Focus, man, focus!

"I appreciate the sentiment but I actually meant your back."

It was a simple sentence, one consisting of barely two parts. And yet, the sound of just those few words was enough to make Tiana's face explode in red.

"I… Ah… I mean…" stumbling for words, Tiana's mouth trembled. She opened up her mouth a few times, desperately trying to come up with some sort of excuse, only to close them back after failing at her task. Somewhere along the line, she realized that she was still spreading her arms wide, tensing up her chest to make it all the more pronounced…

Right in the face of her master.

The intense blush on her face only intensified when she slammed her arms against her chest, desperate to cover herself up.

Theo sighed.

'It worked,' he thought, feeling a slight wave of relaxation moving down his spine.

The young man wasn't the master of souls that could easily dispel the doubts that troubled the head of his cute disciple. And as long as they lingered in Tiana's mind, his task of helping her out would remain nearly impossible to achieve.

That's why, at the cost of the momentary awkwardness for the girl and himself, he manipulated the situation with his words a tiny bit to lead to the exact situation that happened.

"Turn around," Theo then said in a calm, soothing voice, acting as if nothing had happened at all.

Noticing the chance to at least hide her face, and more importantly, bring her tits out of her master's face, Tiana instantly swung around on her stool.

"I will turn around now. Take your tunic off so I can access your back." Theo did exactly as he announced, turning his entire body to face the other way. "I would be grateful if you used it to cover your front," he then added, his voice warmed up by a slight hint of amusement.

"Y-yes, master…" Tiana muttered, struggling to push a single word out of her tightened throat.

Theo waited for a moment while the rustling sound of the girl undressing just a few steps behind him reached his ears.

'Keep focused, man, keep focused,' Theo repeated in his thoughts, doing his best to distance himself as far as he could from the allure that the noise offered.

"I-I'm ready… m-master…" Tiana kept on struggling to talk normally, the degree of her embarrassment and awkwardness keeping her throat too tight for the girl to speak normally.

"I will turn around, then," Theo announced. He then waited a few more seconds just in case before following up his words with actions.

Theo gulped his saliva down.

The girl followed his advice and bundled her thin tunic together, forming a layer of material thick enough to properly hide the front part of her chest. She held it close to her bust with her hands, the tension of her muscles showcasing just how much strength she used to do so.

And yet…

'It's really going to be hard to keep focus,' Theo thought, unable to tear his eyes from the girl's defenseless figure.

Her sweaty, naked back had a strange sort of allure. The sight of her spine marking the perfect middle of her body moving down from her neck all the way to where her pants only pretended to hide her two bottom cheeks from his eyes was already enough to make a man excited. Her long, platinum hair fell down on her back, adding a strange sense of mystery to the sight of her naked skin.

Theo gulped his saliva again before taking his first step toward the girl.

'Why can she be so damn alluring?!' he screamed out in his thoughts, struggling with all his mind to keep his mind on the task rather than on the general loveliness of the picture before his eyes.

Step. Then another step. And then Theo finally stood right behind the girl.

"Lean forward a little," he gave his next order while using his free hand to grab at the bottom of the upper half of his robe.

The girl obediently pressed her upper body forward, more than happy to put her chest at an angle that made it harder to see.

Theo then raised the end of his own robe before pressing it against the girl's back and wiping it clear of sweat.

"Hai!" Tiana released a small shriek, surprised by the unexpected touch.

"Calm down," Theo sighed. "I need to get rid of the sweat before applying the paste," he explained.

The girl slowly angled her head and looked over her shoulder… only for her eyes to turn wide with shock mixing with terror.

"Master…! But your robe…!"

The source of the girl's anguish was pretty simple. For fresh disciples like her, the sect robe was the greatest treasure. The one and only proof that they were a part of the sect. A literal symbol of their status, the one link that proved their connection to Theo and the sect behind him.

For Tiana, using the sect's official robe to wipe her sweat… was akin to sacrilege.

Not for Theo, though.

Contrary to his own disciples, he couldn't care less about this uncomfortable piece of clothing. It restricted his movements and forced him to always keep his guard up. He couldn't do anything that would put the sect in the bad light while wearing those robes, after all. And to be honest, he had hardly a single good memory of his life in the sect to begin with, severing any and all sorts of melancholic ties he could have to it.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Theo spoke in a steady voice, hoping to calm the girl down a bit.

Once done with clearing the part of her skin around her shoulder blade, Theo turned his hands towards the jar that he kept in his hand for a while now. He swiftly undid its lid before scooping a huge chunk of the thick, green paste with his fingers.

"This concoction will likely make your skin feel hot and sensitive," Theo announced informed, stopping his hand a mere inch away from the girl's lustrous skin. "There is nothing I can do about it, so I need you to bear with it."

The young man then took a deep breath before slowly exhaling it. He repeated the process a few times, putting his own mind in the correct state. He then raised his head, even though the girl didn't dare to look back, and asked.

"Are you ready?"

Tiana gulped her saliva down. She then followed her master's example and took a deep breath. And regardless of all sorts of distractions that formerly took hold of her heart, once she exhaled, her aura… somewhat calmed down.

The girl's head moved up a little.

Given his position, Theo couldn't see her face. But he could swear her eyes filled with focus and determination.

"I'm ready."