In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 332

Chapter 332: The Kukkoro Male Knight and a Close Call

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

““It’s not like I’m trying to take your life. If you give me just one arm, I can hold back. Okay? Won’t you let me eat?”

The mantis girl, Nael, said that as she pressed closer and closer. The way she stared at my arm with the eyes of a ferocious carnivore made it impossible not to feel a primal fear.

“Yeah, no, that’s… I’d really like you to not do that…”

Sweating profusely, I backed away. Considering my fighting style, even if it wasn’t my dominant arm, losing one would basically mean the death of me as a swordsman. I couldn’t just agree to that, and there was also the question of whether she’d really stop at just one arm.

Drool streamed from Nael’s terrifying maw, and it felt like if I made one wrong move, she’d crunch me down from the head first. This was seriously terrifying.

“Of course, I’m not saying it’s for free. Nael is a cultured human, so I do have the intention to make a trade.”

Keeping my eyes on Nael, who was saying incomprehensible things, I thought about how I could get out of this situation. Fight? My chances of winning were probably less than one percent. I lacked weapons, skill, and strength. Run? This mantis girl was clearly faster than me and could even fly. Escaping on foot wasn’t realistic at all.

More importantly, even if I somehow managed to get away, I’d just end up lost. I didn’t even know where I was right now, and I had neither a proper map nor a compass. I wasn’t optimistic enough to think I could make it back to camp safely through a primeval forest in that state.

“In the future, Nael will work as a substitute for your arm. How about that?”

Ignoring my situation entirely, Nael raised her own arm, in other words her scythe, as if to show it off, and made that proposal.

“Nael’s arm has about ten times the power of your arm. It’s a one-to-ten trade. Very favorable for you if I may say so myself! Take it or leave it! Kind of thing?”

“The criteria for evaluating an arm isn’t just power alone, you know!?”

Her large, dangerous-looking scythes seemed far more dexterous than they appeared, but a scythe was still a scythe. With that shape, there was no way it could hold a sword or do anything delicate. Sorry, but no thanks.

“Albert-kun will gain a super strong arm and powerful combat strength. Nael will gain delicious food and permanent employment. It’s a win-win deal. Please, please, make your decision.”

“Don’t casually try to get permanently employed under me!”

Seriously, what was I supposed to do here? Could she just say it was all a mantis joke or something? …There was no sign of that at all. This was completely serious. She was staring at me with the eyes of a full-on predator.

If her claim was true, she hadn’t eaten for about a week. Well, of course she’d be starving to death. And she had just been rampaging against soldiers not long ago, so she must have been nearing her limit. The fact that we were even able to hold a conversation might have been nothing short of a miracle.

“This is not a threat, but a mantis insect-person who has reached the limits of hunger is dangerous. It would be safer to fill my stomach before it’s too late.”

Don’t say such terrifying things with that serious look! It’s seriously scary! 

…Well, to be fair, humans in a state of starvation resorting to cannibalism wasn’t something unique to mantis insect-people either. During the Age of Exploration, when drifting and getting stranded were common, cases of cannibalism weren’t rare at all. The fact that Nael wasn’t attacking me outright might actually mean she still had some rationality left. Even so…

“……”

I thought deeply. If she really would settle for just one arm, then maybe I should just give it to her. Right now, I didn’t have the luxury of time. I needed to return to the front lines as quickly as possible, or I’d cause serious trouble for my subordinates. …Well, I probably already had.

I wondered if Sonia and the others were okay. Had the transfer of command gone smoothly? The elf soldiers, likely still in the middle of chaotic combat… 

Worries kept surfacing one after another. If I had time to be stuck in a pointless exchange here, I wanted to return to camp as soon as possible. In that case… maybe going along with Nael’s proposal was an option… Even with one arm, I could still do my job as a commander.

“…………There’s something I want to ask.”

“Ah!”

The moment I steeled myself and spoke to Nael, she suddenly looked up at the sky, let out a small cry, spread her wings, and started running. Kicking up a storm of wind and dust, she took off. Stunned by the sudden turn of events, I heard a scream from above.

“Be happy. I caught a big pigeon. Now I don’t need to eat Albert-kun’s arm anymore.”

Nael landed with a heavy thud, smiling brightly as she said that. Clamped in her scythe was a winged girl wearing a pale blue bishop’s robe.

“Gyaaah! Don’t eat me! Help me, Papa!”

“Bishop Fiorenza!?”

The moment I saw the crying girl’s face, my legs nearly gave out. She was my childhood friend and a leading figure in the Galea religious community, Bishop Fiorenza. I had asked her to take care of the men and children who had evacuated to the shelter… So why was she here?

“Munch munch… yum, delicious!”

*~*~*~*

Ten minutes later, Nael was happily enjoying her meal. Of course, what she was eating was not Bishop Fiorenza. It was ordinary preserved food like hardtack biscuits shaped like bricks and bacon.

“Well, we barely made it in time. I’m truly glad.”

While taking out more biscuits from a large bag hanging around her neck, Bishop Fiorenza said that. All of this food had been brought by her.

“When she charged toward our position, I had a feeling. Ah, she must be extremely hungry. So before Albert-san was eaten, I thought I should fill her stomach with something else. I stuffed whatever food I could find into my bag and hurried here.”

“That was excellent judgment… I’m truly impressed.”

Praising the bishop from the bottom of my heart, I bowed my head repeatedly. Seriously, she saved me. If things had continued like that, I definitely would have lost an arm. The food delivery had arrived just in time. I couldn’t thank her enough.

“Wow, this is delicious. Way tastier than humans. If I can eat things like this, hunting humans just feels stupid.”

Crunching through the biscuits, Nael said that. …Those biscuits were so hard that even large beastmen struggled to chew them… Her jaw strength was incredible. Thinking that those jaws might have been turned on me was terrifying. I was really glad the bishop made it in time.

“Ah, ahaha… that’s good to hear… haa…”

With a stiff smile, Bishop Fiorenza nodded and quietly let out a sigh. She had nearly been eaten, so she seemed to have developed a clear fear of Nael.

“As promised, once I finish eating this, I will return you to your camp. As thanks for the food, I will also help exterminate the elves. A debt of hospitality, kind of thing?”

“Th-thank you.”

It seemed Nael truly had been at her limit from hunger, as her attitude had completely softened. Things were moving so quickly it was almost disorienting. Negotiating with the elves had been so difficult, and yet… honestly, it left me with mixed feelings.

“However, I’m not aiming to exterminate the elves. I have a more moderate plan in mind. If possible, I’d like you to help with that instead.”

Well, since she was offering her cooperation, I might as well make good use of it. A mantis insect-person feared by both elves and ant-folk was a very convenient asset for me. Just having her help would significantly increase the success rate of my plan.

“Eh, but I want to hunt elves. I don’t really care about the ants, though.”

“Uh…”

However, Nael’s response wasn’t very encouraging. She clearly looked dissatisfied as she crunched loudly on her biscuits.

“Nael hates elves. Like, instinctively can’t stand them. Wouldn’t it be better for the world if they went extinct?”

“Even so, more conflict is…”

Just as I opened my mouth to persuade her, something suddenly flew toward us. It hit the ground and rolled, revealing what looked like a lump of mud. A fuse was stuck into it, hissing as it burned.

“Grenade!”

Instinctively shouting, I pulled Bishop Fiorenza into an embrace and dropped to the ground. It was almost a reflex. The next moment, the mud lump burst with a dull pop. There was no explosion, but instead, a large amount of smoke spewed out from inside. In an instant, the surroundings were engulfed in a thick, fog-like smoke screen.

“Oh?”

Nael muttered something in a cold voice. However, I couldn’t see her expression through the smoke. Shielding Bishop Fiorenza, I carefully got to my feet and scanned the surroundings. Of course, I kept my posture low. Without knowing the enemy’s next move, both staying prone and standing upright were dangerous.

“Th-that startled me. What just happened?”

“I don’t know. But it’s probably not an ally. Stay alert.”

The smoke grenade that had been thrown looked different in shape and smoke pattern from the ones used by the Liseben army. If someone was using something like this, then most likely…

“We’ve come to assist you. This way.”

At that moment, someone grabbed my arm firmly. Before I could react, the owner of the hand forcefully pulled us along and started running. …My eyes stung from the smoke, so I couldn’t see clearly, but the person appeared to be an elf wearing a mask.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー