Chapter 147: All You Need is the Lower Half (4)
"Can't I just pick someone, skip the act, and let them go?"
"Do you think the Flower War is a joke? Sure, there are some tribes that treat it lightly, but many risk their lives to find a real husband. Shouldn't we respect that?"
"Y-yeah, but…"
"Then you need to follow the absolute rules."
Cassandra firmly shut down Zika's suggestion, and her eyes slowly turned back to me.
"Then can't we secretly let me go without anyone knowing?"
"Quiet, prisoner."
Cassandra didn't seem to have any intention of listening to me either.
'Please, please!!'
Every instinct in my body was screaming.
Cassandra was a dangerous woman. Not dangerous in a moral sense—she was a good person, I'm sure—but dangerous in the sense that my male instincts were screaming that sleeping with her would be a risky ordeal. It felt like I'd be devoured in more ways than one.
As I trembled in silent panic, Zika, trembling just as much, couldn't bring herself to ignore me entirely.
"Ah… um… so…"
"If you don't want him, I'll take him. Come along, rookie."
"I-I'll take the priority…!"
'I'm saved!'
Smack!
"Ugh!"
The sudden surge of mana-infused pain that shot through my ass made me grab my lower back and roll on the floor. Cassandra smirked, raising her hand as if it was nothing.
"No matter what, you should at least have some courtesy. Don't act so happy about being chosen in front of your senior."
"I didn't—"
"Whatever. Let the chicks stick together, set up a spot for them, and let them figure it out."
"Where should we set it up?"
"There's an empty tent on the outskirts. Set up some bedding. The rest is up to them. Hey, rookie! You can handle being a man, can't you?"
Grimacing from the lingering pain in my ass, I nodded silently.
"Whew, first time, huh? Lucky."
"If we want fresh recruits, we'll have to work harder ourselves."
'Why are both male and female knights equally insufferable about teasing their juniors?'
At this point, I wondered if it was less about gender and more about the job of being a knight itself.
Clutching my stinging ass, I stood up. The smirking senior knight left Zika behind and guided me to a tent on the outskirts.
"Behave here quietly as spoils of war. The victor will return soon to claim their prize."
Despite being called the Flower War, the inside of this tent was beautiful. Flowers were scattered everywhere, adorning the interior with an elegance that seemed entirely out of place for the brutal battles outside. It was almost surreal that a war where prisoners were required to have sex at least once could coexist with such a serene, picturesque scene.
"Ugh…"
Leaning back into a chair, I accidentally scattered some flowers, which tumbled down and draped over my body. For a moment, I felt like some kind of pretty boy basking in a field of blossoms.
'Now that I think about it, I guess I am a pretty boy.'
Among my comrades, Jake was often praised for his looks, but that was just because he had noble skin and a delicate appearance. Levin was too short, and Dane was way too bulky and monstrous. By process of elimination, I figured I must be the most handsome among us.
As the sweet fragrance of flowers filled the air, I thought about a girl I'd met in the past. If she had come to a place like this, I wondered what kind of expression she would've worn.
She wasn't in this world anymore, but… every now and then, I couldn't help but think of her.
"Alright, the victor is here!"
Snapping back to reality at the sound of the senior knight's voice, I turned my attention to the tent's entrance. Standing there was a stunning woman.
"I-I'm not really suited for these kinds of clothes… My face is too weird for something like this…"
"Why? You look perfectly fine."
The senior knights clearly knew what they were doing. The modest yet elegant ornaments and flowing outfit emphasized her natural beauty, giving her the appearance of a new bride. It was a stark contrast to the tight leather armor she usually wore.
"A… wedding dress?"
As I glanced at her, the senior knights raised their thumbs in encouragement before shutting the tent flap behind us.
"Enjoy your time! We'll leave you two alone."
Lies. Absolute lies.
The knights were clearly standing just outside the tent. If either Zika or I tried to escape, they'd barge in and throw us back inside without hesitation.
"How did it come to this…?"
Watching Zika cradle her face in despair, I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.
'She looks so miserable. Maybe I should just go to Cassandra instead?'
If I were to do that, I'd definitely clean myself up first, though…
"Since you hate human knights so much, you don't have to do this. If it's really that unbearable, just let me go to Cassandra. She'll take care of everything."
As I started moving toward the tent entrance, Zika flinched and looked up at me.
"No, it's not… You saved me, so…"
"So?"
"So I thought… I could at least do this much for you… It's not that bad, really…"
In the quiet tent, her words were crystal clear. But just to tease her, I leaned in closer and pretended I hadn't heard her.
"What was that? Could you say it again?"
"I-I said… it's not bad, even if you're human…"
"Sorry, didn't quite catch that?"
As I brought my face closer to hers, Zika's big eyes darted around in panic, unable to focus on anything. Her voice turned into a flustered mess.
"T-that's not what I meant! I just… if we crawl out through the tunnel beneath the tent—"
'Oh crap!'
I must've teased her too much. In her embarrassment, Zika blurted out the one thing she absolutely shouldn't have said—especially with the senior knights eavesdropping just outside.
"Wait—"
Before I could stop her, Zika had pushed aside the flowers and opened the trapdoor beneath the tent.
"That's as far as you go."
The senior knights burst in, dragging Zika away.
"Violation of the Flower War's rules. You're under arrest."
"W-what?!"
It was only then that Zika realized what she'd done. Her face turned pale as the weight of her words sank in.
"Those who release prisoners without authorization will be punished. You're aware of that, right? It would've been better to pass them to the next in line instead."
"Wait, seniors! I didn't escape!"
"Even attempting it is an issue. If we don't maintain discipline, other tribes won't respect us."
Despite her protests, the senior knights ignored her. They went back into the prisoner tent, tied Zika up as before, but this time, they made sure she couldn't move at all. They fixed her in place by securing her waist into a binding that also held her neck.
She was kneeling, bent forward with her upper body supported by her arms, and her waist locked firmly into the restraint so she couldn't escape. It was a perfectly immobilizing position.
"Wait, I didn't mean to—mmph!"
Clank!
They even put a gag in her mouth this time to stop her from speaking. Zika was now in an even more dire predicament than before.
"Call the commander."
"Come on, this is over the top, isn't it? We're all just trying to survive here!"
I protested, but the senior knights remained unmoved.
"Junior, let me give you some serious advice: don't interfere any further."
"How can I not interfere?"
"If we let this slide among ourselves, the trust and discipline among the tribes will collapse, leading to infighting. What could have been a peaceful conclusion would turn into a bloody conflict."
Hearing this left me with no argument, but still…
"If that's the case, can't we just stick to the rules no matter what?"
"Huh?"
This time, my words left the senior knights confused.
"All we have to do is have sex, right? That's the rule."
"No, that's not what I meant—"
"Isn't the Flower War just an excuse for desperate spinsters to fuck men? All I have to do is whip my dick out and shove it in, right?"
When I bluntly stated this, the senior knights, who had been so firm until now, suddenly became flustered and started fumbling for words.
Even though they were my seniors, they were only from the previous or the one before that. In terms of age, the difference was about five to ten years, and since they hadn't retired into marriage yet, they were, in essence, maidens. My direct words left them too embarrassed to know how to respond.
"Still, we can't release her. She might try to escape again."
"Alright, then should we just do it here? Problem solved, right?"
"Here? How would that even—"
"We have a pussy and a dick. What's stopping us?"
Determined to save Zika, I lifted her skirt while she remained restrained and started touching her ass.
"Uh… well… I mean…"
"Wait, are you serious? Here, right now?"
Since they had no intention of releasing Zika and insisted on punishment before she could be let go, the only solution was to have sex here and now to satisfy the rules.
'Damn… But this situation is…'
Normally, I wouldn't have been into this kind of thing, but seeing her bent over, her face hidden, and her ass sticking out like that… it was oddly arousing.
Her prominent, curvy ass seemed even more appealing in this position. I liked her face and her large, clear eyes, but in terms of pure arousal, nothing beat her ass.
'Just think of it as something normal that happened during the war, except now without clothes.'
My sword had already signaled its readiness, urging me to unleash it, so I unzipped my pants and freed it completely.
Swoosh.
"Kyaa! This guy actually took it out!"
The seniors, who had been teasing me about my manhood when it was hidden in my pants, panicked and fled the tent when they saw it in full view. Of course, they didn't go far; they were still peeking in from outside. If I were to fake it, they'd rush back in to stop me, but…
'If I actually go through with it, they won't be able to say anything!'
I could feel the small tremors in her ass.
Having stripped her skirt away, leaving only a thin layer of underwear, her trembling ass seemed nervous but was entirely within my grasp. I carefully held it in place and whispered to her.
"Mm… mmph…!"
As I started pulling down her underwear, I could hear her hurried breaths through the gag, but I honestly couldn't make out what they meant.
Even if I could understand, my mind was entirely focused on the sight before me. Her plump, childbearing hips were mesmerizing. The fact that I'd let her go once but now had her back in my hands only heightened my arousal.
When I pulled her underwear down, I noticed a thin string of arousal already forming between her pussy and the fabric. Her body was clearly ready, requiring no additional foreplay or preparation.
Even though I hadn't heard her verbal consent this time, she had already agreed earlier when I'd teased her. There was no reason not to proceed.
'This isn't my fault. It's not me who's wrong—it's her fault for having such a perfectly seductive, childbearing ass.'
And so, I decided to punish this tempting ass.
With my cock.