Chapter 132: You Too?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 132: You Too?
The next day.
After hearing Yohan's plan, Makina and Regina began working on the blueprints. They started building the item Yohan had requested, working through the night.
When the Witch of Records, who could reproduce any record from the past, and the Witch of Machines, who could build anything except the impossible, joined forces—the item Yohan had requested was completed with astonishing speed.
“Here! This is the Iron—”
“Powered suit.”
“Ah, right. Powered suit!”
Makina said, pointing to the full-body armor before her. At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a sleek suit of armor, but Yohan, who had commissioned it, and Makina, who had built it, knew it was far from simple.
A powered suit that granted its wearer immense strength, based on an energy source mounted on the back.
It was the kind of thing that would allow an ordinary person to crush monsters with ease, and one could only imagine the incredible effects it would have if worn by a superhuman like a holy knight or Yohan.
“I wanted to ask if you were in your right mind, thinking of making something like this, but…”
“This is an emergency.”
“Mm, yeah. I think so too. Well, it doesn't matter to me either way.”
However, like any piece of equipment, the powered suit didn't just have advantages. Granting the wearer immense strength was synonymous with placing an immense burden on their body.
If someone who wasn't physically trained were to move in this suit, every bone in their body might break.
“You'll be fine, Yohan, but—what about her?”
“We'll see. We'll have to trust in the fact that she's a holy knight.”
“…As far as I know, being a holy knight doesn't mean your body is magically enhanced or that you can heal injuries.”
Once the suit was complete, Yohan summoned Elesis. She had been in the middle of weekly prayers with the citizens and, though surprised by the sudden summons, rushed over immediately.
She tilted her head at Yohan, who had called for her, then nodded as if she understood when she saw the full-body armor next to him.
“A fight? It's a fight. Yes, has the day finally come for me to return to being God's iron mace…”
“Um, first, we need to do a test run to see if it fits you. So—change into this and come back.”
“…What is this?”
Elesis's expression hardened slightly as she looked at the bodysuit Yohan handed her. It was a bit much to say, but it was a radical outfit that revealed the contours of her entire body—something even a prostitute might not wear.
However, since it was necessary to wear it under the powered suit, Yohan urged her to change.
“To think I have to wear such a shameless outfit…”
“What's the big deal? You're not the only one wearing it.”
“…You're wearing one too? That's somehow worse.”
Although she expressed her shame at wearing a matching outfit with Yohan, she didn't run away with a fight looming.
There were far too many enemies deserving of divine punishment for her to flee just because of embarrassment. Far, far too many.
Even the time to feel ashamed was a waste.
A moment later, Elesis emerged in the bodysuit and began to shyly cover herself under the gazes of Yohan and the witches.
“…What are you all staring at?”
“No, it's just—Elesis, you have abs. I'm surprised.”
“Ugh-! Th-that's only natural for a holy knight…!”
The contradiction of her large, feminine breasts and her abs, which felt anything but feminine.
After observing her contradictory figure, Yohan belatedly went to put on his own bodysuit and returned.
Seeing Yohan in his bodysuit, Elesis let out a sigh of relief.
“You have a pretty good body yourself.”
“I've trained.”
“Hehe, seeing that body somehow puts me at ease.”
“…You feel at ease looking at a muscular body?”
As Yohan grew flustered by her comment, which could be mistaken for something a non-virgin might say, Elesis chuckled, saying that wasn't what she meant.
“When I was training to be a holy knight, I was surrounded by muscles. It reminds me of those days.”
“Holy knight training, do men and women train together?”
“That's right. Men and women train in the same place.”
Yohan thought for a moment about holy knight training. Right, when he had taught, men and women had trained together as well.
Come to think of it, it was something utterly unbefitting of a holy knight. Weren't holy knights supposed to be beings who upheld celibacy, chastity, and piety?
It was easy to guess what would happen if you put men and women together for training, without anyone needing to spell it out.
“Doesn't anything happen?”
“It does. That's why numerous trainees are expelled every year.”
“Then shouldn't you separate them from the start?”
“No. Would it be true celibacy just to keep them apart? There is true value only in overcoming the shimmering lust before your very eyes.”
True celibacy wasn't about avoidance. If sexual desire could be suppressed by such a simple method, then things like the rape of junior soldiers wouldn't happen in armies full of men, and there wouldn't have been nuns in medieval convents who, upon seeing a man, would present their asses and covet his cock.
True celibacy wasn't like that. Just as Siddhartha Gautama cast off his desires despite being tempted by Mara, true celibacy was a mind that did not waver in the face of temptation.
“If the goal were simply to make them feel no sexual desire, wouldn't they just castrate them? There's a reason they don't.”
“…Yeah, that's true.”
And that meant Elesis had perfected a heart that would not be easily swayed or broken.
“Are you two ready?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Yohan and Elesis each equipped the suits prepared for them. Cold metal covered their bodies, and a moment later, their vision flashed white.
After the brief flashbang effect, an expansive field of view was provided.
The collapsed city, the people trembling in fear—if he focused, he could even see the pores on the witch's face in front of him.
“Nice.”
Yohan tested the suit, jumping in place and running a few steps. Indeed, his already superhuman speed was dramatically enhanced.
After confirming there were no issues with his suit, Yohan glanced over at Elesis.
Since it was a mechanical enhancement, Elesis's speed was similar to Yohan's. The only difference would be in how well she adapted to that speed and how much less of a burden she felt.
“This is…”
“How is it, Elesis? Is your body holding up?”
“Not bad. But I don't think I can use it for long…”
“That's more than enough.”
If there were no problems with movement, the only test left was to see how long it would take to overload.
Yohan told Elesis how to draw the sword built into the suit. A moment later, the two of them drew energy swords from their forearms.
“This is…”
“You can't use it for long because it'll shut down the suit… but since we can't use the suit itself for long, I guess it doesn't matter.”
Elesis let Yohan's words go in one ear and out the other as she casually sliced at a nearby building. The steel-and-concrete building was cut to pieces as if it were tofu.
She didn't stop there, and began to imbue her energy sword with Divine Power. Imbuing Divine Power into energy itself was a difficult task, but the highly trained holy knight managed to succeed.
“…To be able to move like this, and even imbue it with Divine Power. This is—”
“Right. It's equipment that will let us operate against the monsters that appeared in this city without any problems.”
“Ha, haha. If the kingdom had suits like this, I wouldn't have had to lose my comrades so needlessly…”
Elesis was lost in memories for a moment, then shook her head and stood up. This was no time to be dwelling on the past.
She sparred with Yohan, growing more and more accustomed to the suit.
Watching the holy knight armed with future technology, Yohan had a hunch that holy knights would never disappear.
‘As science advances, the witches grow stronger… but so will the holy knights.’
Witches, beings with no one to control them. And holy knights, who can hunt those witches.
He felt that this predator-prey relationship would never disappear, even as science advanced. Rather, as time went on, the value of both existences would only rise excessively.
That's what Yohan thought.
Having finished the suit's development and initial testing, Makina and Regina, who were now busy with all sorts of adjustments, requested a day off.
They needed to sortie immediately, but he could afford to give them a day's grace.
After giving the two their leave, Yohan returned to his quarters and began to think alone about the battle tomorrow.
A situation where he had to fight without the witches. He trembled with anxiety, wondering if he and Elesis could really pull it off by themselves….
“Um, Yohan?”
Just then, Adelheid came to see him. Yohan lifted his head slightly and could easily guess why she had come.
Anyone could tell just by looking at her crimson blush. A grin spreading across his face, Yohan let her into his quarters and asked.
“What's up?”
“…You're being mean. You already know why I'm here, don't you?”
Adelheid said, embracing Yohan. His own sexual desire was brimming over due to his anxiety about the next day's battle, so Yohan didn't refuse her.
The two, who had been looking at each other eagerly, carefully moved in for a kiss….
“Excuse me, Yohan? Are you in there?”
…They didn't get to kiss.
Hearing the voice of Elesis, who had also come to his room, Yohan let out a hollow laugh.
You too?