She knelt down at Hikari's cart-sized flats. They have lost a lot of their elasticity and were visibly deformed. The soles were on the verge of peeling off. The cloth on the sides was fraying at many points.
She bowed before them and planted several kisses on each tip before getting started.
"These shoes served her well. I don't think I can do much to get them back into shape. "
Nevertheless, she first took a clean shoe rug to give them a brief dusting. After that, she took out a can of white dye and used a clean paint brush to reapply the white dye. Finally, she took a pair of garden scissors to trim off the loose strands on the side.
"There. Now you will get a proper send off. You have done well carrying her weight, taking all of that abuse under her feet and yet you continued to unyieldingly cushion them. An honor that I am utterly inadequate of fulfilling. I will last for but a mere step if I were to be her insole. I hope she wears you one last time before I have to send you to the cobblers."
Ria kissed the shoe tips again.
Ba dum! Ba dum! Her body moved on her own, she leaned her head into the flats and pressed her nose on the insoles and took a deep breath.
Cough! Cough! She choked on the smell. "Oh my, this is surprisingly strong. Her flats do smell for days on end after a run. But I could have sworn they didn't smell this strongly yesterday. Perhaps the perfumes I sampled yesterday messed with my sense of smell?"
She took a more controlled breath. "Her feet smell so much better than whatever so called perfume that sneezy merchant had to offer. I would rather have Hikari's foot smell on my face. But those uncultured merchants wouldn't appreciate it. "
Ria took another breath. "Ahh… I dearly missed her training sessions. Making me crawl at her feet after her drilling practice. The overwhelming scent of her workout just turns me on so much. kiss* kiss*" She kissed the insole.
"Oh! I just realized something. She might never let me kiss her shoes, not even the bottom. She might find it too weird. The smell of her feet is all I'll ever get. kiss* kiss* kiss*" She kept kissing the insole. A chance like this might not come for a while.
"I should go check on her schedule and the client list. kiss* kiss* I wonder when the next merchant convoy to Herdial is setting off. kiss* kiss* Oh wait, I just remembered, she might even wear these barefooted sometimes. kiss* kiss* kiss* kiss*.. But her sock shipments. No! I must be a good lady. I can't just manipulate Hikari's sock shipment schedules just for my own pleasure. kiss* kiss*" Her hand went under her skirt again as she shivered in pleasure.
"This is enough for me. kiss* kiss*. Worshipping her from the shadows. kiss* kiss*. "
Ria pulled her head out of the flats and slapped herself on the cheeks again. She crawled back to her lantern and checked her watch. "Thank .. umm.. Hikari that I didn't fall behind my schedule too much. Now let's get started."
She began crawling around the pair of flats. "One.. Two… Three… " She counted. It was grueling, but eventually she completed her daily hundred rounds as Hikari had prescribed. She took out her canteen from her backpack and drank, before laying flat on the ground, stretching her sore arms and legs and catching her breath.
Her physical stat is still quite poor. But she can certainly feel the improvement after being drilled everyday by Hikari.
After a several minute break, she sprung back up. She still had the most important task ahead.
Hikari's high heels. The symbol of her unrivaled beauty. Strength of arms, skill with the sword, potency of spells. There are things that Ria never aspired to be great at. But being just so overwhelmingly inferior to Hikari as a woman is an entirely different matter.
Ria bowed before Hikari's heels. "These heels are just so superior to me. I wasn't able to rope in a single man for a dance. But just these heels and her bare feet alone, she got them all on their knees, kissing her feet, groveling before her. I'm not sure if I'm worthy to even touch them."
Ria took out another silk handkerchief from her backpack. She crawled towards the heels, keeping her head low in reverence. Once she reached the heels, raised her head a little. The heels platforms were almost the length of her arms making the toe section right below her chin.
Ba dum! Ba dum! Ba dum! Ria's heart pounded against her chest. The smell was faint as Hkari evidently doesn't wear these heels much. But her toes definitely touched the rubber insole right in front of her. Ria lowered her nose and took a deep breath. She flinched as a surge of pleasure coursed through her.
"I'm not sure how to properly care for these. Maybe my handkerchief isn't even worthy to touch the bottom of her bare soles. Perhaps I'll just lick it?" Ria slowly lowered her head, her tongue sticking out. Her entire body is shivering with excitement. Ba dum. Ba dum. Ba dum. Ba dum. Her heart raced faster and faster as her tongue tip got closer to the rubber surface.
Click!. The chambers suddenly lit up. Ria jumped, recoiling and choking on her own saliva.
Cough! Cough! Ria coughed violently as she tried to clear her throat. She felt something the size of a fist hit her on the back, helping her recover from her choking. A moment later, she was breathing normally.
Then, she lifted her head slightly, and saw a pair of cart-sized socked feet. She felt the blood drain from her body. Slowly, she lifted her head some more, tilting it backwards and saw Hikari looking down at her with her eyes slightly widened in a bemused expression.
"Greetings, my Lady."
Ria tried to speak, but her throat was stuck. Nothing but an unintelligible force of air came out. She took another deep breath, but her throat felt stuck. She couldn't breathe out nor speak.
"Breath out. Slowly" After a brief pause, Ria's body responded to the command. She was able to empty her lungs over a few seconds.
"Hold." Ria held her breath.
"Breath in. Slowly." Just like that, after a few cycles, Ria's breathing stabilized.
"Oh, you're actually back. I thought the troop is only scheduled to be back tomorrow?"
"My tent was shredded by wyverns. And they ran out of rations for me."
"Oh. I see, you gave me quite the jump scare. Appearing without a sound."
"I apologize."
"Don't. In fact, I should be the one apologizing. It's my duty to see to it that you are well taken care of. "
"Don't worry about it. Umm.. "
An awkward pause ensued. Hikari rolled her eyes, breaking eye contact for just a moment.
"Thanks for cleaning my shoes, i guess"
Ria flinched, her face turned redder than a polished ruby.
"Did you..?"
"I was meditating when you…"
"Do.. umm.. You heard everything…. Didn't you…. "
Hikari nods. Ria looked up at Hikari, her face had turned to horror. She began trembling all over.
"Please! Not a word to anyone!" Ria slammed her forehead into the stone so hard that it hurt. She looked up at Hikari again. She was on her knees, her palms together in a begging pose. "Please! Hikari! Please don't tell anyone about this! I'll do whatever you want!"
Ria quickly crawled to Hikari's feet and began showering kisses on the toe section of her sock. "Look! I'll kiss your feet. I'll do anything. kiss* kiss*. New shoes? More socks? New dress? Anything you want. kiss* kiss* I'll give you everything! If you.. kiss* kiss* keep this a secret… "
Ria looked up at Hikari's face. It was slight, but she was clearly smiling. She raised one hand, pushed it above her head and combed her head with her fingers.
"The other foot."
"Oh yes of course. Hikari. Anything for you." Ria scrambled to the other foot, and showered it with kisses. Up above, Hikari was smiling widely until her teeth showed. A sight that no man had ever witnessed.
Ria continued kissing Hikari's foot. Being completely at her mercy now, she could only grovel and try to please her.
"Enough."
Ria looked up again and saw Hikari's usual cold expression again.
"Let's get you cleaned up."