The moment I opened the door and was hit by the atmosphere in the room, I reflexively scowled. The air was so sweet it was almost suffocating. It was probably the fragrance of the tanashia, and it seemed to have spread to every square inch of the room.
Claudia Dragonaut was inside, lying on the bed. Her face was twisted in agony, and every now and then moans of pain would leak from her throat. She seemed to be suffering much less than last night, but even so, it was enough that I couldn’t bear to look at her. In that state, she’d never be able to recover no matter how much she slept. Yesterday her soul had seemed to have recovered a little as a result of befriending Suzume, but now it was once again a wisp. Which meant I would need to be extra careful with her soul, even more so than I had with Lunamaria.
Claudia’s eyes drowsily opened. Perhaps she’d sensed that someone had entered the room. Raising her body up in pain, she looked in my direction, and when she saw me, her eyes went wide with surprise. “S-Sora? Why are you in here?” Her voice was raspy, barely a whisper. Perhaps her consciousness was still hazy.
I spoke to her as gently as I could. “I came in here to save you,” I said. “Would you permit me to come over to your side?”
“I-I can’t. The air in this room...”
“Sorry, I can’t hear you.” I walked up to her bed despite her reply. Then I got on my knees next to her and looked her right in the eyes.
She chuckled with a pained smile. “If you weren’t going to listen to me anyway, then why did you even ask permission in the first place?”
“Sorry about that. It’d be a different story if you really didn’t want me by your side, but that wasn’t what you were going to say, was it? You were about to warn me not to come in because the air in this room was poisonous. Right?”
In that case, there was no need for her to worry. If that had been a concern, I never would have come here to meet her. I would have liked to have explained as much to her, but considering her condition right now, there was no time to waste. So I decided to save the explanations for later and got right to the point. In other words, I told her that I’d come to free her from her curse.
When Claudia heard that, her eyes opened slightly wider. Then she smiled, a weak smile that appeared both happy and sad. Perhaps she thought that I was just trying to make her feel better. “That’d be nice...but how do you plan to do that?”
“Well, I would have to place my lips on yours and transfer part of my soul to you.”
“Huh...kiss me, you mean? Is that...really necessary?”
“Yes, I believe it’s the only way. But rather than a kiss, it’s really more like giving CPR to someone who nearly drowned in a river. Your maiden lips will still remain pure, so don’t worry.”
“Father...wasn’t too happy about this suggestion, I’m guessing?”
“He was so mad he nearly cut me down where I stood,” I said with a serious look.
At that, Claudia managed a genuine smile for the first time. “Heh heh...I would have liked to see that...but you’re going to give your soul to me, huh? Why would...you go that far...for someone like me?”
“I’m a guy. Isn’t it natural for me to want to save a girl that’s suffering before my eyes? Besides, Claimh Soras wanted me to.”
“Claimh Soras...the wyvern?”
“Yeah. It told me to save the girl who shared its name.” Of course, I was alluding to what Claudia had told the wyvern back at the stable. And she must have picked up on that, because her eyes went as wide as saucers. Then she grinned with delight.
“Ha ha...well, in that case, I suppose I can’t refuse, can I?”
“Then let’s get right to it.”
“What do you... Mmpphh?!” The moment I got her permission, I covered her lips with mine. I was worried that if I hesitated, she might get nervous. It was better to get it over and done with before she changed her mind. And the moment I started pouring my soul into her...
“Mmmm?!”
Her frail body jolted upward. Right now, she was experiencing the same sense of pleasure I’d felt in the cave when I’d first killed those maggots with my Shinsou. Actually, considering the amount of soul she was receiving and its density, the sensation was probably ten times as strong. And according to Lunamaria, whom I’d tested this ability on, an excess of pleasure was incredibly painful. Even now, Claudia was using both hands to push against my chest forcefully. Perhaps the sensation was making her want to shove me away. Her purple eyes were filled with panic and confusion as she looked at me. But I deliberately ignored her attempts to resist.
I’m sorry, Claudia. If I stopped midway like she wanted and tried again later, I might go down two levels instead of one. In other words, I would end up sacrificing two levels just to raise her up one, which would be problematic. So I grabbed her waist with my right hand and used my left hand to fix her jaw in place as I continued to transfer soul energy to her, using my strength to suppress her jolting body.
After who knows how long, Claudia went limp in my arms, as though she’d given up on resisting completely. Then I sensed a new reaction from her. It was the same reaction I’d felt from Lunamaria yesterday, and apparently Claudia felt it too, because her languid eyes opened wide. Normally, I’d have considered the job done at this point. But I was still a little uncertain that only one level up would be enough to cure her. So I poured even more of my soul into her and waited for a second reaction. Once the reaction came, I finally released her.
“That ought to do it,” I muttered, satisfied at last.
“‘That ought to do it?!’ Seriously?!” she exploded in rage. “I-I mean, I know I agreed to it! I gave you permission! But even so, there’s an order you have to follow with these things! You could have at least been a little gentler!”
Her face was beet red as she covered her mouth with her right hand, panting like she was out of breath. Judging from the way she was glaring at me, it seemed like my actions had rubbed Miss Tomboy Princess the wrong way.
Not that I can blame her, I thought as I observed her.
“You have every right to be angry with me. I’ll apologize all you want, but first, go ahead and check.”
“Check?! What could you possibly want me to— Oh, right, my level. Hmph...I almost forgot, thanks to someone doing this and that to me.” She glared at me as she brought up her level display. “Wow! My level actually did go up! Two levels?!”
“Excellent, that’s what I wanted to hear! Now, how do you feel? Seems like you’re at least perky enough to raise your voice and get all angry with me.”
“Huh? Just...give me a second! This is all way too much to take in at once... I can move my arms and legs like normal again! The strange numbness I’ve felt all this time is gone!”
“I see. Anything else?”
“Oh, and my head feels...clear! Clearer than it’s been in a while! Also...”
“Yes?”
“W-Well...no, never mind. It’s nothing.” She seemed to be hesitating over whether to say something but then waved her hands in dismissal.
Just then, a strange noise reached my ears. A noise that sounded almost like the rumbling of a tummy. As sorry as I felt for Claudia, who looked like she wanted to melt into the floor from embarrassment, when I heard it, I was finally able to relax. If she had an appetite, it meant her body wanted to recover its energy. That was the biggest proof that we’d avoided the worst outcome.
I took a look at her soul. As far as I could tell, her vessel was full to the brim with soul energy. Only time would tell whether the curse’s effects would appear again, so I couldn’t declare for certain that it was completely gone, but I doubted she’d be feeling any of those effects for the next couple of days, at least. Even if someone hit her with a new curse, her body was in such good condition right now that it’d at least be able to resist. And knowing that was a huge relief.
So much of a relief, in fact, that I collapsed to the floor. The aftereffects of my soul transfer hit me all at once. I’d already experienced this with Lunamaria, but it hadn’t even been a full day since then, and this time I’d given two levels’ worth of my soul, so the impact was far greater than before.
Claudia called my name in a panic, but I didn’t even have the energy left to respond. Like tumbling off a ninety-degree cliff, my consciousness instantly sank into darkness.