Chapter 19: The Reason for Aiming to Be a Hero (*)

The first-year holy knight paladin candidates were in an uproar. The person who entered the classroom was Gratina Wackenheim, the woman hailed as the strongest in the kingdom and the idol of every holy knight. Silver hair flowing, she strode in with magnificent presence. One candidate nearly fainted on the spot, while another let out a passionate cheer. Academy Headmistress Reda entered with her. Once at the podium, Gratina turned her sharp gaze across the room.

“Alright, everyone. Quiet down. Quiet!”

The classroom fell completely silent as if water had been thrown over it. Reda paused for a few seconds, then began to explain.

“Today’s class is about the proper role and mindset of a holy knight paladin. We thought it would be best to hear from an active one, so we asked her to come. I’m sure everyone knows her, but let me introduce her again. This is Holy Knight Paladin Gratina Wackenheim. Senior Gratina, please take it from here.”

Gratina nodded and stepped up to the podium in Reda’s place.

“I’m Gratina Wackenheim. It’s been since last year’s march training, hasn’t it? The academy has asked me to do this several times before, but I always turned them down. The reason is that my words are simply my own opinions, and they aren’t necessarily correct. I was worried you might accept them without question. But I accepted this time. Last year, a tragic accident occurred during that march training and one holy knight lost her life. Some of you may think of her as a splendid holy knight paladin who died protecting her hero Chevalier. But I will say it clearly here: Any holy knight paladin who dies protecting her hero Chevalier is disqualified as a holy knight. She had only just become one. She died because she was far too inexperienced. You must all take that incident as a negative example. That was a ‘bad case.’”

That incident had been a huge shock for the first-year holy knight candidates. A quiet, unremarkable classmate had somehow found her own hero Chevalier, formed a relationship, awakened her power as a holy knight, fought, and ultimately gave her life to protect her hero. Some mourned, some envied. It was an event that left many holy knight candidates with complicated feelings. For the eight who had been with her, especially the two in the same party, it was an unforgettable event. That was exactly why Gratina’s words hit Elsa and Sasha so hard.

“Wait just a second! What? So you’re saying Roksane was wrong? That she shouldn’t have saved Kaito? That she should have abandoned the man she loved? Is that what you’re saying?”

“………”

Elsa stood up with an angry expression and shouted. Sasha stayed silent, but her eyes burned with fury. The active holy knight, however, remained perfectly calm.

“You two were in the same party, right? I’ll say it plainly. She was wrong. But not because she saved her hero. The mistake was that she died after saving him. A holy knight paladin’s duty isn’t to protect her hero Chevalier. It’s to keep protecting him… that’s what matters. But she died. It was lucky we happened to be nearby. If we hadn’t been, you two would probably be dead too.”

“…But, but saying it like that…”

“Don’t be naive!”

Everyone flinched at the harsh words from the kingdom’s strongest active holy knight. Gratina looked at Elsa, Sasha, and then swept her gaze across the entire classroom.

“You worked hard. You gave it your all. But the result was failure… The world that holy knights and heroes live in doesn’t forgive that. Results are everything. When the result is bad, either one or both of you die. Roksane was disqualified as a holy knight, and her partner Kaito was disqualified as a hero. That’s why the holy knight died.”

Elsa lowered her head and sat back down. She wanted to argue back. Plenty of complaints came to mind. But she didn’t have the power to overturn Gratina’s words.

“Kaito himself is aware of that. That alone makes him better than most. There are idiots among heroes who got their holy knight killed who just think ‘I’ll just find a new partner’ and stay completely relaxed about it.”

The hero candidates fell silent at Walter Wackenheim’s words. Stefan was worried about how Kaito was taking it. He was anxious that Kaito might explode from being spoken to that way. But Kaito remained expressionless, quietly staring at Walter.

“Kaito was excellent. But because he was halfway excellent, he advanced faster than the academy expected. As a result, he encountered the ferocious beasts before word could reach them. The others were immature as heroes compared to Kaito. That was actually fortunate. If the training had been the usual level, the damage would have been much worse.”

It was hard to tell if he was praising or criticizing. Walter continued.

“The primary role of a hero Chevalier is to create an environment where the holy knight paladin can exert her full power. That includes daily life, of course, but also in tactical operations. While holy knight paladins and hero Chevaliers have no official command authority, their status is equal to that of generals. They attend strategy meetings at headquarters and have the right to voice opinions on the operations themselves. An outstanding hero fully grasps the entire battle plan and perfectly times when to grant his holy knight the goddess’s blessing. He constantly reads the fluid battlefield and gives the blessing at the optimal moment. But most heroes can’t do that and end up leaving everything to the army. They take medicine every day so they can respond whenever they’re called. From my perspective, that’s suicidal. Those guys usually start giving up around their second year. They abandon their will, stop thinking for themselves, and just drift along passively. Those are the truly incompetent hero Chevaliers.”

“So you girls also need to be very careful when choosing. If you think any hero Chevalier is fine, you’ll definitely regret it. If you can’t become partners with the hero you want, one option is to give up the path of the holy knight entirely. In fact, some of my classmates chose that and are living happily now. Just because there are fewer hero Chevaliers doesn’t mean you have to act desperate or hold back. Outstanding heroes are extremely rare. Take your time to evaluate them properly and actively approach the ones you want until you claim them.”

“Um, Instructor Wackenheim…”

Sofia Volfort raised her hand. Gratina smiled and nodded.

“Yes?”

“How exactly did you manage to claim your current partner and husband, Lord Walter? The name of the legendary hero Chevalier echoes throughout the kingdom. I’ve heard he was already exceptionally outstanding when he was a student?”

Sofia’s question was something every holy knight candidate wanted to ask. Gratina Wackenheim was the idol of holy knights and ordinary women across the country because she had built a happy family with her partner while still excelling as a holy knight. Though sadly they had lost their child, she had experienced motherhood. She was a successful example of a woman who was fully fulfilled as a female while thriving in her career as a holy knight. Gratina’s expression turned slightly nostalgic.

“It’s true, Walter stood out even back then. He had strong vitality and a sharp mind. On top of that, he was great at looking after those around him. Every girl in our class wanted to be his partner. I heard later that more than ten classmates tried to sneak into his bed at night. And plenty of them were way prettier than me. But he didn’t touch any of them. What he was looking for wasn’t a whore to satisfy his desires. He wanted a holy knight paladin.”

“What do you mean?”

“He had an ideal image of what a hero Chevalier should be. And he was looking for the holy knight paladin who could match that ideal. Simply put, he wanted a partner who was strong even in her base state. The power of a holy knight paladin is overwhelming. But he refused to rely on that power to fight. He valued how far he could go on his own strength. And I happened to meet his standards. That’s why he chose me.”

Sofia nodded. In short, if you wanted to claim the hero candidate you desired, you first had to truly understand him. Once Sofia sat down, Gratina continued.

“You’re all still first-years. For now, focus on getting to know the hero Chevalier candidates well. They each have different reasons for aiming to become heroes. You girls also have your own reasons for wanting to become holy knight paladins. Some are drawn to strength, some want to serve the country, and of course some are after money. Any reason is fine. What matters is choosing a partner who matches that reason. I’ve seen many pairs break up because their goals didn’t align.”

“Think hard about why you want to become a hero Chevalier. There is no noble or base motivation. Wanting to do it for the country isn’t inherently noble, and doing it for money isn’t inherently vulgar. Motivations change over time. There are plenty of examples of heroes who started for money and later awakened to a sense of duty. For now, it doesn’t matter. So tell me—why do you want to become a hero Chevalier?”

The students began discussing their motivations with those around them. For Stefan, if he was being extreme, it was about securing his place in the world. As the third son of a count, he would eventually lose his position in the family. But it was also unacceptable for someone born to a count’s house to become a farmer or merchant. That was why he had no choice but to aim for hero.

“In my case, it’s not really my own proactive decision. Family circumstances play a big part.”

“Nothing to be ashamed of. My reason is way simpler. I want to fuck beautiful women. That’s it. And if I can get rich while doing it, even better. That’s why I’m aiming to be a hero.”

“So Kaito’s reason is just being honest about what’s between his legs. From my perspective, the fact that you already have that ability is honestly enviable.”

Stefan gave a bitter smile. Even normal men with low libido liked beautiful women. All the more so for a “freak” like Kaito who got horny every single day. Once the nearby conversations died down, Walter moved on to what kind of holy knight they wanted.

“Think about it in line with your own motivation. What kind of holy knight are you looking for? How do you want to spend your time with your partner? Heroes and holy knights spend a lot of time together. Don’t make shallow judgments based on looks or surface-level power. Take your time and evaluate carefully.”

That was when Kaito raised his hand. He stood up and asked.

“Can a hero Chevalier only designate one holy knight paladin? For example, could I designate four or five holy knights and spend time with all of them together?”

After a few seconds of silence, someone muttered, “What an idiot…” Kaito’s question was that outrageous. Walter gave a wry smile.

“It’s not explicitly forbidden, so technically it’s not impossible. But if you designate four holy knight paladins, you’d have to perform the work of four heroes. Having sex with four women in one night to grant the goddess’s blessing is realistically impossible.”

“I see…”

Which meant for him, it was possible. Kaito nodded as if convinced. Walter’s expression turned serious for a moment as he thought. This man should already understand that much. So why had he asked? What was his goal?

“Any other questions?”

At Walter’s prompt, Kaito raised his hand again. Walter nodded and called on him.

“This might be inappropriate to ask Lord Wackenheim, but it’s about the operation of heroes and holy knights. There’s something I’ve wondered about from the beginning.”

“Oh? Be specific. I’ll answer if I can.”

“There are one hundred and fifty holy knight candidates in the first year, and fifty hero candidates. Therefore, by the end of the second year, partners are decided and the number of holy knight candidates is narrowed down to fifty. I’ve always found this strange. Why don’t they gather the same number of heroes as holy knight candidates?”

No one understood what he was saying at first. Walter also tilted his head.

“As you said earlier, only fifty people have the qualities to be heroes.”

But Kaito shook his head. That wasn’t his point.

“For example, suppose you assign five holy knights to one battlefield. With a rotation of one hundred and fifty, it would only require duty once per month. That would mean regular men could also become hero candidates. Of course the manifested abilities would differ, so it’s just theoretical, but even so, ‘rotational operation’ should dramatically reduce the burden on heroes. Also, if one hundred and fifty hero Chevaliers worked together, the burden of things like cooking would decrease. Or if you prepared specialized personnel for support, heroes could focus purely on servicing their holy knights. Why don’t we use that kind of system instead of operating heroes like disposable tools?”

“………”

Walter fell silent. The other candidates looked at each other. They finally understood what Kaito was suggesting. He was talking about the “organized, systematic use” of heroes.

“…This topic is a bit dangerous to discuss here. Come see me later. I’ll explain.”

Kaito nodded silently. The fact that it couldn’t be discussed here meant there were circumstances involved. And those circumstances weren’t the responsibility of the heroes or holy knights.

“More than ten years ago, there was a hero Chevalier who thought exactly the same thing as you and actually tried to make it happen. His name was Paul Shurisupu… He was the hero partner of Lilia Shurisupu, the woman you call Master.”

Kaito was sitting in a chair in the headmistress’s office. Walter and Gratina sat on the long sofa, drinking tea. After hearing Kaito’s question, Headmistress Reda Factlin had called him to her office.

“But it didn’t happen. Was there resistance?”

“Kaito. You really are clever. Normally I wouldn’t answer a question like this. But because it’s you, I’m worried you might start moving like Paul did if you’re not satisfied. So I’ll explain. But I want you to keep this between us.”

Kaito nodded silently. Reda chose her words carefully and began.

“The military is a merit-based organization. A powerful one. That’s why the royal family and nobles who hold authority both rely on the military and fear it at the same time. They want to prevent rebellion. And within that military, there are ‘individuals’ with overwhelmingly strong power. Those are the holy knight paladins, and the heroes who control them. Holy knights have immense power. But there are few of them, and each operates individually. That’s why they aren’t feared as much. But what if holy knights and heroes started communicating and organizing themselves?”

“I see. The birth of a powerful group… That’s what they’re afraid of.”

“To put it bluntly, yes. Holy knights are both sword and shield. But they are also humans with independent judgment. There’s no guarantee that sword won’t be pointed at the kingdom instead of the empire. Especially if they start cooperating and organizing. Whoever controls them would hold the greatest power inside the kingdom. Power that is too overwhelming scares not only enemies but even allies. That’s why they operate them separately to prevent organization. It’s a kind of preventive measure.”

“So for that reason, they’re fine with using heroes as disposable tools and creating lonely holy knights? When we entered the academy, we swore loyalty to His Majesty the King and the kingdom…”

At that sarcasm, Reda remained silent. The knight academy had no say in military organization. And there were no hero graduates in the central positions that handled military structuring.

“Paul secretly contacted the heroes from his year. He was trying to organize them. As a result, he and his partner Lilia were stationed in the most dangerous battle zones, as if they were being used up on purpose. Paul was a genius at reading the flow of battle, but his vitality was no different from a normal man’s. He was worked to death and lost his life.”

Kaito stayed quiet. But his eyes gleamed with cold light. Reda, looking straight into them, couldn’t help but shiver. She was afraid this man might do something drastic.

“Kaito. Don’t think about anything reckless. With your vitality and intelligence, you can remain active as a hero for a long time without shortening your lifespan.”

“I understand. I won’t do anything strange.”

She thought she heard the unspoken words “for now.”

The two of them were in the small grove behind the school building. The red-haired beauty’s strong-willed eyes were dyed with lust. She knelt at the man’s feet, servicing his lower body.

“Making me… do something like this… You better remember this.”

“You say that, but you look pretty happy, Elsa. You really are a pervert…”

Elsa narrowed her eyes, ran her tongue across the tip, and licked the underside.

“I’m not. Doing this kind of thing… I only do it for you, Kaito…”

She rubbed her thighs together restlessly. She swallowed him from tip to base and began moving her head. She pulled her mouth off and licked the shaft carefully.

“Out here… behind the school building… doing something like this. I’m sucking the cock you piss with…”

She muttered while licking. This seemed to be Elsa’s kink. She usually acted tough and prickly, but deep down she loved being dominated. Kaito knew from his experience as a male prostitute that women like her existed.

“Elsa. Keep going. I’m going to cum in your mouth.”

He stroked her head. Elsa closed her eyes and moved faster, face flushed, looking somehow delighted. While looking down at her, Kaito recalled the conversation from earlier.

“I’ve decided to accept your offer, depending on the conditions.”

Kaito had given his answer to Elsa’s request to become his holy knight paladin. But there were conditions.

“I will have multiple holy knight paladins. I want to create a party made up of one hero and several holy knights. Will you accept that?”

“I-it’s not like I mind! During last year’s march training you even made a move on Sasha! I… I was almost about to fall into your clutches too…”

Kaito suddenly stepped forward. Before she realized it, he was groping her breasts.

“W-what are you—?”

“Yeah. Your body really isn’t bad. Once it ripens a bit more, it’ll be even tastier. Let me be clear, Elsa—for me, sex is the same as eating. I don’t care about the whole ‘sacred ritual to grant the goddess’s blessing’ act. I fuck the women I want to devour. I came to this academy to find the tastiest women. You’re going to offer me your body. In return, I’ll give you the power of a holy knight paladin.”

He spoke directly. This was a form of training. He would train Elsa’s personality until she became an obedient female slave who complained while still submitting to him. Eventually she would happily present her ass even outdoors.

“I-I’m not your food…”

“You are food. To me, all women are food. And among them, you look delicious. So I’m going to devour you. And not just you. I’ll gather other delicious women so I never go hungry. That’s the kind of hero Chevalier I aim to be.”

“Khh… I knew you had a bad personality, but you’re seriously a pervert!”

(He forced me to take it in my mouth… and then cum inside… he’s going to cum in my mouth…)

He wasn’t actually forcing her. Elsa gripped Kaito’s hips with both hands and moved her own head. She ran her tongue along him, begging him to cum soon.

“Elsa, if you want my cum, beg for it properly.”

“I-it’s not that I want it… F-fine! Please cum. Fill my mouth… stuff my mouth full…”

“Good girl. Make sure you swallow every drop.”

He grabbed her head and started thrusting. Elsa moaned as she let him use her. Soon an explosion erupted in her mouth. The bitter taste spread and Elsa frowned.

“Fnnn! Nnnn!”

“Swallow it all. Don’t pull your mouth away.”

With her head held down, Elsa had no choice but to drink the thick lava filling her mouth. Her throat moved. The sticky liquid threatened to catch in her throat as it went down.

(Haaah… I’m drinking it. He’s holding my head down and forcing me to swallow!)

“You cum too.”

Kaito’s shoe slipped between her legs and poked her soaked, sensitive spot. At that moment, an ecstasy she had never felt before swallowed Elsa and her back trembled violently.

That night, two different voices filled Kaito’s room.

“S-Sasha… You’re doing this kind of thing too…”

Elsa rubbed her pussy against Kaito’s cock as he lay on the bed, sliding back and forth. It was a thigh job. He had told her he wouldn’t devour her until she was fully ripe, so he tormented her breasts and lower body with his hands and tongue instead. Elsa complained with her mouth but barely resisted, cumming many times. Then she straddled him as ordered. Right in front of her was a beautiful girl’s face.

“Mmm… That’s right. Elsa is also becoming Kaito’s holy knight. A holy knight during the day… and Kaito’s food at night…”

She lowered her own lower body onto the man’s face. Her still-young pussy was licked and probed by his tongue while her small clit was rolled around. Her immature ass was stroked and her budding breasts were pinched. Sasha too had her entire body dyed in female pleasure, her face lost in ecstasy.

“Kaito’s food… I’m turning into Kaito’s food…”

She said it happily while shaking her hips. Soon white lava erupted, splattering from the man’s stomach up to his chest. The two girls carefully licked it all up. They took turns sucking the remaining cum off his shaft. They licked the still-hard cock from both sides. Another eruption occurred, painting their beautiful faces white.