Chapter 201: The Elf, the Princess, and the Guard (14)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 201: The Elf, the Princess, and the Guard (14)
Once the Hugo Kingdom’s army emerged victorious in the capital, the tide of the war shifted decisively. Incensed by the invasion of their capital but bolstered by the news of victory, the Kingdom’s forces pushed the front lines back further with each passing day.
The Stejaishi Empire possessed a fortress whispered to be impregnable, but it fell within a week under the joint assault led by Crown Prince Nero and the second prince, Rominas.
Having crushed the main strength of the Imperial Army in the process, all that remained was a peace treaty—or the total conquest of the Empire.
Rather than expanding into useless territory by conquering the Empire, the Kingdom desired a lucrative deal: seizing only the dungeon cities before declaring a ceasefire.
The Imperial Army, loath to surrender the dungeons—the world’s core resource and primary industry—resisted desperately. However, the Kingdom’s army advanced with a firm stance: "If you won't give them to us, we'll just take them."
The Stejaishi Empire tried to hold out by any means necessary, but they soon found themselves being hammered from both sides as the northern barbarians launched their own invasion.
When the Kingdom’s army set up camp before the Imperial capital, the Empire finally dispatched an envoy for peace negotiations. Since the Hugo Kingdom was in no rush, they intended to drag out the process as long as possible to extract the best possible terms.
At the third round of negotiations, Rominas pressured the envoy, whose face had turned deathly pale.
"Will you accept our terms?"
"...I shall return and bring back a definitive answer."
"Tsk. What a waste of time. If you weren't prepared to give a definitive answer here, you shouldn't have claimed you were granted full authority."
"I am deeply sorry..."
"Our patience has reached its limit. I truly hope the next time is the last."
"It shall be so..."
As the gloomy envoy departed, Crown Prince Nero praised Rominas.
"You did well."
Since this victory had all but guaranteed Nero’s succession to the throne, Rominas bowed his head.
"Not at all. It is only because you led us so well, Brother."
"The negotiations were entirely your doing. Once I ascend the throne, I believe I can entrust the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to you."
"I am honored."
It was a subtle way of telling him not to even dream of a power struggle for the throne, but Rominas bowed even deeper. He had never wanted the crown in the first place.
A King can hardly ever leave the palace.
Rominas had spent years traveling the Kingdom in search of talent. He had spent far more time wandering the world than he ever had inside the royal palace.
Perhaps because of that, being confined to one place felt suffocating to him. He would be much freer heading a department than he would be as King.
As Nero complimented his younger brother, he spoke as if a sudden thought had occurred to him.
"Perhaps instead of Foreign Affairs, I should create a separate department for nurturing talent and put you in charge. I heard the individuals you recommended performed exceptionally well this time."
"Yes, they did."
A bright smile spread across Rominas’s face. Most of the talents he had cultivated in preparation for the war had delivered the results he expected.
A few had even exceeded his expectations. Especially Sma.
I knew he was a talent destined for greatness, but I never imagined he would become the youngest Sword Master.
The Empire’s intelligence department had suffered greatly because of Sma. There were too many witnesses to silence everyone, but rumors of Sma becoming a Sword Master hadn't spread to other nations yet.
The few countries that had obtained the information only knew that "one of the Hugo Kingdom’s guards is a Sword Master." They hadn't been able to identify him as Sma specifically.
The reason for controlling the information was to prevent the Sword Master from being scouted away. With most of the military strength deployed to the front lines, it would be difficult to stop a Sword Master if he decided to leave.
But once the war is over, there will be no need to suppress the information.
He intended to bestow an enormous reward upon Sma. He planned to gift him something of far greater value than what a typical war hero or a standard Sword Master would receive.
Nero happened to be thinking the same thing.
"Especially that Sword Master named Sma. Shouldn't we appoint him as a Royal Knight directly under the crown?"
"That is not a good idea."
Nero furrowed his brows. "Why?"
"Sma is satisfied with his profession as a guard and takes great pride in it. He didn't even hesitate when I made the offer. I believe it would be better to offer him the position of Guard Captain rather than a knighthood."
"A twenty-year-old Guard Captain? The youngest current Guard Captain is twenty-seven, isn't he?"
"Yes."
"A twenty-year-old man who isn't even of noble birth... but as a Sword Master, he is more than qualified. I will consider it favorably. Still, we must grant him a title and an estate, right?"
"Yes."
"We’ll need another way to keep a Sword Master tied to us, though."
"You needn't worry about that."
Rominas recalled the information that had reached him through his private channels.
I heard Princess Jasmine is staying at Sma’s mansion.
The Sma he knew was a man who couldn't help but claim any beautiful woman for himself. There were already over ten known women living with him in his mansion, and the intelligence department had reported that the mother and daughter of the Lily of the Valley Inn, Jasmine’s escort knight Erwi, and even the Baron’s daughter Tanya were all Sma’s women.
Sma likes beautiful women. And among them, he prefers virgins.
The Jasmine Rominas knew was a virgin. Thanks to her royal blood, Jasmine’s beauty was extraordinary. Even Sma, who had several beautiful wives, would surely be tempted.
"Is not a marriage alliance the firmest of all alliances?"
"A marriage alliance? Hmm... a twenty-year-old Sword Master is certainly worthy. But doesn't he have too many women?"
"Since he keeps those women by his side without discarding them, it could be interpreted as him cherishing his wives."
"Well, fine. I'm sure you'll handle it. I'll leave that matter entirely to—"
Nero, who was about to give his brother instructions, fell silent as he stared at a black pillar rising from the center of the Stejaishi Empire’s capital.
It wasn't just Nero. The nearby knights and common soldiers also stood with their mouths agape. A military priest muttered under his breath.
"Magi..."
"That’s Magi? Something that dense?"
The priest was too distracted to answer Nero’s question. He continued to mutter.
"Has the Stejaishi Empire touched the taboo...?"
"The taboo?"
Nero and Rominas’s expressions turned grave. Was the taboo the priest mentioned the same one they were thinking of?
"Are you talking about the taboo where demonic beasts and demons emerge from the dungeons?"
"Yes. And the Magi is far too dense. In the worst-case scenario... the Demon King might appear. If the Demon King is not subjugated, she will invade the Human Realm."
"Haa..."
Nero let out a long sigh. In the meantime, Rominas issued orders to the commanders.
"Break the siege. We are withdrawing."
"Why is that, Your Highness?" asked a knight who wasn't well-versed in the taboo.
Rominas explained, "That place is certain to be tainted by Magi and become a land of death. We would suffer immense losses if we tried to subjugate it with our strength alone. With such an event occurring in their capital, the Empire’s fall is inevitable. We will stabilize our newly acquired territories and prepare for any potential situation."
"Then..."
The knight looked toward Nero.
"I permit it."
With Nero’s permission, the Kingdom’s army began preparing for withdrawal. Rominas watched the busy soldiers and thought to himself.
If the demons rise, the dungeons will become even more dangerous. As the level of monsters increases, the hunters clearing the dungeons will suffer casualties, and no matter how well they are managed, dungeon breaks will occur.
The guards are going to have a hard time.
The guards, originally just a group of low-level security, had evolved into an institution that even the royal family found difficult to mistreat because they managed the dungeons.
With great authority comes great responsibility. Therefore, every incident occurring in the dungeons was the responsibility of the guards.
It was the guards' duty to appease the Hunter Guilds who would be furious over the sudden spike in difficulty, to block the monsters pouring out of broken dungeons, to filter out the cultists trying to contact demons, and everything else in between.
Except for when the Demon King appears.
Subjugating the Demon King was the Hero’s role. Rominas didn't need to worry about that. The Hugo Kingdom’s guards were elites, and they now had a new Sword Master.
I must make sure Sma is tied to the Kingdom.
He didn't know when another country, struggling to manage its dungeons due to the demon uprising, might try to steal Sma away. To prevent that, Jasmine’s role was crucial.
Jasmine. You must make Sma your husband.
He wondered if she was doing well. He wanted to return to the Kingdom quickly to check.
* * *
"Hng, h-haah!"
Jasmine was lost in a trance of masturbation again today. Originally, she had spent a lot of time talking with Iruna and the others at Sma’s mansion, but lately, she spent almost all her time masturbating.
The reason was Sma, who engaged in sex regardless of the time or place.
A few days ago it was in a tree, the day before yesterday it was in the pool, yesterday it was on the trail, and today...
Jasmine glanced out the window. She saw a man and a beastkin walking in the garden.
In truth, it was a strange sight to call a "walk." The man held a dog leash in his hand, and the beastkin wearing the collar was completely naked.
As Sma admired Cathy’s backside, he suddenly slapped her buttocks. At that, her tail—which Jasmine had never even touched—stood up stiffly.
"Hnyahaang!"
The moan was so loud it reached all the way to Jasmine’s room. Closing the window would have blocked the sound, but Jasmine, lost in her lust, leaned in closer instead.
They say humans become superhuman when peeping at others' disgrace or watching sex. Jasmine heard their conversation clearly.
"You're dripping wet. Do you like getting your ass slapped that much?"
"Nyaha... it’s because it’s been a while..."
"What do you mean 'a while'? We had sex just a few days ago."
Slap!
"Nyahaaaang!!!"
Cathy’s hips bucked up and down. As Sma admired Cathy’s movements, he lowered his trousers.
A massive cock was revealed, so distinct it could be seen clearly even from a distance. The moment Jasmine saw it, she shoved her fingers inside her pussy.
"Hngh!"
The masturbation that had started with clitoral stimulation had shifted to using her fingers before she knew it. As she moved her hand frantically, Jasmine flinched and stopped when her fingers brushed against her hymen.
It hurt when I pressed this...
She had started masturbating to gain pleasure; she had no desire to feel pain. And her virginity was important. If she didn't have her membrane when she eventually entered a political or romantic marriage, she might be cast aside for being promiscuous.
A commoner might be different, but a woman of the royal family had to value her chastity.
"Nyahat! Sma’s cock is the best! Hnyahang! It’s deep, so deep and hot, and hard! I love it so much!"
If I were getting fucked by that too... N-No!
Jasmine shook off the thoughts that surfaced several times a day. Her virginity was important. So, she suppressed her desires and endured through masturbation.
But there was a limit to how much masturbation could solve.
Cock, cock, cooock...
When she first started masturbating, she was satisfied with just her fingers, but had she grown too used to it from doing it so much? No matter how much she rubbed her pussy, she couldn't feel satisfied.
I want Sma’s cock too...
As she moved her fingers while imagining his cock entering her, her eyes met Sma’s. Startled, Jasmine hid her face below the windowsill.
Did he see me...? No. There’s no way he could see me from there. But he’s a Sword Master...? No, it can't be.
Jasmine tried to calm her racing heart and peeked out again. Sma was preoccupied with having sex with Cathy.
It was just my imagination.
The moment she felt relieved, a tingle shot through her lower abdomen, and a lightning-like pleasure surged through her spine.
"Hyaaaaaaaaang!!!"
Jasmine screamed at the top of her lungs, trembling violently from the peak of her orgasm. After a sensation that felt like it lasted for minutes, a sense of exhaustion washed over her, and she slumped onto the bed.
What was that just now?
It was a pleasure she could never feel through ordinary masturbation. What was different from usual? Her fingers were the same, the place was the same.
I thought I was caught by Sma!
She realized why Cathy and Sma were doing that outside. The thought that someone might catch you was incredibly thrilling.
Wanting to feel more, she brazenly rested her face against the window. As she rubbed her pussy, hoping he would notice, a pleasure so intense it blew her mind away washed over her.
This is it. This is it!
Jasmine lost her mind and began thrusting her fingers into her pussy.