Chapter 331

Here is the English translation based on the provided glossary:

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331 Carrot and Whip #5

I boldly called out to Elpride.

“So, can I massage your feet all night?”

“Huh—? What—?”

At my words, Elpride, still lying face down, responded in a noticeably high-pitched voice. Though I couldn’t see her expression from my angle, she was probably wide-eyed in shock and disbelief, her brows furrowed.

But I ignored that and casually drove the point home.

“You said it’s fine to show me your feet. Then it shouldn’t be a problem if I massage them, right? Besides, it’s not like I can just keep pressing your back all night.”

Truthfully, foot massages are one of the most basic techniques in massage therapy.

As I’ve said many times, the nerve endings in the hands and feet are so crucial that they’re practically miniature versions of the entire body, packed with vital pressure points.

Plus, they’re constantly confined in shoes or socks all day, making them prone to fatigue that doesn’t easily fade.

If you want to relieve the exhaustion from continuous hard labor, soaking your feet or getting regular foot massages can revitalize your whole body and improve your quality of life.

Of course, Elpride would never do something like that.

Sluurp—

Just then, Elpride’s pale soles, which had been peeking out from under the cheap motel blanket, retreated back inside.

The way she hid them reminded me of a snail retreating into its cozy shell, giving me an odd feeling.

“What, why’d you hide them? You said it was fine to show me.”

I teased her, but I understood.

In this world, a woman showing her feet to a man is equivalent to—or even more significant than—baring her chest.

Even if Elpride was needlessly prideful and putting on a tough act, a girl was still a girl. She must’ve been extremely embarrassed to show her soles to a man like me.

“You had no problem letting me massage them when you were a slave. Now you’re shy?”

“It’s not like that. Back then and now, you’re just massaging my feet.”

Sluurp—

Seems like my words hit a prideful trigger in her. Eventually, her soft, snow-white soles peeked back out from under the short blanket.

“I’m going to sleep now, so do whatever. If you talk to me, I’ll kick you.”

She didn’t forget to throw in a warning like that. Not that I needed to respond.

Slowly, I moved my hand and placed it on her pale sole.

Sluurp—

Her foot was small enough to fit in my palm. It always amazed me how she could walk around on such tiny feet.

Of course, Elpride was a homebody who rarely left her room.

Maybe because she hated walking and preferred lounging in bed, her skin was softer than anywhere else.

But still cold.

Not that it was anything new—her hands and feet were always cold. I started by pressing my thumb firmly into the center of her sole.

I’d teased her as a joke, but when it came to massage, I took it seriously.

Squish—

As I applied slight pressure, I felt her body tremble from her toes all the way up.

“…”

She must’ve felt quite a bit of pain. Unlike earlier when I pressed her back and she let out weird moans, she was deliberately staying quiet now.

According to my dual-core brain—capable of parallel processing with both hemispheres—she was probably silently protesting:

‘Feet? Whatever. You can press all you want, I won’t make a sound.’

Of course, this was just my brain’s speculation, but it was probably accurate. At this point, I could practically see Elpride’s thoughts laid bare.

Squish, squish—

I continued kneading her cold sole, working my way from her toes to her heel. Like I said earlier, the feet are a microcosm of the whole body.

Elpride must’ve been feeling the relaxing sensation of her fatigue melting away from head to toe.

“…”

Though, stubbornly, not a single sound escaped her lips.

Twitch, squirm—

The subtle movements of her waist and hips, the faint tremors in the blanket—none of it escaped my heightened senses.

Even if her mouth stayed silent, her body was honest. If she’d just told me where to press, I could’ve made it even more enjoyable for her.

With thoughts like a degenerate protagonist, I spoke up.

“How is it?”

“How’s what?”

“My improved massage skills. Completely different from when I was your slave, right?”

Now, I had the blessing Shining Hands on top of my existing knowledge of pressure points and acupressure.

This blessing enhanced my dexterity and fine motor control, making my techniques leagues beyond what they used to be.

“Meh. Then and now, it’s just… whatever.”

But Elpride’s pride was stronger than I thought. Though her soles were as soft as Luna’s or Hippolyte’s, her pride was harder than Hippolyte’s armor.

And that, in turn, stirred something stubborn in me.

So, I focused deeply, channeling the life energy—or whatever you’d call it—welling up inside me, spreading it from my core to my palms.

Tingle, tingle—

My palms buzzed as if my bl**d flow had been cut off. Sweat instantly evaporated, emitting a faint red steam.

This was the Red Fist, drawn from aura.

You could say I’d wrapped my hands in an armed Haki-like force I’d been secretly practicing.

I hadn’t settled on a name yet, but it was clearly going to be an insane ultimate move. The only downside? It lasted about a minute.

But for now, that was enough.

Take this, brat—taste my aura!

I unleashed the aura I’d honed under Hippolyte’s training, through countless reversals—not on Hydra’s torso or Regulus’ or Gigas’ skulls, but on this brat’s soles.

Swish—

And the moment my thumb finally stabbed the center of her sole—

Twitch—

Her hips, which had been calmly settled under the blanket, jerked slightly, creating a small slope.

“…”

Of course, no sound escaped Elpride’s lips.

But whether it was my fingers slipping between her soft toes or the continuous stimulation, her cold body soon turned red and warm like freshly steamed rice.

The extremities where bl**d rarely reached—now flushed and heated—must’ve been even more sensitive. Testing it, I lightly traced her sole with my aura-infused finger.

Sluuurp—

Twitch.

In response, Elpride’s hips slowly rose, lifting the blanket.

I couldn’t see clearly, but it was definitely her b*tt sticking up toward the ceiling.

What the—? Does Elpride’s foot have a button that makes her b*tt rise? What kind of algorithm is this?

To figure out where this “button” was, I kneaded her foot all over with my aura-coated fingers.

But I didn’t need to investigate—no matter where I touched her reddened foot, her b*tt only rose higher.

“…”

Still, Elpride stubbornly refused to make a sound.

Should I touch a little more?

As I moved my hand again, lightly brushing her soft skin—

Rustle—

The blanket trembled faintly but unmistakably.

Sluuurp—

At the same time, the foot I’d been holding disappeared back under the blanket. Then, rustling sounds came from inside before—

“Enough. You can stop now. Pathetic.”

With that, Elpride curled up and completely hid herself under the blanket.

Fizzle—

The red aura glowing on my hand faded perfectly in sync.

—

The next day.

When I opened my eyes, Elpride was staring down at me with cold eyes. The sunlight streaming through the window and the chirping birds told me it was already morning.

What the—? When did I fall asleep?

I felt a little tired. Using aura drained stamina rapidly, so I must’ve passed out on the floor without realizing it.

Elpride spoke to me.

“You have to meditate until sunset today. But this time, you must hold this cup without spilling a single drop.”

Swish.

What she handed me was a cup filled to the absolute brim, relying on surface tension to keep the water from spilling. Hold this and meditate until sunset? Without spilling a drop?

This was insane.

“Hey, is that even possible?”

For a second, I wondered if she was mad about last night’s foot teasing and getting revenge.

But surprisingly, her expression was completely indifferent, as if yesterday never happened. She said:

“You want to control mana, right? To do the impossible, you must attempt the impossible. Put in impossible effort.”

Elpride’s words were undeniably true.

“This is training for second-year elf monks. But you need to awaken mana within a week, right? Fail this, and you’ll never wield mana.”

“Tch, fine. I’ll try.”

I took the cup from Elpride.

Splash—

Just holding it made the water slosh precariously. After barely stabilizing it, I closed my eyes and emptied my mind.

Darkness swallowed my thoughts.

Is this what they call clearing your mind?

I’m not thinking of anything.

Wait, isn’t ‘not thinking’ itself a thought? Then shouldn’t I stop this thought too? How do I stop it—?

Slap!

Something smacked my shoulder.

“Huh, what?”

“You spilled. Just closing your eyes isn’t enough.”

Opening my eyes, I saw the water in the cup had noticeably decreased. Drip, drip— Elpride refilled it.

“Still, you lasted an hour. I’ll acknowledge the effort.”

“Whoa, an hour passed already?”

I was shocked by the unexpected progress.

Feeling like I might grasp mana now, I closed my eyes and meditated again.

…

Hassan-sama, behold my new skill—! If I stick out my tongue like this, I can touch my nose—!

Dammit, Paranoi invaded my mind again!

In my imagination, I quickly raised a fist.

Take this knuckle sandwich and scram, Paranoi!

The imaginary Paranoi, terrified of the imaginary punch, scattered like clouds.

Pleased, I tried sinking deeper into meditation.

Then—

Psst, hey! Hassan! Look at this! I’ve entered your dreams!

This time, it was Luna, her pink hair neatly tied in twin tails, disrupting my meditation.

Were you taking a nap, Hassan? Or did I enter your dream?

Luna, I need to focus.

They say Nox’s daughters can use dream-walking Voodoo! Is this like that? Amazing! Does this make me a daughter of night, a succubus?

Imaginary Luna was just as chatty as Paranoi.

Even in my imagination, I couldn’t punch Luna’s head. Thinking of what to do, I reached out and lightly pinched one of her buttocks.

Eeek—!

The imaginary Luna yelped and vanished like scattered mist.

After our last intimate encounter, Luna had been wary of me touching her b*tt. Seems even dream-Luna remembered. Did it hurt that much?

Deeper, deeper—

My consciousness sank further into darkness. Then, I saw Hippolyte sitting under a tree, meditating just like me.

Even Hippolyte’s disrupting my meditation now?

Sluurp—

One of Hippolyte’s closed eyes slowly opened.

Distracting thoughts during meditation… it’s been a while. Samaritan, what kind of mental demon are you going to torment me with this time?

That’s my line. Get out of my head.

Now, I wouldn’t yield to any temptation. With my Karma at 43, nothing—even in your form—would hinder my enlightenment.

Slice—

Suddenly, I felt my body split cleanly in half from head to toe.

What the—? Did my imaginary Hippolyte just bisect me?

My thoughts are collapsing—

Ugh…

My severed consciousness plunged deeper into darkness.

Where does imagination end and meditation begin?

I tried opening my eyes, but my body was paralyzed, as if sleep had taken me. Only my mind kept falling, deeper and deeper.

Until—finally—I crashed into something.

I realized I’d fallen into pitch-black darkness where I couldn’t see an inch ahead. Before me stood a massive, locked gate.

Above it, fiery letters burned brightly:

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

A majestic voice read the words aloud in my ear. Then, with a terrible creak, the giant gate slowly swung open.

Flash, flash—

Inside the dark gate, six glowing blue lights shone. It didn’t take long to realize they were the eyes of a massive, terrifying creature.

Clank, clank—

The sound of enormous chains echoed as the colossal presence began to reveal itself.

I need to run—now!

But it was too late. A huge, clawed paw shot out from the gate, swiping wildly to grab me.

I dodged, but the long, hooked claws lunged straight for my torso.

Oh shi—!

As I cursed in panic—

Whoosh—

Something yanked me hard by the waist.

“Hey—! That’s too early. You’re not ready for this place yet.”

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