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~ - 18-19

Chapter 18: Requirements for Becoming My Master

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I was taken aback by the sudden plea.

“Uh, um?”

“N-no, that’s not it!”

Coughing lightly, Kokoro-san straightened her posture.

“I appreciate your courteous greeting. My name is Kokoro Kafka. I serve as a knight to the Lord of Nagasu Territory. It is an honor to meet you, Ray-dono, the rightful heir of Kukkoro and sword of the Empire.”

She exuded the very image of a knight, but there was no way to pretend her earlier reaction hadn’t happened. Still, it would be troublesome if she soured on me here, so I decided not to poke the issue lest it become a can of worms.

“No, the pleasure is mine. I’m delighted to meet you, Kokoro-sama, renowned master of the sword.”

When I said that with a smile, Kokoro-san let out a sloppy, “Dehehe,” with her mouth hanging open.

“Kokoro-sama?”

“N-no. I just felt embarrassed by my lack of composure in such a formal setting. I can only feel ashamed of myself.”

“Is that so? Then please relax. I’m still inexperienced myself, so it helps if you take it easy.”

“Hauu… I love it…”

She let out yet another strange reaction, but she quickly straightened her posture again. Thinking that strange reaction must be just an illusion, I decided to let it go.

“Then I’ll gratefully do just that. Forgive my forwardness, but may I ask the purpose of your invitation today?”

“Yes. I invited you today because I hoped you would agree to become my master.”

“Oh… Your master, hmm?”

Kokoro-san furrowed her brow as if she had completely forgotten saying, “I waaaant to! Please let me be your master!!~~”

“Yes. I’d like you to teach me martial arts as my private tutor.”

“A private tutor?”

“Yes. Don’t you know what that is?”

“No, I know. It’s a job where you say things like, ‘If your grades improve, I’ll do something naughty for you,’ or ‘I’ll teach you adult lessons,’ right?”

“A private tutor is someone who’s invited into a home to help the children there with their studies.”

“I see…”

Kokoro-san’s expression turned sour, as if to say this negotiation would be difficult.

If I hadn’t heard her shout, “I waaaant to! Please let me be your master!!” I would’ve thought she had no intention of accepting.

“With respect, Ray Kukkoro-dono. I am a well-known knight and I’m confident in my skills. It’s not an exaggeration to say I am among the top one or two in this entire country. You know that, yes?”

“Yes. I heard it from Elsa-san.”

When I looked at Elsa-san, she had a bored look on her face, as if she were utterly exasperated with Kokoro-san.

“Hmm. My senior apprentice knows my true strength well. Then let me confirm: knowing my abilities, you are still asking me to be your master. Is that correct?”

“Yes. I know you’re not someone to be approached with a half-hearted attitude.”

“Then I want you to show me your resolve.”

“My resolve…?”

Kokoro-san nodded firmly.

“Yes. For a man to master martial arts, the path is extremely arduous, and ordinary effort will not bear fruit. There will be unending hardship. But if you still wish to become strong, you must be prepared to abandon your manhood.”

What Kokoro-san was saying would sound incomprehensible to an average person, but I understood it perfectly. It was the classic female-knight trope of forsaking one’s womanhood to devote oneself to a knight’s duties, the sort of setup where the so-called woman-who-abandoned-her-womanhood gets teased with pleasure: “What’s wrong? Didn’t you swear you already abandoned your womanhood?”

In this world with a skewed gender ratio, it was the reverse: it meant abandoning one’s manhood, and Kokoro-san was demanding that resolve from me.

“Yes. Of course, I’m prepared for that.”

When I nodded firmly, Kokoro-san met my gaze as if searching for my true feelings. Her face reddened, then she put on a dignified expression again and spoke.

“It seems you are not lying. But words alone mean nothing. I want you to prove it with your actions.”

“Actions…? What do you want me to do?”

When I asked, Kokoro-san’s face turned bright red as she answered.

“G-give me your underwear.”

“…Huh?”

“I-I-if you truly mean you’ve abandoned being a man, you wouldn’t feel embarrassed giving a pair or two of your underwear to a woman like me, right!?”

“Ray-sama, let’s send her home. I understand now why she agreed to even consider this.”

Standing beside me, Elsa-san stepped forward as if to shield me from Kokoro-san.

“Kokoro. That pathetic outfit, the eyepatch you never wore before, and that barely concealed lust… You’re clearly going through a delayed puberty, aren’t you?”

“Wh-what are you saying!? There’s no way I’d do something so shameless just to get close to a boy! Uh, I mean… Anyway, y-you’re wrong!”

Despite her protests, the look on Kokoro-san’s face made it clear Elsa-san had hit the nail on the head.

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Chapter 19: Master’s Skill

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“Ray-sama, it’s obvious this woman is trying to become your master for lewd reasons. Let’s have her leave immediately,”

Said the woman who was herself working as a maid for the same lewdreasons, so I tried to calm things down.

“Now, now. Let’s not be hasty. Strictly speaking, what she’s saying does make sense. I can’t agree with the idea that a man should give up being a man to live in a woman’s world, but I can respect it.”

“R-right? So it’s not strange at all for me to ask for your underwear!”

“It is absolutely strange! Do you not realize the severity of the crime of demanding a man’s underwear?!”

They quickly devolved into a shouting match. Well, it was true that asking for my underwear clearly included personal desires. But to me, that was nothing. After all, I had already experienced kukkoro twice.

If I could get stronger by fulfilling such a small request—if it meant buying a future where I wouldn’t get kukkoro-ed—of course I would comply.

“I understand. I will give you my underwear. But in exchange, you’ll become my master, right?”

“Ray-sama!? Are you not ashamed to take on a woman as your master who makes your underwear a requirement for her employment!?”

“…U-umm.”

What Elsa-san said was so on point that I found myself groaning.

“That’s right, Ray-sama. Now, let’s send this pervert home.”

“W-wait! Senior Disciple!”

“What is it?”

“I don’t want to leave yet!”

“Don’t you understand my kindness? If I report this to Madame, she’ll hunt you down with bloodshot eyes.”

“Uu, o-okay…”

As Kokoro-san slumped her shoulders and started shuffling away, I stopped her.

“Kokoro-san, please wait.”

“Huh…?”

“It’s true your condition is…Well, but even so, calling you here only to immediately send you away would be unthinkable behavior for a knight. Letting you leave like this isn’t what I want.”

“Wh-what…?! Such consideration… It’s unthinkable for a man to act with such consideration… What a wonderful boy you are.”

“Besides, I haven’t even seen your abilities yet, Kokoro-san. There’s no guarantee I can find someone better than you. Turning you away now would be a waste.”

“Th-that’s right! Hehe! So you understand! There’s no martial artist in this country greater than me!”

Seeing how quickly she got carried away, I thought to myself that she really was cut from the same cloth as Elsa-san.

“Alright! Then I’ll show you my true strength! Lead me to a wide space where I can swing a sword to my heart’s content!”

“…Is this really alright, Ray-sama?”

“Yes.”

“If you say it’s alright, Ray-sama. Understood, I will guide you.”

Seeing that I intended to take Kokoro-san on as my master, Elsa-san returned to her proper demeanor for receiving a guest. Once again, I felt a deep gratitude to Elsa-san was such an irreplaceable maid.

“Thank you, Elsa-san,”

I whispered my thanks, and Elsa-san smiled.

“Because Ray-sama is the most important person to me.”

She really was an irreplaceable maid. I reminded myself not to let her get too full of herself and risk getting kukkoro-ed. We went from the hallway to the entrance, then out into the mansion’s garden. I picked up the usual practice sword, and pointed it at Kokoro-san, who had taken up an identical one.

“Heh, good stance. My old wound is starting to ache.”

Kokoro-san said that as she stroked her eyepatch. Knowing it was a scar from being beaten up for excessive mischief made me feel complicated.

“I’ll make this special! I’ll show you my true form with my awakened eye!”

Kokoro-san took off her eyepatch. The eye revealed just a small horizontal scar on her eyelid. 

But… Normally, these types of scars run vertically from above the eye, don’t they?

“Now, come at me!”

Kokoro-san pointed her sword at me. She seemed ready, so I dashed toward her… But then I stopped.  There were no openings at all. I couldn’t see any way to attack. It was just like when I faced off against Mother. But Kokoro-san was different. No matter where I imagined attacking from, I saw myself getting countered.

“Impressive…”

Kokoro-san’s eyes changed. They were sharp, yet looked like she was genuinely enjoying herself.

“Senior Disciple, how long has this boy been training?”

“This boy? I’ll kill you. With everything but brute force.”

“A-ah, no, I mean, how long has Ray-sama been training?”

“This is his seventeenth day.”

“Seventeen!?”

Kokoro-san’s wide eyes turned to me.

“That’s impossible. Even a genius can’t sense the intent to cut in such a short time. That’s something you only get after facing countless powerful opponents.”

Her words struck deep, and I couldn’t hide my surprise. The fact she could see that in just an instant confirmed for me how strong Kokoro-san was. She was stronger than anyone I had ever met.

“Kokoro-san?”

“What?”

“Can I become strong?”

I asked, and Kokoro-san replied without hesitation.

“That’s impossible.”

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