In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 317

Chapter 317: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Assassination Incident

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Night. While I was sleeping in a place that would be presumptuous to even call a bed, made of stone and driftwood, a messenger soldier shook me awake.

“Emergency, Castellan-sama!”

“…What is it?”

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I tried to get up. But I couldn’t. Sonia had somehow slipped into my bed and was wrapped around me like an octopus. It was a common occurrence during the cold season. Without panicking, I blew hard into Sonia’s ear as she muttered nonsense in her sleep like, “Nice pose, Al-sama… just like that…”

“Hoaaah!?”

Ignoring Sonia as she screamed and sprang up, I finally got out of bed and stood. The ground was still damp and muddy, making it quite unpleasant. Frowning, I looked around. It was still before dawn, and everything was pitch dark. The only light came from a few torches set up in the trench.

“W-What is Sonia-sama doing…?”

The messenger asked with a strange expression while looking at Sonia writhing on the bed. Well, I understood what she was thinking. A young man and woman had been sleeping in the same bed. It wasn’t surprising she might get the wrong idea… though nothing had actually happened.

“It’s like a habit of dragonewts from the northern regions. Don’t worry about it.”

Showing her my properly worn cold-weather gear to emphasize that nothing inappropriate had happened, I cleared my throat. It was simply that Sonia, unable to endure the cold, had barged into my bed seeking warmth. It happened sometimes in winter. Still, I never expected her to keep this habit even as an adult. She really needed to show some restraint. What if this ruined my chances of marriage? Would she take responsibility?

“So, what is it?”

Keeping my tone as gentle as possible, I asked the messenger.

At times like this, a superior shouldn’t act in a way that intimidates subordinates. If they start withholding necessary reports out of fear, the organization is finished.

“Well…”

The messenger averted her eyes for a moment before continuing.

“The ant-insect general we captured… that person has been killed.”

“…Wow.”

No way. I almost blurted it out but barely held myself back.

“From between the bars of the cage, stabbed straight through the heart with something like a spear. It’s the work of a skilled assassin.”

Ten minutes later, I arrived at the cage where Zera had been held, accompanied by Sonia. Inside lay a large ant-insect person, collapsed in a pool of blood. As the veteran noncommissioned officer acting as a coroner explained, it was clearly a homicide. We had planned to release her soon and had already informed her. There was no way she would have suddenly lost patience and taken her own life.

“What were the guards doing? I ordered at least three sentries at all times…”

Sonia, not hiding her irritation, pressed the squad leader in charge of the watch. The knights had been assigned to this duty. They were among the most capable and trustworthy under my command, so I had left it to them with confidence. And yet, this was the result.

“We did not slack off.”

The young knight replied with a pale face.

“We had even posted extra sentries, just in case. However… it seems they were all subdued almost simultaneously. There are no signs of resistance. They were all found unconscious.”

“What? Are they safe?”

Most of the knights were childhood friends from our days in the junior knight corps. Hearing that four of them had been taken down, I couldn’t stay calm and stepped forward.

“They are unconscious, but their lives are not in danger. Once they wake up, they should be able to return to duty immediately. In other words, they were struck with precise blows that only took their consciousness. The enemy is monstrously skilled.”

Hearing the medic’s explanation, I couldn’t help but make a complicated expression. I was relieved my friends were safe, but it meant that an extraordinary killer had infiltrated our camp. There was no way to stay calm. If the target had been me or Sonia… could we have prevented it? We had taken sufficient precautions, but judging by how Zera had been killed, I couldn’t feel secure. More importantly, Zera’s death was a major blow. We had hoped she would serve as a bridge for a ceasefire with the ant people… but with her dead, they might instead harden their stance.

“…Hmm.”

I stroked my chin and groaned. The culprit was likely from the Vanka faction. If the ant people withdrew from the war, it would put them in a difficult position. It was only natural they would try to prevent peace. I had anticipated that and ordered increased security… and yet.

“Oh my, what a troublesome situation again.”

Saying that as she approached was Dalaiya. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she walked casually toward the cage like she was out for a stroll. The Liseben soldiers around her looked suspicious, but she paid them no mind, acting like a great detective from a mystery novel.

“This abnormal level of skill… the culprit is probably a suppa, a stealth operative. Hmm, what a troublesome opponent we have.”

A suppa… so, an elf ninja. The face of the elf ninja who had protected me during a previous attack came to mind. What were they doing now? During the battle at the council, we had received support that seemed to come from elf ninjas, but they never showed themselves. As I was thinking that, Dalaiya beckoned me over. Wondering what it was, I approached, and she quietly pointed at Zera’s face while placing a finger to her lips.

“…!?”

Under the faint torchlight, I realized that the body only resembled Zera in build. It was a different person. When I looked at Dalaiya, she gave a small smile and nodded.

“The real one?”

I asked quietly so others wouldn’t hear.

“Already outside the cage,” she whispered back. “I knew Vanka would try something like this, so I secretly swapped her with a double.”

“You did that on your own again…”

I felt like holding my head. It seemed Dalaiya had been scheming behind the scenes again. I would have to give her a proper scolding later. This old brat really kept acting on her own.

“My apologies. But there’s a saying, to deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies…”

She whispered with a wink. It was cute, but what she had done was not. Swapping prisoners without informing the commander would normally land her in the brig. Well, I was glad the real Zera was safe. It meant the possibility of a ceasefire wasn’t gone. But acting without reporting or consulting was still a problem.

“So then… this double…”

“Bait. To remove the traitor within. There is surely a spy among us working for Vanka. We need to draw them out before things get worse.”

I groaned. She wasn’t wrong. We had split into allies and enemies without verifying individuals, so infiltration would be easy. Still, what a cruel method. If it became known that someone from Vanka tried to kill the ant leader, they would be forced to cut ties. This was likely a final push for negotiations. Or worse, it might even be self-staged. The double was probably just an ordinary ant soldier with a similar build. We had captured many prisoners yesterday, so finding one wouldn’t be hard. But using a prisoner like this didn’t sit well with me.

“I have an idea who the culprit is. Leave it to me.”

“…Understood. But I can’t approve this kind of after-the-fact notice. I’ll punish you later, so be prepared.”

“…I’d appreciate it if you could settle for a light spanking?”

“A spanking it is. I’ll have Sonia do it at full power, so be ready.”

“N-No, please spare me that! My backside will never recover!”

I glared at the pale-faced old brat. If she had always acted like this, it was no wonder the ant people called her a legendary villain. Still, if she was going to work under me, I needed to correct her habit of acting on her own.

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