Ch.142Demon Realm (8)

# Demon Realm (8)

The weather in the demon realm is harsh.

During the day, scorching heat beats down as if cooking flesh, and at night, bone-chilling cold rises from the ground.

In other words, now that night has fallen, the two people who fell into the river need protection against the sudden cold wave.

“……”

Of course, Esmeralda has to handle the preparations alone. Lug is still unconscious.

Esmeralda had dragged Lug from the magic-contaminated river and created a cave by digging a hole in a nearby wall.

She threw Lug inside and lit a fire, which was a good start.

“The clothes……”

The problem was what came next.

It wouldn’t be good to stay in wet clothes. Even without that concern, the magic-contaminated river water would weaken their bodies just by wearing the soaked clothes.

“He’s half demon, so wouldn’t he be fine? I… lit a fire too……”

Esmeralda tried to compromise.

Setting aside her own clothes, the fact that she needed to undress Lug was extremely uncomfortable.

In the past, it wouldn’t have bothered her.

What would it matter? Whether undressing or tearing clothes, Esmeralda wouldn’t have hesitated if it was to save someone.

But the emotions she had begun to acknowledge created a strange sense of guilt.

The feeling that selfish desires were mixing with actions meant to save a life.

Guilt and shame.

And self-loathing. All these emotions mixed together, making Esmeralda hesitate.

“Ah, this won’t do.”

However, after examining Lug’s condition, Esmeralda bit her lip and bowed her head.

Lug’s condition was serious.

Honestly, if she didn’t do everything possible right now, it wouldn’t be surprising if he died.

He had taken Commander Eleven’s sword energy with his entire body and fallen into the magic-contaminated river with those wounds.

In the process, magic had seeped into his wounds, and he was bleeding profusely.

Add to that the cold wave that arrived as soon as night fell, and his lips were turning blue despite the fire.

“…You’re supposed to be a divine being, so why are you so fragile?”

Esmeralda muttered a pointless complaint as she began removing Lug’s clothes one by one.

With each layer removed, Esmeralda’s complexion grew increasingly red, in stark contrast to Lug’s pale face.

“Ugh……”

Even though no one was watching, Esmeralda covered her face with both hands, peeking at Lug through her fingers.

She was still wavering between guilt, desire, and sense of duty, and quietly turned her head away.

“O-okay, clothes removed……”

She had overcome one major hurdle.

Though Lug, who was actually at death’s door, hadn’t overcome his hurdle, what mattered was that she had accomplished a difficult task.

Esmeralda was proud of herself. If he had remained in wet clothes, his body heat would have been stolen away, so she had done what was necessary.

‘If only I had remained ignorant, it wouldn’t have been this difficult!’

Why did he protect her? Why did he risk his life to help her?

She couldn’t understand. And she could feel her heart gradually responding to this incomprehensible kindness.

“Phew……”

Though she had overcome one major hurdle, an even bigger one awaited.

Lug’s condition wouldn’t improve just by removing his clothes. Removing clothes was merely part of the process.

The fundamental problem couldn’t be solved with just clothes.

“I-I need to dry him off……”

She needed to dry his wet body.

That was the most necessary action to prevent hypothermia.

However, there were no dry towels or cloths available. This meant she had to wipe away the moisture with her hands. And she would need to do it repeatedly to remove the wetness.

“Why can’t skin be removed like clothes?”

As Esmeralda contemplated the enormous hurdle ahead, she began having disturbing thoughts.

If she could remove his skin like his clothes, wouldn’t the hypothermia concerns disappear?

Shaking her head to dismiss such crazy thoughts, Esmeralda looked around and then stared at her open palm.

“……”

Esmeralda swallowed dryly.

Then, steeling her resolve, she first reached for Lug’s forearm.

Was it because of the training from his porter work?

Esmeralda shuddered momentarily at the firm sensation under her fingertips.

But that lasted only briefly. With the determination to save a life, Esmeralda began wiping away the moisture from Lug’s body.

“Haah……”

Though she hadn’t done anything strenuous, Esmeralda let out excited sighs as she removed the moisture from Lug’s body.

From easily accessible hands to intimate places normally unseen.

After wiping the moisture from Lug’s body, Esmeralda’s face turned red as she swallowed dryly.

Perhaps because of the fire nearby, her body felt strangely hot.

“Now, it’s my turn……”

She was only delayed because she was tending to Lug. Her situation wasn’t good either, wearing wet clothes.

The magic-contaminated river water was fatal to her human body.

Esmeralda shook out her cloak. Since it was originally meant to block rain and wind, she could remove all the moisture just by shaking it.

But her clothes were different.

Click.

Esmeralda’s slender fingers undid the buttons of her shirt one by one.

After removing her shirt, she similarly undid the buttons of her skirt, which slid down her thighs.

“Don’t you dare wake up now. If you wake up now, I’ll really kill you.”

Esmeralda glared at the still unconscious Lug with moist eyes. It was a threat to cover her embarrassment.

Finally naked, Esmeralda hurriedly grabbed her cloak and draped it over her body.

The strange combination of being naked under a cloak made Esmeralda feel ashamed once more.

With only the cloak covering her body, Esmeralda approached the similarly naked Lug and embraced him.

“I’m only going to stay like this for a moment.”

***

It was a night filled with thoughts.

She wondered if her companions had fallen into danger while she was here, and she feared that Lug might not wake up despite all her efforts.

Each time she buried her face in Lug’s chest and heard his heartbeat, she felt relief, and each time, she would startle at her own behavior and flinch repeatedly.

‘This is medical care.’

But at the same time, she repeated such excuses while burying herself in Lug’s embrace.

Her body was surprisingly hot, perhaps due to the current situation, which made her acutely aware of Lug’s cold body.

She wished he would regain consciousness, but she also wished he would continue sleeping.

She wanted his body to regain warmth, but she also wanted to stay like this.

Esmeralda closed her eyes.

She closed her eyes to her own cowardice.

“…What is it?”

At that moment, Esmeralda felt strong arms embracing her. Lug had regained consciousness and was holding her.

Esmeralda flinched but fortunately managed to speak in her usual voice.

“You should have said something when you woke up. I was worried.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You weren’t keeping quiet because you wanted to stay like this a little longer, were you?”

Esmeralda could have confirmed this immediately. She could have raised her head and read his surface thoughts to know right away.

But her face was bright red, and knowing this, she could only keep her face buried in Lug’s embrace.

“Don’t think about doing anything strange. This is only because you were at risk of hypothermia if left alone. Don’t test my patience by doing anything perverted.”

Esmeralda rambled excuses about the current situation.

And immediately regretted it.

Anyone could see how strange it was.

Lug must have noticed she was embarrassed.

“Then is it okay if I hold you a little tighter?”

“…Are you very cold?”

“Yes……”

“……”

Originally, Esmeralda had planned to move away as soon as Lug woke up or his condition improved, but hearing his pitifully trembling voice, she found it difficult to refuse.

“Just for a little while then.”

“Thank you, Saintess.”

Lug embraced Esmeralda tightly, almost to the point of suffocation.

Whether due to the pressure or the much closer proximity, Esmeralda held her breath.

And what confused her most was…

‘Huh? Huh? Is this… that? And it’s… this big?’

Something pressing against her stomach.

Esmeralda was bewildered by the sensation she definitely hadn’t felt earlier when embracing him.

‘What kind of vicious magic sword is this…’

Was this inappropriate behavior? Or was it an unavoidable physiological response?

Esmeralda didn’t know how to judge and was simply delaying the situation with silence.

“You’re warm, Saintess.”

“Yes, well… I… guess so.”

Lug’s body was cold. That’s why he felt Esmeralda, who was pressed against him, as warm. Of course, there might be other reasons as well.

Esmeralda’s heart was beating faster, which could have made her body warmer than an ordinary person’s.

‘L-Lug is also warm… No, what am I thinking?!’

Esmeralda couldn’t focus because of the sensation of the only warm body part touching her stomach.

She could understand.

One of the reasons why Lug was popular among women.

She probably wouldn’t have wanted to know.