Chapter 128: Mermaids Aren't Really Lewd, Are They? (2)
"No, you can't...!"
"No, I can."
I started inspecting the state of her nipples, which had been damaged by the digestive fluids of the starfish.
Due to being continuously sucked on by the starfish for most of the past 24 hours, her nipples, originally a healthy pink, had become discolored, taking on a dull, pale flesh tone. Small amounts of blood were seeping from the damaged areas. I carefully poured clean water over her chest to wash the wounds.
"Ugh...!"
She flinched in pain, twisting her body, but I held her firmly to prevent her from pulling away. Slowly, I let the water flow over her chest, rinsing away the starfish's digestive fluids.
Drip...
Her breasts and nipples looked no different from a human's, and the sight of water trickling between her small, slightly swollen breasts was oddly distracting.
'Don't get hard. Don't you dare get hard.'
But, of course, my body didn't listen. It wasn't long before I felt it rising against my will.
"Ugh..."
Mary was letting out faint, pained moans as the damaged nipples stung. Hearing her suffering while I got hard made me feel like an absolute scumbag.
Drip...
"Hngh... Ugh..."
Rinsing alone wasn't enough, so I released her now-limp arms and used my left hand to scoop water and gently rub her chest, washing it more thoroughly.
Not only were the nipples damaged, but the surrounding areolae were raw and bleeding slightly every time I touched them. Even areas where the starfish's tentacles had clung were swollen and irritated. I moved to her other breast, carefully washing away the marks left by the starfish.
"You should've said something if it hurt this much."
"B-but... it's embarrassing..."
"And now you're in an even more embarrassing situation."
From the moment I saved her, Mary had somehow kept drawing my attention. Like how a sore finger demands more care, her helplessness made me want to look after her, no matter how much trouble it caused.
Gulp.
I swallowed quietly, making sure she didn't notice, and prepared to apply the healing potion. Mary, with tears welling in her eyes, looked up at me.
"Just bear with it a little longer."
"O-okay..."
I poured a bit of the healing potion into my palm and began massaging it onto her small breasts, which fit perfectly into my hand.
"Hngh... Ugh..."
Each time my fingers brushed against her nipples, Mary let out soft, pained moans, which only made my lower half twitch and grow harder.
'I'm just trying to help. This is purely for healing purposes, so stop getting hard!'
Her nipples, which were being massaged with the potion, slowly began to stiffen under my touch. I convinced myself it was because of the pain, but...
"Ahh... ngh..."
...it felt unnecessarily erotic, even though I tried to dismiss it as my imagination.
"This should do for now."
Even though I had thoroughly groped a virgin's breasts, it was all in the name of treating her injuries. Just as giving CPR isn't considered a kiss or chest compressions aren't thought of as sexual, I wanted to believe my actions were purely medical.
But my lower body wasn't cooperating with that narrative.
Mary looked at my noticeably swollen groin with a betrayed expression. It was far too late to try and hide it.
"It's a natural reaction."
"..."
"Men get hard about six times a day on average. This just happened to be one of those times. Actually, no, I got hard because I was touching you. Sorry."
Seeing no point in making excuses, I decided to apologize directly.
"What could I do? Your injured nipples needed attention, and touching them caused this reaction."
Instead of denying or deflecting, I opted to act unapologetically straightforward about it.
"I guess I really can't trust humans..."
She tried to cover her breasts with her hands again, despite her injuries. Feeling sorry for her, I pulled out one of my spare shirts and handed it to her.
"Here, wear this. It doesn't matter if it gets wet. You can even wear it into the sea if you want."
The shirt wasn't anything special, just a cheap supply item from the Knights' Order, so I didn't mind losing it.
'If I run out, I can just steal one from Jake.'
In the Knights' Order, we often shared clothing anyway.
---
From what I'd heard, the place I was headed to was supposed to be an abandoned shipyard.
It used to thrive, building fishing vessels and small cargo ships, but most of the work had been transferred to a newly built shipyard. Now, it was mostly used for small repairs or scrapping old boats.
But why is it that so many people come and go from this place at night?
'I didn't think it'd be this easy to sneak in.'
The last time I gathered information, I heard someone mention whether I'd be going to work at the mermaid egg hatchery again. So I mixed in with the night workers, keeping my identity hidden, and managed to slip inside. They didn't even bother to properly check my credentials before letting me into the shipyard.
'Of course, given the structure of the shipyard, there's bound to be a dock filled with water inside. They might be using that for the hatchery…'
If I could just sneak into the hatchery, this investigation would be over.
A mermaid had already told me that the eggs weren't from mermaids, so they were probably just large fish eggs. Still, I had to follow through and check for myself, which is why I infiltrated the place like this.
"Alright, everyone brought their IDs, right?"
"Ah, I forgot mine today!"
"Then you're out. You know the rules, only people with verified IDs are allowed."
At that, a few sailors who'd been with us since leaving the bar clicked their tongues and turned back. I casually joined the line of those showing their IDs and heading somewhere.
"Hand over your ID."
It looked like they were asking for some worn-out, leather-like ID card. Taking the opportunity, I subtly moved toward the back of the group to avoid attention.
"Where do you think you're going without an ID? No ID, no entry to the island."
'Island?'
Watching their movements, I noticed they were getting into small boats, rowing a few at a time toward the dark sea.
Beyond them was a small island, barely visible in the absence of light, but the moonlight reflecting off the water and the vague shapes in the distance suggested that people were heading there to work and then coming back.
'Damn. I can't even use mana on my eyes…'
If I covered my vision with mana here, it'd draw attention, and they'd immediately know I was a knight.
Reluctantly, I decided to give up for the night and head back to the villa earlier than usual.
'I need to figure out a way to sneak onto that island…'
The distance didn't seem too far, so it looked like I could swim there or maybe find a small boat. But taking a boat would risk getting caught by the others heading to the island, so swimming seemed like the better option.
The problem was, I couldn't swim.
'Should I secretly rope Fiona into taking me there? No, she'd just get high on pufferfish again and start demanding sex like always. There's no way I could ask her for help…'
"Ugh… ahhh…"
As I was about to enter the villa, I heard Mary's groaning from inside.
'Her nipples are still sore?'
Well, it made sense. After getting sucked on by that starfish for three days straight, even with a little healing potion, instant recovery would be strange.
I figured I'd apply some more ointment once I got inside, but...
"Ahhh… Ban, you're… too rough..."
Mary was moaning and calling my name.
"It smells so strong… it's making me dizzy…"
I could hear the sound of water splashing and fabric being soaked and rubbed against something. If my scent was on it that strongly...
'Wait a minute. Doesn't this situation feel oddly familiar?'
A woman groaning alone in a room, and me lingering outside the door.
Just in case, I stopped myself from opening the door and pressed my ear against it, focusing on the sounds coming from inside.
Splash. Splash.
The sound of water sloshing in the bathtub, followed by the faint dripping of something being squeezed or wrung out.
"Ahhh… that part still hurts…"
And then, a pitiful voice crying out, accompanied by the bustling movements of a body and the splashing of a tail hitting the water.
It was just like that time when Fiona went into heat and kept slapping the seawater with her tail.
'I'll go in later…'
It felt unfair not being able to enter the villa I was renting, but barging in while she was masturbating, and clearly worked up, would just make things unbearably awkward. So I stood at the villa's entrance, waiting for Mary's session to finish.
I wasn't deliberately eavesdropping on a mermaid pleasuring herself. I was just… waiting to make sure her private moment was over before going in. Timing was everything.
"Hnng… ahhh… no, that's too deep…"
Thunk!
Splashhhh!
Then came a loud, unusual crashing noise, followed by the sound of water spilling everywhere.
"Eek?!"
Mary's startled scream followed, and soon water started leaking out from under the villa door.
Even though I couldn't see what was happening, it was easy to guess the situation.
'She must've been masturbating in the tub, accidentally kicked her tail too hard, and knocked the tub over, spilling the water everywhere.'
"Ughhh… this is bad… if I get caught…"
With everything turning into a mess, I couldn't just keep waiting outside. So I had no choice but to open the villa door and go in without knocking.
Clunk!
'The tub didn't break; it just flipped over.'
Mary had lost her balance while kicking her tail, causing the tub to tip over and pin her beneath it. Her lower body was trapped under the overturned tub, leaving her stuck.
Normally, someone would just push the tub off and get out, but she was so flustered, and with her lower body pinned awkwardly, she couldn't move. To top it off, she had been masturbating with the clothes I gave her pressed to her face, and now I'd caught her red-handed.
"Eek?! Why are you here at this time?!"
"My work ended early."
"And why… why are you hard again?!"
"It's erection time."
I decided to shamelessly stick to the excuse that humans have a set time for erections, brazenly flaunting my swollen crotch as I entered. Then I grabbed a mop and started cleaning up the water that had spilled everywhere.
"Why didn't you help me first and just started mopping with… that thing right in front of me?!"
"Cleaning comes first."
Of course, that was a lie.
I was deliberately showing her my erection up close, knowing it made her uncomfortable, as a subtle way of scolding her for spilling water in my house. At first, she seemed embarrassed, turning her head away, but soon enough, her gaze kept drifting toward my crotch and my chest, which was exposed as I crouched down to mop.
'Is this how I look when I check out other women?'
She tried to hide it, but from my perspective, it was obvious.
After cleaning up the mess and setting the tub upright, I lifted Mary into my arms.
'The scales around her groin are raised…'
It seemed she'd gotten so worked up during her solo session that she hadn't even calmed down enough to deal with the aftermath. I decided to pretend I hadn't noticed.
"M-mermaids… sometimes this part just… sticks up…"
"Uh-huh."
So, mermaids' groin scales get erect. Good to know.
"Mermaids don't get erections!"
"Really? Because it sure looks like it."
Mary surrendered in just five seconds, admitting her lie with a flustered pout.
'Now that I think about it…'
I needed to swim to the island. And here I was, holding the best swimmer in the sea.
Splash.
After refilling the tub with clean water and placing Mary back inside, I asked her, "Could you teach me how to swim?"