Chapter 183
Chapter 183
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Commendation - 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
—Since it's just between us, I'll write casually. You're doing well, right?
The letter started in true Lize fashion right from the first sentence. It balanced precariously on the edge between comfort and propriety.
And I preferred it this way. If it had begun with all sorts of formal flourishes, it would have felt even stranger. After all, it was just between Lize and me, as the letter said.
—I've never been one for pouring my heart out in letters—it always felt a bit cringey—but suddenly, there was something I absolutely had to tell you.
'Something I absolutely had to tell you?'
Had some incident blown up? If Lize was using phrasing like that, it had to be something hugely important.
—I’m pregnant.
“Cough, cough! Kkhk!”
“Eek! A-Are you okay?!”
The moment I saw the short sentence right below it, something caught in my throat, and I hacked up a storm.
The ragged, gut-wrenching coughs made Nix, who was sitting beside me, jump in shock and rush over in a fluster. Her slender, reed-like hand patted my back.
—It’s a joke. I just thought I’d tease you a bit in case you were getting too worked up about Delta. Did it help loosen you up?
“You’re too kind, really.”
Clutching my lungs, which felt like they were tearing apart from the coughing fit, I trembled under Nix's gentle back-patting. To think she'd pull such a childish prank.
One more joke like that, and I might not survive. Grumbling inwardly, I continued reading the letter.
—We're all fine here, so don't worry about us. You know this is the imperial palace, right? What kind of trouble could possibly happen? That's the whole reason we're here in the first place.
‘...Fair enough.’
Whether in the lore or in-game, the imperial palace boasted the tightest security in the entire empire.
Not content with protective magic arrays doubling as traps everywhere, it was guarded by five boss-tier knights, ten mid-boss-tier knights, dozens of elite knights, and over a hundred regular knights.
Even the emperor himself was one of the top martial artists among humans, rivaling the popes and Minerva. No wonder incidents were rare there.
‘Though there are two guys who could pull it off.’
One was the protagonist of the human-hostile or life-extinction routes, and the other was the captain of the Golden Twilight Knights.
The latter at least got suppressed quickly depending on the player's actions, but the former was basically a natural disaster.
—Oh, the atmosphere's been a bit off lately. You know the guy whose knight order you poached half of? His condition's getting worse by the day. He doesn't even acknowledge us anymore.
‘Starting to show his true colors, huh.’
Not surprising, since things were progressing just like in the game. That NPC had a personality riddled with inferiority complex.
He came off as fairly magnanimous at first, but that was only because he had no reason to reveal his real self to the protagonist.
The Silver Dawn Knights had been torn apart and absorbed under him, their captains exiled to backwater posts in the empire's borders. Why would he bother acting petty toward some low-rank knight like the protagonist?
—My kids say the Golden Twilight Knights' morale is hitting rock bottom too. Well, what can the subordinates do when the captain's throwing tantrums?
Of course, the magnanimity only lasted up to the third encounter at most.
Once the player steadily progressed the Silver Dawn Knights route and started catching the emperor's eye, the guy began showing his true colors, openly jealous of the player.
A bit more story progression, trigger the event, and he'd snap from his inferiority complex, cause a massive incident, and turn into a boss mob.
—Watching him, the Ebony Holy Night Knights might double in size soon. Maybe expand ahead of time? Oh, by then, will you be stationed at the palace too, Delta?
“...”
I wasn't sure whether to be pleased or not.
—One last thing. This is the real reason I wrote to you, and the thing I absolutely had to tell you.
Seeing "absolutely had to tell you," I straightened up a bit. This was where the main point began.
—How'd you seduce Iris this time?
What the hell was this?
‘Seduce Iris? Me?’
I double-checked the letter. The round, deliberately pressed handwriting was unmistakable. Each character was firmly written—no typos.
Maybe another joke? I checked the next line.
—My man sure has a way with women, huh? How'd you get that block of wood to confess she likes you in just a few days?
Unfortunately, no correction that it was a joke. My eyebrows twitched as I read on. My head throbbed.
—It's chaos over here because of it. Iris can't even look me in the eye properly, Claudia's cracking up saying you're gonna seduce me next, and Erica's like, "Don't worry, I won't fall for his temptations no matter what."
‘Why is it a given that I'm the one seducing?’
Their thought process was a bit off, wasn't it?
—But from what I see, the one talking big like that falls first. If you want, Delta, you could seduce Erica too and have all three of us. Sisters at once is every guy's dream, right?
I paused here, looking away from the letter. I needed time to cool my head. The temperature drop from the previous line was too drastic.
Seeing my reaction, Nix let out another "Hic!" and glanced at me nervously.
I pulled her close and stroked her head. This might calm her down. Nix forgot her anxiety and purred happily with a grin.
‘...Classic Lize.’
She still had zero hesitation in that department.
‘No, even so.’
What kind of sister suggests to a guy that he seduce her sibling for a threesome? I wondered if Erica even knew about this.
For a moment, I was curious what Lize would say if I told her I'd already had sister rice bowl plenty back in the Holy Kingdom, but I decided to let that curiosity lie. No need to stir up trouble.
—I've got a lot to say, but letters feel awkward for this stuff. Let's talk in person later, okay?
The closing was surprisingly normal. The problem was everything before it wasn't. I sighed, folded the letter twice, and tucked it into my inner pocket.
If I'd known, when Iris bolted on her own misunderstanding, I would've asked Stella to fetch her. A proper explanation would've prevented this mess.
I'd let her be, figuring she wouldn't think weirdly, but assumptions bite back.
‘The situation's gotten weird.’
Lize seemed unfazed as the main party, while Iris was the one skittish.
Or maybe they'd already hashed it out.
“Um... are you okay? Hehe.”
Nix, rubbing her face against my hand and purring nonstop, peeked up at me.
“Hard to say definitively. It's internal knight order stuff, sorry.”
“Hehe... Then no helping it. Got it.”
Nix clung to me again, grinning creepily.
‘Not sure what to tell Lize later.’
She didn't seem mad about Iris's blunder. Or maybe they'd already sorted it with a round of their own.
Probably the former. She'd outright said she didn't care if I took multiple women, even suggesting I seduce her sister in the letter.
‘Guess I should clear up the misunderstanding first.’
I was mulling if there was still stationery left in the castle.
“Captain! Captain!”
Someone pounded on the door from outside. Sounded urgent. It was Rakshia's voice.
“Rakshia? What's up?”
“You need to come out right now!”
“...What's going on?”
“They sent a ton of stuff from the palace, saying it's to commend you—”
‘Ah.’
That's when I remembered Kaikilia's edict I'd forgotten about. The one praising my demon-slaying merits.
‘...And it's arriving now?’
The timing was like they'd coordinated it. No more storage space in the castle, I thought idly as I followed Rakshia to the training grounds.
“Hey! Delta!”
“...Lize?”
There she was, atop a carriage, waving and beaming at me.
Her armor was neatly set aside, and she wore the Silver Dawn Knights' uniform. Her chest bounced in time with her waving through the thin white sleeveless top.
Lize hopped down from the carriage. Her bust jiggled wildly before settling. Her explosive hips and thighs, hidden under the dolphin pants, were as voluptuous as ever.
“Did you get the letter?”
“Yeah, but... how are you here already? It's been less than ten minutes.”
“Hm? Oh, I timed the letter to arrive twenty minutes before me, accounting for travel time.”
“You did that on purpose?”
I asked again, and Lize nodded.
“Wanted to surprise you. How was it? Touched?”
“...Not touched, but surprised, yeah.”
“Then mission accomplished!”
Behind the carriage Lize had jumped from stretched a line of double-headed carriages stamped with the emperor's seal. I counted: ten in total, including hers.
How did they even match this?
We all stared blankly. It felt like a repeat of the dawn's events. Rakshia especially looked torn between joy and dismay.
“What's with the faces?”
Seeing the gift recipients' reactions, Lize looked puzzled. Better to show than tell, so I led her to the warehouse.
The moment I opened the door, treasures overflowed like they might spill out. Lize mirrored my exact expression. It only got denser inside.
“Uh... what's all this?”
“From the Holy Kingdom. Arrived about six hours before you did.”
“The Holy Kingdom? Why?”
“...Circumstances.”
“Hmm...”
Unhappy with my vague answer, she narrowed her eyes at me, then turned with an "I see."
—Click.
The warehouse door locked with a resounding echo.