In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 330

Chapter 330: The Kukkoro Male Knight and Talking It Out

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The mantis girl who had abducted me flew for a short while before landing in the middle of an unknown forest. Her four legs gripped the ground firmly, coming to a halt while leaving deep gouges in the carpet of moss. A trip through the sky with a mantis girl was far more grueling than anything I’d experienced on a Wyvern. Since she flew in an incredibly violent and forceful manner, being scared didn’t even begin to cover it. I let out a sigh of relief the moment we touched down. 

Well, it wasn’t as if the danger had actually passed, though.

“Woah?!”

The mantis hoisted me up and brought me close to her face. Then, she began scraping the surface of my armor with the tip of her scythe. Apparently, she wanted to strip the armor off. The plating, designed to stop even rifle rounds, let out a creaking, unsettling sound. She possessed terrifying, monstrous strength.

If such power were unleashed on bare flesh, a human body would easily be torn to pieces! Sensing this instinctively, a terrible chill ran down my spine. I thrashed around with all my might to escape her confinement, but the mantis’s scythe didn’t budge an inch. It felt as if I were caught in a hydraulic press.

“Waaaah! Stop it!”

I didn’t even need to think about why this mantis insect-human had kidnapped me. Since she had gone out of her way to pick and catch me, a male, there was only one possible use she had in mind.

“This is bad, bad, bad—seriously bad!”

I’m going to be violated!

No, if it were only that, it might still be fine. However, the opponent was a mantis insect-human. According to what I’d heard, after mating, there was a high probability that a female mantis would eat her male partner. In other words, there was a high chance I would be “deliciously enjoyed” by both the upper and lower mouths—a literal fuck-and-goodbye. 

Being a soldier in my second life, I was naturally prepared to die… but I’d really like to pass on being eaten alive! A sturdy-looking muzzle was fitted over the mantis’s mouth, but her fangs dug in, making a grating, unpleasant noise. It felt as though it might break at any moment. Once that happened, my dead end would be unavoidable.

“We can talk this out! We can talk this out!”

I thrashed around while shouting things like that, but the mantis girl didn’t care at all and continued scraping at my armor. It was scary, seriously scary! No wonder both Elves and Ant-folk were terrified!

W-w-w-what should I do! Try to defeat her? No, impossible! 

How was I supposed to fight a monster that could kick someone like Sonia aside like nothing! To begin with, the weapons I had on hand were a dagger, a bayonet, and maybe my pistol. It was laughable. I wished I had a magnum pistol at the very least. Since my revolver was a black-powder model, its power was quite unreliable against anything other than humans—let alone a wild beast. I’d hate to face a large beast like a bear with it, and it was even more hopeless against an insect-human bigger than that. 

Challenging her was a waste of time. If doing something myself was impossible, I had no choice but to wait for rescue… but since I had no way to relay my current position to my allies, that was also quite grim. I regretted not preparing at least one smoke grenade, but it was too late for that now.

“…!”

At that moment, a memory from my previous life resurfaced. It was a memory from when I underwent survival training shortly after becoming a soldier. At that time, the instructor had said this.

『A satiated carnivore is surprisingly docile. On the other hand, short-tempered herbivores will often charge regardless of how full their bellies are. In terms of biological danger, a hippo is higher than a lion…』

That’s it…! This mantis is clearly hungry! 

Even when she was rampaging on the battlefield, she was trying to prey on the Ant-folk soldiers she caught. If this girl was a biological weapon deployed by Vanka, there was a high possibility she had been intentionally kept from eating to increase her ferocity. And a hungry carnivore often tended to be more sadistic. It seemed highly likely that if I left things as they were, she would turn the target of her frustration from her hunger toward me. The two choices were being eaten to death or being torn apart by her scythes! Naturally, I wanted to avoid both!

“Wait! Hold on! You’re hungry, aren’t you! Just wait a second! I’ll give you something way tastier than me, so just wait!”

I hurriedly pulled some smoked meat out of my pouch. It was something I’d secretly tucked away from my own rations to give to someone like Karina or Lotte later. When I thrust the smoked meat right in front of her nose, the mantis girl sniffed it. I could see drool overflowing from the muzzle. 

Eek! I’m scared!!

“You want to eat it, don’t you! You do, right! This is a hundred times tastier than me! Look, I’ll let you eat it! I’ll let you eat it, okay!”

“Nn.”

The mantis girl used the scythe that wasn’t holding me to point repeatedly at her own muzzle. 

…Wait, does she actually understand what I’m saying? …No, I see now. 

Because her appearance was completely monstrous, it had slipped my mind, but this was an insect-human… In other words, a sub-human species. It wouldn’t be strange if words reached her… maybe?

“Does that mean… you want me to take the muzzle off?!”

“Nn-nn.”

The mantis gave a firm nod. 

…Wow, she really does understand. B-but, what should I do… even if words get through, it’s a fact that she views humans as prey. If persuasion would work, it might be fine to take the muzzle off, but… honestly, it’s terrifying. It’s possible she’ll just snap at me the moment it’s off.

“No, well, um…”

“Nn!”

“Don’t give me your excuses and just take the muzzle off already!” With an attitude that seemed to say just that, the mantis girl thrust her face forward. Her rough, snorting breath hit my body.

W-what should I do here…? It’s incredibly scary… but even if I don’t take the muzzle off, it feels like I’ll end up killed anyway. 

Besides, I had already brought out the meat and said, “I’ll let you eat it!” If I didn’t take the muzzle off now, it would be a breach of contract. There was no doubt I’d incur her wrath.

“…O-okay. I’ll take it off. I’m taking it off, so please spare me from any sudden snapping, okay?”

“Nn.”

The mantis girl nodded repeatedly. Wow, words are getting through perfectly… Could there be a chance to persuade her? Well, for now, I’d be grateful if she stayed quiet. I reached my hand toward her face and undid the metal clasp of the muzzle. She immediately spat the iron bar she’d been biting onto the ground.

“Pah, pah, pah! Ah, that’s much better. Nael is grateful to you. Now, hand over the meat.”

Uwaaaa, she talked! …Well, if words got through, then she’d speak too. However, since a mantis insect-human looked completely like a different species than human entirely, the dissonance of her speaking fluently was huge. I’d been terrified imagining something like “GUOOOOOOH!”, so this was quite an anti-climax.

Well, even though I said she could speak, it was a strange way of speaking where she paused between every word. The vibe was a bit different from the accents of Elves or Ant-folk. It was a mysterious way of speaking, almost like an electronic voice.

“H-here…”

Well, anything was fine as long as we could communicate smoothly. I pressed the smoked meat I was holding toward her. The mantis girl opened her uniquely shaped mouth wide and took the bundle of meat inside.

“Munch, munch, munch… gulp. Delicious, delicious. My, it’s been a while since I’ve had a meal. Yummy.”

“T-that’s good to hear.”

“But it’s not enough at all. I’ll be having you too. Like a main dish?”

“Uwaaaa!”

The mantis girl’s giant mouth approached me. When I let out an involuntary scream, she grinned.

“Just kidding, just kidding. This is what they call a ‘Mantis Joke.’ Nael likes humor. Because I am a cultured mantis.”

“Heeen…”

I was almost on the verge of tears. 

Seriously, that is not a joke! 

I didn’t realize that being almost eaten while in a helpless state was this terrifying.

“I wouldn’t eat a mate I went to the trouble of catching. Nael is different from a wild mantis. Because I am a human, not an insect.”

While scratching at my armor with her scythe, the mantis girl chuckled. 

…So that really is her goal! Dammit!

“Though, my mother did eat my father. You can’t beat instinct, I guess?”

The mantis girl said that while clicking her fangs together. 

Uwaaaa! The danger of being preyed upon is still here!

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