The Knight Being Tamed by the Hunter.
The Knight Being Tamed by the Hunter.
The carriage was quiet.
Quiet, but fucking annoying.
On one side, the Saintess couldn't even look at me, her nose twitching,
and on the other, that crazy bitch from the Eastern Fortress was glaring at me with eyes that looked like she wanted to eat me alive.
And Noel was smiling.
That bastard is always the most fucking annoying one.
Hoping we'd arrive soon, I closed my eyes again, and I don't know how many days I spent like that.
Finally, we arrived at the Empire.
Indeed. Red flags hanging from high walls, a long procession of carriages.
As expected of the Imperial Capital, just getting in was a chore, but once Claire showed the Marquis's crest and proved Noel was the Hero,
we got through immediately. To think that crazy bitch could actually be useful; I guess everything has its place.
"This is more like a Hero."
"Hehe...."
"How disrespectful. Raul! To speak to the Hero-nim so condescendingly...!"
I was just praising Noel since we got in comfortably,
but our crazy bitch, who had been quiet other than glaring from the carriage, immediately had a seizure.
"Haa...."
"What's with that sigh, Raul!"
"Shut up for a second... you're noisy..."
"You..."
Things had become annoying in a different way than before. If it was just annoying in a raw, beastly sense before, now it had become,
something persistent. I don't know what kind of change of heart that was, but...
Setting the annoyance aside, the Imperial Capital I saw for the first time was like hell.
Even though there was distance, there were too many smells. Enough to make my nose hurt.
Flower smell.
Perfume smell.
Horse smell.
Sweat smell.
Alcohol smell.
And underneath it all, the smells people want to hide.
Fuck.
The city is hell.
"Huu...."
As I sighed, the Saintess suddenly jumped in surprise and approached me.
"Ra, Raul! I'm sorry. I was rude at the fortress, wasn't I?"
Her appearance, coming over and stammering like a sparrow, sometimes brings peace of mind to this crazy party.
"The part where you plugged your nose and ran away?"
"Th-that, if you say it so directly...!"
And it makes me want to be just a little bit mean.
Seeing her jump in surprise and puff out her cheeks when I mentioned that... and her hitting my chest with her adorably clenched fists in anger...
"Raul. Can I see you for a moment?"
"...Haa."
Yeah, you can't be quiet, can you?
"Hero-nim, may I go have a talk with Raul for a moment?"
"Alright. Then, Seraphina-nim! Shall we go look for an inn for a bit?"
"Yes, that's fine. Noel!"
The pervert and the sparrow left, and Claire took me to a secluded spot in an alley.
What should I call it? A place where you could bury someone and it wouldn't be a problem?
"....Are you trying to bury me here?"
"....? What are you talking about?"
Ah, she was a noble lady, after all.
"Never mind. So, what's the problem now?"
At my blunt answer, she approached with a rare, tense expression and said.
"I, I will keep you under my surveillance!"
"What?"
"I saw you doing filthy things! So... eek?!"
She started acting crazy again, so I took a step forward, and her expression crumbled even further.
"W-wait... are you, by any chance, right here... me...?"
".....What do you think I'm going to do? Forget it. Just state your business."
I decided to listen to what she had to say first.
"Th-that... I saw you brutally ravaging Roja! That girl was my servant... and she had no choice but to give her body to you because of your intimidation!"
"....So?"
"Ugh... so I'm saying I will monitor and manage you so that no ominous influence reaches the Saintess..."
The corners of the mouth of the person saying that were curled up strangely. As if expecting something, or aiming for something.
And... phew...
Yeah, it seems my head has been completely dyed by Noel. Was I always like this? A good idea came to mind, so I proposed it.
"Yeah, just like you said, I'm aiming for the Saintess. I get all worked up every time I see her, so it's hard to hold back."
"Wh-what, what did you just say about the Saintess...!"
"So, like you said, you manage me."
"Wh-what?"
"You manage me. I think I can hold back if you do that."
As I pushed my body closer to hers, she didn't seem to have any intention of hiding it anymore. She didn't hide her expression.
"Fine. You're finally making sense."
Claire forced the trembling corners of her mouth upward.
"Before you touch the Saintess, I will stop you. If you can't hold back... I will manage you."
"Manage?"
"Yes. It's a knight's duty. A very legitimate measure to protect the Saintess."
"Why are you smiling?"
"I didn't smile!"
"You are smiling."
Claire bit her lip.
Even so, the upturned corners of her mouth didn't come down.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not submitting to a barbarian like you."
"Then what is it?"
"Correction."
"Who?"
"You."
Even while saying that, Claire didn't step back.
"And... if necessary, your desires too...."
Looking at her eyes, she was already gone. Since she even knows about Roja, it seems the gaze watching from the warehouse that day was Claire's.
She pulled away from the body that had been pressed against hers and headed out of the alley first.
What I had originally thought was... I wanted to grab her hair and educate her until her spirit was broken.
But I think I can make her quiet in a different way.
"Come quickly, Raul! The Hero-nim and the Saintess are waiting!"
"Yeah, sure."
Just to see her reaction, I grabbed the ass of the person waiting outside the alley.
"Hiccup?!"
Unlike her previous venomous appearance, Claire made a cute sound and pulled away from me.
"Y-you...!"
"Ah, sorry. I saw a ball that looked good to touch..."
"....I'll forgive you just this once. If you do this again... I'll cut off your hand."
"Sorry."
She really looked like she was going to draw her sword, so I apologized immediately.
Thinking I would keep playing dumb and keep pestering her, Claire stood there blankly, looking at me.
"What are you doing? The Hero-nim and the Saintess are waiting, right?"
"...Ah! Right... I should go... hurry..."
This might be fun.
After leaving the alley and finding Noel, who had booked the inn together, I heard that there were only 3 rooms left, so two people had to sleep in one room.
"....I will sleep with Raul."
"Uh... I can go..."
"No. The Hero-nim has an appointment ceremony tomorrow, so you must sleep comfortably."
Does she even know how forced that sounds?
Watching Claire, who couldn't manage her face properly and was blushing, Noel looked like he was about to die of happiness.
With my lips trembling slightly and unable to speak properly, I put my arm around Claire's shoulder and said.
"Yeah, you should get in sync with the vanguard and the supporting hunter, right?"
"Ahaha... yeah... that's right...."
With my arm still around her, I took Claire into the assigned room.
As expected of an inn in the Imperial Capital, it was clean, making it feel sorry to compare it to the inns in the village.
"......"
Our knight was bowing her head in front of the room door, unable to come in.
Should I say she's like a dog waiting for its owner to allow it to enter... As it happens, her hair color is the same as the dog Mr. Hans used to keep.
"Aren't you coming in?"
At my question, she finally came to her senses and entered, hesitating.
Then, as if she wanted to have a staring contest with me, she didn't look away and met my eyes.
"What."
"Tu, turn around! Why are you just standing there!"
"Ah. I'm just trying to change clothes, what..."
Well, it would be embarrassing if someone watched her change clothes.
I accepted that roughly and turned around to start changing, and after changing amidst an intense gaze,
I sat on the floor just like that. Seeing that, I heard sounds as if she was changing out of her armor and clothes.
"You can turn! You can turn around..."
"H-hmph! What, what are you staring at so intently?"
"Hmm."
As she took off her armor... quite large breasts appeared, more than I thought.
Even though I was looking at them explicitly, this idiot didn't seem to have any intention of covering them up, whether it was out of pride or something else.
She stood tall, puffed out her chest, and blushed.
If I left her like that, it looked like her face would explode, so I took a spot in one corner of the bed.
"...Aren't you going to wash up?"
"It's just one day, what's the big deal. Go wash up. It's a single-person room anyway, so there won't be much water."
Ignoring her disbelieving look, I entrusted my body to the soft blanket and fell asleep.
◆
I can't believe it. This man is...!
It was fine that he put a leash on me in the alley... and yeah, after we came out, he grabbed my a,ass... that one time...
Yeah, a beast might find it hard to hold back.
But even if he is a beast, shouldn't he wash up a little before sleeping!
To cool down the absurdity and the rising heat, I drew water from the tub and splashed it on my body.
At least as the cold water touched my body, my reason returned a little.
And I'm so worried. I intend to sleep in the bed, but... what should I do about that beast's foul body odor...
"Huu... It really feels like I'm raising a beast, not a human..."
Washing off the dirty parts of my body, I shook out my hair and came out, and contrary to my worries, there wasn't any strong smell in the room.
Maybe a faint sweet scent? This inn must put something that smells good in every room, because it had a not-bad fragrance.
"Huu... really, this man is...."
He had taken a spot in the corner, and while I was washing up, he already had one arm placed where I was supposed to lie down.
Gulp.
It's a very thick arm. The veins were bulging and reddish... if I sleep using that arm as a pillow,
my dreams and the next morning will definitely be difficult... definitely....
"Ahem..."
Still, it would be better than sleeping on the floor. At least a human body is soft.
I used his arm as a pillow. As I thought, the skin was soft. Even so, the unique hardness of the arm...
"Ah...."
As I inhaled while using his arm as a pillow, I became dazed. A strangely good smell...
A good smell that I hadn't smelled in any of the candles I had placed in my room at the fortress mansion... A rose scent rising faintly...
"Sss.... haa.... sss.... haa....."
A sweetness mixed in occasionally with the faint scent of grass. And a little bit of fruit scent comes out little by little too.
Gulp..
"Blehh.... chup... churuup... tsup..."
Drawn by the sweetness amidst my dazed mind, I pressed against his chest and licked his skin, sucking on it just a little bit.
Then, it wasn't a salty taste, but a sweet taste like something from a high-end dessert.
Not a cheap sweetness that just makes your tongue tingle, but a sweet taste that wraps around you softly...
Like that, Claire fell asleep, satisfied after licking Raul's chest and arm to her heart's content.
Raul was fast asleep and didn't notice at all, but someone's gaze was sparkling through the hole in the door.