heart would simply stop.

An involuntary groan scraped up my throat, but something blocked it before it could leave my lips.

Churp. Chuuuup.

The sensation against my mouth made it clear: Kenna was ravenously claiming my lips. Her impossibly soft lips parted as her slick tongue plunged inside with fierce abandon, exploring every inch of my mouth.

I tried to push her away, but all my trembling body could manage was a feeble shudder.

When I forced my eyelids open once more, Kenna noticed and pulled her head back. Two translucent silver threads stretched between our lips, glistening proof of the intimate contact we had shared only moments before.

She looked down at me through parted lips. A deep flush painted her cheeks, and her hooded, sultry gaze was that of a predator—or rather, a female in heat, reveling in her claim. The dense, cloying scent of her sweat and saliva enveloped me, scattering whatever remained of my lucidity.

"Stay still. I'll make the pain go away."

Her voice trembled faintly with excitement, her pitch rising higher than usual.

My head, my limbs, my entire body burned as though engulfed in flames, while cold sweat poured incessantly down my skin. I desperately wanted to close my eyes and surrender to sleep, but the relentless torment would not permit it. Kenna looming above me was startling, yet she hardly seemed like a threat. At this point, if anyone could just dull the pain so I could finally rest, I wouldn't care who it was.

Hah... Gasp...

My breathing turned ragged. Hearing my labored gasps, Kenna reached out and grasped the wooden staff resting beside the bed.

As her arm lifted, it exposed her smooth shoulder and bare armpit.

Wait... is she completely naked?

I tried to demand an answer, but my blurred vision spun out of control, and a sudden wave of bile forced me to clamp my teeth shut.

Kenna softly murmured her incantations.

Beyond the luminous tip of her staff, the dark night sky peeked through the window. The unbearable agony wracking my body gradually faded into a soothing numbness, allowing me to slip back into unconsciousness.

Just before darkness swallowed me whole, her gentle, feverish whisper brushed against my ears once more.

Chirp, chirp.

The harsh morning sun stung my eyes, waking me from my slumber. A soft, rhythmic breathing drew my attention to the left, where Kenna lay curled up, fast asleep like an infant.

I carefully lifted the edge of the blanket—she was fully dressed in her white hemp clothes.

Was that all just a dream?

My muscles felt a little stiff, but my mind was remarkably sharp and clear, as though I had finally emerged from an extraordinarily deep and restorative rest.

I stretched my arms out with a long yawn, then eased myself off the bed so as not to wake her. Deciding it was time to discuss the black stone we had retrieved, I donned my leather armor, buckled my longsword at my hip, and pushed the door open.

"Yo, Elias. Awake at last, art thou?"

Ershin happened to be passing by in the corridor and raised a hand in greeting.

"A whole week it's been since—gasp! What in the heavens is that revolting stench?!"

Ershin abruptly clamped a hand over her nose, her face contorting in sheer disgust.

I sniffed the air a few times, thoroughly baffled. There wasn't the slightest foul odor around us.

"What smell?"

"The one reeking straight out of thy room, of course!"

"What are you talking about?"

I glanced back over my shoulder into the room, but detected nothing. Had my sense of smell gone dead?

"And those red marks upon thy neck... Hmm. Perhaps 'twould be wiser for thee to continue resting, after all."

With a knowing nod, Ershin turned on her heel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and practically fled down the stairs.

"Wait! Hold on a second!"

I called after her, but she had already vanished down the staircase beyond earshot.

"Darling, you're up already?"

A drowsy voice called out from behind. I turned to see Kenna rubbing her eyes, her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠violet hair a tousled mess ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as she sat up.

Ershin's mention of "a whole week" suddenly clicked in my mind.

"Have I really been asleep for an entire week?"

I walked over to the bed, sat behind her, and ran my fingers through her tangled violet locks, combing them straight.

"Mhm. You were dreadfully sick. Which means I took care of you the entire time!"

Kenna puffed out her chest and looked up at me with a triumphant expression, virtually begging for a compliment.

"Good girl. You did wonderfully."

I smoothed down her hair and patted her head. A sweet, childish giggle escaped her lips as she leaned her forehead against my stomach, snuggling close.

Ershin didn't return for quite a while, so the three of us gathered in Golgotha's room instead.

"So, did you figure out what this thing is?" I asked, looking at the stone.

"Well... even when subjected to my most powerful explosives, it didn't sustain a single scratch," Golgotha replied politely, tilting his head. "It's remarkably light, and certainly unlike anything found in the natural world."

"That's just how Holy Relics are," Kenna chimed in casually. "I saw one myself back when I was serving as a mage."

"You actually saw one?" I asked.

"Shh."

Kenna pressed an index finger to her lips, signaling me to keep quiet.

Ah. A cover story to hide her prophetic knowledge from regression. High mages were exceedingly rare across the continent anyway, so Golgotha would have no reason to doubt her claim.

"I see," Golgotha mused. "In that case, does this mean our journey only needs to take us as far as the fifth kingdom?"

"That would shave three or four months off our travel time, which sounds wonderful," I remarked.

"Even so, it would be wiser to visit all six," Kenna countered. "Holy Relics come in many forms. If this isn't the specific one the King desires, His Majesty might simply dispatch us on another expedition anyway."

"Ah... then why on earth did we go through the trouble of retrieving it?"

Golgotha let out a crestfallen groan, echoing the silent sigh in my own chest. He was clearly desperate to return home as quickly as possible to his sick wife.

"Well, the King might grant us an extra bounty for bringing it back," I offered, giving him the most encouraging consolation I could muster against his gloomy expression.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Elias. All is prepared, so why not come down and see for thyself?" Ershin's voice called out from beyond the door.

"Go on, hurry downstairs," Kenna urged.

"Ah, right. That matter was still pending," Golgotha added.

Prompted by the two of them, I headed downstairs—only to be greeted by a sea of people that looked as though the entire population of the village had squeezed into the building.

"A toast to Elias's swift recovery!"

The instant they spotted me, the crowd raised their tankards in unison, roaring out a cheer. The inn's ground floor was packed to the gills, and despite the sun hanging high in the midday sky, a full-blown drinking party was already well underway.

"We wiped out that goblin horde, remember? It seems to have helped them tremendously," Kenna whispered into my ear, slipping quietly beside me as I stood there in mild bewilderment.

"Thank you kindly for slaughtering that cursed horde and the albino goblin, Kinol!"

A burly, heavily bearded man stepped forward, seizing my hand and pumping it with vigorous gratitude.

So that chalk-white goblin was named Kinol. The fight had ended rather anticlimactically, but given they had given it a proper name, it must have terrorized the area for quite some time.

"Aye, thanks to you, we can finally head into the hills to gather medicinal herbs again!"

"Lord knows King Balthazar wouldn't bother sparing a single soldier for the likes of us!"

The villagers chimed in with warm, boisterous praises one after another.

Hearing their grievances, it became painfully obvious just how dire the state of the Kingdom of Kronstadt truly was. If the crown couldn't even muster a small subjugation squad to protect a settlement sitting right on its doorstep, conditions were grim indeed. Under such neglect, a rebellion could break out at any moment without surprising anyone.

Feeling completely invigorated, I joined Kenna, Ershin, and Golgotha at an empty table and hoisted my tankard along with the rest of the tavern.

"A toast to the village of Carswayton!"

...

As the festivities wore on and the tavern grew warm with drink, the chatter around us took a darker turn.

"They squeeze more taxes out of our hides with every passing month! How the hell is an honest man supposed to survive?!"

At the neighboring table, a shaggy-haired man slammed his wooden mug down in bitter frustration.

"Mind your tongue," warned the hairy fellow seated to his right, taking a quiet sip.

"Who's listening? There are barely enough guards in the whole district to patrol a hen house!"

"Doesn't matter. If you're overheard, it's straight to the gallows."

"Hah! As if they'd bother marching all the way out to a neighboring village just to drag me off. They only ever show their ugly mugs when it's time to wring out taxes—never once have they sent a subjugation squad when our throats were on the line!"

Fueled by alcohol and simmering rage, the two men made no effort to lower their voices, badmouthing the crown for all to hear.

"If things are that unbearable, haven't you thought about taking matters into your own hands?"

The alcohol loosened my tongue, and the question slipped out before I could stop myself.

Both men snapped their heads toward me simultaneously, their eyes wide as if I had spoken the ultimate blasphemy.

"The ringleaders who tried that were all executed quite some time ago," the man on the left whispered, leaning in with a hushed, nervous tone.

"Wh... When was that?"

"Half a year back. So you won't be seeing another uprising anytime soon."