CH 335.2

『I’m pretty good.』

In addition to being able to confirm this fact, her ability in bed has also unexpectedly increased. She no longer has any desire to pilot a golem.

(From this point forward, I want to practice the skills I have acquired.)

Of course, that place is on the bed.

「Then just send them a polite refusal. I’m going to do that too, actually.」

Her rival from her school days with a cold impression and lack of expression replied. She must have guessed how she felt from her few words and gestures.

As has always been the case, it was appalling. But Light Cruiser-sensei’s concern was elsewhere.

「Didn’t you say you want to participate in the training?」

Finding virgins and eating them at the Defeated Rape should’ve been Cool-san’s goal. That is why she thought she was going to join the knight order.

When she stared at her with surprise, her rival and friend shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

「I’ve looked into it, but the chance the national knight order to get some action is surprisingly low.」

The only recent big event in the kingdom in which the knight order must make a move has been the 『Landbarn Battle』 with the Empire and the suppression of the Eastern Count. If we add the small-scale ones, there have been a few bandits subjugation.

Most of the knight members were either waiting in the royal capital or ended up digging trenches in Awoke in preparation for the Empire’s expeditionary force.

「I want to fight, win, and exercise my right for Defeated Rape. So I think I’d rather be a mercenary knight than a member of the national knight order.」

From skirmishes on the border to dealing with civil unrest. A well-known knight order has a lot of work to do.

「For now, I’m thinking of Lily Knights.」

Her eyes widened at Cool-san’s words because the Lily Knights consist of girls who are interested in other girls.

Cool-san is a great player in 『Flower Arrangement』, but like herself, she has no particular interest in yuri. But after a short pause, she understood.

(Ah, so she won’t have a competition huh?)

If, say, a rebellious city is conquered at the request of a lord. Lily Knights would leave the men alone and only attack the beautiful-looking women.

If that happens, the pile of stones left in front of her will be all hers. No one will disturb her even if she takes the time to look for the virgins.

「Exactly.」

Again, Cool-san affirmed even though she didn’t say a word. And then she continued.

「I’m not going to the training of the knight order. But I will contact Lily Knights after the knight order training is over.」

This is so that the knight order didn’t suspect that the Lily Knights approached her first.

The other day, Dr. Slime, the leader of the 『Doom Squad』 and commander of the merchant guild Knights. Tauro had advised him to do so.

Light Cruiser-sensei nodded and opened his mouth.

「Then I’d better wait a little while before sending the letter.」

If she sends the letter right away, people may think that she was planning to use them as a stepping stone from the beginning.

Even if that is true, they would like to pretend that they decided not to participate after much deliberation.

「Thank you. Are you fine even if it’s cold?」

With her problem solved, Light Cruiser-sensei got up from the sofa to make a cup of tea for Cool-san.

***

And here is a corner of the downtown area that stretches south of the red-light district. In the strangely large kitchen of a not-so-fancy house, Plain-chan was chopping up a large quantity of cabbage.

Her family’s business is a street food stall. At this time of the day, between lunch and dinner, she is busy preparing the food.

「You don’t have to help out at home until your day off you know?」

The person who called out to her was her mother, who was making soup beside her.

She wants her daughter, who brings home a lot of money by working in Cassabell, the oldest of the three families, to rest and relax.

「It’s fine. I like cooking, and it makes me happy when customers tell me how delicious my food is.」

Plain-chan replied with a smile without stopping her hand from moving the knife. The reason she started working in a brothel was probably because of the same reason.

Suddenly, the figure of a man with a kaiser mustache almost appeared in her mind, and she hurriedly shook her head from side to side to get it out of her mind.

(I got a letter asking me to participate in the training, but I don’t want to be a member of the knight order.)

It was delivered to Cassabel yesterday.

After finishing preparing the ingredients for the stir-fry, she puts them in the storage box and touches the magic circle on the lid, sober.

She sees the magic circle began to glow gently and reaches for the carrots, but she can’t stop thinking about it.

(I intend to settle things with that guy someday. But right now, I’m still not strong enough.)

The target she needs to overcome is one of the men sitting at the pinnacle of the Kingdom. She would need further training to confront him.

(In any case, I’ll wait until my brothers are older.)

Until then, let’s work hard at Cassabell.

(Now that I’ve made up my mind, I better send a letter right away.)

I’ll write the letter tonight. Pulling back her chin lightly, Plain-chan took a knife in each hand and began chopping carrots.

***

The stage moves further to the knight order headquarters located north of the royal castle.

A massive, rugged building made of light honey-colored stone. In one of the rooms, several men and women were gathered.

「This year’s regular practical exam was truly outstanding. I can’t even remember the last time there were this many crops.」

The vice commander who was sitting at the top of the table spoke in a good mood. He is taller than the commander and has a slender face.

He has a beard over his mouth, but he only started growing it when he became deputy commander, probably because he wanted to look more dignified.

「Until the third place, it is almost decided that they will get hired. While the fourth place will be determined after we see how they perform in the training, there is no doubt that they have improved since last year, and we can expect great things from them.」

The lady pilot in charge of recruitment answered with a lively voice. She is very plump and the three sizes are probably the same.

For reference, the order was: Light Cruiser-sensei, Plain Queen, Cool-san, and Black Tights-chan. And one of the best eights is a woman with red braids who used a club for her weapon.

What is taking place now is a meeting of those in charge. Led by the vice knight commander, a good number of members had gathered.

(It’s sure nice if they’re all great candidates, but I wonder how many will actually come?)

The one who keeps his face blank and silent is Corneal, the number three man in the Kingdom. A charming, muscular young man in his late twenties and a friend of Tauro who has the nickname of 『Skewering Whirlwind』.

He is acquainted with all four of the four candidates, so he already assumed that there was a good chance that some of them would turn down the invitation.

『You don’t have to join the knight order, just try to enroll in pilot school.』

The person who told them this was the person in charge of the end of the organization. Since the mission is to persuade them to enroll in the school, he did not inform the higher-ups that he had added an extra word.

Corneal knew about this, but he did not intend to blame them.

(I’m as guilty as them after all.)

The failure to defeat Heavy Lancers and the defeat at the Landbarn Battle. The number of Knights plummeted as a result of these two defeats.

The whole country was involved in repairing and building new Knights to restore the number of Knights to its original number, but there are not enough pilots to ride them.

『Make a list of people with the potential to become pilots. If you can’t, I’ll take you to lunch with me.』

The knight commander with a kaiser mustache, who was famous for his fondness for eating golden food, was so intimidating that he cried out to Tauro and asked him to introduce him to someone.

The knight commander is a man who makes a distinction between public and private affairs. He would not mix anything in his subordinates’ meals.

(But my heart is weak.)

He did not believe that he would be able to trust the food served to him, and he did not believe that he would be able to put the food in his mouth without hesitation.

Shifting his gear, Corneal predicted the outcome.

(First place is doubtful, and I’m not so sure about the second place either. Third place is a 50-50, and fourth place will definitely participate.)

A cold-looking woman with a rotational technique who once twisted and broke his crotch. When he thinks of that woman who placed third, his brow furrows, but he doesn’t show it any more than that.

(Once they joined, I must try to treat them fairly.)

Let me follow the example of the Knight Commander and try not to bring personal feelings to the workplace, even though I may not be good at it.

Unaware of his feelings, the vice commander and the lady were excited about where the candidates would be assigned.