Ch 1: Encounter
*Trudge... trudge... trudge...!*
Sinking into the sand up to my ankles, I pressed on. The burning sand acted like my shoes weren’t even there, scorching the soles of my feet.
I wiped the sweat flowing down from my forehead, over my eyebrows, threatening to seep into my eyes, with the back of my hand.
The sunlight illuminated me not just from above but also reflected off the sandy expanse around me, lighting me from below. The wind whisked up the sand. My own sweat trickled from gaps in my turban. The combination stung when it got into my eyes, so I squinted to prevent it. I was aware my facial expression appeared harsh. Fortunately, there was virtually no chance of encountering anyone in this desert, so I didn’t need to worry about any trouble brewing.
"...So hot...!"
Despite knowing my situation wouldn't improve, I still had to state the obvious. Until I traversed this desert, I wouldn’t be released from this scorching hell.
"..."
I considered adding something else, but it felt foolish. I could feel the heat radiating from my scalp under my turban. Even though I had chosen breathable clothes, they clung to my skin with sweat.
*Trudge... trudge…*
The rope bit into my palms and my right shoulder. Tied to the other end was a sled loaded with considerable baggage, which I was dragging through this vast desert.
I was a traveling merchant. It had been almost two years since I left my hometown. I had passed through this desert many times. I rented the sled from folks doing business with travelers like me near the entrance of the desert. I was supposed to return it to their colleagues at the exit. Ideally, I would've liked to rent a camel or hire a porter, but unfortunately, as a novice, I couldn’t afford such luxuries.
"Two years, huh..."
I know I had implied talking in this heat was foolish, and yet I found myself speaking aloud. What had I achieved in these two years? Had I become somewhat more like a merchant… or rather, had I become "someone worthy"? Or had I simply been drifting through life?
— You haven't achieved anything, have you!
— A piece of trash like you could never be anything more!
— You’re nothing more than a nuisance!
— Go home already! There's no place for you there either!
“Those voices”. Spurred by the unbearable heat, the blinding sunlight, this challenging terrain, these clothes that clung to my skin and this heavy baggage; those were the voices I usually heard when faced with adversity. I knew it was a bad habit of mine, but it was irritating nonetheless. Drawn by my negative emotions, the "voices" echoed again and again in my head.
"Quiet! You lot don't get to decide who I am!"
I shook my head and shouted aloud intentionally. Right then, this is all I had. There was no other way for me to live. Unless I crossed this desert, there was no "next step". Silently, I pressed on.
"...?"
How long hadI been walking? Beyond the sand swirling in the air, I saw something black. A rock, perhaps? Still, I had crossed this desert multiple times and regularly checked my map. There shouldn't be a black rock around here. I couldn't have misread the map.
As I continued, I confirmed that its surface rippled with the wind. That was a black cloth. Did that mean...? Prompted by a certain suspicion, I quickened my pace towards it. The more I walked, the clearer the information from my eyes became, and my suspicion turned into reality.
"It's a woman..."
I muttered to myself, looking down at what laid at my feet. A woman was lying there, draped in a black veil and clad in black attire.
"Is she… stupid?"
I couldn't help but say it. Even a child knew that black tends to absorb heat. The black attire was, undoubtedly, a religious habit of the most prevalent religion in this country. At a glance, it didn't appear breathable. It certainly wasn't any kind of "magic item" that somehow felt cool when it was hot and warm when it was cold. If it were, this woman wouldn't have collapsed here. Maybe she had been deliberately traversing the scorching desert in this uncomfortably hot outfit as part of a religious "asceticism" or "self-mortification." However, it was strange that her belongings were nowhere to be found.
"Uhh..."
I couldn't tell if she'd noticed my presence, but the woman moaned faintly and moved her fingers slightly, carving tiny furrows in the sandy ground.
(Ah, so she's alive...)
I muttered inwardly. Normally, I would have rushed to help her, asking, "Are you okay⁉ Please hang in there!!" But I was physically and mentally drained. To be honest, I felt like, "Ah, why did I have to find her...!"
— Nobody's looking, it's fine. Leave her.
— You're already burdened with plenty of luggage. You don't need to carry any more.
— You're not in any position to help anyone now. Too bad, so sad.
— Pretend you didn't see anything and keep moving on!
Those were the voices of "us", looking down at her. Yes, these were undoubtedly my inner voices. My "desires." So, I could only follow them.
"I'm sorry. I can't afford to help you now. Please don't take it personally."
I muttered a small apology to the woman at my feet and took a step forward. That's when it happened.
— Hyaaahahahahaha!
Suddenly, laughter echoed in my head. They were "their" voices.
— That's right! That's you!
— Always spouting off high-minded ideals, but when troubles arise, you come up with convenient excuses to turn your back. That's you!
— Where do you get off criticizing, hating, and despising us? Come on, tell us!
"Their" voices, "their" figures stabbed into me from all directions. Those disgusting faces! All their faces, everywhere‼
"I am... I am..."
I released the rope of the sled I was holding and clenched my fists instead. My skin rubbed together, making a grinding sound, and my nails dug into my palms. My forearms, and then my whole body, trembled slightly.
"I am not like you!!"
The screaming me turned around, let down the tent from the sled. I had planned to camp a bit further ahead today.
"Well, what to do..."
After dragging her into the tent, I wondered. Honestly, it was tight for two people in a one-person tent.
"What to do," I repeated, but I knew what I had to do. This woman was probably suffering from heatstroke. First, I had to cool her down. Starting with the veil.
"Miss, I'm going to take off your veil, okay?"
I tried speaking softly into her ear. There was no response, except for the occasional faint, agonized voice. I reached for her veil.
I really don't like calling strangers ‘miss' or ‘mister.' It's overly familiar. When I'm addressed like that, it annoys me and makes me suspicious, like 'what is this person up to?' However, as a 'merchant' now, I use those phrases I dislike to pique the interest of passersby near my stall. I got used to it. A man has to earn his living, after all.
As I was doing this, the part holding her veil in place loosened, so I gently pulled it off her head.
('...Cherry...⁉')
When her supple hair, which had been heated up under the veil, fluffed out into view, the image of the flowers from my hometown, scattering countless petals in the wind, came to mind. Each strand of her hair was a color somewhere between white and silver, but when grouped together, they shimmered with a faint pink gloss. Her hair reminded me of the petals of the most beautiful flower from my hometown, a flower I had almost forgotten. I then take another look at her face.
('She's beautiful...!')
Even under the veil, I had been able to see her face, and I thought she was quite pretty. But once the veil was removed, seeing her face along with her cherry-colored hair, I recognized her as a 'beautiful' woman. Of course, I had met 'beautiful women' in both my hometown and since coming here. But I had never really hoped for any 'progress', and especially since coming here, I was too busy with my daily work to feel much more than 'ah, she's beautiful, yeah' even when I did see beautiful women. And yet, why was I so attracted to her? But with the veil removed, I noticed another characteristic of hers.
('Her ears...they're long. A demi-human? Elf? Half-elf...?')
Maybe there were demi-humans in my country too, but at least, there weren't any in the region where I lived. Honestly, elves seemed like creatures of fantasy to me. The first time I caught sight of an elf, albeit from a distance, was several months after I came to this continent, in a certain town. I'd heard that 'all elves are beauties', and indeed, that woman was beautiful. Judging by the tortoise-shell-like shoulder armor, the shield, and short knife hanging from her waist, I guessed she was a warrior. But for some reason, she had a snake wrapped around her lower half. In various ways, she seemed like someone I shouldn't get involved with, so I avoided eye contact and left the scene. I later learned that she was 'Echidna, the Veteran Mercenary', who had appeared in the 'Queen's Blade' broadcast that was recently held. Speaking of which, she won the first round of the tag match, but was gone before I knew it... Anyway, my understanding was that 'beautiful people with really long ears are elves, and those with moderately long ears are half-elves.' So, I guess she's probably a half-elf.
'Uh...hm...!'
This wasn't the time to be captivated by her beauty. She was suffering from heatstroke. Providing hydration was as important as 'lowering her body temperature.'
'Hey, can you drink some water?'
I brought my mouth close to her moderately long ears and asked, expecting no response. As I thought, she didn’t respond.
(So, it's got to be that, right? There's no other choice, right...?)
In any case, I questioned and answered myself inwardly. For some reason, I had ended up in this foreign land, having to perform this “method” to make an unconscious person (i.e. the opposite sex) drink water, depicted in some of the creative stories I had read in the past. There was no time for hesitation.
"..."
From my personal belongings, I took out a water bottle and a round pill, made from herbs and ingredients known for fatigue recovery, which I had bought *for my own use, just in case*, all mixed with an appropriate amount of salt.
"..."
I took the round pill and about two sips of lukewarm water into my mouth, lifted her up in my arms, supporting her back with my right arm. If I tried to make her drink water while she was lying down, it might get stuck in her trachea.
(Excuse me, this is "first-aid"...)
I'm not a telepath, so there's no way my thoughts would be conveyed, but while murmuring such things in my mind, I overlapped my lips onto hers.
"Hmm..."
And so, although her lips (surely full of moisture and elasticity under normal conditions) were then parched, I gently traced them with my tongue. As water seeped into each small depression and elevation of her lips, her upper and lower lips naturally opened, and I poured in the water and the round pill. When I separated our lips, I could tell that she had absorbed them, her throat making a gulping sound.
"Good, you could drink..."
While feeling relieved, I repeatedly make her drink only water in the same manner. After several times, water spilled from her mouth, so I stopped for a moment. That seemed to be her limit for now. However, even though she managed to drink water, she still hadn't awakened. In that case, I needed to cool her down even more. There was a chance that she might be injured somewhere I couldn't see right then.
"Excuse me, this is 'first-aid'..."
After clearly voicing my thoughts to her this time, I untied the waist string of her dress, a so-called "one-piece," with trembling hands. As the dress had a large opening at the chest, it should be possible to remove it with that alone. I grabbed the skirt portion with my left hand and gently pulled it up. Her black knee-high stockings shined uniquely, revealing a white leg that was moderately meaty underneath. As I shifted it further upwards, the garter belt that held the stockings in place, and a tiny, fiery red pair of panties that feel rather bold for a religious worker, were revealed. Speaking of which, I remember hearing that "elves wear peculiar panties". There was that Echidna person some time ago, and I've heard of women who attach leaves or don't wear anything at all. Were these panties of hers also part of that?
"Phew..."
I took a breather here. It was incredibly nerve-wracking. But this was "first-aid"! Regaining my composure, I grabbed the bundle of cloth gathered at her waist and slid it up to around her sternum. The garter belt, her moderately toned almond-shaped abs, her beautiful navel, and her slim waist were all revealed.
"..."
I had her lie down and then raise her arms–like in a "banzai" pose from my hometown. I grabbed her clothes with both hands, lifting them from her navel to her wrists in one go. As I did so, her bosom, hidden beneath the thin long-sleeved shirt she was wearing under her religious habit, bumped against the fabric mass and vibrated energetically before returning to its original position. Realizing that my cheeks were twitching, I freed her arms from the mass of cloth restraining them above her head and returned them to their original position. Somehow, I felt like I had used a great deal of time and energy up to this point. I let my gaze run over her half-naked body. Her skin was probably pale as if translucent, but it was flushed all over.
"I'll... also remove your shoes."
I started to remove her right boot. I unhooked the fastener holding her stockings, put my hands on the stockings, and slid them down. The back of my index and middle fingers sequentially felt the softness of her thighs, the hardness of the bone around her knees, the softness of her calves, and the hardness of her ankles. I did the same for the left side. I was not doing this in a matter-of-fact way. I mean, it was impossible to do such a thing in a matter-of-fact manner.
"..."
Once I finished, I turned my eyes back to her upper body. The thin, tight-fitting long-sleeved shirt was already sticking even closer to her skin because of her sweat. It must be hot. There were other protrusions asserting their presence at the tips of her ample bosom.
"Um, this is also... ‘first-aid,' okay...!"
Aware that I was convincing myself more than her, I had her raise her arms again.
*Inhale... Exhale...*
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the hem of her long-sleeved shirt and lifted it up, pulling it off both arms more quickly than I had removed the habit. As I carelessly set the shirt aside, I turned my eyes back to her body. I was aware that this act was not purely for 'first-aid.'
"...!"
A shock greater than when I had realized her extraordinary beauty hit me from the top of my head to the base of my spine. At least, the greatest "beauty" I had ever seen in my life was there. The overwhelming "beauty" made me lose words and even forget to breathe. Naturally, there were her bare breasts, undulating with her breath. I was simply captivated by them. Enraptured. How beautiful...! I had known even when she was clothed that her breasts were very ample. If I were to use a crude expression, they were "huge, bordering on explosive." With the shirt that had been covering them gone, they included the nipples, which were the same cherry-blossom color as her hair, the overall shape, color and luster, everything mercilessly informed me that they were indeed "beautiful huge breasts."
"..."
I managed to start breathing again, but it was ragged, far from normal. My heart was pounding, and at the same time, I was aware of a different sensation, no, an "urge" welling up within me. A roaring noise echoed deep in my ears. I'm sure my eyes were bloodshot. The palms of my hands, my fingertips, my upper and lower lips, my front teeth, my tongue, and that which categorizes me as a "man", were all itching unbearably. Especially my lips and the tip of my tongue, which were spasming slightly beyond the itching. And I knew what would relieve this itching and twitching. I swallowed the saliva that filled my mouth with a gulp. My mouth naturally half-opened, and the inside of my mouth dried up in an instant. In my head, "we" were urging action from this point on.
"......"
Like a bug drawn to a flower or a light, the distance between my mouth and her nipple slowly but surely closed. Along with that, my gaze naturally shifted from her nipple to around her collarbone.
"......"
The moment my sigh came close enough to touch her nipple.
"!"
I straightened my upper body, which had been leaning forward, and with all the strength I could muster, I punched my own cheek with my right fist.
"I'm not like you guys! I’m definitely... different...‼"
I exclaimed so, tasting the iron-like flavor filling my mouth, to make them–and myself–hear it.
I took a towel out of my belongings, then brought a large water bag (separate from the water bottle which I had prepared from the sled) into the tent. I opened the bag and wetted the towel with water. I squeezed it lightly and wiped off her body's sweat and dust. Her face, from the jaw to the throat, the nape of the neck, the hollow of the collarbone, arms, back... Through the towel, I could feel the womanly elasticity and fine texture of her skin... Even after doing all this, she didn't wake up. It was not like I could do these things calmly. I was constantly excited and aroused.
(This is first-aid, this is first-aid, this is first-aid...!)
(I'm not like you guys! I'm not like you guys! I'm not like you guys...!)
While muttering these two "mantras" in my head over and over, somehow I managed to wipe the body of that topless beauty who was unconscious in a "businesslike" manner.
However, when the towel touched her armpits, sides, breasts, and nipples, she would let out a small whisper (like “uh…!” or “ah…!”) and her voluptuous body would twitch! which was honestly bad for my heart. I had to wipe particularly carefully around her armpits and the base of her breasts where sweat would obviously accumulate.
"......"
I removed her garter belt, but I couldn't strip off her panties. If the breasts and nipples were the "most interesting parts", then what was beyond was the "mysterious part". At least, it was absolutely not a place where I could intrude without her permission. Fortunately (?), her panties were very small, so they didn't interfere too much with the act of "wiping her body as thoroughly as possible". In the same way, I wiped down her voluptuous long legs one by one. I also checked for injuries in passing. She seemed to be fine.
"Phew..."
This was not the end. I needed to cool her body down. I pulled out several more towels from my bag, wetted them, and squeezed out the excess water. I placed these towels on her forehead, inner thighs, neck, and armpits. I remember hearing that in the southern tourist spots, there were magic items that could cool things down easily, and they made a cold dessert called ‘iced cream’ with them. However, such things were beyond the reach of a poor merchant like me. All I had was water.
"No matter how hot it is, you mustn't cool the belly...!"
Suddenly, I heard my dead grandma's voice. I also seemed to remember hearing somewhere that girls in particular mustn't cool their bellies. In a hurry, I pulled my cloak from the side and covered her from her collarbone to her lower abdomen. Ideally, I should only cover her belly. If we considered 'letting the heat escape', that would be the correct approach. But, I didn’t have the confidence to keep my sanity while constantly seeing her exposed, ample, and beautiful breasts. Please spare me.
I took out a fan, also a memento from my grandma, from my pocket, and gently fanned her face. The painful expression on her beautiful face seemed to have softened, and her breathing appeared to have become more tranquil. Naturally, I let out a sigh. Man, that was really exhausting...!
As time went on, the sun started to set significantly. She still didn’t wake up ,but continued to sleep peacefully with a gentle snoring sound.
I was getting hungry. From my personal belongings, I took out a small pot, a trivet, a spoon, dried meat, dried vegetables, and flint. I poured an appropriate amount of water from the water bag into the pot and stepped outside the tent. I stabbed the legs of the trivet into the sand to stabilize it and placed the pot on top. I took out a suitable amount of dry twigs from the sled, piled them under the trivet, and lit a fire with the flint. The desert, being dry, made it easy to start a fire. I threw in the finely torn dried meat and the mix of finely cut dried vegetables into the pot. That was the typical meal for a traveler. Often, we just nibbled on them without boiling. There was no problem as both the dried meat and vegetables were already cooked before being dried.
The water in the pot started to boil, and a pleasant aroma filled the air. Both the dried meat and vegetables were salted during their processing. And above all, they made an excellent broth! It would be about ready to eat. I lifted the pot off the trivet and stepped back into the tent. I made slightly more soup than usual.
I set the pot down carefully, making sure not to hit her face or shoulders. I picked up the fan again and wafted the aroma from the pot towards her face–especially her nose and mouth--and spoke to her.
"Hey, wake up, won't you eat...?"
There was no response. She was just asleep. I hesitated, but I thought it would not be good to leave her like this. So, I took some soup in my mouth, along with water from my flask and the pills I had previously prepared. The soup mixed with the water in my mouth, diluted, and cooled. Then, I lifted her up and poured the mixture into her mouth along with the pills. Unconscious, she swallowed it. Sooner or later, she would need more hydration, and I thought it would be better to give her something with even a bit of nutrition, rather than just water. I repeated this process several times. Before I knew it, I was getting used to what should have been an exciting act of repeatedly kissing a half-naked beauty.
Thinking I had done enough, I laid her back down, wiped her mouth, and ate the remaining soup. It was a man's solo journey. The pot doubled as a dish. When I finished eating, I went outside. I casually hung the pot on the protrusion at the entrance of the tent.
"Hmm…!"
I stretched, and sat in front of the fire. I contemplated as I watched the fire, constantly changing shape and crackling.
"Who is she...?"
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