16. Healing
Rudy [pov]
I was framed!
…well, no… not really, but I’m innocent!
I find myself stuck in my room. Why, you may ask?
Because Hitogami, that's why! If something goes wrong in this world, Hitogami did it! That’s my motto!
But… no. Jokes aside(mostly), I'm here because shortly after my… ‘tactical retreat,’ from Sylphy’s house, I made it home, but… well… mistakes were made.
Anyways, shortly after my retreat a peeved Paul would walk in through that house door.
///
“Rudy, what is this I hear about you and the Laws girl?!” He exclaimed.
“Dear?!” Zenith is shocked by her husband's sudden zeal.
“I heard from Laws that Rudy was caught groping Law's daughter.”
“Rudy, is that true?” She turned to me.
“Oy, that’s not… entirely… ok, maybe…” I threw a palm out, as I contemplated my next answer. Not that I needed to.
Well maybe a little.
“Define groping?”
“You know what groping is!”
“And I don’t think what I did constitutes groping! It was a medical procedure, completely natural.”
“Alright… let me ask you this, were your hands on her butt or not?”
“...my hands were… placed on gluteus maximus…”
“That’s groping!”
“Is not?”
Is so.
Shut up Conscious!
That’s it, go to your room, you're grounded.
“What?! Why, I’m innocent!”
“Like, hell you are! I didn’t raise any deviants. You’re not allowed out of the premises for a week, and you’re apologizing to Sylphiette immediately after.”
“That’s absurd, like you’re not groping mom’s butt every chance you get, and who are you calling a deviant, you deviant!”
That’s slander! Let ye who is without sin, cast the first stone, you sinner!
Slap. He struck me.
“Paul?!” Someone yelled out.
You…
A sliver of anger flowed through me.
I took a look at him, and noticed he was as shocked at his actions as I was. Deciding I had enough of this, I made my way to my room.
“Tch.”
We can both cool off with some silence.
Besides, I can always leave out the window whenever I want anyway.
///
And that’s how I got stuck in my house.
Honestly, that father of mine… if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m used to taking a beating during sparring, I would have been really pist-off.
Seriously, what was with that shocked look? Think carefully about your actions if you’re going to regret them that much.
Still though, perhaps this is a godsend, I thought as I sat on a chair as I was looking at the fresh sight before me.
By that I mean ogling Lilia’s behind.
Being confined to the premises, I had very little to do in the form of entertainment, or training, well… all but one. That one being, enjoying Lilia's figure, or at least as much as I can make out.
Honestly, I hate that black dress. Swaying hypnotically Lilia is casting a spell on me as she cleans, but the dress is a little too plain for my liking. It’s practical, and as such covers up her assets perfectly. Very good for cleaning, horrible for ogling.
Except, when she’s bending over… then the cloth presses very nicely against her rear.
Although, that’s less about the cloth, and more about her natural figure.
It’s been a while, but I had to put my pursuits of Lilia on the backfoot.
When Sylphy’s bloody unconscious body laid before me, I had to prioritize her life over anyone else. Granted I could have ignored her, and left her to her fate. She was a stranger to me at the time, and one could make an argument to leave a stranger to their fate.
You Monsters!
But I am not made of sterner stuff.
Leaving her to her fate, meant death.
There's no way I could have pursued Lilia, while knowing that.
After all, if she can’t use magic, she can’t fly. Can’t fly, can’t fight, and more than likely, in the future, when the teleportation incident would occur, would have teleported several hundred feet in the air.
Without a parachute.
Emphasis on would have.
Taking her under my wing I made sure the very first magic she learned were the intermediary steps towards flight magic. By the time the ‘time’ comes, she’ll float her way to safety. She’s gotten quite good at it. Able to cast for hours, to the point of muscle fatigue. Honestly, I might have made a monster.
I’m so proud.
Still, though this grounding has been a blessing in disguise. These days I have been struggling to bridge the gap between Lilia and I. Ever since I changed focus Lilia has been happy with my change in pursuit, and is more than happy with the current status quo. It’s vexing. She is practically pushing me on to Sylphy.
Not an exaggeration. She literally pushed me out the door once, and into Sylphy’s arms when she visited the one time. It’s hard to get close to the person you like when the person you like is intent on keeping you at arm's length.
I take a peek at Lilia’s assets.
She is currently bent over wiping the kitchen counter.
“A week of this huh… well, there's worse ways to spend your time.”
Now I just gotta figure out how to bridge the distance.
All that said, our relationship isn’t bad. In fact it’s great. As long as you don’t count being kept at a five foot distance a bad thing, we’re great. Afterall being kept an arm’s length is better than not being kept at all. At least that’s what I tell myself.
But there's a line. Sometime after that twilight by the pondside, a clear line was made.
We talk about each other’s day, about me, Zenith, Paul. About the present… but never her past.
I sense a divide.
I know a bit about her, because of my past life, as well as some small bits of information I was able to leak out of her over the years. But that’s just it, ‘a bit,’ and I have to leak it out of her.
What is her favorite color? Hobby? Parent’s names? I don’t know. I don’t know a damn thing, and if I let her have her way, it will stay that way.
At first I didn’t even realize that there was such a divide, relationships being something I was never an expert in, we talked, and everything would be pleasant. I would try to get her to open up to me… and the topic would be disregarded.
I didn’t notice.
Cases like these came again, and again, before I wised up, but by then I had already started Sylphy’s lessons. And Lilia had already formed a strategy to keep me away. It was an effective one.
Consider my feelings…
So here I am… back at the starting line.
“...Rudeus likes butts doesn’t he?” A voice broke me from my brooding.
Yes!
I mean, whaaaa? No… you’re imagining things.
I looked at the source of the question, only to see Lilia’s disapproving eyes. Looking at me from the corner of her eye, her body still bent over, her hand frozen over the counter, she is giving me a look.
“...sorry, got lost in thought.”
“Rudy tends to get lost in thought quite often when I’m bending over…”
There's plenty to get lost in.
“I honestly was lost in thought!”
Truth!
She gives me a small frown.
“...after I was done checking you out,” I confess.
…also truth. Can’t lie to save my life, so not even going to try.
Besides, if a girl knows you’re checking her out, she knows you’re checking her out. Might as well embrace it. That and the fact that I’m six gives me some leeway, which I will take monstrously advantage of Thank-you-very-much!
“...I can’t tell if Rudy is Bold, or stupid?” She palmed her forehead as she straightened herself. “Is Rudy just going to follow me all day?”
“Not like I have much better to do. Grounded, remember? I’m not even allowed to train outside,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I could help out?” seeing her rinse a towel, I offered.
“It’s not proper for the young master to be doing such menial tasks.”
“I’m being punished. I think this is an exception.”
She frowns, before composing herself “...is that so?” Leaving her cleaning gear and walking up the stairs.
Well… it was worth a shot.
As I was lost in thought, I heard her footsteps a moment later. Coming down the stairs Lilia made her way towards me before throwing an apron onto my lap.
“Well then Master Rudeus, I do hope you were focusing on more than just my derriere, and remember how to clean.”
Well… this is unexpected, but don’t think for a second a little spring cleaning can drive me away.
///
“Spinning patterns master Rudeus. It’s more effective.”
“I don’t remember you being this bossy last time.”
“Last time you were but a child, now you are… less of a child.”
I am finishing lessons on how to clean.
Well, I did literally ask for this, but still…
Unfortunately it wasn’t as steamy as I would have liked. There were no ‘accidentally,’ spilled water, no ‘Kya,’ moments where I touched a certain area or any other hijinks; just cleaning.
Where are my echi god falls dammit? My ‘Kya,’ moments?! Is becoming an echi protagonist too much to ask? How's this for a title; I got reincarnated in another world, but I can only raise flags with Lolis?!
FBI, I’m innocent!
Where’s the maid flag?! Sad…
“Well, at least I got the job done.”
“I suppose, although, I can’t believe Master Rudy would spend his time cleaning,” we make our way to the kitchen cupboard.
“What can I say, I like the company,” I rinse the towel in hand.
She shakes her head in disbelief. “And I’m sure Rudy did it from the bottom of his heart.”
“Of course I- wait a minute! I can ask for a reward?!” Discarding the towel I swiftly got closer to her, at her admittance.
“...within reason…” She bends down, packing the cleaning equipment away for future use, under the kitchen cupboard.
“I see, in that case,” I lean next to the sink as she pulls her head out of it, and we look into each other's eyes.
“I want to talk about you.”
“What would master Rudeus want to know?”
“Everything, including your past,” I told her.
“Sigh, Rudy, I don’t think-”
“Please!” My voice came out a little louder than intended.
Please give me a chance.
“My healing techniques, and my mana control, are on a whole other level since we stopped our sessions. If we continue, I’m confident I can heal you, but… you gotta give me a chance Lilia,” I pressed.
I’m not just making up excuses. I can help her, I know I can, but first I have to be given the opportunity to do so. And if we so happen to talk while doing it, the better.
Still kneeling we are looking into each other’s eyes. Rarely at eye level this might be the first time since the lake that I’ve looked into her Lilac eyes. As they say, eyes are windows to the soul.
I wonder if she can see me.
“...alright,” she whispers. “But it can’t interfere with my duties.”
I remember.
“I know. By the way, you’re finished with your duties right now… right?”
“...yes.”
I seized her immediately, grabbing her hand.
“Let’s go upstairs. No one will interrupt us for a few more hours, and we can get some privacy,” pulling her by the hand, I led her away.
She complied.
I turn my head to look at her. She’s a bit in a daze, but our eyes meet…
And she turns her head to the side hiding a small blush. Yet, never letting go.
The hurdles I go for you, but still… I will.
You might have not noticed it yet, but I’m confident I’ve already got a place in your heart. Now I just gotta make you realize it.
…that or maybe I really am delusional.
We’ll soon find our answer. I can’t heal her forever after all.
Operation Lilia is a go!
///
Lilia [POV]
“Sooo,” Rudy starts as we make our way into my bedroom. “How about something simple like, where were you born?”
“I was born south of the kingdom of Asura.”
“...and?” He questioned.
“And?” I asked for clarification.
He asked a question, and I gave an answer. That is all.
“I mean, that’s a very vague way of putting it, was your place cold, was it warm, full of trees, desserts, rivers? Did it smell of flowers? Do you miss it? Surely you have some thoughts attached to the place you came from?”
“Nothing, worth speaking off,” unfolding my apron, I placed it by my bedside. There's no need to dirty my bed with dust. I decide to make my bed ready to lay on, for Rudy’s healing techniques.
“Sigh, of course. You know, I don’t even Know Lilia’s last name,” I heard his voice behind me.
“...”
I stilled at that statement.
“Don’t tell me…”
I turned to face him, seeing a frown appearing on his face.
“Not worth talking about,” His annoyed voice echoes.
I nod my head. Not worth remembering. I haven’t used my last name in years, back during a time when I could have declared it with a bit of pride. A simpler time. A happier time.
Now though. Now it feels like that name belongs to a complete stranger.
“You said you’d give me a chance.”
I know what I said, but my past is off limits. The person you are interested in hearing about, is a ghost, of a time gone by. There is no point in revisiting the past.
Ask me about my favorite color or my favorite food and I won’t mind answering. But ask me of ‘her,’ and I must decline.
“My favorite color is purple… preferably light, Lilac to be precise,” I took off my footwear, and made my way on top of my bed.
That was as much of a concession as I was willing to make.
His eyes narrowed at my concession.
“I really don’t think there is anything interesting about me to talk about,” I confessed, meeting his stare.
“Maybe, but, I’d like to find that out myself, and,” he leaned in, his face a breath apart, “if there really is nothing interesting about you worth talking about, then that’s that. I’ll lose interest, and then I can move on. We can go back to how we were, and everyone gets what they want” he looks at me with an intense look at me, “that is what you want… right?”
“I…”
I don’t know.
Rudy, following my example, takes off his footwear, and sits next to me.
I don’t know how I let myself get put in these situations, but here I am; in my bed with the young master.
It’s been like this since the night in the pond. He pushes, I pull away, and then he pulls back. I thought he’d grown tired of it, but he came back with a vengeance. Lord knows I’ve tried to dissuade him from chasing me. An unrequited love is a painful experience
…or so I’ve read.
Yet, he keeps pursuing.
Truthfully, I don’t know what to do. I am not experienced in matters of the heart to be able to speak of them, let alone navigate them. If it’s matters of lust or pleasure I could speak of them clearly, but when it comes to matters of one’s heart, that is difficult.
Young master has been pursuing me for two years now. I had thought the matter was done and over with, after my subtle rejections and his pursuing of the Laws’ girl.
I was wrong.
When Rudy had pursued the young elven girl, and consequently, stopped our healing sessions, I thought that was the end of it, and we would return to how we were. Then I remembered; we’ve only ever been one way.
And so, I got lonely.
Perhaps that’s why I let him do as he pleases?
“...”
“...”
“Lilia, may I?”
“Yes…” As we’ve always done, or used to, I let myself relax, and let him lay his hands on me.
…massages… I mean massages…
“Lilia, my control really has improved by leaps and bounds, but I’m going to do things a little differently than last time,” he pulled out a knife. “Very differently… but trust me, I do have the best intentions, sigh.” He looks at me tenderly. “I’m going to need to make a cut on your skin, it will probably hurt a little.” He looks at me pleadingly. “Please trust me on this, I’ll make sure to heal you properly after.”
My heart stilled for a moment, but then I remembered, it’s Rudy holding the knife.
“It’s fine.”
If it’s him, it’s fine.
“Rudy may act as he wishes,” In response a small blush appears on his visage, and despite my intention, I must admit I enjoyed it.
It’s good to know that I can still make him embarrassed. Being at the forefront of all his attacks, a little petty teasing is quite fun.
He holds a hand to his face. “You’re affecting my concentration…” he mumbled.
Yes, I am.
“Trace on,” He chanted his made up chant.
I wonder why he does that?
“Lilia, I’m going to make this as painless as possible, so I’m going to numb the skin, and muscle as much as possible before I cut your skin. It’s going to be slightly uncomfortable.”
“I understand.”
Like he used to so many months ago, he touches my skin, and that familiar feeling of his mana invading me returns. Only for it to change from hot to cold.
He did say it was going to be different.
As Rudeus performs his spell on me, my leg starts numbing, and my breaths become noticeable as a chilly feeling goes through me. My leg, already being slightly numb before his magic, only feels a little ticklish than anything else.
Prickly.
A short while later my leg is numb to the bone.
Exhaling, the both of us, he picks up the knife laid at the side, and prepares for the incision.
My heart stills at the glimmer of steel, but I did promise to go along with it, so I don’t discourage him, and watch as he traces the wound. I see, not feel, as the knife draws blood over my leg.
To think I would ever let a man lay a blade on me.
It hurts, but only a little. As promised.
My heart beats a little louder.
Without a doubt I trust Rudeus, but being so vulnerable in front of a man is still embarrassing.
Man?
“Lilia, I’m about to begin.”
Eh?
“I thought you already started?” I look at the wound.
“Like I said, this time it’s going to be ‘very,’ different,” he closes his eyes, calms his breathing. “Trace on,” placing his hands on the wound, he repeats his chant once more. His mana invading me, and with it the nostalgic warmth of his healing magic ripples through me.
I don’t see why he had to freeze the leg, if he was just going to warm it anyway. Excluding that, everything seems to be the same as usual. It’s almost a shame really. Master Rudeus has been trying his hardest to heal my leg, part of me was hoping through some miracle that he would actually succeed.
Unfortunately, today is another failure. I will simply have to do my best to ease his worries, and put… put his… hea…
“Hahh…”
Hot… It’s hot…
“Hmmnnn?!” And getting hotter.
Whatever I was thinking got cast out, as my body started experiencing waves of sensations that it didn’t know how to handle.
Rudeus, ‘healing touch,’ is quite good. In fact, I won’t mind admitting it’s one of the most pleasurable experiences I’ve ever had. It helps me with my muscle fatigue, and relieves my leg pain, as well as giving the added boost that recovery magic naturally provides.
Today’s massage though… feels… different.
It.. it’s hot… and… prickly… and cold, and-
“Nnh…” I stifle a moan.
…several things.
It’s improved from what it was before.
Is this what that elven girl was feeling?
“Hah… hah…” The warmth continues through my body… It feels dangerous. Familiar… Dangerously familiar…
“R-Rudy-” I tried to stop him.
I need a moment to calm myself.
“Found you,” he smiles through closed eyelids. “Lilia, It might be painful, but please endure, the hard part is about to begin.”
What do you mean the hard part is about to begin?!
“W-what do-” I’m interrupted once more, as an increase of heat and pressure is applied to me.
“Nnnn! Ah! Ah… nnh… Hnn?!”
I-I’m trying… t-trying… very hard, not to… let out my voice. Reaching out my hand towards my lips, I bite a finger, in an effort to stifle it.
It… It hurts, but it also doesn’t… It’s hot… but… not just that… it’s…
I’m losing my mind.
“AAAHN!” Involuntarily my body starts convulsing, as I swing my head backward, and my hips up. “Hah… hah… ha…” I gather my breath.
That was… what was that?
“Yes! Got it!” He finally declares. Stopping his magic, and removing his hand from my body. “Are you alright Lilia?” He looks at me with a sincere expression.
…I’m glad no one was here for this.
“...yes…” I got myself under control. “I… am fine Rudy,” it doesn’t seem he noticed what he did to me, and I intend to keep it that way.
Now that the ‘massage,’ is over, and the slight exhaustion is settling, I can say I don’t feel that different from before, if only a little tired, and… rejuvenated. It’s a shame, but as expected.
I’ll have to break Rudeus’s aspirations gently once more. “So, another failure Rudy. Don’t take this to heart, I’m sure-”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”
“Pardon?”
He reveals the knife which he made the incision with. It’s covered in a black sticky substance. Sliding it off slowly, Rudeus pours it into a small vial he pulled out.
“What is that?”
“This is… well, to be completely honest, I’m not really sure. Dead tissue, magically affected bone marrow. Your guess is as good as mine. But what I do know is that this,” he showed the vial, “is what’s been affecting your recovery. I don’t know the exact mechanics of this… ‘toxin,’ on the human body, but the fact that I couldn’t even ‘feel,’ it was odd.” He enters the same poze he gets when teaching Law’s daughter. “So it made me wonder, just what kind of thing is in your body, soo… rather than looking for it, I decided to look at everything first, see?”
“I’m not sure, I’m understanding master Rudy…”
“Right… sorry, I’m just a bit excited,” he coughed into his fist. “In essence you had some blockage, and I removed it.”
“...explain further Rudeus.”
“Sorry,” he scratches his cheek. “Alright, so everytime I cast my magic on you, it’s a personal affair. I look, or rather feel, throughout your body as I heal it. Kind of like a spider-web… sorry if the comparison is unflattering.”
“A little, but please continue.”
There are several pieces of that statement I would like to reject, but I’ll hold my tongue for an explanation instead.
“Anyways, as I have a vague look inside your body, just a vague outline, nothing concrete, but it’s enough, I always get a view of your insides, but… only to a degree. Certain parts, like your leg, were always… odd. Everytime I would put my mana into it, I would get nothing at all. It’s only much later that I noticed it was pushing me away. At first I thought it was your toki doing it, the body’s natural rejection of foreign mana, but if it were, I would still be able to see the rejection. Instead,” he points at my leg. “It always felt like that leg specifically was kicking me for all my efforts. I was blind to it. So I thought,” he held his chin up high.
“What if I take a look everywhere else, and then ‘feel’ my mana into those blind spots, and wala” he presented the flask. “I found it.”
“It being?”
“No idea!”
This boy…
“My best guess it's a mage killing poison, or at least the remains of it,” he places the flask back down, a murky black substance within it.
To think my body had such a thing for years.
“As I invade my magic into you over the years, I slightly got better at inspecting your body, but yet certain parts were still… blurry. Now that my control is saint level, and combined with this,” he signals to the cut he made on my skin, “more direct approach.”
Placing his hand on top of the incision, he traces it with his thumb, surrounding it in a green glow as he heals the wound shut.
Ticklish.
“I can now literally feel my mana pushing against that something I couldn’t see before. I’m no longer a man looking blindly. Well… technically yes, as I’m not ‘seeing’ it, but you get what I mean…” he rubs his head awkwardly. “Anyways, it’s all a matter of delicacy now, and pushing it gently out,” he smiles.
“So… I am cured?” I took a look at the vial with the murky toxin inside.
It’s almost unreal.
“Unfortunately, no.”
Because it was.
He gets up placing the vial by the bedside. “This thing, whatever this was, is EXTREMELY resistant to mana, and combined with the fact that it had seeped into part of your bones, makes it very difficult to push out. Safely that is. Theirs still small pockets of this… gunk in you. I have to ride a very thin line of forcefully pushing it out, while not damaging any nerves or tendons. Not to mention,” he scratches his cheek, “I still have to let your body heal naturally. Evetime I do this, I am more or less leaving empty pockets in your body, and my healing magic can only do so much. I have to let your body take care of the ‘wounds’ naturally, and fill in the gaps I create, else I would be leaving nothing in its place.” He casts a healing spell once more on my leg.
“The problem with your body wasn’t so much that you were injured, but that that toxin was blocking mana into your leg. Our bodies are naturally absorbing mana from the environment all the time, even if you’re not a mage, but your leg wasn’t. So all the stress you feel on your leg is because your leg isn’t getting any mana, or toki, and hence weaker than the rest of your body. Like a cart with a wheel not fit for its size.”
“Master Rudeus, as thankful as I am… please refrain from using such terminology when describing a woman’s body.”
“Sorry…” he coughs into his hand. “But yeah, I’ll have to repeat this a few more times, with a few breaks in between sessions, so I can safely remove it completely without damaging your body. Eventually your body will do its natural healing, and pick up from their.”
“...really?” I questioned. It’s all still pretty hard to believe. After that lesson about my own body, it doesn’t sound like it will be particularly easy.
“Really,” he answered. “This is our first ‘major,’ healing seccion, so rest for a bit before you get up… and don’t be afraid to ask for some healing, if you need it.”
“Yes…” A little bewildered, that is all I could say.
Rudy is like a storm, sometimes, all you can do is go with his flow. Just that rather than a disaster he brought about... a miracle?
I don’t know.
I just… Rudy…
“Why? Why do you go far for me? I am just a maid. I can’t repay you back, all your effort… it’s a waste master Rudeus.”
I am undeserving of his kindness. I am undeserving of this treatment. I am undeserving of your effort. To be pampered by the young master is unbecoming of a maid. To take so much of the young master’s attention is unfitting of a maid. To be cured by the young master-how selfish!
To be this cared for…
“It’s not wasted, as for why…” he stood up. “I think you know why.”
…yeah, I do… it scares me. When I pushed him away, he was still thinking of me. Rudy… you’re…
Gazing at me tenderly, I couldn’t help, but think how beautiful his green eyes truly were.
Without deceit. Pure and radiant.
“...”
He then stands up and prepares to walk out my bedroom door.
I don’t know. I don’t know a lot of things. But…
I don’t want him to go.
“Garidia…”
“Hmm?” He halts, his hand on the doorknob.
“Garidia, that’s my last name. Full name; Lilia Garidia.”
This is payment. Nothing more. For healing me, I can entertain him a little, and answer a few questions. It's the least I could do.
“I have to lay down and rest a bit if Rudy’s assessment is correct, but if Rudy is still interested… I wouldn’t mind talking for a bit.”
He looks shocked for a moment, before smiling, “what a coincidence, I have plenty of free time on my hands,” closing the door he returns to my bedside, and sits at the foot of my bed.
I’m the one that pushed him away, but in the confines of my own head I have to admit; I missed him.
“...well, then how about we start at the beginning?” He asks.
The beginning…
“You’ll grow tired…” My inner conflicts are leaking to the surface.
“We’ll see,” he smiled, jumping on bed, and resting at the end of it.
“I was born to two parents, Augusta and Flute Garidia…” I started talking about my life, and kept going, answering any question he would ask.
///
…Is this what I wanted? I don’t know, but I don’t mind finding out.
AN: This is the probably the best place as any to put it, but I might as well give you a warning; my story is a VERY mature read... in every sense of the word. It is not for the feint of heart. It might start of as your basic isekai, that is by design, but consider this a flip on the tropes. I have every idea of giving the satisfying solution that is part of the isekai genre, but I will do so(attempt to) do so in a realistic matter. It's going to be a hell of a ride. Their will be mistakes... their will be pain... their will be making up... etc. Good Luck.