EP 4: The Blacksmith Hides His Identity
EP 4: The Blacksmith Hides His Identity
'...Deception, my ass.'
'...Is it really that valuable?'
The rest of the explanation boiled down to this: Asclepius was the god of medicine. The sick who visited his temple were healed and saved under his blessing. Therefore, Asclepius's temple barrier carried a healing blessing. However, because its nature differed from the barrier I possessed, a specific ritual was required to draw out its effects. One commonly used method involved the anecdote of the dog.
In Asclepius's temple there had been a single dog. Whenever an injured visitor lay down, the dog would come and lick their wounds, and through that the injured person would regain their life. Licking wounds had carried significant mythological meaning since ancient times. Clearly, it could produce a healing effect. That was Paracelsus's explanation.
However, there was a problem.
Paracelsus's answer was beyond anything I could have imagined.
I stared blankly at that sentence for a moment.
'...I'll have to learn it someday.'
So that was where Llywelyn's strange faith came from. I stood in front of Wi Seol-ah.
Wi Seol-ah's attire was simple. She wore black formal trousers on the bottom and a single white blouse on top. Of course, both were tattered from the explosion and soaked in blood. I removed the blouse and trousers. Black sports underwear came into view. She was around 180 cm tall, a little taller than me. Her body was solid, without an ounce of fat. She looked like a female wrestler. Unlike her gentle, cute face, her entire body was honed with muscle. Yet her waist was so narrow it made you wonder how her organs even fit. Her entire physique was a golden ratio of feminine curves and powerful musculature coexisting in harmony. The contours of muscle on her thighs and calves were sharply defined, and the lines running from her groin through her pelvis and abdomen were clear. Blood still seeped from her blood-soaked, firm abs.
I brought my tongue to Wi Seol-ah's stomach. It tasted of blood. As I continued rolling my tongue along her abs, a black piece of metal popped out from inside. I picked up the fragment and set it aside, then kept licking Wi Seol-ah's stomach. The bleeding stopped. Next came the area beneath her ribs. The most feminine part of Wi Seol-ah's body, just below her chest. I rolled my tongue there. Another metal fragment slid out gently. After removing it, I sucked the dead blood from the wound. It tasted of iron. Wi Seol-ah's breathing grew rougher, her ribs rising and falling.
“Mmm?”
Wi Seol-ah opened her eyes.
“Ah. You're awake?”
“......Ah. Mmm? Mmm-mmm?”
Wi Seol-ah scratched her cheek. She blinked several times, then scratched her flushed face with her fingers.
“...Is this heaven by any chance?”
“...What are you talking about? I'm treating your wounds by licking them. Explaining would take too long. Just bear with it even if it's unpleasant.”
“Ah. No. It's not that it's unpleasant, it's just... uh. Hmm.”
Wi Seol-ah covered her mouth. Well, it was definitely that kind of situation.
“...Uh. Uhh.... Umm. I-I think I'm fine now, though.”
“No. You got hurt worse down below.”
Wi Seol-ah raised her waist.
“Your feet are hurt too.”
I brought my tongue to the top of Wi Seol-ah's foot and licked it.
“Ugh. Uuugh.”
Wi Seol-ah made strange sounds, pressing her lips together. She covered her face. Because she was hyperventilating heavily, her ribs pushed her large breasts outward even more.
“What's wrong?”
“Ah, it's nothing. I-I'm... sorry. It's just that you're licking me... uuht.”
+ Doing something like this for someone like me... (5 points)
After pulling out the protruding metal fragment, I sucked the wound clean. After spitting out the black, dead blood, I moved to her knees. Once I finished sucking at her knees, I looked at Wi Seol-ah's face. It was torn just a little. When I tried to lick it while standing, the table got in the way. I climbed onto the table. I looked straight down at Wi Seol-ah's upturned face.
Wi Seol-ah exhaled roughly and opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something.
“Ah, ah. M-my body has unnecessarily large breasts, I'm tall, and covered in muscles!!! It's an unfeminine, unsightly body, but!!! If there's any part of it that pleases Yoo Ji-tae...!!!”
“It's not unsightly at all. Not in the slightest. On the contrary, it's magnificent.”
+ He called my body magnificent...! (5 points)
The muscles of this body were the result of pushing herself beyond her limits through training.
“I truly find your body beautiful. Like a gem.”
“....Uh. Uuuuh!! I-I...!!”
Tears welled in Wi Seol-ah's eyes as her mouth opened and closed. Then came hyperventilation. Excessive excitement and fear. I didn't know the reason, but something had triggered it.
“It's all right.”
I stroked her head and kissed her forehead.
“Hngh! Huuuuuh. Uuuuugh!!!”
+ Pleasure so intense it feels like my brain is melting (5 points)
Wi Seol-ah stretched her entire body as if desperately holding something back. She lifted her head and straightened her legs. Her whole body became like a drawn bow. Her waist and legs rose in a gentle curve. Wi Seol-ah resisted something from within, clenching her teeth and letting out a moan.
With that, the treatment was finished.
'...Maybe there are side effects to this treatment.'
I thought of Heo Shin-ah from last time. I got down from the table and looked at Wi Seol-ah's body. She was covered in sweat. Even her underwear was drenched. When I wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead, Wi Seol-ah trembled, clutching her stomach.
“...Sorry. Did it feel uncomfortable somewhere?”
“Ah, no!! On the contrary!! Thank you for doing something like that for me. Ah, I wasn't hoping for anything lewd or anything. No... uh. Uhh....”
While Wi Seol-ah was rambling like that, she glanced between my legs and her mouth fell open.
“Uh.... Uuuuh...?”
“Sorry.”
I apologized first. I wasn't impotent either. Doing something like this naturally triggered a physiological reaction. Moreover, standing before me was the now-healthy Wi Seol-ah. If it had been the dying Wi Seol-ah from earlier, I could have stayed composed, but facing a healthy woman at the peak of the Condensing Realm, 180 cm tall and muscular, I naturally felt intimidated.
Wi Seol-ah's face flushed bright red.
“Does Yoo Ji-tae see me as a woman? Did I make you like this?!”
“Of course. There aren't many women as pretty as you.”
That was the truth. A mage's realm itself acted like a fairy tale, so female mages were more beautiful than ordinary women. Wi Seol-ah was at the peak of the Condensing Realm. Even if parts of her body were filled with muscle, her femininity and beauty couldn't be hidden.
I opened a drawer in the closet and took out a spare tracksuit. I tended to wear clothes one size larger, so it should fit her perfectly.
“If you're okay with wearing something I've worn.”
“...C-can I really wear it?”
“...Were you planning to go out like that?”
“Ah, no.”
Wi Seol-ah put on the tracksuit in front of me. As expected, the chest and hip areas were the problem. Her large breasts pushed the chest fabric taut, hiding the zipper, while her hips and buttocks strained the material as if it might tear.
“Ah. It fits pretty well, though.”
“...Yeah. That's a relief. Let's head back in a bit.”
Wi Seol-ah sat on the edge of the table, glancing at me before speaking.
“...Um, excuse me.”
“Yeah.”
“After this bodyguard job ends, could I stay here too...?”
She was setting the mood like she was about to confess. I had expected as much. I knew Wi Seol-ah had good feelings toward me. But I already had enough staff. Besides, I didn't want to bring any more women around me. There was a limit to how much I could endure.
“I've decided not to hire more than two people at the restaurant. Having more would actually lower efficiency.”
“...Then how about as a bodyguard? I'm strong....”
“You can contact Secretary Yoo Hyun-ah when things get dangerous. More than anything, I have no intention of bringing in any more people.”
“......Did I do something wrong...? Then I'll fix it.”
Wi Seol-ah looked like she was about to cry. Feeling guilty, I patted her head. ...When I was young, I used to cry like that when my mother scolded me. Even though I was afraid of women, afraid of them, whenever a woman cried or seemed to be struggling, I immediately projected my past self onto her.
...Still, I had to cut it off cleanly. I thought that was the polite thing to do. Bringing my face close, I spoke.
“...I don't need any more people. I hope you understand what I'm saying.”
Wi Seol-ah's face turned red. She closed her mouth. A few minutes later, my body finally calmed down as well.
'Time to head out.'
When I stood up, Wi Seol-ah blocked my path. She stood with her legs slightly apart, fists clenched.
'Huh? Is she going to hit me?'
I couldn't find the words. Wi Seol-ah kept muttering something.
“I give up....... From today onward, people...... faithful........ my best....... your only.......”
“...H-hey, what did you say?”
Wi Seol-ah, who had been muttering nonstop, looked at me with a hardened gaze, then pulled down the zipper of the tracksuit and grabbed both sides, spreading them wide. She brazenly exposed her sweat-drenched upper body from collarbone to arms, abs, and thighs.
“From today onward, I give up on being human!! I will become Yoo Ji-tae’s faithful lioness!!! If you tell me to bite, I’ll bite!!! If you tell me to bark, I’ll bark!!! I’ll do anything as your personal lioness!!! This body, this heart, this soul—everything belongs to you!!! Use me however you wish!!!”
Her face and entire body were flushed red. My mind went blank. After thinking for a while, I finally recalled what I had said earlier.
- “I don't need any more people.”
Ah. So that's why she said lioness? Because it's not a person, it's a beast?
Wi Seol-ah slowly walked toward me, thrusting her sweat-soaked breasts toward my face. I didn't know what to do.
'If I don't play along, who knows what she might do.'
She probably wouldn't beat me up just because I rejected her, but I didn't want to create an unstable element at the very least.
'...For now, since I'm busy, I'll just go along with it and deal with it later.'
With a reluctant feeling, I placed my hand on Wi Seol-ah's cheek.
“Sit.”
“Yes.”
Wi Seol-ah crouched down on the spot and placed both hands on the floor.
“...Let's head out for now.”
“Yes! Master!”
'Why the hell am I your master.'
+ I am your one and only lioness!!! (20 points)
'...Well. This much should be fine for now.'