Mutation – 1

“What were you doing, only just arriving now?”

As I headed to the mansion by carriage, Aurora, who had been anxiously waiting for me in the garden, approached with a bright smile. Lana lightly jumped down from the coachman’s seat and stood next to Aurora.

A knight climbed onto the carriage and took the reins. Soon, the carriage slowly disappeared behind the mansion.

“I had something personal to look for. But why are you out here? What about the guest?”

“That guest you’re talking about bothered me so much that I ran away for a bit. This is all because you, Delta, aren’t in the castle when you should be and keep wandering around.”

Aurora grumbled.

“What was it that bothered you so much?”

“You heard from Lana who came to visit, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Isn’t it Minerva-nim?”

“That’s right, it’s Minerva-nim. But even if I’m somewhat eloquent, I’m not good enough to win against her. Considering her age, her experience, and her intelligence, she’s much smarter than me.”

Although she doesn’t look it at all, Minerva is a great mage who has lived for 400 years. Aurora, who is barely around twenty, wouldn’t be able to outwit Minerva with her eloquence.

“At first, it was just a normal conversation, but as the time you didn’t come back grew longer, at some point, the topic of conversation had shifted to my first experience.”

“That’s truly… amazing.”

“Well, by the time I realized, it was too late. She teased me so much with it, so I said I’d wait for you to come back and ran outside.”

Aurora shook her head, as if fed up.

“Surely you didn’t spill everything we did, did you?”

Upon hearing my question, Aurora’s expression, which had been one of exasperation, instantly turned beet red.

“Th-that’s not… exactly it. Just that you and I, well, had sex. And, like, whether it felt good? Honestly, it’s a bit much to tell others *what* we did, isn’t it?”

Stammering, incoherent words tumbled from her mouth.

Indeed, from her first experience, showing Lana getting pounded, feeling so much that her face completely relaxed, and finally, even dripping with cum, wasn’t exactly a story to share with others.

Lana, of course, was an exception.

“Anyway, it’s a good thing you came quickly. Otherwise, I would have had to go back to the reception room… Ah.”

At that moment, a blue orb appeared before Aurora’s eyes, blinking and flashing as it began to circle around them clockwise. It was an orb made of pure mana.

“Minerva-nim must have made it, right?”

“Of course. It seems she wants me to stop talking and bring you quickly. She’s in the reception room, so you can go there.”

“Just me?”

“Anyway, even if I go in, I’d just have to come out again, wouldn’t I? She said it’s a story only for the two of you.”

“I understand.”

Is it a story about scrolls, so ordinary people shouldn’t hear it? I nodded, saying I understood, and was about to walk towards the mansion, but then I paused and looked back.

“Lord-nim.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Lana said that you haven’t been able to sleep at night lately? You should take it easy. You’ll ruin your health if you keep that up.”

“What are you talking about? Why can’t I… fall… asleep…”

Aurora, who had spoken up to that point, seemed to realize the true meaning of my words, and instantly, her entire face, starting from her ears, turned beet red. From between her half-open lips, gasps of “Uh, uh?” escaped.

Lana, who was standing next to her, was equally flustered. She probably never imagined I would blurt it out like that, and she stared at me with her mouth agape, with eyes that screamed ‘traitor’.

After confirming Aurora glared at Lana, I turned my body. From behind me, the shriek of a woman whose secrets had been exposed echoed, “How much did you tell?!” And Lana’s flustered sounds echoed along with it.

Having finished my small revenge on Lana, I moved my steps towards the mansion’s reception room. Although Aurora was caught in the crossfire, it was Aurora’s own doing, as she was the one who taught Lana such jokes.

“Welcome, child.”

Minerva was sitting in the reception room. Just like before, her long white hair cascaded down her back, and she was wearing a bathrobe that looked like it could come undone at any moment.

Minerva gave me her characteristic antique smile. The bathrobe, precariously draped over her chest, slipped slightly. Through the gap, something pink briefly flashed past.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Minerva-nim.”

I also greeted her and was about to sit down, but Minerva shook her head. Then, she patted the spot to her left with her palm, “pang-pang.” It meant for me to sit there.

When I asked with my eyes if she was serious, she nodded her head resolutely, as if to say, “Isn’t it obvious?” The sound of her patting the sofa, “pang-pang,” echoed again.

After a moment of hesitation, I sat next to her. There was no choice anyway. Then, as if on cue, a small plate and teacup appeared, and the teapot floated up by itself and poured the tea.

“That’s right. It truly has been a long time.”

With those words, Minerva took my right hand.

I wondered what she was going to do, but she abruptly placed my captured hand on her thigh. A soft, warm, and smooth sensation was conveyed to my palm.

My wrist was pulled further inward. Now, it was going past her thigh and even under her bathrobe. My entire palm was enveloped in an even warmer sensation. The soft sensation also became more intense.

Minerva stopped only after pulling my hand up to near her pubic bone.

“Have you been well?”

“…Why are you doing this as soon as we meet?”

Even when I tried to pull my hand out, it wouldn’t come out, as if it were fixed by magic. Instead, I only got to fully feel the soft sensation of her inner thigh.

“It’s a small token, but it’s a return gift for the child’s present.”

“This?”

“You’ve entered a place no one has been allowed into for 400 years, so isn’t it a truly splendid return gift?”

“…….”

Even as I stared in bewilderment, Minerva, unfazed, closed her legs. Her thighs gently squeezed my palm up and down.

“Where did you find that scroll, child?”

Since it was an expected question, I tried to ignore the sensation of her thigh in my hand and explained what had happened in the ancient ruins.

Of course, I appropriately embellished the parts related to Fetch. Given Minerva’s personality, it wouldn’t be strange at all if she were to capture Fetch and ‘persuade’ him to reveal more ancient ruin locations.

Minerva listened to the explanation and nodded slightly.

“Ancient ruins, huh… So there were scrolls in such places too.”

“Didn’t you say you searched the entire continent with magic before?”

“My search was limited to the mana wavelengths emitted by scrolls. A mage of my standing can’t go around searching every nook and cranny on foot, can they? And even if I found something that wasn’t an ancient scroll, I wouldn’t have paid it any mind.”

Even though Minerva had thoroughly searched the entire continent, the reason scrolls kept being discovered was simply because she hadn’t paid attention to them.

She truly couldn’t find the ancient scrolls, but the other scrolls she found, she simply left them be.

This was the background setting for why scrolls could be found in all sorts of places, despite the Eternal Mage having searched the entire continent.

“But surely you didn’t come all this way just to give me a return gift?”

My hand was still between Minerva’s thighs, and what’s more, it was positioned such that if I extended my hand just a little further, it would touch the crevice between her legs. Even if I wanted to pull it out, it simply wouldn’t budge.

“Of course not. I came to tell the child about the results of my research.”

“The results of your research… are you talking about the Crystal Scroll?”

“Since the child found it, the child should be the first to know. I haven’t even told Kaikilia yet, so you can be happy. You are the next person on this continent, after me, to see that magic.”

Although I already knew about the magic created when the Crystal Scroll was given, I quietly nodded. Minerva’s expression looked very proud, so I didn’t want to unnecessarily break the mood.

And perhaps there was a possibility that it had changed from what I saw in the game. Starting with Minerva coming here, that was already the case.

Minerva smiled faintly and pulled my hand from between her thighs.

“Now, let’s go. Child…?”

Then, she suddenly frowned. A question also arose in my mind as I watched her. I wondered what could have happened for her to suddenly make such an expression.

Minerva, who had been frowning for a while, opened her mouth with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“It seems something has happened at the Imperial Palace. I apologize for changing my words, but would you mind postponing our trip to the Magic Tower for a while, child?”

“Of course. It doesn’t matter to me.”

If something had happened at the Imperial Palace, dealing with it immediately was the top priority. Moreover, for Minerva to make such an expression, I could only assume it was something serious.

“Thank you.”

With those words, the two of us had somehow moved to a corridor in the Imperial Palace. Not only was there no magic circle drawn, but I couldn’t even see any blue mana. The casting speed had become incredibly fast.

‘…Is this also a result of her research?’

While I was flustered, Minerva strode forward. A few mages wearing robes stood right in front of them. It seemed those mages had contacted Minerva.

Perhaps hearing footsteps, the mages turned their heads. As soon as they saw Minerva, their pale faces brightened.

“What’s the matter?”

“The Knight Commanders-nim suddenly…!”

Before the mage could give a proper answer, a “kwang!” sound was heard from the other end of the corridor. Soon after, fierce shouts were also heard. Minerva’s face hardened even further.

Minerva, who had evacuated the mages with teleportation, advanced quickly down the corridor. I also followed behind Minerva, gripping the scabbard of the Wingless Nightmare with my left hand.

The shouting grew louder and louder. Now, it would be right there once we turned the corner ahead. And finally, as we turned the corner, the scene before my eyes came into full view.

A giant in golden armor stood in the center of the corridor, while silver and golden armored figures were chaotically intermingled, blocking the corridor both front and back. All of them had their weapons drawn.

Iris was at the very front. Next to her was Rije, and Claudia and Erica were on the opposite side of the two. Iris’s voice boomed, piercing through her helmet.

“You’re truly insane, Knight Commander! Since it’s the affair of another knight order, I tried my best not to interfere with how you handle your subordinates, but arbitrarily killing your subordinates is an entirely different matter!”

‘Kill?’

It was a choice of words that absolutely could not be laughed off. Minerva seemed to be thinking similarly to me, and her already displeased expression crumpled even further.

“With such weak skills, His Majesty the Emperor cannot be protected. If we cannot protect His Majesty the Emperor, our honor will be sullied. Rather than sully our honor, it is better to die by my hand. What is wrong with that?”

In contrast, the voice of the knight in golden armor was extremely calm. So much so that the lack of intonation was eerily unnatural.

“Weak skills? Ha, have you forgotten what happened to our rookie when you came to the castle to monitor us?”

“That was then. But now is different.”

The knight in golden armor calmly brushed off even Rije’s sarcasm. This time too, there was no intonation in their voice.

Although it was a little different from what I had seen in the game, I immediately understood what kind of messed-up situation this was.

‘So it ended up like that after all.’

It was the Mutation event of the Knight Commander of the Golden Twilight Knights.