'If I go just a little lower….'
I lowered my hand below her waist. To the boundary between her uniform trousers and bare skin—the point just above her pelvis where the spine ended, past the narrow line of her waist, where the smooth curve leading down to her hips began.
I could feel her breathing grow ragged. Slowly, but deliberately, I slid my hand down and pressed firmly into that deep point.
"Hnnngh...!"
When my fingers stimulated the area near her tailbone, Seraphina’s waist arched like a bow. A suppressed moan escaped her, and the muscles of her back trembled in spasms. It was less a rejection than an involuntary reaction to a sensation she couldn’t withstand.
But that fleeting pleasure seemed to awaken her reason. She twisted her body and avoided my hand. My fingers grasped at empty air.
"…Don’t, don’t go too far down…… Lieutenant Jaeger."
Seraphina’s voice trembled thinly. This was a clear refusal. Under normal circumstances, I would have hurriedly pulled my hand away and apologized. But I did not retreat obediently.
There was a reason for that. The tailbone. Anatomically, the area known as the sacrum. It wasn’t the most intimate area, but it was still an important one.
Since it was the branching point where the bundles of nerves running down the back spread into the hips and lower body, even a slight use of [Touch of Attunement] could send a tingling sensation through her entire lower half.
Most importantly, it was like a forward base one had to pass through in order to move one’s hand any farther down. Whether it was the hips or the thighs, I had to pass this point before I could touch them.
I activated my skill without hesitation.
'Captivating Eloquence.'
"You misunderstand, Captain. There is also an important flow of mana near the tailbone, so I was trying to release—"
Ding!
[Persuasion has failed!]
[The difficulty of the request directly conflicts with the target’s core value (physical chastity). The target’s resistance has offset the effect of the skill.]
[The negative effects that occur upon failed persuasion are greatly reduced.]
"…Treatment is sufficient with just the back. Anything more is unnecessary."
Seraphina forced the words out. She must have intended to sound firm, but she couldn’t hide the faint crack at the end of her voice.
"Understood. I overstepped the line."
I immediately withdrew my hand and bowed my head politely. Outwardly, I wore the mask of a loyal subordinate, but inwardly, I clicked my tongue.
'No mercy, huh.'
It seemed the valley beneath the tailbone, leading down to the cleft of her hips, was still an unpermitted sanctuary. It couldn’t be helped. From the pelvis downward was an entirely different realm. Even a woman generous with physical contact would have found it difficult, let alone someone like Seraphina.
Pretending to retreat obediently, I moved my hand back to the center of her waist. I spread my grip wide over the erector muscles on both sides of her spine.
This time, I increased the pleasure-inducing intensity of [Touch of Attunement] just a little more. Not enough to seem too strange, but enough for Seraphina to gradually grow accustomed to the sensation.
"Haa…."
Every time my palm swept over each segment of her spine, a small moan leaked from between Seraphina’s lips.
The strength slowly drained from the hand that had been clutching the bundle of clothes to her chest. With her head lowered, she breathed in quick, shallow gasps. Her snow-white nape was exposed defenselessly.
'She’s responding.'
The pleasure that began from my palm was traveling up her spine, clouding her reason.
"The s-sensation feels strange. Jaeger… hnngh… This is, almost…."
Seraphina murmured in a wet voice. It was too stimulating to be called treatment, yet far too sweet to reject. Caught in that contradiction, she was growing confused. Calmly, as if I were a competent physician, I whispered a shameless lie.
"Please be at ease. It is a Myeonghyeon phenomenon (瞑眩現像). As the frozen mana circuits and sensory nerves revive, they are merely causing a temporary hypersensitive reaction."
"I-is that so…."
She clung to my words like a lifeline. No, she wanted to believe them. Only then could she justify this shameful pleasure as part of the treatment process.
[Status: Mana reflux temporarily under perfect control. Physical abilities optimized.]
[Emotions: A sense of liberation from the disappearance of pain, regret that the procedure is not ending, the beginning of a blind sense of trust toward Max Jaeger.]
[A blind sense of trust.]
A very pleasing phrase. This was enough. If I dragged it out any longer, it might actually backfire. Leaving while the applause was still ringing was the best way to leave a lingering impression.
I slowly removed my hand.
"…It is finished, Captain."
As my hand left her, Seraphina’s body flinched. Like someone robbed of a warm blanket in the middle of winter, disappointment practically dripped from her back.
"Ah…."
She raised her head blankly. Her unfocused eyes wandered through the air for a moment before finally returning to reality. She had become aware of her own half-naked state and of the subordinate officer standing behind her.
Startled, she hurriedly draped the bundle of clothes she had been holding to her front over her shoulders.
"Y-you’ve worked hard."
Flustered, Seraphina began hastily putting on her clothes without even looking back at me. Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she glanced over her shoulder at me.
"……Ugh. I-I’m going to get dressed now… so wait outside for a moment."
"Yes, Captain."
I obediently went out of the tent. The wind was chilly, but I decided to call it even for having witnessed the rare sight of that ice witch in a panic.
Rustle, rustle.
Faint sounds came from inside my tent. The click of a brassiere hook being fastened, the brush of soft fabric over skin, the sound of uniform buttons being done up—all seemed to stir the imagination.
Soon, I heard her calling me.
"…I’m dressed. Come in."
Her reddened face, disheveled silver hair, and still-unsettled, ragged breathing. No matter how much her uniform covered her body, she could not hide the lingering traces of the intimate act that had just taken place.
Unable to meet my eyes, Seraphina said,
"…Thank you, again."
Her voice was barely audible, but the relief within it was genuine. Ignoring her shyness, I asked in a businesslike tone,
"How is your body feeling?"
"Hm… It is certainly… astonishing."
Seraphina slowly moved her shoulders and arms. Those had been places where chronic pain had gnawed at her, as if her joints ached and her blood vessels were twisting. But now, she seemed to feel no discomfort whatsoever.
"The pain… has vanished as if it were a lie. My body… my whole body feels as light as a feather. Your words were not false…."
With an expression of disbelief, she stretched her pale hand into the air. Then she clenched it tightly. Slowly, she opened it again.
Shuuu….
At that, a blue chill rose from her delicate fingertips. It was not mana that sparked sharply and dangerously like usual. Like mist rising over a still lake, it flowed softly and gracefully, wrapping around her fingers. Even at a glance, it was a stable flow of mana.
'Status Analysis.'
[Emotions: A sense of liberation from the disappearance of pain, shame at having shown bare skin in front of a subordinate, tranquility felt for the first time in years, the beginning of a blind sense of trust toward Max Jaeger.]
"I am glad. But please keep this in mind. This is only a temporary measure. If you operate your mana recklessly, it may relapse at any time."
"…I will remember."
Seraphina rose from her seat. Just before leaving, she looked back at me with a complicated gaze.
"What happened today…."
"It is a secret I will take to my grave. Please do not worry."
When I took the initiative to say it, she nodded faintly, as if relieved.
"…Thank you, Lieutenant Jaeger. I will not forget this debt."
Leaving those words behind, she fled from the tent as though running away. Beyond the fluttering entrance of the tent, her back disappeared into the darkness.
Remaining where I was, I smacked my lips.
"A debt, huh…."
The young lady of the Stahlberg family, and now the young lady of the Reinhardt family too. Noble ladies really hated owing debts. Well, I was fine with that. Debts grew with interest, after all.
I leaned back deeply in my chair and checked the system window.
[Currently held skill points: 0]
'When will I reach level 10?'
Only after this defense of the encampment and the battle to occupy the forest ended would I be able to aim for level 10. I was already looking forward to what skill I would take once I reached level 10.
'At 10… I wonder if there’ll be some kind of perk.'
It was practically a rule in games for perks to appear every 10 levels. [Harem Overlord Complete Pack] made me wonder if that might be the case too.
Thinking I should rest for a bit, I closed my eyes and lay down. I was on company duty today, and I had even just given my superior officer a massage. On top of that, I had spent the entire day running around the battlefield, so honestly, it was only natural that I was tired.
That said, I couldn’t actually fall asleep, so I passed the time periodically opening my eyes and checking the minimap. I closed my eyes to rest, opened them again, looked at the minimap, then closed them once more. I repeated that cycle. How much time had passed like that?
The moment I opened my eyes after keeping them closed, an anomaly appeared on the minimap. Red dots began to appear, approaching little by little from the edges. I immediately sat upright. My mind snapped awake. What this meant was clear.
'What the fuck…? The orcs are launching a night raid…?'
The orcs who had lost Kardor during the day had apparently steeled themselves and launched a night raid. Easier said than done; it wasn’t the kind of strategy orcs, who didn’t even know proper tactics, should have been able to employ. They had even aimed for the night right after battle, when we would be drunk on victory and careless—just before dawn.
If I were grading it, I would have given the tactic full marks. But in exactly one regard, they had made a grave mistake.
They had chosen the wrong enemy.
My [Minimap] clearly displayed every one of their positions and approach routes, without any fog of war or delay. Before an ability no different from a map hack, a night raid was useless.
"Gunter! Hanna!"
I immediately dashed out of the tent.
"Everyone up! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
My shout spread out, tearing through the stillness of dawn.