Chapter 2: Rank Matches
It was the morning of my third day at the academy, long before sunrise.
As I made my way toward the auxiliary training grounds, my thoughts naturally drifted back to the events of the previous night.
“……I really did graduate from virginity, didn't I?”
To be completely honest, it hardly felt real.
—Grow stronger as a male organism, and your Regalia will grow stronger in kind.
When I checked my Regalia earlier, there had indeed been a tangible change.
“...It doesn't mean a person's character or way of life dramatically transforms overnight, though.”
Deep down, I had always placed sex on some sort of pedestal.
I had naively imagined that experiencing it would radically alter the trajectory of my life.
“...A bit anticlimactic, but I suppose that's reality for you.”
I was still the same ordinary guy, and my demeanor hadn't magically blossomed into that of a charismatic extrovert.
A person's core nature didn't change so easily.
“Even coming to that realization is a sign of immense personal growth.”
Miss Zeze had praised me with those words, though I wasn't entirely sure whether I should take them at face value.
“Ah... they're really at it, just like Miss Zeze said.”
Arriving at the spectator stands overlooking the training arena, I found an unofficial Rank Match already in progress.
On one side stood Senior Verg, a Seven-Star knight.
On the other stood another Princess Knight, supposedly ranked at Six-Star.
Reflecting once more on the rules of the Rank Matches—
“A knight can challenge a member of the Seven Sacred Swords only if they are an equal Seven-Star, or a Six-Star one rank below.”
The reason I had snuck in here so early was to observe how top-tier combatants fought.
—I want to defeat Urz today.
By analyzing the fighters before me, I hoped to glean something I could apply in my own battles.
“—Hmph! Scuttling about like an annoying little pest!”
Bellowing with fierce intensity, the Hellfire Lord left herself wide open with every swing.
“...Heavy, sweeping attacks... Her combat style is pure close-quarters brute force...”
Yet even when sustaining minor wounds, she pressed relentlessly forward without batting an eye.
“...Closing in on her is suicide... One has to maintain mid-range distance or further...”
Her Six-Star opponent was well aware of this as well.
A seasoned veteran in her own right, she demonstrated superb spatial control and footwork—and yet.
“Combustion Drive!”
Fire, by its very nature, expanded violently as it drew in surrounding oxygen.
Senior Verg wreathed her greatsword in blazing flames, swinging it with titanic force.
In an instant, the swirling updraft pulled the Six-Star knight's body straight toward her—closing the distance in the blink of an eye?!
“First Stance of the Eight Hells—The Crushing Asphodel!”
Though the Six-Star knight raised a precise guard, Verg unleashed her devastating special move without the slightest hesitation.
Roaaar! A deafening explosion reverberated across the arena as her opponent was blasted deep into the stone wall.
“The victory is mine. Go back and train from scratch.”
Quite literally, she had bulldozed through her opponent through sheer, unadulterated power.
“...She's so far beyond common sense that this hardly serves as useful reference material.”
Her greatsword's Regalia ability, 【Hellfire Karma】, was undoubtedly formidable.
According to Miss Zeze, it stood as the absolute pinnacle among all flame-based abilities.
But even putting that aside, her innate physical specs were simply monstrous.
“...Being tall is already a massive advantage, but combining that with that level of muscle mass...”
In a straight-up brawl of raw physical strength, no ordinary person stood a ghost of a chance.
“...The conditioning in her back and abs is incredible, and those thick, muscular thighs...”
She could probably snap my neck with a single kick without breaking a sweat.
“—I sensed an indecent gaze lingering upon me. Engaging in scandalous behavior again, are we?”
Just as I was lost in thought in the spectator seats, wondering how anyone could ever defeat her—
Having concluded her duel, Senior Verg marched straight up to me, still clad in her form-fitting combat gear.
“...Is watching a Rank Match against school regulations?”
“No. However, having someone stare at me as if licking me up and down with their eyes is thoroughly unpleasant.”
As stubborn and quick-tempered as ever, she possessed a personality as fiery as her blade.
While I had grown used to her venomous glares, I was nowhere near accustomed to how her colossal, gravity-defying bosom bounced with every word she spoke.
Just what kind of diet produced a chest of that scale...?
“Tell me, sir—have you changed somewhat?”
“Huh?”
“There appears to be a slight composure to your demeanor. It may merely be my imagination, however.”
I mean, I had graduated from virginity last night, but...
Could this be what people called female intuition?
“In any event, scandalous thoughts are strictly prohibited! This is a sacred proving ground of war, and—”
Right on cue, her nagging lecture began in earnest.
“Kageruya Noah! Are you even listening to me?!”
“I'm listening, I'm listening... Actually, there's something I've been wondering about for a while now.”
“What is it?”
“Aren't you standing awfully far away?”
Whether holding a normal conversation or scolding me, she kept an unusually large distance between us.
For once, the normally dignified, resolute senior wore an awkward, uncomfortable grimace—
“...I have just engaged in rather strenuous physical exertion, you see.”
Hmph! She turned her face sharply away.
Taken aback by her evasive answer, I paused to think.
A grueling, sweaty duel, straight off the field in her combat uniform—ah, wait. Could it be?
“Could it be that... you don't want me to think you smell sweaty?”
The stunning warrior girl flushed bright crimson all the way to her ears. Bullseye.
“Th-That is preposterous! The notion that I could ever smell of sweat is utterly out of the question!”
“It's not really something you need to be embarrassed about...”
“The Seven Sacred Swords are the moral exemplars of this student body! Therefore, I am immaculate and pristine! There is nothing whatsoever for me to feel ashamed of!”
She denied it with frantic vehemence—a painfully transparent lie.
She might be the living incarnation of strict discipline, but deep down, she harbored quite the maidenly streak.
“...Right. Let's just go with that, then.”
“Go with that?! What is that supposed to mean?! Are you mocking me?!”
I had intended to let the matter slide gracefully, but it seemed I had inadvertently wounded her pride instead.
...Good grief, she was high-maintenance.
As if reading my exasperation, the senior's eyes hardened with fierce determination.
“—We shall settle this once and for all! Follow me, Kageruya Noah!”
And so, I found myself led into a dim, quiet storeroom. The exact same spot Urz had dragged me to before.
“Senior Verg, what are we doing in here...?”
Before my flustered self, she planted her feet firmly, striking an imposing stance.
“Take a sniff.”
“Excuse me?”
“I am commanding you to smell me and verify whether I truly reek of sweat!”
Her stubborn pride had driven her to demand something utterly unhinged...
“...If I sniff you, won't you execute me with an iron fist for scandalous behavior?”
“This is a special exception. As long as you make no direct physical contact, I shall permit it.”
She solemnly declared that she would not strike me as long as I adhered to that condition.
“However, if you dare claim that I smell foul, I will execute you on the spot.”
You clearly have no intention of letting me give an honest answer from the start, then...
As the powerless party here, my only option was to say “You smell wonderful!” exactly as she wished.
“Come! Approach from whichever angle you desire!”
Planting her boots shoulder-width apart, she spread her arms wide to either side.
“Even if you say that... What if you make up some accusation later...?”
“Enough insolence! Verg Moldraid never breaks her word!”
Letting out a weary sigh, I took a few tentative steps closer and made a show of sniffing the air.
“A-Ah, yes. I think you smell very pleasant.”
“Your delivery was completely monotone and unconvincing. How could you possibly tell from such a distance?”
So that wasn't going to work. In that case, I had to steel my nerves—
“Incidentally, where specifically would you like to smell?”
Wait, I have to submit a formal request?!
—If I get aroused in the slightest, I'll be executed for indecency!
—I need to find the safest possible location. Time to put my strategic instincts to work!
Hair, nape of the neck, armpits, torso, legs...
Which area posed the least threat to my lower body...?
“My chest, then. Understood.”
“H-Hey, I haven't said a single word yet?!”
“Your eyes speak far louder than words. That is the spot you desire, is it not?”
Convinced of her own deduction, the senior ignited a small flame at her fingertip.
Tracing a line down her combat uniform—wait, she melted away the fabric right over her cleavage?!
“...Now then. Bring your face closer.”
Grasping both of her breasts with her hands, she pulled her tightly pressed, gargantuan mounds apart to either side.
Fwoosh! A heavy plume of warm vapor drifted from the deep crevice.
Suffocated in heat for so long, beads of sweat glistened along her porcelain-white skin.
“What are you staring at in silence? Smell it already.”
Urged on by her stern glare, I swallowed dryly.
“...W-Well then, excuse me.”
Offering a polite nod to the senior who continued holding her chest open, I brought my face close to her cleavage.
“Ngh————?!”
Overwhelming. An extraordinarily potent, intoxicating feminine musk shot straight through my nasal passages.
The pure pheromones radiating from her womanly body, blended with fresh perspiration...
Words failed me—it was a scent that stimulated a man's primal instincts to the absolute core.
“W-Well? Not a single trace of foul perspiration, is there?!”
We were well beyond such trivialities. It smelled overwhelmingly, intoxicatingly female.
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, the mighty Hellfire Lord puffed out her chest with proud satisfaction.
“You... smell... wonderful... Well then, if you'll excuse me...”
“Hm? Why are you suddenly hunched forward and trying to flee? Are you hiding something?”
Noticing my frantic attempt to back away, the senior narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
This was bad—if I didn't get out of here right now, she would notice—
“Suspicious behavior. Stand at attention this instant!”
Grabbing me firmly under both arms, she forced me upright.
“Th-Th-This... it can't be...”
Catching sight of my lower body, the senior's face boiled over into pure crimson in a fraction of a second.
“Y-Y-You pervert! How dare you get excited from my scent?!”
—It's over. I just heard the distinct sound of my life meeting checkmate.
“There isn't a man alive who wouldn't get hard from that... You're the one at fault for being way too erotic, Senior...”
Figuring I was a dead man either way, I blurted out a half-desperate defense.
“M-Me, erotic?! Preposterous! Men prefer petite, slender girls, do they not?!”
“I won't deny that's a preference, but... that doesn't apply to everyone...”
She seemed entirely oblivious to the fact that she was a top-tier beauty.
“Look closely at me!” she barked. “Consider my towering height... and this chest of mine, will you?!”
She thrust her colossal bosom forward, as though demanding to know whether I found it terrifying.
“A man's... m-member would be completely swallowed up, wouldn't it?” she stammered, flushing. “If I were to press you between them and apply force, you wouldn't stand a chance! You'd simply be milked dry until you were spent! Surely having your most vulnerable point held in a vice grip is terrifying—wait, why is it growing even larger at my threats?!”
How was that supposed to be a threat? It sounded like nothing short of an invitation.
An awkward stillness settled between us, lapsing into silence for several seconds, but—
“...When we first met, you spoke of taking responsibility through marriage,” Verg said softly. “I take it that was not mere delirium on your part.”
A man's groin speaks far more eloquently than his gaze ever could.
Realizing she was genuinely looked upon with such desire, the Hellfire Lord spoke with solemn composure.
“However, I harbor no intention of taking a weakling as my mate—”
From what I had gathered, marriage was a custom that had vanished into antiquity long ago.
In a society built upon female supremacy, it had likely died out along the way.
“The closest tradition we possess would be the rite of ‘Sacred Matrimony,’ though—”
...Wait a minute. Why hasn't she thrown a single punch at me?
My senior was discussing future possibilities with complete and utter earnestness.
“—In short, if you wish to bring me low, you must defeat me in battle!” she declared.
She huffed haughtily, asserting that she was no loose woman, but forever strong and noble.
Did I somehow just dodge a fatal blow?
“...One last thing. Surely you do not intend to attend class in that state?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Her gaze drifted downward, glaring at my persistently energized lower half.
“You claimed that I bear part of the responsibility for that physiological reaction, did you not?”
“Well, less a part and more like the entire responsibility...” I muttered.
“Pardon? Did you say something just now—?”
No, ma'am. Not a single word.
With that, Verg-senpai snatched up her towel—the one thoroughly drenched in her sweat—and—
“One must fulfill one's duties. I have no further use for this... D-Dispose of it however you see fit.”
She shoved the towel into my hands, wafting an overwhelmingly intoxicating feminine scent.
“Dispose of it however I see fit...? Does that mean...”
Before I could ask for clarification, my senior turned on her heel and strode briskly away.
“...Did the Hellfire Lord just give me... spank bank material?”
Accompanied by my still-raging erection, I stood frozen in utter bewilderment.
Actually using this would be crossing a line, wouldn't it...? Surely a man has his dignity...
“F-For now, let's just inspect it. One sniff. Just one, and then I'll decide whether to toss it—”
＊＊＊＊＊
After parting ways with Verg-senpai.
Having significantly lightened the burden in my lower half, I headed to the classroom for morning attendance.
“—Kageruya Noah. You alone are excused from morning lectures,” a voice called out.
I had barely crossed the threshold before our homeroom teacher addressed me.
“By Her Majesty's order, you are to spend your morning studying at the ‘internment camp.’”
“Think of it as something akin to a social studies field trip,” she added flatly.
“Rest assured, you will be able to participate in this afternoon's Rank Matches.”
Her explanation was sorely lacking, and naturally, I wasn't granted the right to refuse.
Before long, the Queen's subordinates arrived, and I was promptly escorted away.
“—So this is the internment camp,” I muttered.
Departing the academy grounds, we arrived after about an hour's journey.
Passing through the heavily fortified entrance gates, I set foot onto the sprawling compound.
“I heard everyone detained here is male, but...”
Sterile, utilitarian buildings lined the grounds, enclosed on all sides by towering fences and patrolled by female knights.
The security was suffocating. Just what heinous crimes had landed these people here?
“You will be experiencing penal labor in this facility,” the lead female knight barked.
She escorted me to the entrance of a structure that closely resembled a factory.
“The team leader here will instruct you on the work. Try your best to get along with the rest of the scum.”
Leaving behind that parting jeer, the Queen's subordinates turned on their heels and departed.
“—You must be Lord Kageruya Noah.”
Taking their place was an elderly gentleman who stepped forward to greet me.
He addressed me with a gentle countenance and a mild, soothing tone.
“My name is Freddy. I serve as the leader of this work team.”
He bowed with deep courtesy... It was hard to believe he could possibly be a criminal.
“Ho-ho-ho. Are you disappointed that an unremarkable old codger like myself was the one to receive you?” he chuckled warmly.
“N-No, not at all...” I stammered.
“Allow me to explain our circumstances as we head toward the workshop.”
Led by Freddy, I proceeded deeper into the factory.
“This place is no different from a prison. Naturally, every person interned here is male.”
“A prison...? What crimes did everyone commit to end up in a place like this?” I asked earnestly.
He appeared momentarily taken aback by my sincere inquiry, but—
“The answer is quite simple. Our crime was being born male.”
Though he smiled wryly, he offered the explanation as though it were the most natural truth in the world.
“Huh? Surely there was theft, assault, or some actual offense...”
“None whatsoever. We are here solely because we are subhuman men.”
...Imprisoned without committing a single crime, solely because of their sex?
I was well aware of the Queen's tyrannical arrogance, but wasn't this pushing past cruelty into madness?
“—This is the main workshop of our facility,” Freddy announced.
He swung open the heavy doors, allowing me to finally step across the threshold.
“T-There are so many men here...!”
It was only natural, considering this was a male detention facility.
Ever since reincarnating into this world, however, I had interacted almost exclusively with women.
It felt as though I had finally found my own kind... and I was genuinely a little moved.
“Wait...”
“Have you noticed something amiss?” Freddy asked gently.
My brief sense of relief evaporated, replaced by a sudden prickle of unease.
“As you can see, there are only children and the elderly among us.”
Just as Freddy said, there were no grown adults.
To be exact, there wasn't a single male from his late teens to his sixties anywhere in sight.
“Our duties here center around light labor. Hence the age demographic you see.”
“Then where are the adults...?”
“They are held in the frontier internment camps, subjected to grueling heavy labor.”
Compared to them, our circumstances are relatively mild—or so he explained.
“—Ah, Lord Hero! You really came!” a youthful voice cried out.
As I stood speechless, a young boy came scurrying over to me.
“H-Hero? Who are you talking about?” I asked, blinking.
“Why, he means you, Lord Kageruya. Rumors concerning your exploits have spread far and wide.”
The strongest man alive, summoned from another world.
Such was the tale circulating among them... Talk about a colossal exaggeration.
“You can wield a Regalia, Lord Kageruya! And you even enrolled in the academy, didn't you?!”
“Ah, u-um, yeah... I guess so?”
The boy looked up at me with sparkling, starstruck eyes.
Never having dealt with children before, I could only manage an awkward response.
“That's so cool! Hey, what is the academy like—”
“Settle down, Oliver. You are putting Lord Kageruya on the spot.”
Freddy, acting as the supervisor, gently reined in the overexcited boy.
“My humble apologies, Lord Kageruya. The lad is still very young...”
Though he bowed in apology, the overwhelming warmth radiating from the workers all around us was breathtaking—
I was certainly flustered, but it didn't feel unpleasant in the least.
“—Now then, allow me to brief you on today's assignment,” Freddy continued.
The leader... no, I might as well think of him as Mr. Freddy.
He settled the atmosphere and proceeded to walk me through the work.
“In this facility, our primary duty consists of laundry.”
“Laundry...?”
“We wash the school uniforms and combat attire belonging to the academy's students.”
Naturally, the strong women of this realm would never dirty their hands with something as tedious as laundry.
How was that resolved, then? Simple—force the weak men to do it for them.
“I always washed my own clothes, though...” I muttered.
Given the size of the student body, an industrial facility like this was undeniably necessary to manage the sheer volume.
And laundry was something both children and the elderly could handle.
“Yet it is by no means an easy endeavor,” Freddy noted.
His tone carried a heavy, solemn weight.
“To begin with, each worker is assigned an individual washing station—”
He led me over to observe one of the men currently at work.
“What are these piles of opaque sacks resting beside each station...?”
“Those hold the garments of the esteemed students.”
Each sack was affixed with a name tag, making it clear which student it belonged to.
“They pull them from the sack and put them in the tub... Wait, what is that person doing?”
Submerged in a basin filled with soapy water lay a single student's clothes.
Gripping a pole with both hands, the worker was... stirring the water at an agonizingly slow pace.
“We utilize soft wooden rods to wash the fabric as gently as possible.”
“Pardon me for asking, but... wouldn't washing them by hand be far more efficient?”
If they were doing dozens of batches at once, that would be one thing.
At this rate, washing everything would take hours upon hours.
“To lay bare hands directly upon a woman's clothing, however... would be utter sacrilege,” Freddy whispered.
His voice trembled with genuine dread.
“If so much as a single fray or tear were left on their attire, who knows what would become of us...”
“It's just laundry, right? Aren't you worrying a bit too much?”
“Unless we take such extreme precautions, we risk being falsely accused of damaging their belongings...”
Glancing around once more, mounds of women's clothing and lingerie were piled high throughout the room.
To men from my former world, it would have been a paradise that sent them dancing with glee.
“Every single one of them looks terrified...” I murmured.
Yet the men of this fantasy realm were completely different.
Free from even the slightest hint of lust or vulgar desire, they scrubbed in petrified, quivering terror.
“—M-Mr. Freddy! We have an emergency!”
One of the workers rushed over, his face entirely pale.
“What has caused you to panic so?” Freddy inquired.
“That arrived! It's here!”
Freddy's expression hardened, having evidently deduced what the man meant.
“—Lord Kageruya, a dire situation has arisen.”
Wondering what on earth could have happened, I was led to the scene.
A dense crowd of workers had gathered, encircling a single washing station.
“This was delivered earlier this morning...”
At the focal point of everyone's terrified stares lay a solitary sack stuffed with laundry.
The contents of the bag were hidden from view, but a prominent name tag was pinned securely to the fabric—
“...Ah, is this Senior Verg's?” I asked casually.
The moment those quiet words slipped from my lips, the entire room froze solid.
“N-No, you mustn't! A man dare not utter the name of one of the Seven Sacred Swords...!” Freddy gasped in sheer panic.
He frantically pressed a trembling index finger to his lips, shushing me in desperate urgency.
Everyone else was staring at me in utter disbelief. ...Am I really the abnormal one here?
“Whenever we wash the garments of the Seven Sacred Swords, our hands tremble just gripping the wash paddle...” an elderly worker murmured.
“If even a single thread snags or frays, she'll burn us alive on the spot...” another man shuddered in dread.
Freddy slumped his shoulders, hanging his head in dismal defeat.
“When her laundry arrives, our work grinds to a complete halt... It will easily take more than two hours just to finish,” Freddy lamented.
Two hours for just a single person's laundry?! That's utterly absurd!
Yet they were deadly serious. Paralyzed by fear, not a single one of them dared lay a finger on the basket.
“...Haaah,” I sighed, letting out a weary breath.
I couldn't bear to watch them cower like this. It was just a load of laundry, for crying out loud.
“L-Lord Kageruya?” Freddy stammered, his eyes widening.
“I'll handle it,” I said simply.
Stepping up to the washing station, I unceremoniously dumped the entire contents of the bag straight into the water trough.
“““““He just shoved it all straight in?!””””” the crowd shrieked in unison.
Every last man's eyes bulged in shock as they let out hysterical, flabbergasted cries.
Floating right at the top of the water was a pair of panties... Right, keep all weird thoughts firmly out of mind...
“““““He's scrubbing the panties of one of the Seven Sacred Swords with his bare hands—?!””””” the men gasped in horror.
Splish-splash-splash. Paying their frantic cries no heed, I briskly lathered and hand-washed the fabric.
“...If anyone asks who handled the laundry, give them my name,” I told them calmly. “I will take full responsibility.”
Nobody was ever going to notice a single frayed thread anyway.
Knowing Senior Verg's character, so long as it was cleaned thoroughly, she wasn't the type to raise petty complaints.
“Whoa, that's incredible! You really are Lord Hero!” Oliver piped up in admiration.
The young boy from earlier looked up at me with pure, unadulterated reverence in his eyes.
Can a man really earn this much adoration just for scrubbing someone's underwear?
Good grief. This society really was matriarchal supremacy dialed to an absurd extreme—
“““““Thank you so very much, Lord Kageruya!””””” the men shouted in gratitude.
When our morning duties finally concluded, every single person in the room bowed their heads to me in unison.
Taking care of the Hellfire Lord's laundry had apparently spared them an unimaginable ordeal.
“Lord Kageruya! Please, accept this as a small token of our gratitude for your help!” Freddy called out.
His heavily wrinkled face broke into a warm smile as he offered me a small wooden box.
Inside were several rectangular, compacted ration bars packed neatly in a row.
“...Aren't these extraordinarily precious to you all?” I asked, hesitating.
After all, even as an enrolled student at the academy, I constantly struggled to secure enough food.
When I voiced my concern to Freddy, an awkward, self-effacing smile crossed his weathered features.
“A single one of these bars constitutes an entire day's meal for us,” Freddy explained softly.
“T-That makes it even worse! I can't possibly accept this!” I cried, appalled.
I reflexively tried to push the box back into his hands, but the old supervisor shook his head firmly.
“—You are the sole remaining ray of hope for every one of us,” Freddy insisted, his voice trembling with emotion.
Every single man present gazed at me with eyes brimming with fervent, desperate hope.
“As for the young children, we elders gladly share our own rations to ensure they are fed,” he reassured me.
He urged me to take it without guilt, assuring me that their meager existence would endure.
Just then, young Oliver stepped forward once more, padding over to my side.
“Lord Hero! Here, please take this too!” Oliver beamed, holding something out.
“This is... a woven wish bracelet?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Hehe. We all braided it together! The material is just leftover scrap cloth, though,” the boy giggled proudly.
It was the first time in my life anyone had ever given me a genuine gift like this.
...Still, I despise being indebted to anyone. If someone shows me kindness, I ought to repay it in kind...
Yet what on earth could I possibly offer them in return?
“...If I defeat the Queen, what is it that you want?” I asked the gathered crowd.
A mountain of food? Or perhaps piles of gold and treasure?
Unable to divine the right answer, I ventured to direct the question to the children.
The boys exchanged hesitant glances before Oliver, standing at the very front, summoned his courage to answer.
“...I want to see my father!” Oliver blurted out.
He declared it with absolute seriousness, even as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.
“My dad is in an internment camp far away, and... and so—” Oliver choked back a sob.
Despite his tender age, he stumbled through his explanation with desperate, heartfelt earnestness...
“...Right. Of course. It's not about money at all, is it?” I murmured softly.
Longing to see your parents... I remembered feeling that exact same yearning back when I was in the orphanage.
I couldn't make an irresponsible promise, nor did I have any intention of offering cheap reassurances.
Even though I gave no verbal reply, I met his tearful gaze and gave him a firm, resolute nod.
“““““Lord Kageruya! Please do your best! We believe in you!””””” the crowd cheered in unison.
With the entire group seeing me off, I pondered their words on the walk back to the academy.
The sight of those men toiling desperately just to cling to survival lingered in my mind.
Fighting for oneself was an obvious given—I understood that much now.
Beyond that, what Senior Verg had asked of me finally made a little more sense.
For whose sake does Kageruya Noah fight?
Clutching the braided bracelet tightly in my palm, I solidified my resolve.
“—I want to fight for their sake,” I whispered to myself.
***
“—The official Rank Match will now begin!” the referee's voice echoed through the arena speakers.
The announcement chimed across the training grounds on the afternoon of my third day at the academy.
Having returned from the internment camp and changed into my combat attire, I now stood face-to-face with Urz.
“Here I come!” Urz sneered, sporting a nasty smirk. “I'm about to extend that pathetic losing streak of yours!”
With a dramatic flourish, she summoned her Regalia—a curved shamshir.
“I'm gonna have so much fun playing with you today, too—haah!” she yelled, breaking into a sprint.
Charging straight at me, she unleashed a wild, erratic barrage of slicing wind blades.
Weaving through the onslaught with minimal movement, I caught one of her gale slashes against the rim of my scabbard.
“[Absorption]!” I incanted.
The scabbard gleamed with brilliance. For a limited duration, this granted me access to her [Whirlwind] ability as well.
Drawing the pale-green dagger that materialized inside, I unsheathed it deliberately for her to see.
“—Wait, is your Regalia... bigger than last time?” Urz muttered mid-stride.
Even while charging at top speed, the gyaru voiced her instinctive sense of discrepancy.
Both the scabbard itself and the blade conjured within had expanded from the size of a hunting knife to that of a shortsword.
—Losing my virginity had visibly increased its size.
Its appearance wasn't the only thing that had changed, of course, but that revelation could wait for later.
““—Ngh!”” both of us gasped simultaneously as our blades met.
Exchanging our opening blow, an intense, ferocious clash of steel immediately ensued.
“Hah! What's the matter, cat got your tongue? You're even quieter than usual!” Urz jeered, bearing down on me.
“...You're just... babbling way too much, Urz...!” I grunted between parries.
I managed to deflect her blade by a hair's breadth, but the supplemental gusts whipping off her strikes steadily carved into my flesh.
“Hehehe! Why don't you enchant that little dagger with wind too, huh?!” Urz taunted with a malicious chuckle.
“...Ngh!” I grimaced, teeth clenched.
“You went through all the trouble of absorbing it, yet you're not using it at all! What a spineless coward!” she sneered.
She provoked and insulted me mercilessly, but this was a time for patience.
In any case, my version of [Whirlwind] couldn't hope to match Urz's raw destructive power.
It would inevitably be snuffed out and dispersed long before it could ever reach her skin.
“The sheer gap in experience! You're slowly bleeding out! It takes everything you've got just to scurry away like a rat—!” Urz cackled triumphantly.
Assailed by her manic cackles and relentless strikes, I was driven entirely onto the defensive.
“—It's over! A scrub like you should just hurry up and die!” Urz roared with a bloodthirsty grin.
In that instant, Urz's entire body seemed to dissolve into a raging gale.
Her limbs overclocked in a frenzied dance within the vortex, moving so swiftly that neither her silhouette nor her curved blade could be tracked by human eyes.
Intercepting such absurd velocity was out of the question, and even evasion was an impossible dream—or at least, it would have been until today.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh?!” Urz's agonized scream tore through the arena.
In a split-second flash, fresh crimson sprayed through the air as a bloodcurdling shriek erupted across the arena.
“—My losing streak ends today,” I stated flatly.
Flicking the fresh blood from my dagger with a sharp flick of my wrist, I locked eyes with my opponent.
There stood Urz, clutching her deeply slashed left eye as dark red leaked between her trembling fingers.
“Ghh... uuuugh... What did you do...?!” Urz choked out, shaking uncontrollably.
“I took out your left eye,” I informed her coldly. “Now your field of vision is cut in half.”
Overwhelmed by the searing agony of sudden blindness, tears welled up in Urz's remaining right eye.
“An amateur's [Whirlwind] could never hope to beat a professional's [Whirlwind] in sheer power or speed,” I continued smoothly.
Just as losing one's virginity doesn't magically turn your entire life around.
A massive gulf in combat experience isn't something that can be bridged so easily either.
After tasting bitter defeat twice already, did she honestly think I would step onto this arena floor without an airtight strategy?
“Ngh... Th-Then how in the hell... could you predict my movements...?!” she gasped, her voice trembling in panicked disbelief.
“The power to command wind isn't limited to firing projectiles or accelerating your own body,” I replied.
In our earlier bouts, I had foolishly tried to mimic her moves, attempting an honest contest of brute force.
But that approach had been a critical error.
“...Wait... Is there a faint breeze... blowing across the entire arena?” Urz whispered, her voice faltering as comprehension struck.
Finally, the truth dawned on her.
The droplets of blood dripping from her ruined left eye had curved unnaturally as they plummeted through the air.
In stagnant air, gravity should have pulled them straight down toward the stone floor.
“—I've been deploying the [Whirlwind] ability from the very beginning,” I told her with a cool smirk.
At the very start of the battle, I had deliberately made a show of changing the scabbard's size.
While that bizarre display threw her off, I activated my ability.
Like spinning a spiderweb, I dispersed my wind across the entire arena.
"On top of that, my Whirlwind is crude," I explained. "The breeze was far too faint for you to even notice."
To put it simply:
I wasn't using Whirlwind for offense or acceleration.
"Instead, I channeled everything into tracking the wind currents," I told her.
Her aerial maneuvers were three-dimensional to an extreme; the naked eye couldn't possibly follow her trajectory.
Yet every move she made was invariably accompanied by violent gales.
"I circulated a steady, uniform breeze across the entire field. The moment it was disturbed, I knew exactly where your strike was coming from—"
By establishing that formula, I had reasoned that I could anticipate her every move.
"...Honestly, it was a real blessing that you're so simpleminded, Urz."
When I threw her own taunts back in her face, her eyes flashed with murderous fury and she ground her teeth.
"I-I'm gonna kill you—!" she shrieked, practically foaming at the mouth.
Leveling her crescent blade, Urz screamed at the top of her lungs.
"—Limited Ex-Regalia!"
All at once, her body erupted in a blinding radiance.
And when the light converged, Urz's right arm alone had transformed into heavy armor.
What... is that...?
Seeing me shaken by this unknown power, a derisive sneer curled her lips.
"The true purpose of a Regalia is to encase the entire body in armament," she boasted.
"Full-body... armament...?" I echoed.
She was claiming that weapons like swords, spears, and battleaxes were merely a fraction of a Regalia's true form.
"The strain is way too heavy, so only the Seven Sacred Swords can manage a complete awakening, but—"
Even she was capable of triggering a partial awakening, her tone implied.
From Urz's right arm, an even more monstrous squall began to swirl violently.
"...An awakening? Nobody ever told me about that," I muttered under my breath.
Hit with this sudden revelation out of nowhere, a bead of cold sweat ran down my neck alongside a strained chuckle.
Still, I could roughly deduce the underlying logic.
For example, humans were ordinarily said to utilize only about thirty percent of their total muscle capacity.
Because anything beyond that inflicted too severe a burden, the brain placed a limiter on the body.
"...If the thirty percent of a Regalia that a person can safely wield manifests as a sword or a spear..." I mused.
Then full-body armament meant drawing forth one hundred percent of a Regalia's true power.
Urz had only managed to armor her right arm so far, but...
"Compressor Engine!" she barked.
Shwiiiiin! With a piercing mechanical whine, the gauntlet engaged.
As the air was funneled into her right arm, the turbine built into the armor spun up with terrifying speed.
It amplified the airflow into a ferocious squall, shrouding her crescent blade in a raging tempest.
"Let's get Round Two started—shall we?!" she taunted with a savage grin.
Urz vanished from sight?!
"Over here, slowpoke!" she jeered.
An upward diagonal slash whipped straight up from below. Her velocity was on an entirely different level from before?!
"You think you can predict my moves by reading the wind currents?!" she sneered viciously. "Then go ahead and try it now, you fucking idiot!"
Urz generated violent gusts without pause, whipping them in chaotic squalls all around us.
The arena was plunged into utter, raging turbulence.
My sensory breeze was thrown into disarray, completely blinding me to her precise location.
"...Even a partial awakening boosts her output this much?!" I gritted my teeth.
Even when I evaded the tip of her blade, the razor-sharp blast of pressurized air trailing it slashed at me like a secondary attack.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't mind losing a few organs?!" she cackled. "Then I'll just help myself!"
Far from a superficial scratch, a massive chunk of flesh was gouged straight out of my right flank.
Blood and entrails threatened to spill forth, but I compressed the wound inward with the wind pressure of my own Whirlwind.
"Aha! Die, die! Just hurry up and surrender already—!" she shrieked in ecstasy.
Driven wild by the agony and fury of losing her left eye, Urz unleashed an onslaught that was nothing short of brutal.
"Men are all scum! Worthless trash! You have zero reason to live!"
This was a parallel world governed strictly by might-makes-right.
Men, who bore no sacred aura, were relentlessly oppressed as the weak.
Perhaps their subjugation by the all-powerful women was inevitable.
"...Even so," I gasped through clenched teeth, "there are men fighting desperately to survive."
The men in the internment camp, supporting one another through backbreaking labor day after day.
People who, despite their wretched lives, had treated a total stranger like me with genuine warmth.
—Right now, in this entire world, I'm the only one who can fight for them!
I wasn't arrogant enough to claim I would become everyone's hero.
But for all the kindness they had shown me, for all the hopes they had placed on my shoulders, I wanted to repay them.
"—That's why I have to win!" I roared.
Wounded and bloody from head to toe in an instant, I scrambled away in an unsightly retreat while my mind worked at full throttle.
"Your feet stopped moving! Die, you fucking idiot!" she yelled.
The moment I reached a specific spot, a wicked grin spread across Urz's face.
With her free left hand, she made a subtle signal.
Instantly, the floor fractured, erupting with scalding steam.
My vision was utterly obscured, and to immobilize me further, briar vines crept out from the cracks to bind my legs—
"—The only idiot here is you," I whispered.
A fraction of a second before both abilities could fully activate, I pressed the tip of my scabbard against the fractured ground.
"Absorption."
The scabbard flared with brilliant light. The scalding steam and briar vines vanished, absorbed completely into my possession.
"You saw through my trap?!" she shrieked, her voice cracking in shock. "And you couldn't absorb multiple abilities before, so how—?!"
"Thanks to my scabbard expanding, I can now absorb multiple abilities at once—!"
I had known all along that she would lay down another trap without learning a thing.
—I knew you'd save it for the exact moment you thought you had me.
I had called her simpleminded, but her twisted, spiteful nature also made her obsessively thorough.
Furthermore, tactical analysis revealed that awakening her Regalia was burning through her stamina at a rapid rate.
I had calculated that she would rely on traps to guarantee an absolute victory.
"You weren't running away—you were luring me to this exact spot—!" she gasped, sudden realization striking her like lightning.
In a direct clash using the same ability, I stood no chance against an awakened Urz.
But what if I wielded three distinct abilities at the same time?
"Ability Revival—"
Inside the scabbard, I manifested a dagger imbued with Scalding Steam and drew it with my left hand.
"—Steam! Whirlwind!" I shouted.
From the left dagger erupted a blinding shroud of pure white steam.
Manipulating it with the whirlwind from my right dagger, I slammed the scalding cloud straight into Urz's armored right arm.
—That armor functions by taking in the surrounding air and amplifying it.
So if it gulped down an overwhelming wave of steam instead...
"Cough! Cough! What the hell is this?!" she wheezed.
Vast clouds of boiling steam backfired from her right arm, engulfing Urz in thick white vapor as she coughed violently.
"I can't see a damn thing—! You think a cheap smokescreen is gonna—!" she roared, flailing blindly.
As I closed in to slash with daggers in both hands, Urz fought back with wild, frantic swings.
Yet I had to give credit to her status as a Two-Star.
Guided purely by instinct and combat experience, she knocked my left dagger spinning from my grip.
"Tch! Limited Ex-Regalia—Deactivate!" she barked.
Unable to see through the steam with her turbine sucking in smoke, she had no choice but to dispel her awakened trump card.
"You little bastard...!" she hissed.
Her composure was utterly shattered. Fueling her charge with pure, unbridled fury, she lunged forward with everything she had.
Pinning down my remaining right dagger, she tackled me violently to the arena floor—
"Aha... Ahahaha! Got you now!" she screamed in triumph.
Heaving ragged breaths as she pinned me on my back, she raised her blade to plunge it straight into my chest.
Yet a fraction of a second before the strike landed—squelch!
A dagger drove deep into Urz's left flank.
"Huh...?"
A dumbfounded squeak escaped the Princess Knight's lips.
It was the steam dagger she had deflected only moments before.
Coiled around the weapon's hilt was a single strand of botanical vine.
"Did you forget?" I whispered coldly. "I have three abilities at my command right now."
Right before she tackled me to the ground, I had conjured a dagger imbued with Briar Vines.
Snaring the disarmed dagger with a vine, I had yanked it back to impale her from behind—a simple trick.
"You... stole my left eye's vision... just to ambush me from my blind spot...?" she choked out, her voice trembling in terror.
Reversing the struggle, I threw Urz flat onto her back and straddled her in a full mount.
"—Playtime is over," I declared.
The instant the tip of my blade pierced clean through Urz's heart, the chime declaring the match's conclusion resonated across the arena.
This was the precise moment the classroom caste hierarchy was completely upended.
At long last, I had achieved—a downward rebellion.
＊＊＊＊＊
For me at present, Rank Matches carried two vital meanings.
—The first was to elevate my own status.
Once I attained Six-Star rank, I could officially challenge the Seven Sacred Swords.
And if I defeated them, I would earn the right to challenge the Queen herself.
—The second was to foster the growth of my Regalia.
If I grew stronger as a male, my Regalia would strengthen in kind.
To achieve that, the most efficient method was to engage in carnal congress with as many women as possible.
The problem lay in how to procure suitable partners, but...
“—The victor claims all. That is the absolute rule.”
After school, I confronted Urz one-on-one.
“I already know that...” she muttered. “So, why the hell did you drag me all the way out here?”
Our present location: the grounds of the derelict dormitory where I resided.
“What are you planning to make me do now that I'm the loser?”
She glared at me, her expression bitter, as if she had just bitten down on a beetle.
Yet her usual haughty arrogance was noticeably diminished.
The tables had turned—I was now the strong, and she was the weak.
“...You'll see once we get there,” I replied flatly, taking care not to betray my nerves.
I kept my tone indifferent to prevent her from reading my anxiety.
Leading Urz along, I stopped before a particular room inside the dormitory.
“Is this your room? You gonna make me do your chores or something?”
This was actually a vacant room; mine was several doors down.
Since no one else lived here, every room was mine to use as I pleased.
—Right. I should take this opportunity to drink that Sacred Water.
Without the aphrodisiac effects of that draught, there was no way I could possibly wage battle in a place like this.
“—...What on earth is this?!”
The moment she stepped into the vacant room, Urz murmured in sheer disbelief.
It was a dim, desolate, barren space.
The sole fixture in the entire room was a single bed placed directly in the center.
“Th-This is just like... like a...”
She froze, utterly at a loss for words. Just as she suspected, this was an intercourse chamber.
On Miss Zeze's suggestion, we had created an environment where one could focus solely on the act.
“Urz.”
As the aphrodisiac took effect, a hazy fog enveloped my consciousness, and a scorching heat surged through my body.
—Everything is fine. Just say it exactly as Miss Zeze taught me.
Holding down my nervous tremors, I forced an air of absolute calm and handed down my command:
“Starting today—you are my erotic thrall.”
The Sacred Water—or rather, the aphrodisiac—I had ingested was an improved formula.
I had been assured that it wouldn't leave me paralyzed like the last batch.
However, as a potential side effect, it might temporarily render my personality more aggressive or volatile...
While there were plenty of reasons to be dubious, it supposedly posed no threat to my physical health.
“Don't you dare mess with me—!”
Right as the aphrodisiac took firm hold, her voice rang out with a low, menacing rasp.
“Why should someone like me have to be used for the sexual relief of scum like—mph?!”
I forcefully sealed her lips with mine.
Normally, I would have shrunk back from such hostility, but this, too, was likely the drug's influence.
A reckless surge of boldness washed over me, driving me forward without an ounce of fear.
“Mmh... ah... guh!”
I thoroughly entwined my tongue with hers, savoring saliva that carried a faint scent of strawberries—
Crunch! Without warning, she bit down hard on my tongue.
“Haah... haah... If that scared you, then—”
In that instant, a sharp, dry crack resounded through the room.
“Huh?”
Struck across the face, Urz froze, her eyes wide with shock.
At times like this, one had to reassert who held the upper hand.
“A mere subhuman dared to hit m—eek?!”
Smack! I struck her across the cheek a second time.
“...Ngh...!”
Tears welled in Urz's eyes as she glared at me in humiliated fury.
“...The floor.”
Dazed yet resolute, I barked the command for her to sit like an obedient pet.
—I have to push this forward while I still retain some shred of awareness.
But when she feigned deafness, I raised my hand once more...
“...Eek! All right, I get it! I'll sit, so don't hit me again!”
Her voice trembling, she plunked herself down flat on the floor.
—Next is the main act... wait, no, first comes the mouth.
With a woozy head, I carried out the procedure Miss Zeze had drilled into me.
“Huge... Th-This is a man's...?”
The moment I lowered my trousers and exposed my towering erection, Urz caught her breath in shock.
Without a word, I brought it right up before the tip of her perky nose.
“Wh-What... You expect me to lick that?”
I gave a curt nod.
She was well aware that another refusal would earn her another slap.
“It stinks... Shoving something reeking of male sweat into my mouth...”
Urz sniffed cautiously at the tip, scrunching up her face in distaste.
“B-But from what I've heard, if I make a guy blow his load once, that's it...”
Having finally braced herself, she tentatively poked out the tip of her pink tongue.
And with clumsy, hesitant motions, she began to lick.
“Mmh... slurp... chu... W-Well? Feels amazing, doesn't it?”
Resisting the urge to take it into her mouth, she merely flicked the tip of her tongue against the surface.
Rather than delivering pleasure, it produced little more than an irritating tickle.
When I bluntly informed her that she was terrible at it—
“H-Haaah?! You're getting served by Lady Urz herself, you know?!”
But compared to Miss Zeze's mastery, her tongue work was sheer child's play.
“Don't underestimate me...! This kind of thing is nothing to me...!”
Squelching wetly, she dragged her tongue across the entire shaft.
While it was somewhat better than before... at this rate, we would get nowhere.
“Wait, hey, why are you grabbing my head?”
Firmly seizing her skull, I pulled my hips back—
“Mghff?!”
—and thrust my entire member straight into the back of her throat.
An intense jolt of pleasure shot through me as her throat clamped tightly around the tip.
Her lips were crushed flush against my base, and her shapely nose mashed into my lower abdomen.
“Mmmph! Mmmph!”
Urz tapped frantically to signal her surrender, but I paid no heed, driving my hips into her mouth.
“Subdue them not only in the Rank Matches, but in the bedroom as well.”
As her muffled gags echoed, Miss Zeze's advice surfaced in my mind.
“To become a formidable male, you must achieve absolute victory in both.”
Glancing downward, I saw the girl glaring up at me with crimson, tear-filled eyes.
It felt as though I could enjoy breaking her pride for quite some time... Wait, breaking her pride? Enjoying it?
Isn't that an uncharacteristically aggressive thought for someone like me?
Come to think of it, she did mention personality changes as a side effect... Well, whatever. That hardly mattered right now.
“Ngh! Mmmgh!”
“I can't tell what you're trying to say, and besides, it's about time.”
Reaching my limit, I clamped both hands around her head, pulling her in tight.
Spurt! Splat!
Straight into the beautiful girl now serving as my personal urinal, a torrent of white lust forcefully erupted.
“...Phew.”
In the bliss of release, I instinctively gazed up toward the ceiling.
“Mmph?! Mgh... gulp... haah...!”
Unable to pull away, the tearful girl audibly swallowed down the deluge.
“Cough, hack...! A-Are you trying to suffocate me to death?!”
The instant I released my grip, a barrage of spiteful complaints flew from her lips.
Then again, she had nearly suffocated me in that warehouse before, so we were officially even.
“B-But since you already came once, that's... that's it, right...?”
Her relief proved fleeting; looking at what stood before her, she froze in absolute terror.
“Wh-Why is it still huge...? If anything, it's even bigger than before...!”
Her eyes widened in horror at the even more menacing shaft glistening with her own saliva and my release.
The main event was only beginning—grabbing Urz by the wrist, I dragged her toward the bed.
“Kyaah!”
Shoving her down onto the mattress, I pinned her flat on her back beneath my weight.
“Ngh! Just 'cause you won on a fluke, don't get so cocky, you worthless piece of trash!”
I looked down at the girl who continued to snap and yap like an unruly stray dog.
“Wh-What's with the silent treatment? And seriously, what is wrong with your eyes...?!”
In truth, by this point, the aphrodisiac had saturated every fiber of my being.
My mind was consumed solely with carnal union; reason had entirely vacated the premises.
In other words, I was in a state of primal, unbridled rampage.
“I-I only let my guard down! If I got serious, someone like you would never—mph?!”
I silenced her noisy mouth once more with my lips.
“I sh-told you... mmh... to shtop kissing me... aahn♡!”
Forcing my tongue past her teeth, I hungrily devoured her mouth.
“Wait... ngh, don't touch my tits...!”
Gripping her uniform with raw force, I ripped the fabric away.
A sweet, heady scent wafted up, making my groin throb with redoubled urgency.
“A pathetic subhuman like you thinks he can get away with this—eeeeek?!”
Crunch! I sank my teeth hard into the cherry-pink peak of her breast.
—Females need to shut up and take it.
As Urz let out a wordless shriek of agony and shock, I hammered that lesson directly into her flesh.
“Wh-Where are you sticking your fingers... ah♡”
While fondling her shapely chest, my hand reached down to thoroughly caress her intimate folds.
Despite her defiant protests, her body had already betrayed her, wet and ready.
“T-Too big... There's no way that'll fit...!”
Assuming the missionary position, I brought my raging member close to her entrance.
“W-Wait! Listen to me! I'm a virgin!”
Shlick—the swollen tip brushed against her sopping slit.
“I-It's definitely gonna be super tight and cramped... You won't enjoy it at all, I swear!”
Refusing to accept defeat, she tried to talk her way out with her usual smug smirk.
“R-Right! I'll find an even better woman for you instead! So let's call it quits for tod—”
In that split second, the sound of tearing flesh tore through the air—rip!
“Agh, it hurts...! You... you really did it...!”
Piercing through the maidenhood of the proud girl, a wave of staggering pleasure rippled through my entire frame.
Twisted though her personality might be, her flesh was absolute perfection.
“My virginity... taken so easily... by you...!”
Urz squirmed violently, desperate to break free.
Our initial missionary position naturally shifted into doggystyle, which suited me just as well.
Briefly withdrawing my throbbing shaft, I gripped her hips and drove back inside.
“Aaaahhh!”
Her back arched like a bow. But hearing her cry out in pain was only an annoyance.
First, I needed to slowly plow and cultivate her virgin passage. Once that was done—
“D-Don't pull my hair! And stop slamming your hips so roughly—aahn♡!”
As I skewered her deepest depths, a pitiful, undignified shriek tore from the proud beauty's lips.
“I'm n-not making weird noises... As if I'd ever feel good from this... ahh♡!”
If she refused to admit it, I would simply pound her until she did.
Pinning her face-down into the mattress, I relentlessly battered into her from behind.
“N-No! This is seriously impossible! I mean, it doesn't hurt... I-I'm feeling it! It feels way too good! I told you the truth, so pull it out already! If you don't—”
Naturally, I had no intention of pulling out.
Pushing her head down into the bed, I ground my hips forcefully, tormenting her innermost sweet spot.
“I'm c-coming! I'm coming, I'm coming...! A-Aaahaaaahhh!”
With her ears glowing bright scarlet, Urz let loose an animalistic, feminine squeal that thundered through the room.
Her entire body convulsed violently, and with a wet squirt, she squirted copiously from her clenching folds.
“Haah... haaah... You satisfied now...? This is... the end of it...”
The delinquent gyaru, who had always exuded brazen insolence, had been reduced to nothing more than a fragile, broken woman.
Captivated by the contrast, I leaned down and captured her lips in a deep kiss.
“D-Don't start kissing me gently now...♡”
Though she had reached her peak, my own vigor remained undiminished.
Prodding her insides to signal that the real fun was about to begin, she resignedly raised her hips.
“D-Damn it... Just for today, okay...? Just for today, I'll let you do whatever you want with me♡!”
—From then on, it was a heated battle.
Forgetting the passage of time, we clashed our flesh together in raw, primal abandon.
“I'll kill you♡... One day, I swear... aahn... I'll kill you♡!”
Swearing she would never let me go for the rest of her life, she wrapped her slender arms tightly around me.
“A-Ah, no, a huge one is coming... Aaahhh♡!”
As Urz reached another shattering climax, I finished at the very same moment.
Everything I had been storing up blasted deep inside her in one tremendous surge.
Drenched in sweat, we collapsed together onto the bed.
“Sheesh... touching me without asking again...♡”
When I idly kneaded one of her breasts out of boredom, she scolded me with a sweet, languid pout.
“...I never knew doing it with a guy—with you—could feel this good.”
With that, her hand wandered down to caress my lower body.
“But even if I lost in the Rank Match, I haven't lost in bed yet.”
Despite her thoroughly melted, blissed-out expression, she leaned in to whisper provocatively into my ear:
“...As if I'd ever become your erotic thrall♡ Dummy♡”
An obvious provocation. Swearing to break this woman completely, my body flared hot once more.
“Kyaahn♡!”
Forgetting all fatigue, I covered Urz's body with my own.
“Heheh♡ Let's play a whole lot more—M-a-s-t-e-r♡”
＊＊＊＊＊
The morning of my fourth day at the academy.
The moment I slid open the classroom door, a commotion burst upon my ears.
“—Haaah?! Who do you think you are, disobeying what I say?!”
Right on cue, Urz was barking threats and intimidating one of our classmates.
Though unusually, her victim appeared to be offering some resistance—
“...Urz. Homeroom is about to begin.”
At the very least, I wanted peace and quiet while inside the classroom.
When I casually called out to her, she suddenly caught sight of me.
“...K-Kageruya...!”
Remembering the events of the previous night, her face flushed brilliant crimson.
—It seems I really did go completely berserk.
I retained virtually no memory of the latter half of the night, but judging by her reaction, I must have pulled off some truly outrageous things.
“...Y-Yesterday was just a temporary lapse in sanity... A late-night adrenaline rush, that's all...”
“Urz?”
“...I mean, the idea of me fawning over a guy... c-calling him Master...”
She kept muttering and grumbling incoherent excuses to herself.
“H-Hmph! I absolutely despise scum like you, got it?!”
Directing her snarling hostility at me for some bizarre reason, she swept out of the classroom with her posse in tow.
“Th-Thank you very much.”
The girl who had been backed into a corner earlier bowed timidly toward me.
Around us, the rest of the female students wore visible expressions of relief.
—The undisputed top of the class is now Kageruya Noah.
It was easy to forget, but the classroom hierarchy had officially flipped.
Urz's tyrannical authority had collapsed, replaced by my rule at the apex.
“Um, how... how should I repay you for this...?”
She inquired with a nervous, frightened tremor in her voice.
Repaying me? It wasn't as if I had intentionally set out to save her—
“I-Is it... with my body, after all?”
“Huh? Your body?”
“J-Just now, Lady Urz said a few things about you, Lord Kageruya...”
Wh-What on earth had that girl been telling them...? That sounded downright terrifying.
“If it is Lord Kageruya's desire, we have no choice but to submit, so...”
Approximately thirty female classmates turned their blushing, expectant gazes toward me.
“Wait, submit? Even if you say that...”
What if, hypothetically speaking, I took it to the extreme and ordered them all to strip naked? Would they actually obey?
No matter how absolute the authority of the class apex was, surely they wouldn't—
“U-Understood. Attending class completely in the nude, then.”
Th-The entire classroom of girls began stripping off their uniforms in unison?!
“P-Please inspect us and tell us whose body you wish to use...”
The victor claims all.
Even if restricted solely to this classroom, their bodies were mine to use as I saw fit—
“—Now then, is it time for homeroom to be—gi... n...?”
Right at that moment, our homeroom instructor made her entrance.
Her eyes bugged out behind her spectacles at the sight of her half-undressed students, her glasses sliding crooked down her nose.
“Th-Th-The complete collapse of classroom discipline...! Order shattered by a mere man...!”
“Th-This wasn't my doing—I mean, clothes! Everyone, please put your clothes back on immediately!”
Somehow, I managed to defuse the chaotic scene, but power truly came with responsibility... A lesson I had just learned the hard way.
Later that day, during lunch break, I paid a visit to the infirmary.
My objective was to consult with Miss Zeze regarding my future plans.
...Besides, the classroom had become thoroughly unbearable.
On top of the morning's near-nudity incident, Urz had been constantly pestering me from the neighboring desk.
“It is natural to tease someone who occupies one's thoughts,” Miss Zeze remarked.
As I perched on the edge of the examination cot, Miss Zeze offered that observation while crouching down at my feet.
...To my acute embarrassment, I was completely bare from the waist down.
Ostensibly, she was checking my physiological condition after the consumption of the aphrodisiac, but—
“Upon manual examination, no abnormalities are detected in your member.”
“Th-Then, allow me to put my clothes back o—”
“Wait. You cannot possibly manage in that state, can you?”
Having her handle and inspect my genitals repeatedly had taken its natural toll.
Medical examination or not, physiological reactions were simply beyond my control.
“Allow me to relieve you with my mouth first.”
I still lacked the courage to engage in the real act without the aid of an aphrodisiac.
Nevertheless, she somewhat forcefully entwined her tongue around my erect shaft.
“While I service you, please look over the documents I handed you earlier.”
She had apparently compiled a summary of intelligence that would aid my future endeavors.
I was immensely grateful, and utilizing my time efficiently was only logical, but...
“...Smooch... mmh... gulp... slurp...♡”
Having an ethereal, breathtaking beauty kneeling on the floor to perform oral service...
While I, the student, lounged leisurely on the cot reading paperwork...
Like hell I could! How was anyone supposed to concentrate like this?!
“M-Miss Zeze, um, I can't read the documents at all like this...”
“Mmh, slurp. In that case, I shall increase the intensity to expedite your release.”
“Th-That's not what I meant! Could we just pause for a sec—whoa!”
Paying no heed to my stammered protest, Miss Zeze vigorously bobbed her head.
In mere moments, her peerless technique brought about my swift, total defeat.
“—Thank you for your cooperation. Allow me to clean you up.”
With that, she delicately licked away the glistening residue from my shaft.
...If I let my guard down, it felt like it would spring back to full vigor in an instant.
But I had to hold back. I had come here for a completely different purpose.
“Now then, let us return to the matter of your future strategy, Kageruya.”
Wiping her hands and mouth, Miss Zeze opened the discussion as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
“Your initial objective—becoming the top of your class—has been successfully achieved.”
“...I managed to become a Two-Star, at least.”
And in an exchange of fortunes, Urz had been demoted to One-Star.
“Your next objective, then, is to defeat Verg Moldraid, the Hellfire Lord.”
Ngh! The main hurdle was finally coming into sight...!
“To face her Seven-Star self, you must first elevate your rank to at least Six-Star, however—”
With that, she gestured toward the papers she had handed me earlier.
“Here, I have compiled a roster of Princess Knights against whom your current abilities yield a high probability of victory. They are categorized neatly into Three-Star, Four-Star, Five-Star, and Six-Star ranks.”
Th-Talk about terrifyingly fast work...!
“Thank you. In that case, first...”
“Select an opponent from the Three-Star column whom you are confident of defeating—”
The Queen had placed an anti-desertion curse on my neck, functioning as a strict countdown timer.
Including today, I had four days remaining.
Within that window, I had to defeat opponents ranging from Three-Star all the way to Six-Star.
“...If I win without any setbacks, that means I only need to fight four matches.”
Following that, defeat a member of the Seven Sacred Swords, nullifying the death curse on my neck.
And thus formally claim the right to challenge the Queen.
“The dossier includes brief profiles on each of the Princess Knights listed.”
With preliminary recon already completed to this extent, I could devote all my focus to the Rank Matches.
—And yet, there was something else that had been nagging at my mind.
“Regarding the Awakening of a Regalia... the concept of full armament...”
I relayed to her how Urz had manifested it in our duel.
“Awakening a Regalia is an exceedingly rare phenomenon. Even if only a partial awakening, her talent is commendable.”
Though her tone remained dispassionate, she offered high praise for Urz's latent ability.
“To put it simply, an Awakening represents an exponential power surge.”
That was about as broad an explanation as it got...
“However, that is the only way to describe it. The power granted by an Awakening varies entirely from person to person. It cannot be categorized under a single archetype—save for the universal drawback of extreme physical exhaustion.”
Should an opponent awaken their Regalia, one had no choice but to adapt on the fly.
...Did that mean my scabbard possessed further stages beyond its current form as well?
“For the time being, your scabbard is steadily maturing, without question.”
“W-Well, thanks to having sex with Urz, it seems to have grown even more...”
The day the rest of the world realized how it had grown was likely not far off.
“Ah. There is one final matter.”
I dredged up a piece of information buried in the back of my mind.
“During my very first Rank Match, the homeroom instructor explained the rules.”
In that lecture, she had mentioned the barrier surrounding the arena.
She claimed that within that space, students were free to slaughter one another to their hearts' content.
“Because—in the Rank Matches, even if you perish, you can be resurrected.”
“Indeed, that is correct,” Miss Zeze nodded in agreement.
“Yet that phrasing has felt strangely out of place to me ever since.”
“...In what regard?”
“The fact that she specifically qualified it by saying 'in the Rank Matches.'”
If Rank Matches were the only form of combat that existed, there would be no need for such a specific qualification.
“In other words, does this academy possess other forms of combat that I have yet to learn about—?”
To that inquiry, Miss Zeze offered only silence.
—So there really are.
Her expression made it clear that she hadn't wanted me to notice.
“Your next objective is to attain Six-Star status and vanquish the Hellfire Lord.”
Concluding the conversation with flat finality, she signaled that the discussion was over.
“Miss Zeze, I—”
At that moment, once again with exquisite ill-timing, the warning chime for class sounded.
“That is all. Arriving late would constitute a violation of school regulations.”
Yet my doubts remained entirely unresolved.
Perhaps reading the dissatisfaction on my face, she stepped forward and placed a soft kiss upon my forehead.
It was a gentle, affectionate peck, like an older sister soothing a petulant younger brother.
“Focus on the task before you first. You have what it takes to reach Six-Star—”
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