Pain.
Heaviness.
Exhaustion.
Her entire body felt as if it were burning, both painful and hot, and she didn't even have the strength to lift her arms.
This was Kocho Shinobu's first sensation upon regaining consciousness.
"Shinobu, you're awake."
The voice of her sister, Kocho Kanae, filled with relief, reached her ears.
Sister?
Shinobu struggled to open her eyes and saw Kanae sitting by the bed.
After glancing around the room, Shinobu weakly asked, "Sister, where is this?"
This was definitely not their home.
Although Kanae, as a captain-level figure in the Special Operations Division, earned a considerable income, supporting Shinobu, Kanao, and the many abandoned girls at the Butterfly Mansion left little room for luxury.
At the very least.
They could never afford a bedroom this large, easily over a hundred square meters, filled with antique furniture, expensive carpets, and a fireplace that exuded opulence.
"This is the Tohsaka residence."
"When I returned with Master... Mr. Sora, we found you unconscious at the door."
As she spoke.
Kanae's tone carried a hint of reproach. "Really, Shinobu, you're always so stubborn."
Listening to Kanae's explanation, memories of what happened before she fainted flooded Shinobu's mind.
That's right. She had knelt at Kaito's door, hoping he would forgive her and take her back as his disciple. But then...
"Sister, are you okay?"
"What's wrong with me?"
"I remember seeing Mr. Sora holding you..."
Kanae immediately recalled the experience of being "treated" by Kaito on the bed.
Her face flushed.
Her legs, hidden under her loose home kimono, unconsciously pressed together.
"Maybe you were just imagining things, Shinobu."
Kanae was clearly not good at lying.
But Shinobu, in her current state, didn't notice the change in her sister's expression. After confirming that Kanae was fine, she didn't dwell on it.
She simply assumed that everything before had been a hallucination.
"What about Mr. Sora..."
Shinobu looked at her sister with hope.
"Mr. Sora has no intention of taking you back as his disciple."
"He only pitied you."
"Is that so?"
Seeing Shinobu's expression fall, as if all hope and strength had drained from her.
Kanae couldn't bear it and comforted her, "Actually, Shinobu, you don't need to be like this."
"The fact that Mr. Sora allowed you to kneel at his door and even brought you inside when you fainted shows that he still has some interest in you."
"As long as you behave well and listen to him, you'll definitely be able to move him."
"At worst..."
At worst, I'll just beg Master more in bed.
The weak Shinobu didn't notice her sister's face turning red as she spoke, as if lost in some intoxicating fantasy.
She only felt that her sister's words made sense.
"I'll do my best!"
Tohsaka Residence. Training Ground.
As soon as Shinobu entered, she saw Kanao repeating sword-swinging motions on the training field.
Kaito, meanwhile, was sitting on the sidelines.
Lazily leaning back on a sofa that had somehow been moved there, he held a manga in his hands.
"Mr. Sora."
Shinobu broke free from her sister's support.
Summoning her remaining strength, she walked over to Kaito and knelt down with a thud, prostrating herself in a deep bow.
"I know I was wrong."
"I'm willing to do anything. Please forgive me for my previous disrespect."
Kanao looked at her sister, unsure of what to do.
"Did I tell you to stop?"
Hearing Kaito's cold voice, Kanao shivered and immediately resumed her sword practice.
The sound of her sword cutting through the air echoed repeatedly.
Kaito, still propping his head up with one hand, continued reading his manga, occasionally flipping the pages with a rustle.
Shinobu remained prostrated on the ground.
Kanae walked over to the two, watching her sister tremble from weakness. She glanced at Kaito, who seemed completely absorbed in his manga, and opened her mouth to speak. But in the end, she sighed inwardly and said nothing.
Although her heart ached for her sister.
She didn't want to make things difficult for Kaito.
Besides.
Master probably wouldn't let anything happen to her sister, right?
After all, it was Shinobu's own competitiveness that had caused this. A little tempering would do her good in the long run.
About twenty minutes later.
After finishing a volume of manga, Kaito yawned and closed the book.
He looked at Kanao, who was drenched in sweat, her hands trembling as she gripped her sword.
"Go take a bath and rest for a bit. Lunch will be ready soon."
"Yes!"
Kanao glanced worriedly at her sister, who was barely holding herself up, but ultimately obeyed Kaito's command without hesitation and left.
With Kanao gone.
The large underground training ground was now occupied only by Kaito and the Kocho sisters.
Looking at Shinobu, who was still kneeling on the ground, Kaito suddenly spoke. "Take off your clothes."
Shinobu hesitated.
Take off... her clothes?
What was he planning to do?
Was he going to... sleep with her?
But her sister was still here.
In the end, Shinobu softly replied, "Yes," and struggled to her feet. But after kneeling for so long, she collapsed back to the ground.
"Shinobu?!"
Kanae wanted to help.
But Kaito's glance in her direction made her lower her head and stay still.
Shinobu gritted her teeth and, still on her knees, began to remove her clothes. It took her nearly ten minutes to finally strip completely.
"I've taken them off."
Shinobu prostrated herself again.
"Please forgive me."
"Come here."
This time, Shinobu didn't hesitate. She weakly crawled over to Kaito.
"Get up."
Shinobu hesitated again.
She glanced at her sister, who remained silent, her head bowed.
Finally.
Her desire to become Kaito's disciple overpowered her shame as a young girl. Shinobu stood up and climbed into Kaito's lap.
[Condition met, trigger keyword!]
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the keyword: Medicine King Body!]
[Medicine King Body]: You possess an innate understanding of all medicinal herbs, their properties, and effects. You know how different herbs interact and the results of their combinations. Additionally, you are immune to most poisons in the world.
"Poison immunity?"
Kaito's mind flashed to a character from Fragments of Silver.
I wonder if she'll appear here?
As he pondered, he suddenly felt the delicate body in his lap squirming uncomfortably. Kaito looked down at Shinobu and took a deep breath.
What is it with you Japanese people? You have a perfectly good sofa, yet you all insist on sitting on my lap?
"I told you to sit on the sofa."
Kaito said irritably.
"Ah, yes."
Shinobu's face turned red as she clumsily crawled over to the empty spot on the sofa.
The sofa was large enough for one person to lie down comfortably.
Sitting two people was more than enough.
As Shinobu moved off his lap, Kaito placed his hand on her shoulder.
Channeling his lightning technique, he used electricity to stimulate her body.
"Mmm?"
Shinobu's body trembled, her toes curling.
Her eyes closed, her face showing a mix of discomfort and pleasure.
Tiny beads of sweat began to form on her skin.
After a few minutes, Kaito withdrew his hand.
Shinobu, like a drowning person gasping for air, collapsed weakly onto the sofa, leaning against Kaito. Her chest heaved rapidly, and her body was covered in a fine layer of sweat.
But feeling her restored health.
Shinobu lifted her head, no longer shy or weak.
She looked at Kaito with excitement.
Tentatively, she asked, "Master?"
"I'm not your master."
Kaito shook his head. "If it were Kanao, she wouldn't have hesitated."
Shinobu couldn't help but feel regret.
If only she had been more decisive back then...
Kaito stood up and began walking toward the exit. "We'll see how you perform in the future."
Shinobu immediately knelt down.
Excitedly, she said, "Yes!"
"I'll do my best!"
Only after Kaito's footsteps had completely faded did Shinobu stand up, turning to her sister with excitement.
"Sister, did you see? Mr. Sora is willing to forgive me!"
Kanae looked at her sister with a complicated expression, noticing that Shinobu seemed oblivious to her current state of undress.
Although she understood.
That Kaito had made Shinobu strip.
To both drive out the cold and test whether she truly regretted her past actions.
But wasn't this a bit too... lewd?
Master, he...
Does he have designs on Shinobu too?
"Sister?"
Kanae snapped out of her thoughts.
"Mr. Sora has forgiven me!"
Seeing her sister's puzzled yet excited expression.
Kanae inwardly shook her head.
Forget it.
Perhaps Shinobu herself would be happy to become Master's woman.
Sisters serving the same husband...
If it's Master...
She wouldn't mind.
"Yes."
Kanae smiled gently.
"Congratulations, Shinobu."
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