The Knight's Misguided Training
The morning air in the Security Office during the three-way confrontation was heavy. Sunlight streamed brightly through the window, yet Security Chief Karen's face, seated at her desk, was clouded with dark shadows.
"Haa..." She let out a deep sigh. A mountain of documents requiring approval sat on her desk, but the hand gripping the pen merely wandered through the air. Her eyes were sunken, dark circles threatening to reach her chin. It was understandable—she hadn't slept a wink.
Whenever she closed her eyes, that shocking scene from last night through the telescope lens came flooding back.
What... was that, exactly?
Hans's face, twisted in what looked like pain yet drenched in pleasure. His beast-like panting. And most decisively, the white fluid erupting from his body.
"Ugh..." Karen clutched her head. It was information that had never existed in the database of her pure life. Poison? Or a byproduct of mana? But his expression had been far too... happy for that.
Just then, a voice called out.
"Chief, I've brought coffee." Deputy Chief Leo approached cautiously and set down the mug. Worry filled his eyes—it was the first time he'd seen his usually steel-like superior so disheveled.
Karen stared blankly at the coffee cup before slowly raising her head. Leo. Her reliable adjutant, a man with a sturdy build.
Right. If he's a man, he'll know.
Hans was a man, and so was Leo. Karen's gaze sharpened.
"Deputy Leo." Her voice was hoarse, yet carried a strange force.
"Yes, ma'am! Please speak!" Leo snapped to attention.
Karen hesitated for a moment. Was it all right to ask this? But curiosity overwhelmed her shame. She was a knight. Wasn't it a knight's duty to seek the truth without fearing the unknown?
"...There's something I want to ask."
"Anything, Chief! Just say the word!"
Leo’s loyal reply. Karen swallowed dryly and spoke in the most serious, scholarly tone she could muster.
"When a man is alone... does he do strange things with that part of himself?"
Silence. Leo's face instantly hardened.
"Pardon...?" He doubted his own ears. What had the Chief just said? That part? Strange things? When alone?
"I mean... grabbing it with his hand and shaking it... or groaning while expelling something."
Confirmation shot. BOOM—! Lightning struck Leo's mind.
Sh-she found out!
Leo's pupils shook violently, as if in an earthquake. Last night. No, the night before that, and the night before that too—he had lain in his quarters bed, masturbating while thinking of Karen. Imagining his Chief's naked body without armor, calling her name as he expelled his desire.
How did she know? The quarters are separated by gender! Did a patrolling soldier hear my moans and report me?
Extreme terror washed over him. His vile desires had been discovered by the person he respected and loved most. This meant dismissal. No—execution. He could already imagine Karen's contemptuous eyes looking at him like an insect.
No! Not that!
Believing his masturbation had been exposed, Leo knew he had to salvage the situation somehow. He couldn't exactly confess, "Yes, I masturbate every night thinking of you, Chief." He had to deny it. But denying it would be a lie. So instead... he had to reframe it. With a plausible, noble justification!
Leo's brain went into full survival mode.
"Ah, well... you see, Chief!" Leo shouted so loudly his voice cracked. "That's... not strange at all!"
Karen's eyes widened.
"It's not strange?"
"N-no, ma'am! It's... perfectly natural! No, it's a sacred ritual that any warrior must perform!"
Leo launched into an impassioned speech, spittle flying. He was just saying whatever came to mind.
"It expels accumulated turbid energy! Clears blocked meridians to aid blood circulation! Eliminates stray thoughts and clears the mind... a form of meditation! Yes, meditation!"
"Meditation...?"
"Yes! A slightly more intense, physical form of mental discipline! Yes, mental discipline!"
Leo nodded, impressed by his own sophistry. Perfect. Elevating masturbation to mental discipline. Am I a genius?
Karen closed her mouth, deep in thought. Mental discipline. The weight of the words was profound.
I see... mental discipline...!
It felt as if all the pieces had fallen into place. Hans's expression last night—that strange face where pain and pleasure coexisted—was the ecstasy of discipline at its extreme. The sense of liberation when expelling turbid energy from the body. To reach the pinnacle as a warrior, he had been training alone through lonely nights while others slept.
I misunderstood. He wasn't doing something perverted—he was fiercely tempering himself.
Karen revised her evaluation of Hans. From a lewd outsider to a martial artist worthy of respect. At the same time, a surge of jealousy rose within her.
"I see... mental discipline..." Karen stroked her chin with a serious expression. "Then is that something only men can do?"
"Pardon? Well... structurally speaking, usually..." Leo answered, breaking into a cold sweat. Women could do it too, but the method was different, wasn't it?
Karen's brow furrowed.
"How unfair. For men to monopolize such an excellent training method that expels turbid energy and clears the mind."
She slammed her hand on the desk.
"I want to try it too. That mental discipline."
"Pfft!!" Leo nearly spat out the coffee he hadn't even drunk. A shock like a nosebleed struck his brain.
The Chief... masturbating...?!
He imagined it. Karen lying in bed, caressing her most private place with those noble fingers. Her white naked body flushed with pleasure, lewd moans escaping between her dignified lips.
Grk...!
Feeling his lower body grow heavy, Leo sensed danger. No. If I react here, it's really over.
"N-no, that's not... the method is a bit different, though..."
"Method? Right, just as each mage has their own way of refining mana."
Karen nodded. Her eyes already burned with the passion of learning.
"Explain it in detail later. I'm busy, so you may go."
"Y-yes, ma'am! Understood!"
Leo fled the office as if escaping. The moment the door closed, he slumped against the corridor wall. His heart raced wildly.
"Haa... haa... I'm alive..."
Yet on his face, alongside relief, lingered an indelible sense of guilt.
Teaching the Chief... how to masturbate...
Just imagining it was sinful, yet it was an irresistible, sweet temptation.
At the same time, in a corner window seat of the Moonlight Shelter inn's first-floor dining area, Hans sat chewing bread with a dazed expression.
"Mmm..." His head throbbed. After causing that commotion yesterday and then "doing the deed" while thinking of Eila last night, it was no wonder he was exhausted.
Just then, someone plopped down across from him. A strong perfume scent stung his nose.
"Did you have a good night last night, Hans?" It was innkeeper Masa. She was dressed to emphasize her chest more than usual. The deep cleavage between her ample breasts was blatantly visible through the plunging neckline.
"Ah, yes. Good morning, Masa." Hans didn't know where to look and fixed his gaze on the bread.
Masa found Hans's reaction both adorable and frustrating. Though she had separate quarters a block away as the innkeeper, her feelings for Hans had led her to prepare a bed in the empty second-floor room where he had started staying. Last night, hearing him return to his room, she had gone all the way to his door—but upon hearing the rough breathing and creaking bed sounds from beyond it, she had been unable to knock and had to return.
Alone... that intensely...
She felt jealous. She wished he would pour that passion into her body instead.
Masa leaned over the table. Her breasts pressed against it, becoming even more pronounced.
"You came back quite late... Did something happen?"
A woman's intuition was terrifying. Hans flinched.
"N-no! I just got a little lost..."
"Hmm. Really?" Masa's voice took on a strangely sharp edge as she threw out the probing question. Then she casually placed her hand over the back of Hans's hand. It was warm and slightly damp.
"Hans. That night we shared... was really wonderful, wasn't it?" She whispered, sending him a bewitching gaze. "You were so passionate. You haven't forgotten already, have you?"
Cold sweat ran down Hans's back.
That night? I don't remember anything except blacking out from drinking. What the hell did I do...?!
Had he assaulted her while drunk? No, that didn't fit his personality at all. But Masa's attitude was full of certainty.
"Um... Masa, I drank so much that my memory is fuzzy..."
"Oh my, how cruel." Masa pretended to pout, tickling the back of his hand with her finger. "Then... shall I help you remember?"
Her voice dropped, sticky and low.
"How about tonight... with me?"
A direct seduction. Hans's breath caught in his throat. He knew he should refuse, but Masa's red lips and heaving breasts filled his vision. Just as instinct threatened to paralyze reason—
"Let me join in too."
Suddenly, a third voice cut in.
"......?!"
"......?!"
Hans and Masa turned their heads simultaneously. Karen stood beside the table—she must have entered without them noticing. She wore civilian clothes, but her eyes held the grim resolve of a general heading into battle.
Karen plopped down in the seat next to Masa.
"Tonight. The three of us."
"Pfft—!!!" Hans spat out the water he had been drinking.
"Th-three... what?!" Hans shrieked. What kind of soap opera was this? Dealing with the innkeeper's seduction was already overwhelming, and now the Security Chief had barged in proposing a threesome? Was this some kind of sexually liberated country?
Masa was equally shocked. She stared at Karen with wide eyes.
The Security Chief? She was this bold?
At Karen's daring proposal—unexpected from the conservative, rigid woman she had assumed—Masa felt both wariness and a strange competitive spirit.
Well, Hans does have his charms. Of course a young girl would catch the scent and come sniffing around.
But Masa had no intention of backing down. Instead, she smiled leisurely and provoked Karen.
"My, Chief. How unexpected. I didn't know you had such hobbies."
"It's not so much a hobby... as a necessity." Karen answered seriously. "Isn't it efficient? If three people do it together instead of one, we can check each other's form."
Both of them were horrified, interpreting Karen's words as a threesome proposal. Yet Karen, oblivious to their bewilderment, calmly continued her logic.
"I'm still a beginner, after all. If the pioneer Hans leads and the experienced Masa assists, I should be able to learn quickly."
"Oh my, I don't have that much experience, you know. Hohoho." Masa's face stiffened for a moment.
This little girl is treating me like an old woman?
But she replied with a sly smile.
"Very well. Doing it with three people... doesn't sound so bad. What do you think, Hans?"
Two pairs of eyes locked onto Hans. Masa's sticky gaze and Karen's burning, passionate one. Hans felt like he was suffocating. He couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality.
No, wait. Let's think calmly. Does this even make sense? I'm not some harem protagonist.
There had to be some misunderstanding. Especially with Karen. That woman wasn't the type to make sexual jokes. Her eyes were too clear and transparent—almost to the point of madness.
"Um... first of all..." Hans wiped his cold sweat and spoke. "Today... I'm not feeling well. Let's definitely set a date for next time."
A tactical retreat. If he accepted here, he had no idea what might actually happen.
"Hmm. A shame." Karen looked genuinely disappointed. "Did you exhaust your energy by expelling too much turbid energy?"
"Cough!" Hans choked. She saw?! Did she see me jerking off yesterday?!
Of course, Hans had no way of knowing that Karen had observed his masturbation in microscopic detail through a high-powered telescope. His face flushed crimson as he hung his head.
"Then it's a promise." Karen stood up. "Take care of yourself. Training is good, but health comes first."
She strode out of the inn with dignity.
Masa, unable to hide her shyness, leaned in and whispered while clinging to Hans's arm.
"I've never tried it either... but I do want to experience it once. I'll be looking forward to it!"
Hans felt as if his soul was leaving his body.