Chapter 219: A Moment of Leisure - The Knight Order's Circumstances
Chapter 219: A Moment of Leisure - The Knight Order's Circumstances
Unless there was a specific problem, Ruji Fermaton always prioritized safety when clearing the Infinite Labyrinth.
Under any circumstances, a safe conquest was his top priority. When they entered, he was the first one in, and when they finished, he was the last one out.
And whenever they descended, Captain Laura was always by his side.
Although Ruji Fermaton went down with them under the alias 'Lecherous Man,' he had designated Laura as the field commander in case his connection was ever severed.
But Laura was not here now.
The assault team had always consisted of six members: Lecherous Man, Laura, and four others. That maximum capacity of six had never changed until now.
Even during the Succubus Raid, when many supporters followed behind, only six people actually engaged in the conquest.
And every single time, Captain Laura had been there.
The knights expressed their confusion about descending into the Infinite Labyrinth without Laura, but they soon realized the situation and let out hollow laughs.
"So, you're saying they're having sex right now?"
"Looks like it."
The two women, Yurdias and Serica—who were now close enough to speak casually to one another—gnashed their teeth as they watched the Armored Knight walking ahead of them, swinging his sledgehammer.
"Asti. Say something. Wasn't it supposed to stop at just... not going all the way?"
"Yeah. I thought she was just sitting on top of him, stimulating his dick. Can they actually have sex now?"
"Exactly. They're testing right now to see if the signal cuts out even during sex."
The succubus mage, Astarotte, yawned and shrugged her shoulders.
"Even if he sends the signal through sex magic via his dick, the signal usually reaches the Infinite Labyrinth even if something is covering it. We've never actually tried to clear a floor while having full-on sex until now, but it seems the test is a success."
Astarotte smiled brightly and spread her arms.
"From now on, at least one person will always be having sex with the Lord while we're clearing the Infinite Labyrinth. Right?"
The knights gave sour smiles at Astarotte's words.
Since Captain Laura had theoretically succeeded, the next person excluded from the six-man party might have to support the knight order while having sex with Ruji Fermaton.
If that person turned out to be them...
"Are they really having sex? Asti, you don't mean 'fake' sex?"
"I don't know what your criteria for 'fake' sex is, Yurdi, but it's definitely not just rubbing against his thighs or giving him a handjob. We've moved past the stage of sending signals through indirect sex."
Astarotte lightly slapped Yurdias's butt with her tail.
"When the Lord uses his magic tool to control Paladin Sonata, he sits on top of her. The Captain was sitting face-to-face, but wouldn't you prefer sitting in a back-hug position?"
"Why would I sit in a back-hug?"
"Because it's easier to get fucked in the ass that way?"
"...It's not like I want to get fucked in the ass every single time, you know?"
Yurdias grumbled, flicking Astarotte's horn with her finger.
"And what about you? You could easily do it in your succubus form, yet you love taking the Lord's dick in that tiny body of yours. Don't you?"
"What's wrong with that? At least there won't be any woman falling asleep on top of the Lord, right?"
"Who said anything about sleeping?"
"Oh, was I wrong?"
"I'm not going to sleep."
"That's a very bold statement coming from someone who did it in the ass while perfectly conscious but still hasn't had actual pussy sex yet."
"Ha. Don't make me laugh. Do you think I'm avoiding it because I'm scared of having sex face-to-face?"
"Aren't you? Should I go ask him right now?"
"...Stop it."
Serica's face turned beet red as she clenched and unclenched her fists.
"Don't interfere with someone else's 'real first experience.'"
"I don't know what kind of plan you're cooking up in that head of yours, but anyway, I hope it's a good first time. Not that you're a Sword Maiden anymore, though."
"Excuse me."
Zenith, who was joining them as a knight for the first time, pointed at the group with a sour expression.
"I felt this when I was watching from beside the Lord's Castle office, but is the atmosphere always like this?"
"No. It's not always like this," Serica replied, shaking her head calmly.
"At first, we were formal and polite with each other. But as fellow knights, we eventually started talking more comfortably."
"Even if we have to be formal or use honorifics in front of the Lord, shouldn't we be able to talk comfortably at times like this? The Captain isn't here, after all."
"We're close in private, too. I don't know how it was in the past, but now we've basically seen everything there is to see of each other."
The three women, who were all speaking casually now, nodded in agreement.
"But if there's an atmosphere where we feel like we have to be polite and formal..."
"It's Captain Laura."
"Yeah, when the Captain is around, the atmosphere becomes... pious or solemn, for some reason."
The mood changed this much just because one person was missing.
"Captain Laura does that?"
"Yes. Perhaps because Captain Laura acts so politely herself, there's an atmosphere where you just can't speak recklessly."
"There's this indescribable vibe. Haven't you felt it, Lady Zenith?"
"Well, as for me..."
Zenith scratched her cheek and tilted her head.
"More importantly, is Laura really that difficult to be around?"
"It's not that she's difficult. It's not like she's always serious, either. It's just... how should I put it? An aura that Captain Laura exudes."
"Even if you don't mean to, you just end up becoming solemn. Hmm, it's like the feeling of being in a temple?"
"A temple? ...From Laura?"
Zenith recalled the most recent image she had of Laura.
—Ah, my Lord. Please, splash your hot milk all over my face...
The woman who had been kneeling beneath Ruji Fermaton with her tongue sticking out.
Pious...?
"...Well, everyone has their own unique vibe, so I'll just leave it at that."
Zenith pointed to herself.
"But why does everyone keep using formal speech with me?"
"......."
"I'm only two years older than you guys at most, right?"
For a moment, the air froze.
"Well, that's because you're Lady Zenith. You're of noble status."
"How could we speak recklessly to the former Countess, the wife of the previous Count?"
"Even if the age gap isn't that large, aren't you the oldest among us?"
"Ha."
Zenith's lip curled.
"Anyone listening would think I'm in my thirties. Hey. I'm still in my mid-twenties, you know?"
"Weren't you in your late twenties?"
"You brats. I'm not a woman who looks that old!"
"Sorry. It's just that the Lord keeps calling you 'Mother,' so that's the impression we get."
Zenith felt a strange sensation, as if they were making fun of her.
However, she couldn't bring herself to say, "Just speak casually to me." If she did, she felt like she'd be misunderstood as an old person trying too hard to fit in with the youth—a total 'kkondae.'
"...Whew. You guys. Keep this in mind. There isn't much of an age gap between us. I don't know why you're acting like this over a few years. ...Yoanna, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
Yoanna, who had been following at a slight distance with an expressionless face, closed her eyes.
"It's just that age is but a number; what matters is the appearance."
"Not the inside?"
"To discuss the 'inside,' the recruitment criteria for this Fermaton Knight Order puts personality in second place anyway."
Yoanna gestured to the whole group.
"Me. Zenith. Yurdi. Asti. Serica. None of us fall short when it comes to face or figure. Since such people were gathered into one knight order, isn't it obvious that the Lord's number one priority for hiring knights is their appearance?"
"Thinking about the people who aren't here, that's true."
The Armored Knight, Lecherous Man, who was walking far ahead with his sledgehammer, couldn't hear them.
Even if he were listening, he would likely just brush it off as a joke; he'd definitely be thinking about something else even while responding.
And for good reason—he was currently in the middle of passionate sex with Captain Laura.
"The Lord isn't someone who cares about age. As long as the appearance is fine—as long as she looks like a woman in her early twenties—he'll try to have sex with her regardless of her actual age."
"I can't argue with that. Then, Miss Yoanna, what about you?"
"Pardon...?"
"The way you look at the Lord has changed a lot lately. It looks like you're about to 'do it' any day now."
"...Hmm."
As Zenith made a circle with her fingers and poked through it, Yoanna averted her gaze.
"I won't deny it."
"Impressive. What is it? Is his body your type?"
"As a former soldier, it's an ideal body to me. Even if he's borrowing the power of 'The Stone,' that is undoubtedly the Lord's future form."
"Then let me ask. If you can have sex with his current body, would you be able to have sex with his previous body?"
"......When you have the most delicious food in front of you, you rarely choose the food that's only 'moderately' tasty, do you?"
"The most delicious food, huh."
Zenith toyed with her lips, mulling over Yoanna's words.
"I wonder who's the most delicious to the Lord? Is it... the Captain, after all?"
"......."
"Is he taking care of the Captain first because she's his type?"
"Who knows. Rather than it being because she's the Captain, isn't it because she's the one who can cater to him without hesitation?"
Yoanna gestured to her own body.
"Lady Zenith, could you have sex naked in an outdoor park?"
"......."
"The Captain isn't the Captain for nothing. She's the Captain because she has the boldness to match his tastes. Though, of course, she is amazing in her own right."
Far off in the distance.
"I haven't seen many men in my time."
Watching the knight carrying his sledgehammer toward the sea, Yoanna gave a bitter smile with hollow eyes.
"But he's the kind of man who would violate even a goddess in a temple, as long as her outward appearance was beautiful."
A short while later.
The party arrived at the Coastal Zone on the 25th floor of the labyrinth.