Chapter 147: The Curse of the Black Flame (1)
Chapter 147: The Curse of the Black Flame (1)
Yoanna has joined the party.
I wondered if it was really okay for the leader of the Resistance to become a member of our knight order, but for now, the arrangement looked convincing enough.
"Yoanna. If you win the breast contest and remain in Fermaton, it should help quiet the Kingdom’s grievances for a while."
I had arranged a private dinner with Yoanna.
Naturally, to discuss serious matters—and to officially designate her as 'my woman'—I invited her to the Sex Room.
Not that we were going to have sex.
At least, not yet.
"The people of Fermaton despise the Empire. Since they believe you're from there, they would have seen your return as a drain on our national wealth."
"But that isn't the case, is it?"
"No. But people looking for a reason to criticize will latch onto any bullshit they can find."
Especially the spineless ones.
"If you stay here, everyone will feel at ease. However, the way people look at you might be a bit... suggestive."
"Suggestive?"
"People will assume you're my woman. They'll think of you as someone I've slept with. To put it bluntly..."
"They'll think of me as a woman who was claimed by Ruji Fermaton?"
"Exactly."
That was the case for all the members of my knight order.
"At least on the surface, no one will dare look at you that way openly. But they'll certainly insult you behind your back. Can you endure that?"
"As long as I can destroy the Empire, I can endure any amount of insults. Besides, is it even an insult?"
"Not an insult?"
"I had sex with Ruji Fermaton. Whether it's true or not, if people believe it, that in itself becomes a form of power."
Sex with me is power?
"That's an interesting perspective. Why is that?"
"Because from a certain point on, Ruji Fermaton became selective about the women he slept with, and every single one of them is a beauty who wouldn't pale in comparison to anyone else."
"So, because you're included among those beauties, it acts as power?"
"The woman of Ruji Fermaton. No random nobody would dare lay a finger on me. Isn't that power in itself?"
"I suppose so."
Being known as Ruji Fermaton's woman was practically synonymous with the possibility of becoming the future mistress of Fermaton.
If someone crossed her and ended up banned from ever setting foot in Fermaton again, they'd be ruined. Thus, everyone was beyond cautious when it came to Ruji's women.
"To put it even more bluntly, if I were to become pregnant with the Young Lord's child and give birth to a son who becomes the next Lord of Fermaton, those who insulted and slandered me would be terrified. They'd spend the rest of their lives bowing their heads. If I remembered their names... I could just 'handle' them later."
"Merciless, aren't you?"
"If there's no need for leniency, elimination is a fine method. And the tool for that elimination would be this Flame of Annihilation."
Yoanna lightly wreathed her hand in Black Flame.
"One year. I will stay by the Young Lord's side for one year. If I'm away any longer than that, the Resistance won't function properly."
"That's longer than I expected. I thought you'd stay for a few months at most."
"It's not like I'm going to start the revolution to topple the Empire tomorrow. The actual preparations begin exactly one year from now, so this year is a sort of sabbatical for me."
"And I can use that sabbatical for the sake of Fermaton?"
"I'm here to earn my keep. I trust that the Young Lord will compensate me fairly for the work I do for him."
"That depends on your ability."
Even if it was Yoanna.
Even if she was a Pickup Gacha character with no ceiling.
Even if she was someone whose skills made even Serica wary as a leader of the Resistance.
"I haven't confirmed your strength yet. If you want to prove your worth, you'll have to do it with your skills, not just your face and body. Right?"
"You are absolutely correct."
She had to prove her value as a Human Rights Character first.
"I want to know about the abilities of Yoanna the human, not the revolutionary. Yoanna, what are you good at?"
"Incineration."
"...Huh?"
"I am good at burning anything. I can burn anything so thoroughly that not even ash remains."
"I feel like my own heart is burning up with frustration."
Her specialty was 'incineration.'
Well, even on the surface, she'd probably be good at burning away those who needed to be killed, just like in the Fermaton Infinite Labyrinth.
"Fine. I get that you're good at burning things. Do you have any other skills?"
"I'm a good fighter. When I was in the army, I was a flag-spearman."
"Ho. You were in the army?"
"Yes. I was a soldier of the Empire. It wasn't recent; quite a bit of time has passed."
Yoanna scratched her cheek and gave a bitter smile.
Ah.
This was it.
Not a 'sex' flag, but a flag that would reveal information about Yoanna's past.
'Should I pry?'
I knew very well which character Yoanna was modeled after.
Jeanne d'Arc.
The Holy Maiden who saved France.
The woman who was eventually branded a witch and burned at the stake, discarded like a used tool.
A powerful warrior who was said to have incredible breasts and spent her time cracking the skulls of English knights despite being a woman.
Considering that, perhaps...
"It seems something unpleasant happened during your time in the Imperial Army. Fine. You don't have to talk about your military days."
I hated talk about the military too.
—Oppa. If you talk about the army one more time, today is going to be combat sex. Got it?
Military stories between men were one thing, but there was nothing more unproductive or inefficient than telling military stories to a woman.
"So I should just think of you as a capable veteran?"
"Yes. I have no intention of taking Commander Laura's position, but if things get urgent, I can act as a field commander."
The leader of the Resistance wasn't a leader for nothing.
Yoanna was a soldier with strong leadership qualities.
'Her character concept was an all-rounder buffer to begin with.'
Her main performance In-Game was using her flag to grant buffs to everyone.
The problem was that these buffs were too efficient within the game system. Once those who pulled her first leveled her up and put her in a party, they realized her buffs were directly tied to character survival.
She didn't just stand in the back buffing; her survivability was decent and her damage was excellent. It reached a point where 'reaching the high ranks was impossible without her.'
I wasn't aiming for the top ranks, but I couldn't stand being in the 'piss-tier' either, so she was a character I absolutely had to pull.
That was Yoanna.
I didn't know her specific In-Game stats or numbers, but I had a general grasp of her mechanics as a commander character.
In that case...
This Black Flame might be her performance from a 'different limited version' that would be released in the far future.
For example, Yoanna [Sister], Yoanna [Wedding], or Yoanna [Hanbok].
If I could match that, I could make Yoanna—
No.
'I decided I'd define my own Human Rights Characters.'
Whatever limited version Yoanna might pop up as, that was my business now.
In other words, it was for me to decide.
"Yoanna."
"Yes, Young Lord."
"There's a specific concept that would be most appropriate for you while working here in the Lord's Castle."
"A... concept?"
"Yes. I want to highlight a side of you other than your military aspect, so it won't seem strange for you to be in the knight order. That way, even if someone digs into your past, they won't find anything to link you to the Resistance."
It was a bit regrettable, but according to Yurdias's investigation, the members of our knight order were being thoroughly scrutinized by others.
By the Kingdom.
By the Empire.
Or by other factions.
Inside this Fermaton Castle, unless we were in the Sex Room, deployed a barrier, or used counter-intelligence, we couldn't even speak of important matters freely.
Recently, thanks to Astarotte's sex magic, we could talk behind soundproof barriers, and other magic could distort visual information to some extent, but we still had to remain extremely cautious about information leaks.
"Yoanna, you'll be active as a combatant in my knight order, but you need a public profession."
"Should I register with the Adventurer's Guild?"
"No. There's a much better job than an adventurer."
Specifically...
"A nurse."
It wasn't that I just wanted to put Yoanna in a nurse outfit.
"Currently, the knight order has no one who can treat wounds. Recruiting a Sister with divine power would be one way, but there's no way a Sister would join our order."
They'd just call us lewd and vulgar and tell Ruji Fermaton to repent.
"There are issues with affiliation, and nuns are too difficult to fake with backroom deals. But a nurse-like figure is different."
"...That actually works out well. I have experience treating soldiers in field hospitals."
That was good news.
If she actually had knowledge as a nurse, she could easily deceive others.
"I'll prepare the uniform separately. For now, there's somewhere you need to go with me. Laura, you too."
"...Um."
Yoanna closed her eyes for a moment.
"It's not that I've been ignoring it on purpose, and I've heard the rumors, but..."
Yoanna's gaze shifted downward.
"...Are you always this comfortable having sex in front of others?"
"Oh, this?"
I pointed to Laura, who had been sucking my cock since the 'beginning' while I ate.
"Is it a bit much?"
"...A bit?"
"Well, get used to it. Out there, we even have sex in front of crowds."
"...Young Lord."
Yoanna asked me with an incredibly serious face.
"Are you acting the part of a sex addict, or has your dick completely taken over your brain?"
"That's a merciless way to put it."
"I apologize if I offended you. But..."
"If you're asking which one it is, I'll answer like this."
I replied as I gave Laura her breakfast for the day.
"You can watch me and judge for yourself."