A Story of a Male Knight (Not a Female Knight) in a Chastity-Reversed World ~The Girls Are So Afraid of Being Disliked That a “Kukkoro” Scene Never Happens~ - 10

Chapter 10: When a Male Knight Gets Attacked by a Female Bandit…

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It was a townscape I saw for the first time. The streets were paved with stone, and the houses lined up along them were made of brick in a European style. I wanted to be excited by a world like a fantasy game, but there was no room for that at all.

People who looked like bandits stood before us, brandishing blades, and tension froze my body.

“There are roughly ten of them. Judging by the looks, they’re knights who fell into banditry after being driven to desperation. Haah… The royal family keeps confiscating estates left and right, so these kinds of bandits flow into the capital—what a nuisance.” 

Mother said in exasperation. The bandits shouted angrily at her.

“What was that?! I’ll cut you down right now, you know!?”

“How truly pathetic. Doing banditry in the imperial capital without even knowing my face. Did you think you could get away with it just because this street is deserted? Can’t you tell there’s a reason I chose to pass through here?” 

Mother said coldly.

“Heh. We don’t need to know the faces of spoiled noble brats like you. I don’t care who you are—just leave your money here.”

“How sad. Consider yourselves unfortunate for attacking me.”

As Mother spoke, she drew her sword. Wind began to swirl around the blade with a shuffling sound. And then, she disappeared. The bandits tensed up—only for them to suddenly collapse one after another, as if their strings had been cut.

“There, that’s six down.”

Mother returned to stand in front of the carriage door, wearing a look that seemed to say she’d just cut down something trivial. It happened in an instant. I couldn’t even see it, but judging from the reddened marks on the bandits’ necks, she must have struck them with the flat of her blade.

“Damn it! Eat this!”

One of the bandits yelled, firing a flaming magic shot from her glowing hand. Mother calmly extended her hand as if to touch the approaching magic bullet.

Just as I thought it would hit her directly, it vanished into thin air like it had never existed.

“What the—?!”

“I don’t know which backwater noble you once served, but for an ex-knight, your magic is decent. However, something like that can’t leave a single scratch on me.”

Again, wind began to gather around Mother, and with a whoosh, she disappeared. Then, one after another, the bandits fell. Returning once more to the front of the carriage, Mother tilted her head slightly.

“Something stinks. With this much of a power gap, they should have run by now. What are they planning?”

There were only four left now. The encirclement around the carriage had already been broken. Yet the remaining bandits showed no signs of retreating.

“Hmmm. I suppose you’re their leader?” 

“Heh, spot on.”

Replied a medium-built woman who had been watching from a distance, sighing in admiration.

“Did you think I was just muttering to myself? One look at the bandits’ line of sight told me everything.”

“Haah. This is why I hate working with these useless scum.”

The woman spat, but none of the bandits could respond. They looked like they couldn’t go against her at all.

“You’re scum too.” 

Mother said sharply—and vanished again. This time, however, no one fell. Instead, there was a metallic clang and sparks flew.

“I see, you’re strong. I let my guard down, thinking you were just some noble who bought their way into court, but I’ve drawn the short straw, haven’t I… Karina Kukkoro-san?”

The leader said, having blocked Mother’s attack with her sword.

“So you finally realized?” 

Mother said evenly, but her face stayed serious. She had recognized this woman as a dangerous opponent.

“Yeah. There’s no one else in the capital who could completely overpower a knight like me, who came from the Suito Territory.”

“If you understand that much then surrender quietly.”

“Not happening. Rather, how about you drop your cargo and run instead? Hey!”

The bandit leader barked. From a nearby alley, another bandit emerged, carrying a girl about my age over his shoulder.

“H-help…”

The girl with cherry blossom-colored hair pleaded, her eyes desperate as she looked at Mother.

“Well now, can the protector of the capital really abandon her own citizens?”

“Kh…” 

I couldn’t help but blurt out. The situation was just too much like a classic kukkoro scenario.

“Ray…!? Quiet!” 

“There’s no point. I saw everything when the door opened. Such a stunningly beautiful boy—just how much could he be worth, I wonder?”

“So that’s why you didn’t back off even after recognizing me.”

“Of course.”

The leader’s eyes gleamed with a predatory light, making my body freeze with fear. I was terrified, but…

I looked at the girl. She was tiny and adorable, about the same size as me. No female knight would ever abandon someone like her. So I swore I wouldn’t either. I would protect her no matter what.

“Bandits.”

I stepped out of the carriage and stood next to Mother.

“Ray!? Get back in the carriage right now!”

Mom snapped. I turned to her and whispered in order to calm her down. 

“Mother, it’s okay. I’ll create an opening. Please, take them down then.”

“N-no…!”

I smiled at her worried face, then addressed the bandits.

“Let’s trade. Release the girl, and I’ll take her place as your hostage.”

“Well, that’s perfect. Hey!”

The girl was set down on the ground. I walked forward slowly, step by step, then suddenly dashed forward, seizing the girl’s hand and slipping past the bandit’s flank into the alley.

“Wha—!?”

I dodged the bandit’s reaching arm and yelled.

“Run!”

“Y-yeah!”

We ran with everything we had. All my training in footwork and sprinting paid off—I was able to rescue the girl.

“Damn it! I underestimated him because he’s a boy. After them!”

“You won’t get past me!” 

Mother shouted. I glanced back to see Mother standing firm at the mouth of the alley, but one bandit had slipped by, chasing straight after us. Still, if it was just one, we might be able to outrun her. And even if not, we only needed to keep running until Mother arrived.

I zigzagged through corners and narrow spaces, using every trick I’d practiced. The daily morning runs had paid off—I kept my speed up. All the training paid off—I slipped past obstacles with ease. I ran, using everything I’d learned, just ran.

The distance to the pursuer didn’t close; in fact, it grew. Not only were we buying time, but we might even lose her entirely. A month of training had made me strong enough for this. But what I didn’t have was knowledge of the area.

“Damn, you led me on a good chase.”

We’d reached a dead end in an alley. I frantically searched for an escape route, but there was none.

“You really are a prize. I’ve never seen a boy like you, and one with guts like that… Sure, you’re a bit young, but who cares…”

The bandit growled, licking her lips as she advanced. My heart pounded so loud it felt like it would burst. I shivered from the cold of fear. But I squeezed the girl’s hand tighter, determined to protect her. Step by step, the bandit crept closer, until—

“Alright, time to give u—”

She suddenly pitched forward and collapsed.

“You did very well, Ray-sama.”

I recognized that graceful sword stroke, that beautiful black hair and maid outfit, and a face cuter than anything I’d ever seen in my past life. It was Elsa-san who had come to save me.

“Ray-sama, this way.”

Relieved, I nodded and followed Elsa-san. She led me into a building, guiding me to a room. The room was about half the size of my bedroom, filled with cute furniture. Elsa-san urged me and the rescued girl to sit on the neat bed.

“She must be feeling so relieved.”

The girl, exhausted, fell asleep as soon as she lay on the bed.

“Thank you, Elsa-san. You saved us.”

“Uuu, you’re so kind, Ray-sama…”

“How did you get here in time?”

“I ran after the carriage to beg Karina-sama to let me return to my job. That’s when I came across her fighting, and she told me to chase after you… I’m so glad I made it in time.”

That sounded just like Elsa-san, and I felt so safe I almost drifted off myself.

“Ray-sama, please stay here until it’s safe. I’ll go inform Karina-sama that you’re unharmed.”

“Okay. Is this place safe?”

“Yes. I bought this house thanks to the very generous salary I’ve received. So, there’s no need to worry about anyone coming or finding us…”

“Elsa-san?”

When I looked at her, her face turned bright red. Her eyes grew heavy-lidded, and she started to exude a sweet, sticky, almost molten aura.

“Here, I can do whatever I want with Ray-sama. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to push you down while you were so defenseless during training. How many times I had to crush my instincts with reason. How many times your innocent behavior stirred the nature of a woman inside me, making me bite my fingers in frustration.”

Elsa-san slowly closed in on me, grabbing my wrists together.

“If I’m fired, I might never see you again. So now… Now is the only chance…”

“E-Elsa-san!?”

She lifted my bound wrists above my head and then, she pushed me down onto the bed.

“Ray-sama, I love you…” 

Elsa-san whispered as she loomed over me. 

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