One Who Finds Pleasure in Losing
One Who Finds Pleasure in Losing
In this world teeming with monsters, a means to protect one's body was necessary to survive somehow.
But even that has its limits.
No matter how much money one had to wear expensive armor and wield magnificent weapons, if the wearer themselves wasn't strong, it would be like putting a pearl necklace on a pig.
Therefore, training one's body would clearly lead to handling weapons better.
And in the end, abandoning weapons and using one's own body as a weapon—that was the ideal and conviction I desired.
For that reason, I repeatedly trained at the training ground outside the Royal Capital from sunrise until sunset.
Although my muscles didn't grow larger like others', whether it was just my strength increasing or my muscles becoming more compressed, I could exert great strength even with slender arms.
Even when throwing punches into the air, I never extended my hand carelessly.
Just punching to fill a quota would not only gain me nothing, but it would merely be an act of tormenting my body.
Where does this fist aim?
What can I do with this fist?
What does this fist signify?
What I reached at the end of that was a punch imbued with conviction.
This was power to save others, and never violence to determine my own joys and sorrows.
It should not be used that way. Great power comes with great responsibility, and to enjoy that power, it would surely be better to use it for the right cause.
With that single thought, I had trained my body.
There were days when it felt like my guts would rupture.
I sometimes felt like my bones were grinding, and wondered if blood vessels were rupturing all over my body.
After hitting my physical limits like that, I had become stronger, and no one dared to look down on me because I was a woman.
Just when I was about to declare myself complete.
A man I never imagined approached me.
His name was Kylon.
He carried a Holy Sword and was a Hero clad in splendid armor.
I had thought he was only splendid on the outside, but unlike that impression, his body was already well-trained.
Even just seeing him briefly without his armor, I could tell. 'He's strong,' I thought.
If he was strong enough, the user wouldn't be swayed by the weapon, so I didn't feel like criticizing him.
'If he could do it himself, what was the problem?' I even thought that.
But this man wasn't just that. He said he needed me.
Saying he was still weak and needed more training, he stated that he needed me for that reason.
The Hero says he's weak? How can that be?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I felt a subtle emotion.
Come to think of it, I, too, had been about to declare myself close to completion, that I was complete, but seeing the Hero say he wasn't satisfied with his strength and could become even stronger, I felt unnecessarily ashamed of myself.
And at the same time, to show the Hero who wasn't satisfied with himself.
And also to train myself once again, I joined this journey.
Agnes, a Noble's Daughter who also served as a Knight; Flora, called a genius magician, one of the few in the world; and even Veronica, the Saintess who seemed demure and kept her mouth shut—wasn't this quite a sturdy party?
Although I started the journey with initial goodwill, even apart from that, his gentle voice, neither too high nor too low, put people at ease, and at his humorous voice, which wasn't overly serious, I found myself chuckling without realizing it.
Although it was a journey to defeat the Demon King and bring peace to the world, wasn't he a Hero who seemed to be going on an absolute picnic?
Taking in such a sight, after setting up a tent for camping and eating, he said he needed to train his body from the very first day, and at the same time, since he might drop his weapon, he stated that one shouldn't place complete trust solely in weapons.
The more I saw him, the more I realized he was a man who shared my convictions.
That is to say, his Holy Sword was merely a symbol representing his role, just a sword that could be dropped, and at the same time, his armor was merely a means to protect his body for a short while—that's what he was telling himself.
I don't dislike people who believe in themselves.
Rather, I could say I liked them, so I readily agreed.
And after that, whether that man's body was rapidly growing stronger, on the second day, he laid a hand on my body.
Of course, he couldn't inflict any shock, but I could at least praise him for his fist reaching my thigh.
Even while gasping for breath, the sight of the Hero laughing "hehe" and rushing in, I still couldn't forget.
Although his hand accidentally touched my chest, contact during training should never be considered sexual, so I pretended to be easygoing.
But perhaps I was still a woman after all. When someone I had a crush on touched my body, even if I tried to ignore it, in the end, I couldn't help but be aware of it.
And the next day.
The Saintess was awake earlier than the others, and during the journey, there was a Bamkkot naemsae.
'Are there flowers?' I thought, but as Agnes said, there weren't even chestnut trees, so that smell shouldn't have existed.
The source of the smell was hard to find because the scent was faint, so I just considered it a minor discomfort.
The fishy smell that stung my nose was only for a moment, as it was soon covered by the smell of food.
But the strange thing was, around the time the food disappeared, and around the time the Saintess and the Hero briefly went somewhere and came back, that smell had completely vanished.
So I furrowed my Glabellum and looked at the Saintess.
I had heard before.
That a fishy, Bamkkot naemsae comes from a man's 'that'.
Only then did I recall, and I thought, 'Could it be the Saintess?' but since I couldn't just blindly suspect, I only harbored the suspicion internally and didn't reveal it outwardly.
I merely tried to get closer to the Hero.
I liked him.
Because he was someone with thoughts that aligned with my convictions.
Because he was full of consideration, his demeanor was calm, and at the same time, he possessed a gentle impression.
Although he was a Hero, he wasn't arrogant, and rather, he took the lead in doing righteous deeds.
Just as the strong recognize the strong, I, who had filtered out the men who approached me, guarantee it.
This man is definitely a good man.
I could tell after seeing him for three days.
"Then, let's start training!"
There were those who distanced themselves, asking why a woman was so strong, and those who clicked their tongues, asking if a woman could be that easygoing.
But Kylon was not like that.
"I'll learn a thing or two this time too."
Even after being hit several times, an unyielding will clashed.
At the same time, his rapidly improving gaze and his movements, simultaneously, made me bewildered.
Punches thrown tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of times, struck the Hero's body without gaps.
But even after being hit by them, gritting his teeth and enduring so as not to fall, and swinging his fist again, could be said to be a realm close to talent, difficult to achieve in just three days.
Therefore, this bewilderment could be called a delightful bewilderment.
"Faster, faster! Go even faster!"
"Kuk!"
He was getting closer and closer. This quick-learning man increasingly pleased me.
That man, too, must have shed a lot of blood and sweat to train this body.
But there was no arrogance in him, and he possessed conviction and justice, so I couldn't help but like him.
As I swung my fist, in an instant, his hand approached faster than mine and restrained my body.
My neck was grabbed in an instant, and the sensation of being slammed to the ground enveloped my body.
"Kuk!"
"Ah, ah! I'm sorry! I was too desperate...! Are you okay?"
Kylon couldn't stay still, fidgeting, and took his hand off my neck, but strangely, I felt odd.
When was the last time I was defeated?
When was the last time I lost, and how long had it been since I felt this sensation?
Thinking that, I felt a shiver. I felt something resonating little by little.
I realized that it was I who had been intoxicated by the confidence that no one could defeat me, and at the same time, it was also I who felt the ennui of having been so far from defeat, and simultaneously, I felt a shiver run through my body at the sense of defeat I hadn't felt in a long time.
Not only did he possess conviction and justice, but he was also a man who had surpassed me, even if only for a moment.
He would clearly become even stronger in the future.
If I stayed by this man's side, I would surely defeat others after that, but I would clearly not be able to defeat this man.
But that sensation subtly tingled, so I had no intention of rejecting it or harboring dissatisfaction.
I merely raised the corners of my mouth ever so slightly.
"...Ah, no. I'm fine."
"...Really?"
"Yes, then, shall we go again?"
In that way, training continued until the moon waned, and until the stars began to shine.
*
If I were to describe Linda, what would be good? Yes, if I were to express it in a single word, I could call her a Masochist.
She harshly pushed her body according to her convictions, and at the same time, she grew closer to 'nothingness,' becoming strong regardless of gender or age, feeling ennui from having no rivals beyond that. That thrill she felt after a long time, the memory of what she only felt when she was weak, would clearly be freshly added.
The skinship from training was indeed skinship, but since it was for an event to awaken the potential she was unaware of, it could be seen that half of it was already accomplished.
If she gradually acquired a taste for defeat, no matter how strong she was against others, she would clearly start to go easy on me.
If I could gradually win without exerting much effort in that way, that would be the start of the 'capture'.
Although she might try not to show it now, if it was her, trembling from that long-awaited sense of defeat, she would clearly show progress little by little, so I merely pushed my tired body to see the end of it.
Carrying this Dick that shouldn't have been there, and getting beaten up like this just to 'fuck' a woman with ideal beauty from the game, wasn't really my preference, but thinking that this was slowly coming to an end, the corners of my mouth quickly turned up.
And at the end of it, I slammed her to the ground one more time and claimed victory.
I, who was quietly watching Linda, who lay sprawled on the ground with a "kuk," carefully moved my lips.
"...Aren't you a little out of strength?"
"Kylon seems to have gotten stronger, though?"
"Is that so...?"
I hadn't even raised my stats with skills yet, so to say I got stronger was nonsense.
I, who suppressed a "kuk" of almost bursting into laughter, nodded my head, thinking 'I see,' and got up again.
Although it was an Adult Game, getting a woman to fall for me wasn't that easy, so even if it was a bit uncomfortable, the feeling of 'capturing' her was so thrilling that I couldn't stop.
I wouldn't have felt it in my body when I was a woman, but if I were a man, it would be a feeling where it wouldn't be strange if this Dick really burst.
Even if she denied it, the 'taste' of ultimately being 'captured' by the Hero was what mattered.
Dealing with Linda, whose punches had lost strength, was no longer that difficult.
So now, I would dodge them one by one, and then simply slam her, who was gasping for breath, to the ground again.
After knocking her down and getting up again to catch my breath, I opened my mouth, considering her.
"Hoo, now, shall we rest a bit?"
But perhaps she was already halfway there, Linda's face was unknowingly flushed with a blush.
"J-just a few more times."
"...Shall we?"
Slowly, it seemed like I could see an event tonight.
I, who had that thought, simultaneously thinking of slamming her to the ground a few more times, suppressed the rising corners of my mouth, and helped her up.