This was a trial.
A reward for being honest with oneself.
An unprecedented challenge.
Walking barefoot on the dirt ground, Sophie’s expression was grave.
“Are you shy? Why?” Kaila, who was walking while holding her hand, seemed somewhat puzzled. “We’re both girls, after all.”
Sophie didn’t know how to answer.
—Because I am a proud pilot who values my personal space.
Sophie really wanted to say that.
But if Kaila saw through that answer as not being a lie, her life in this other world would probably end right then and there.
So, she could only remain silent.
“You’re a vampire; you’re afraid of running water.” Kaila seemed to think of something and said with realization, “But it’s fine. It’s a spring.”
I’m not actually afraid of running water.
Sophie thought silently. The Heart of Yin had long since removed that weakness.
She just hoped her body wouldn't have any embarrassing reactions.
“We’re here,” Kaila said.
She stopped walking and used her free hand to push aside a patch of dense, broad-leafed ferns.
A pool of water hidden deep within the forest was revealed. It was a natural bath formed by a geothermal spring.
The crimson reflection of the moon shimmered in the center of the water, swaying gently with the ripples.
“Turn around,” Kaila said.
She turned her back to Sophie, pressing her spine against Sophie’s.
Sophie understood, and they released each other’s tightly held hands.
She felt the softness and warmth of Kaila’s body against her back as the two of them stood on the damp soil by the hot spring, back-to-back.
“Clothes... do you need help?” Kaila’s voice came from behind, accompanied by the rustle of fabric.
Sophie raised her hands and began to untie the laces of her tattered prison garb.
She let the sweat-soaked outer garment slide down to her waist and fall around her ankles.
“I can do it myself,” Sophie replied.
The points of contact on their backs shifted constantly as they undressed. When Sophie shed her top, Kaila turned slightly, pressing her left shoulder firmly against Sophie’s right arm. They coordinated their movements with tacit understanding until they had removed all their clothing.
“Splash.”
Kaila’s loose and somewhat heavy nun’s habit, along with her undergarments, fell onto the rocks. She carefully placed her sun pendant on a pile of dry leaves nearby.
From the corner of her eye, Sophie caught a glimpse of the scenery beside her.
Having shed her bulky robes, Kaila revealed a beautiful body that stood in stark contrast to her cluelessly adorable expression. Years of combat training had made her skin firm, with no excess fat around her waist and subtle, soft muscle lines visible.
But on this delicate, flawless skin were startling scars.
Extending from her collarbone to her shoulders and down to her toned abdomen, they were densely packed. There was even a horrific scar near her left ribs that looked like it had nearly pierced through her.
These were definitely not caused by ordinary swords or blades. Given the level of medical magic in the world of the Red Moon, even severed limbs could be easily reattached. Ordinary flesh wounds could never leave such stubborn marks.
Sophie instinctively held her breath.
She quickly searched her mind for relevant game terminology.
“These are...” Sophie’s gaze fixed on a strangely purple burn mark on Kaila’s shoulder. “Trauma left by magic?”
Only high-tier destructive magic or attacks imbued with the power of laws would leave behind such malignant energy. It would cling to the wound like a marrow-piercing poison, preventing healing magic from taking effect and thus leaving permanent scars.
Kaila was cupping some fresh water in her hands to splash on her face. Hearing Sophie’s words, she lowered her head slightly and followed Sophie’s gaze to look at her own body.
“Yes.” Kaila’s tone was flat, with no intention of hiding anything. “They are all scars left by magic. Those corrosive forces destroyed the body’s ability to self-heal. They can’t heal naturally, and Divine Healing Arts are useless.”
She spoke matter-of-factly, not feeling at all that what she carried was heavy.
“Doesn’t it hurt?” Sophie asked, looking at the layers of scars.
“I got used to it long ago.” Kaila wiped the water droplets from her face with the back of her hand. “This is the price that must be paid to defeat the Witches.”
That phrase again.
Kaila, who wasn't good at long sentences, always spoke with exceptional firmness and without any hesitation when she mentioned “defeating the Witches.”
Before Sophie could continue her reflections, Kaila grabbed her and jumped into the spring with a splash.
The spring water was warmer than expected.
The water level reached their chests, and the underwater resistance made their movements sluggish.
Even in the water, Kaila didn't completely let go of Sophie. One of her hands always held Sophie’s wrist, with a constant warmth radiating from where their skin met.
This warmth dispelled the chill cast upon the water’s surface by the Red Moon.
“New Moon’s Sorrow...” Sophie muttered softly as she looked at the Red Moon reflected on the water.
As long as there was no physical contact, one would be swallowed by that moonlight.
This almost pathological curse felt even more oppressive and desperate when experienced firsthand.
“Are you very afraid?”
Kaila let down her hair, which she had been holding up, allowing her long golden locks to spread out in the water.
She casually scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on her shoulder.
“Not really.” Sophie forced herself to look away from Kaila’s exquisite collarbones and toward the nearby rocks. “I just feel like this world is... quite difficult to endure.”
Kaila didn't respond.
She produced a bar of white soap from somewhere and worked up a lather, then naturally reached her hand toward Sophie’s back.
“Turn around.”
“Eh?”
“I’ll scrub your back,” Kaila said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Your arms are short; you can’t reach.”
Is this how she tests my willpower?
Sophie obediently turned around.
It was better to have her back turned anyway; her face was constantly flushed, making it look like she had some ulterior motives.
Kaila’s palm, slick with soap suds, pressed against the delicate skin of Sophie’s back.
Her movements paused for a moment.
“So soft.”
She gave a blunt assessment.
Sophie: “...”
“Th-thanks for the compliment. You don’t have to use so much force, you know.”
“Because it’s dirty.”
Kaila increased the pressure slightly, earnestly scrubbing Sophie’s shoulder blades.
Small ripples spread across the surface of the water.
Rate on N.U.
