Author's note: Second and probably last chapter for today. The characters will be heading into the second arc very soon, which is under the vague topic of "questing around prozor".

Also, this chapter gets a bit sexual and very awkward. Sorry, but I'm basically a semi-professional pervert myself, expect my characters to live up to that standard. ; )

Chapter 20: Treatment Session

The next few days weren’t very eventful. Paul spent most of his time in the library, trying to read up on the particularities of this world. He had asked Kana if there was any activity she would prefer over just sitting beside him, but she didn’t come up with anything. Asking the guards to let her train with them seemed like a good idea, but the captain tried to make both of them join their ranks when he asked him, so he refrained from getting anywhere near the guard HQ for now. Kana at least didn’t look too bored, so he just made sure to buy her lots of meat when they took a break.

During one of the breaks he tried to get information about the previous nobles Kana served before and her life so far. Apart from the fact that she was a servant since early childhood, Kana seemed very reluctant to tell him any details. Apparently the binding spell she was under prevented her from disclosing any secrets once her “owner” changed, so Paul could not blame her.

Kana had changed the house she served under several times, she remembered 6 different places. According to her, she always performed unsatisfactory in one way or another and was handed over to someone else, either sold or as a present. Beastkin servants were more common among the noble courts, but wolfkin people were somewhat rare. The most common among the maids were feline races as they were suited for delicate tasks and had an overall calm nature. As the whole topic of her previous performances seemed to pain Kana, Paul dropped the topic quickly.

The books gave Paul a lot of general information, but not much he could use right away. The Britus Kingdom was located in the north-western part of the continent, surrounded by other human kingdoms. After centuries of sporadic wars, most of the human kingdoms had banned the beastkin peoples from their lands, unless they were bound servants or had a rare special permission.

The closest dwarven kingdom was located at the southern end of the continent. Beyond the sea to the south was the “animal continent”, as Paul dubbed it. There was a time when beastkin people had their own territory on the now predominantly human continent, but that was centuries ago.

The elves had either a continent or a large island to the west of the human territory, but there were no reliable maps and the rare reports differed regarding to the scale of the area.

Humans had means of flying, but the elves were very reclusive and did not allow any trespassers near their territory. Magical barriers prevented any attempts of reconnaissance and even the ocean around their territory was so dangerous, that sailing around their lands was virtually impossible. If that was just a natural occurrence or a result of elven magic was not clear.

Regarding the possibility to fly, there were several different approaches. One was taming magical beasts. Dragons seemed to be untameable, even if raised from infant age. But there were gryphons and similar flying beasts that were utilized by some armies. Some magicians had means to fly as well, but it was a difficult and therefore rare spell and could only be utilized for short periods of time.

The most usable means of flying were magic vehicles, similar to airships. The construction was very expensive though, and even then specialized magicians were needed to make the airship move. The airships were also prone to attacks from flying beasts. After several famous losses due to dragon attacks, which resulted in the deaths of high ranking nobles and military commanders, airships were considered too vulnerable and expensive for common use.

In the end, most travel was done by conventional means. Sailing along the shores of the oceans was relatively safe, as was travel by horse or coach.

To Paul, it seemed like this world was the typical fantasy realm. There were pockets of different fantastical monsters littered all around the countryside. Goblins, trolls, giant spiders, even giants and fairies could be found throughout the continent. Paul had wondered how they did not go extinct over the years, but there was one reason as to why this did not happen: the gods.

Whenever there was a drastic decline in a species, it was “blessed” with abnormally high birth rates, or a new nest or tribe “spawned” somewhere. Kingdoms that dedicated a lot of resources to fight a specific enemy suffered through plagues or droughts, weakening them to a state where they stopped their efforts.

The gods seemed to particularly value stability and balance. If a town or region built a temple for a certain deity, it was no rare occurrence that other deities started harassing the followers. Therefore cults and shrines for all gods were tolerated to a certain extent, even for the less “good” ones. This also explained why the temple for Urnera in Prozor was so bland. A fancy building was bound to attract the attention of a jealous god.

After spending three days studying history and general information on technology and the various magical races, Paul felt like he had enough knowledge to at least pass as native inhabitant of this world.

In fact, the vast amount of basic information and his commitment to his studies raised both his intelligence and wisdom stat by one point at the end of day three.

When Paul arrived at the inn that evening, Kana was in their room and maintaining the weapons and armour they had looted from the bandits’ hideout. Paul had collected the remaining items hidden under the dead tree in the plains as well, so the room resembled some sort of armoury at this point, with different weapons and pieces of armour scattered around.

“Hey, Kana. The way you are holding that whetstone is dangerous. You will hurt your fingers again.”

Kana was not only clumsy with her movements, she seemed to forget things he taught her pretty quickly. After she had cut herself while sharpening half of the time, and dulling the blade instead of sharpening it the other half, Paul had spent a full hour showing her how to hold and move the whetstone in order to achieve good and safe results. It wasn’t even that hard of a technique in the first place.

“I am sorry, Master. My skills are lacking, please don’t despise me.” Kana stopped sharpening the short sword and hung her head. The fresh bandage on one of her fingers indicated that the warning came too late again.

“No, it was my fault for letting you do this unsupervised. I guess I have to find something else for you to do.” Paul closed his eyes and started massaging his eyes and nose with one hand while thinking. He felt like some headache was approaching. The days spent in the library were strenuous for him, and worrying about his servant was not something he wanted to add to that.

“Wahh, Master, please don’t look so sad. Please train me and punish me until I get right. Yes? Please?”

Paul opened his eyes looked at Kana, who was looking back at him with teary eyes and a worried expression. He wasn’t really mad at her in the first place.

“Stupid girl, as if you would learn that easily. And don’t sneak in requests for punishment all the time, what would you do if I really started spanking you” He flicked her nose after teasing her.

Kana’s reaction was a bit more extreme than he had expected. She grabbed her nose with both hands and clenched her eyes, then fell back onto the bed she was sitting on and started rolling around with tears coming through her clenched eyelids.

“Ow, my nose... That really hurt! Nnnnng….”

“Oy, be careful! There are sharp things on the bed, don’t roll around like that!” Paul grabbed Kana by the shoulders to prevent her from stabbing herself accidentally.

“Nnnnng… my nose is really sensitive… Master is a first class bully, for going straight for my weakest point.” Thinking about it, Kana was faintly related to canines, known for their sensitive smelling organs. Paul just flicked her nose as a joke, but it seemed like it was more effective than he had intended.

“Ahh… I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would really hurt. I just wanted to tease you a bit, because you ask me to punish you at least twice a day…”

Kana opened her eyes, but continued rubbing her nose. There were still tears running down from the corner of her eyes.

“If Master says so, I will believe it. I won’t refuse any kind of punishment, so feel free to do as you like…” Kana said the last part in a soft voice, and then looked to the side in a shy manner. With Paul still pinning her down by the shoulders, the situation got strangely sexual. Paul quickly released Kana and stood up straight.

“… Listen, Kana. I don’t want to abuse my authority over you, it would make me feel bad. I’m not sure how much of your personality is dictated by that strange binding spell and punishing you for something you are naturally bad at feels just wrong, no matter how I look at it. So, could you please stop requesting punishments at every opportunity?”

“But, Master… I’m very confident that I can at least receive every punishment Master can think of. It is my best ability” Kana exclaimed so without any shame, her eyes sparkling. She even made a fist next to her face, emphasizing how much she meant it.

“That’s an ability for weirdoes, don’t say something like that with such a proud expression! You make me want to flick your nose again…”

“Please go ahead then” Kana closed her eyes and stuck out her nose. Paul flicked her on the forehead and went to bed.

The next morning Paul went to the market with Kana in tow. He had decided to buy some items for Marcus’ settlement, as he planned to visit him on his way to the mining town. Paul bought a large batch of rope, a big box of nails and a large roll of sturdy linen cloth that could be made into clothes. He also bought a few lamps and a small barrel of lamp oil.

Paul had already found someone with a horse and two wheeled cart who had agreed to drive him, Kana and the items to the settlement for a fee of only ten silver coins. After buying all the items, deducting the fee and rent for the next month, Paul still had over 8 gold coins left. He still had to pay for Kana’s custom armour, but as it was made partly with standard items, it would cost less than one gold.

He and Kana brought all their items to the driver, a middle-aged man by the name of Rudolph, then went back to the market square. Today Paul wanted to finally visit the merchant specialized in producing potions and other herbal cures. While they were out in the field, they wouldn’t be able to make use of the healing services provided by the priest, and Paul wanted to avoid getting killed again just to stay in fighting condition in case of injuries. He also wanted to make sure Kana stayed healthy.

The merchant had a large stall on the market square. Paul had passed by on several occasions, but today he stopped and took a close look. The merchant did not only sell salves, potions and tinctures, but also a variety of raw ingredients. Dried herbs, monster horns, and powders of different origin.

“Hello, dear customer. What kind of ailment plagues you? I have everything you need to cure fatigue, the cold, sleeplessness, depression, inflammation or headaches. I also have salves against rashes, scars or insect bites. If you need it, I have a new oil that will repel pests if distributed in a room. It smells a bit, but it is really effective I am told.” The merchant then spoke with a low voice, shielding his mouth with one hand. “And of course I have specialized treatments for every sort of disease that you or your woman may have caught during nightly adventures.”

“Ah, thank you for the offer. I am looking for potions that can be used to heal physical injuries. I am on my way to a potentially dangerous expedition and want something in case I or my companion get injured.”

“Hmm, let me see. I have several potent healing potions that are popular among the adventurer type. Unfortunately, I cannot produce them easily here in town, so they are mostly imported from outside. That means they are somewhat costly. Nothing much in comparison to the huge benefit they will bring in case you get injured of course.” While speaking, the merchant took out a box that contained halve a dozen small bottles. The flasks contained a clear, red liquid.

“…hmmm, at least they look like health potions…” Paul muttered to himself. The description he got from the [Menu] was vague as always. According to the herb/alchemy book he got, healing potions could be produced using certain herbs and monster blood. Even human blood was an option, but if human blood was used, the effect would only be marginal at best. “How much do they cost? And what kind of beast blood was used for their production?”

“Ahhh, someone who is well informed” the merchant made a frowning face for a split second, but went back to a bright smile quickly “The main ingredient is goblin blood, with fresh quality herbs foraged in the area. The manufacturer is a skilled alchemist, nearly as well versed in the art as myself. I can guarantee their effectiveness. The price is 10 silver per bottle, if you buy all of them, I throw one in for free and you get the protective box on top, so it is 50 silver for the whole set of six.”

Paul thought about the information in the book. Goblin blood was listed as a possible ingredient. More potent than human blood, because of the inherent magic affinity of goblins, but less potent than other monsters or beasts. It was a beginner-tier potion so to say. Given the lack of alternatives, Paul decided to buy all of them.

“If you throw in a batch of the scar-removing salve, I will buy the whole set.”

“Hmm… this way I will almost make a loss” the merchant was clearly exaggerating, given his ill-hidden smile “but if you agree to buy a mortar and pestle together with the salve, I can barely make a profit. You will need one to prepare the salve anyway.” Paul nodded, if he decided to dabble in alchemy himself, such a set would come in handy. The merchant looked happy now.

Paul was advised that the salve will irritate the skin, causing a burning sensation that was very uncomfortable. Given that the salve was supposed to lessen or remove even old scars, a certain amount of irritation was to be expected. And as he planned to use it on Kana, Paul wasn’t too concerned about the effect. If he labelled it as a punishment, her masochistic streak would probably cause her to enjoy it in the end.

Back at the inn, Paul poured the content of one of the potion flasks into a clean bowl.

“Kana, please remove the bandage on your right hand and show me the cut from the sword.”

Kana held his hand out to Paul. The cut from yesterday was still clearly visible. Paul then used a clean, wet cloth to clean the wound and remove the dried blood. Afterwards, he made Kana hold the wound into the bowl with the potion. Healing potions could be used externally as well as be consumed, with the effect being stronger if applied directly to the wound.

After the wound was soaked in the potion, Paul inspected it again. The cut has already started to reduce in size and deepness, it looked just like a scratch by now. Satisfied with the effect, Paul continued cleaning the other wounds on Kana’s hands. The clumsy wolf girl had managed to hurt herself quite a bit while maintaining the equipment.

When all of the wounds were properly treated, he told Kana to drink the remaining potion from the bowl. Ten minutes later the wounds were all closed and apart from the skin looking somewhat rosy for now, it didn’t seem like there would be any lasting scars.

“It seems like those potions are really working. Perhaps throwing all that money at the priest in the temple was a bit of a waste. Let’s test the salve as well.”

Paul thoroughly crushed a few of the herbs he got from the merchant in the mortar and then mixed them with a white salve like he had been instructed.

“Please roll up your shirt, Kana, so I can reach your back. Let’s try it out there first.”

The wolf girl sat on the bed, her back turned towards Paul, and struggled lifting up her shirt and holding it in place. In the end she just pulled the whole shirt up over her head, effectively covering her head with it, her arms caught up in an awkward position in front of her face. As she wasn’t wearing any sort of underwear, her upper torso was fully naked now. With her arms and head entangled in the shirt, she was in a very defenceless position, a bit too defenceless for Paul to go on unaffected.

“OK, that doesn’t really work, please undress and lie down on the bed.” Looking at Kana’s back, Paul felt anger welling up. Her otherwise perfect body was a mess of interlining scars and old bruises. There were fine, long lines that were caused by a whip or cane of some sort, as well as wider, uneven scars and some spots that looked like burn marks.

Paul once again thought that the bandits were let off too easily for what they did to his precious servant.

Kana had complied with his request and was laying on the bed, face down.

“According to the merchant, this is going to feel uncomfortable. I will only use a little bit for now, so tell me if it gets too painful.”

“OK, Master can just do as he pleases” Kana had her eyes closed and a calm expression on her face.

Ignoring her comment, Paul took a wooden spatula and distributed a little bit of the salve over one of the wider scars. After finishing, he observed Kana’s expression. Her face was a bit flushed and she was clenching her eyes. The skin underneath the salve began to redden.

“Everything OK? We need to leave it like that for at least 15 minutes, so tell me if it’s too painful to use more.”

“No, please continue, Master” Kana said. Her voice didn’t show too much pain, so Paul continued to apply more of the salve onto her back. Out of curiosity, he put a bit on the back of his left hand. After five seconds, it started to burn and the skin turned bright red, and five seconds later, it felt like boiling water had been poured onto his skin. Paul quickly grabbed the wet cloth and wiped the cream off. The burning sensation decreased quickly, but it was still painful.

“Oy, are you sure I should continue? We can do it a little bit at a time.”

Kana was clenching her eyes and panting by now, her hands balled into fists. “No, please continue. Don’t stop, Master.”

Resisting the urge to flick her nose again, Paul quickly applied the rest of the salve to the scarred parts of her back. When he was finished, he took a look at her face again. Kana was panting through her clenched teeth, and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. Taking pity, Paul started stroking her head. “If it’s too hard, tell me and I will wash it off. I already checked, the burning stops quickly once you remove the salve.”

“Nnnng… no… it’s good, I’m fine.” Kana opened her eyes and looked at Paul, her face beet red. Paul looked to the side, then said “Well… if you say so. You still have more than 10 minutes ahead of you, so if it gets too hard-”

“No, I’m good. Thank you. Master can go ahead and apply the salve to other parts of my body as well.”

“I refuse. Let us check if it works first. And please stop wagging your tail…”

Paul just sat next to the girl and continued to slightly stroke her hair. Kana’s breathing calmed down after a couple of minutes and she had a slightly happy expression on her face. Her face was still red and she was a bit glossy from sweating.

He had no watch or any other means of accurately measuring the time, so Paul just estimated when the 15 minutes were up. As Kana didn’t look very distressed, he waited a bit longer just to be sure. Putting her through the experience twice just because he didn’t let the salve work long enough would be crueller than waiting 5 minutes longer, at least in Paul’s eyes.

Paul used a fresh cloth and warm water to wash the salve off. The skin over the scars came off as well, at least the outermost layer. Underneath was a fresh layer of pink skin. When he was finished, Paul took a closer look at Kana’s back. The scars had been replaced by pink skin and all but the deepest and oldest ones were no longer visible at all. The salve was really powerful.

“Hey, I have finished washing your back, how does it feel? Still burning?”

“Hmm… it didn’t burn that badly, but it has stopped completely now. The skin is a bit ticklish though” Kana was saying so while running her hands over her shoulder and the parts of her back she could reach. “Does Master think the medicine has worked?”

“It looks like it did. It will probably take a couple of days for the skin to turn back to normal, but it already looks a lot better than before.”

“Good. Please use the remaining salve on my body then, Master.” Kana’s cheeks, which had gone back to a normal colour, started to turn red again.

A very exciting half an hour later, Paul had used up all of the salve he had prepared beforehand. Kana’s upper body was now covered in pink, fresh skin and Paul was nearing his limit.

When the wolf girl pulled her pants, including her underwear, down to her knees and started wagging her tail again, he excused himself and left the room.

Outside, he adjusted his pants. He started to seriously regret enlarging his packet the way he did, it was virtually impossible for him to hide anything. He couldn’t even walk inconspicuously in his current state.

He tried thinking about a reason to leave, but could not come up with anything. Instead he went back into the room, the situation should have resolved itself with Kana dressing herself again – or so he had thought, regretting his decision immediately while closing the door again.

“That girl…” Paul said to himself, while he heard rumbling behind the closed door to his room.

Seconds later Kana opened the door, falling to her knees when she saw Paul still standing in the hallway. “Wahhh… I’m sorry, Master. I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please don’t abandon me!”

“Huh? I won’t abandon you for being a hopeless pervert, you won’t get away that easily. First, dress yourself, you will get arrested if you walk out of the room like that. And wash your hands, properly! Do that first! And you are banned from ever touching that salve again” Paul wondered if flicking her nose twice would suffice as a punishment.