Blood was dripping onto the floor. Looking closer, Iska’s pants were soaked through. The dark color had hidden it until now.

How long has he been bleeding?

Rudis’s eyes widened in alarm. Iska had shown no signs of injury from the moment she woke up until now. He had even carried her down to the basement without showing any strain. He hadn’t used a knife while cooking or done anything that might cause an injury.

“You’re hurt. We need to treat this right away…”

As Rudis began to panic, Iska glanced at his pants and calmly took hold of her wrist.

“I’m fine.”

“How can you be fine when you’re bleeding this much? Wait just a moment. I’ll get a potion right away…”

A recovery potion would easily heal a wound like this. She wasn’t sure how deep the injury was, so she’d need to give him a high-grade potion, but she didn’t mind at all. Not for Iska.

“No. No potions.”

But Iska firmly refused. She knew he avoided artificial things like potions and fertilizers, but to refuse even in this situation? She wanted to ask why, but Rudis decided to put that aside for now. Treating the wound was more important.

“Then take off your pants so I can see.”

If the injury turned out to be serious, she planned to make him drink the potion regardless of his aversion. But Iska said nothing. He just hung his head and fidgeted with his fingers. Rudis suddenly realized what she had just said.

“No! I didn’t mean it that way—I just want to look at the wound…”

“…”

Before she could finish explaining, Iska pulled down his pants. Wait, but… why!

He’s not wearing underwear?

An alarm went off in her head as Rudis’s gaze unintentionally dropped downward. The massive form was impossible not to see. She thought she wouldn’t be surprised after seeing Xenon’s so vividly recently, but this one looked different. It curved to the side, pressed firmly against his right thigh. Trying not to embarrass Iska, Rudis pretended not to notice and searched for the wound.

Why… of all places…

Following the source of the blood, she found that it was coming from near the gl*ns. Making this unfortunate eye contact, Rudis bit her lip hard. It felt like some cosmic joke that adult content kept intruding on what had been a peaceful farming game.

“Hold on. I need to pour some water to see the wound better. It might sting a bit. Please bear with it.”

“…”

By now she knew that his silence meant consent. Rudis asked for his understanding and poured water over his thigh. The wound became visible. She also saw the long, thick flesh twitch and jump at the cold water, but she struggled to keep her focus on the injury.

“It doesn’t look too serious…”

Upon examining the revealed wound, it wasn’t as large as she’d feared. Of course, a gash the size of her middle finger was still significant, but considering the surface area of Iska’s thigh, it didn’t seem too severe. At least it clearly wasn’t life-threatening.

But something seemed strange. Rather than a scratch or tear, it looked like a clean cut made with some kind of blade. And the amount of blood soaking his pants seemed excessive for a wound of this size.

“Let me disinfect it first and apply some medicine. Just press here firmly for a moment.”

‘Where did he get hurt?’

As Rudis turned toward the storage room, Iska grabbed her.

“…No need for medicine. It will heal quickly. This much is nothing.”

“If you don’t like potions, I have something else. Just some herbs mixed together. You might not like it, but we need to treat this.”

Deciding to ask about his aversion to potions later, Rudis tried to persuade him. Fortunately, she had a wound treatment salve she could make from an early recipe she’d acquired. Its effectiveness couldn’t compare to potions, but she couldn’t just leave an open wound untreated.

She wasn’t sure if NPCs were the same, but in Rudis’s case, when she was injured, her health continued to decrease until the wound was treated. At first, she hadn’t understood the red numbers decreasing before her eyes and had fainted from ignoring them. Noah had given her quite the lecture then…

Anyway, she couldn’t leave Iska like this. Seeming to accept her determination, Iska silently let her go.

‘Luckily, I have enough ingredients.’

She had been uncertain about materials she’d only used in the very beginning of the game, but they were plentifully stocked. She quickly made the ointment and rushed back to the first floor, where Iska was still standing.

Still exposed below the waist.

Their eyes seemed to meet again.

Though she knew it was impossible, she felt like she’d made eye contact with the nonexistent eye of his p*nis.

“Did you wait long? Just a moment.”

Ahem. Clearing her throat unnecessarily, Rudis crouched in front of Iska to apply the ointment to his wound. Her eye level aligned perfectly with—well, with the gl*ns too.

“Whew…”

I don’t see it. That’s not visible. She knew that if she reacted now, it would only make Iska more embarrassed. Taking deep breaths to hypnotize herself, Rudis looked up to meet Iska’s eyes before applying the ointment.

“This might sting quite a bit.”

This was a warning from someone with experience. Actually, “sting quite a bit” wasn’t an adequate description. For a brief moment, it felt like being stabbed with dozens of needles. That’s why Noah had seemed godlike when he first sold her potions. Once she could afford it, she never looked at this wound treatment ointment again.

Right. What kind of wound treatment would be named “Pain in One Lump Sum”?

“…”

Iska nodded silently. Rudis began her work with a solemn expression, blowing gently to try to ease the pain. Not that it would prevent the screaming that was sure to follow.

Concentrating on her fingertips, she slowly moved her hand to the wound. Rudis winced as though she were the one in pain.

“Just bear with it a little longer!”

She said, blowing gently. Her words carried the hope that it would hurt less somehow.

But contrary to her expectations, Iska made no sound at all. He just sat there with his head bowed, and Rudis was slightly taken aback. Judging by the tension in his thigh muscles, he was clearly in pain but seemed to be enduring it.

Impressive.

Rudis was amazed. The larger the wound, the more painful the treatment. With a cut this size, most would be crying and wailing in agony. To not make even a small sound in this situation was truly remarkable. Rudis felt a surge of respect.

“All done. Now you can put on your—”

The bleeding had stopped and the ointment had been absorbed. Just as she was about to tell him he could get dressed, Rudis looked at Iska’s pants again. They were soaked with blood. She couldn’t ask him to put those back on. But she also couldn’t let him stay undressed.

“Come with me.”

Rudis decisively pulled Iska toward the wardrobe.

Fortunately, she had plenty of clothes. Not often, but whenever the general store sold new clothes, she would buy them and keep them. She had also bought all the strange outfits sold at festivals. There wasn’t a clothing category in the guidebook, but her collector’s impulse made her feel better doing this. Items might be discontinued without warning or needed for quests. Plus, she occasionally received clothes as quest rewards. They were mostly Sandra’s creations—Sandra wanted to open a clothing store instead of working at the general store—but Rudis had never worn them because they were too awkward.

Anyway, she had collected plenty of both men’s and women’s clothes with nowhere to use them, so this was a good opportunity.

“Try these on for now.”

Rudis excitedly pulled out various items from the wardrobe. She ended up taking out four or five tops as well. They were all styles that would suit his large, sturdy frame. She had carefully selected comfortable work clothes, avoiding anything too formal.

“…Um.”

Faced with the mountain of clothes in front of him, Iska bit his lip awkwardly. For some reason, the pile of clothes seemed to make him more uncomfortable than his exposed lower half.

“Pick one. Hurry. No, wait, try this one first.”

Seeing him hesitate, she selected an outfit and pushed him into the changing room. After a while, Iska emerged, looking somewhat sheepish.

“It suits you perfectly!”

There wasn’t much to say about the plain white top and black pants. Men’s clothing generally lacked distinctive features. It wasn’t much different from what Iska had been wearing before. Still, just wearing new clothes made him look tall and handsome.

“Let’s try this one too.”

Soon, Rudis handed him another outfit and pushed him back into the changing room. With such a good model, dressing him up was fun. This doll play that wasn’t quite doll play continued. It was enjoyable, like playing a mini-game after a long time.

“Wow, that really suits you. Keep wearing that one.”

Rudis wanted to clap her hands in delight. It was the male version of the dress she was currently wearing, with matching color lines that looked particularly good on him.

“Look. I’m wearing the same. Like this, we look just like…”

Twin siblings, she was about to say, when Iska suddenly turned his head and his face froze into a cold expression.