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~ - 29

Chapter 29: Fending off Bandits

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“Hah? What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

There had been about ten of them when we were attacked before, but now there were only five. It seemed not all of them were acting together this time.

“What she said is correct. Don’t dine and dash.”

Even in a situation like this, I managed to keep my voice high, just like Mother had told me, so they wouldn’t realize I was a boy.

I’m fine. 

My heart was burning, but my head was cool.

“Heh. Alright then. If that’s what you want, I’ll give you what you’re asking for.”

“Yeah, we can’t let some brat think they can disrespect us.”

The bandits started shambling over to me where I stood in front of the shop. They didn’t seem like the type you could reason with. A brawl was inevitable. I looked over, wondering if Master would step in to help, but she just stood there, arms crossed, watching me.

Maybe she believed I could handle this myself.

“Don’t think we’ll go easy on you just ‘cause you’re a brat!”

The first bandit to reach me swung her fist, and screams rose up from the people around us. They must have imagined a horrific scene of her punch connecting with me. But that scene never happened. I dodged her punch and countered with a strike to her chin. Her brain must have rattled from that, because she fell over like a board, crashing to the ground.

I would be alright. No problem. I’d trained in hand-to-hand combat with Elsa-san and Master. I could easily read the arc of a punch and dodge it.

“Wha-!?”

The remaining bandits stared with eyes wide in shock. I hoped they’d give up and leave, but it didn’t look like they would.

“You’re gonna pay for that!”

“I’ll kill you!”

Two of them came rushing at me, faces twisted in rage. -Back before training with Master, I probably would have panicked.

First, I stepped right into the path of the closer bandit, ducking under her punch at the last possible moment. Then, while the second one still wasn’t in a defensive stance, I slammed a blow into her solar plexus. I moved sideways, slipping past the first bandit to put distance between us. As a result, the second bandit collapsed, and I got out of the first bandit’s range.

Good. It had gone just as I’d planned.

I used the first bandit’s body as an obstacle to hide myself from the second’s sightline. By dodging at the last moment, I caught her completely unprepared and landed a clean hit. Then I immediately created space to avoid the first bandit’s counterattack.

Through my training with Master, I’d learned to act with clear intent. Even when outnumbered, it wasn’t a problem.

“Damn it.”

“Wh-what should we do? She’s just a kid, but she’s tough. Should we retreat?”

“Shut up! We can’t run away after getting shown up like this!”

The angry bandit drew her sword with a rasp.

“You idiot! Weren’t we supposed to grab the girl!?”

Ignoring her companion’s protest, she charged at me with her sword. She must have used some kind of physical enhancement magic, because she was clearly faster than before. I slipped to the side, dodging her overhead slash by pivoting my body, then spun and delivered a roundhouse kick to the back of her head.

She stumbled forward from the force of the kick and crashed face-first into the ground, unmoving. I’d had more practice fighting with swords. Even with magic, her movements were slower than Mother’s. There was nothing to worry about.

Only two left. No matter how they attacked, I felt sure I could win. That was when the last two bandits pointed their palms at me. Crap. I didn’t know anything about magic, so I couldn’t guess what kind of spells they’d fire. It was the only way I could lose. I couldn’t reach them in time to stop their casting. I had no choice.

I thrust my own hand forward. I wove my magic power, kneaded it, and pulled it out. A magic bullet flew from my hand faster than their spells could launch. Its power was nowhere near what Master’s had been, but it shot forward at decent speed and struck both bandits squarely.

“Gah… huh? That didn’t hurt?”

They looked bewildered, and in that instant I closed the distance, striking both of them with blows that dropped them to the ground. Both lay unconscious. Relief washed over me—I’d managed to incapacitate them all.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

I called out to the girl who had bravely stood up to the bandits.

“Y-yes.”

“Thank goodness!”

She nodded, and I couldn’t help smiling. I felt like I’d taken another step toward becoming a true knight.

“Th-thank you so much!”

She bowed deeply, and as I got a better look at her, I realized she was an incredibly beautiful girl. Her platinum-blonde hair was stunning, her pale skin delicate. Her marine-blue eyes were as clear as her voice. The pure white dress suited her perfectly—she looked like a young knight descended from heaven.

Suddenly, I felt embarrassed, worried she might think I’d only helped because she was cute.

“Um…?”

“Ah, no, I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Yes! Even though you’re a boy, you’re so strong!”

“Eh…?”

I touched my head. I felt my hair with my hand—but not the cloth of my hood.

Oh no.

Now that I noticed what was happening, everything had gone quiet. Looking around, I saw a crowd had gathered, all of them staring straight at me.

“Ray! Let’s go! This way!”

I dashed over to Master and, from there, we ran through the crowd and all the way back home.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー