The Doctor in the Mountains and a Tasteless Sausage

A quick glance at the navigation revealed several more minutes until they reached their destination.

“Ugh, honestly, I have no idea why Blanca insists on living in such a secluded wilderness; it’s such a hassle just to see her once,” Tia grumbled.

Blanca? She must be the doctor they’re going to see.

“Is she living in a mountain village or is it that…” Chloe leaned her head over the central armrest, asking with a curious tilt to her voice.

Suppressing the urge to ruffle that golden mane, Tia tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

“She lives alone. I imagine she’s the only one in that area.”

“Doesn’t that mean she’s a hermit in the mountains? Does she write poetry?” Indeed, modern society harbored many such individuals who, for various reasons, distanced themselves from society to attain a profound independence.

Tia let out a soft chuckle, a hint of mockery glinting in her eyes. “Don’t imagine her to be some lofty figure. She’s just cripplingly introverted and happens to be from a family of doctors. Her family previously built a house in the mountains to facilitate the collection of medicinal herbs, so she went to live there. It was originally meant for her grandfather’s retirement, but unfortunately, her grandfather tragically passed away in the city, so the house naturally fell to her.”

She sounds like someone even more socially anxious than me. Chloe, at most, merely refrained from social activities and avoided speaking to strangers unless absolutely necessary. This doctor, however, had taken it a step further, outright moving into the mountains.

“She sounds like a brilliant doctor who focuses intently on medical research.”

“Her studies took a rather unconventional turn. Ever since she learned about the existence of magical girls, she’s become engrossed in researching matters of the supernatural world. Last time I went to her house, she was hardly a doctor; she had practically transformed into a medieval alchemist. However, her research has indeed yielded significant breakthroughs, and she’s quite renowned in the world of magical girls. Everyone calls her ‘Doctor,’ and this title exclusively designates Blanca… There’s a service area ahead. Do we need to stop and rest?”

The car gradually pulled into the service area. Chloe, feeling a pang of hunger, decided to purchase a grilled sausage. Before taking a bite, Chloe blinked up at Tia. “Can I eat this?”

“Why are you asking me…” Tia initially felt a surge of exasperation. Then, a sudden recollection of her own previous admonition—that Chloe wasn’t to consume other foods—left her momentarily speechless. “You can eat it… You don’t need to ask me in the future.”

“Yay, then I’m digging in!” Squinting her eyes, she inhaled deeply, savoring the intense, meaty aroma. With a decisive bite, the juices burst forth in her mouth. Just as her brain buzzed with excitement at finally indulging in normal food, the anticipated flavors remained elusive.

“Huh? Is this sausage spoiled? Why does it have no taste? Pfft.” Spitting out the half-chewed sausage, Chloe felt as though she had bitten into a stick of wax. Tasteless crumbs coated her tongue.

“My ten yuan, wasted!”

Just as she prepared to toss the remainder of the sausage out the car window, Tia sensed something amiss.

“Don’t throw it yet, let me see.”

“Here, it has no taste. If you don’t believe me, you can try it.”

Tia took the sausage, examining it with meticulous attention. Pink pork, encased within a translucent white casing, the glistening fat and juices shimmering within. At the bitten end, Chloe’s tooth marks were still discernible. There appeared to be nothing wrong with it.

Tia swallowed, then took a bite of her own.

Upon witnessing this, Chloe’s face immediately flushed. She ate my saliva!

“Mmm… mm…” Delicately savoring the sausage’s flavor, perhaps a trick of the mind, she even detected a faint, milky sweetness emanating from it.

“Isn’t this quite delicious? How could it have no taste?”

“What!?” But there was clearly no taste! How could this be? Yet, judging by Tia’s expression, she didn’t seem to be lying.

“No way, give it back to me!” Chloe immediately reached out, snatching the sausage back. She gulped it down in eager haste.

“Wait… there’s saliva…”

“Mmph… But you ate my saliva too, didn’t you…?” Still no taste! It was still like wax! The sole distinction was a subtle, sweet hint of chamomile, yet this bore no relation whatsoever to the grilled sausage.

“Pfft! Why can’t I taste anything!” Chloe felt a surge of despair, on the verge of tears. Had I lost my sense of taste? But I can distinctly perceive a faint sweetness! Why, then, did the sausage taste like chewing wax?

“Do you have any idea?” Chloe gazed blankly at Tia, her amber pupils trembling slightly, her mouth forming a dejected pout.

So soft, so utterly adorable! Like a small, pleading creature begging for food. I long to stuff tentacles into her stomach, feeding her relentlessly, and watch her small belly slowly distend into a watermelon… How magnificent…

No, no, no! What in the world am I thinking?! Tia was utterly aghast at the monstrous thoughts that had just erupted in her mind. How could such thoughts be mine? It felt as though my very thoughts were being lured and manipulated by some unseen force, just as they had been during the first few days after meeting Chloe, a sensation that had been even more potent then…

A cold sweat pricked her back. Tia forcibly steadied her mind, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

Observing Tia’s peculiar reaction, Chloe frowned. “What kind of reaction is this? Don’t tell me you’re behind this?” Her soft voice was laced with an aggression akin to an angry kitten.

This is becoming unbearable… For some inexplicable reason, her body had suddenly become acutely sensitive to Chloe’s every movement. It was as though Chloe’s every frown and smile were infinitely magnified in her perception; even the slightest flick of her hair seemed a deliberate act of seduction… Moreover, the magic within her body was surging, boiling. It roared, yearning to burst through her skin, a desperate craving to pin this small ‘cake’ beneath her and fiercely infuse it.

“Hey! Speak up!”

Noticing Tia’s eyes squeezed even tighter, the muscles around them twitching faintly, Chloe sensed that something was gravely amiss. Her phantom fox ears seemed to prick up. She crept forward, kneeling on the central armrest, one hand braced against the adjacent seat for balance, determined to get closer.

“What’s wrong?”

Don’t come any closer! Tia’s mind screamed.

As Chloe’s body drew steadily nearer, the unique milky scent emanating from her grew so potent it threatened to envelop Tia entirely. To her current state, this was nothing short of the most potent aphrodisiac. Her small frame radiated a suffocating heat, her slender limbs swayed with the wanton grace of a wild dancer, her small mouth opening and closing, ethereal words floating to her heart: “Come and eat me~”

Wake up, dammit!

What in the world is this person doing? Why has she suddenly become so withdrawn? Just as Chloe prepared to reach out and shake her shoulder, her eyes suddenly locked with Tia’s. Within those violet depths, an unsettling heart shape had, at some unknown moment, materialized.

This is bad!

Chloe’s eyes snapped shut almost the instant she perceived the heart shape. She spun around, intending to scramble back into the rear seat. Just as her body was on the verge of pulling away, her ankle was seized, a searing touch radiating through her.

It’s over!

It was the saliva… a sudden flash of insight illuminated Tia’s mind.