Noah's office was specially designed, for convenience... it was made to be extremely soundproof, and now most of the company employees had already left work, so Noah allowed Kuro to proceed.
Kuro didn't hesitate; she first lowered the sofa, turning it into a sofa bed, and then transferred Noah onto the sofa bed.
Noah lay there obediently, like a lamb to be slaughtered, even trembling slightly out of fear.
Honestly, she was truly afraid of pain; it had been like that since she was a child.
Even falling down used to make her cry for half a day.
Although later, due to Oripathy, she developed some resistance to many kinds of pain, it was only during these massages...
She really couldn't bear it.
This was no longer just simple pain; it was a combination of numbness, soreness, bloating, pain, and tingling, which was truly unbearable for most people.
Noah felt she could try to scrape bone to cure poison without changing her expression, but she absolutely couldn't help but cry out during a massage.
What was worse, she couldn't make Kuro stop...
Kuro was already quite skilled; she knew Noah's physical condition like the back of her hand and could now remain completely unfazed even if Noah was naked in front of her.
It's not that Noah's body lacked charm; on the contrary—due to spending a long time indoors, Noah's skin was fair, and while her figure was a bit slender, she still had some flesh in the right places.
Her appearance was even one in a hundred... no, one in a thousand.
According to Noah herself, she was seventy to eighty percent similar to Yolanta; perhaps this was genetics...
As for why she didn't compare herself to her parents, it was mainly because Noah could no longer remember what her parents looked like...
Before starting, Kuro first stretched her fingers, washed her hands thoroughly, and disinfected them before finally beginning to work on Noah's legs.
Although Noah's legs couldn't move, she still retained sensation.
When Kuro pulled down her black stockings, she involuntarily shivered.
The act of removing black stockings, which could normally be a bit intimate, now felt like applying iodine before an injection.
As a slightly cool sensation naturally spread through her legs, a pair of warm hands first touched Noah's calves.
"Ah..." Noah instinctively cried out, then immediately covered her mouth.
Even she blushed hearing her own voice just now.
"It hasn't even started yet..." Kuro turned her head, Noah's moan had sent a ripple through her heart.
"Alright, let's first assess the situation.
I'm going to pinch some areas, try to bear with it as much as possible, it might be a bit ticklish."
"...Go ahead." Noah's tone was almost like she was facing death, so Kuro contentedly began, starting from the base of the thigh, kneading all the way down to the knee, calf, ankle, heel, then the arch of the foot, toes, and even each toe was massaged thoroughly.
Noah continuously suppressed the strange sensations, feeling her feet being manipulated like toys under Kuro's hands, yet unable to resist.
Her entire body had started to turn red, purely out of embarrassment... This was a planned action, and it was even a massage technique recommended by a Yan Operator, but why was it so...
If Noah were to describe it... it was like scratching an itch through a boot.
"Feels alright..." Kuro breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that not having massages these past few days hadn't worsened Noah's condition; if anything, it was slightly better than before.
She tilted her neck, and when she heard a crackling sound like popping beans from Kuro's body, Noah's heart sank halfway.
"That... you don't have to use so much force."
"The master said it's useless without force, just bear with it." Kuro, cold and ruthless, began pressing the acupoints on Noah's legs according to the massage technique.
The hands of a martial artist, originally flexible for combat, could now perfectly apply massage techniques.
Coupled with the medicated oil left by the Yan master, Noah felt the areas on her legs where it was applied quickly begin to heat up, then itch as if ants were crawling over them.
If Noah could control her lower body at this moment, she probably wouldn't be able to resist moving—but she had to strongly resist scratching now.
Kuro's massage technique combined Yan martial arts, Tui Na, massage, and external application of medicine.
This technique was taught to Kuro by an Operator named Nian, whom Noah met at Rhodes Island.
It was said that Nian's family had a skilled doctor who was very good at this craft, but since that person wasn't at Rhodes Island, they couldn't help Noah with her treatment.
So, Nian could only teach this set of massage techniques to Kuro.
And Nian also promised that if there was a chance, she would 'kidnap' that doctor to treat Noah, but Noah didn't take it too seriously.
Given her condition, even Rhodes Island couldn't cure her, so it was highly likely that even the doctor Nian introduced wouldn't be able to solve it, right?
"Ah~ woo woo... No... don't touch there anymore, please, Kuro."
Mid-massage, Noah was almost in tears.
This massage was several times more painful than before, and she didn't know if it was because her lower body had improved or if there was some other issue, but it was certainly harder to endure than before.
Kuro didn't answer, but she felt that Noah's voice was indeed very suitable for cultivating one's state of mind.
While massaging Noah, it was also a good opportunity to refine her own heart; only by being single-minded could she avoid making mistakes throughout.
Noah's voice was merely a distraction and absolutely could not interrupt what she was about to do.
As Kuro manipulated Noah's legs, she didn't even realize that a faint smile had appeared on her lips, as if seeing Noah's pained expression brought her a tiny bit of pleasure.
By the end, Noah was exhausted from crying out, her voice barely a whisper, and she was drenched in sweat, her clothes soaked, when Kuro finally finished.
However, Noah lay sprawled on the sofa bed, only having the strength to pant.
As Kuro was about to go wash her hands, Noah reached out and tugged at Kuro's clothes.
"...That... take me with you, I need to change my clothes."
Noah's face was flushed, and her voice was a little weak, "And... help me get a change of clothes, including underwear."
"...Oh." Kuro subconsciously glanced at a certain spot, and even her own face couldn't help but flush slightly.
"I understand."
"...Don't even think about it!"
"Cough cough."
After helping Noah change her clothes and placing her in the bathtub, Kuro very conscientiously picked up Noah's discarded clothes and left the bathroom.
She deliberately tried not to notice certain areas, but she felt her self-control might need improvement.
—Hmm, it must just be sweat, right?
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