Chapter 22: The Female Knight's Declaration of True Education
After the match ended, Adrian entered the lounge. As he quenched his thirst and took a moment to rest, someone suddenly stepped inside.
"Ah, Ad- Adrian."
"Oh, it's you, Helia."
She had been lost in the afterglow just that morning, but now she seemed to have pulled herself together somewhat. Yet her face flushed red the moment she faced him, her gaze darting away as if she'd seen something she shouldn't have.
As he wondered about it, Helia cleared her throat with a ahem and continued.
"I came to offer my congratulations on safely overcoming this match. It seems the results of your training have truly shone through—I'm relieved."
"Ah, yeah. I couldn't have done it without you, Helia."
He knew firsthand that his opponent was no pushover. If he hadn't awakened her ability to handle mana, he might have been the one humiliated in front of the crowd.
"Sorry for the late thanks. I really appreciate it, Helia. Thanks to you, I got through it unscathed."
"No, no—I merely did what needed doing. As a knight, protecting a man in distress is only natural..."
Helia brushed off his gratitude modestly, true to her character. But even that composure soon crumbled, her face turning red once more.
The atmosphere had felt off from the start. Was something bothering her?
"That said, um..."
The reason for her unease soon spilled haltingly from her lips.
"It's about the match you fought in, Adrian..."
"Ah, yeah. Were you watching?"
"I joined the stands midway. So... from the moment you, uh, mated with Lennox..."
Ah, she saw that. Come to think of it, not just the crowd—anyone who knew him could have watched his spectacle. For someone as moral as Helia, it must have been deeply uncomfortable.
"...I understand."
"Pardon?"
"I can fully understand. Your current situation is at the mercy of Lady Renes, and she desired a match that would draw attention. From your position, you had no choice but to do something attention-grabbing to meet those expectations."
Well... sure, performance was needed, but that wasn't why I fucked her.
"A weak man roughly handling a strong woman to gain notoriety... You must have chosen that path to survive, yes?"
Helia, unaware of his true intentions, gazed at him with pity. He understood she saw him as someone needing protection, but playing along pricked his conscience. No matter how this world viewed men as weak, he couldn't reshape his own desires to fit. When he saw an attractive woman, he wanted to fuck her. When a bitchy one picked a fight, he wanted to crush her under his power and show her who's boss.
Yes, society would call those urges vulgar. Letting a morally upright woman misunderstand his "vile" desires would test his own conscience.
"No, I just did it 'cause she turned me on."
Unable to hold back, he blurted out the truth in frustration.
"Wh-what?"
Helia's eyes widened in shock at his unexpected words, but he pressed on with his thoughts.
"I thought it'd feel good to fuck that arrogant bitch myself, so I did it."
"F-fuck...? Adrian? What you just said..."
Yeah, it'd sound weird. Just as forced sex from woman to man was taboo in his old world, a man fucking a woman was incomprehensible here.
"Helia."
But hiding his true self was suffocating. He decided to lay bare his crude desires to this woman who wanted to understand him.
"You seem to misunderstand something. Women feel sexual desire for men, and men feel it for women too."
"What do you...?"
"Just like the crowd sexually harasses me with their eyes, I get the urge to fuck attractive women. And that criminal Lennox happened to be right up my alley."
"Wait, hold on. Just a moment, Adrian. So that wasn't you sacrificing yourself for the show? You did it of your own will... as a man, you actively chose to fuck a woman?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
Helia stared blankly, dumbfounded. Glancing at her revealing outfit, he added honestly,
"By the way, you look fucking hot right now too, Helia."
"H-hot...!"
"I told you last night—I was turned on from the first moment I saw you."
It was slutty armor that barely covered cock and tits, serving no practical purpose. She'd walked around confidently without realizing it, and he'd objectified her sexually from the start. Last night's acts should have clued her into his nature...
"I..."
But Helia, unable to accept his words, flushed crimson and cried out passionately.
"Please guard your chastity!"
"Huh?"
"I told you to value your body!"
Her eyes blazed as she stared him down. In that instant, he vaguely realized what was coming: a stiff, rigid lecture.
"Adrian. Since time immemorial, men must cherish their bodies. They must conduct themselves modestly, shunning anything that stirs desire... This is the common sense and law passed down through society from ancient times."
"Uh, yeah. Sure."
"Don't take it so lightly! Your feelings clash with that common sense, don't they? For a man to harbor such radical thoughts of fucking a woman himself—that's, that's..."
She trailed off in horror, then whispered pityingly, frustration evident.
"You must have lost your virginity against your will, and that sparked your lust. How tragic..."
"Uh, well..."
What? I straight-up admitted I'm a horny bastard, and she's still pitying me? Is man-on-woman sex that alien here? Or is she just such a goody-two-shoes she's clueless about this stuff?
"I can't leave you like this. Come with me."
"Huh? Wait a sec..."
Ignoring his confusion, Helia grabbed his hand and pulled him along. Her resolute steps suggested she'd made a firm decision about something important.
"Wh-where are we going?"
"The bedroom."
"...Bedroom?"
"I can't let you stray down the wrong path. So, we'll do it once more—I'll guide you to the proper sexual mindset for a man."
Proper sexual mindset? Textbook bullshit again. But her flushed face betrayed more. Hoping, he prodded,
"So, basically, watching my match made you wanna fuck me again?"
"N-no! It's purely out of necessity!"
Her voice trembled unnaturally, betraying her fluster as she gripped his hand tighter, rambling on.
"Adrian, yesterday we got swept up in the mood, but sex between man and woman requires utmost caution. It must be gentle, considerate, never forceful."
"Yeah, that makes sense to me... But didn't you lack experience until yesterday too?"
"Eek...!"
She flinched as if struck. Halting, she turned, clasped his hand in both of hers, and declared firmly,
"Let me take responsibility."
"Responsibility?"
"Whether swept by mood or unable to contain desire... Regardless, I shared my body with you. As a woman, I must fulfill my duty. So please, let me take responsibility for you."
Words from the woman whose virginity he'd taken. It clashed with his values, where a woman's first time mattered more—but she showed no hesitation, as if it were obvious. In this world, a man's chastity trumped a woman's.
"...Let's talk more in the bedroom."
Her words carried real excitement. Anticipating, he followed her there.
*****
And after a wild romp in the bedroom.
"Nngh, ahh... ♥"
Helia lay spent on the bed, her trembling lips uttering a plaintive moan.
"Th-this is wrong... I must lead Adrian down the right path..."
...Right, she'd dragged him here to teach "proper sex." But once it started, the mood heated up, and swept away, it turned rough. Watching her wrecked state now stirred a mischievous urge.
Even this paragons of virtue crumbled like this during sex—it was amusing and satisfying.
"Helia."
He gave her lips a light kiss, then pulled back and asked slyly,
"Feeling good?"
"G-good... ♥"
She melted into the kiss with a voice on the verge of dissolving. Stroking her hair, he dressed and murmured his thanks.
"You're the first woman to care this much about me."
It spanned this life and his past one. No woman had ever offered to "take responsibility" for his distance from sex. His feelings for her were surely special.
With that, he left the room, wandering until he reached the training ground where they'd practiced.
"This damn body's stamina never runs out."
Strength surpassing thugs, mana superior to women's, a cock that rose no matter how many times it came... The more he thought, the more cheat-like it seemed. Maybe it'd bite him later.
Nah, toss the worries. Focus on handling now.
To prepare for the next match, he gripped a practice weapon and swung—then sensed someone nearby.
"Pfft, check out that swing form."
The mocking voice grated. Turning, he saw a black bob-cut woman smirking at him, clad in bikini armor and bodystocking under a cloak—more daring than Helia's in some ways.
"Sloppy form, poor footwork, weak swings. For someone Helia trained, you're disappointingly subpar."
Despite her shameless outfit, her words dripped disdain. Ignoring it, she hammered the nail in.
"Well, a man can only go so far with training. Lady Renes is too starved for entertainment, wasting investments like this."
"...Who the hell are you?"
"Oh? You don't know me? How rude—I'm one of the city's most famous people."
Her rudeness on a first meeting irked him. She smirked bitterly.
"If you don't know, burn this into your memory. I'm Martina, a knight far superior to that Helia who trained you."
...Superior or not, one thing was clear. She had a vulgar body that reacted instantly to his crotch.