Chapter 18: The Beginning of a New Year (*)

Even during year-end and New Year, the Royal Knight Academy still housed the hero Chevalier candidates. That’s why the dorm facilities—cafeteria, bathhouse, everything—had to stay running. One of those was the infirmary. In charge was Claire Jilfied, twenty-nine, former wife.

“Fuu… Cleaning’s done. Guess I’ll head home.”

She gathered her things, locked the infirmary, and left. Her house was a short walk from the academy grounds—a single-story place with a tiny garden. The moment she stepped inside, a man was waiting.

“Claire, welcome back. Dinner’s ready.”

His name was Richard Hofner. Claire’s ex-husband. He’d quit being a hero Chevalier, paid back every academy fee, and now lived as a regular citizen in the capital. Thanks to his reading and math skills he’d landed a mid-level trading company job. Pay was nothing compared to his hero days, but at least his life wasn’t on the line, so he seemed content enough. When he heard Claire had taken over the academy infirmary, he showed up to patch things up.

“You… we’re already divorced, remember? I have my own life now. After all this time, trying to get back together—”

“My bad. I’ll say it forever. My bad. Look.”

He kept bowing low. Claire had always been weak to pressure. Just recently a student had cornered her and she’d let him fuck her almost by force. And this man was the one she’d given her virginity to. She couldn’t kick him out. So it had dragged on like this. After dinner, while she cleaned up, Richard hugged her from behind.

“Claire… I’m so fucking horny tonight. After we split I slept with a few girls in the capital, but none compare to you. I need to fuck you again…”

Claire sighed. She’d given this man her virginity. When he came inside, the goddess’s blessing would fall—for one day only, strength and beauty. She nodded.

“Ahh… Amazing! You’re amazing, Claire! You’re the absolute best!”

Hips pumping, Richard yelled in excitement. He kneaded her breasts swinging back and forth, drooling while he devoured the pleasure. Claire, wrapped in his arms, let sweet moans spill out. But inside her head—

(No good… I don’t feel anything. His cock is so much thicker… so much stronger…)

After fifteen minutes of thrusting, Richard unloaded right there. Feeling the hot spurt in her womb, Claire’s heart stayed ice-cold. It had ended just when she was finally starting to feel it.

(Too fast… With him he’d ravage me for dozens of minutes, force me into all those embarrassing positions…)

She felt his cock shrinking fast inside her and let out a tiny sigh so her ex wouldn’t notice. Just as the fire was about to catch, her husband had gone soft. He looked exhausted and passed out. Claire slipped off the bed, completely naked. At twenty-nine she was past her prime as a woman, yet her body showed zero sign of it. Waist beautifully cinched, belly flat, huge tits standing proud and perky, thighs toned, calves slim and tight. She’d been hit on plenty. Even regular guys, when horny, chase good-looking, good-bodied females. But Claire had ignored every one. Besides her ex, she’d only ever given her body to one other man.

“Got class tomorrow… can’t sleep like this…”

She wiped herself with a cold wet cloth to kill the heat. The chill felt good on her flushed skin, but the deep, tingling ache inside refused to die.

The next day, as Claire arrived at the academy, she heard shouts. The place should have been empty. Only hero candidates were around this time of year. She followed the voices and found Kaito and Stefan sparring with wooden swords.

“Yeah. Key to parrying is weight shift and reading force direction. Sword isn’t just power. Technique is everything.”

Kaito was taking instruction from Stefan. The same Kaito who’d slacked in sword class—what changed? But more than that, Claire’s eyes locked on the sweat flying from his forehead as he moved hard. Young, powerful male versus her weak, middle-aged ex. She shook her head and walked away.

“Ow…”

A little later Kaito limped into the infirmary. He’d fallen and scraped his shin. Nothing serious, but it could get infected. She made him strip and sit on the bed in just his underwear, then knelt to disinfect the knee. The young man’s fresh sweat scent hit her and her body instantly heated up.

“S-so you were practicing sword, huh. Why the sudden interest?”

Trying to hide her fluster, she asked while treating him. His calm answer made her hands freeze.

“To protect myself… Hero Chevaliers barely ever draw a sword on the battlefield. Almost none die to enemy blades. But that march training changed my mind. I’m not becoming some hero Chevalier protected by a holy knight paladin.”

His tone had completely changed. Claire looked up without thinking. For the past month she hadn’t let Kaito touch her—had kept her distance. During that time he’d been obsessed with one holy knight. Losing her… what had it done to him?

“Y-your speech is different… You used to talk normal to me too…”

“Miss Claire isn’t my holy knight paladin. I decided—I’m never losing my own holy knight again. So I gotta be picky. My holy knight will live as long as I do.”

“I see… Then you don’t need treatment anymore?”

“I don’t. But you do, don’t you, Miss Claire?”

He slid his right foot between her thighs and stroked her soaked slit right over the fabric.

“Hiiu…!”

“Miss Claire, you’re in heat. Face flushed, pussy smell thick since I walked in. Delicious scent begging to be eaten…”

Thumb rubbing slow circles on her clit through cloth—slrr slrr—and her head spun. Hazy eyes dropped to his crotch; his cock had already swollen huge, tenting hard.

“What do you want, Miss Claire? Treatment?”

(I want it… I need it…)

Body aching too much to fight, Claire reached out. The instant her fingers brushed his bulge she panicked and yanked back.

“Not honest at all.”

Kaito stood, shoved his underwear down, and let his thick cock spring free. Right in front of kneeling Claire’s face, the veiny, throbbing shaft pointed straight at her lips. She swallowed hard, staring.

“You don’t have to say a word. If you want it, lick.”

(No, no… he’s coming home tonight… but even if he does, he won’t be horny… I’ll stay aching, sleepless again…)

It wasn’t her first time. She’d been fucked by Kaito plenty. One more wouldn’t matter. Telling herself that, Claire closed her eyes and opened her mouth. She licked the precum beading at the tip, ran her tongue all the way down the underside, then took the fat head inside. Left hand brushing her long hair back, she bobbed, sucking hard. Long lashes lowered, cheeks hollowed. Kaito gently stroked the servicing mature beauty’s cheek.

“I’ll cum in your mouth first. Then I’ll treat you nice and slow.”

Claire nodded, throat full, and kept sucking. Moments later thick ropes of cum flooded her mouth, gulp gulp.

“Ahh…”

Claire’s white back trembled. On the bed she leaned back against him, breasts groped from behind. They were so massive both his hands couldn’t contain them, yet they stood high and firm, soft enough his fingers sank deep with every squeeze. He was obsessed with her tits—circling her areolas with perfect pressure, pinching her stiff nipples. Claire was confused. She’d expected him to shove it in right away, but he kept lavishing slow, relentless foreplay.

“Your body is still fucking perfect. Can’t understand why your husband ever let you go.”

This man got hard every single day and never needed medicine; he couldn’t grasp a hero Chevalier’s weak vitality.

(T-that’s not true… he has good points too…)

She tried to defend her ex, but her ripe body betrayed her. His hand slid lower, parting her modest bush and plunging two fingers knuckle-deep into her dripping cunt.

“Haaah… aaah…”

“Already this wet? You were starving, huh?”

Whispered right in her ear, the words set her lust on fire.

“Kaito… please… already… please…”

“Hm? Already done? Then we can stop—”

“Ahh… no! That’s not what I meant…”

Claire panicked, then flushed deeper. Before, she’d always been the desperate one begging to be filled. Now something was different—Kaito had this calm, this control. Shame burning her face, yet dripping with lust, the glamorous mature beauty turned with pleading eyes. She stared at the thick cock her soaked pussy craved.

“Miss Claire… if you want it, come get it yourself. Climb on and fuck me because you chose to. It’s right here. What are you gonna do?”

“Ah… aaah…”

She placed trembling hands on his shoulders as he sat cross-legged. Her nipples were painfully hard. He bit one.

“Hiuu!”

She came instantly, a tiny orgasm rippling through her. His hands gripped her waist. Her dripping pussy lips kissed the head of his cock.

“Ahh… forgive me…”

Then Claire dropped her hips. Scorching thickness split her open and her whole body shook with joy.

“Ahh! Kuru! A thick huge cock is stretching me open—aaah!”

“Kuh, no matter how many times I fuck this body, it’s still so fucking good!”

The ripe, sweet fruit made his cock throb with pleasure. Claire clung to him with both arms and started riding hard.

(Aaah… I did it… I chose this… no more excuses. My ex is waiting at home and I still lost to my own lust and let Kaito fuck me!)

Schlick schlick schlick

Obscene wet sounds filled the room with every bounce. Tongue licked her neck, mouth sucked her tits, hands roamed from thighs to ass. Her mind melted in the blazing heat.

(But… I don’t care anymore…)

“Yes! This… this cock is exactly what I needed—aaah!”

She howled in pure female ecstasy. Kaito grinned, then lay back flat on the bed. With nothing to hold her, Claire planted both hands on his rock-hard abs. His cockhead kissed her womb entrance.

“Hiuun… so deep…”

“How’s that? Move however you want, Miss Claire.”

Breathing hard, Claire started bouncing on her knees. She fucked herself on his thick shaft, huge tits swinging boing boing. Kaito scooped them up, squeezed hard—squish squish—soft flesh overflowing his grip. Her rhythm grew frantic. She could already feel the massive orgasm building, the kind only he could give her.

“Coming… coming… I’m cumming—aaah!”

Drool running down her chin, Claire surrendered to the climax, body convulsing twitch twitch. But Kaito hadn’t cum yet. She’d finished on her own. He thrust up from below, then flipped them. Now he was on top.

“My turn to feel good. I’m gonna devour this body, Miss Claire.”

His hips started pounding. Flames roared through her again. Claire knew what was coming—wave after wave of orgasms, and finally the molten cum flooding her womb, making her scream in female bliss.

She wasn’t going home tonight…

Claire stopped even trying to think up an excuse. No need to lie to her “ex-husband.” She was sure of that now.

The new year opened and the holy knight paladins returned to the academy. The short quiet ended; noisy daily life was about to begin. But amid it all came one farewell. Carlos Rodriguez, the hero Chevalier candidate who’d gone home with permission, submitted his withdrawal.

“Carlos! You’re quitting?! What the hell happened?!”

Stefan grabbed him. Carlos looked at Stefan, then at Kaito.

“I’m not cut out to be a hero Chevalier. That march training made it crystal clear. I can follow orders, but I can’t come up with them myself. I belong in the knight order, not as a hero.”

“…Your mind made up?”

Kaito’s quiet question got a firm nod. Kaito nodded back, silent. Carlos was hot-headed but no fool. He’d clearly thought it through at home, talked to his parents. No point arguing. Just see him off and wish him well.

“But it’s such a waste! If even third-place Carlos isn’t hero material, what about the rest of us?!”

“Stefan, enough. It’s his decision. Don’t weaken it with our bullshit.”

“Kaito…”

Stefan hung his head and nodded.

“Carlos. Even if we’re not classmates anymore, I don’t wanna lose a friend like you. Write, okay?”

“Of course. I don’t wanna lose you or Stefan either. Once I know where I’m going, I’ll tell you.”

Kaito stepped close and spoke low.

“This is still half-formed in my head, but someday I want to change how holy knight paladins and hero Chevaliers work on the battlefield. Especially the heroes. Not just stud horses for paladins—I want them in strategic positions that decide wars. It’ll take time, and there’ll be enemies. But I recognize you as a hero Chevalier. Wherever you go, remember that.”

When I have power, I’ll call you back. Carlos understood the unspoken promise.

“I don’t fully get it, but when you’re trying to do something big, I’ll help. You can do it. You’ll be a hero Chevalier history remembers.”

They shook hands. Carlos turned and walked away. They watched his back until he disappeared.

“So, the failure… what went wrong?”

The woman stood before the cardinals. They’d released ferocious beasts into the training forest to slaughter the hero candidates and keep empire-kingdom power balanced. The plan had failed. Only one dead—and not even a hero, just a holy knight candidate. Total failure.

“We don’t believe in ‘bad luck.’ We acted under the goddess’s blessing and still missed. Something turned into misfortune for us.”

“We investigated the academy’s movements. Three main reasons. First, training was stricter than last year, so students advanced slowly and many dropped out. Second, Headmaster Reda Factlin’s swift response and the Wackenheim couple staying in Ryune. Only a holy knight paladin could solo the blood-stained giant bear Bloody Evil Bear. The kingdom’s strongest holy knight being there was their luck, our misfortune.”

“The Wackenheims always stay in Ryune for year-end. Couldn’t you predict that?”

“True, but this year they arrived too early. Probably because the empire pulled back sooner than expected.”

“I see. And the third reason?”

“A holy knight paladin was in one of the three leading groups. She died to the beasts, but killed one with her power. Meaning one of the groups had goddess’s blessing.”

The cardinals stirred. One frowned deeply.

“We, the Velos Great Theocracy, receive the goddess’s blessing most of all. You’re saying our scheme was blocked by that same blessing? If true, this is serious.”

“Indeed. We must investigate that hero Chevalier. Depending on what we find, he may need to be eliminated. The goddess’s blessing belongs to our holy nation.”

The woman cut in.

“Actually, Ryune is running thorough inquiries. They don’t see the beasts as natural—someone set it up. They’re investigating prisoner wagons; our movements may soon look suspicious. Under those conditions, any big moves would be unwise.”

The men glanced at each other. Her job was reporting, not policy. Getting angry solved nothing. Best to ignore her.

“First, investigate the hero Chevalier. After that, we’ll decide next steps.”

The men nodded. The ignored woman bowed expressionlessly and left.

And so the Royal Knight Academy greeted the new year amid one farewell and countless hidden schemes. Classes resumed. In the hero Chevaliers-only lecture, an unexpected figure appeared—a massive man built like a warrior. He planted both hands on his hips at the podium and glared.

“Yo, brats. We saw each other last year, so skip the intros. From now on, I’ll be the one whipping you into shape.”

It was the legendary hero Chevalier—Walter Wackenheim.