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~ - 23

Chapter 23: The Test

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They said time flies like an arrow, and it was true. A week had already passed since I began training with Master. Because Mother had agreed to move the date of my test forward, today was the day for Mother to determine if I was suited to become a knight or not. 

“Well then, Ray. Show me the results of your month’s worth of training.”

We were in the mansion’s garden, on the green grass. The first time, I had been nervous at Mother’s words, but by this third time, I felt no nerves at all. I had already passed the test twice before, and on top of that, I had grown much stronger in this past week—it was only natural I felt confident.

“Understood! I’ll start by letting you check my stamina!”

I declared proudly, and went through the test one task at a time. Nearby, Elsa-san and Master watched with confident expressions as they observed my exam. Their trust made me happy.

“R-Ray? I… I can’t believe it… How much talent would it take to gain these abilities in such a short time?”

When the test ended, Mother muttered in disbelief. Her face had gone pale, as if her shock had turned into fear. I felt happy, but also a bit sorry, leaving me with complicated feelings.

Should I tell her about my unique magic? No, but if I did, I’d have to explain the whole “kukkoro” situation. I shouldn’t cause unnecessary worry, so I decided not to say anything.

“Thank you for the compliment, Mother. I’m happy.”

“Oh, my son is just too adorable, I don’t even care anymore. You must be a genius among geniuses.”

At Mother’s words, Kokoro-san and Elsa-san both looked exasperated.

“Is this woman really okay?”

“I don’t think she is, but it’s normal to become blind with love when it comes to a beautiful son like Ray-sama, so she’s fine.”

Knowing the future where Mother would fire Elsa-san, I quickly tried to steer her focus elsewhere.

“Mother! What’s the next test!?”

“Eh, ah, Ray. Then lastly, could you show me your swordsmanship? A knight’s life depends on the sword. If your technique is poor, your other achievements would mean nothing… No, I suppose I could already acknowledge you as a knight, but I’m purely curious how skilled you truly are.”

Receiving a practice sword from Elsa-san, Mother readied herself, and I accepted my own and took a stance facing her.

Wow. Looking at Mother’s stance, I had vaguely thought before that it had no openings, but after this past week of training, I felt like I finally understood how amazing it really was.

She was completely relaxed, able to respond to attacks from any angle. And yet, the tip of her sword never left me, always ready to strike if I showed an opening. Her center of gravity was stable, allowing her to move instantly in any direction, and her head was pulled back to widen her field of vision as if seeing everything from above. All of these elements were refined to the point of being beautiful.

Last time, my attacks had been dodged completely—but that was inevitable. From the very start, Mother had been prepared to deal with anything I threw at her.

Haha. This is such a huge change.

It had only been a week, but the brutal feedback and lectures I’d received had given me so much knowledge that it was no exaggeration to say the world looked completely different now. And it wasn’t just that I could see it.

“Now then. Come, Ray.”

“You can come at me first if you’d like, Mother.”

When I said that, Mother’s eyes widened. In swordsmanship, the stronger tended to receive the attack first. Beckoning people to attack first was a sign of strength and this was especially true when there was a huge difference in strength between you and your opponent.

“I see…Then I’ll go first.”

With that, Mother stepped forward. Her advance was so fast it felt like it might create a shockwave. The pressure of her direct attack brought with it a surge of fear. But I had already set my stance to defend against a frontal assault, so I focused my mind on the possibility of attacks coming elsewhere.

As the fast slash approached, it suddenly changed trajectory to strike from the side.

Here it comes!

I angled my sword tip downward to catch her sideways attack, then spun my body to deflect the force, using that momentum to rotate and counterattack with my own slash. I missed. Still, my sword tip grazed her. If I hadn’t spent the past week eliminating wasted movements, I probably wouldn’t have even gotten close to Mother.

“Well done, Ray.” 

Mother said, smiling before closing her eyes. When she opened them again, her face had turned serious. It looked like she was getting serious now.

This time, I launched an attack at Mother. She dodged easily—but that was a feint. The second strike was the real one. I performed the quickest possible follow-up, but she blocked it.

I felt no panic. I simply accepted that I had chosen the best move, but Mother’s skill surpassed it. Before, I would’ve changed strategies in desperation, but now, backed by the confidence I gained through training and discussions with Master, I decided to stick with it.

I repeated the pattern of feint and true strike over and over, each time with variations, but Mother avoided them all. Still, each attack came closer and closer, almost landing.

One more time.

I thrust toward her throat, forcing her to dodge downward, then swung down at the fastest speed possible. Mother barely avoided it with a backstep—but I immediately stepped forward to close the distance.

“What!?”

Catching her by surprise, I swung my sword at her. The second strike was a feint again—and this time, I perfectly caught her. Just as my sword was about to touch her, Mother disappeared, and I felt a hard impact at the back of my head.

“Ow!?”

“Ah…”

When I turned around, Mother was standing there, her sword wrapped in swirling wind.

“That’s enough!”

At Master’s words, I understood I’d lost the point. I bit my lip in frustration—but the next words left me dumbstruck.

“Ray wins.”

Master declared.

“Ahhh! As expected of you, Ray-sama! To take a point from Madam!!”

“Ow, ow, Elsa-san…”

As Elsa-san hugged me tightly and sniffed my neck, I pulled her off and turned to Master.

“What do you mean, I won?”

“Allow me to explain that to you.”

Mother said, smiling brightly.

“If I hadn’t used magic, you would’ve taken a point from me, Ray.”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing to be surprised about. Part of why you were able to land that hit was because the Madam was focusing on assessing you. But to be honest, with your current abilities, it’s not strange for you to land a hit on.  After all, you survived my training.”

“That’s right! Ray-sama worked so hard—there’s no need to be surprised! This is the rightful result!”

“Master…! Elsa-san…!”

“Aah. You can thank me by giving me your panties?”

“It’s only natural you’d beat Madam! She didn’t raise my pay or order me to help with your baths—she deserves a beating!”

“Ray.”

Mother looked at me directly, her voice soft.

“I recognize you as a knight. No… As the rightful heir of the kukkoro family, become a knight.”

Unlike before, her words made me feel like I was truly accepted for the first time. Emotion surged in my chest.

“Yes…!”

I nodded firmly, trying to hide my tearful face. After that, just like before, I manifested my unique magic. Mother, bewildered as before, went off to investigate, and as before, Elsa-san was fired—along with Kokoro-san.

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