By Zephyria The Emperor had asked me once.
Why I wanted to have intercourse, no, sex with Hugh Benson.
I still hadn’t found the answer. Neither Hugh nor I had a specific heat cycle. Not knowing clearly what desire was, I only vaguely understood that sex existed. It wasn’t a matter of preference, I just couldn’t really imagine it.
I just wanted to give everything of myself to Hugh, and because Hugh seemed to like kissing and rubbing against me, and because I felt like if we mixed our bodies, Hugh would stay by my side forever.
But if a small offspring human, resembling us, could be born between Hugh and me, that would be different.
There was one thing I learned when I almost died this time. I liked Hugh so much. I was glad to die seeing Hugh’s face at the moment of my death. But when Hugh cried, I felt anxious and my chest tightened, suffocating me, because there was no one to comfort him.
And when I was resurrected, I realized. I hated it when someone other than myself comforted or consoled Hugh.
So, I wish there was an offspring between Hugh and me. I want Hugh’s side to be mine, both while I am alive and after I die. And it would be even better if Hugh always had a family.
A hundred times?
Knights are beings who train dozens, hundreds of times as if eating a meal. The number one hundred didn’t feel particularly large to me.
I think I can do it.
But where does one count as one instance?
Hugh Benson didn’t emerge from the Duke’s private reception room until very late at night.
I waited for Hugh on the path leading to the Duke’s private chambers. Hugh was surprised to see me, but he smiled even when I held his hand, and he smiled even when I hugged his shoulder.
I buried my face in Hugh’s neck and took a few breaths. Did he drink more with the Duke? There was a different scent of alcohol than before.
“Why are you clinging so much? Did you wait long? You could have stayed inside.”
“Because you weren’t there.”
“Why? There was plenty of delicious food. Normally, if you have business, it’s around this much…”
“It’s not delicious.”
“…You’re acting like a spoiled child.”
“What did you talk about?”
“Nothing much. Just that we’re transferring now, so I thanked him for his past kindness, and I had a few things to ask…”
“Without me?”
“I don’t know, kid.”
Hugh didn’t answer any further. He just reached out and stroked my head once, then rubbed and pressed my cheek, and giggling, placed his hand on my back and pushed me firmly. I pestered him all the way to the inn where we were staying tonight, but he remained like that until the end.
I stayed up all night with my eyes open. As soon as morning came, Hugh went to meet the Duke again.
So, I set out to find the Emperor.
The Emperor and his consort had a separate detached villa for distinguished guests. It was two buildings down from the one Spiritus was in yesterday.
Neatly trimmed stones, without any embellishments, sparkled in the sunlight. The four-story, single-story building, surrounded by tall trees that grew naturally with the wind blowing in and out, had almost no signs of life.
As I entered the building’s entrance, two knights sitting on the lobby sofa stood up.
The woman among them asked me in a calm tone,
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to see His Majesty.”
“Is it urgent?”
“Yes.”
“Did Duke Widrow send you?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“…Yes? Then what…”
As the woman, who was scrutinizing me suspiciously, was about to say something more, the man interrupted her. The man had dark green hair and a smiling face. The freckles scattered across his face twitched every time he spoke.
“You are Sir Elvin Brooks, correct?”
“Yes.”
“I am well aware that Sir Brooks has a friendly relationship with Their Majesties, but as far as I know, at this very moment, there is likely, certainly, no matter that Sir Brooks would urgently need to convey. Perhaps it is a very personal matter, like the one for which you received help from His Majesty the other day, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“It’s truly regrettable, but Their Majesties are not yet in their waking hours. When I see them later, I will leave a message that Sir Brooks requested a meeting. For now, please return…”
He didn’t wake up? That’s not right.
If I just raised my energy a little, I could feel the movements of the two of them on the upper floor of the building.
“Whoa! Whoa, whoa! Wait, just a moment.”
I looked down calmly at the man who was frantically waving his hands in front of me. Seeing him block me the moment I tried to raise my Mana to check upstairs, he must have very good eyesight. Igshar’s senses are usually more acute than ordinary people’s, but he was indeed worthy of being the Emperor’s direct guard.
The man still had a smiling face.
“…”
“Hey, hey, you know better than this, why are you acting like this? No matter how much of a Sword Master we are, eavesdropping on such things is rude.”
“Yes?”
“Ahem, ahem. Of course, Sir Brooks might not know, but still, it’s not allowed.”
“…Yes.”
Then, who should I ask for help?
I want an offspring. I want Hugh too. I needed a nest where I could wait for Hugh with peace of mind, even if he left me.
I stood there, lost, with no direction. Then, the green-haired knight asked, wrinkling his nose,
“What are you going to ask Their Majesties today?”
I no longer use the word intercourse.
“I’m curious about how to have sex with a lover.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…What?”
“As far as I know, there is no one who has sex between males other than Their Majesties, so I came to ask.”
Both knights’ mouths fell open. If they open their mouths, they should speak, or if they don’t speak, they should close them; that’s how ordinary humans are. Since they didn’t close their mouths, it seemed they had something more to say. Time was a very abundant resource for me now. I waited patiently.
After a long while, the woman, who had been rolling her eyes, spoke first.
“Vincent Lancaster. Go on a patrol around the mansion grounds with Sir Brooks.”
“What? No, wait a minute. Wait, Sir Haber. This isn’t right.”
“What isn’t right? You want to submit this question directly to Their Majesties? I can’t help you with that either. Besides, I’m a different gender.”
“No, I don’t know how men do it either! Isn’t there an expert somewhere besides us?”
“What expert?”
“…”
“…”
The two who were bickering looked intently at each other. I also looked back and forth between them. After a moment of sputtering, the man dropped his head. Are they communicating with their eyes like Hugh and I do? I couldn’t tell what conversation had passed between them.
“…I’ll go.”
“Here, Sir Vincent Lancaster will assist Sir Brooks.”
But this man just said in front of me that he didn’t know how men do it.
I didn’t trust him at all. Moreover, I didn’t particularly like talking to people other than Hugh. The Emperor understood what I meant almost immediately even with just a few words, so he was somewhat bearable, but most humans required an excessive amount of words and explanations.
However, it’s better to have someone willing to help than no one. I nodded my head quietly.
We decided to take a walk around the mansion where the Emperor and his consort were staying, under the guise of a patrol. The well-maintained paths were covered with gravel, making them comfortable to walk on. The knight who introduced himself as Vincent was cheerful and sociable. He said he knew a fair bit about me and about Hugh.
“His Majesty the King Consort isn’t one to pick and choose his acquaintances, but there are few people strong-willed enough to maintain consistent interaction with him. Of course, you two are also famous for other things.”
“Other things?”
“Yes. You appeared in the
“Mm.”
“So, um, Sir Hugh Benson… you want to advance your relationship further, right? You are lovers, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your current progress, or rather, how did you end up dating?”
I slowly recounted the story I had already told the Emperor once.
Vincent Lancaster was an enthusiastic listener. Unlike the Emperor, who kept asking with just two words, ‘Is that so?’ and ‘And then.’, Vincent, like a child watching a street performance, would stop walking and jump up or even clap his hands, urging me to continue.
I wondered if it was worth reacting so intensely, but many of the things he said resonated with me, so my story kept gaining momentum.
“…Is that so?”
“That’s what I’m saying. From what I see, it’s true that Sir Benson fell for Sir Brooks first. Honestly, at that point, weren’t you almost giving up because Sir Brooks wouldn’t fall for you no matter how much you tried to coax him…”
“Me?”
“I have about a dozen friends from my Academy days whom I’ve known since we were kids, and if they told me to marry them a hundred or a thousand times, I’d think it was a joke. I’d pat them on the back and say, ‘Thanks, kid!’ That’s what friends are. No, even if I thought they were serious, I’d never kiss them. …Ugh! If you hadn’t had feelings for Sir Brooks from the start, you wouldn’t have been hurt when the kiss didn’t lead to more.”
“…Huh?”
“Yes? Where in this conversation did ‘Huh?’ come from?”
“A kiss?”
“…You haven’t even done that yet? That’s not a matter of males, is it…?”
“What is that?”
“How should I put it…”
Vincent Lancaster suddenly looked far into the distance. Casually, I followed his gaze. Beyond the neatly trimmed stone walls, I saw the leaves of trees rustling in the gentle breeze, the scattered clouds resting upon them, and the vast blue sky.
And Vincent nodded his head as if he had made a decision.
“Well, first of all, humans have a bodily part called a mucous membrane…”
“…? Slimes have that too.”
“Ah, yes. But humans do too. Please listen for now. In any case, Sir Brooks’s problem now is that you want to advance your relationship with your lover but don’t know how, right?”
“Yes.”
“From what I see, once the main part begins, Sir Benson will handle the rest. So, I’m just going to tell you something that’s common! Common sense! At a common sense level. How to set the mood and get to the bed before the main part starts.”
“Mm.”
I see.
That’s what I lack the most. I’ve gained interest where there was none.