As soon as I opened the door and touched the indoor air, I reflexively raised an eyebrow.

　The smell was so sweet it made me squirm.

　I knew it was the scent of the Sleeping Death Potion (Thanasia). I had smelled it many times before on Onigashima.



　Claudia is lying on a bunk in a room where the scent of Thanasia seems to have seeped into the walls.

　She is breathing peacefully and peacefully in her sleep, and she does not seem to be suffering. Looking at this alone, it would be hard to believe that this child is under a curse.



　However, Claudia's soul in my eyes was showing clear signs of depletion.

　Even compared to the time when we spoke at the stables the other day, the decrease in numbers was noticeable.

　At that time, I thought I still had enough time to travel back and forth between King's Landing and Ishqa, but looking at his current condition, I couldn't afford it. If we fail, our souls will run out of money today or tomorrow.

　Since I'm pouring my soul into Claudia in such a state, I have to be even more careful than I was with Lunamaria.



　As I was thinking about that, Claudia's eyes suddenly snapped open.

　She must have noticed a sign that someone had entered the room.

　The duchess' eyes widened unexpectedly when she saw me.


''........Sola, Ms.?　How did you end up here...?

'I'm here to help Lady Claudia. May I come to your side?

That's ... no ... no. The air in this room is--

I don't listen to him.


　Regardless of the other person's answer, you stagger into the room.

　I stand next to my bunk and lightly touch Claudia's forehead.


Hmm. You don't seem to have a fever.

Hmm. If you won't listen to me I won't have to ask for permission in the first place.

'If you really don't want Lady Claudia to get close to me, but you were going to say something like 'The air in this room is poisonous to healthy people, so you shouldn't go in there anyway?'


　Then there is no need to worry about it. I'm talking about not coming to see Claudia in the first place if I'm worried about such things.

　I thought about explaining that to you, but considering Claudia's condition, we don't have time to waste talking about it. So, I'll put all of that on the back burner.

　I quickly cut to the chase.

　When Claudia hears this, she smiles with amusement and resignation. Perhaps she thought I was speaking out of comfort.


''........Do you have to lock lips with me to help me?

Yes, sir. What, it's like artificial respiration to save a drowning man. The maiden's lips remain pure, sir.

Did your father understand that?

He almost cut me off.


　When I responded with a straight face, he showed me a true smile, this time without a bellybutton.


I'm not going to be able to say that it's not a good idea to have a good time. Why would you go to such lengths for me?

'It's a boy's way of wishing he could help a girl if she's in pain. Besides, Crow Solas has asked me to do it for him.

Klau Solas the boy?

'Yes. He wants you to help a fellow human being with the same name as him.


　Those were the words that Claudia had been speaking to Klau Solas in the stables.

　Claudia must have noticed right away, and after rolling her eyes, she broke into a heartfelt, happy face.


''Haha, that's... yeah, I can't say no to that.

Okay. Well, then.

What--move!


　Having taken Claudia's words as permission, I didn't hesitate to cover the girl's lips with mine.

　If you take your time, you'll make her strangely nervous. It would be better to do it all at once in one fell swoop.

　And so, the moment I poured my soul out of our lips that touched each other--


Hmm?


　With a bikun, Claudia's slender body jumped up and down.

　Right now, Claudia is experiencing the pleasure of the first time I cut down a maggot with my soul-dressing (soul-eater). No, if you take into account the concentration and density, it's like concentrating that one several times or tens of times.

　According to Lunamaria, who let him go along with the experiment, the pleasure also becomes painful once it passes, according to her.

　As if in a panic, the girl's hands press on my chest. She's probably startled by the unexpected shock and is trying to get away from me anyway.

　Her wide-open purple eyes were staring at me with confusion and confusion.



　-- but I deliberately ignore their request.

　I'm sorry. If you interrupt here, that alone will lower my level. If I try again, it could happen that my level has dropped another level.

　So I hold Claudia's waist with my right hand and hold her chin in place with my left hand and forcefully continue.

　I held the girl's body, bouncing around in my arms, and continued to force our lips together.






　How long had it been?

　The Claudia in my arms has either given up, or she no longer has the strength to resist, or she has gone limp and is doing what I want her to do.　　

　In the meantime, I had a 'reaction'.

　The one I felt with Lunamaria as well. Apparently, Claudia also felt it, and her eyelids, which had been lying face down without power, were wide open.



　--Well, originally I would have ended it here, but I was somehow uneasy about it. I was worried that I would be able to completely exorcise the curse with just one level up.

　So I kept pouring out more souls and waited for the second reaction.

　After confirming that, I finally let go of my lips.



'........wind. It's like this.

It's not that bad.


　As I whispered to myself, feeling accomplished, I heard an angry voice from the girl in front of me.


'Well, I mean, I said it was fine!　I told you, though!　I think it would be nice to have a little more of this kind of tame or kindness!


　Claudia, who has a bright red face, covers her lips with her right hand and says indignantly.

　Seeing that she's huffing and puffing and glaring at me, it seems that the current act has displeased the young lady so much.

　Well, it's only natural, I think, and I check it out.


'You are right to be angry. I apologize profusely, but before I do that, I'd like you to confirm it.

What do you mean by 'check' - oh, right, see if you've raised the bar. It's already blown a lot of things out of my mind all at once because of someone else.


　While staring at me with her eyes, Claudia displayed her level.

　Immediately afterwards, a sobbing voice spilled out of the duchess' mouth.


''Wow ... ho, my level has really gone up ... and two of them!

'Yes!　So, how is your health?　At least he seems to be well enough to yell, though.

'Eh, wait a minute... to be honest, I was too surprised by a lot of things... and for now, my hands and feet are moving properly, and the weird numbness I had before is gone.'

'Hmmm. How about something else?

Also, my head is feeling pretty good, you know? And...

And?

Oh, no, this is, uh...


　When Claudia, who hesitated at something, waved her hands from side to side as if to cheat, a noise in my ears jumped in.

　What a sound that can only be described as a goo.



　I was sorry for Claudia, who turned bright red and slumped over, but I finally heard it and was able to pat my heart on the back.

　The fact that I had an appetite means that my body needs energy to recover. It's the best proof that I'm out of the worst of it.

　The soul is also filled to overflowing from the vessel. We'll have to wait and see how the curse will affect us, but at the very least, it can't happen today or tomorrow.

　I am truly relieved by this fact.

　At the same time as I was relieved, I collapsed.



　The soul-granting repercussions that I had been holding back until then came all at once.

　Even though I had already experienced this in Lunamaria, I did the same thing in almost no time, and for two levels at once, so it was a natural result.

　Claudia is calling my name as if in a panic, but I already don't have the strength left to respond to her.

　Like tumbling down a vertical cliff, my consciousness was swallowed by the darkness in the blink of an eye.