Chapter 25: Shoulder Massage

Chapter 25:
Shoulder Massage

 

ON MONDAY MORNING, I changed into my school uniform and headed down into the living room. To my surprise, Emma was waiting at the dining table.

“Morning,” she said.

“Good morning. So, you came to pick me up, huh?”

“Yeah. And I brought some extras for breakfast too.”

Way to understate. Our breakfast table, which was usually rather sparse, was overflowing. We had everything from meat to salad, eggs, and even corn. Corn wasn’t grown much in this region, so most of it was imported and carried a hefty price tag, but there were four whole cobs on the table. There would have been five, but one of them had already been devoured. Given how sloppily it was consumed, this was no doubt my father’s doing.

“……”

Father, mother, and Alice were all silently hiding their eyes behind their hands.

“You don’t have anything to cry about, guys,” I told them.

“Yeah, Mr. Stardia. These are just leftovers.”

Despite our reassurances, my father kept crying.

“Noir…you’re such a lucky man. There are people in this world who never had a childhood friend like Emma, no matter how badly they wanted one. And especially not one so cute and kind.”

“I know, I know, I’m very grateful,” I said quietly. “But if you keep on crying, you’re going to make it obvious that we don’t normally have this much to eat.”

“Yes, but…but I haven’t had corn in ten years. I can’t hold back anymore. So I’m taking yours too!”

My father’s hand was smacked away from three separate directions, and he dropped the corn back on the plate.

“Oh, don’t be silly, Mr. Stardia,” said Emma.

“You disappoint me again, dear,” my mother told him. “This is the seventh time this month.”

“Father,” said Alice. “Behave yourself. If you want it that badly, you should use your own money.”

“Ugh, you don’t have to be so mean to me…”

I sat down and gobbled up the whole corncob right in front of him.

“You couldn’t have shared…?”

“Father,” I said. “I need you to tell me where Duke Albert’s house is. This is important.”

My father’s work involved taking tourists around the town and entertaining people, so he knew his way around. He sniffled. “But you didn’t give me your corn…”

“I’ll give you something better than corn.”

“Ah, well. I’ll take your word for it, my dear son.”

My father wrote down Maria’s address and drew me a map. I could have just asked the Great Sage, but that wasn’t completely risk free, and I wanted to avoid relying on it. I planned to pay Luna a visit, then drop by to see Maria when I had enough LP.

As a thank you for the map, I dropped 1.3 million rels onto the table. This was followed by a series of loud crashes as my family fell from their chairs.

“N-N-N-Noir! What is the meaning of this?!” my father cried.

“I earned over 2.5 million over the last few days. I’m giving you half, so use it to shore up the family finances, okay?”

“With pleasure! Ha ha!”

I was a little worried about handing over that much money to my father, but I figured it’d be fine with my mother and Alice to keep him in check. With that taken care of, Emma and I took our leave to head for school.

“I love how cheery and fun your family always is,” she said.

“We may be poor, but we’re happy. They’re the reason I’m the person I am today.”

Though I suppose I couldn’t really make any claims about my upbringing being particularly proper.

As we made our way down the hall at school, Emma stopped suddenly. “Hey, isn’t that Maria doubled over there?!”

“We have to help her.”

Maria was crouched down in a stairwell, clutching her chest. Her breathing was harsh and tight.

“Are you okay? I can take you to the nurse,” I said.

“I-I am quite all right. I always have attacks like this.” She stumbled a bit as she stood up, her face still pale as a sheet. Apparently, Amane was out for the day. After a few more moments, Maria caught her breath. “Mr. Noir, Miss Emma, I am so terribly sorry. I am always causing you two trouble.”

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I couldn’t leave this girl suffering without any hope of recovery. “It’s really because of your curse skill,” I said. “Isn’t it?”

“How do you…?”

She stood there, astonished, as I explained the basics of my abilities. My Discerning Eye, the LP stuff, and even about our plan with Luna. Of course, I left out the bit about my hidden dungeon.

“So basically,” I said. “I might be able to use my skills to lift your curse.”

“But won’t that lower your LP? You could die if you use it all.”

“And that’s why I’ve spent the past few days collecting as much LP as possible. I’m almost there.”

“But…why? Why are you going to such lengths to help me?”

I paused. I was actually a little stumped. We had barely even met and weren’t particularly close. So why did I want to help Maria so badly? Because she was a good person? How cliché! If I said that out loud, it would probably ring hollow. So instead I said, “Because we’re going to be spending a lot of time together as classmates.”

“Are you sure it’s not just because she’s pretty?” Emma needled.

“Well, I can’t exactly say that wasn’t a factor.”

I had intended that as a joke, but Emma glared daggers. However, that was the least of my worries, because Maria suddenly burst into tears.

“It’ll be okay, Lady Maria,” Emma said, instantly switching gears to comfort her. “I just know Noir will figure this out.”

To no surprise, this whole curse business had clearly been weighing on Maria. Her show of vulnerability just made me that much more determined to lift her curse.

Once she finally calmed down, I bowed my head. I’d had an idea, though it still seemed a little forward. I wanted to be as respectful as possible. “I do have one request though. If it’s not asking for too much, could you give me a kiss on the cheek?”

When I explained that it was to earn LP, Maria readily agreed. She moved next to me, but she was still a little shaky and couldn’t stand still. If I remembered correctly, she also didn’t have a lot of experience with men—although, admittedly, I was pretty nervous myself.

“Sorry for asking you to do something weird like this,” I mumbled. “You don’t have to force yourself.”

“N-no, I will do it. Pardon me.”

Maria delicately placed her lips on my cheek, and I got both a pleasant tickly feeling and some LP. I promised to stop by her house after class because, at the rate things were going, I thought I’d have enough before the day was over. I only needed another 500 LP to get to my target. During lunch break, I was pondering asking Emma, Luna, and Lola to help me boost my reserves when my homeroom teacher, Ms. Elena, called me over.

“I need your help carrying books.”

In the midst of fulfilling her request, I suddenly thought to ask: “Aren’t there students around who are stronger than me?”

“Yeah?”

“So, does that mean I’m just easier to get along with?”

“Ah ha ha, you might be right. You do remind me of a dog I once had.”

“So, I’m a pet to you?”

I plunked the pile of books down on her desk, and she gave me a piece of candy as a reward. I put it in my mouth, grumbling about being treated like a little kid.

“Aw, man, I’ve been so stiff lately.” Ms. Elena took a seat and thumped her shoulders with her fist.

“Got some knots that need working out?”

“Yeah, I’ve had issues ever since I was a mercenary. I guess I’m just prone to muscle cramps.”

Thankfully I was not, so I couldn’t exactly relate.

“Oh, if only there was a gentleman who could help work out the knots.”

This must have been the real reason she got me to come around. But then, this was also just the kind of opportunity I needed right now, wasn’t it?

“There might be a gentleman like that,” I said. “But he has one condition.”

“Spill it.”

“I want you to sit on me again.”

“D-did I convert you?”

“No comment. But…I would appreciate your cooperation.”

“Not so fast! I’ll make it even more perverse this time, but I have conditions of my own.”

“Which are?” I asked.

“You must satisfy me with your shoulder massage. If you do, I’ll give you special treatment. We can stop any time if you can’t handle it. Got it?”

I agreed and laid my hands on her shoulders. They really were stiff! I was actually a little worried about her circulation getting cut off.

“Hurry up and get on with it.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

I came at it from all sorts of angles, but nothing seemed to work. From her disinterested yawns, she didn’t seem like she was particularly enjoying it either. Then she started talking like I’d already failed.

“Yeah, enough already. This is too big a job for an amateur. You can go back to your lunch.”

Frustrated, I decided to Get Creative.

 

Shoulder Rub — 80 LP

 

Considering the reward on the line, the LP expenditure would be worth it. With my new skill in hand, I went at her shoulders again.

“Look, just give up already, it’s not goin—hnngh?!”

She twitched and sat straight up. It looked like the skill was doing its job. I figured she’d get bored if I just kept doing the same thing, so every so often I changed up the technique, speed, and pressure.

“Haaa ngh ahh…how are you…so good…?”

“How’s this?”

“Huh?! Incredible, of course!”

“Is this the spot? Does this feel good?”

“Yes! Yes, that’s the spot!” She spasmed and flopped over on her desk. Her shoulders felt much softer and more relaxed, and I was glad to be of service.