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~ - 20

Chapter 20: How to Become Strong

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“Eh…”

I was left speechless by the merciless words.

“You cannot become stronger. No—more precisely, you are already quite strong as you are now, but you will never gain the strength you wish for.”

“W-why is that?”

“The strength you desire is surely the kind of power that would allow you to stand against someone as strong as me, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

The strength I wanted was enough to hold my head high as a male knight. Naturally, I wanted strength rivaling that of a warrior like Kokoro-san, and the kind of strength where I wouldn’t end up being kukkoro-ed by a girl with cherry blossom-colored hair.

“Then it’s impossible. That dream of yours will never come true.”

Kokoro-san stated that flatly.

“Kokoro, how could you!”

“Senior Disciple. If you care about Ray-sama, shouldn’t you let him know the truth?”

Seeing Elsa-san fall silent at those words, I realized that what Kokoro-san was saying had to be the truth.

“I, too, would hate to let an opportunity to get my hands on the underwear of such a beautiful boy slip through my fingers. But keeping quiet about the facts would do him no good. As a warrior, I cannot lie about matters of martial skill.”

“Kokoroooo!”

Elsa-san looked ready to pounce, but I stopped her with a raised hand. Seeing Elsa-san getting heated actually helped me calm down. It wasn’t the fact that I couldn’t become strong that I should focus on—I needed to know why. Without understanding that, I couldn’t make any decisions.

“Kokoro-san, could you please tell me why I can’t become stronger?”

Kokoro-san answered my question without hesitation.

“Because you are a man.”

“Because I’m… A man?”

“Yes. Compared to women, men have less magic power. That is an unchangeable fact.”

“Magic power…?”

Other than my unique magic and the flaming bullets my mother fired, I didn’t know much about magic. I didn’t have the knowledge to truly grasp how much it affected combat, so what she said didn’t quite feel real yet.

“You don’t know about magic power? Even just swinging a sword uses magic power to enhance your physical abilities. You’ve had combat experience, haven’t you? Didn’t you ever wonder why some opponents were stronger than you?”

That was true. The girl with cherry blossom-colored hair was obviously stronger than me, even though she was my age. Of course, she probably had better physical abilities, but maybe she was also using magic to enhance her physical abilities.

“Have you realized it? Then you understand, right? No matter how much you train, the difference in magic power cannot be overcome. As a man, you cannot defeat a woman.”

Her words nearly broke my heart—but more than that, I felt a thrill. Stories of female knights becoming strong despite being physically weaker were classics. They trained to protect others and grew stronger, making them beautiful, admirable figures precisely because of their struggle.

As a boy aspiring to become a knight, it made me happy to be in a similar situation.

“Even so, I want to become strong enough to win!”

“…I see. Perhaps it is also a master’s duty to show you the insurmountable wall you face. Even if I’m not your master yet, I’ll show you that wall.”

Kokoro-san said that, then began walking toward a tree growing in the garden.

“Watch closely.”

Kokoro-san took a deep breath and pointed her sword at the tree. Was she seriously going to cut it down? It was a tree with a 50cm diameter and over three meters tall. Realistically, a wooden training sword could hardly scratch it.

As if to mock my doubt, Kokoro-san raised her sword overhead and swung it down.

Huh…?

Without a sound, the tree split cleanly in two. With a thud, it fell to the ground, and once the cloud of dust settled, I approached the stump to check the cut. No way. The surface was as smooth as if it had been sliced by a sharpened blade.

“Did you sense the movement of magic power just now?”

Kokoro-san asked me, but I hadn’t sensed any movement of magic power at all.

“No.”

“Then it means you have no aptitude for magic. Those born with high magic power are sensitive to its flow. Those with truly high magic power can see it clearly, and even those with average levels can see it faintly like an aura—but you saw nothing.”

I understood what she was getting at.

“You mean… I have no magic power?”

“I won’t say you have none at all. But compared to women, yours is very low. It can grow a little through training, but only slightly. Even if it multiplied several times, you’d still never match them.”

Even if my magic power increased several times, it wouldn’t be enough. I thought maybe, with my ability to rewind time, I could overcome it—but even then… It seemed highly unlikely.

“Then, does that mean I really can’t become strong?”

“Yes.”

Kokoro-san nodded mercilessly.

“I understand… In that case, please—would you become my master?”

“What!? Did you really understand what I just explained!?”

This time, I was the one who nodded.

“Yes. I understand that I have low magic power. But that’s not everything, right? If it were, there’d be no reason for swordsmanship to exist at all—everyone would just train their magic instead.”

“That’s true. Of course, there are combat styles that focus on magic alone, but the strongest approach is to use magic to amplify sword techniques.”

“Then if I master swordsmanship, even a little magic power should let me grow strong, right?”

“Hmm… But if your opponent has also mastered swordsmanship, the one with more magic power will still win… Right?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you want to become so strong? Honestly, you’re a boy. Not just any boy—you’re the heir of the esteemed Kukkoro family. Your future success is practically guaranteed, and if you want something, you can simply reach for it. There’s no need to become strong.”

I paused and thought carefully. Kokoro-san was right. My future was practically guaranteed. If I wanted something, I could probably get it—like how I asked for a master and, within days, they brought me Kokoro-san. If I didn’t try to become strong, I wouldn’t have to suffer through harsh training, nor would I have to leave the house and risk being kukkoro-ed.

But none of that mattered to me.

“It’s because I admire them.”

“You admire them?”

“I admire knights. Strong, beautiful, and fleeting female knights.”

“I understand the strong part, but beautiful and fleeting? And why insist on them being women…?”

As she said that, Kokoro-san met my eyes.

“If it’s admiration, then it can’t be helped. I can see you’re serious about this.”

Kokoro-san let out a small, amused laugh.

“So… Will you become my master?”

“Yes.”

“Yay!”

I raised my hands in joy. I was so happy to have someone as skilled as Kokoro-san as my master.

“Let me ask you one more time—do you want to become strong?”

“Yes!”

“Then there is only one way to become strong enough not to lose to a woman.”

“Huh? I thought you said it was impossible to become strong?”

“Of course, it’s impossible… That is, if we’re only talking about the limit of human abilities.”

“Human abilities…?”

“If you learn demon magic instead of relying on human power, you might become strong enough not to lose to a woman.”

At Kokoro-san’s words, I tilted my head in confusion.

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