Chapter 41: The Sword Princess's Home, Day (3) (Patreon)

The next morning, I woke up to an bizarre sound.

That in itself was not strange. To any seasoned adventurer, there was nothing but bizarre sounds to be found here. In Iris's village, the various notes of peace and tranquillity flowed alongside the shimmering river which fed its many wheat fields and watermills.

The noise which I found most strange, however, was the crisp knocking on my bedroom door.

It was simply something that never happened. Whether I stayed in an inn or, more recently, the abode of noblemen and royalty, there was no reason for anyone of any persuasion to knock on my door. If the matter was urgent, I'd be woken up with battle horns and shouts.

Rising from my bed, I couldn't help but force out a wry smile.

The formality of politely knocking was now an odd concept to me. Frankly, I felt the urge to pay my respects to the normal life I once had. That was a good life, in many respects. It was simple, but honest. Or honest enough. As the son of a merchant family, there were certain lines I was expected to toe and others I was readily expected to cross. Business was business, after all.

I made my way to the door, hoping that my appearance was sufficient on account of the fact that I wasn't stark naked.

“I hope you realise that my parents are closely watching you.”

I knew immediately that my optimism was replaced.

Iris stood at the doorway, her arms crossed as she studied my appearance.

It took me several moments to realise what was strange about the situation.

It was because I'd never experienced the sensation of Iris knocking on the door of my room before, for the simple reason that my room was always her room.

But that was during our adventuring. Our stays in inns necessitated that we stay in the same room, if for no other reason than simple economics. But this wasn't an inn. It was her family home. And that meant she had rules she needed to abide by.

Knocking was apparently one of them.

“I don't think I look that bad,” I said, looking down to make sure my clothes were all on. “... Okay, right, so it could be worse.”

“If it was any worse, I'm afraid I'd have to ask you to sleep outside.”

The look of dissatisfaction in Iris's dazzling blue eyes told me as plainly as her tone that my waking state was not suitable for her household. I thought it was unfair, as few people could wake up and match her own appearance. She was beautiful each hour of the day, but there were few times she was more stunning than when the morning light was shining on her unblemished skin and the short white dress she now sported.

My eyes fought to stay clear of her cleavage. Otherwise, I'd never be able to defend myself or go on the attack. To explain that my appearance was perfectly suitable for a commoner having just woken up, or to simply compliment Iris on her appearance.

Fortunately, I realised that neither was likely to endear her. At least not while she was in the mood to scold me.

Instead, I did as she wanted, and held up my hands.

“I apologise, my fair princess. I have erred and now count my sins. If there is any way to abolish my crimes and repent, please speak it and I will endeavour to do as you bid.”

For a moment, it almost looked like Iris could hold back her reaction.

Her lips twitched, before breaking out into a small smile.

Then, she uncrossed her arms and sighed.

Just like that, she was no longer the fearsome Sword Princess. She was Iris. My girlfriend. The person who I loved more than any other. And the begrudging smile she wore informed me that even if her love could never match mine, it was still there.

“Fine,” she said. “If you wish to repent, then you can begin by informing me in a sufficiently apologetic tone why I'm still required to drag you out of bed. You're the leader of the party who defeated the Dark General. Your pride should be above that.”

I shrugged.

“The leader of the party who defeated the Dark General gets certain perks. Mine is to wake up whenever I want.”

Iris's small smile became even smaller.

For a moment, she looked like she wanted to remind me of my personal responsibilities. Instead, she rolled her eyes and tossed the idea to the corner.

It was a rare victory for me. She must have been in a good mood, despite the initial scolding.

“Well, if our wonderful leader believes himself sufficiently able after a long, long rest, there are a number of pressing matters we need to see to today. I was hoping we could decide on our course of action today.”

I nodded.

All of a sudden, the waking drowsiness I felt was swept clean away by the clear tone in Iris's voice.

I had no mind to disagree. Although we hadn't been in Iris's village long, it was a considerable holiday by our standards. Although we'd earned a sizeable bounty for our exploits, there was no such thing as an early retirement for heroes and adventurers alike. And that was likely on purpose.

As profitable as adventuring could be, it tended to suck up as much in costs as it gave out in pay. And with Iris intent on providing a substantial portion of her reward to both her parents and the village, it was left to me to ensure we had a healthy reserve fund to continue onwards.

Because continuing is what we had to do. The Demon King's army may have retreated, but as it was in times past, there was only ever a lull in war. There was never a truce.

“I had a few things in mind,” I said, gathering my thoughts. “Of course, I wanted to visit my home too. And Magnus with his as well. But there's something else for us as well. Something unexpected.”

“Good unexpected, or bad?”

I shrugged.

“Ask Sofia.”

“Bad, then.”

I mirrored the small smile Iris had shown me. Even that made me fearful. Somehow, I half-expected Sofia to appear silently behind my back, querying in that undecipherable playful voice of hers what I found funny.

At the same time, I pictured her crossbow and her sword, and wondered which one she'd use if she just wanted to make a point of being annoyed.

“She showed up yesterday. While I was out in the village.”

“What? Here?” Iris looked appalled, but not alarmed. There were few things about her friend that surprised her. “Sofia? You're saying that she's in this village, and didn't say a word to me or my parents?”

I held up my hands again.

“I'm just the messenger.”

Iris looked as if she was considering giving me a very strong message to send back.

“Fine. So Sofia is here. What could she possibly be doing? And why did she only tell you?”

“Probably because she liked imagining the expression you're making right now.”

Iris sighed, then looked irritated at herself that she did.

“... Go on. What did Sofia tell you, then?”

“Something about setting up an academy. A hero academy, if you'll believe it. She's been commissioned by the kingdom to train knights in the way of ordained heroes like her and us.”

“What?”

“I think the kingdom wants heroes at a discount.”

As expected, Iris could only react with a look of confusion written on her face. The proposal was as out of the blue to her as it was to me.

“That is … you cannot train knights to be heroes,” she said. “There's more to it than good training and arms. You need a blessing.”

I shrugged.

“My words too. All I know is that there's an opportunity there for us, if you feel like taking something that involves stabbing less goblins. This new academy will need teachers. And Sofia mentioned you specifically.”

“Of course she did. Because why speak to me directly, when she could just ask you to deliver the vague details instead?”

Iris closed her eyes, her vexation obvious in the groan she was stopping herself from emitting.

“... We'll need to discuss this later,” she continued, her dazzling eyes flashing open to a look of seriousness. “This is … it warrants our attention. At the very least, I'll need to find and speak to Sofia, wherever that girl is hiding. I imagine that even if she's been tasked with building a castle, she'd still be difficult to find.”

I nodded. This was something that all of us needed to discuss. And that meant the other man in our party, who I suspected was about to receive a scolding considerably worse than the one I did.

“Agreed. Our destination after we visit the rest of our homes might change. I'll go wake up Magnus. I'm not sure if he'll want anything to do with any proposal offered by Sofia, but maybe that's not a bad thing this time.”

My eyes glanced past Iris's shoulder.

Down the hallway, Magnus was staying in one of the rooms quickly fitted into an accommodation his size. From here, I could see the door.

To my surprise, I could also see it was slightly ajar.

Before me, Iris cutely tilted her head.

“Magnus? … Oh, there's no need. He's already awake.”

I could scarcely believe what I'd heard. It was almost like hearing that the Dark General had already returned from the grave.

“What? Magnus? How did hewake up before me?”

“He didn't. I woke him.”

For a moment, all I could do was uncomprehendingly take in Iris's words.

At first, I thought I had misheard. If there was something stranger than hearing Iris knocking on a door, then it was hearing her saying she'd woken Magnus before me.

It was something that never happened.

Because we always shared the same room.

Except now. When Iris now had her own.

And she now had a choice of who she would wake up first.

The moment I realised this … I could feel my heart skipping in my chest. Iris had approached Magnus before me, on her own accord, without needing to be invited.

And then, my eyes were drawn to something I had not noticed.

So desperate to avoid being sucked in by her seductive figure, I did not see that past her beautiful, youthful face, past her bountiful cleavage displayed within that white dress, and further past the smooth fabric lining her slim hips …

“Magnus has just gone downstairs,” said Iris, her voice becoming sweeter as she offered me a meaningful smile. “I woke him up … several hours ago.”

I felt all the breath get knocked out of me.

There, running down her inner thighs, were clear trickles of white seed.

And between two familiar high heels was a small puddle of cum, joined by more creamy semen dripping directly from between her legs.

Iris took a step back into the hallway, allowing all of her figure to be clearly seen. The smile she wore was as erotic as the trail of cum she'd left connecting Magnus's door to this one.

“I'm sorry. I actually forgot to use the memory stone,” she said, her tone both apologetic and teasing. “But I promise to make up for it tonight. In fact, would you like to choose what I wear? I picked out some lingerie before we left the capital. A pink velvet one-piece and a white satin corset. Which would you prefer to see me wearing?”

In an instant, my mouth went dry, both from taking in the words she was saying, as well as eyeing the evidence of Iris waking up Magnus for several hours this morning.

I didn't want to believe it, and yet there it was.

Iris had forgotten to use the memory stone.

That … it never happened. She'd never simply forgotten it. The thought that she was so engrossed in the thought of sharing her body with Magnus that she had neglected to do what she'd always done was enough to fill my heart with overwhelming jealousy.

Yet even still, I swallowed a gulp, and then slowly answered.

“The … pink velvet one-piece sounds good.”

Iris clasped her hands together. She looked as delighted as a maiden being given flowers.

“Excellent. I thought so as well. It matches well with the pink shoes. I so rarely have a chance to wear them. I'll be certain to adjust the memory stone on the shelf so that everything is clearly in view. Oh, but this means I'll be closing the door. I'm worried that too much sound will come out when I'm with Magnus for so long. But I'm sure you won't mind, will you? I'll be able to focus completely on enjoying myself.”

“I … that's right … I won't mind at all ...”

Iris, still wearing that bewitching, alluring smile that I adored so much, leaned slightly in. Her glossy, pink lips filled up my vision.

But just when she was close enough that we could kiss, she stopped.

Because in the place of a kiss, she gave me a cute wink instead.

“Good. Please look forward to it … and masturbate lots to my cheating sex.”