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~ - 28

Chapter 28: First Time Outside

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“Get changed and wait here, okay?”

Having been handed the robe, I immediately put it on and pulled the hood deep over my head. It seemed Mother had gone out to buy this. She must have wanted to make sure I could get home safely by hiding the fact that I was a boy, avoiding danger along the way. I thought it might be a bit overkill, but since I’d just nearly been assaulted by Master, I pulled the hood even deeper over my face.

After a little while, Mother came back with Master in tow, who looked tearful after having just been whacked on the head.

“Kokoro, I’m uneasy about leaving Ray in your care, but I’m counting on you. Whatever you do, don’t draw attention to yourselves like earlier. If you do, you’re fired. I mean it—you’ll really be fired.”

“Y-yes.”

Master shrank back under Mother’s repeated warnings.

“Ray. I’m going to clean up this mess and take care of the carriage, then return to work. So will you go home with Kokoro?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you, Ray. Make sure you keep your hood up and hide yourself with that robe. If people find out you’re a boy, everyone around you will attack you at once, so don’t let that happen.”

It sounded almost like a bad omen, but I decided to be careful not to get exposed. Nothing good ever came from ignoring Mother’s words.

“I’m off then. Kokoro, I’m really counting on you.”

“Y-yes, of course. Leave it to me.”

Once she heard my reply, Mother disappeared from the alley, still wearing an anxious expression. Watching her freely teleport with magic, I couldn’t help thinking she could’ve just brought me straight home herself, but maybe long-distance travel was difficult even for her.

“Okay then, let’s head home.”

Master said, starting to walk off. 

“This way.”

As we stepped out of the alley onto the main street, my vision seemed to expand all at once.

“Wow.”

Medieval European-style buildings lined both sides of the wide road—just like you’d expect in a fantasy world. The people moving along the paved stone street all wore outfits straight out of a fantasy RPG. Shops stood along the avenue, the calls of merchants vying for customers rising in the air. There were stores selling food, clothing—items I’d never even seen in my past life—and my heart danced with curiosity, wanting to explore them all.

“Amazing.”

“Ray, is this your first time in the imperial capital?” 

Master asked. I had been outside once before during the loop, when we were attacked by bandits, but I hadn’t had the luxury of observing anything then. This was my first time out with the chance to really take it all in, and I soaked up the scenery.

“Yes.”

“I see. Then that means I’ve taken your first time. Dufufu.”

I ignored Master’s questionable comment and continued to gaze at the sights of the imperial capital. After being cooped up in the mansion all this time, just seeing so many people felt refreshingly new. Everywhere I looked, the city overflowed with fantasy vibes—I half-expected Celtic music to start playing.

What should I do? I’m itching to explore.

“Master, do you think we could take a little detour?”

“A detour? That sounds scary—I feel like your mother would literally kill me.”

Well, she had a point. Mother probably wouldn’t be happy, and it was best to just head home today. Surely there’d be another chance to look around the city.

“You’re right, let’s head home.”

“Yeah. Make sure you stick close to me. If you want, I’ll even, uh, hold your hand!”

“Sure. I don’t mind holding hands if you’d like?”

“You don’t mind holding hands!?”

I wasn’t embarrassed about holding hands, so I’d be fine. Actually, now that I thought about it, I hadn’t been embarrassed when our hands touched during the magic practice either. Master seemed like someone who switched between modes—being all serious during magic training, then back to the usual Kokoro-san afterward.

“N-no, we can’t. Don’t get carried away, Kokoro. If we held hands, that would basically be… A d-d-d-date!”

“Then let’s not.”

“…Right.”

Seeing Master droop like that made me feel a little bad. But there was nothing I could do, so I just followed a bit behind, taking in the sights of this other world.

It really was amazing. I felt truly alive in the world I’d always dreamed of. There were no asphalt roads, no cars, no electronics—things unthinkable in the modern world. And unlike the real medieval Europe I’d read about, where the streets were filthy with sewage, here the streets were clean, with no trash or foul smells. 

The drainage systems seemed well-maintained, and there was no stench of stagnant water. It truly felt like a fantasy RPG come to life, and maybe the existence of magic helped advance civilization in ways Earth never saw.

“Master, the imperial capital is so vibrant.”

“Yeah. Though it’s still quieter than the royal capital.”

The royal capital, huh? In this country, the Mikado—a descendant of the Hero—stood at the top, with the lord as the highest-ranking noble beneath her handling politics. If the royal capital was livelier than this, then the lord must hold even more sway over the people than I thought.

But I already liked the imperial capital. Even after just a few minutes of walking, I’d fallen for the atmosphere. There were lots of people, but everyone looked cheerful. The streets were beautiful, well-paved, with plenty of restaurants—nothing felt inconvenient. If there were even more people in the royal capital, I thought I’d probably get overwhelmed.

“Huh…?”

Two doors ahead, I saw people I recognized entering a restaurant. They were those bandits from before.

Why? The day should have been different. Was there no escaping fate? The excitement of sightseeing vanished, replaced by a rush of tension. Would it happen again? Was everything I’d done ended up in vain? No, calm down. Stay cool.

“Ray? Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

“Alright. Then let’s go.”

Master kept walking ahead—straight toward the restaurant the bandits had just entered. My panic rose. We were getting closer and closer.

Don’t panic. Calm down. Running into bandits in the imperial capital isn’t unusual. Meeting them here could be a coincidence. They have every reason to be in the capital, so don’t overthink it.

Besides, we were just passing by. The pink-haired girl might not even be with them. It was probably nothing. Step by step, I moved forward, focusing on each footfall as we neared the restaurant. I held my breath, staring straight ahead.

Just walk normally… Okay. I’m doing it.

It looked like they hadn’t noticed me. Just a few more steps and we’d be out of their line of sight. About five more seconds—four, three, two, one… I passed the restaurant.

Phew. Thank goodness. Nothing happened. Relief nearly made me collapse on the spot.

“Ray? You okay?”

“Yes. Nothing’s wrong. Let’s keep going.”

That was when I heard it.

“How can you live with yourselves, behaving like that!?”

A clear, ringing voice echoed out from the restaurant we’d just passed.

“Hah? We’re knights protecting worthless trash like you. Feeding us for free is your duty.”

“Knights? Don’t make me laugh! You’re nothing but thugs!”

They were apparently trying to eat without paying, and the owner of the clear voice sounded furious. I froze in place.

“Ray?”

Even though I heard Master’s voice, I couldn’t stop listening.

“Hey, brat. Watch your mouth.”

“If you can’t pay, then you have no right to eat! Get out of here right now!”

“Oho, that’s it. Too late for apologies now.”

My feet moved on their own toward the restaurant. What was I so afraid of?

Protecting the weak from the strong—that was the duty of a knight. No matter the danger, knights devoted themselves to helping people. Even if you knew you’d lose, a knight still stood and fought. Someone who slunk away in fear could never become a knight—male or female!

“Perfect timing. Our boss said she wanted a hostage. You’ll do nicely.”

“Wait!!”

I shouted to the bandits closing in on the platinum-blonde girl.

“Come at me. I’ll take you on.”

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