episode_0101

While legally they were in such a status under Deseo’s law, it was only a temporary marriage.

She had never truly thought of herself as husband and wife with the old man.

Tia said in a trembling voice.

“Old man… That was just creating a false identity to attend the banquet.”

“W-well, what I mean is… the village rules d-don’t apply here.”

Fosao, who repeatedly explained that “there was no problem,” grabbed Tia’s shoulder.

“What will you do, Tia?”

He squeezed her hand.

“Even so, I…”

*I promised to marry Ritsu.*

But the words never left her tongue, only swirling within.

While Tia hesitated.

“…Alright.”

Suddenly, Fosao got up from the bed.

And he slowly began to put on the clothes he had briefly taken off for the massage.

A startled Tia lifted her head.

“Old man?”

“I’m s-sorry for making an unreasonable request. I-I was acting foolishly for my age, wasn’t I?”

“It’s not that…”

“Ugh- I’m s-so embarrassed! Heheheh…”

Grinning, the old man turned around and sat down.

But contrary to his smile, his large back quickly slumped.

As if he had aged in an instant.

From the side profile of the crouching old man, sorrow and loneliness shone through.

“B-be careful going… Tia.”

Tia closed her mouth and stared at Fosao’s back.

She didn’t really think… the old man was making an unreasonable request.

Because he was the one who cared about her more than anyone else.

When she shivered from the cold in a violent storm, he lit a fire for her.

When she was hungry, he scratched himself on thorny vines and branches to pick fruits for her.

If she needed money, he would even sell precious treasures to help her.

And when she lost her keepsakes, he even risked being beaten by the city’s vagrants to retrieve them for her.

“……”

All her past memories were filled with the kindness she had received from the old man.

If Old Man Fosao hadn’t been with her on that long journey…

Wouldn’t she be in Deseo’s underground prison by now, longing for Ritsu and waiting for her death?

The old man had been so sincere.

He had done anything to help her.

And she had only used his kindness…

Yet when the old man made a request, she had secretly felt uneasy and tried to distance herself.

Just like the villagers.

What was different from those selfish villagers who ignored and looked down on the old man when they didn’t need him, but then brazenly tried to tear down his general store when they were in need?

At least I… don’t want to be that kind of person to the old man.

Rustle.

Tia got up from the bed.

The blanket covering her lower body slid down, leaving her completely naked.

Even so, Tia wasn’t embarrassed.

Soft footsteps. Soft footsteps.

She approached the old man.

And she placed a hand on his large, slumped back, calling softly.

“Old man…”

“Tia?”

Only a quiet stillness filled the old man’s bedroom.

Her heart was pounding.

She didn’t know if it was the old man’s heartbeat or the thumping resounding in her own chest.

She was too embarrassed.

She couldn’t bring herself to look the old man directly in the face and speak.

But she gathered her courage and spoke clearly.

“I’ll help you.”

The old man turned around.

And he asked again, as if disbelieving.

“Tia. A-are you serious?”

“…Yes.”

His thick hand clasped her shoulder.

She was naked and the air was cold, making her shiver slightly.

But a warm heat spread rapidly, warming her body.

He slid her along to the front of the bed.

The old man quickly stripped off his pants and spread his legs.

Now, she didn’t need words to understand the meaning.

She moved between his hairy legs and knelt.

There, a rising penis.

Carefully, she reached out her hand and lightly touched the pink tip.

“…Ohh.”

The old man made a pleased sound.

She gently gripped the penis in her hand.

Softly, so as not to hurt him. Yet with enough pressure for him to clearly feel her touch.

She stroked it up and down repeatedly, as if milking a cow.

A pulsing force.

She felt a pulsing force in her palm.

Each time she moved her hand up and down, the shaft began to bob and lift its head.

“Hoo- hoo-.”

It grew larger and larger.

The smell seemed to have changed slightly too.

The soft inside felt like it was filling with something hard.

She had felt it before, but this sensation was still strange.

“Nghh… S-so good…”

Each time the dark skin covered the pinkish skin, it made a squelching sound.

Tia tilted her head.

Shouldn’t it be coming out around now?

She felt like she had been stroking the old man’s penis for quite a while.

There was no sign of semen coming out.

It twitched occasionally, but it didn’t writhe violently as if on the verge of ejaculating.

Just as she started to feel a slight stiffness in her shoulders.

The old man gave a soft smile.

“Tia. H-huh, you’re tired, aren’t you? Sorry.”

“N-no, I’m not.”

Was it too obvious?

Even holding a short sword for a long time drains hand strength.

And this required her to stroke it with careful, consistent force, which was quite tiring.

As she briefly took her hand away and massaged her stiff shoulders, the old man asked in a quiet voice.

“Uhm… T-Tia. There’s a b-better way than just with your hand.”

“A better way?”

“T-to do it with your mouth.”

“…Huh?”

With her mouth? What?

Tia lowered her gaze.

At the tip of the penis, clear fluid had gathered and was twitching.

“If you s-suck it with your mouth, it’ll be over quickly.”

Unbelievable.

To… put *this* in her mouth?

Not food… something so big and strangely shaped, to put *that* in her mouth?

Tia shuddered at the physiological revulsion she felt.

Men pee from there, don’t they?

Isn’t it a dirty place? How could she put *that* in her mouth…?

The old man asked in a worried voice.

“D-do you not want to?”

“No, it’s just…”

“It’s s-similar to babies sucking on milk. It comes out better if you suck it… Heheheh.”

The penis suddenly thrust forward before her eyes.

At the pink tip, a little clear fluid was gathered.

At the strange smell that suddenly wafted, Tia recoiled slightly.

But Fosao pressed it closer to her lips, pleading.

“T-then… just l-lick it with your tongue.”

“Ugh…!”

Her throat convulsed and shook.

She felt intense revulsion.

A desire to run away surged, as if someone was grabbing her hair and pulling her back.

But…

Tia, wiping away her disgust with a sigh, squeezed her eyes shut.

She stretched out her neck, extended her tongue slightly, and slowly moved closer.

Tap.

Something touched the tip of her tongue.

Like the last drop falling from a water bottle.

An unknown liquid spread on her tongue.

…It tasted slightly salty.

“Nghh! H-huh! G-good job, Tia.”

“……”

“W-would you try licking it little by little?”

Tia moved her tongue and tentatively licked the tip of the penis.

Just as she thought it might be a little better with her eyes closed.

Suddenly, an intensely fishy taste registered on the tip of her tongue.

“…Ugh!”

The sensitive tongue of a girl who had only ever tasted sweet and delicious food her entire life.

As soon as it recognized that what it was licking was completely different from anything she knew, it convulsed violently.

“Tia?!”

Fosao caressed Tia, who was gagging.

“A-are you struggling? You don’t have to do it if it’s hard… I-it’s okay!”

Tia, barely composed, wiped away her tears.

“…I’m sorry.”

“No! No!”

Fosao handed Tia her shirt and pants that were on the bed.

“It’s l-late today, so you should probably go back… You don’t have to f-force yourself to help…”

“……”

Tia bowed her head.

She felt both sorry and grateful.

*As expected, the old man worries about me first…* she thought.

She took the clothes he offered and put them on.

Until she left the general store, the old man asked if she needed anything else.

She replied that she didn’t need anything for now, but would probably visit occasionally.

The old man opened the door for her and waved.

“Goodbye!”

“Yes!”

Receiving a warm send-off, Tia braved the winter wind and walked up the hill.

***

The next morning, early.

Tia dressed and ascended the hill.

The place she had to go now was not the pharmacy, but the warehouse.

Across from the house Ruyef used to live in, there was a surprisingly large warehouse for such a small village.

It had grown gradually over time as the villagers kept their ancestors’ belongings instead of discarding them, and Ruyef had expanded it further in preparation for bridge construction starting this summer.

Creak-.

As she opened the frost-covered warehouse door, the dusty smell of old things wafted out.

Clatter.

Tia blankly picked up the firewood that had fallen on the floor.

Ruyef, who couldn’t read or write, used to remember the types, locations, and quantities of items.

If someone asked him to store or retrieve something, Ruyef would take care of it all.

But after Ruyef left, all of that stopped.

Thanks to that, the warehouse had become a disorganized mess.

“……”

Tia lifted her head.

Now she had to clean and organize the warehouse.

She started with cleaning.

She gathered the scattered piles of firewood on the floor and moved them to one side.

As the warehouse floor gradually became visible, she checked what items were in the entire warehouse.

With her excellent memory, Tia memorized everything in a short amount of time.

Then, she mentally sketched out a general plan for how she would organize it.

She began to move all the items outside.

Time passed.

There was a buzzing sound outside.

While she was moving all the accumulated items out of the warehouse, Old Man Marvin walked over.

“Tia. What are you doing?”

“Organizing the warehouse.”

“Moving everything outside like that is ‘organizing’ now?”

“It’s too messy… to sort them anew…”

“What will you do if the items break or get damaged? Are you planning to cause trouble again and pretend you don’t know?”

“……”

Tia couldn’t answer and bowed her head.

“Enough. Well, what difference would it make if I said anything? Ritsu must have had a reason to entrust it to you.”

Old Man Marvin left after giving a gruff warning.

“Just make sure you do it right.”

She couldn’t eat lunch.

Aunt Olivia pointed out that with all the warehouse items moved outside, who would guard them, so Tia couldn’t leave the warehouse for even a step.

But Tia steadfastly decided to continue her work.

Thud!

Items that wouldn’t be used for a long time were moved to the deepest part.

Frequently used items were placed near the entrance for easy access.

Large and heavy items on the floor.

Small and light ones on shelves.

She spread straw evenly on the dirt floor to protect against cold and dampness.

Time passed again.

Each time the elders passed by the warehouse, they would glance to see if Tia was doing well.

Each time, Tia would smile and greet them, trying to show them she was working hard.

The organizing was nearing its end.

As she put back the removed items one by one, she created a U-shaped pathway.

She wrote down the names, quantities, and locations of the items she had memorized.

And she counted them herself, one by one, verifying once more that her tally was accurate.

Thud.

Tia placed the organized parchment on the table.

“…Phew.”

She had organized this entire huge warehouse in just one day.

Of course, it wasn’t truly finished, as items would continue to come in and go out.

Nevertheless, to have done it all herself without even a handover from Ruyef.

It was something only Tia could have accomplished.

By the time she emerged from the warehouse, it was already well past evening.

She brushed off her dust-covered clothes and went to Aunt Merid’s house.

“Uhm… Aunt? I came to get dinner.”

“Huh?”

Aunt Merid said indifferently, putting dishes into a basket.

“It’s all distributed and gone.”

“What? But my share…”

“Then why didn’t you say anything? You didn’t come for lunch either, so we thought you weren’t here.”

She couldn’t eat lunch because she was guarding the warehouse…

Hadn’t Aunt Olivia told them?

She felt wronged, but there was nothing she could do.

As she clutched her hungry stomach and turned to leave, Aunt Merid spoke.

“Oh, right. Ritsu is very busy, apparently. It might be better not to disturb him unnecessarily.”

“……”

It was as if she knew everything.

What could she do in the face of that unspoken pressure telling her not to go to Ritsu?

Tia started walking again.

“…Yes.”

Trudge. Trudge.

She dragged her weary footsteps and arrived home.

It was already late night, with the sun completely set.

Rumble.

Tia sat blankly on the floor.

She was so hungry that she couldn’t think of anything.

She should cook something, but she hadn’t received any ingredients, so there was nothing left.

“……”

The moment she clutched her empty stomach, a clumsy voice suddenly came to mind.

*Should I cook something for you?*

Yes. Perhaps, if it was Old Man Fosao’s house…

Tia slowly stood up.

And she opened the door and left her home.