Chapter 35
"…Lieutenant Jaeger, are you in there?"
A familiar voice, tinged with hesitation. It was Seraphina. I immediately activated a skill.
'Status Analysis.'
[Using the skill 'Status Analysis (Lv.3)' on 'Seraphina von Reinhardt'.]
[Name: Seraphina von Reinhardt]
[Status: Suppressing a mana reflux attack through sheer willpower. Physical and mental fatigue have reached their limit.]
[Emotion: Extreme shame at having swallowed her pride and come to her subordinate's tent, but desperation to escape the pain]
[Hidden Trait: Mana Reflux (Mana Overload) - Chronic internal injury. Condition worsened.]
[Hidden Desire: I want to escape this wretched pain.]
'In the end, she couldn't hold out.'
I rose from my seat and headed for the tent entrance. When I lifted the worn canvas flap, Seraphina came into view, standing in the darkness by the faint light of a lamp. Unable to meet my gaze, she was forcing herself to stare at the ground.
"What brings you here, Captain? …Please come in first."
I spoke, pretending I knew nothing. Seraphina's shoulders flinched at my calm voice. She hesitated for a moment, then stepped into my tent with small, tentative steps. Once she had entered, I firmly closed the tent flap.
"…I need your help for a moment."
Seraphina barely managed to speak. Her trembling figure was so pitiful that I could hardly bear to look at her. It seemed the price of recklessly using mana in today's battle had come back to haunt her with a vengeance.
'I knew this would happen.'
The toll of using mana affected her entire body. Yet I had stabilized only her shoulder with [Touch of Tuning], so perhaps this had been an inevitable outcome.
"It's because you overdid it today. You look unwell, so why don't you sit down first?"
I offered her the only chair in my small tent. I knelt before her as she sat, pretending to examine her condition as I spoke.
"Where does it hurt the most?"
"…Everywhere. It feels… as though thousands of needles are stabbing my whole body."
I nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder.
'Touch of Tuning.'
[The skill 'Touch of Tuning (Lv.1)' is activated.]
The mana I felt through my palm was like a blizzard. It was raging much more wildly and violently than before, beyond comparison. I focused my mind as much as possible and sent warm energy flowing into her.
[The target's biological energy is stabilized.]
"Hh…!"
The strength drained from her body beneath my touch. But although the pain in her shoulder may have faded, the mana was still rampaging deep inside her body. The flow I had stabilized began to grow turbulent again.
Seraphina's body stiffened once more. The spasms she had been suppressing began again.
"Hhng, ngh…!"
The seizure would not stop. Cold sweat poured down her pale face, and her trembling lips had lost all their color.
"…Lieutenant Jaeger."
Seraphina barely managed to speak.
"You said… it would be more effective if it touched the skin directly…?"
"That's right."
"…Just for a moment, turn around and face away."
"Understood."
I turned around without complaint. Inside the cramped tent, all I could see was the worn canvas wall and our gear. Silence hung behind me for a moment.
Rustle, rustle.
Soon, the sound of fabric brushing against skin filled the cramped space. I heard the small sounds of buttons coming undone, the metallic clink of a belt being unfastened, and clothing sliding down against skin.
"Hngh…."
Faint groans, as though she were enduring pain, came intermittently. Even the simple act of undressing seemed tantamount to torture in her current state.
"…It's done."
Only after a long while did her subdued voice reach me.
"Turn around……."
I slowly turned around. My gaze lingered for a moment on the scene before me.
Seraphina sat in the chair with the upper half of her uniform removed and lowered to her waist. She had pulled her white sleeveless undershirt and standard-issue bra forward to desperately cover her breasts. As a result, the only thing exposed to me was her unguarded back.
"……."
It was a smooth curve that could draw a gasp of admiration. Her skin was so white that it was hard to believe it belonged to a soldier who had endured the battlefield's violent storms. The line of her spine, beginning at the nape of her neck and extending to her slender waist, formed a deep valley as it ran elegantly downward.
Her shoulder blades stood out like wings, and the delicate line of her shoulders looked fragile. But more than her beauty, what caught my eye first was her condition.
Cold sweat poured down her white back. Her muscles were taut and spasming with tension, while bluish veins stood out unnaturally beneath her skin.
[Hidden Trait: Mana Reflux (Mana Overload) - Chronic internal injury. Mana is currently running wild along her spine.]
I swallowed hard. The mere fact that Seraphina was bare from the waist up and waiting for my touch made blood rush to my groin. But this was no time to indulge in lust.
[The skill 'Strong Mind' is active.]
[It suppresses unnecessary emotional agitation and induces the most efficient thinking.]
The haughty Seraphina had set aside her pride. Her condition must be that bad. I had to show her a genuine effect.
"…Hurry."
Seraphina urged me on with her head bowed low. Her ears were red, whether from shame or pain.
"…Excuse me."
I approached her from behind. My shadow, obscured by the faint lamplight, fell over her as she sat in the chair. I pretended to hesitate for a moment, then placed both hands near her shoulder blades.
Sshk.
"Hh…!"
The moment my palms touched her bare skin, Seraphina's body jolted violently. The skin beneath my hands was as cold as ice, yet at the same time, a heat like fire burning within radiated from it—a strange combination.
'Touch of Tuning.'
[The skill 'Touch of Tuning (Lv.1)' is activated.]
I immediately focused my mind. What I felt was frozen mana. Her entire back was like a massive sheet of ice, with sharp shards scraping at her nerves. Keeping both palms pressed flat against her back, I slowly swept them downward.
"Haaah…!"
Seraphina's head fell back. An involuntary moan escaped between her lips.
[The target's biological energy is stabilized.]
I moved my hands from the nape of her neck, between her shoulder blades, and down to her waist while sending warm energy into her. Wherever my touch passed, her stiff muscles relaxed as though the ice were melting.
"Ah, ah…."
A sigh of relief escaped Seraphina's lips. She relaxed her grip on the clothes she had been clutching and leaned back into my touch. Her back pressed flush against my palms.
Sshk, sshk.
I moved a little more boldly. Pressing firmly on each vertebra with my thumbs, I loosened the energy that had pooled around them.
"Th-there… ngh…!"
The spine was both a conduit for mana and a nexus of nerves. Even without using [Touch of Tuning] to induce pleasure, Seraphina reacted sensitively.
'Status Analysis.'
[Status: The pain of mana reflux is rapidly subsiding. In a state of extreme relaxation.]
[Emotion: Relief at the warmth penetrating to the very marrow of her bones. A craving for Max Jaeger's touch.]
'A craving, huh.'
I wore a sly smile. Then a question occurred to me. What would happen if I used the second function of [Touch of Tuning] as well? There was no reason to hold back. I mixed an extremely faint, delicate stimulation into the stable flow of energy.
[It heightens the target's senses and induces faint pleasure.]
"…!"
Her relaxed body gave a start and trembled. The muscles in her back twitched faintly, and her breathing grew slightly ragged. She seemed flustered as she tried to turn her head a little. But when our eyes met, she quickly turned her head forward again, as though fleeing my gaze.
"W-what is this…? Just now… it was different from before…."
'Status Analysis.'
[Emotion: Confusion and shame at the sudden pleasure]
I lied without batting an eye.
'Captivating Speech.'
[The skill 'Captivating Speech (Lv.3)' is activated.]
"As the flow of mana stabilizes, the sensory nerves that were blocked are recovering. It's a natural phenomenon, so you don't need to worry."
[The skill 'Captivating Speech (Lv.3)' affects 'Seraphina von Reinhardt'.]
[She begins to trust your explanation.]
Her wariness eased. She relaxed again, letting all her strength drain away and entrusting herself completely to my touch. Watching her, I increased the intensity of the stimulation a little more.
"Hah…! Hngh…!"
She was now making unmistakable moaning sounds. The thrilling sensation running up her spine made her waist arch involuntarily. Beads of sweat formed across her milky-white back.
'Just a little lower….'
I lowered my hand below her waist, to the point just above her pelvis where her spine ended—the place past the boundary between her uniform trousers and bare skin, where the smooth curve leading toward her buttocks began.
I felt her breathing grow ragged. Slowly but surely, I slid my hand lower and pressed firmly into that deep spot.