"No one on the left—"
"No one on the right either—"
From the bushes, Artoria peeked left and right.
The reason she was being so cautious was simple: if anyone saw her with a naked boy, it would be a disaster!
"Hurry, this way!"
"Right—"
Fortunately, because they had spent a long time by the lake, the hour was already very late.
Along the way, Artoria and Ian didn't run into anyone.
"Phew—"
Having finally gotten Ian back safely, Artoria breathed a sigh of relief.
"Stay right here, don't move," she instructed. "I'll go get some medicine for you."
In her room, rubbing her chest where he had bitten her, Artoria sighed. She grabbed some herbs and returned to the boy's side.
"Alright, come here—"
"Let me take care of your wounds first."
The girl hadn't forgotten how he looked by the lake earlier. To be honest, it was a miracle he was even alive, covered in wounds like that.
Click—
Artoria lit a lamp.
A flame flickered in the small room, illuminating everything.
But the sight that greeted her left her stunned.
The boy's body, which should have been covered in wounds, was now completely healed. Not only were there no scars to be seen, but he also seemed much healthier than before.
Artoria pinched herself.
After confirming that it hurt, she realized this was definitely not a dream.
"Wait, what did you do?" she asked, bewildered. "How did you suddenly get better?"
"..."
The boy looked at his own hands and shook his head.
"I don't know either."
"I guess I thought being hurt would be a bother for you, so I just... got better."
"Eh?"
It was a very straightforward yet bizarre answer.
Artoria coughed lightly.
"Ahem."
"Well, since I brought you here, I was already prepared for some trouble."
"You don't need to worry about it so much."
"Mm."
"..."
"..."
"Um-" Artoria glanced at Ian, then quickly looked away.
"..What's your name?"
"Ian," the boy replied without hesitation. "And you?"
"Artoria—" the girl answered quickly. "Say, Ian, can I make a small suggestion?"
"What is it?"
"It's just..."
Artoria's throat tightened.
"Could you please... not point your... your 'Little Ian' at me—"
"It's too weird."
It was just as the girl said.
While checking if Ian's wounds had truly disappeared, her eyes had inevitably strayed to that certain area.
It was an incredibly awkward sight.
No matter how she discreetly shifted her body, it would always be pointed right at her.
What was even more ridiculous was that he himself seemed completely unaware of it!
Otherwise, she wouldn't have had to say anything.
However—
Faced with Artoria's already quite tactful request, Ian just looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't understand."
"..."
After confirming that he wasn't just being a pervert but genuinely didn't understand, Artoria felt like she couldn't breathe.
After a moment of hesitation, she decided to explain it in the simplest way possible.
The girl looked down.
In the flickering firelight, she could see... everything.
It's terrifying...
Artoria took a long time to mentally prepare herself before she finally reached out and... poked it.
The instant she made contact, she snatched her hand back.
"This thing here, don't point it at me—"
"..."
"I can't."
"You can't?!"
Artoria had lost count of how many times Ian had managed to shock her tonight.
Before she completely lost her sanity, she quickly asked, "What do you mean you can't?"
"Isn't it..."
"Isn't it a part of your body?"
"I don't understand it either," Ian said, looking at Artoria.
"It just wants to point at you—"
"I... can't change it."
"..."
Artoria's head was buzzing.
Thank goodness Sir Kay and Ector weren't here—they'd gone into town. If they had seen someone saying things like this to her, they probably would have gone berserk on the spot.
"Is there really nothing you can do?"
"Nothing."
"But maybe it will be fine after a little while."
"If you don't like it—"
"I can go outside for a bit."
With that, Ian turned to leave the room.
Artoria quickly grabbed him.
"There's no need for that!"
"It's so late, where would you even go?"
"Forget it. If it points, it points. Maybe it'll be better by tomorrow—"
Artoria picked up the clothes she had set aside and tossed them to Ian.
"These are my clothes."
"Put them on for now."
"Okay."
What Artoria didn't expect, however, was that he seemed to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of "clothes."
The garment that was meant to be put on was, in his hands, simply torn in half and draped over "Little Ian."
To be precise, he wrapped it.
For a moment, Artoria didn't know what to say.
She had a feeling he only did that because of what she'd just said.
Finally, the girl sighed.
"Let me help you."
"Mm—"
Artoria never thought she'd one day become the kind of person who helps a man get dressed.
And a man who was clearly aroused by her, at that.
Fortunately, once the clothes were on, he instantly looked much more presentable.
"There, that should be fine now," Artoria said, dusting off her hands.
But she soon saw that wolfish, predatory look in his eyes again.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Unpleasant memories flashed through the girl's mind.
Artoria covered her chest.
"No more biting today!"
"No, wait!"
"No more biting ever again!"
"That kind of thing is just too rude!"
However—
Ian continued to approach, step by step.
Everything felt just like it had by the lakeshore.
Once again, the girl was pushed down to the floor.
Only this time—
"Are you human?" he asked.
"Yes, yes.."
"Then, are you a girl?"
"..."
Artoria fell silent.
After a moment, she turned her head aside.
"Not exactly."
"I see—"
"What a shame."
"I thought you might have been able to prove something to my mother."
"Huh?"
Artoria was completely bewildered.
This guy has a mother?
But just as the girl tried to ask more, she realized it was too late.
Wait, what?
Did he fall asleep?
He just fell asleep... on top of me?
This... this....
Artoria really felt like she must have done something bad in her past life, for her to have met this guy.