Chapter 60: Back To The Academy

Scritch-!

The moonlight aura extending from the sword split through the forest.

The light beam of the aura spread so quickly that the Elder Greenskin couldn’t even react.

With a dull sound, the large head that had been cleanly severed from the neck hit the ground.

Thud.

Pshhhh-

Dirty blood gushed out from the spot where the head had been.

The crimson blood rising into the sky stained the pale moon red.

The Greenskins, who had been eagerly pounding the Holy Field, turned their heads at the unexpected change.

“Screech?”

“Your Excellency!”

“Yes. It’s here. Do you need help?”

“Yes! Please, I beg you!”

Hene pleaded, her face covered in tears and snot.

Her usual composed appearance was nowhere to be seen; she was a mess.

However, when I looked at the Holy Field surrounding her, it seemed in decent condition with only a small crack.

‘She’s holding up well on her own. For someone crying so much, she’s impressive.’

Is she a talented high priest?

I kicked the Elder Greenskin’s body, which was still standing despite its head being severed, and walked towards the remaining Greenskins.

Clomp, clomp-

“Screech! Scree-eeeek!”

“Hm?”

But the Greenskins looked at the Elder Greenskin’s corpse and then at me before they started running away.

Even if they’re idiots, they have survival instincts.

But I can’t let them get away.

I slightly raised my foot and struck downward with force.

Whooosh-!

[Using power.]

[The enemies are rendered incapacitated.]

“Guurk!?”

A wave of mana surged from around me, crashing into the Greenskins.

Right after, the ones who had lost strength in their legs fell like dominoes.

I then stabbed and swung the aura at the Greenskins wriggling like insects on the ground.

Puck. Scck.

“Kwaaak!”

Shwuk! Pfft!

“…”

A short time of slaughter passed.

The Greenskin’s screams stopped in the forest.

I stood still, retracting the aura that had absorbed the moonlight.

“Haah.”

It was an easy task to deal with the incapacitated ones.

I slashed, stabbed, and choked the life out of the green bodies rolling on the ground.

But with the mana and stamina I’d spent up until this point, fatigue started to weigh down on me.

‘This is ridiculous. I was just trying to capture a whimpering priestess, and now I’ve hunted down an Elder Greenskin as well. I just want to rest, so I hope Aileen comes to pick me up soon.’

“U-um…”

“Hm?”

“Th-thank you for saving me.”

As I sheathed my sword, Hene awkwardly approached and bowed deeply.

Her thighs were clean now, so it seemed she had used purification magic.

Using holy power to clean up sticky urine…

The Palace of the Holy God would be furious.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I saved you because you’re useful.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll use you as a double agent to gather information for the Pope and the First Prince.”

“!”

Hene flinched at my words.

I brushed my hair aside and continued.

“I’ll give you a choice. Will you be buried underground with the Greenskins here, or will you swear loyalty to me and continuously provide information to the Pope and the First Prince?”

“Ah…”

Hene hugged her chest with both arms, falling into deep thought.

Her gaze occasionally shifted towards the Elder Greenskin’s corpse.

After a while, she opened her mouth.

“If I swear loyalty to you, will you protect me?”

“Well… that depends on what you do.”

“I… I see.”

“Listen. I saved you to use you, but you’re not absolutely necessary. If you can’t decide, I can just end you here without pain.”

“Wait! I swear loyalty to you, Your Excellency!”

Just as I was about to unsheathe my sword, Hene urgently spoke.

As expected. She’s choosing survival.

The more I saw of her, the more amusing she seemed. 

With such a strong will to live, how could she act as a spy?

It seems that my skills were useful, so they probably planted me as a spy.

Thanks to that, I now had one more tool to use.

I took a step closer to her and said,

“Good. In that case, prove your loyalty.”

“What do you mean by loyalty?”

“I mean, show me your utmost sincerity right now.”

“Sincerity, you say…”

Hene lowered her head and spoke.

Then her face flushed, and her thighs shifted restlessly.

I could feel her breath becoming ragged.

‘Huh? What’s this?’

[What else would it be? It’s the act of love.]

‘If you say one more useless thing, I’ll stop giving you mana for a week.’

[Hmph. Master always scolds me.]

Ignoring the grumbling voice of Cheonryeo, I kept my gaze fixed on Hene.

No, I hadn’t said anything expecting something specific about sincerity.

I had just thought of a loyalty oath with some flowery words.

But Hene seemed to have interpreted it differently.

Sararak—

“Huff.”

“…”

Under the midsummer moonlight, the holy attire of the priestess from the shrine came off, revealing her bare skin.

Her smooth, flawless skin reflected the moonlight, shimmering softly.

Her full breasts, barely covered by her nipples, her wide hips, and plump thighs grabbed my attention.

‘What is this…’

In this absurd situation, my mouth hung open, unable to close.

Is this what Hene meant by ‘sincerity’?

It was such an arousing sight that I struggled to keep the blood from rushing to my lower body.

After a short while.

Fully naked from head to toe, Hene bowed deeply before me.

“I swear my loyalty to the Grand Duke.”

“Mm.”

“Please, please take me in.”

Hene spoke in a trembling voice.

Her voice carried both fear and a strange heat.

I looked down at her, her glistening buttocks reflecting the moonlight, while checking my character list.

[Hene Lively – ★★★☆☆

.

.

.]

‘Oh. It’s there.’

Seeing Hene’s name properly listed in the character list, I raised an eyebrow.

If it was only out of fear for me, it would be difficult to obtain true loyalty.

Was it because of the favor I did for her when I saved her from the Elder Greenskin?

The spy situation and the fight with the Elder Greenskin had been a series of annoying events.

But in the end, I felt a sense of satisfaction in gaining a useful double agent.

I smiled as I looked down at Hene, who was kneeling naked before me.

* * *

Several days had passed since I returned from the forest.

During this time, I had been diligently training.

No matter where I was, I couldn’t afford to slack off on my training.

My resolve to reach the level of Grandmaster in order to protect my people had not changed.

And so, under the blazing sun,

I spent the morning again matching swords with the girl of the stars, Eileen.

Chaeng!

“You’ve gotten stronger. At this rate, you might be stronger than Elder.”

“You’re too kind. I’m still lacking compared to the professor.”

“You’re humble. But that’s a good attitude.”

I swung my black sword vertically, aiming for Eileen’s left shoulder.

Predicting the lightning-fast strike, Eileen narrowly dodged it.

Sheesh. 

Has she already read my pattern?

I was only swinging casually, but she’s already figuring it out. She’s a real talent.

I avoided Eileen’s sword, which was coming at my side for a counterattack, by moving back and spoke.

Shwoop!

“How’s Luke doing? I heard his treatment is almost complete.”

Bang!

“Yes. Thanks to the highest-ranking priest and the senior priest, his condition has improved quickly. It’s all thanks to you, Your Grace.”

Screech!

“Not at all. But Richard’s courage, deciding to reveal all the secrets, is even more remarkable.”

I recalled what had happened the previous day as I sharply thrust my sword.

After several days of discussions, Richard had decided not to hide the secrets about Eileen from the public.

By the way, this was my suggestion since, with Eileen’s future involvement, there would be no way to keep it a secret.

Of course, Richard hadn’t immediately agreed to my suggestion and had some resistance.

– Reveal everything? If we do that, our family will become the laughing stock of the public!

– Then what other choice is there? The First Prince already knows about the secret, so it can’t be hidden forever. It’s better to reveal it ourselves.

– But…

– What are you so worried about? Eileen will soon reach the level of Swordmaster. Perhaps she will even reach the level of Grandmaster. I don’t know. Then, to let the star that will shine the name of Star Rail live freely, we must remove any restrictions. It’s not good to get caught up in minor flaws.

-… The Duke is right. I was too restrictive of Eileen’s life. I think I was too obsessed with the idea of preserving the history built by our ancestors.

The face of Richard, who had been forcing Eileen to act as a man, flashed in my mind.

Although I didn’t think he was a good parent, at least he seemed to have some conscience.

In the end, Richard accepted my opinion.

Today marks the end of all matters related to the Star Rail family, and we are setting off for the academy once again.

I exchanged a few more swords with Eileen before leaving the training ground.

“Come to think of it, when the people of the family found out about your pregnancy, there was one knight who had a seizure. Were you two particularly close?”

“No. We weren’t particularly close. I don’t know why he reacted that way.”

“Hmm. I see.”

I scratched my cheek while listening to Eileen.

That knight, what was his name? Lian, I think.

He was crying and wailing.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry, then I returned to the mansion with Eileen and prepared to head to the academy.

* * *

Several hours later.

As the sun, hanging on the mountaintop, reached my shoulder,

Milinarize and Hene finished their preparations and we gathered in front of the carriage.

In the gathered group, Richard spoke.

“Then, please take care. The next time we meet will likely be at the wedding in the Develion territory.”

“That seems likely. Thank you for understanding, in any case.”

“You’re welcome. It’s late, but if there’s anything I can do for my daughter’s happiness, I will do it.”

Richard said quietly.

Even after hearing that Eileen was pregnant, he didn’t rush to hold a wedding and waited.

With gratitude, I thought that I should make the lie a reality as soon as possible, without being too late.

“And I am also grateful for handling the Greenskin group. We had been planning to coordinate with surrounding territories for the hunt, so you’ve relieved us of a major concern.”

“There’s no need for thanks. We’re family, after all. Don’t worry about it too much.”

“Heh, you’re right.”

“Then, I will take my leave. It seems that the situation in the border regions is quite serious, so please be careful.”

“I will remember. I hope the road to the academy is smooth.”

Richard slightly lowered his head.

I gave him a light nod in return and turned my back.

Now, it’s time to return to the academy.

Lilliana, Eldar, and Justia.

The precious people who are waiting for me.

What are they doing right now?

It’s been over a week since I last saw them, so I can’t wait to see them soon.

With that thought, I boarded the carriage with the other women to head to where they are.