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Chapter 23: Disciplining the Delusional Female Knight (1)
There are three knights who serve Renes.
Called the "Three Knights," they were handpicked by Renes herself, the elite of the elite, and were considered unbeatable in the city.
Truly, they lived up to the titles of "best" and "strongest."
Martina took pride in reaching such status, but at the same time, she felt frustrated that she hadn't risen even higher.
Though the public saw the Three Knights as equals, Martina personally believed she deserved the highest regard among them.
Yet, within the territory, her actual contributions lagged just behind Helia's, putting her in a narrow second place.
Volunteering for monster subjugation expeditions near the city was driven by her inferiority complex and impatience toward the one above her.
"Good work on the expedition, Martina. As expected of my favored knight, you always get the job done,"
After the expedition, Martina confidently smiled as she met with Renes in the office.
"Hehe, it's nothing. If you have more orders, please call on me before anyone else."
"Really, Martina, you're so diligent! I wish Petunia would learn from you."
Petunia, another member of the Three Knights.
But even though they held the same rank, Martina didn't see her as a rival.
Petunia was naturally lazy and overconfident, often half-heartedly following Renes's orders.
Martina wasn't the type to waste time worrying about someone who might get kicked out of the Three Knights for lack of contribution.
'Yeah, the only one I need to surpass is her, now and always.'
Helia. Always proud, always bound by rules a frustrating woman.
Because of her nature, Helia's performance was slightly better, putting her just ahead of Martina. But now that the expedition was over, Martina felt she could finally make Helia acknowledge her and crush her pride.
"By the way, I haven't seen Helia anywhere on the way here. Do you know where she is?"
"Hehe, still obsessed with Helia, I see. Well, if that rivalry motivates you, I suppose it's a good thing."
Renes didn't mind Martina's blatant obsession.
But her next words deeply irritated Martina.
"But you won't be able to compete with Helia for a while. She's currently handling the most important job in the city."
"The most important job...?"
What could be more important than monster subjugation, which was the top priority before she left? What happened while she was gone?
"You wouldn't know since you were away, but we recently brought a male gladiator into the arena."
"A male gladiator?"
"To revitalize the city, we needed a more provocative show. And this new gladiator drew an incredible response from his very first match."
A man, who should be protected by society, drawing such a reaction in the arena? Was it some kind of public rape show?
"But Helia seems unable to leave him alone."
What mattered to Martina wasn't what kind of match the man fought, but that her rival was involved with him.
"So I told her to try guiding him herself... and wouldn't you know it, the male gladiator trained by Helia beat Lennox."
"Lennox? That brute?"
"In front of a huge crowd, he utterly destroyed her. Ah~ If you'd seen it, you'd have been shocked. I guess I'll have to be more careful picking his next opponent..."
Renes smiled, full of satisfaction and anticipation for the future.
To Martina, who'd served her for years, this was a surprising reaction.
She'd never seen Renes take such an interest in a man before.
"Heh, is that so?"
And the person who raised those expectations was none other than Helia.
Realizing this, Martina flashed a sly smile and made a suggestion.
"My lord, may I also take a turn training this male gladiator?"
If he was so important to Renes, Martina figured she should get involved, too, to boost her own standing.
'That's why I came here...'
At the training ground, Martina spent a while sizing up the man before her.
He was taller than her, and his body was so muscular he could be called a pig made of muscle.
He was on a different level from the weak, scrawny men she'd seen before.
'Now I see why the lord took an interest.'
But that was only the surface.
Even if he was exceptional among men, that alone didn't prove he was anything special.
After all, women held power in this society because they were naturally more gifted with mana.
'If he beat Lennox, Helia must have taught him some tricks.'
Otherwise, there's no way a man could beat that brute.
As Martina was making these assumptions, Aid bowed nervously and greeted her.
"Ah, you're Martina, right? What brings you here?"
"Well, I heard rumors about you."
"Rumors... so you're interested in me?"
There was a hint of expectation in his question.
Martina sneered and mocked him.
"Yeah~ I heard there's a pitiful gigolo who became a gladiator as a convict, selling his body to Helia just to survive."
Aid flinched.
Martina, sensing his humiliation, continued with a mocking smile.
"Well, I guess you had no choice. To survive in the brutal arena as a man, you'd have to do that. Lucky you, with that body, you managed to win the heart of the city's best knight."
"With respect, Helia guided me out of pure goodwill."
"Oh really~? Then the rumors I heard must be wrong. But I doubt it~ That woman can't resist men. There's no way she'd do nothing with you~"
Martina grinned, closing the distance.
Her eyes, shadowed, were full of malice toward Helia.
"That woman acts all proud, but she's actually a huge pervert. She's so uptight that men don't like her, but every day she fantasizes about the men she likes and masturbates. Didn't you ever feel her leering at you during training?"
Of course, it was a lie.
But what did it matter? Martina hated being second to Helia and wanted to steal her chance at glory.
If Aid misunderstood Helia because of her, all the better.
With that hope, Martina waited for his response. Aid sighed and replied,
"What if that's true?"
"...What?"
"I'm asking, what if Helia really did look at me that way, and we ended up in that kind of relationship?"
A sharp retort, not what Martina expected.
She was momentarily stunned as she replayed his words.
Helia, looking at a man with lust? Using training as an excuse to satisfy her desires?
"Pfft."
No way.
As much as she disliked Helia, she knew the woman was rigid and principled.
"Oh, come on, why so serious? Can't take a joke? Typical man, so sensitive~"
It was just mischief, after all.
As Martina tried to smooth things over, Aid sighed and turned away from her.
"If you're just going to talk nonsense, please leave. You're interrupting my training."
"Wow, you're really attached to Helia, huh? She must have trained you well. You're already so loyal."
Martina hurried after him, tilting her head and flashing a playful smile.
"But don't you think she's a bit much? She worked new recruits to the bone. Her training is way too harsh for a delicate man like you~"
"What are you trying to say?"
Aid's voice was tinged with irritation.
Martina, sensing her moment, stated her purpose.
"How about letting me train you instead?"
"You want to train me?"
"Yeah~ I'm Renes's favorite knight, you know. I'm way more skilled and experienced than her ten times, even."
It was an exaggeration, but not entirely untrue. After her recent expedition, her contributions did surpass Helia's.
Renes might have said training Aid was more important, but Martina was sure she could handle it.
"...Hmm."
Aid didn't refuse right away, seeming to consider it.
Of course, he'd be tempted. Helia's training was effective but too harsh for a man. If Martina played up her gentleness, she could win him over.
"What can you teach me, Martina?"
"Obviously, I can teach you more efficiently and make it fun. Weapons, mana, and..."
Even if she was trying to boost her standing, she couldn't slack off. Martina decided to take the lead with a playful tease.
"Bedroom skills, for example."
"...Bedroom skills?"
"Yeah~ Lying together in bed, licking each other everywhere. Touching secret places, teaching secret things..."
She reached out, her hand caressing his body gently, making it feel erotic.
"Hehe, was that too much for a man?"
Martina brushed it off with a laugh and apologized.
"Sorry~ I didn't mean to harass you. I just got playful thinking about having a new student."
It was just a joke to make him nervous.
She tried to move on.
"Anyway, that's going too far. If we're serious, I can "
"Sure, let's do that."
But Aid's response caught her completely off guard.
"...What?"
Martina stared at him, wide-eyed.
"What did you just say...?"
"I said I want you to teach me bedroom skills."
She flinched.
She'd never expected a man to respond like that especially since she'd never had "real" experience herself.
"If you're so confident, you must have a lot of experience with men, right? That's good. I don't have much experience with women, so I should prepare."
"W-what..."
"What's with that reaction... Don't tell me you're inexperienced?"
Aid looked at her, puzzled.
Martina, taking it as a challenge, blurted out,
"Inexperienced? I've slept with hundreds of men! I'm an expert in bedroom skills!"
"Oh, really? Then that's good."
With that, Aid moved behind her, placed his hands on her hips, and began to urge her forward.
"Let's head to the bedroom, then."
"W-wait. Your hands, on my..."
"Huh? With all your experience, this much touching is fine, right?"
She flinched again.
Trying to act unfazed, Martina forced herself to sound confident.
"Y-yeah, sure. Touch me as much as you want~"
"Okay, then I won't hold back~"
Aid roughly groped her ass as they walked.
Martina, heart pounding and sweating, thought to herself,
'What do I do?'
Despite being a grown woman, she had no real experience with men.
In a woman-centered society, that was deeply embarrassing, and for someone as proud as Martina, it was her one true flaw.
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