I told her about Fiora, from how I met her, how she helped me out of my slump, and how she told me about her goal of shaping the Empire from the wishes of her abandoned mother. I even told her about how much she was… sexually forward with me, for a lack of a better term.

When I finished, however, Felicia's expression didn't improve. In fact, it only worsened. She now sat there with her arms folded under her chest, all with a disgusted look on her face.

I knew it. That's three girls. Too much for any woman, no matter how open-minded she is.

"I see. The second princess of the Holy Empire. Currently embroiled in a battle for the throne. And she wants you to be on her side when it came to a civil war a few years from now. Milord, have you ever considered that she's just using you? She doesn't really love you. She just wants your strength. And like the corrupt noble she is, she's willing to seduce you for it."

"Corrupt noble? I don't think she's one of them. In fact, she's too honest for her own good."

"That's just what she wants you to believe. It's not that hard to pretend being a knucklehead."

A knucklehead, huh? She won't appreciate being called that for sure.

"Well, I've promised to help her when the time comes." I smiled wryly. "Marrying her isn't part of the deal though."

"Why?!" She looked at me as if I had gone insane. "Why do you want to get involved? You know how those monarchs and rulers are! They don't care about us smallfolk, even for a little bit!"

"That princess of yours cared though."

"She's—" She averted my gaze. "She's just sheltered and naive. She knew nothing of the plea of the common folk either." She returned her gaze to me. "You can be that in Fiania but not in the Holy Empire, with all the backstabbing going on. And judging by how ambitious you told me she is, there's no way she's anything like Fantine."

"I still think she has some naivety in her though." I argued back. "Abolishing slavery? Only a naive person would desire that."

"Or a stupid one." Felicia interjected. "Slavery is a significant part of the Empire's economy and culture. There's no way she would gain the support of the nobility. 'If you can't do something, make a slave do it for you.' That's a popular saying amongst the Empire's nobles. And I'm not talking about just household chores. Bodyguards, craftsmen, bookkeepers, even bards—they would purchase slaves to fulfill that need. That's why High Slaves existed in the first place, so they could get their loyal and highly educated slaves."

I fell silent. Do I really have a good argument against that?

"So please, don't concern yourself with her anymore, Milord. There's nothing to gain by being her knight or whatever. Unless, you really wish the wealth, fame and glory that came from it… And, if you want me to be more… forward, like her, then I can do that as well."

She walked over towards me and grabbed my hands. She no longer wore a scowl. Instead, her expression was one of pure concern. She was pretty much begging for me to forget about her.

I sighed, taking my hands off hers. "I'll think about it."

Her smile returned in an instant.

----------

We spent the rest of the trip more freely, as we felt there was no point in staying cooped up inside our room anymore. We would walk around the ship, go to the deck, and even eat at the cafeteria, which had decided to give us free food for the rest of the trip. Though with Felicia being Felicia, she still remained on guard for any attempts to take our heads. She would make me drink antidotes before eating or drinking anything and she would insist on sticking with me at all times. Hmm, I feel I’m starting to know the feelings of those riajuus who complain about their nagging girlfriends. Still, she did it out of the kindness of her heart, and I would be a horrible person if I chastised her for it.

And then, one morning, we met her again.

The dimwitted elven knightess from that night.

We met her in the cafeteria. She was sitting on her own table, sipping tea as if she was some princess in a tea party. We were just walking to our own table with our meal when she suddenly stood up and blocked our path.

And now, with no storm or a threat of a giant water spirit, I could finally get a good look at her features.

And by that, I mean her boobs.

I didn’t realize it back then, but she had quite the pair, easily rivaling or even surpassing Felicia’s. I was pretty sure that the silver armor she wore had to be made with her specifications in mind, as the armor’s chest area had two separate mound-like shapes that her breasts underneath could fit snugly into. I could just imagine it—her walking into a trap in some dungeon due to her stupidity, resulting in tentacles capturing her, creeping under her armor and molesting her to her dismay. That’s how those female knights and elves tended to be in those doujins I used to read, having really hot bodies while being as dumb as a brick. To think I would have a combination of the two, and with the same stupidity as well… I guess they weren’t as unrealistic as I thought.

"Halt! You're the two villains who stole my glory that night, aren't you?" She drew her rapier and pointed her rapier towards us. Hot damn, did I just witness her boobs bouncing? I thought that wasn’t possible with an armor.

Putting my perverted thought aside, I exchanged looks with Felicia, and I could just see the internal groan she was making, which I shared.

"Yeah, that would be us," I smiled. Might as well be polite. "Is there something you require of us?"

"I want an apology! How dare you steal the prey of Lady Ashleen?!"

"Look here," Felicia interrupted with an annoyed tone. "You didn't do anything. I had to save you from drowning back then. You were an imbecile who thought it's a good idea to jump off the ship just so you could cut a monster made out of water. My lord did all the work so it's him who deserves all the glory."

At this declaration, the elven knight was taken aback. She took a few steps backwards (her breasts bouncing again in the process) before re-composing herself.

“Such heinous arrogance!” She pointed her rapier again, this time specifically towards me. “Fine! Then I challenge you to a duel! I shall prove to you that I, Lady Ashleen, is a superior adventurer compared to you!”

Before I could answer, however, she already withdrew her sword. Turning around with a smirk on her face, she declared, “Ha! Of course! Of course you would refuse my challenge! You already know the futility, the impossibility, of winning against—”

“I accept.”

“E-eh?”

“I said I accept. I’ll take you on your challenge.”

She quickly turned around, now with a panicked look. “A-are you sure? J-just so you know, I’m bad at holding back. I-I don’t want to accidentally kill you.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Now it was my turn to smirk. “Felicia here is a really good healer. She’ll take care of me if anything goes wrong.”

It was clear as day that she did not expect me to actually take her up on her offer. Really, what is wrong with this girl’s brain?

“Yes, don’t worry, if anything happens, I have a bag full of healing potions on the ready,” Felicia followed with her own smirk. She was just as happy as I was to put some humility into this arrogant wannabe knight’s head.

“F-fine! Then we shall have our duel once we arrive at the Continent.”

“No need. We can do it right now. I’m not that hungry, actually. Right, Felicia?”

“Yes, that’s right, Milord. Our breakfast can wait.”

Oh, I’m not letting you get away that easily.

“We can do it on the deck right now. I'm sure the sailors won't mind."

At this point, I was pretty sure I had a full blown villainous smile on my face. Felicia certainly did.

"F-fine! The deck it is! Meet me up there in 15 minutes!"

Before she could walk away, Felicia grabbed her hand. "Let's go there together."

Ah, that witch-like smile. I thought I'll never see it again.

--------

We made our way up to the deck, where we were greeted by the warmth of the morning sun and the clear blue sky. A salty scent entered my nostrils, accompanied by the gentle sound of the rolling waves and the wind caressing my hair.

"Ah, what a perfect morning to have a duel," I threw a smirking glance to the knight. If it were overcast, she would've probably "suggested" to postpone our match (only for her to never appear later on, of course).

Felicia promptly notified the nearby sailors on what we were about to do. Knowing who we were, they weren’t against it in the slightest. In fact, they were rejoicing, calling all their friends to gather around to watch the duel. It didn’t take long until a crowd gathered, all excited to see me, their savior, in action.

God, that sounds pretty arrogant, doesn’t it? But it’s true though.

This, naturally, only made the elven knight even more nervous. She was now actively sweating in that armor of hers. That, or the morning sun was warming her up more than other people. I heard wearing an armor like that can get really hot and uncomfortable pretty fast.

"Alright, ye two! Here's the rule! Whoever draws first blood wins! You might start when I fire my rifle!"

The dwarf from before was amongst the crowd and he had insisted on becoming the judge for our match. Well, it wasn't like there was any other else who volunteered for the position…

We now stood apart from each other. 50 steps were the space given to me and the elf, taking consideration of my specialty as a mage. I told him that 10 steps would be fine though. Not because I was being cocky, but because I wanted to try something with the knight. I already had a plan to win this match, and in a way that ensured she would be humbled in the process. It's for her own good, you know. She's going to die—or worse, like the fate of the female leads in those doujins—if she continued being this stupid. Especially in the Demon Continent.

The dwarf laughed when I said it, but he agreed nonetheless.

She drew her rapier, readying her stance to face me. I, on the other hand, did not draw my wand or sword. I instead put my two hands in my pockets, grinning as smugly as I could at her.

"Draw your weapon, you craven!"

"No need. I'm fine just like this."

"How dare you?! Are you insulting me?!"

"Look, just start the match already." I glanced at the dwarf. With another laugh, he aimed his rifle to the sky, before firing a blank that signalled the beginning of the match.

And when he did, I utilized Graceful Step, going right behind the elven knight in an instant.

And proceeded to grab her ears with both hands.

"A… awawawawawa!"

Oh wow so this is how real elf ears feel!

“So, how about it, hmm?" I whispered. "Ready to surrender yet? You can’t even stop me from doing this. There’s no chance for you to win.”

“S-silence, cur! How dare you lay your hands on me?!”

She countered by an elbow assault. I didn’t even bother dodging. I instead fortified my stomach with Fortissimo, absorbing the blow entirely without a flinch.

“L-let me go! Let me go!” She elbowed me over and over, to no avail. Goddamn, this elf really is this weak. How would she survive out there? Or, better yet, how did she survive this long with this level of arrogance and stupidity?

I sighed. Guess I have to take it to the next level. Molesting elf ears is all good and all, but there's something even better.

She finally decided to use her rapier to strike me, turning around and thrusting it at my direction wildly. It was still too slow to be any threat, so I simply parried it with my blade, sending her rapier flying away.

"Ah!" She gasped.

And then, I went behind her and grabbed her breasts, squeezing it through the armor as hardly as I could.

"Aahnnn!"

She let out a super lewd moan that would make any man stiffen down there (including me). The men in the crowd whistled and cheered and the dwarf laughed like he never had before. "That's right, lad! Squeeze 'em like you squeeze your ladyfriend's!" My suspicion was correct. With that attitude of hers, she wasn't that well-liked with the crew or the other passengers.

Oh, goddamn, they really are big. Bigger than Felicia's to be sure.

The armor was strangely somewhat flexible, allowing me to still feel the softness and bounciness of her two massive peaks. It was no ordinary armor for sure. Perhaps it's some sort of a magical armor?

"Y-you vile monkey! Release me this instant!"

"Only after you surrender." I grinned, squeezing her chest even harder.

"Ahhnn—never! I, Lady Ashleen, will never—ahhnnn—surrender!"

Well, this girl sure is a stubborn one.

Guess I'll have to do that.

To be honest, I know this is a dirty technique, only used by the worst of the worst, but I'll be damned if I don't want to try it at least once.

I released my grip on her boobs. And then, taking my wand from my pocket, I aimed at her skirt, and yelled the completely unnecessary chant, just for it to look cooler, "O valiant spirits of the wind! Deliver unto me the holiest, most sacred of all garments! Special Wind Technique! Panty Stealing Divine Wind!"

A strong gust of wind appeared behind the knight, lifting her skirt upwards. "Kyaah!" She tried holding it down to no avail as the wind continued to blow towards the tip of my wand.

A vacuum spell. Not hard in the slightest for me to invent.

And then, a small, white fabric flew from said skirt, landing right at the top of my wand.

My prize.

Stopping the spell,  I took them off from the wand, twirling them with my index finger—all with a grin on my face.

"So, how do you like it, Lady Ashleen? That was a spell I made up myself."

"You… YOU FIEND!"

She charged forward, wanting to tackle me and get her panties back.

Only to trip on her own, falling face first to the wooden floor with her butt raised to the air. Her skirt draped down, revealing her smooth bottom to everyone watching.

I sighed. I didn't even need to trip her. She did it on her own.

The crowd burst into a laugh, sneering and whistling at the sight in front of them. "Bwahahahaha!" The dwarf was amongst them. "Oi lassie! This is what ye' get for being an arrogant piece of shite!"

The elf knight slowly stood up, looking as if she was going to break down crying at any second. She scowled at me with those watery eyes for a few seconds, before running away, going back inside the ship.

Oof, I might have gone a bit overboard.

With their entertainment over, the crowd soon dispersed, with some walking up to me and congratulations on my victory. "Good one, lad!" The dwarf patted me in the waist. "That wench really needs to be taught a lesson. For her own sake." He then went back inside, inviting me to join him in the cafeteria for a drink.

Felicia was the last to approach me, but she wasn't congratulatory like the others, as she had a disapproving frown on her face.

"I guess you don't like what I just did with her?" I gave an awkward smile.

"Hmph, I'm fine with humiliating her." She huffed. In quite the cute way, I might add. "But groping her chest and ears, and then taking off her panties—it's enough to make a woman jealous."

"Oh? You want me to do those things to you?" I smirked. "Are you into public humiliation?"

"N-no!" Her face quickly turned beet red. "I-I want you to do them to me in private! I-it's not fair you do it to a stranger but you never do it with me!" She pouted. Goddamn, how could a 22-year old woman be this cute?

"Alright, alright, I'll do it tonight." I chuckled. "But for now, I think we should go after that knight. I need to return these after all." I showed the panties I had in my hand.

"...I suppose it can't be helped." Felicia sighed. "You're too kind for your own good, Milord."

"It's the only virtue I have." I chuckled.

----------

It was easy for us to find where the knightess had run off. We were readily directed by the passersby who saw her running to her room, where she apparently had locked herself.

When we arrived, I instructed Felicia to stay silent. I wanted to eavesdrop first. She raised her eyebrows in protest but she went along nonetheless.

"Oh, Lady Ashleen… What am I supposed to do? I can't be the knight like you are…"

The private quarters' doors were quite thin so I could decently hear her muffled voice, interspersed by her sobs, from the inside.

"I am too weak to be like you… I'm useless… just like they said…"

This is—

"I am no legendary knight. I am just a useless girl pretending to be one…"

I glanced at Felicia. "I'm coming in," I whispered. "You stay outside, alright?"

"You want to comfort her," she averted her gaze. "Alright. Go for it, Milord. That's what you do best after all." She moved a few steps back away from the door.

I nodded, pushing the door handle as silently as I could. I was expecting it to be locked, forcing me to use Wind Magic to pick the lock inside (oh, with my current level of control, I could very much do that), but instead, I found that the door wasn’t locked at all.

And so, I opened the door as slowly as I could, hoping that I wouldn’t startle her.

“H-hey!” I gave a nervous smile. “Just… want to check how you’re doing. I might have gone a bit overboard back there. Sorry.”

She looked up, realized who was now standing in front of her—

—and screamed.

“Kyaaahhh! G-get away! Get away you villain!”

She threw her pillow at my face (the one she had been crying into) before drawing her rapier. “B-blackheart! S-stand back! I will not allow you to take my chastity away! I would rather die than to lose my honor to you!”

“W-wait, I’m not here to—”

“Cease your tongue, cur! I, Lady Ashleen, will never surrender! Hyaaahh!”

She thrusted her rapier towards me. Since we were in such a closed space, I decided to block it with my sword instead of evading. And then, once again, I easily parried it off her hand, sending it flying to the corridor outside the room.

She gasped. “N-no no no no no no! I-I am defeated! Again! Aah… aaahhhhhh….” She fell down to the floor on her bum, her entire body seemingly shaking with fear. “H-have mercy! I-if you’re going to violate my body, t-then please, do it as gently as you could!”

Hey, what happened to the whole “I, Lady Ashleen, will never surrender!” thing you just said? And stop thinking I’m a rapist, goddamnit.

I sighed, sitting on the bed near where she fell. “Look, I’m not here to do anything bad to you. You know why I didn’t fight you seriously back then? It’s because I want to demonstrate to you that you’re way out of your league. I don’t know how you manage to survive all this time as an adventurer—you’re an adventurer, right?—but you can’t get by doing the same in the Demon Continent. The monsters here are far too dangerous for your skill level. You’re going to die. And that’s nowhere near the worst thing that could happen to you.”

Her shaking stopped. She locked her eyes with me before quickly looking away. “Y-you’re not a villain? T-then why did you do all that to me?” She hugged her own body with red cheeks.

“Well, I just thought that it would be a better lesson than just defeating you normally,” I smiled. “That, and me being a terrible, awful, no-good pervert. I can't resist molesting a cute elf like you when I got the chance." As a healthy male and a fantasy aficionado, groping and touching a well-endowed female elf has been my dream for a long time—an opinion that I am sure are shared by many.

“T-then you are really a villain! A predator!” She covered herself again.

“No no no, you are mistaken!” I quickly tried to correct her. “I’ll never force myself on anyone like that! I already have a girlfriend! I’ll just do it with her if I’m ever that desperate!” It wasn’t exactly the truth though. Sherry wasn’t around and I wasn’t going to do it with Felicia, not without either person’s permission. I wasn’t some horndog who needed release from a woman’s touch from time to time to avoid raping the nearest attractive girl I met. That’s what wet dreams are for.

I sighed again. “It’s fine if you don’t trust me. I’m just here to give you advice, as another adventurer. You see, I once traveled with three young and inexperienced adventurers who lost their lives taking a quest they shouldn’t, all because they overestimated their abilities. I didn’t tell them to tone down their excitement, believing in my naivety that they were good enough to take a quest higher than their rank. The Guild might allow it but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to do so.”

It had been two years since I met them. But that didn’t mean I already forgot.

“Lady Ashleen… that’s not your real name, is it?” I stared into her eyes. “I don’t know who you are trying to mimic, but you’d be better off being your own person.”

She looked away, biting her lip. “Lady Ashleen… she is my inspiration. She’s why I became an adventurer in the first place. A legendary knight, master of the butterfly blade art—she fights for justice and valor. All evil falls to her blade.” She smiled dreamily. “Isn't’ she just amazing?”

This Lady Ashleen… is she really a real person? That sounds like she’s describing a storybook character.

“Then, she wouldn’t want you to try too hard that you lose yourself,” I continued. “Take it easy, one step at a time. One day, you'll be just as strong as her."

Truthfully speaking though, I don't think she can be a "legendary knight" no matter how long she trains. That kind of title is usually reserved for people with great natural talent, and I don't think this girl has that.

Still, it's better to lie to her like this. I'm fine with telling a white lie as long as it helps the listener.

She answered with a beautiful smile. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." She stood up and gave a short bow. "And I apologize for calling you a villain. You saved my life back that night and now you helped me awaken my eyes. From now on, I shall call myself Ela instead. Ela, you see, was Lady Ashleen's apprentice knight. That's the name I deserve!"

...Wait, what?

Our conversation was cut short, however, by the ship suddenly lurching to the side sharply, making the knight lose her balance and fall.

Right on top of me.

“Umpphh—ummpphhh!”

Like some ecchi anime protagonist, her boobs landed right at my face—the soft metal failing to hide any of the bounciness. She let out a moan as she felt my lips accidentally teased a nipple, before she could recover and straighten herself.

“PERVERT!” She covered her chest with her arm. “GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY ROOM RIGHT NOW!”

I could only do as she asked.

The moment I was back in the hallway, she slammed the door behind me. Felicia, who had been waiting nearby, approached me with a somber look on her face.

“It didn’t go well, did it?”

“Nah. I think It did.” I smiled sheepishly. “I said what I wanted to say. The rest is up to her now.”

“So what’s up with her slamming the door like that?”

“Well, there was a ship lurch before, right? She landed her chest on my face as a result. Naturally, overcome by shame and anger, she kicked me out of her room. Don’t worry. I’m not mad. It’s normal for any girl to feel that way. I’m sure that even now, she’s starting to feel bad for kicking me out like that.”

“...Well, if you say so.” She huffed. “I don’t approve of girls being rude to you like that, Milord, especially after you’ve been so kind to them. Or anyone, in case you think I dislike her just out of jealousy. If anyone mistreats you, I want you to tell me, alright? So I can give them what they deserve,” she said with a murderous glint. Ooh, scary! That’s some of her old self returning there!

“If you want, I can go in there and make her apologize.”

“No need. Let her be. She must be thinking about my words right now.”

She sighed. “Fine. But I won’t approve of you being a doormat, just because you think you’re a terrible person. You’re not. You’re my beloved, my guiding light, my only hope for happiness. Not only you rescued my body, you saved my soul as well. You made me realize my obsession on necromancy was a mistake and you saved me as well from despair. You might not care about yourself that much, but I care. Deeply. Try to remember that.”

She now loomed over me with a dark look on her face. I couldn’t help but gulp. Did I just get a yandere as a girlfriend?

And then, her smile returned. “Now, let’s finish our breakfast, shall we?”

I could only reply with a nod.