I came to the riverside to enjoy a night walk for the first time in a while.
This place becomes quiet and peaceful after the sun sets, so it is a great place to enjoy some leisure time.
The cool night breeze tickled my face pleasantly. The soft moonlight slightly hidden by the clouds seemed to gently embrace the world that had entered the night.
"This is the taste, after all."
Since no one is walking around at this hour, no one will say anything if I express my feelings as they are while looking at the moon reflected on the river.
It feels as if I am the owner of the wide river that crosses the island. It is a special experience that can only be enjoyed here, at this moment.
I would gladly pay 6 silver for this. It is the exact same amount as the fine for violating the curfew.
But I don't know why there aren't any guards patrolling today. Are they not coming to extort money?
It's strange. There's no way it's a group.
"What the heck."
I stood up from the bench with a pointless thought. Since it's come to this, it wouldn't be bad to patrol instead of the guards.
But now that I think about it, this is a night patrol led by a veteran and reserve knight commander.
Oh. It's cool to say that.
Besides, I'm probably the only one in the empire who can so glamorously package the crime of violating the curfew and interfering with other departments' work.
"Phehe…"
What a pointless thought. A pointless laugh naturally burst out.
Meanwhile, as I was enjoying the luxury of being relaxed with this kind of mindset that had stretched out as much as it could, I suddenly realized that it's already been over a month since the end of this tiresome war.
"Is it really over now?"
I still couldn't quite believe it, so I asked the sky, and before I knew it, the moon was already halfway through the sky.
Usually, enemies would attack at this exact time. Since I'm defenseless and nothing happened, it seems like it's really over.
—Whew!
"Ah, I caught it."
I'm glad that the biggest enemy threatening me right now is a fly blocking my vision right in front of me, but it feels a little strange.
Peace feels unfamiliar. This is all because my past self, who still wields a sword on the battlefield, is jealous of my current self, who is languishing in the system.
Well, it'll all be okay after some time.
Anyway, this leisurely life ends today. Starting tomorrow, I have to work for the empire again.
Right now, my biggest worry is whether I should wear armor or uniform to the Knight Commander's inauguration ceremony.
I guess armor would be better? Honestly, uniforms are a little stuffy. They don't suit me either.
"But, Commander of the Knights, Commander of the Knights…"
As I repeated the name of the newly given position, I felt as excited as when I first picked up a sword.
Isn't it really a very plausible title? Even the pronunciation is easy on the lips.
Just hearing the titles like the leader of the frontline assault force or the captain of some kind of vanguard made me feel like a hedgehog with arrows all over my body, but now I'm out of the habit of those ominous positions.
In addition, as I continued to walk while worrying about various things,
'… But what on earth is that guy doing?'
A loach appeared, causing ripples in the calm peace.
He looked around without stopping, nodding his head. Anyone could tell that he was suspicious.
He was wearing a hood that covered not only his face but his entire body, so I couldn't confirm his identity, but he didn't seem to be that big.
'He doesn't seem like an ordinary nighttime walk...'
As a criminal who committed the heinous crime of violating the curfew, my intuition whispered to me that this fellow was a suspicious person.
In my experience, those who try to hide their faces are all rascals with bad intentions.
Unlike me, who came out in casual clothes and no armor, the author must have evil intentions.
After calming down my relaxed posture and making sure to keep my presence in check, I quietly hid myself and followed him.
After observing the suspicious person's movements closely,
'What the heck... Could he be a spy?'
It was newly revealed that the guy was not just a suspicious person, but a dangerous element.
He didn't just look around, but continued to go back and forth on the bridge, trying to understand the structure of the city as much as possible.
Although his movements were slow and awkward, with that outfit and that behavior, he was an exemplary subversive who could be arrested immediately.
That's why I stared at the guy's back and thought seriously.
'What on earth should I do with that guy?'
Let him wander around freely and find out information about him in reverse, or catch him right away and hand him over to the police station.
Honestly, since I didn't know his true identity, I couldn't say for sure which way was better, so I thought it would be better to just follow my instincts.
Since it's come to this. Let's just watch a little longer.
So, after wandering around for a while, the guy's footsteps stopped in the middle of a dark grassy field.
'Was there a place like this?'
I've walked around this area many times, but this is the first time I've found such a creepy place on the riverside promenade. If he were a real spy, he would try to contact his contact here.
I watched the guy's actions even more closely, feeling slightly nervous.
—Swoosh
However, the scene that followed was something far beyond my imagination.
The guy who had stopped in place suddenly took off his hat, revealing long, soft silver hair and slender shoulders.
'What on earth is this situation?'
As the situation went beyond control and went in a direction I had never expected, my mind, which had been filled with various thoughts, suddenly became blank.
It felt like I had been hit on the head with a battering ram. A sense of bewilderment that I had never felt before, even on the battlefield, dominated my mind.
What would be the best way to deal with an unidentified person, presumed to be a spy who had infiltrated the center of the capital, suddenly starting to take off his clothes right in front of me?
Should I think of it as a classic beauty trick and respond? Or should I see it as some kind of deception tactic?
Is it possible that I have already been subjected to mental magic or sorcery?
Even though I was already confused, I couldn't help but freeze when I saw her actions that followed.
"Haa..."
With a faint but clear sound of hot exhalation, she completely threw off the hood that was barely hanging around her shoulders, revealing her back to the world.
Surprisingly, the woman was not wearing anything under the hood.
'Wake up!'
For a moment, I almost got lost in the curves drawn by her back. I yelled at myself and barely managed to pull myself together.
Damn it. Why is her waist so thin when she's a spy or a pervert? And why is her pelvis so wide? Her thighs are a bit thick, but that's good.
And if her breasts are sticking out to the side, they must be quite large...
Even though it's only her back, she's definitely a rare beauty. With that kind of appearance, I don't think we need to even look at her front.
Even the mysterious silver hair that began to shine in the moonlight added to her charm.
She was a beauty with long silver hair and a distinct curve, just like Princess Alicia, and I think her back view would be just as good.
I thought I was involved in something annoying and dangerous. If it's this much of a feast for the eyes, it's worth the trouble.
That's because the possibility that she's not a spy but a beauty with a somewhat unique hobby is gradually increasing.
If she's a highly trained spy who noticed my presence in advance and showed me her naked body to seduce me, I think it's okay to just let her suffer.
Well, it doesn't seem like that, and it doesn't seem like she's trying to do anything weird here, so let's just admire that cheeky back view a little longer.
I know it's not such a shameful thing to do, but honestly, isn't it too much of a waste to arrest her right away?
'Oh... '
While continuing to admire her back, the woman slowly began to reach out her hand toward her breasts.
This must be… a more precious sight than a naked body.
But just then.
—Rustle
'What the heck!'
A wild animal, whether a rabbit or a raccoon, passed by and made a noise!
Then, the woman, startled by the sound and hurriedly turned around, recognized my presence. Since there was no cover around, she was caught right away.
The woman's shrill scream rang out as she saw the dark man spying on her from behind.
"Gyaaaaah! Who are you?"
I tried to apologize to her right away, but when I saw her front in front of me, I was speechless.
'Ah.'
How many men in the empire have seen the naked princess?
'What should I do, what should I do, what should I do!'
Alicia von Diana Solaris.
A noble status as the princess of the empire. She was called the flower on the cliff due to her natural beauty, but she was now facing the greatest crisis of her life.
'Am I being caught now? Really?'
Because her secret hobby that she had been enjoying in secret had been discovered.
And by a man she didn't know.
'What the hell should I do...'
Also, although it was far away and hard to see, that man looked very big and scary.
Alicia couldn't even guess what she would be doing to that unknown stranger.
It was already very late, but she couldn't help but shed tears of regret, blaming her past self for planning today's outing because she was blinded by desire.
After a foolish choice for one night of pleasure, the innocent sheep eventually encounters a beast that he cannot handle.
Who on earth is the author? He has a manly face, but his impression looks very fierce due to his numerous scars.
He is taller than the nobles of the system, and even the select guards of the imperial family.
His developed muscles that cannot be hidden by light clothing, and his shoulders that look as if they are wearing armor despite being naked.
To Alicia, the author seemed closer to a beast than a human.
"Ha, damn it…"
Also, that scary man who didn't even answer the question asking for her identity and stared at Alicia's naked body.
Finally, he growled and spit out harsh curses as if he couldn't bear it anymore.
'Wh, scary…'
Facing the man, Alicia felt a primal fear for the first time in her life, as if she were a herbivore standing in front of a predator.
Her legs had already lost their strength. Alicia wanted to collapse at any moment, but there was only one thing that supported her.
That was her pride as the princess of the empire.
Every time she felt the man's gaze, her heart raced in fear, and her body unconsciously stepped back.
Alicia shouted again with all her might.
"W-who are you? Why, why did you come here at this hour?"
However, the man did not respond to her shouting and just stood there blankly.
This place was clearly the most deserted place in the system that Alicia had searched for in advance and even canceled regular patrols to put in the effort. It was the perfect party venue just for her.
The intimidating aura that this man, who was nothing more than an uninvited guest, gave off was dominating the entire space.
Alicia was so afraid of the man. What kind of life had he lived that he could so casually display such a menacing aura? And that too towards a helpless woman.
—Thud!
In the end, she unconsciously backed away from the man and ended up collapsing in place.
'I, I'm being treated like this...!'
Even though she was afraid, Alicia felt a great sense of shame.
It was because she was revealing her naked body to a man she didn't know, but it was even more regrettable that she, a princess, was submitting to an unknown villain.
"Look, don't look!"
That's why Alicia tried to hide her ugly appearance and desperately shouted while covering her body as much as possible to protect herself from the mental shock.
It was no use at all.
The man was still looking down at her in the same posture, maintaining an eerie silence.
'Ah, me... no matter what I, a princess of the empire, do, that man just finds it laughable.'
Alicia couldn't bear that gaze any longer. She had tried her best, but now it was her limit.
At that moment, Alicia felt as if something inside her had snapped.
Realizing that no matter what she did, it was useless, she eventually gave up.
Finally, she began to crawl on all fours on the ground like an animal and beg the man.
In that appearance, there was no longer any dignity as a princess.
Right now, she was a lamb on the verge of being devoured by a predator. That was it.
"Ah, ahhhh…! No, don't come near me! Please…!"
Did he take Alicia's struggling as a sign that his prey was completely incapacitated?
Finally, the man began to slowly approach her.
One step. One step.
Every time the man's footsteps approached Alicia, all sorts of ominous imaginations swirled in her head.
In Alicia's imagination, the man became a black magician who corrupted women with hypnotic magic.
He became a great womanizer who colored an innocent country girl with pleasure she had never known.
He became a savage who ravished the body of a pure noble lady as he pleased and spewed out beastly lust.
All three were from the erotic novels she enjoyed reading, but it didn't seem strange at all if something worse happened to her in the future.
'… I'll be at that man's mercy now.'
The man's eerie red eyes met Alicia's cold blue ones.
Gulp. Alicia swallowed without realizing it as she stared at the man's face.
The distance between them had become close enough that they could almost touch if they stretched out their hands, and the man felt even bigger and she felt even thinner.
'Oh my… This…'
Up close, the man had a truly vicious body.
His forearms were almost as thick as Alicia's thighs, and his shoulders were much wider than they looked from afar. His pectoralis major muscle, slightly visible through the gap in his shirt, looked like a boulder.
And… his pants were bulging as if they were going to burst.
When she faced that obscene form, her head felt dizzy for some reason and her lower abdomen began to tremble a little.
Also, she felt blood rushing to parts of her body that were too embarrassing to even mention.
The man's large, bumpy hand reached out toward Alicia, who was staring blankly at him without even resisting.
Alicia shut her eyes tightly when she saw that sight.
'Oh, my God...'
However, even after a long time had passed, nothing happened.
She didn't feel any hands caressing Alicia's vulgarly large breasts or any hands trying to explore her secret that should never be invaded.
As time passed, Alicia cautiously opened her eyes as she felt more doubt than fear.
"...Are you okay?"
Then, the man reached out his hand towards her with a calm face.
Blink, blink. Alicia blinked for several seconds before finally realizing the situation.
'W-Wouldn't it have been... all a misunderstanding?'
Thinking about it, she wondered how suspicious she must have seemed to that man.
Objectively, Alicia was dressed very suspiciously, and it was possible that a man who happened to be out walking at night happened to find her and was watching her to report her.
In other words, the man was just an ordinary citizen of the empire who looked a little too fierce.
In fact, judging from the way he was staring blankly at her while reaching out his hand, as if to ask her what she was doing here.
The former was much more likely than the latter to be a ruthless rapist and assassin of the princess.
Alicia's face turned bright red like a ripe tomato as she felt shame creeping up on her belatedly.