Ch.82Honest Body (2)

# First Kiss

It was my first kiss.

I had never allowed any woman to kiss me before. It was because of my personal belief in maintaining purity before marriage. Of course, I had never properly dated a girlfriend due to being busy with studies…

At the very least, these weren’t lips I should have lost to a female soldier from an enemy nation.

“Mmph.”

The Valkyrie kissed me repeatedly.

From the moment the pollen began falling, my reason had been pushed to its limits.

[“…Ah, this won’t do. I need to snap out of it! Erich!”]

[“There are four wasp-like monsters around you. They’re preparing to attack. If you don’t get ready to defend yourselves quickly, it’ll be dangerous.”]

David and Johannes Kalon each said something as they were spacing out. They’re right. If we stay like this, we’ll be vulnerable to monster attacks.

I sensed an eerie presence, one in each cardinal direction.

Monsters.

Those creatures clearly intend to attack after getting the Valkyrie and me thoroughly excited, making us lose our reason and become exhausted. If I end up joining bodies with the Valkyrie here, we’re finished.

My reason was screaming that I needed to stop immediately, but my body absolutely refused to listen.

“Mmph?!”

The enemy was far away, and the kiss with the woman was sweet.

Our tongues intertwined. The soft mucous membranes writhed. The Valkyrie pressed her lips against mine, smearing saliva all around my mouth. Her legs tightly squeezed my waist.

Despite knowing she was an enemy.

Despite knowing we were only cooperating out of necessity.

Despite knowing she was a mortal enemy who had killed my friends, we passionately demanded each other’s bodies.

Because you’re cute, pitiful, and so lovable.

Because the more I see you, the more I can’t dislike you, and the more I want to embrace you.

So, I recalled the words the Holy Maiden had left at the end.

-You’re the person with the best combat skills right now. If anything happens, please protect the Major well.

Yes, I must protect you. Your survival is my survival.

I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood, and my head cleared. The last remaining shred of reason cried out to my conscience. Thanks to that, I was barely able to push the Valkyrie away.

“Phew.”

Get a grip, Erich Lohnstein.

The Valkyrie, poisoned by the stinger, is not in her right mind. Touching her here would be nothing short of a crime. A human being should know restraint. I turned my head away, recalling the Pledge of the Mage.

Buzzzz.

A deeper, heavier sound rang in my ears.

The sound was rapidly approaching. Large, black monsters were flying toward us with reckless momentum.

“Rachel! Rachel!”

“Mmm, mmm.”

The Valkyrie still flapped her lips as if she didn’t understand what was happening.

“Damn it.”

There’s no point in begging her to come to her senses here. It would be as foolish as asking someone under anesthesia to wake up.

I have to make all the judgments by myself.

“Hold on tight.”

I put my hands under the Valkyrie’s knees and lifted her up. Then I ran straight toward the stream. I ran with all my might, avoiding the pursuing wasps.

Buzzzzzz!

I rolled several times to avoid the monsters’ stingers. I was out of breath. My body felt strange because of the damn pollen. Every time I inhaled, my lungs burned.

Splash!

I threw myself into the river with the Valkyrie.

And at the same time, I uttered an incantation.

[“Ignite!”]

The air caught fire.

Pollen is a flammable substance. With dry air and a small spark, it easily ignites and burns away.

If there was nothing else to burn, we might avoid catastrophe, but right now, everything around us was kindling.

Whoosh!

The merciless flames spread and caught onto the wasp monsters.

Screech!

The flames devoured the monsters’ bodies, starting from their legs where the most pollen had settled, then moving to their torsos, faces, and wings. The insects screamed as they burned. It smelled as terrible as burning food waste.

The Valkyrie and I had already entered the water, so we didn’t get burned.

“…Are you okay?”

“Mmmmm.”

“Guess not.”

After quickly washing away even the wet pollen, I helped the Valkyrie stand up. Holding her hand, I slowly climbed back onto land.

Due to the influence of the Fire Sea Stone, embers remained alive here and there on the ground. Thanks to the ground not being completely dry, we avoided the worst-case scenario of the entire forest burning down. I sighed in relief and stamped out the sparks with my military boots.

[“Are there more enemies?”]

[“Those seem to have been the last ones. Now that it’s daytime, visibility has improved. We should be safe from attacks for a while.”]

Both the Valkyrie and I were soaked. Water dripped with every step we took.

“Haa, I’m going to catch a cold…”

If the Valkyrie, who had been stung by venom, caught a cold as well, it could be fatal.

What should I do in this situation?

From my experience, I knew how to handle this.

I took off my wet outer clothes and wrung them out tightly. The Valkyrie was also taking off her clothes one by one. Since she was afraid of campfires, we had no choice but to rely on the power of the Warning Stone and body heat, just like before.

In other words, I was caught between a rock and a hard place.

“Mmm, Erich.”

When I realized that the Valkyrie had removed her clothes not for survival but for reproduction, I had to fight once again against the rising tide of lust.

“I’m, my body, my body is hot.”

“Endure it.”

“It feels straaange.”

“You have to endure it, really.”

It was advice for the Valkyrie, but also words to myself.

While holding the Valkyrie to maintain body heat, I tried as much as possible not to touch her. My desire felt like it would burst like a balloon, but I had to endure. Yes, I am a stone. I am a stone… damn it, my body is getting even hotter.

Let’s think of it this way. The Valkyrie is a patient right now. Touching someone who’s intoxicated is obviously not morally right. And touching a female soldier from an enemy country could make me a war criminal.

I can’t let the trust we’ve built up crumble so meaninglessly.

“It’ll be hard, but bear with it. It would be best to sleep until the search party returns. Let’s just lie down together like this.”

“Mmm, Eriiiich.”

“What now?”

“Sorryyy, sorryyy.”

The Valkyrie turned around and bit my shoulder.

“Ugh!”

I groaned softly. The Valkyrie sank her teeth in with just the right pressure—not too strong, not too weak. My head tingled at the boundary between pain and pleasure.

[“Oh my.”]

[“Oh my, my.”]

[“Oh my, my, my!”]

[“That’s right! You’re doing great, Rachel!”]

[“Go for it! Just create a fait accompli while you’re at it!”]

The stones were being unusually enthusiastic. Strange. Rachel’s comrades had clearly said they couldn’t forgive me. So why were they encouraging her rather than trying to stop her?

From the moment my shoulder was bitten, my strength drained away again. The Valkyrie pushed me down. Her hair fell softly onto my face. Such a nice smell. I couldn’t see anything.

“Sorryyy, sorryyy.”

Her golden eyes were filled with moisture. The Valkyrie was on the verge of tears. While repeatedly apologizing in clumsy pronunciation, her body continued to act honestly according to instinct.

This shouldn’t be happening.

This really shouldn’t be happening.

This time, I was at my limit in a different sense. I was experiencing mild mana depletion. My throat was parched, and my limbs were stiff.

[“Great! Go all the way!”]

[“Damn. As someone supporting my fox friend, this is hard to watch. But I’ve got to see this…”]

[“Why is the foreplay taking so long? Just put it in already.”]

[“Oh my goodness. When on earth is the Holy Maiden coming back? At this rate, Senior Erich is going to make clam chowder with the Valkyrie who killed me.”]

Am I really going to go all the way like this?

Thud.

It was then that I heard the sound of a basket dropping.

“W-what are you two doing?”

A thoroughly shocked voice. As I painfully turned my head while still sharing breath with the Valkyrie, I saw the Holy Maiden and Riyo standing there. Riyo’s pupils had contracted, and the Holy Maiden’s eyes were orange.

[“Ah.”]

[“Ah.”]

[“Shit.”]

[“Oh my god.”]

The Holy Maiden’s irises were already changing to a pinkish color mixed with red.

***

When Tiria and Riyo, who had gathered herbs while fighting off sleep and returned as quickly as possible, what greeted them was the betrayal of a trusted comrade.

“This is against the rules——!!”

While Tiria was fuming, Riyo was looking at something further away.

Specifically, Erich’s shoulder.

It had been bitten. There were clear teeth marks. Judging by the fallen monsters around, they weren’t the ones who had bitten Erich. From the beginning, these were human teeth marks.

In that case, there was only one possibility.

“That’s right! This is against the rules!”

In the end, even Riyo exploded and rushed at Rachel.

The two women, feeling betrayed, pulled Rachel away. Rachel’s resistance was alarmingly strong, but with Erich joining forces to push and pull, she eventually had to let go.

“Mmmmm.”

Rachel didn’t take her eyes off Erich until the moment she was separated. Her eyes glistened pitifully in the sunlight.

When Rachel was pulled away, Erich’s virtually naked form was exposed in all its clarity. While Tiria squeaked and squeezed her eyes shut, Riyo stared intently at Erich’s physique.

“…Wow.”

Those firm muscles look absolutely delicious.

So delicious she wanted to rush over and lick them.