Normally, when bathing, the sponge directly touching her skin would feel rough. But now, a layer of extremely thin silk stockings separated them. When the sponge slid over the stockings, there was no resistance at all—it was incredibly smooth. However, when Mia pressed down a little harder, the sponge’s pores squeezed against the stocking fibers, and the wet fabric shifted slightly under the pressure, carrying warm soapy water, repeatedly grinding against her fragile, delicate skin.
“It’s… not that spot that itches… it’s under the skin…”
The sensation of scratching an itch through a shoe made Little Merlin’s bath a torment. No matter how carefully Mia washed her, the stockings—like a second skin—remained a wall, blocking any true feeling of cleanliness, leaving only a sticky warmth behind.
Finally, after much折腾, the bathing part was barely over.
“There, all clean now.”
Mia stood up with a splash, ignoring that half her own clothes were also wet. She bent down and scooped up Little Merlin, who had turned into a limp puddle, holding her horizontally.
The moment she left the water, gravity resumed control.
“Let’s go dry off.”
The white stockings, now completely saturated with water, hung heavily against her legs.
“Ugh…”
The paper-thin fibers clung tightly to Little Merlin’s legs because of the water. Water droplets slid down the curves of her thighs, gathered at her toes, and dripped drop by drop onto the rocks by the shore.
Lucia had already prepared a huge dry towel, spread out on a large flat rock. Mia carefully set Little Merlin down. Mia picked up another thick dry towel and wrapped it around Little Merlin’s left foot, still dripping.
The beginning of hell.
The rough, dry cotton towel. The wet, slippery stocking fibers. Two completely different materials. The moment the dry towel touched the wet stockings, capillary action frantically sucked the moisture out.
“Ahhh…!” Little Merlin let out a short scream, instinctively trying to pull her foot back, but Mia held her ankle firmly.
“Don’t move. You’ll catch a cold if you don’t dry off.”
Mia’s hand, separated by the thick towel, firmly gripped Little Merlin’s calf and began rubbing up and down. The dry towel fibers forcefully dragged across the wet, fragile stocking surface. With each wipe, the resistance was astonishing. Because the stockings were already stuck to her skin, the towel’s dragging was directly transformed into a pulling sensation on her skin.
Little Merlin made a miserable face, clutching the towel tightly with both hands: “I hate… this…!”
It felt like someone was sanding a piece of jade with sandpaper. The towel scraped across the wet stockings, removing surface moisture, but couldn’t take away the deep dampness. As the water was absorbed, the stockings tightened even more while drying. The stockings, which had been somewhat lubricated when wet, now became a half-dry, sticky state, like a layer of undried glue smeared on her legs.
“We need to dry here too.” Mia’s fingers, still through the towel, squeezed between Little Merlin’s toes.
That’s where the stockings had accumulated the most water.
Little Merlin twisted her body in distress: “No… not there… don’t…”
The wet stocking fabric was deeply embedded in the gaps between her toes, now being forcibly squeezed and rubbed by the rough towel. The sensation of the fabric sawing back and forth between her tender toes sent electric jolts of numbness up her spine.
“Uuuhhh…”
“Bear with it. It’ll be over soon.”
Watching Little Merlin’s legs wrapped in white stockings turning an unnatural red under the towel’s abuse, even Lucia, who was watching from the sidelines, unconsciously pressed her legs together.
Finally, just before Little Merlin was about to pass out from sensory overload, the wiping ended. Although no longer dripping, the white stockings remained damp, cold, and tightly stuck to her legs. The lingering dampness and constrictive feeling hadn’t disappeared.
The damp Little Merlin was carried back to the campfire by Mia, shivering all over. The wet stockings clung to her body. When the wind blew, they were bitterly cold, and the sticky sensation made Little Merlin want to cry from discomfort.
“Oh dear, you’ll catch a cold like this.” Mia approached with a smile. “Let big sister help you dry off now.”
A warm, gentle ball of Holy Light enveloped Little Merlin’s legs.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle…
As the moisture rapidly evaporated, the wet, loose stockings began to shrink quickly.
Heat… getting hotter and hotter. The tight fabric became tougher and more constricting under the high temperature, like a tightening net, bit by bit digging into the flesh of her thighs. Little Merlin twisted her legs uncomfortably, curling her toes into a ball.
The sudden shift from wet and slippery to dry and tight gave her senses a powerful shock. The dried stockings became somewhat stiff, still warm, firmly gripping her legs. Every fiber felt embedded in her skin, creating a continuous sensation of envelopment.
Mia nodded in satisfaction, stroking the warm, taut white stocking-clad calves. As her fingertips glided over them, she could even hear a faint rustling sound from the stocking surface.
“There, warm now, right?” Mia said with a gentle smile. “Alright, it’s getting late. Little Merlin should go to sleep.”
Having observed for so long, Lucia had also figured out Little Merlin’s weakness. This time, she simply picked her up like a small animal. Without touching Little Merlin’s legs, she lifted her by the waist and placed her into a futon that seemed to have appeared from nowhere.
Little Merlin eagerly crawled inside.
The returning Mahina looked at Little Merlin, who had a blissful expression: “Ahhh… so warm…”
“I’m glad you like it. Rest well.”
The futon was warm and dry, with a faint lavender scent in the air. The comfortable environment should have made her fall asleep instantly, but for Little Merlin, a new torment had just begun.
Her body temperature rose rapidly inside the futon. Her legs, tightly wrapped in the extremely thin white stockings, became unusually sensitive in the warm environment. The heat was trapped by the stockings, unable to escape. The skin on her legs started to heat up slightly, pores opening—but blocked by the tight nylon fabric.
Rustle… rustle…
She turned over in the futon. The smooth surface of the stockings touched the soft flannel sheets. That extremely smooth yet slightly resistant sensation spread through her entire body with every turn.
“It’s… my legs are so…” Little Merlin mumbled drowsily, rubbing against the blanket.
Her stocking-clad legs touched each other. Her left leg rubbed against her right leg, her right leg pressed against her left leg. The sensation, smooth to the extreme, was amplified infinitely in the warm futon. Through two layers of ultra-thin fabric, Little Merlin could clearly feel the softness of her leg muscles and the outline of her bones. The slippery, warm sensation, with a hint of static electricity, made her want to keep trying more.
“Mmm…” She let out a sweet nasal sound in her sleep, unconsciously closing her legs together.
This squeeze made the stockings on her inner thighs press against each other. Heat gathered at her groin, becoming humid and hot. The stockings became slightly damp from sweat, clinging even more closely, as if melting into her skin.
“So hot… my legs are so hot…”
“I can’t take them off… why can’t I take them off…”