No Beating Around the 'Bush'

The sound of heavy grunting and moaning permeated through the upstairs of Bromac Inn, situated in a shady part of Adelton. Those that happened to hear it merely ignored the cries that were obviously coming from a female enjoying herself. A few looked at their timepiece and noted that it seemed a bit early in the evening for those kinds of activities to start.

Needless to say, the residents were unfazed by it. There were often travelers who needed to release some pent-up frustration after a long trip on the road. Perhaps, the couple was meeting in secret in this secluded location where no one would question things. Oddly, there was an absence of an accompanying man's voice to go along with it. In any case, the people knew to ignore these occurrences as they just led to more trouble than they were worth.

“Ah! Not there! Ungghhh! That’s the spot! Oohh~~!”

Sharp, abrupt language interweaved with unintelligible utterances as the sound of a bed shaking could be heard from within one guest room. Inside, a blouse was haphazardly tossed to the ground, along with a traveler’s cloak. The rhythmic slapping of skin echoed in tune with a feminine voice.

Maribell couldn’t hold her voice in as her nerves jolted up and down her back. The noises that she shamefully made was because it just felt that good. She covered her mouth with her hand, but that was futile as her head bobbed left and right. She was on her stomach, her nails digging into the sheets. A mixture of pain and pleasure coursed through her body as her muscles tensed and relaxed.

She had no other option than to let Snazzy have his way with her. But what surprised her was how amazing his technique was! It started off slow, almost teasing against her smooth skin. But soon, he had ramped up the motions, cracking a whip against her flesh, making her feel it deep inside.

Being inexperienced herself, she had no idea what to expect. But now, there was no doubt that her body responded with the movements, melting into a sprawled mess that had no choice but to submit in ecstasy.

When would it end? How much more would it continue on? Maribell could hardly ponder much more beyond the countless moments that had passed. Time was counted by the shifts in routine, cycles of tendrils rhythmically thumping against her.

Would he keep going until morning? Just how much stamina does Snazzy have?! Maribell certainly hoped that wasn’t the case, as she wouldn’t be able to walk tomorrow if this continued for much longer.

She tried to look back at Snazzy, who pressed against her, but all she could focus on was his cries softly going, “Heyah, heyah, heyah!” in perfect timing.

Her mind was a mess. Her body was a mess. Even if he stopped now, the day was pretty much spent for her. She would only be able to curl up in bed and pass out.

After several more minutes, the pounding abruptly ended with a hard slam, making Maribell’s eyes roll backwards. The finish had come with a lingering disappointment. Even though she was spent, part of her missed the sensation.

But Snazzy just wiped his forehead with a tendril and said, “Whew! What a workout! That should just about do it.” He floated off Maribell’s butt and crumpled onto the bed next to her.

“How’s that for a back massage?” he asked her, a bit winded.

Maribell could only stretch out and purr in response.

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Snazzy thought back to how Maribell ended up like that. Shortly after they left the checkpoint into Adelton, the pair walked toward the slums of the city. Since Maribell was familiar with the area, having lived here for some time, he let her lead the way. But during the walk, Snazzy continuously swiveled his head to take in the sights. A kaleidoscope of buildings surrounded him, as he twirled around to capture what it held.

Pretty soon, they arrived at a plain building which had the scent of liquor drifting from it. The ground floor of the Bromac Inn had a tavern with quite tasty food, according to Maribell. It was one of the most trustworthy lodges in an otherwise iffy location.

Maribell pointed to the reason for it. A stocky man with rippling muscles was sliding several mugs down the counter to some customers. Each one skidded to an abrupt stop perfectly in front of the intended guest.

“That gentleman is Bayonard. And as he appears, you don’t want to catch him on his bad side. I heard that his axe swing is so strong that it will simply blow away any magic thrown at him. But be sure to chat him up for drinks. He knows his stuff.”

Snazzy nodded. The scent of alcohol made him drool a bit. Not that he was a connoisseur or anything, but he was a man that could appreciate the finer spirits. Well, was one. Not sure how much this jellyfish body can handle…

Maribell walked over to the service desk and put down some coins, which the attendant eyed before sweeping them into his hand and tossing her the key.

“Up the stairs, second to last room on the right,” the man said before going back to a book he was reading.

Maribell bounded up the stairs, excitement leaking from her as she was looking forward to a bed after several days of sleeping on the hard ground. But before she could make it up half the flight, her body suddenly seized up, and she nearly fell backwards. The only thing that saved her was her hand gripping the railing with dear life, as she flailed around trying to keep her balance.

“Onee-san! What happened?! It’s no time to be doing the Charleston! Twerking and stairs don’t mix!”

Maribell turned back with a pained expression. It looked like she could barely move another step. “I just, got a cramp… that’s all…”

Snazzy’s eyes narrowed. It didn’t seem like nothing much to him. He reached over and poked Maribell in the back. She instantly howled in pain and doubled over into the stairs.

“You sure about that?” he teased with a snicker.

Apparently, the muscles in Maribell’s body had been feeling tighter since Snazzy’s boost ended. She didn’t think much of it at first, as the feeling was only slight like the other times. But she hid the pain while walking to the inn, which grew progressively sorer.

She realized that her body had moved quite a bit more in comparison, since she had to dodge away from Augusto and attack. The other times, powerful magic was all she used, which only made her a bit light-headed afterward.

Overworking one’s body beyond its normal capabilities likely resulted in these aches, but Maribell thought that she could make it to their room. The leap up the stairs had unfortunately been the last straw.

Slowly, Maribell hobbled up the remaining steps and crawled to the room. Snazzy grabbed the key and unlocked it. Watching her slink into the room in her pitiful state, there was no doubt that he wanted to make her feel better. It was his self-imposed job to make sure his Onee-san was not only protected, but also enjoying her life.

As Maribell awkwardly climbed up the side of the bed, Snazzy floated over and gave her a light tap on the rear end, causing her to topple onto the mattress. Grabbing her with his tentacles, he yanked off the traveler’s cloak, as well as her top.

“W-What are you doing to me?! Just when I was beginning to trust you!” Maribell said as she covered her bare chest. Her cheeks flushed deep pink.

“Now, now. Don’t sweat the details. There’s no need to be gentlemanly in a crisis like this. What you need is a Dr. Snazzy instead!”

Snazzy flipped her like a pancake with her back up. Floating onto her rump, he used his tentacles to pin down Maribell by the shoulders and waist. With how much her body ached, she hardly had the strength to push back.

A tentacle traced down her spine and down to her lower back, causing a yelp to escape her lips.

“Don’t worry about it. Kaa-san used to love my backrubs when I still lived with her. She said that the best present I could give her was a personal round of stress relief.”

But that statement barely registered in Maribell’s mind. Her teeth were chattering from the light touches that tickled and radiated pain from each pressed area. Pretty soon, she felt Snazzy’s feelers kneading against her muscles, creating an indescribable feeling that she had never experienced before.

After several minutes, Maribell’s face relaxed, and she started enjoying the pressure against her sore places. Snazzy hadn’t lied. He really seemed to know what he was doing. No longer feeling resistant to the massage, her arms spread out, no longer shielding her busom. Snazzy couldn’t see them from his position anyway.

In the meantime, the tentacles that were holding her now joined with the others that ran along her back. They moved to her neck. To her shoulders. They slid along her arms and her legs to knock out any knots that had developed.

Maribell felt so good that she was starting to drift into a slumber. But then, Snazzy’s voice drew her attention.

“Hmm… these places aren’t letting up. Time for more drastic measures.”

Eh? Drastic measures? What-

Maribell looked back, and her jaw dropped. Snazzy was blowing fire onto the tips of his tendrils, making them radiate red. What tendrils were not tempered in the flames were rubbing together while crackling with lightning.

Sweat started to drip from Maribell’s back and forehead, not from the heat emitted from Snazzy, but from pure fear at his drastic measures. She shrieked and tried to claw out of his grasp as Snazzy’s tendrils pounded into her body once again.

Hot touches and electrifying stings danced across Maribell’s back, making her yelp into the sheets as she hid her face. But once the initial shock of it subsided, she realized that it didn’t feel quite so bad. In fact, it felt even better than before.

Since Snazzy had left home for several years, he surfed through online shops to choose something that would tide his mother over when he was away. Many of those devices added heat or electric pulses to motions, which was supposed to promote muscle activity and blood circulation.

He thought that a little bit of magic would do the trick, but his grin widened as Maribell soon seemed to be enjoying herself… a little too much. Throughout the whole time, Snazzy only allowed himself a small chuckle, focusing his attention on what was important.

But man, Maribell is loud in bed. Have to remember that next time… A bit late at this point.

While it didn’t bother Snazzy, who was no stranger to eroge material, he knew that the current scene sounded rather… misleading. But if anyone had the courage to peek, then all they would get is the sight of a jellyfish dishing out a magically-charged massage.

Wait, that seems like it would fulfill some niche. Better keep that technique in the backlogs!

Snazzy didn’t have to worry about getting riled up from Maribell’s sultry moans either. As a man of culture, he could achieve a state of cognitive dissonance from the sexiness of her cries.

Yep, just like the voice of a 2D girl blasting from the speakers. Nothing to it. Though, Kaa-san never made such-

Snazzy shivered for a moment and immediately cut off that thought. The tremble snaked down his tentacles and caused him to hit the wrong spot. Maribell eeked in pain, not noticing that it had been a slip-up.

Oopsie. Better pay attention to what I’m doing. Or else, Onee-san won’t be willing to let me service her again.

The massage session lasted for some time before Snazzy finally ran out of energy and collapsed into bed. He had pleasant dreams of taiko drums and Onee-sans in fundoshis.

The next morning, Maribell woke up, feeling strangely invigorated. There was no sign of stiffness at all. In fact, she had not slept better in quite some time, ever since she had obtained her grimoire.

She glanced over at the snoring jellyfish that was resting on top of a coiled messed of tendrils. That seemed like the only time Snazzy sat still. She lightly smiled as her hand went up to pet him, but then she paused and drew her hand back.

Maribell reached up to her ear and tugged on the dormant grimoire earring. With a light flash, the item returned to its original form, a heavy tome that could easily cover her chest. She cracked it open and flipped through it, little wisps of dark energy escaping with each turn of the page. Finally, her gaze stopped at one spell. Written on the page were foreign runes that only those chosen by grimoires were able to read.

She knew what was in the grimoire from a skim through. Because of this, she hesitated to call upon its powers. Even now, she was unsure as to why she had it out in the open.

A feeling of loneliness pervaded her. Doubts, worries, fears – a flash of happiness seemed to only chase away those feelings temporarily. Maribell craved for something permanent.

Unable to read the words aloud, it seemed like simply seeing them flash before her eyes would give them meaning. Vanidicus – a spell that made her targets say whatever they believed would benefit Maribell most.

With one hand on the page and another hovering over Snazzy, she spoke the beginning of that spell. Reaching the last line, her voice fell to a whisper. Her tongue slid over her lips for the end. Grimacing, Maribell pulled her hand back and shook her head.

Closing the grimoire quickly, she returned it to earring form. After rolling off the bed and giving him a pained look, she went to fetch the clothing that had been tossed aside the previous evening.