Chapter 157

Chapter 155 – Absence

“I’m sorry, but the Lord will not be joining us on this journey.”

“… What?”

The deputy commander and several regular members, who had spent all day yesterday brainstorming ways to assist the Lord, looked at each other in disbelief upon hearing the message delivered by Lana.

It was entirely understandable why they reacted like that.

The fact that Aurora was going along was decided rather suddenly, and just this morning, they received the arbitrary notification that the Lord could not attend, despite hastily preparing and coordinating their opinions yesterday.

I would have been dumbfounded too.

“… I understand, but could you at least tell us why? If it’s just a simple whim, that would be quite sad.”

Helga asked while pressing her fingers against her eyelids. Lana calmly endured the incredulous stares of the knights and replied.

“It seems she can’t board the carriage due to back pain.”

“…”

“…”

All eyes turned to me at once. They seemed to immediately grasp the implications of that statement.

It was evident. The knight commander stayed at the Lord’s mansion last night, and for some reason, she was wearing different clothes from what she had on when she arrived, and now she’s claiming she can’t ride because of her back pain.

Even a little knowledge in that area made it easy to guess what the two of us had been up to all night long.

Moreover, these guys even misunderstood the relationship between Aurora and me, making it even more amusing.

“Did you really do that, Commander?”

A bright-eyed Helga asked, clearly intrigued.

“Yes, really.”

Lana responded. Hearing her answer, Helga nodded at me with a short “Oh.”

Next, someone raised a hand. Lana’s gaze turned that way. It was a pretty ordinary knight.

“But can’t she still ride in the carriage? I’ve heard that noble carriages are designed to be able to lie down inside.”

There was a hint of skepticism in those eyes. It looked like they suspected it was just a capricious excuse for not wanting to go, not a legitimate reason about back pain.

Lana appeared to have expected such a question and calmly rebutted.

“No, it’s impossible. Even if I don’t elaborate, I’m sure the knights are well aware of the reason; after all, you caused it.”

The knight who asked hesitated momentarily, then grew wide-eyed.

“Er… How intense was it…?”

“Would you accept it if I told you she had been in the same bed from yesterday afternoon until this morning?”

While putting it delicately, it was impossible for anyone here to miss the underlying meaning. Shock and awe filled the gazes directed at me.

I thought it was a bit excessive too. We started around 4 PM, and it only concluded the next morning.

Aurora was practically half-passed out by the end of it. After over twelve hours of activity, it was astonishing that an ordinary girl like Aurora could withstand it.

Honestly, I might have intentionally overdone it a bit to keep Aurora from wanting to stay in the mansion.

The plan was executed perfectly. Even after she regained consciousness, Aurora could barely raise her body, only managing to wave her arm in farewell.

Given her condition, there was no way she could ride in a carriage.

“…”

The knight who had asked glanced at me and then blushed deeply as he stepped back. The reactions of the other members were similar. Only Helga continued to applaud calmly.

“Wow, Commander. That’s really impressive.”

“Yeah, thanks for the compliment.”

“No problem.”

Due to her half-sleepy face, I couldn’t tell if she was mocking me or genuinely praising me. Given Helga’s personality, it was probably the latter.

“So does that mean we don’t need to follow anymore?”

The deputy commander, who had been tasked with escorting Aurora, raised his hand to ask. Lana nodded.

“The decision ultimately lies with Commander Delta, but if the Lord isn’t coming, I believe there’s no need to increase the personnel.”

“…”

The faces of the two additional deputy commanders and the regular members fell slightly. However, their gloom vanished like snow melting away with Lana’s next words.

“Instead, as an apology for changing the schedule on short notice, the next paycheck will be five times what it usually is, and all knights of the Dark Night Order who successfully completed the escort will receive an additional bonus equivalent to double their salary.”

“If you’re sick, you should take a break. If you force yourself when you’re unwell, something will definitely go wrong.”

“If the Lord gives an order, we will follow. That’s only natural.”

As those words were spoken, knights from the Lord’s mansion entered carrying large chests, and the atmosphere shifted dramatically.

Since they worked in the Imperial Palace for honor’s sake, they weren’t the type to be swayed by money, nor did they truly seem to be angry. It was more like a light-hearted tantrum.

If left alone, they would have exchanged a few mumbled complaints among themselves and then moved on, but with the injection of substantial cash, even that slight whine disappeared instantly.

Lana approached me, having quelled the knights’ gloom with more money. The deputy commanders parted to make way for her. Lana positioned herself right in front of me.

Her expression seemed colder and more stoic than usual.

“When do you plan to depart?”

“I should leave right away. There’s nothing more to do here.”

“Yes. Regrettably, it seems I won’t be able to give you a proper send-off. I’m sorry, but there are still many areas to clean.”

“…”

Given that it had already been over twelve hours, it was only natural that Aurora’s room was a complete disaster.

Body fluids had infiltrated the carpet and even the bed sheets, to the extent that the furniture needed a complete overhaul. Of course, the cleaning crew would be Lana and the maids.

“You don’t need to see me off, it’s fine.”

“I haven’t been fine since yesterday afternoon, but I understand. I wish you a safe journey.”

Lana, with a prickly joke, arranged my uniform collar, then bowed and turned away. The knights who had brought the chests also nodded to me and returned alongside her.

It was easy to see that her previous words were intended as a kind of joke. Our relationship had grown comfortable enough for her to joke like that.

Once Lana disappeared, the already intense gazes on me became even more sparkling. All 55 members of the Dark Night Order were staring at me, not a single one missing out.

“Um, Commander?”

“What is it?”

“If it’s not too rude, can I ask you one question?”

“It feels like it’ll definitely be rude, but go ahead.”

“Is it true that you did that from yesterday afternoon until this morning?”

“That’s indeed rude. But since it’s true, let’s keep it to just this.”

The murmuring grew louder. Among them, there were even a few discreet glances aimed at my lower half. Even Laksia was blushing furiously.

With all of them reacting like this, it seemed that while the average female beauty here had reached an incredible standard, the average male stamina had not been similarly elevated.

‘I have a hunch about this…’

As I made my way back to the castle, I recalled one reason why such feats were possible.

In Brightest Darkness 4, there exists a concept of stamina. This concept exists in this world as well. And sexual energy is often associated with stamina.

However, in Brightest Darkness 4, stamina is solely used for rolling and shield defense.

In other words, there’s a possibility that the act of climaxing doesn’t consume stamina.

It sounded crazy to me, but that was the only explanation I could find for being able to climax dozens or hundreds of times without the output diminishing and still maintain full arousal.

“We’re about to leave, so Helga, gather here, and the others should return to the castle. Distribute the money Lana left as you see fit.”

I could feel the shifting gaze intensifying toward my lower half, so I sent the members back to the castle. Dozens of bunny girls swayed their hips and chests as they disappeared into the castle.

Along with them, four reverse bunnies carrying chests full of money.

I felt a headache coming on just thinking that yet another rumor would probably start circulating within the knight order soon.

I turned to Helga and her ten subordinate knights nearby. Strangely, their rabbit ears stood up, twitching up and down.

“Ready?”

“We can leave right away. Everything is taken care of.”

Despite the feeling that everything was set to go, Helga was dressed in a reverse bunny outfit with thick X-shaped stickers on her nipples and genitalia, while the rest were simply in bunny girl outfits showing off their bare legs.

It was utterly absurd from my viewpoint, but their expressions were exceedingly serious. Well, except for Helga, who looked rather flustered.

Honestly, they resembled a group of insane bunnies. I couldn’t help but wish for the white sleeveless tops and dolphin shorts that the Silver Dawn Knights used to wear instead.

“Alright, then—”

“Wait, hold on!”

As we were about to move to the stable, Nix came running with her large chest bouncing. Given her physique, just her simple run was enough to draw attention.

“What’s that girl doing here…?”

Helga frowned at the sight of Nix and clicked her tongue.

Though she had never caused trouble since residing here, her first appearance was unforgettable, and being a witch has made them too cautious to let their guard down entirely.

“What are you doing here?”

Her expression remained half-asleep, but her right hand was at her waist, ready to draw a weapon at any moment.

Nix cast a sinister smile at me without even acknowledging Helga.

“Um… can’t I go with you? Hehe.”

“You? Nix?”

“Yes, hehe. Since the Lord isn’t going, it’s okay for me to go instead, right? I don’t even need an escort…”

Nix wiggled her fingers in front of her chest, gauging my reaction.

That was true. With neither Aurora nor her maid along, even if Nix came along, I wouldn’t have to worry about her freaking out.

The only problem was.

“We’re fine, but how do you plan to get into the city? How will you meet the Lord?”

“Ah.”

It was the fact that the Lord of that city, who had requested me, was an ordinary person. The moment Nix entered her fear radius, she could go rampaging out of control.

“… Hehe. I’m sorry. That was presumptuous of me. Please just forget I said anything.”

Despite being directly rejected, Nix laughed sinisterly, as if not caring at all. She didn’t seem gloomy; in fact, she looked more pitiful as she chuckled.

I paused to reflect for a moment before recalling something and stopped Nix, who was about to turn away, feeling dejected.

“Wait, Nix. You can teleport, right?”

“… Teleport?”

The eyes of Helga and her knights sparkled slightly.

Even if all 12 of them rode horses, it would take more than a week to cover the distance. But if Nix could teleport, the distance wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Nix hesitated and turned back to me.

“Hehe, I can do it, but… I don’t know how long it would take to move everyone here…”

“It can’t possibly take a week, right?”

“Well, that is true. No matter how long it takes, it should only be a few hours…”

A few hours instead of one to two weeks would be an amazing deal. I turned to Helga and said.

“What do you want to do, Helga?”

“…You’ve arrived quite early.”

Upon receiving the report of my arrival, the Lord rushed out from the mansion, panting heavily to catch her breath.

The Lord was, of course, a woman. It’s no longer shocking that an NPC who was originally a male is now female. To surprise me now, she would have to bring something much more extraordinary.

After catching her breath for quite a while, the Lord finally took a deep breath and straightened herself. Her chest bounced back from the motion.

“But, it seems you two are all that have come… No, you’ve defeated a dragon; that should be sufficient.”

The Lord looked back and forth between me and Helga, pondering why only the two of us had arrived, before understanding it herself and nodding as she guided us deeper into the mansion.

The regular knight we brought along was made to wait near the Rune Dungeon’s forest with Nix. I couldn’t bring Nix in, but I also didn’t want to leave her alone in the forest, so I asked her to stay put. I also told her not to worry, as thanks to the teleportation, the looks directed at her had become slightly more friendly, so she should be fine.

As I followed the Lord down the hallway, I recalled a question that had arisen while reading a letter and decided to ask.

“By the way, this is quite unexpected.”

“… What is unexpected?”

The Lord paused for a moment. The pace of her walking gradually slowed.

“I thought you might have forgotten whose help you received to get to the commander position, given you requested my assistance to avoid the Empress’s notice.”

Suddenly, her footsteps came to a halt as if they were nailed to the ground.

“What if I chose to inform the Empress instead of accepting your proposal as you stated in that long letter?”

“…”

The Lord’s body, frozen in place, began to tremble slightly. Her complexion gradually turned pale, visibly draining of color.

‘Oh, wait a minute.’

I realized my mistake upon seeing her reaction.

I hadn’t intended it as a threat; I was merely curious. However, delivering such a statement in this situation would undoubtedly be perceived as a threat, especially given the ambiguous tone.

Before I could even try to correct my misstep, the Lord trembled and desperately pleaded.

“… W-What do you want? Do you need more money?”

“It’s nothing. I genuinely asked out of curiosity. I apologize if that seemed strange.”

However, it seemed the Lord didn’t believe my words in the slightest. With her face still pale like a sheet, she bit her lip and clutched the hem of her dress tightly with trembling hands.

“If that’s not it… Should I offer my body instead?”

“…?”

What kind of madness was this all of a sudden?