Camping Play
“Next pilgrimage site, where shall we go~”
Irene bounced her feet on the driver’s seat while studying the map, her excitement plain to see.
“About a day’s ride~”
I was just as cheerful, knowing we’d earned some coin and could travel with a little more breathing room.
Both of us were in good spirits. Maybe last night had something to do with it. I wasn’t sure.
“A day? But… there doesn’t seem to be a single village on the way.”
Irene pointed at the map as she asked.
She was right. I nodded and let out a soft sigh.
“We’ll have to camp this time.”
“Wow! We’re going camping? I’ve always wanted to try it!”
She wiggled like a child, delighted. I’d been curious about it myself, so I didn’t mind.
“The next holy site is pretty remote, so it looks like there aren’t any villages nearby.”
“Oh my, then we could do it outside too?”
She tossed out the lewd suggestion without the slightest hesitation.
…I had a feeling I’d have to get used to this side of her. The thought was equal parts exciting and complicated.
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous out in the open…”
“We just have to pick a place with no one around, right?”
“No, I mean beasts or other things…”
“Ah, if we’re outside there’s no inn to worry about noise, so I can be as loud as I want? I’m definitely doing it!”
Okay. Persuasion failed.
I decided to simply accept the drooling, excited Irene in front of me. That was part of her charm, after all.
Still, driving the carriage along the road like this was getting boring. There was nothing to look at—just mountains and empty plains. Even the occasional farmland had disappeared.
No wonder there were no villages. Nothing but rugged mountains where farming would be impossible.
“Maurice, bored?”
“Huh? How’d you know?”
“We’ve known each other for years. Of course I can tell~”
She patted my shoulder. Times like this, having a childhood friend really was nice.
Yeah. Childhood friend.
“Want to reminisce? When should we start? The first time we met?”
“Ah, when we were five? We were probably… next-door neighbors, right?”
“Exactly! We lived next door! We didn’t know each other as babies, but once we started playing outside at five, we finally met.”
Time really flew.
I could still picture Irene clearly—the tiny, adorable girl I first saw at the neighborhood playground when we were five. She’d been so small and cute back then… I suppose I was cute too, but… well.
“What did we play back then? Weren’t you always sword-fighting with the other kids?”
“I think… I was. Then when you showed up the boys said ‘Girls can’t play!’ so I left them and played with you instead.”
That sounded right. I still remembered how she’d looked ready to cry after being rejected at five years old.
So I’d gone over to her. Probably because I couldn’t stand watching the other kids coldly turn away a lonely child. They’d teased me—“Ooh, he’s playing with a girl~”—but thinking about it now just made me laugh.
“That’s how it went. What did we play?”
“Didn’t we smash flowers and grass with rocks and pretend we were making potions or food?”
“Yeah, yeah! That’s right! We did! You still remember~ I’m glad!”
She smiled brightly and rested her head on my shoulder. She really did look happy. Honestly, so was I. The fact that she remembered our first meeting meant something.
“After that… we stayed together even after entering the city school, right?”
“We did. We were always close. Even during basic lessons at the city school… we were always side by side.”
“Sometimes kids got jealous and said things, but our bond stayed strong, didn’t it? You looked out for me, and I looked out for you.”
“You covered for me so many times when I couldn’t finish my homework because of sword practice.”
I grinned. Thanks to Irene being diligent and good at studying, I’d benefited a lot. Most of my undone assignments got solved by copying hers while I trained.
“Ahahaha! That’s true!”
Irene burst into loud laughter, smacking my arm.
“There was that one time you copied so well you got in trouble!”
“Ah~ right, that happened. The homeroom teacher had no flexibility at all.”
“Exactly. Still, hitting your palms until they bled with the ruler was too much.”
“It really was… I couldn’t practice swordsmanship for days.”
That might have been the most frustrating moment of my life up to that point. Copying was my fault, sure, but did he really have to hit me that hard?
“Ha… we were so innocent back in our city-school days. After graduation we joined the Order right away, and I never expected I’d become a saintess candidate.”
We would have been around sixteen when we finished at the city school. Then we entered the Order and began training.
Most people trained to become priests or Holy Knights, but girls with strong divine energy who showed potential were selected as saintess candidates and trained separately.
I, of course, trained as a Holy Knight, studying hard and honing my swordsmanship to become a high-ranking one.
“…Still, we kept seeing each other, didn’t we?”
“We did. There was no rule against it. It’s just that rumors started spreading around the Order from then on, right?”
Rumors… yeah, that sounded familiar. How could there not be talk when a saintess candidate was meeting alone with a man?
I nodded.
“There were. People said the saintess candidate was meeting a man who’d become a high-ranking Holy Knight. Some even confronted me about it… Did anyone say anything to you?”
“They told me to be careful because I had to preserve my virginity~ They tried to scare me by saying my divine energy would vanish if I didn’t. But…”
Irene manifested divine energy at her fingertips.
Her signature powerful blue sparks still crackled as strongly as ever.
“Ha, vanish my ass. It’s manifesting just fine, no different from before.”
“…Right. The Order was lying.”
Why would an organization built on faith need to lie? Or had there actually been cases?
I had my doubts, but the evidence right in front of me proved there was no connection between divine energy and virginity.
“Ah~ Training at the Order was tough, but at least I got to have fun with you, Maurice.”
“Same here. Getting one-on-one time with the saintess isn’t a privilege just anyone can have. I really did get special treatment among the high-ranking Holy Knights thanks to you.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration. I really had been treated as a special Holy Knight. Even high-ranking ones rarely got to interact freely with the saintess—she ranked just below the pope.
Yet I could spend time with that powerful figure alone, like a friend.
Maybe that was why I’d been able to reach a fairly high position among the high-ranking Holy Knights.
“Really~?”
Suddenly Irene looked at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes and a seductive smile. Her hand landed on my thigh and began tracing slow circles.
“Then… how should I repay you…”
She whispered into my ear.
“You know what I mean, right?”
“…”
Ah.
We weren’t making it through tonight without trouble.
*
“Hnn, haaang!”
Night.
We’d lit a campfire and were camping outside for the first time.
Completely naked on the sleeping bags, we were having sex. Irene sat on top of me, moving her hips vigorously.
“Kgh… Irene… you’re being too rough…”
She ignored me completely, riding exactly the way she wanted.
No matter what I said, she brushed it off, lost in pleasure, moaning and slamming her hips down with wet, slapping sounds.
“Because we’re outside… hngh… it feels thrilling… it feels so good…!”
Irene squirted. Her body grew even wetter. Truthfully, everything below had already been soaked thanks to her earlier releases.
The wet, squelching noises from where we were joined were so loud I couldn’t tell if it was skin or liquid.
“Plus… even if I make a lot of noise… hnnngh!”
Irene came. Her hips spasmed, head thrown back, back arched like a bow, legs stretched straight out.
Her eyes were half-lidded in ecstasy as she savored the afterglow.
“Haaang… I came… Maurice…”
She stuck out her tongue and smiled at me with her eyes. I sat up and pulled her into my arms; she melted into the embrace easily.
“Maurice… when are you going to come?”
She started moving her hips again.
The renewed sensation made me grimace, and soon—
-Brrrrrrrt
“Maurice came too…?”
I’d finished.
I’d been holding back to satisfy her, but her pussy squeezing me again pushed me over the edge.
“Felt good inside me, right…?”
“Yeah. It felt good…”
“Hehe… This isn’t so bad either, huh? Having sex while camping outside… It feels more natural, like we’re part of nature…”
She kissed my neck. Her lips slowly trailed up along my jaw until they found my mouth. After a long kiss—
“Maurice… you’ll stay by my side from now on, just like when we were kids, right?”
Irene smiled at me.
“Yeah. Until I die.”
“Good. Until we die… I’ll stay by your side too. So…”
She rested her face against my shoulder.
“Don’t ever leave me behind.”
I understood exactly what she meant.
And I held her tightly.
D-87.
Until the day Irene and Maurice die.
*
Back when Irene and Maurice attended the city school—
[What do you mean, Irene?]
[…My parents ran away and left me.]
[What?! Then what will you…]
[I don’t know… What should I do? Can I even live without them…?]
[…Come to my house for now. My family will help as much as we can.]
[Really…?]
[Of course! We’ve known each other for years. My parents would never abandon you.]
[…You won’t abandon me either, Maurice?]
[Obviously!]
From that day on, I lived at Maurice’s house.
Until we entered the Order’s dormitory.
If Maurice hadn’t been there, I probably would have ended up in an orphanage.
Maurice…
You’ll always stay by my side, right?