The Master's True Feelings
Right after a brief, heart-to-heart chat with Luna, I made my way to the recovery room where Scarlet was resting. As I reached for the doorknob, a sudden pang of guilt washed over me. After all, I was the one who had triggered that raging lust inside her, and I was the one who had knocked her out. Resolving to apologize the moment she woke up, I pushed the door open.
"Huh?"
"Ah, you're here. Entering without knocking? How insolent."
"I'm sorry. I thought you were asleep."
"Even if I were asleep, shouldn't you still knock?"
"My apologies..."
Scarlet was sitting on the edge of the bed, polishing her lance. Seeing her moving so effortlessly despite her exposure to the slime made me realize the duration of its effect was rather short. Or perhaps Scarlet's natural resistance was simply too high.
The paralysis might have worn off, but it looks like the aphrodisiac effect is still lingering.
The bedsheet beneath her was visibly damp. Judging by how the wet patch was slowly spreading, she was likely still leaking arousal fluids even now. Yet, her ability to calmly maintain her weapon in such a state proved her mental fortitude was nothing short of extraordinary.
"Master, there's something I want to ask you."
"What is it?"
"I'm curious why someone like you would have feelings for me."
"..."
Scarlet's hand stopped mid-polish. Setting down her cleaning cloth, she looked straight at me. Her expression was dead serious, but the sheer volume of fluid escaping from between her thighs only increased. No matter how much she tried to hide her emotions, her body remained entirely honest. I shook my head.
"It's no use playing dumb. I already confirmed your feelings back inside the ruin."
"My disciple really has terrible manners. Even if you know a woman's feelings, the polite thing to do is let it slide."
"I'm sorry, but I don't want a half-hearted relationship."
NTR could strike at any stage—whether you were just flirting, dating, or already married. But in my personal opinion, the most frustrating phase of all was the "some" phase—that ambiguous, pre-relationship stage. Two people clearly like each other, but neither confesses, letting things drift until someone else swoops in and steals her away. By the time the guy finally musters up the courage to confess, the woman has already been tamed by another man's cock, leading to a catastrophic end. It was a classic cliché.
In this world, acting like a typical harem rom-com protagonist is a one-way ticket to becoming a total loser.
Waffling around, unable to choose, was the easiest way to lose every single woman to someone else. A wishy-washy man could never secure love. Even if he did manage to get together with someone, he was highly likely to have her stolen away. If a woman held feelings for you, you had to show the resolve to creampie her right then and there and get her pregnant with your child.
"I want to make our relationship clear, Master. Do we end things as master and disciple? Or do we go further and become family? I want to hear your true feelings so I can decide which path to take."
Of course, mindlessly ejaculating inside every woman who showed a shred of goodwill would just make me a rapist. A woman's heart was what mattered most, which was why I was asking Scarlet point-blank. Was she prepared to bear my child right this instant?
"My feelings, huh... Do I just need to tell you how I came to like you?"
"Yes."
"Well, I felt a certain fondness for you from our very first meeting. I took you as my disciple because you caught my interest."
Scarlet had once been famous for refusing to take on any disciples. Yet, she had suddenly made an exception for Alvin. It was something that never would have happened if she hadn't been intrigued by him from the start.
"At first, it was your talent and untainted innocence that drew my attention. And the blood-sweating effort you showed after becoming my disciple deeply moved me."
"And that's when you fell in love with me?"
"No, back then it was more of a 'That's my boy, I'm so proud of you' kind of feeling."
While a hardworking man was certainly attractive, Scarlet had already seen countless knights who trained themselves to the bone. There was no reason for Alvin alone to look exceptionally special just for that.
"I only truly began to see you as a man after the Lasfelt Invasion."
"The Lasfelt Invasion...!"
"Yes. The incident where the monsters raided the Lasfelt Territory."
Fortunately, the Lasfelt Invasion was in my memories. It was the tutorial of The Knight Never Breaks. When the rapidly multiplying monsters began to terrorize the populace, the Empress had dispatched the Red Lion Knight Order to Lasfelt.
"What happened at Ale Village and Lavi Village. Do you remember?"
"Of course I do."
Marquis Damour, the Lord of Lasfelt, had taken command of the Red Lion Knight Order, claiming the main horde of monsters was heading toward Ale Village. However, during their march, news arrived that a portion of the horde had bypassed them and was heading toward Lavi Village. Scarlet had immediately wanted to split their forces, but Marquis Damour stopped her, keeping their numbers tightly controlled.
"Marquis Damour insisted that Ale Village was far more important and was ready to abandon Lavi Village, which lay on the outskirts of the territory."
"I remember. The Marquis said Lavi Village wasn't even worth saving."
"Unfortunately, the Empress had granted him command of the knight order, so we couldn't disobey his orders. Except for one person."
That single exception was Alvin. Though he was Scarlet's disciple, he didn't actually belong to the Red Lion Knight Order. He had merely tagged along with his master as an apprentice knight to gain real combat experience.
"I said I would go protect Lavi Village by myself."
"Exactly. Even though everyone, including myself, shouted that it was reckless, you stood firm in your conviction and insisted on going to protect Lavi Village."
In reality, it was just a plot device to justify a solo tutorial mission. But to Scarlet, it must have looked like a noble act of self-sacrifice. Alvin had headed to Lavi Village all on his own, fighting off the monsters to protect the villagers until the Red Lion Knight Order could sweep through the main horde and come to his aid.
"Seeing you covered in blood, yet still standing tall and holding the line... for the first time in a very long while, my heart began to race."
In the game's story, Alvin had fought with burning fighting spirit even as he was drenched in blood. He had held out against a seemingly endless onslaught, barely surviving the fierce clash until the Red Lion Knight Order arrived. Watching that unfold in a cutscene had firmly established him as a badass in the players' minds—a guy who truly deserved to build a harem.
"As you know, I've spent my life on the battlefield, killing countless people and witnessing the absolute worst of humanity. Naturally, I came to view humans as disgusting creatures."
"I had no idea you thought of people that way, Master."
"It's not exactly a pleasant topic. There's no benefit in sharing it."
"I suppose that's true."
"But after seeing you fight so desperately to protect Lavi Village, my perspective changed. I thought to myself, *Ah, so humans can actually be this beautiful.*"
Having finished her maintenance, Scarlet leaned her lance against the wall. She looked at me with a gentle smile—though she was currently pressing her hand against her groin, struggling to endure the lingering aphrodisiac effects.
"Well? Is that a sufficient reason for why I fell for you? Or do you now despise me for finding beauty in my near-dead disciple?"
It was the iconic scene that had allowed players to fully immerse themselves in Alvin from the very beginning. Hearing that she had fallen in love with him because of that moment made perfect sense. Naturally, there was no way I could ever despise her for it.
"I'll show you my answer through actions rather than words."
It was my turn to give an answer. I grabbed Scarlet's arm and pulled her close. Forcing her to her feet, I immediately stripped off my pants.
"Master! I love you as a woman!"
With that roaring declaration of love, I thrust my cock straight into Scarlet's soaking wet heat. From then until the morning sun crested the horizon, I thoroughly enjoyed violating my master's sacred boundaries.
"Land! I see land!"
"Lord Alvin, we've finally arrived!"
"Is that the Yudika Kingdom?"
"To be honest, it's our first time here too, so we aren't entirely sure."
After a long, grueling voyage, we had finally reached the Yudika Kingdom. I was about to set foot in a place where everything was completely unknown to me. A place that could either become my grave or a land of opportunity. I desperately hoped it would serve as the foundation for eradicating all NTR.
"Do we need to go through immigration?"
"They'll probably check our identities. They have to make sure we aren't criminals."
"Unless you count those mercenaries Lord Alvin tossed into the sea, none of us are criminals, so we should be fine!"
"...Ah."
Wait, isn't there a bounty on my head in the Empire? The word "criminal" suddenly filled me with a wave of anxiety. Should we turn the ship around right now? Or would it be better to smuggle myself in on a gryphon? Had the rumors I left with Captain Gerard reached Yudika already?
While I was agonizing over the decision, the ship continued to glide rapidly forward, carried by the wind. Before I could make up my mind, we had already docked at the pier. As our unscheduled vessel pulled up, the kingdom's soldiers began to gather at the harbor. Swarming the docks, they quickly boarded the ship and pointed their swords at the crew and me.
"Freeze! We are taking you all into custody. Any resistance or suspicious movement will be met with lethal force! Do not act rashly!"
A wolf beastman, presumably their captain, stepped forward and barked out the orders. Led by her, the beastmen soldiers glared at us threateningly, but strangely enough, I didn't feel annoyed at all. Perhaps due to the hot weather, their armor was designed like bikinis, providing a spectacular feast for the eyes.
"Lord Alvin, I think we might be able to find new love here!"
"...Agreed."
It seemed this place really was a land of opportunity.