I stared blankly ahead. I was sitting in the pond with my body submerged in the water.
In the middle of the pond, Laura swam gracefully through the blue current. It was breaststroke—the least cool of all swimming styles—yet when Laura did it, it looked nothing short of elegant. Her white forearms sliced through the surface. The ripples she created spread slowly toward me and soon reached my chest.
"How did things end up like this?"
No, it was irresistible… She had said she was going to bathe, so I couldn't suddenly refuse, and when she declared she would bathe, it felt wrong to order or ask her not to. In the end, swept up by the atmosphere, Laura and I had both ended up naked in the pond.
It would be a lie to say I had no ulterior motives.
As proof, the mighty Johnson below my abdomen was currently making his presence known with great enthusiasm.
'Sink, sink, sink….'
Since visiting that brothel in Niflheim, I hadn't relieved my sexual urges even once. Not even masturbation. I'd been too busy tearing apart Rift's adventuring party to have the leisure for that.
In fact, one of the reasons I'd come to the pond this morning was the thought that I could masturbate here to my heart's content. The thing had been stiff and throbbing since dawn, practically screaming 'Touch me! You bastard, touch me!'—how was I supposed to endure that?
If I did it in the Demon Lord's Castle, the entrance was wide open—because Rift had once smashed the door to bits with an axe—and I was afraid Laura might drop by unannounced. If I hid in some random cave at the end of a tunnel, it was altogether too pathetic. So I came here to enjoy the ambience of the underground pond and relieve my urges at the same time, and now look at me—like a tiger walking willingly into its own den.
Come to think of it, Laura really has a wonderful figure.
From her jawline to her collarbone, her slender shoulders, supple back, hips, thighs, calves, all the way down to her heels—the curve was smooth and seamless. Along her waist, devoid of any excess flesh, her ribs were faintly visible. A pale blue luminous haze clung faintly to her lovely belly.
Was that the so-called slender type?
Her skin must be firm yet soft to the touch.
"…!"
Our eyes met. In the deepest part of the pond, right at its center, Laura had stopped swimming and turned her head directly toward me. Water streamed down her forehead, so she flicked her hair back.
Laura narrowed her eyes and gave a faint smile.
What rippled through the water like a mermaid over there was not the Duchess of Farnese, nor a genius strategist. She was a girl. More precisely, she was the wet body of a girl. That small body approached me and leaned gently against me.
"Wouldn't the Lord also like to swim every morning from now on?"
She let out a soft breath.
"Hmm. Shall I?"
"It's good exercise. It's also excellent for sculpting the body evenly. Look."
Laura stood up. With a light splattering of water droplets, her body emerged above the surface. With a slightly boastful tone, she twisted her torso left and right, showing me her physique.
"When I was still with my family, I used to enjoy horseback riding. After my family's downfall, I couldn't get proper exercise. But since I started swimming regularly alongside other routines, my muscles came back quickly."
"You certainly look toned. May I touch?"
"Of course."
I placed my palm on her waist.
Moisture, slipperiness, the texture of her skin—all of it swept across my palm. Feeling a slight friction and a certain softness, I moved my hand up and down, slowly and in short strokes. As though uninterested in the breasts above. As though indifferent to the hips below. Short, slow, mechanical. And then I remarked, as if surprised by her well-proportioned muscles.
"Oh, indeed. Perfect. You have every right to be proud."
"Really?"
Laura beamed. Through her pale lips, small teeth emerged in a neat row.
"Too much muscle is unpleasant, and too little is just as unsightly. I've been working to maintain this level. Having the Lord's praise makes it feel like my efforts have finally been rewarded. Honestly, I'm happy."
"It's nothing. It's all thanks to your own hard work, Laura."
"Hmm, the Lord may have mastered psychology, yet remains ignorant in matters like these. The beauty of a body, by its very nature, becomes complete only when another person beholds it. There is no joy greater than the Lord's praise for me. Because I know the Lord never speaks empty words."
Nothing but the girl's pale skin filled my vision.
A little more.
Let me touch her just a little more.
But if I touched her any longer, she would find it strange. She'd realize I had motives beyond checking her muscle tone.
I gave her skin one last, broad stroke with my palm, then withdrew my hand as naturally as possible—my fingertips brushing ever so lightly against the area near her hips.
"Mmm."
Laura stretched. Her back arched like a bow. Her small breasts jutted forward. The firm tension along her back and the soft flesh in front formed a exquisite harmony. It looked as though they would burst if I touched them. If I thrust into her small body, they really might burst entirely.
"…."
What kind of sound would they make when bursting? What sort of moan? How would her expression, usually refined with elegant composure, twist in pleasure? How would her dignified, sophisticated voice break apart?
"Mm, then I'll be getting out now."
"Leaving already?"
"Thanks to the Lord, I've exercised for quite a long time."
She smiled brightly again and turned around. Her feet were just about to push off, about to send ripples across the water.
"…."
I grabbed her wrist and pulled.
"Huh?"
She came straight into my arms. I caught her waist with one hand, so she didn't topple backward. Her body slowly pressed against mine.
Laura turned her head to look up at me.
"The Lord?"
Small enough that she had to look up at me.
Her ashen eyes held a perfect reflection of my face.
"What's the matter?"
"It reminds me of the first conversation we ever had. Back then, Laura asked me a question. Do you remember?"
Her slender chin moved.
"How could I forget. 'What does that gaze mean?' That was my question."
"That's right. This time, I'd like to ask a question. Do you know what my gaze means right now?"
"…."
Silence followed.
Her eyes went wide. Then they narrowed again. "Ah," Laura said. Or perhaps it wasn't quite a word. After a brief pause, she gave a small nod.
Our lips met.
I pressed lightly, making sure not to miss.
"Mm… mm…."
Soft breaths escaped.
For a while, we exchanged breaths. I slipped my tongue in and licked along her gums. Laura let out a slightly startled "ah." Before that sound could even finish, I thrust my tongue deeper.
"Mm… mm, ah… mm, mmm…."
Laura let saliva trail from the corner of her mouth.
Down toward her neck, slowly.
As my tongue-tip slid slickly along her throat, Laura's voice grew weaker.
"Hah… haah."
Even her neck was sensitive. It suddenly occurred to me that she'd received sexual education as a slave. Perhaps various sensations had been developed… .
It wasn't unpleasant or disgusting at all. I simply wanted to dye every remote corner of her body with my own color. My hand rose naturally to her breast.
"Hah."
I lavished her neck with my lips, tongue, and the bridge of my nose.
With my hand, I slowly—not impatiently—caressed her breast. Or rather than caressed, should I say I kneaded? I stroked it with the sensation of transferring heat from my palm to her breast. Between my fingers and the heel of my palm, her nipple grazed by.
"Mm, mm… mmh, ah…."
That alone must have been stimulating enough, because Laura's moans began to carry heat.
"Does it tickle?"
I asked with a hint of playfulness.
Laura drew out her words shyly.
"…Not, exactly that."
"Good."
"Mm, ah… ahh…."
As I licked her collarbone and moved my hand, ripples spread around us in the water. The water lapped and splashed. Laura wrapped both her arms tightly around my back. She was surrendering her body completely to me. I intensified my caresses.
"Hah… ah, ah… mmm… the Lord…."
"How is it?"
"It feels… good… hah… the Lord is so warm…."
Her sentences came undone. She couldn't finish them properly.
My playfulness deepened.
"I don't know. The one who's hot seems to be you, Laura."
"Those words… are cruel, hah, the Lord…."
"Then I'll kiss you more."
I extended my tongue into the valley carved by her collarbone. I tasted water. It must have been water that had slipped into that little canal while she was swimming earlier. I licked it away. Her natural scent rose strongly.
"Ah… mm, hah, hah…."
At the same time, my fingers caught on her nipples more often. As if by accident, my index and middle fingers grazed the tips of her nipples. Laura's breathing quickened.
My hand drifted a little lower.
I stroked her reasonably firm abdominals, moving back and forth across her lower belly as though scouting the territory below.
"Ahh…."
Laura flinched her shoulders. My fingertips had reached the edge down there. I couldn't let the tension return. I lifted my mouth from her collarbone and placed it beside her ear. I whispered.
"Are you scared?"
"Scared—ah!"
Laura's chin tilted up. My tongue roamed freely inside her ear. I licked the outer rim, nipped at the earlobe, and deliberately blew exaggeratedly into it.
"Mm! Hah! No, this…."
"This? What about this?"
"Th-this is… ah."
What did she mean by strange?
Chuckling inwardly, I focused on tormenting her nipples. Without pulling too hard, I rolled them between my fingertips like beads.
"Ah, ah…! Lord… aah…."
In her ear: my breathing and the wet sound of my tongue. Below: my fingers roaming her most intimate place. On her breast: an overwhelmingly intense pleasure.
She must have been losing her mind. The education she'd received as a sex slave was, after all, of the violent sort. A hand that awakened each sensation with such care was something a girl from a noble house would never have experienced before.
I swallowed her earlobe.
"Ah? Ah…?"
Her tiny ear fit inside my mouth. Enjoying that bumpy texture, I bit down gently. Laura's chin buckled once more. Goosebumps rose along her neck. She was quite sensitive.
The more roughly I handled her nipples, the more gently I caressed her clitoris, the tighter her arms gripping my back became. It was as though all strength had drained from every other part of her body and concentrated solely in those arms. I gave her a light kiss, then this time licked her nipple with my tongue.
"Hah, hah… Lord… hah, Lord…."
"It's getting so wet down here."
Just from caressing the area around her clitoris, my fingers were already slippery. A viscosity utterly different from the pond water—and I hadn't even inserted a finger yet. I didn't even need to perform cunnilingus or penetrate with my fingers.
I gave a somewhat lewd smile.
"You're quite the naughty one, Laura."
"No! …Th-that's the Lord's—"
Before she could finish, I ground her nipple firmly.
"Mm! Mmm… haaa… ah, haaah… mmm…."
I pressed my three middle fingers together and caressed her clitoris. Ripples continued splashing around our two bodies. The stronger the ripples grew, the faster my hand moved. Pretending to caress her clitoris, I rubbed against her entrance instead—just slightly inside.
"Hah!"
Her pitch jumped an octave.
"My Lord, there, hah… there, no…."
It was slippery. I continued rubbing up and down along the inside of her entrance. Despite being submerged in water, I could feel liquid trickling out.
"You're dripping quite a lot."
"Ahhhh…."
Her drooping, thoroughly wet eyes gazed up at me.
"…The Lord is terrible."
"…."
I wanted to kiss her.
So I did.
"Mm, mmph… mmph…."
Tongue tangled with tongue. Laura's tongue, which moments ago had been passively accepting my teasing, now intertwined eagerly with mine. Without breaking the kiss, I intensified my hands on her breast and between her legs.
"…! Mmm!?!"
I stroked the outermost walls of her innermost place up and down. Fast. With my mouth sealing hers, Laura could do nothing but moan helplessly. Suddenly, her back arched like a bow. It was her first climax.
"Mmm! Mmm, haaaa…!"
The orgasm didn't last long.
Her back slowly straightened.
"Mm, mmph, mmh, hah, hah…."
I pulled my tongue away.
A long string of saliva arced between her lips and mine.
"Laura. You're beautiful."
"…."
Laura's face flushed bright red.