Night fell, but the stifling heat continued to linger in the Church, refusing to dissipate.
Celia lay flat on her bed. Although she had already washed her hair and taken a cool shower, the oppressive heat still clung to her skin like plastic wrap, making her miserable.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
A sharp sound of fluttering wings suddenly rang in Celia’s ear.
Seriously?
Even in the Other World, mosquitoes followed her like a shadow.
They really were a persistent curse!
Celia slapped the side of her ear, but she hit nothing.
The irritating sound vanished for a moment, only for a piercing itch to erupt from her back.
The location of the itch was incredibly tricky — right on her spine in the middle of her back.
It was in one of those dead zones that her hands couldn’t reach from above or below.
Celia tried to reach back to scratch it, but no matter how she twisted, she couldn’t touch the itchy spot.
The Young Girl squirmed on the bed like a worm, trying to stop the itch by rubbing against the sheets.
However, the friction of the fabric was clearly insufficient.
Instead, it only served to spread the itch over a larger area.
Damn it, this feeling was pure torture.
Who on earth invented mosquitoes? If she ever found them, there would be hell to pay!
Celia sat up and rubbed her back against the sharp edge of the wooden bedframe a few times.
It still didn’t work.
The wood wasn’t sharp enough, and she couldn’t apply enough pressure to stop the itch that seemed to reach her very bones.
She had to find someone to help.
But Lynn had stayed the night at Yuna’s Shop and hadn’t returned.
Celia turned her gaze toward the Backyard.
Iris?
While Iris’s nails were certainly sharp and would make a good tool for scratching, Celia recalled the woman’s icy-cold hands.
It seemed that such a damp, cold, and slimy touch would only give her goosebumps rather than stop the itch.
Besides, Iris didn’t know her own strength. It was better to forget that idea.
Celia’s gaze swept around one more time, finally landing on the storage room where the light was still on.
Elent wasn’t asleep yet.
The Hero Candidate was sitting on a chair, wiping his Broad Sword with an expression as focused as if he were tending to a lover.
Celia walked in, wearing nothing but a large white shirt.
The hem covered her thighs, but because of her tossing and turning on the bed earlier, the collar was skewed to one side, revealing a large expanse of her collarbones.
Elent’s hand jerked, nearly dropping his sword.
“P-Priestess?”
At this late hour, appearing before him dressed like this… was this some kind of special Trial?
“Do you have any medicine?” Celia asked, getting straight to the point.
“Medicine?” Elent blinked, stunned. “Priestess, are you injured? Where do you feel unwell? Has yesterday’s internal injury flared up again?”
“It’s not an internal injury. I was bitten by a damned bug.”
Celia turned around, presenting her back to Elent.
“Do you see it?” Celia pointed toward the spot where the mosquito had bitten her. “Right there on my back. I can’t reach it.”
The Young Girl raised her hand and grabbed her shirt, pulling it upward.
The white fabric slid up her back, exposing her delicate skin.
In the middle of that otherwise perfect skin, a red, swollen bump about the size of a fingernail stood out prominently.
“Do you see it?” Celia pointed to the red spot again. “Take that green Mint Ointment and apply it for me.”
Elent stared blankly, but he immediately realized his rudeness and quickly looked away.
However, out of concern for the “injury,” he was forced to look back.
“Yes!”
Elent rummaged through a shelf and pulled out a small porcelain jar.
This was an Herbal Ointment commonly used by Adventurers, similar to insect repellent, specifically designed to treat bug bites.
Elent scooped out a dollop of the green ointment and touched the swollen bump.
Perhaps it was because Elent’s fingers were covered in a layer of callouses from years of training, but the sensation was quite rough.
As that coarse texture scraped across Celia’s tender skin, her body gave a small shudder.
Sss!
The cooling sensation of the ointment seeped into her pores, and the itch from the bite lessened significantly.
“Use more force.”
“Just applying the medicine isn’t enough. You have to rub it in.”
Thus, Elent increased his strength slightly.
“No, not like that.”
Celia twisted her body with some impatience.
“Use the callouses on your hand. Yes, right there. Use that hard spot and rub it vigorously.”
To completely stop the itch, simply applying medicine wasn’t enough.
Elent froze.
Rubbing with his callouses? This request was simply too strange.
The youth looked at the delicate back before him.
To make it easier for him, the Priestess had even arched her back slightly, bringing the swollen spot right under his finger.
‘This must be a test! It’s the ultimate test of a Hero’s self-control!’
Elent grit his teeth and pressed the hardest callous on his knuckle against the mosquito bite.
“I’m going to start, Priestess.”
Since it was the Priestess’s request, Elent would do his best to fulfill it, no matter how strange it was.
“Hurry up. Don’t dawdle.”
“Understood, Priestess.”
Elent began to apply pressure. The rough callous scraped against the swollen skin, bringing a sensation of pleasure mixed with a sharp sting.
“Mmph!”
Celia let out a muffled groan.
It felt good.
So good.
the rough friction hit the itchy spot perfectly. Combined with the icy chill of the Mint Ointment, it practically made her scalp tingle.
“A bit harder… yes, just like that…”
“Down a little… now to the left…”
Celia gave directions with her eyes closed.
“Don’t stop… that feels so good…”
Elent was breaking out in a cold sweat. The skin on the girl’s back had turned a shade of pink under the friction of his finger.
Warm body heat was conducted through his fingertip, and the scent of the minty ointment mingled with the fragrance of the girl who had just showered.
This sensory assault was more terrifying than facing 100 Crimson Giant Chickens.
“Priestess, how much longer?”
Elent felt like his sanity was about to snap.
“What’s the rush? The itch hasn’t stopped yet.”
“Haven’t you eaten? You don’t even have this much strength?”
“Use some muscle! Rub that bump flat for me!”
Fine. Elent closed his eyes.
‘Since the Priestess demanded it, it’s a command.’
As a Hero, he could not back down from any task.
Elent braced himself, and the movements of his hand suddenly accelerated.
“Ah… ha…”
Celia was nearly knocked off balance by the sudden frequency. She had to brace both hands against the table in front of her.
The almost violent friction brought a significant reprieve from the itch.
A moment later, the piercing itch vanished, replaced by a stinging heat on her skin and the cool sensation of the ointment.
“Okay, stop!”
Celia let go of her shirt and reached back to feel her spine. Although it was still a bit sore, the itch was finally gone.
“Thanks, Hero.”
Celia turned around and looked at Elent, who was flushed red and panting heavily.
Sweat dripped from the tip of his nose, his chest was heaving, and his eyes were glazed.
“It was just applying some medicine. Is there any reason to be this exhausted?”
Celia shook her head with a look of slight disdain.
“It seems your stamina still needs work, Hero. Tomorrow morning’s wood-chopping training will be doubled.”
With that, the Young Girl let out a yawn and left the room.
Elent was left standing there alone, staring at his still-trembling finger.
‘This isn’t a problem of stamina at all!’
……
Iris listened to the noises coming from the nearby room.
“Use more force…”
“Rub it with the callouses…”
“Rub that spot flat…”
Iris’s eyes gradually turned hollow.
‘The Witch’s tastes are certainly getting heavier.’
‘Does she even treat that kind of place with such violence?’
‘As expected, she really is too terrifying!’