Absence

“I’m sorry to say this, but Lord-nim will not be able to join this journey.”

“……Huh?”

Upon hearing Lana’s notification, the Vice-Knight Commander and several regular members, who had spent all day yesterday deliberating on how to assist the Lord-nim, asked back with dumbfounded expressions.

The reason for such a reaction is perfectly understandable.

The fact that Aurora was going to accompany them was decided out of the blue, and after they hurriedly coordinated and prepared, they were unilaterally informed on the morning of departure that she suddenly couldn’t go.

If it were me, I’d be speechless too.

“……I understand for now, but please tell us the reason why. If it’s just due to a simple whim, I think it would be quite sad.”

Helga pressed her eyelids with her fingers and asked. Lana calmly met the Knights’ gazes, which were a mix of bewilderment and disbelief, and opened her mouth.

“Her back is out, so she says she can’t ride the carriage.”

“…….”

“…….”

The gazes of the Vice-Knight Commander and the regular members all turned to me at once. They seemed to have immediately understood what that statement implied.

It was obvious. The Knight Commander had stayed at the Lord-nim’s mansion last night, and for some reason, they had returned wearing different clothes than what they had gone in, and the Lord-nim said her back was out and she couldn’t ride the carriage.

Even with just a little knowledge in that area, it was a piece of cake to guess what the two of us had done all night.

What’s more, those kids even misunderstood the relationship between Aurora and me, making it even more so.

“Did you really do it, Knight Commander-nim?”

The question was thrown from Helga’s mouth, whose eyes were sparkling rather than hazy.

“Yes. They really did.”

The one who answered was Lana. Helga, upon hearing Lana’s answer, let out a short exclamation of “Oh.” and nodded her head towards me.

This time, someone raised their right hand. Lana’s eyes turned in that direction. It was a regular Knight member, ordinarily pretty.

“Even so, couldn’t she ride the carriage? If it’s a carriage that nobles ride, I understand they are designed so one can lie down inside.”

A hint of disbelief was in her eyes. It seemed she was simply throwing a tantrum because she didn’t want to go, and the Knight seemed to suspect that the excuse of her back being out and unable to ride the carriage was a lie.

Lana, as if she had anticipated such a question, responded very calmly.

“No. It is impossible. The reason, even if it’s not me, the Knights’ Commander-nim would know better. Because that person provided the cause.”

The Knight who heard the answer paused for a moment, then her eyes widened.

“Uh…… just a moment. How intense was it, for her to be……?”

“Would you be able to understand if I told you they were in the same bed from yesterday afternoon until this morning?”

Although she phrased it indirectly as ‘they were in bed’, there was no one here so oblivious as to not grasp the true meaning. Their gazes towards me were filled with shock and awe.

Even I thought it was a bit much. It started around 4 PM and only ended the next morning.

By the end, Aurora was practically half-unconscious. Since I had been pounding for over twelve hours, it was more surprising that Aurora, who was just a normal person, managed to endure it.

In fact, I had deliberately moved a bit excessively. This was to make Aurora stay behind at the mansion.

The plan worked perfectly. Even after regaining consciousness, Aurora couldn’t even properly get up, and merely waved her arm to bid farewell.

Given her physical state, there was no way she could ride a carriage.

“…….”

The Knight who had asked the question glanced at me, then her face flushed crimson as she stepped back. The reactions of the other members were similar. Only Helga calmly clapped her hands.

“Wow. Commander-nim. You’re truly amazing.”

“Right. Thanks for the compliment.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Because of her still half-asleep-looking face, I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or genuinely complimenting me. Given Helga’s personality, it was probably closer to the latter.

“Then, is there no longer a need for us to accompany them?”

The Vice-Knight Commander, who had been specially assigned to escort Aurora, raised his hand and asked. Lana nodded her head.

“The decision itself will be in the hands of Delta Knight Commander-nim, but if Lord-nim does not accompany them, I believe there will be no need to increase the personnel.”

“…….”

The faces of the two additional Vice-Knight Commanders and the regular members became a little gloomy. However, that gloom instantly melted away like snow due to Lana’s words that followed immediately.

“Instead, saying she was sorry for changing the schedule arbitrarily, she decided to pay five times the next salary, and considering the escort successfully completed, to give all the Knights of the Black Holy Night Knights an additional reward equivalent to twice their salary.”

“If you’re sick, you should naturally rest. If you move unnecessarily while sick, you’ll definitely get into trouble.”

“If Lord-nim commands, we obey. That is a perfectly natural action.”

Along with those words, as the Knights from the Lord-nim’s mansion entered carrying several large chests, the atmosphere completely reversed.

As Knights who had served in the Imperial Palace, valuing only honor before coming here, they weren’t the type to be greedy for money, nor were they genuinely angry. It was probably just a light complaint.

Even if left alone, they would have just exchanged a few gloomy complaints among themselves and it would have ended, but with the use of a vast sum of money, even that slight grumbling completely vanished.

Lana, who had instantly quelled the Knights’ gloom with even more money, approached me. The surrounding Vice-Knight Commanders smoothly cleared a path. Lana took her place directly in front of me.

Her expression somehow felt even colder and more blunt than usual.

“When do you plan to depart?”

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

“Yes. Unfortunately, it seems I won’t be able to give you a proper send-off. I apologize. As there are still many areas left to clean.”

“…….”

Since I had been at it for well over 12 hours, it was only natural that Aurora’s room had turned into a complete mess.

Bodily fluids had seeped into the carpet as well as the bed sheets, to the point where the furniture might need to be replaced entirely. Of course, the cleaning was handled by Lana and the other maids.

“You don’t have to see me off.”

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

Lana poked at me with a thorny joke, adjusted the collar of my uniform, then bowed and turned away. The Knights from the mansion who had brought the chests also bowed to me and returned with Lana.

It wasn’t hard to notice that what she had just said was her own kind of joke. Our relationship must have become comfortable enough for her to make such jokes to me without hesitation.

As Lana disappeared, the already intense gazes sparkled even more. All 55 members of the Black Holy Night Knights were staring at me without exception.

“Um, Commander-nim?”

“Why?”

“If it’s not rude, may I ask just one question?”

“It definitely feels like it would be rude, but. Go ahead and say it.”

“Whether what you did from yesterday afternoon until this morning is true-“

“It is rude, isn’t it? Since it’s true, let’s stop mentioning that here.”

The murmuring grew louder. Among them, there were a few gazes subtly directed at my lower body. Even Rakshia’s cheeks were flushed red.

Seeing that they all reacted with such surprise, it seems that just as the average female appearance has been tremendously leveled up, the average male ejaculation volume has not been leveled up to this extent.

‘I have a guess, but……’

While returning to the castle, I did recall one reason why such a thing might be possible.

In B-Dark 4, the concept of stamina exists. In this world too, the concept of stamina exists as is. And virility is often associated with stamina.

However, in B-Dark 4, stamina is only used for rolling and shield blocking.

In other words, there’s a possibility that stamina isn’t consumed during the act of ejaculation.

Even to me, who thought of it, it’s a crazy idea, but other than this, there was no reason that could explain the fact that even after dozens or hundreds of ejaculations, the semen volume remained the same and erections were still perfectly fine.

“We’re leaving now, so Helga, gather here, and the rest of you, go into the castle. Also, distribute the money Lana left for you among yourselves.”

Feeling that their gazes were increasingly concentrating on my lower body, I sent the members back to the castle. Dozens of bunny girls disappeared into the castle, wiggling their hips and chests.

And four reverse bunny girls carrying chests full of money.

Now, I figured another rumor would soon be added within the Knight Order. My head was already starting to ache.

I looked back at Helga and the 10 Knights under her command standing nearby. What kind of headbands were they? The rabbit ears sticking up twitched up and down.

“Are you ready?”

“We can leave right now. We’ve finished everything.”

Despite her words that preparations were complete, Helga was dressed in a reverse bunny outfit with thick X-shaped stickers covering her nipples and pubic area, while the others were in bunny girl outfits, their bare legs fully exposed.

They said they were making armor for the Black Holy Night Knights, so they collected all the golden armor they used to wear, and apparently, they had nothing suitable to wear.

From my perspective, it was utterly absurd, but the expressions of those involved were very serious. Except for Helga, who had a droopy expression.

Honestly, they looked nothing short of a crazy group of lewd women. I earnestly felt that the combination of white sleeveless tops and dolphin shorts worn by the Silver Dawn Knights was much better.

“Alright, then-“

“W-wait, just a moment!”

Just as I was about to move to the stable, Nyx came running, her large breasts jiggling. Given her physique, simply running had an enormous power to capture attention.

“Why is that woman here…….”

As soon as Helga saw Nyx, she frowned and clicked her tongue with a ‘Tsk.’

Although she had never caused trouble while residing here, her first appearance had been so impactful, and due to her reputation as a witch, it seemed they hadn’t completely let down their guard.

“Why are you here?”

Her expression still looked half-asleep, but her right hand was on her hip, ready to draw a weapon at any moment.

Nyx, for her part, didn’t even spare a glance for Helga, and instead gave me a sinister smile.

“Um…… Could you take me too? Hehe.”

“You, Nyx?”

“Yes. Hehet. Since Lord-nim isn’t going, I can go instead, right? I don’t even need an escort…….”

Nyx fiddled with her fingers in front of her chest, and watched my reaction.

That was true. Since Aurora and the maids attending her weren’t there, even if Nyx came along, I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone being terrified.

There was just one problem, though.

“Even if we ignore us, how would you get into the city? And how would you meet the Lord?”

“Ah.”

The fact was that the Lord-nim of the city who had commissioned me was an ordinary person. The moment they entered Nyx’s fear range, they would go mad, rave, and cause absolute chaos.

“……Hehe. I’m sorry. I was too presumptuous, wasn’t I? Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Even though she was rejected to her face, Nyx smiled sinisterly, as if she didn’t mind at all. She wasn’t even gloomy, and her giggling made her seem even more pathetic.

I pondered for a moment, recalling something, and remembering a certain fact, I stopped Nyx, who was trudging back to her room with slumped shoulders.

“Wait, Nyx. You can use teleportation, can’t you?”

“……Teleportation?”

The eyes of Helga and the Knights under her command sparkled faintly.

It was a distance that would take well over a week even if all 12 of them rode horses. However, if teleportation could be used, distance was no problem at all.

Nyx hesitated and came back to me.

“Hehe, I can use it, but…… I don’t know how many hours it would take to move everyone here…….”

“It wouldn’t take weeks, would it?”

“Th-that’s true. At most, it would be a few hours, I suppose…….”

Just a few hours. If 1-2 weeks of travel time could be reduced to a few hours, it would be an incredibly profitable 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-nim, who had practically rushed out of the mansion, panted and caught her breath.

The Lord-nim was, of course, a woman. Now, the fact that an NPC who was originally male had changed into a female was no longer surprising. To surprise me, they’d have to bring something even more unusual.

After catching her breath for a long time, the Lord-nim finally took a deep breath, and straightened her back. Her chest bounced significantly from the movement.

“But, only two of you have come…… No, never mind. Since you defeated a dragon, that must be enough.”

The Lord-nim looked back and forth between Helga and me, seeming to question why only two of us had come, but then she seemed to understand on her own, and nodded, guiding us into the mansion.

The regular Knights we brought along were left waiting in the forest near the Rune Dungeon with Nyx. We couldn’t bring Nyx here, but leaving her alone in the forest felt a bit off.

I had strongly urged them to behave, and thanks to her using teleportation, the way they looked at Nyx had become somewhat more favorable, so it should be fine.

As I walked down the corridor following the Lord-nim, a question that had arisen while reading the letter suddenly came to mind, and I opened my mouth.

“By the way, this is quite unexpected.”

“……What’s unexpected?”

The Lord-nim faltered. Her walking speed gradually began to slow.

“You asked for my help because you didn’t want His Majesty the Emperor to find out, but it seems you’ve forgotten whose help allowed me to become the Knight Commander.”

Thud, her footsteps froze as if nailed to the spot.

“If I chose to inform His Majesty the Emperor instead of accepting your proposal, what would you do? Why did you write such a detailed story in your letter?”

“…….”

Her body, frozen in place, trembled violently. The Lord-nim’s front slowly turned towards us. Her face was deathly pale. Her skin looked incredibly pallid.

‘Oh. Wait a minute.’

Seeing the Lord-nim’s reaction, I realized my mistake.

I had asked simply out of curiosity, without much thought, but if someone uttered such words in this situation, anyone would consider it a threat. It was even more so because my tone was ambiguous.

Before I, in my haste, could correct my mistake, the Lord-nim pleaded in a trembling voice.

“……What, what do you want? Do you need more money?”

“It’s nothing. I truly asked out of curiosity. I apologize if you found it strange.”

However, the Lord-nim didn’t seem to believe my words at all. With a deathly pale face, she bit her lip, then tightly gripped the hem of her dress with trembling hands.

“Th-then, if it’s not that. Would offering my body suffice?”

“……?”

What kind of crazy talk is this all of a sudden?