Official Ranks

There was a short R18 bonus scene, so take note.

After cleaning up the thieves' corpses, there were a few survivors—thieves who couldn't flee because of injured legs or the like—so we tied them up and took them along.

They were going to try handing them over in the nearest town for a bounty... or rather, to cash them in. We'd been ordered to just cut them down if any of their buddies came back to rescue them.

The corpses might've fetched some coin if they were wanted men, but hauling them around was a hassle, so we burned them all together, dug a hole by the roadside, and buried the ashes.

From there, we headed southeast for a while and arrived at the village where we were set to stay the night.

We'd borrowed the village assembly hall, where a few men sat around a table.

The three lead merchants, their dedicated escorts, and for some reason, me. Apparently, since I'd taken command of one squad for the counterattack, I had to sit in as an observer.

From what the merchants had pieced together, the bandits who attacked didn't seem to be from around here.

They had connections with the local groups who might pull thief work like that, and even paid them off sometimes.

If it had been a local gang, they could've bartered the prisoners for cash, or if the lord hated them, they might be wanted already.

But drifters who don't stick around? Tough to deal with—no one to trade with, and who knows how the lord handles 'em. They might even be wanted if they'd hit the territory before, though.

And with that, they settled on the survivors' fate.

Torus, sitting next to me as a fellow observer, responded to my mutter.

"Yeah, fair enough."

I'd fantasized about turning the tables on the thieves, claiming bounties and loot for a windfall... but that's storybook stuff. Sigh.

We'd stared down real danger, but reality doesn't guarantee rewards...

Then again, goblin hunts can lead to rescuing a noble lady and striking it rich. Go figure.

The merchants cursed the thieves before diving into future plans.

The injured dedicated escort would ride in a wagon, and they'd hire new guards en route if possible.

One of the merchants, Maartus, turned the conversation my way.

I'd fed Elliott some line ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about buying it from a street stall, but right now I was playing the spoiled noble scion. Let 'em think it was a gift from the folks back home.

Shawn pressed further, but how to play this?

Say it burns MP, and with the spells I cast, they'd wonder just how much mana I've got. Better not use it casually in front of others anyway.

I was pondering how to respond when Dentoru bailed me out. Yeah, let's call it a secret.

Bonus pay incoming? Hazard stipends were in the contract, so I'd expected something.

Dentoru said it. Ten silver coins—about 100,000 yen. A proper purse, maybe a bit generous.

Shawn sounded surprised. Apparently, hazard pay was a pooled thing among the three.

Dentoru smiled my way and nodded. I swear I heard his thoughts: This guy's useful—better keep him sweet. Nah, probably imagining it.

Freed from the meeting, I headed to my assigned room in one of the buildings.

They'd rented out some vacant guest houses. Non-dedicated escorts were down in numbers—some I'd killed, others the thieves had—so I got a whole building to myself. Plenty of space to stretch out.

And since it was a village with prior business ties, we were off night watch. The other guards were boozing it up happily, but I passed—can't drink—and holed up.

"Fuuu~"

"Good work out there, Master."

Sarsa was setting up the bedding and greeted me warmly.

...That jiggling ass was hypnotic. Plus, the post-battle adrenaline still clung to my body like a second skin.

I grabbed it hard, and Sarsa gasped.

Sarsa went limp in resignation, and I roughly shoved my hand under her skirt, yanking off her panties.

Looking down, I was raring to go.

Normally I'd tease her with my mouth plenty, but no patience tonight. I dropped my pants one-handed and pressed against her entrance from above.

The warm, soft feel of her secret folds on my tip cranked my excitement higher. No holding back—I thrust forward.

Of course, she wasn't wet at all, so there was resistance, but I forced my way in.

Sarsa let out a pained groan. Forcing it probably hurt. But I couldn't stop.

With her ass up, entering from behind—it was straight-up doggy. First time for this position. We'd stuck to missionary before; no energy for more after getting hooked on monkey-style and starting the premature ejaculation fix project. Then came escort duty and her period— no time to experiment.

From behind, the angle was perfect, easy to thrust. Dry as she was, there was friction, but the position made advancing smooth. The pressure felt different—interesting—but no time to savor; I just pounded away.

Smack, smack—our hips colliding, sweet jolts shooting up from my shaft each time. This feels amazing...

Looking down at her like this, claiming her—it ramped up the visual thrill. Even her asshole, which I rarely saw up close, was in view.

A bit darkened, the tight pucker nestled quietly amid the jiggling cheeks.

Tempted to play with it, but jumping straight to kinky stuff? Nah.

Back to mindlessly slamming into her ass.

A tingling climbed my spine, numbing my thoughts.

Sarsa just whimpered softly. That only spurred me on—my hips sped up on their own. Ahh, my waist is melting away...

Splurt, spuuurt...

Days' worth backed up, blasting hard against her walls. Pulling out, thick white oozed out with a wet pop vibe. Damn, that's hot.

Next thing I knew, I was hard again, pressing back against her heaving hole.

Sarsa whispered in surprise, but one or two rounds wouldn't cut it tonight, Sarsa.

I kept railing her from behind till I passed out from exhaustion.

Next morning, Sarsa overslept for once—guess I really worked her over. In exchange, I woke refreshed. Battle really does make a guy crave women, huh.

Now, all clear-headed, time to check gains from the trip so far. Not pay—status.

First, jobs: Magic Gunner and Mage. I unlocked the gun mid-fight for sniping and stuck with it—no time to swap after. Could've switched back to Swordsman before the final charge if I'd had a breather.

Eh, Magic Gunner leveled anyway—result. Mage jumped two levels somehow. It was 5 before the raid. All the combat improv—attack, defense—must've paid off. Welcome news.

Post-fight MP was down to 3; if I'd been on Swordsman, it might not have cut it. Didn't expect such heavy gun use, scatter shot and all, but hey—result.

"Magic Gunner sprouted a skill, huh."

Yeah, Magic Gun Handling I. "Skill Explain" gave a vague "Boosts magic gun handling." Accuracy? Easier MP channeling? Something like that.

Stat boosts went to Magic and Magic Def—makes sense for the job combo.

Can't flaunt the gun too much or the lie unravels, so swap to Swordsman + Mage.

This setup shows no stat growth since before the trip. Different job stat focuses mean slower overall gains despite two jobs.

"Nnh..."

Sarsa squirmed in bed. About time to wake? Hers hadn't leveled yet.

Even with real combat, levels don't pop that fast.

She's growing slower than me... Probably 'cause I stack jobs for above-level performance, boosting EXP gain.

If so, Interferer is a total balance-breaker beyond multi-jobbing.

Design flaw? But there's junk like Fool too. Maybe jobs aren't balanced from the start—not a game, after all.

"Kyuui~"

Don deftly opened the door and waddled in. Been out somewhere, fruit in mouth—mission obvious.

"Don't wander too much—you get in trouble, on you."

"Gii."

Casual acknowledgment, then he plopped in the corner, munching sleepily. Wonder where he scored it.

Kelmi are nocturnal; can flip schedules with training, but I want him on nights, so no tweaks. His rhythm's opposite ours.

But we feed him "breakfast" before his sleep (our dinner?) and "dinner" when he wakes (our breakfast?), so we overlap some.

He's up around our post-dinner downtime, getting pets from Sarsa then. Fresh from purchase, I worried, but he gets words fine—housebroken with a word, smart as hell. Pricey, but no wonder folks want 'em.

Oh yeah, when explaining Don the Kelmi, Shawn dropped trivia: "Secondary brain near the back." Explains the smarts.

Need that intellect minimum for guardian beast cert. This world's critters got brains.

Earth? Nothing like—whales maybe have potential?

Over there, folks argued whale rights. Here, maybe guardian rights activism someday.

Status system differs ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from humans, so who knows the form.

I idly watched Don eat, mind wandering.

Sarsa rose near noon, apologizing for sleeping in. Nah, I should sorry for overdoing it.

"No pain left?"

"No, a good rest fixed it."

Escort duty resumes afternoon. Mornings for local trade here—fill wagon gaps with specialties, sell south.

They'd boasted ties during the raid. Full trade circuit locked in.

Prep all you want—one slip to monsters or bandits, and you're wiped out, back to square one.

Peddlers have it rough here.

...Thought something similar before. Farmers tough too. No easy gigs. Gotta grind.

"Master, time to link with Lord Dentoru."

"Yeah, gearing up now."

We'd been hit off the main road; now hugging the coast for trade, rejoining the highway later.

Torus fired up the escorts.

Walking, I asked Mara; she nodded.

Post-raid, she'd warmed a tad to chat.

Chat with Mara ended there, but Sarsa filled in later.

"Huh."

"Noble ranks are tricky... but guardians are a big deal."

"Gotcha, like daimyo."

"Daimyo?"

"Earth thing."

Japan's shugo guardians got uppity in chaos eras, but here they administer lands properly—internal affairs, diplomacy, military.

Closer to Edo daimyo... maybe. History noob here.

"Eh, noble titles are a mess anyway."

Best not overthink.

Or as fake noble brat, gotta know basics or look off?

My lame analogy bombed on isekai folk; Sarsa just tilted her head. Break time, asked around—surprisingly many knew.

(Self-styled's fine...?)

I grimaced; another know-it-all uncle chimed in.

"Huh."

Too confusing—bailed.

Anyway, guardians are top-tier titles. There's also Governor—tier below.

Western nobility terms: guardians like earls—authority, clout. Fits stories: smart schemers or masterminds. Don't cross 'em.

Uncle mentioned Chūi, Hama—upstart ranks. New blood, more approachable, common touch.

Handy intel. Want noble connects? Target those.

Some nobles lack titles altogether—I didn't know that yet.

Coastal highway trek smooth, even seaside BBQ fun.

Clouds gathered near end, rejoining main road.

We're nearing the end of chapter one.

Chapter two might feel grindier, but it's monster fights galore.

Second heroine? Don's here, y'know.

(Appears by chapter two end.)