—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Emilia checked the mailbox, her face falling as she found it empty once again.
‘Is he that busy? Can’t he even write a single letter? Couldn’t he at least send a message saying he was safe?’
“Sigh…”
She couldn’t help but sigh. Not that she was worried.
The entire Empire knew Schlus was safe.
-Suppression Force Launches Counteroffensive…
-Fourth Castle Recaptured!
-Beastman Woman Knight Leads the Charge… Schlus Hainkel Pulling the Strings?
The news, after a long period of silence, was filled with reports about the war in the South.
The suppression force, once on the brink of collapse, had launched a successful counteroffensive, thanks to the arrival of Schlus Hainkel and the Imperial University students.
The overnight destruction of the enemy’s heavy cavalry and the subsequent capture of an entire castle were being reported in detail, with timelines and analyses.
This wasn’t just news reporting.
It was a deliberate campaign to portray Schlus Hainkel as a hero.
“He’s… amazing.”
Emilia mumbled, her face buried in her arms on the table.
Schlus Hainkel had been extraordinary from the start.
Who offered a thousand Tirions as a monthly salary?
She had thought he was a clueless idiot, but now she realized he had seen right through her desperation.
And he had continued to defy expectations.
A nameless commoner, rising through the ranks of the Imperial University, surrounded by the Empire’s elite. And now, he was achieving remarkable feats on the battlefield.
This latest victory would surely earn him the Emperor’s favor. It was a good thing.
But…
“It feels like he’s slipping away.”
…it also made her feel a pang of sadness. He was changing.
He was still the same Schlus, of course.
The man who would lose himself in his work until he collapsed from exhaustion, the terrible cook, the gruff man who secretly cried easily, the man who pretended to be calculating but couldn’t bear to see others suffer.
The real Schlus, the one he only showed to her.
She missed him.
Seeing him only through news reports, portrayed as a hero, made him seem like a stranger.
If she was struggling, how must he feel?
Constantly hiding his true self, pretending to be someone he wasn’t…
“I miss him…”
She could handle it.
She could listen to him cry, listen to him ramble, hold him, comfort him, stroke his hair… She could do all the things others couldn’t.
But when would he return? It hadn’t even been a week, but it felt like a month.
“Don’t tell me…”
A sudden, unpleasant thought crossed her mind.
It made her clench her fists in frustration.
“He’s not… entertaining beastman slave girls, is he?”
As the puppet master behind the Commander-in-Chief, he was practically royalty in the occupied territories.
He could have anything he wanted.
She had never seen him express any interest in… physical intimacy. He had never made any advances towards her.
But what would a young man do with unlimited power, after months of suppressing his desires?
“No, no. He wouldn’t.”
Schlus wasn’t like that.
He wouldn’t be swayed by such temptations.
She shook her head, trying to convince herself.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested in… physical intimacy. I had normal, healthy desires, like any other man. I just hadn’t had any opportunities. I was surrounded by women I couldn’t touch.
After months of abstinence, I had become somewhat desensitized.
Until today.
“Schlus?”
“Ah…”
I froze, turning around slowly.
The towel she was wearing was thin, revealing her silhouette.
My gaze lingered, traveling from her face to her toes, before finally meeting her surprised eyes.
I quickly averted my gaze, realizing I had been staring.
“My apologies.”
“It’s… alright…”
“I thought it was the women’s bathing hour. My mistake.”
That damn Taylor.
He had known.
That sly smile… It hadn’t been empty because the other knights had left. It was the women’s bathing hour.
“N-no! There’s no such thing as a women’s bathing hour.”
“What?”
“Sometimes, I’ll let them know I’m coming, and the men will clear out for an hour.”
Ah, that explained it.
The baths were normally mixed, but the male knights would clear out as a courtesy to Pelaine. The Holy Knights had probably pressured them into it.
But why hadn’t Taylor said anything…?
“I’ll wait outside. I’ll come back later.”
“No, you don’t have to leave.”
“….”
I started to get up, but Pelaine placed her hand on my shoulder, stopping me.
Something else had risen, preventing me from standing.
I sat back down, submerging myself in the water.
Pelaine walked to the other side of the bath and sat down.
“This is a nice bathhouse, isn’t it?”
She spoke as if nothing was amiss, and I abandoned my plan to leave.
It would be rude to continue harboring impure thoughts while she was simply enjoying a relaxing bath.
“It’s not bad.”
“Not bad? Is there a better bathhouse somewhere?”
“Of course. I can’t go there now, though…”
“That’s a shame.”
Well, not forever.
I could return after reaching the ending of this story.
I had been so focused on the immediate tasks that I had almost forgotten my ultimate goal.
Immersing myself in Schlus’s memories had made it worse. I had to keep reminding myself that I had to reach the ending to return home.
“Schlus, I have a question.”
“Ask away.”
“Why did you invest in us? You had never seen us train, and you didn’t even know I was a beastman until you arrived in the South. Why invest in something you knew nothing about?”
It was a valid question.
I couldn’t be completely honest, so I opted for a half-truth.
“I liked the name.”
“Sir?”
“I had some extra money and was looking for investment opportunities. I saw the name of your newly formed knight order, and I was impressed. I invested on a whim.”
“What…?”
The Holy Knights.
It was a name I had admired long before writing this story. It was the name of an obscure band whose albums I had collected.
They had disbanded less than a year later, but the name had stuck with me.
“Why? Disappointed by my mundane reason?”
“No, I’m just surprised. I chose the name Holy Knights because I heard it in a dream. I dreamt of leading thousands of soldiers into battle, and they were called the Holy Knights. I suppose it was a prophetic dream.”
“….”
No, it wasn’t.
Thousands of soldiers… That was a future event, after the Holy Knights had grown significantly.
It was either a coincidence or a genuine prophetic dream. Either way, it was a little unsettling.
“Hee hee. This is… unusual. Taking a bath with my investor…”
“Indeed…”
I was getting increasingly annoyed with Taylor.
What was his motive for creating this awkward situation? I would have to give him a piece of my mind later.
“I’ve been in here too long. Aren’t you getting out?”
“I’ll stay a bit longer…”
I remained seated as Pelaine stood up.
I still hadn’t… calmed down.
“I’m going to wash now. Want to wash each other’s backs?”
“That’s a jo—”
“Ahaha… I’m just kidding.”
As Pelaine turned around, a sheepish smile on her face, my breath caught in my throat.
Scars.
Her back was covered in scars. The sight made my chest ache.
I finally understood why Taylor had let me in.
“They’re ugly, aren’t they? You probably don’t want to touch—”
“No. I’ll wash your back.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I insist.”
I had recovered.
I stepped out of the bath and walked towards Pelaine. I led her back to the edge of the bath and sat her down.
I sat behind her, gazing at her scarred back, and sighed.
Her back was toned and muscular, but marred by a network of ugly scars.
I lathered my hands with soap and gently began to wash her back.
I traced the raised scars with my fingertips, imagining the pain she had endured.
“Aren’t you going to ask how I got these scars?”
“I’m not interested.”
“I… see…”
I knew.
She had received them while working as a child, a poverty-stricken commoner in the Empire.
Working in the fields, the forge, construction sites… She had done back-breaking labor to survive.
She was clumsy and often made mistakes, earning her frequent beatings. A free citizen living a life worse than a slave.
“Do they still hurt?”
“Some of them ache, some are numb.”
“This one?”
“I can’t feel anything there.”
“And this one?”
“Ah… that one stings a bit.”
She probably couldn’t afford medicine to treat her wounds.
That was why they had scarred so badly.
There were plenty of characters in the original story with similar, even worse, scars.
They had all bared their wounds, seeking comfort from the protagonist, Hertlocker.
But not Pelaine. She had always hidden her scars, her vulnerabilities, behind a facade of strength and resilience.
She was the protector, the knight who always came to Hertlocker’s rescue. Showing weakness wasn’t an option.
Her painful past was only mentioned in the supplementary materials.
Even I, the author, had forgotten… until now.
“I understand now.”
“Understand what?”
I understood why Taylor had let me in.
Pelaine would never have shown her scars to anyone, not even her own knights. She would have hidden them, ashamed.
The younger knights might not have noticed, but Taylor would have. He would have known she was carrying her pain, both physical and emotional, inside.
He had entrusted her to me, knowing I was the only one she would open up to.
“I know why I invested in you. I had a dream as well. A dream of a suffering beastman woman.”
“You’re lying…”
“You can think that if you want. But it seems I’m here to heal your wounds. I’m not interested in your past, your pain. I won’t pry. But if you want to talk, I’ll listen. I’ll soothe your scars and listen to every word, from beginning to end.”
“….”
I poured a bucket of water over her back, washing away the soap suds, revealing the scars once more.
“Gasp… Sniff…”
Her shoulders trembled.
Was she crying? The invincible girl, who had never shed a tear in the original story, was shaking.
I reached out to comfort her, when—
“Schlus…”
She suddenly turned around, facing me.
The towel slipped, and I gasped, but I couldn’t look away.
“Hold me.”
Her voice was choked with tears, her eyes brimming.
I reached out, mesmerized, and she threw her arms around me, clinging to me tightly.
“It’s been so hard… Sob… It’s been so, so hard…”
I held her close, stroking her scarred back, listening to her silent sobs.
I let her cry, letting out all the pain and sorrow she had kept bottled up inside.
The silent tears of the girl who would become the strongest. Tears only I could hear.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
It’s feel a bit sudden for her to do that. But I was never in a situation like that so how would I know.
His rizz is insane.
Racial discrimination is worst