"No one on the left—" "No one on the right—"
From the cover of the bushes, Artoria peeked left and right, scouting the area. The reason for her caution was simple: she was escorting a naked boy, and if anyone else saw them, it would be a disaster!
"Hurry, over here!" "Understood—"
Fortunately, because they had spent so much time by the lake, it was already quite late. On their way back, Artoria and Ian didn't run into anyone.
"Phew—" Having finally brought Ian back safely, Artoria breathed a sigh of relief.
"You wait here, don't move," she instructed. "I'll go get you some medicine."
Alone in her room, Artoria sighed, rubbing the spot on her chest where she'd been bitten. She gathered some medicinal herbs and returned to the boy's side.
"Come on—" "Let's treat your wounds first."
The girl hadn't forgotten what he looked like back at the lake. Covered in so many injuries, the fact that he was still alive was nothing short of a miracle.
Click— Artoria lit a lamp. The flame flickered, illuminating the small room. However, the sight that greeted her made her squirm.
The boy's body, which should have been covered in wounds, was now completely healed. Not only was there not a single scar to be seen, but he also seemed to be in much better shape than before.
Artoria pinched herself. Hard. Confirming that it hurt, she realized this was definitely not a dream.
"Wait, what did you do?" she demanded. "Why are you suddenly all better?"
"..." The boy looked down at his own hands and shook his head. "I don't know either," he said. "It's like... I felt that my injuries would be a bother to you, so they healed."
"Eh?" It was such a direct answer. Artoria cleared her throat with a light cough. "Ahem." "Since I brought you back here, I obviously wasn't planning on avoiding that kind of trouble," she said, trying to sound composed. "You don't need to be so tense about it."
"Mm."
"..." "..."
"Um—" Artoria glanced at Ian, then quickly looked away. "What's your name?" "Ian," the boy replied without a moment's hesitation. "And you?" "Artoria—" the girl answered just as quickly. "Say, Ian, can I make a small suggestion?" "What is it?" "It's just..." Artoria's throat bobbed as she swallowed. "Could you maybe not... not point your 'little Ian' at me—" "It's really weird."
It was just as the girl said. While she was checking to see if Ian's wounds had truly disappeared, her eyes had inevitably drifted to a certain... unavoidable area. It was an incredibly awkward sight. No matter how she subtly shifted her position, his... member would always be pointed directly at her. And the most ridiculous part was that he seemed completely unaware of it! Otherwise, she never would have brought it up.
But—
Faced with Artoria's rather tactful request, Ian just gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean? I don't understand."
"..." After confirming that he wasn't trying to be a rogue but genuinely didn't understand, Artoria felt like she was suffocating. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to explain it in the simplest way possible. The girl looked forward. The firelight flickered, and what she saw was... in its most complete form.
It's terrifying... Artoria had to spend a long time mentally preparing herself before she finally reached out a hand and gave it a light touch. The instant she made contact, she snatched her hand back.
"This! Don't point this at me—" "..." "I can't." "You can't?!" Artoria didn't even know how many times Ian had managed to shock her in one night.
Before her reason completely evaporated, she quickly asked, "What do you mean you can't?! Isn't it... isn't it a part of your body?" "I don't know why," Ian said, looking at Artoria. "It just wants to point at you—I can't change it."
"..." Artoria's head was buzzing. Thank goodness Kay and Sir Ector were out in town and not here. If they saw someone saying this kind of thing to her, they would probably fly into a rage on the spot.
"Is there really nothing you can do?" "Nothing," he said. "But maybe it will get better after a while. If you don't like it—I can go outside for a bit."
With that, Ian turned to leave the room. Artoria quickly grabbed him. "You don't have to! Where would you go this late at night? Fine, just let it point... maybe it'll be fine by tomorrow—"
Artoria picked up the clothes she had set aside and threw them to Ian. "These are my clothes. Put them on for now." "Okay."
But Artoria hadn't anticipated that he would seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of clothing. The garment that was supposed to be worn was instead torn in half in his hands and then draped over "little Ian." To be precise, it was wrapped around it.
For a moment, Artoria was speechless. She had a feeling he had only done this because of what she had just said. Finally, the girl sighed. "Let me help you." "Mm—"
Artoria never thought she would one day become the kind of maid who helps a member of the opposite sex get dressed. A member of the opposite sex who was currently sporting an erection aimed right at her, no less. Fortunately, once the clothes were on, he looked much more presentable.
"There, that should do it," Artoria said, dusting off her hands. But she immediately saw that wolf-like glint in his eyes again. "Wait, what are you doing?"
Bad memories instantly flooded the girl's mind. Artoria covered her chest. "No more biting today!" she declared. "No, wait! No more biting, ever! That kind of thing is incredibly rude!"
However— Ian continued to approach, step by step.
It was just like the scene back at the shore. The girl was once again pushed down onto the floor. But this time— "Are you human?" he asked. "Y-Yes, I am..." "Then... are you a girl?" "..." Artoria fell silent.
After a moment, she turned her head to the side. "Not really." "I see—" he murmured. "What a pity. I thought you might be able to prove something to my mother." "Huh?" Artoria was completely baffled. This guy has a mother?
But when the girl wanted to ask more, she realized it was too late. Wait a second. Is he asleep? He fell asleep just like that? While pinning me down?
Ha... ha... ha... Artoria felt like she had really hit the jackpot tonight.