Chapter 45: Completely Subdue Holy Knight Bell (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 45: Completely Subdue Holy Knight Bell (1)
If nothing else, that inscrutable expression of hers was enough to tank her favorability in my eyes. To me, she belonged to a category of women it was quite difficult to feel any romantic attraction toward.
Despite that, the reason I couldn't help but get hard while looking at her was because of the one thing about her that actually triggered my lust.
It was the fact that my master, Bell, placed infinite trust in those she had taught.
At any given moment, she didn't care in the slightest about my gaze—or rather, the gaze of a man.
I couldn't be sure if she was simply convinced that no one would ever harbor lewd desires for her, or if there was some other reason, but it was clear she had no idea that her actions were purely stimulating to a male.
A woman who might as well have zero interest in the opposite sex was, without even realizing it, making anything with a cock go into heat.
Like the way she would sit comfortably with her legs crossed, raising both arms to tidy her sweat-soaked red hair, revealing her smooth armpits and her usually hidden neckline.
Or how she would lean in close, her body drenched in sweat from a grueling training session, claiming she was correcting my posture while letting the thick scent of a female waft toward me.
Every time that happened, I felt a maddening urge to ravish that Holy Knight.
And now, I was in a situation where I could fully carry out those thoughts if I just set my mind to it.
Even as I sat on the sofa opposite Bell, my cock was itching so intensely that I was excited enough to feel the pre-cum leaking out.
I stared at Bell in silence.
Bell sat there with one leg crossed comfortably, just like always.
However, unlike in the past, there was a freezing chill in her eyes.
"Master, have you finished everything you needed to do by delivering the Saintess's letter to me?"
"I suppose so."
"I see."
I nodded at her, who maintained her characteristic expressionless face.
It was a lie.
Even now, her eyes were filled with a clear sense of purpose.
It was obvious she still had an objective.
Having trained together for quite a long time, it was something I could easily notice.
She was a Holy Knight who made a rigorous effort to maintain her composure even during breaks, but usually, the moment she took off her helmet right after training, she would relax and look as if she were enjoying her rest.
But now, perhaps because she still had business with me, she was focusing her mind on me even more intensely than when she was immersed in training.
"It's already been several years since we last saw each other, yet you haven't changed much. Though your aura seems to have shifted somewhat."
Bell's gaze began to move slowly.
Her eyes traveled up and down as if scanning my entire body before meeting my face again.
"Especially your eyes—they've changed a lot. I suspect it has something to do with the suspicious energy I feel in this building."
"Do you still find this energy unpleasant?"
"Hearing you say that makes me feel a bit hurt. Don't you know well that, unlike others, I think the opposite?"
"Yes. I know it well. You told me until I was sick of hearing it for half a year. That's why I thought that you, at least, would say I haven't changed."
I gave a small shrug.
"But it seems even you, Master, aren't pleased with me using magi."
"No. I'm trying to understand even that. In the past, you chose to follow the training methods of a Holy Knight to suppress that magi to its limits, and during the time we spent together, you were never anything less than sincere. That's why I came all the way here to ask you myself."
Bell's eyes narrowed as she looked at me.
"Why are you trying to part ways with us? Sihyeon."
"…Does your 'us' refer to the Church and Saintess Aris?"
"Yes. If you stop here, that list won't grow any further."
I kept my mouth shut.
It seemed the Saintess's side had planted some special Holy Magic in Seri.
Or perhaps Seri had hidden it until the very end.
Either way, it was clear that things were becoming quite complicated.
"Master. Let me ask you one thing. If you've figured out my intentions, why did you come here alone?"
"…To stop you."
"Hmm."
I pulled out the Saintess's letter I had tucked away.
"I haven't checked the contents yet, but hearing your words, I can be certain the Saintess also intends to stop me… Wouldn't it have been better to act alongside her?"
"As you say, if I wanted to finish this job for certain, it would have been much better to bring others along. However…"
Bell slowly rose from her chair.
"For some reason, Saintess Aris doesn't seem to care about the Priestess's safety in the slightest."
"Well, I expected as much. If she cared for the Priestess even a little, she wouldn't have done something as foolish as sending you to me alone."
"True. And you would have tried to use that Priestess as a hostage while confronting the forces the Saintess brought along. You were likely fully prepared to continue the torture if necessary."
Her expression darkened slightly.
"Because for someone like you, who always hoped to return home, you could never forgive the Church and the Saintess's party."
"Hmm. I didn't know you had heard about that as well, Master."
"I only found out a few days ago. If I had known sooner, I might have done anything to help you."
"Why? Was I, someone you only knew for half a year, a person of that much value to you?"
"The time we've known each other doesn't matter. It's just that I hope my one and only disciple doesn't choose to make all of humanity his enemy."
She took her first step toward me.
In that instant, her right hand flashed, and a familiar longsword materialized.
"Do you have any intention of stopping here?"
The sharp tip of the blade pointed accurately at my throat.
I replied with a smirk.
"No. If I were going to do that, I wouldn't have started in the first place."
[New Quest]
[Completely subdue Holy Knight Bell.]
[Reward: Magi Level +2]
It was simply because a quest I liked had appeared.
"Answer me. How did things come to this, Sihyeon?"
I closed the quest window and looked Bell straight in the eye.
I didn't even need to worry about the sword pointed at my throat right now.
The Bell I knew was a master who could never bring herself to cut down her disciple.
Even so, the reason she was showing such threatening behavior was likely because she simply wanted to convey at least a part of her feelings to me.
"Master. By any chance, did you also hear the reason why they decided not to send me back home?"
"No. I didn't hear that. But you… you speak as if they deliberately chose not to do something that was fully possible. Do you know something I don't?"
"Yes. The Goddess I believe in showed me through dreams. She showed me how they were constantly brainstorming ways to deal with the exact same issue."
"I think you could have easily considered the possibility that the Goddess was deceiving you."
"I did. Because I didn't want to believe the contents of those dreams at all. As proof, I hoped to remain in the party until the very end and fulfill my role, and I didn't hesitate to help in the process of defeating the Demon King using the magi I possessed. It means that while everyone around me doubted me endlessly, I fulfilled my duty as a knight. Master."
I let out a small sigh.
"Despite that, what I got in the end was the very conclusion I had denied so much. For some reason, they refused to grant my wish and only laid out excuses that they had no other choice. In such a situation, even my one and only master, while saying she understands my feelings, ultimately chose to block my path."
Bell silently pressed her lips together.
"Now I will ask you, Master. For someone in my position, if I didn't end up like this, what exactly should I have chosen? Do you have the answer?"
She didn't open her mouth for several seconds.
She just quietly stared into my eyes.
"I understand your feelings well enough. The sense of betrayal toward your party members, and the disappointment toward me, your master. All of it must have shackled you endlessly. But, you see, there are lines in this world that must not be crossed."
"I truly cannot understand your way of thinking. Weren't those bitches the ones who crossed the line first?"
"Yes. If you hadn't detained Seri, I might have said those exact words to them. And as I said before, I would have volunteered to be on your side and helped you in any way I could. However, the moment you decided to break Priestess Seri, that option vanished, and that is why the current me is standing here."
As soon as Bell finished speaking, a hollow laugh escaped me.
Watching her talk as if she were some much grander person than I am was enough to make me lose my breath.
If she were put in the exact same position as me, it's obvious she would have reached for magi too, using the excuse that she had no other choice.