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[NSFW] - Gritting Fangs (Pre-Mushoku Tensei SI)

Chapter 8: Honesty Wins Big
Who would have thought that Elinase tagging along for some quests would be the reason for conflict within the team? Actually no, let's rephrase it.
Who wouldn't have thought that would have happened?
Because, truth be told, I did see it coming, but I didn't see how big 'it' was in that situation. Zenith's animosity towards the elf? It was blatant, but she had the decency to keep quiet about it when she was in a neutral mood. Same for Ghislaine. But if there were interactions which felt too 'extreme' in her mind or 'threatening' even towards 'myself' as she put it, then she would react. Hence the bickering, the lashing out, the harsh words and a few 'time outs' that reminded me of one thing I had forgotten. Despite the fact that I was a close friend to Zen, she still was her own person with her different opinions and perspectives. Friendship was hardly a reason to 'not be protective', and even I had to admit expecting that was just plain stupid.
Ghislaine thought so too, but her own view of Elinalise was not that positive either. I would say the Beast Woman had reasons to behave that way. Her gaze saw what many didn't while I was distracted, and many times she would spot Elinalise giving me odd looks. Why didn't she react to those herself? I was the one that moved into it because I had a clearer view of the perspective. Let's all be honest here, the girls' perspectives on the new member of the party was... born from ignorance in most part. Not like it was her fault or they could have gotten any past chance to be aware of the circumstance, but it sure set me in a very hard spot. Addiction was not a common topic in this world, pretty standard for a feudal-like environment where the slightest case of common cold could turn into a deadly illness without a healer that can fix that.
Psychology wasn't a thing here except through me. So, that's why I took care of this behavior by rendering Elinalise aware of the situation. And before anyone asks, no, I didn't push her one way or pull her in another. I just reasoned with her that she had these moments compared to other more genuine ones. Let's try to be a bit more clear about this: Since Elinalise's curse had caused her an addiction by having her body slowly grow accustomed to have lots of sex frequently, she is physically keen to want intimacy of the sexual kind.
Meanwhile, those interactions also had a few 'unusual' settings where she was 'restrained' or rather friendly but not seeking companionship. Leaning her head on my shoulder as we got back in town from a mission while riding a carriage? One would expect her to hog me by pressing her chest on my arm by hugging it, but she would just lean and rest. Tiredness and relief flashing pleasantly within her face. That interaction was genuinely wanted out of free will rather than the desire of her body. And those conversations were unpleasant for her to handle. Not upsetting, but just plain uneasy and yet needed.
I couldn't exactly work on this case until her curse was defeated, and I was rather 'lenient' on some behaviors she had with others. She was a free individual and one that needed to get laid from time to time. Not with me, she actually put an effort to not make me that burden-carrier. I believe it was just out of cordiality to not ruin any moderate relationship we had but also do some damage control on the rift she was creating with Zenith and... let's be honest. It's a mess. Even after just a week of this happening and I was still clueless on what I was supposed to do to fix this situation. It took me a while because... I really couldn't approach Zenith for as long.
She just refused to talk with me in private for a long while. And the opportunity came at a very 'forceful' timing. Zenith contracted a cold and she was unable to leave her bed for a few days. We just stopped going to missions for the time being, making sure she was fine and well. Ghislaine was the most protective of the team towards the healer, many times now seen passing her 'turn' with her by cuddling up with the blonde. Both would enjoy that kind of quality time, and then it would be Elinalise's turn where the two would keep to a bare minimum cordiality. The elf didn't mind, and Zenith seemed to be alright to have her around and without me for the fellow girl to 'nibble' at.
Finally, it was my time to help her and that's where some conversation happened. The girl was a bit 'guarded' around me. I wouldn't say she 'feared' me, but she feared what I would have to say to her if I brought up Elinalise's name in a discussion. She was entrenched in her silences, and eventually I just... told her. I ignored the fact she was quiet, that she didn't want to turn this into a proper exchange of words and keep it one-sided. But as the fierce remarks started to pile up, eventually the healer decided to finally speak and... it was interesting.
"You can't just behave like a child about it, Elinalise isn't a threat or someone I would even fail to see as one if she truly was," I reasoned with an annoyed look. "Don't you understand that the curse led her to that kind of mindset, Zen? Don't you see she-"
"She likes you," The girl blurted, the first words she said since I entered the room. Her gaze was aimed low, right by her sheets. "She... looks at you differently than with other men."
I frowned. "Differently? Couldn't it be that she is just looking at me as her benefactor? I am giving her a chance not many aren't giving her."
"..."
And now she was quiet again. Great.
I sighed, pushing down my irritation on the matter and trying once more to rely on reason rather than annoyance. That was definitely screwing with my chances for a peaceful chat with the girl.
"Zen, I am not lying to you when I say I have checked if she was trying anything different than what I just told you about. I wouldn't do that to her, to me, Ghislaine and you."
"..."
"Do you know what an addiction is?"
Her lips twitched, a confused look flashed across her face. "Addiction? It's- it's when someone gets too dependent on a potion or a medicine. How does this... this connect to her?"
"When someone is committing to a sexual interaction, they generally feel good. Not just by the interaction itself, but what it does to their bodies," I explained calmly, trying to be direct but not too much about it. "It goes up here in the mind, the pleasure sending jolts that stimulate the head and creating a state of euphoria that normally, with moderation, wouldn't do anything bad to one's body."
The blonde took a moment to ponder about it, with her mind catching up on what I was saying. "Y-You mean that she is... she is getting dependent on that feeling?"
"She is dependent on it. She had centuries of doing it multiple times each day and that isn't a good thing for one's mind," I replied firmly, offering a sad look. "Her body now 'thinks' this kind of frequent intimacy is alright. That she can't live without it and this will be a problem even after the curse is dealt with."
"But why- why didn't she tell this to anyone? Why not be truthful with-"
"Who would have believed her?"
Zenith's argumentation fell at that question. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped and her confusion turned in embarrassment as it all came down to her mind. Who would have actually believed someone that was rumored to be a home-wrecker? Someone that slept 'only' with married men and that did it on purpose? Because while wives may believe in their husbands' fidelity until proven false, others had the legitimate doubt of questioning that due to a lack of 'marriage loyalty'. And Zenith and I already had this conversation where I mentioned that men could just hide their rings and tell they are single before that interaction if the elf asked about them having a wife or not.
"Th-That means."
"She had centuries of coping with this alone. She told me she once had a husband who tried to help her with that... but that didn't go well as you can see."
...
"Does she hate me?" Zenith asked weakly, her gaze hidden her sheets as she pushed those over her head. Definitely to hide her tears at that mortifying revelation.
"I think she understands you. After all, most people are keen to think little of her and she has had that treatment for a long time now."
...
"Should I... you know-"
"Apologize?" I guess and she hummed, holding back a sob.
"Y-Yes."
"I believe you should focus on recovering. There's time to make up for any mistake you made. But try to... talk with her. I'm not asking you to befriend her out of the fact I now consider her a friend of mine, but do know she will answer some of the questions you might have about her."
There was silence at that, just for a few seconds. Then the sobbing got louder and I ended up cuddling with her just to moderate her weeping. Crying on my chest as I had my lips pressed by her forehead in a caring way, arms wrapped around her body as she shook in clear upset at the circumstance... I left after giving her a soft peck on her lips. She was blushing at that point, but I reminded her that we all make mistakes and that I knew she was going to do the right thing one way or another.
That, I could say, gave her the drive needed to not falter again on the topic.
A few days later, Zenith was back to normal. She had recovered quite well from the cold, and she was instantly focusing on Elinalise and how to apologize to her. The elf picked up that something had to have happened for her to not only treat her less coldly during her turns to help her, but also due to how the blonde's behavior became so positive towards her. They talked, and I could tell from the pouty looks the newest member would give me from time to time that she knew I may have been a bit too 'open' about some things that were meant to be kept private, but she eventually reasoned it was necessary for this hostility to be fixed. Ghislaine looked less neutral and more interested to know what was going on. I think she spoke to Elinalise, and that she decided to bring up the truth herself. Not much changed from that, but I could tell the beast woman looked more aware of what was going on with the elf than before. Now, this would normally feel like the 'happy ending' to the first of many big bumps of this party, but I would be wrong to say that was indeed the case.
As Zenith recovered, an individual I thought long 'lost' decided to make a return. Paul had gone quiet in recent weeks. He would still be around town, but rarely being there to annoy me or anyone from the party. He would still ask about joining the group on rare occasions, but he wasn't too pushy about it as he used to be. Could it be that he had a change of heart? Or that he changed tactics? The truth was that Paul had dun goof'd himself by forgetting for too long his current living conditions. He didn't regret setting up camp outside the town, but the expenses of keeping this up on a daily basis were nothing to scoff at. Especially when he would wound up dealing with some feral animal running into his camp and feasting on the food left outdoors. That was quite the awkward issue to deal with, and I would have felt pity if not for the fact he deserved it for what he did to the daughter of the Inn's owner.
So, he had to do more missions, he raised himself by two ranks stopping at D Rank and then got himself a better living situation by renting a house within town. I don't know who offered this to him or how he got in the good graces of this individual, but I had a feeling that this was going to blow up on his face again even without me doing anything about it. Nonetheless, the moment this arrangement came into play, his 'return' was inevitable. And so, as we were waiting indoors for the guild to open up and start offering missions, the frustrating swordsman came forth and... took notice of the newest member of the party.
"So, you are the lovely lady that many men have told me about. A pretty jewel for sure."
That was... not exactly a new line to Elinalise from the way her facade held awkwardly towards the newcomer, and I could see Zenith actually holding a giggle at how stupidly cheesy that sounded. There was some small talk involved, but I decided against jumping in. I could slowly see what Paul was up to, two goals meant to be tapped at once: get the smoking hot girl, and also piss me off that way as he knew she was part of my party. Now, this would have been an interesting fluke but one that also would give me no issue to let happen since that was no loss to anyone except the moron but... I think he made a bizarre mistake. I couldn't tell at the time, and even now I'm not sure what he was trying to do when he raised an odd topic in that conversation he was having with the pretty elf. I think it was because he saw my lack of reaction and wanted to go ham about it to get a rise out of me. Sadly, that wasn't how the situation ended up becoming.
"I believe you would fare better at another party. I mean, that Bukharin sure is a good man but... surely you don't think he is just taking in girls without any reason. What if he is-"
"What are you insinuating, Paul?" Elinalise asked coldly, her smile now missing.
The room gained a more uncomfortable touch to it, and a few more eyes were staring at the two. But rather than those being aimed mostly at Elinalise, now the situation shifted towards Paul as he looked quite surprised at the change of tone at his possible new conquest. He wasn't frightened by it just yet, and tried to do some damage control.
"I'm not insinuating much, only pointing out that his party has one man and now three lovely women. That would just-"
"Be quite distasteful if he was the one asking said women to join the party, right?"
"Yes!" Paul jumped at the guess, a big mistake from the small but relatively vicious smile now adorning Elinalise's face.
"Well, thankfully that's not the case considering I was the one that asked to join his party," She replied 'kindly'. "In fact, as far as I know, the rest too asked instead of him. I believe it's quite unusual for a party to have quite the disproportionate group between men and women, but... I find the group more pleasant than other alternatives. Especially yours now."
"I wasn't-"
"I know what you were doing to do, Paul, and I had done this many times. If I wasn't at a party already and you had kept being nice, maybe I would have accepted. You are a handsome man, but I find those men that are also mean for the sake of being mean quite... unflattering. And not a good party member."
"...Is that a no?"
"I am at a party, and I have no reason to leave it." And that was all Paul needed to fuck off. For the time being.
I think that was quite the kindest 'no' she could have pulled. I think I saw anger flash in her eyes the more he talked trash about it, but Elinalise had something not many that knew of her were aware of: self-control born from centuries of being scorned. Despite her friendly and carefree attitude she still had a temper, but one that matured with the passing of time and made her able to handle irritation in surprisingly perfect ways. One would say she was just 'gifted' in this regard, but it was clear it was experience speaking. It wasn't the first time something like this happened and she knew better to make any mistake about it.
After that confrontation, Paul would just resume nagging me for entering the party, but was keen to back off as soon as I brought up the 'oddity of my party and my intentions' as he had mentioned to Elinalise. That seemed to just do the trick and be reason for a few giggles from Zenith as she just found the entire exchange hilarious and further offered topics for the blonde to bring up to the fellow girl. If she was that good at turning off perverts, then she would have some pearls of wisdom to offer to her too.
And even as things seemed to settle down to normal... I just could tell that Elinalise's glances were getting a bit more intense. Not sexually, as something else was slowly growing deep due to the pleasant interactions we had between free time, questing and even training. And I just couldn't help but intensify training as I felt that the other members weren't off from trying to make something out of it.
Something that I may end up unprepared for if I didn't improve stamina and endurance...
---------d-d-d-d--------
AN
Next up some 'odd questing' and then hints for the ensuing chapter. I will not spoil much but only say that progress is being made on numerous fronts and the first of many steps for Elinalise's recovery will begin.View This ThreadUnread Watched Threads
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