In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 243

Chapter 243: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Long Ride

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Early the next morning, I rode my beloved horse and left the city of Carrera. Accompanying me were Gilberto and several knights, along with attendants and foot soldiers responsible for carrying baggage and handling miscellaneous chores. Ideally, I would have preferred to travel lighter with fewer people, but since I was, technically speaking, a territorial lord, it was unavoidable that the group became a large one.

That aside, riding in the morning felt wonderful. With late autumn approaching, even Liseben’s temperatures had begun to drop. As I urged my horse onward while bathing my entire body in the crisp, refreshing wind, an indescribable sense of freedom filled me.

“Liseben actually has plains, more than you’d expect.”

I muttered while looking around. We were currently in the agricultural zone south of Carrera City. Winter wheat had already been planted in the neatly arranged furrows of the fields, and vibrant green sprouts were flourishing.

I truly felt sorry for the farmers, but if things came to an all-out war with the elves, these fields would likely become our final defensive line. We could never defeat the elves in the forest. Fighting them in open terrain like this, where we could make full use of ranged weapons, would probably be our only viable path to victory.

However, doing so would inevitably devastate the farmland, and there was even the risk of contaminating the soil with the lead used in bullets. That was precisely why we were striving to avoid war through diplomacy, but nothing in this world was ever absolute. One always had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

“That hill looks like it could be used as a forward command post. But with that good a view, it also risks being heavily targeted… Ideally, I’d want to deploy multiple field gun units around it so they can support each other, but…”

“Um, my lord.”

While I was mentally refining battle plans, Gilberto, who was riding beside me, spoke up with a slightly troubled expression.

“Even though this is supposed to be a vacation, if you keep thinking about things like that, neither your mind nor your heart will get any rest.”

“That’s true, but…”

Her point was entirely valid, and I puckered my lips slightly. Still, whenever I saw terrain or structures, I instinctively ran combat simulations in my head. It was probably an occupational hazard of being a commander.

“But you understand how I feel too, don’t you, Gilberto? It’s just a conditioned reflex.”

“Well… yes.”

Gilberto gave a wry smile and shrugged her shoulders. She herself was a first-rate commander. No doubt she thought the same way I did.

“Even so, if you don’t consciously distance your thoughts from your ‘main profession,’ your heart will eventually wear itself out. When you’re allowed to relax, you should force yourself to rest.”

“…You’re not wrong.”

After smiling faintly, I pointed at a large tree growing beside the farm road.

“Let’s take a break and have breakfast. Call it a change of pace.”

In truth, since we had departed at dawn, we hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. The sun was already climbing higher in the sky. It was the perfect time to fill our stomachs.

“I see. So Roswitha-dono is with child.”

“Well, even though we’re keeping surveillance to a minimum, she’s technically a hostage. She was incredibly brave on the battlefield, but it seems she’s just as bold in her private life.”

Several tens of minutes later, we were eating breakfast at the base of a large roadside tree. The menu was simple: baguette, crispy bacon and eggs, and cucumber pickles. That said, the bacon and eggs had been freshly cooked on the spot by one of the foot soldiers, so they were quite delicious.

“But still… When you hear news like that from someone close to you, it makes you feel oddly pressured. I’m getting to the age where people are going to start counting me as ‘left behind.’”

I grumbled while poking at my over-easy eggs with a fork. I knew full well that I needed to get married soon, and that meant taking matchmaking seriously but for some reason, I just couldn’t get into the right mindset. Outside of military matters, I had a bad habit of quickly backing away from anything unpleasant.

“I-is that so…”

Hearing the phrase “left behind,” Gilberto became visibly fidgety. She looked a little embarrassed. …Huh? Was there something in what I said that would make someone blush?

“Um, well… Aren’t your parents worried too, my lord?”

“You really know where it hurts…”

I couldn’t help letting out a small groan. Of course, both my mother and father wanted me to produce an heir as soon as possible. Normally, noble marriages were arranged by the parents. However, my mother was a self-made former bandit-slash-knight. She had almost no connections capable of arranging a marriage.

Apparently, she believed that the reason I had no prospective partner was due to her own lack of ability, and she apologized to me at every opportunity. Honestly, that hurt far more than being nagged ever would.

“I do want to put their minds at ease, but… Marriage isn’t something you can do without a partner, right? That’s the problem…”

In situations like this, the standard approach would be to look for someone in high society. Unfortunately, I was extremely incompatible with the social scene. Being mocked relentlessly during my debut—called things like “you male gorilla!”—had left me traumatized. If I had to choose, I’d much rather lead my subordinates onto the battlefield than set foot in a place that made me feel that miserable.

“…What would you do if I said there was someone?”

“Huh?”

With her face bright red, Gilberto whispered into my ear.

“Well, um, how should I put it… I-if it were me, then, um… Would that be… No good…?”

She struggled desperately to force the words out, looking terribly embarrassed. Even someone as dense as me could figure it out.

Wait, is this… Am I being confessed to? What’s going on!? Was there even a flag for this!?

As I stood there in confusion, Gilberto looked like steam might start pouring from her head as she tried to continue speaking and then, with a sharp whoosh, an arrow flew in and stabbed into the ground at my feet.

“Enemy attack!”

The escorting knights shouted. In an instant, Gilberto’s expression shifted from embarrassment to that of a warrior. She grabbed my arm and pulled me under the tree’s cover, using her own body as a shield. Even as she did, arrows continued to land around us in rapid succession.

“Hey, hey, hey…”

Honestly, I was scared enough that my heart nearly jumped out of my mouth, but I was a commander. I couldn’t afford to make a fool of myself in front of my subordinates. Forcing myself to remain calm, I took cover behind the large tree and peered in the direction the arrows had come from.

What I saw was a bizarre group. From the cargo bed of a shabby, small pack wagon, masked women poured out and began firing arrows at us. Their “masks” weren’t ordinary ones. They wore deep, bell-shaped hats like those worn by komusō monks in period dramas.

“That outfit… They’re elves.”

Gilberto muttered darkly, her voice filled with rage. Her face, which had been flushed moments ago, was now completely pale. Not from fear, but from anger. She looked genuinely furious.

She pressed her lips into a thin line, donned her helmet, and lowered the visor. As part of the guard detail, Gilberto was fully armored. I, on the other hand, only had a sword at my waist and wore a riding outfit with virtually no defensive capability. It would be best to leave the counterattack to them.

Just as Gilberto said, the enemy group wore ponchos commonly seen among elves. Combined with their monk-like hats, they looked like grotesque, tasteless teru-teru bōzu dolls. Frankly, their appearance was unsettling.

“What the hell are those shady-looking bastards…?”

Were they assassins from the anti-Legitimate faction? If they were elves, then despite their strange appearance, they were not opponents to underestimate. While hurling curses at them internally, I switched my mind fully into combat mode.

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