Chapter 116: The Sound of an Ogre Sucking Horns (1)
They say tension during battle can sometimes cause an erection, but while I usually didn't care in a fight, this time was different. With all the female knight peers and my male comrades watching, if the lower part bulged out, it'd be pretty damn obvious.
I tried to move my legs more carefully, adjusting to hide the situation. So far, no one else seemed to have noticed... except Erin.
Brrrr...
Her eyes, narrowed in intense focus, flickered with her distinctive blue glow. I could see her gaze drop toward my lower half, and it was clear she'd caught on to my little problem.
'If I don't finish this fast, the others will notice!'
Accepting that Erin had already figured it out, I gripped my mana saber in my left hand. Using my swollen right wrist to steady my left, I prepared for the final blow and charged forward.
"Coming at me like that...?"
Despite her flickering blue gaze darting toward my lower body, I pushed forward, keeping my movements sharp and my saber reflective under the moonlight. Erin, startled but instinctively reactive, swung her battle axe at me.
Clang!
Her mana-coated axe collided with the blade of my saber. The instant they touched, the mana from the saber disrupted and scattered the axe's trajectory, causing it to rebound.
'If it's Erin, she might have the strength to grip the axe firmly, but even so, her stance will falter...'
Erin's main strength was her unnatural physical power, a trait that didn't match her petite frame. However, her light weight was a disadvantage in close combat, as it left her vulnerable to being thrown off balance.
My plan was simple—repeatedly force her off balance and wear her down. But instead of continuing to fight with her axe, Erin made an unexpected move.
"Huh?"
She abandoned her weapon and lunged at me, grabbing my chest plate with both hands.
Crack!
"Hey, that's not—"
Her monstrous strength snapped the leather straps holding my armor in place, ripping it off. I managed a counterattack, removing her helmet and thinking I'd won, but...
Thunk!
She drove her horn directly into my helmet, the impact like being struck by a steel spike. The sheer force sent my helmet spinning, and me staggering backward.
'I could retaliate... but should I?'
I could swing one last blow at her, potentially cutting into her partially unarmored body, but this wasn't a life-or-death battle. What was the point?
And seeing her triumphant smile, despite her own horn likely giving her a minor concussion, I couldn't bring myself to counter. Instead, I let my mana saber fall to the ground.
Thud.
Woooooo!!
The crowd erupted into cheers as Erin's victory was declared. Her revenge match ended with her triumphant win.
"Agh... damn it..."
My wrist throbbed, my head pounded, but seeing her laugh made it feel worth it.
---
Despite the excitement, the duel left both of us laid up in the infirmary. My wrist, while fractured, would heal by morning thanks to a knight's accelerated recovery. The bigger problem was my head.
Erin's headbutt had left a dent in my helmet and given both of us mild concussions. We now lay side by side, recovering from the damage.
'Good thing Professor Pandel isn't here. He'd be chewing us out for hours.'
Though maybe, knowing him, he'd be secretly pleased to see knights injuring themselves in real combat for once. But he'd probably grumble, "Damn patients. Heal up and get out of here already!"
Erin, unable to lie down without feeling nauseous, sat upright with her head leaning against the wall. The moonlight streaming through the open window reflected off her horn, giving her an almost mystical aura.
Normally clad in armor, Erin's petite frame was easy to overlook. But now, in the dim light, her glowing blue eyes and the way the moonlight glinted off her white horn made her seem almost otherworldly, like a mythical unicorn.
"Let's do this again sometime. It's 1-1 now, so we need a tiebreaker," I said.
Erin stuck her tongue out at me playfully.
"Not a chance. You suck at fighting."
'Oh, that's how she wants to play it?'
Whether it was the alcohol or the fact that this was her last day as a knight, she seemed more playful than usual. For a moment, I found myself mesmerized. Her black hair shimmered faintly under the moonlight, her white horn glowing softly. The curve of her slender neck, the sweat-soaked fabric clinging to her body—it all drew my gaze.
"What? Is it... my horn? It's weird, isn't it?"
"Huh? No... I was just thinking it might be useful."
"Yeah, sure, it's handy for headbutting. But since it's connected to my skull, any impact goes straight to my brain. If I weren't half-ogre with a thick skull, I'd probably pass out every time."
Her explanation made me realize how tough her body actually was, despite her small frame.
"Still, you got your revenge in the end."
"It's not really the end, is it? I'll still be working in the capital."
"But as a knight, this is the last time."
She'd accepted reality, but the way she spoke hinted at the lingering dreams of a girl who had once aspired to be a knight.
"Well, from the kingdom's perspective, it makes sense. A few decades ago, ogres were still considered monsters. Giving a half-ogre a knight's position... they probably don't want to."
She ran her fingers over her horn, a wistful expression on her face.
"It's ugly, isn't it? Scary, even."
"It's beautiful."
"Yeah, yeah. Even if it's just a lie, thanks."
"If someone who just got knocked down by it calls it pretty, then it must really be pretty."
Though my head was still spinning, I wasn't so out of it that I couldn't move. I walked over to Erin, who was sitting by the window, leaning against the frame.
Normally, she would have pushed me away if I got too close, but maybe because she was tired from the fight or slightly tipsy, she didn't move. Even as I sat close enough to feel her breath, she didn't pull back.
"If I take off my armor, people will see me as a monster."
"They'll see you as beautiful."
At my words, Erin scoffed, as if thinking it was just another joke like the ones I'd made earlier.
"You don't even believe that yourself. To humans, things like this horn are just disgusting, aren't they? I didn't want to be born with this either..."
Erin reached up and grabbed her horn with one hand, as if wanting to hide it. But as she gripped it, the sound of bones cracking started to echo from her hand.
"If I break it... could I become human?"
Blood began to seep from where the horn connected to her forehead. Panicking, I quickly grabbed her hand to stop her, trying to pry her fingers away, but her half-ogre strength was too much to counter.
"You're bleeding!"
"..."
"And why the hell would you want to break something so precious?"
"Precious...?"
Erin froze, her grip loosening as if she didn't understand what I meant. I gently cradled her horn in my hands, checking to make sure it wasn't cracked or damaged.
"Jeez... you've got to take care of yourself."
"This thing is just disgusting and dangerous. You're the one who got knocked down by it. Then again, I guess if it's useful in a fight, maybe it's something a knight could admire?"
"Not just a knight—it could have all sorts of uses."
Her blue eyes glared at me skeptically, as if doubting my sincerity. But I knew that if I didn't prove the value of her horn, I'd have to watch her try to break it again, bleeding all over the place. That thought terrified me.
"Alright, watch this."
I gripped her horn, only to freeze. I had no idea what to do. My mind went blank as I held the delicate horn in both hands.
"You know... it's really sensitive. When you touch it, it makes my head buzz like crazy. So maybe just let go alre—ah!?"
Without thinking, I leaned in and started sucking on her horn.
'This feels backward. Usually, it's the girl sucking the guy's horn... but here I am, doing the opposite.'
The tip of Erin's horn was now in my mouth, and I began licking it instinctively.
Slurp...
"A-ah... Nngh...!"
Her claim that the horn was sensitive wasn't a lie. As my tongue licked its tip, Erin froze, her shoulders trembling slightly. Normally, she would've thrown me across the room with her strength, but now she sat still, her body stiff as if overwhelmed.
'When it's done to me, it feels like... this...'
I mimicked what I'd felt when someone had once done this to me. Running my tongue along the horn's surface, I let my saliva trail along its length, moving closer to her forehead before taking more of it into my mouth.
"What... What are you doing...? This is—this is dirty!"
"It's dirty? How so?"
"This... this is...!"
"Explain in detail."
Slurp. Suck.
As I continued, I noticed a faintly salty taste, as if I were tasting her skin directly. When my tongue reached the broken part of her horn, likely cracked from our earlier collision, the rough edges felt oddly addictive under my tongue. I couldn't help but keep licking.
"No matter how I see it, this is...! This is...!"
"This is what?"
Unbothered by her protests, I reached down and loosened my waistband. From beneath my underwear, I pulled out my own "horn," revealing it to her.
"Something like this? A woman using it?"
"See! This is dirty!"
"Are you just going to let me win without putting up a fight?"
Her face flushed a deep red under the moonlight, Erin suddenly seemed to steel herself. Biting her lip, she moved closer, as if deciding to take action.
She bent down and brought her lips to my exposed "horn," trying to take it into her mouth.
Thunk!
"ARGH!!"
But instead of succeeding, her ogre horn nearly impaled my stomach in the process, leaving me gasping in pain. I had to wonder if I'd survive this night at all.