"What were you thinking?!" Lysander half yelled, his voice cold as he grabbed me by the shoulder, "I left you back there so that you can recuperate while I went to look for help! Why didn’t you stay back?!"
Ingrid blinked, confusion playing on her face, "You went to get help? I... I thought you left." Her voice was quiet at the end of her sentence and her words made Lysander freeze.
Lysander looked shocked that Ingrid would even think that of him. His golden eyes widened, the sharp edge in his gaze softening into sheer disbelief. "Left you? After everything?" He opened his mouth, a barrage of defensive, irritated retorts lined up on the tip of his tongue, ready to tear into her assumption.
Before he could say another word, a strange prickling sensation shot across Ingrid’s skin.
It started as a mild itch around her collarbone before erupting into an intense, sizzling tingle that spread rapidly down her torso, arms, and legs. She winced, clapping a hand over her forearm as her skin flushed a violent pink.
’Lorna,’ Ingrid gasped, her gasp was filled with discomfort. ’What... What’s happening?’
In her mind, Lorna’s mechanical, lighthearted voice chimed in instantly. ’Host! Good news and bad news. I just finished analyzing the full environmental composition of the Gloomwood Swamp. Bad news: the acidic residue hanging in the air from those toxic reeds interacts strangely with organic fibers. In precisely five seconds, the residue absorbed by your clothes is going to...’
"Is going to what?!" Ingrid screamed internally.
’...completely dissolve your clothing,’ Lorna finished cheerfully.
Before Lorna could even land the final word, the fabric of Ingrid’s clothes gave a faint, audible hiss. Right before their eyes, the threads of her shirt began to liquify. The linen dissolved into thin air, evaporating like mist on a hot morning.
Within two seconds, the entire front of her clothes vanished.
"Ahhhhh!" Ingrid shrieked in horror. She violently slammed her arms across her chest, trying desperately to cover herself as the rest of her top melted away entirely. Her full chest threatened to spill right over her crisscrossed arms. The hem of her trousers gave out next, unraveling instantly from the waist down and falling away into nothingness until she was left entirely bare in the middle of the clearing, her pussy visible to the world.
Lysander blinked. He stood completely rooted to the spot, his jaw practically dropping to the forest floor. He looked at her bare shoulders, down to her crossed arms struggling against gravity, and then back up to her crimson, horrified face.
"What... what the hell is happening to you?!" Lysander stammered, his usual cool, dark demeanor completely changing into chaotic confusion.
"I don’t know!" Ingrid squeaked, her face burning hotter than a furnace. She took a tiny, awkward step backward, clutching her chest for dear life. "Don’t look at me! Take me back! Take me back to where we were right now!"
Lysander stared for another second, a slow, wicked smirk suddenly breaking through his initial shock. He didn’t look away; instead, he deliberately crossed his arms over his broad chest.
"Take you back?" he purred, his voice rich with sudden, infuriating amusement. "You just accused me of abandoning you in a swamp, and now you’re demanding a ride while thoroughly unclad? Bold strategy, Ingrid."
"Lysander, I’m literally naked!" she yelled, her voice cracking as she tried to shift her knees together without letting go of her chest. "This isn’t funny! Turn around and carry me back!"
"Oh, it’s a little funny," he teased, stepping closer with a low laugh. "If I carry you, where am I supposed to put my hands? I wouldn’t want to violate your delicate sensibilities any further than the swamp already has."
"If you don’t pick me up right now, I will bite your ear off!" she threatened, though the effect was entirely ruined by the fact that her left elbow slipped, almost exposing her completely.
Chuckling, Lysander finally relented. He tossed his head back with a sigh, stripped off his thick, leather-trimmed outer cloak, and draped it swiftly over her shoulders. Before she could adjust it, he swooped in, scooping her up into a princess carry. Ingrid let out a muffled yelp, burying her burning face directly into the nook of his neck to avoid looking at him.
His chest rumbled with laughter as he turned and began slithering back toward where he had originally left her to rest. "You know," he murmured near her ear, his breath warm against her skin, "most women buy me a drink before shedding their clothes in front of me."
"Shut up," she groaned, wrapping the cloak tightly around her front, though it barely stayed in place given her awkward positioning. "Just keep going."
It took only a few minutes to reach the hiding spot. The moment Lysander set her down on the soft bed of moss, Ingrid shuffled backward until her spine hit a tree.
"Look away!" she commanded instantly, pointing an accusing finger at him from beneath the folds of his cloak. "Turn around!"
Lysander rolled his eyes, but a grin still tugged at the corner of his lips. "Fine, fine. I am turning." He spun around on his heel, facing the entrance of the cave with his hands resting casually on his hips. He had changed back to humanoid form at one point.
Ingrid ignored him and quickly assessed her situation. Lysander was slender compared to her fat frame, but more importantly, his cloak kept her covered, but it wasn’t a long-term solution. If she even tried to button it up, it’ll tear.
Ingrid let out a long, frustrated groan and slid down the stone wall. ’Lorna,’ she called out mentally, exasperated. ’What do I do now? I can’t walk around wrapped in a heavy leather tent forever.’
’Ding!’ Lorna’s interface flashed brightly in Ingrid’s vision. ’Great news, Host! The System Mall just unlocked a new feature! A apparel shop has officially opened in your interface!’
Ingrid’s eyes lit up with relief. ’Finally, some good luck! Open it up, get me a basic clothes.’
{ CHECKING INVENTORY. }
{BASIC CLOTHES COSTS 20 POINTS. UNACCESSIBLE. HOST CURRENTLY HAS 0 POINTS. }
’Oh, Ingrid. You’re broke.’ Lorna said, her mechanical voice sounded like there was laughter in there.
Ingrid’s jaw dropped. ’Are you kidding me?! Zero points?! So what am I supposed to do, just stay completely naked under this guy’s cloak?!’
’Well...’ Lorna replied with a breezy, matter-of-fact tone, "technically speaking, you’re going to be naked either way very soon.’
Ingrid froze. A cold drop of sweat rolled down her temple. ’What do you mean by that, Lorna?’
’To cleanse the toxins from Lysander’s system, you require those three herbs. However, one of those herbs have a side effect during its usage.’
Ingrid’s eyebrows twitched. ’A side effect? What side effect?’
’One of the herb acts as a extraordinarily potent aphrodisiac,’ Lorna declared cheerfully. ’And I don’t mean the mild, romantic kind you might find in your modern world’s kind of aphrodisiac. This one will make you feel a surge of uncontrollable desire.’
Ingrid felt the blood drain entirely from her face. ’I... I don’t think I understand what you’re trying to say...’
’I can repeat it again for you if you like host! In simpler terms in fact.’ Lorna replied cheerfully, ’What I mean is that, after administering the herbs to Lysander, your first mate, you’re going to have to fuck him multiple times, until the drug completely wears off or else, he’ll die and you’ll fail the mission that was given to you by the system.’