“Ouch…”

Egru was in the process of removing bee stings he hadn’t managed to extract yet. Yesterday, he had fallen asleep as if passing out immediately after removing the stings from his face. That alone had taken an entire day, leaving him completely drained.

Still, I’m grateful the affection level went up.

A smile naturally formed from the sense of fulfilling achievement.

Egru removed the bee stings one by one with a sheepish grin. He pressed firmly around the wounds with a folded leaf edge to extract the venom.

What should I do…

The next challenge arrived without delay. He had no idea how to remove the stings embedded in the back of his body.

Sting!

His back and buttocks still ached. Somehow, he had managed to remove the sting in his nape through fumbling efforts.

Egru looked around the tree hollow that he had made his room. There was nothing to use as a mirror, and he couldn’t reach his back.

Egru eventually took off his pants and began to fiddle with his buttocks.

He needed to at least try the areas he could reach. After adjusting his position back and forth, he found himself with his buttocks raised high in the air.

…Found it!

When he pressed firmly on a hardened area, it stung sharply. Afraid of losing track of it, he steadied his buttocks with one hand while fumbling for the leaf edge with the other.

“Huh?”

It was then that brown bare feet entered his strained field of vision. The amber eyes, shaken as if by an earthquake, slowly turned upward.

“Aah…! Th-th-this is…!”

Gilbert stood at the doorway, staring down at Egru expressionlessly.

“Bee sting, st-sting…! Bee sting…!”

His flustered tongue twisted uncontrollably.

Although Gilbert remained expressionless, Egru couldn’t bear the embarrassment. The first time Gilbert had approached him on his own, Egru had greeted him in this bizarre position.

He’ll think I’m a st-strange person.

Egru’s face crumpled as he sniffled. What if the affection points he had worked so hard to earn vanished?

Thud, thud. Gilbert, who had set his axe against the wall, began to approach one step at a time. Only then did Egru snap to his senses and try to straighten his posture.

“Huh? Wait…!”

But before he could get up, a massive palm firmly pressed down on his buttocks. The heavy weight rendered him completely immobile.

What’s happening?

Egru presented his posterior while lying face down, utterly baffled by the situation.

“G-Gilbert…”

“Hold still.”

“Ow!”

A moment later, he felt fingers pinching his buttock. Tears instantly welled up in Egru’s eyes.

Is he trying to help me?

The effect of affection level 1 was remarkable.

Just a single point increase, and now he was even removing bee stings from his buttocks.

B-but still.

It’s somewhat embarrassing. Had he ever shown his rear to someone else for this long? He hoped it would end as quickly as possible…

“Eeek!”

Before he could relax, Egru’s buttocks jerked upward again.

He almost thought one of his buttocks would be torn off. With Gilbert’s grip strength, it seemed entirely possible that he could pluck off a buttock like a fruit.

“I-it hurts!”

“It won’t come out.”

“That doesn’t mean you should p-pull so h-hard, ouch!”

Egru unconsciously crawled forward. Until Gilbert grabbed his hipbone and pressed him down firmly.

“You need to use a leaf, not your hands! Here, u-use this…!”

“Stay still.”

Chicken skin rose at the touch accompanied by a quiet warning. Egru reflexively struggled once more.

Smack!

“Hngh.”

The cream-colored buttock, having received a slap, trembled violently.

“I’ll handle it.”

A low voice resonated above his head.

Egru buried his tearful face between his arms planted on the ground.

Would Gilbert have handled him more gently if he had accumulated more affection points? That was impossible to know at present.

Gilbert’s eyebrows contorted severely. He seemed to be concentrating, though he might have simply been irritated.

Tick, tick. The rough fingernails frequently lost grip on the sting’s end. Removing a thread-like sting with thick fingers bordered on impossible.

“E-enough…”

Each time the tender flesh was pinched, the clean aperture contracted nervously. The repeatedly manhandled buttock had already turned reddish.

“I’ll d-do the rest myself…”

A trembling voice eventually escaped, unable to endure any longer.

“This is enough. Thank you, Gilbert…”

Egru finished his words while swallowing tears. Yet for some reason, the large hand wouldn’t release his buttocks. The firm pressure remained unchanged.

Despite his circuitous phrasing, it seemed Gilbert was still displeased.

Afraid of receiving another slap on his bottom, Egru hastily cleared his throat.

“Gilbert, um, excuse me…!”

Cold.

“?”

Slurp.

Egru couldn’t believe the sensation he was feeling.

Why, why? Is it being sucked in?

Hot lips enveloped a soft flesh mound entirely. This time, it felt as if his entire buttock would be pulled off. By now, his entire posterior rather than just specific spots felt feverish.

“Wait! Ah!”

When he immediately tried to rise, the pressure from the large hand kept him immobilized.

“Y-you shouldn’t put your mouth there…!”

“Why.”

It was a voice that seemed genuinely curious. At such an innocent question, Egru’s struggling momentarily ceased.

“Well, it’s d-dirty…”

“But touching with hands is fine?”

Sniff. Now he was openly smelling and licking the spot where the bee sting was embedded. The attitude was so brazen that even Egru, the owner of the buttocks, began to feel confused.

Um….

Was this really acceptable? Was this similar to when he had sucked poison from Salvanel’s wound?

One thing was certain: it hurt much less than when Gilbert had been kneading with his hands earlier.

Sniff, sniff.

Gilbert’s breath brushed against the plump flesh.

Lick. The sensation of a wet, warm tongue gliding across wasn’t as bad as expected. The stinging pain seemed to subside slightly.

“Hmm.”

Although questions remained unresolved, Egru chose to relax his body for now.

Since he was injured, it probably made sense to view this through a different lens?

There was just one thing he wondered about.

“Um, why are you going to such lengths to—”

“When your turn ends, it’s my turn.”

“Pardon?”

Crunch. The hard teeth bit into his buttock. Startled, Egru tensed his toes.

“There’s something I need you to do for me.”

Gilbert murmured lowly.

Ah, so he’s helping me because he has a favor to ask!

Egru somehow felt relieved. Indeed, mere “affection level 1” was likely insufficient to motivate someone to examine another’s posterior.

While Gilbert wrestled with the bee stings, Egru wrestled with Gilbert’s hair. The long wheat-colored locks continuously tickled his sides and thighs.

I sh-shouldn’t be feeling this…

Egru desperately ignored the peculiar sensation building below his navel.

“There’s one here too.”

“Ah!”

Following the hand pushing up his spine, Egru’s upper garment rolled upward. His back, with its pronounced central valley, was clearly exposed.

“You’ve been stung quite a lot.”

“Nngh…”

Suck, suck, cold. He ascended, suction by suction, area by area. The robust hands firmly gripping his sides burned hot.

With each inappropriate sensation, his wing stubs contracted nervously. His forehead grew hot with guilt toward the person helping him.

If Gilbert ever discovered his reactions, he might truly be chased away as a pervert this time.

“I’ve removed them all.”

After enduring for what seemed like an eternity while gritting his teeth, Gilbert gathered saliva and spat to the side. At last, the time of endurance had reached its conclusion.

“Really? Th-thank you…”

Egru offered his gratitude while still lying flat on his stomach. He felt he shouldn’t show his front just yet.

“Y-you mentioned earlier that you had a request? If it’s within my power, I’ll do anything…”

“Why are you staying like that?”

Gilbert asked impassively.

“When conversing with someone, you should make eye contact.”

“M-my legs are numb! I think they’ll recover soon if I stay like this, but c-could you please tell me what you wanted first?”

“…”

After a brief silence, Gilbert’s voice sounded from behind.

“That’s already two things.”

“Pardon?”

“One, if you’re really a hero, come out of the well again.”

“Th-that’s…”

Egru fumbled with his lips for a while.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. For that, I’d probably need to d-die again. That’s the only way I was able to emerge from the well last time…”

The status window had informed him he had only one extra life remaining. Considering the journey ahead, he couldn’t waste it in such a manner.

Clatter. At that moment, the sound of picking up an axe came from behind.

“N-no, don’t!”

Egru instantly turned pale. He could almost hear Gilbert’s thoughts: “Why not find out by killing him once?”

“Absolutely not! P-please…!”

“…”

Clack. Thankfully, the sound of the axe being set down again followed.

“Second.”

“Y-yes, yes!”

“Stand up.”

“Ah, um, th-that’s…”

“Now.”

Egru wiggled his toes while still lying prone. The center of his body had yet to calm down, but he recalled the bee stings Gilbert had carefully removed. Good deeds must be repaid.

“…Is standing up all I need to do?”

Gilbert offered no response. He remained out of sight, somewhere behind. Egru couldn’t even tell if he was standing or sitting.

I-I can put on underwear later…

Egru finally reached out and picked up the pants he had removed. In an awkwardly crouched position, he managed to insert one foot at a time and pull them up to his waist.

“Huh?”

It was then. The pants he had pulled all the way up smoothly slid back down. Two thick fingers hooked into the back of his waistband were pulling the pants downward.

“Don’t put these on.”

It was a voice lowered deeply. Red eyes gleamed coldly through tangled hair.