Volume 1 of BMCPS is available uncensored on ko-fi!

※ This work contains high-intensity, hardcore elements and scenes that may polarize readers. Please be advised before reading.

IV. The Hero’s Return

The sun peeked out vaguely. A languid mist.

The dawn air was blue.

It was neither pungent nor bleak. It was cool and refreshing.

Beneath it,

“My, what a splendid view again today.”

Jeina began another day with the knights.

It had been two weeks since she emerged from the basement.

While she had been confined, over ten years had passed.

The high sky and the colors of nature, seen again after so long. The earth, growing firmer after the rain. The moist, clean air that soaked into her very lungs.

But the thing that brought her the most joy—the thing that made her think, ‘Ah, it’s truly a relief to be out of that basement’—wasn’t any of that.

In her two weeks above ground, what satisfied her the most was…

“One, two.”

“Let us raise our banners high—”

“One, two.”

“And safeguard the Empire—”

It was the Imperial knights. On their return to the Empire, even while constantly moving their encampment, they always managed to find a wide, open space nearby to use as a temporary training ground. And without fail, as soon as dawn broke each day, they would step out of their barracks and begin their morning drills.

It was the same last week, when they were still at the Holy Kingdom’s temple.

Rain or shine, the knights trained every single day without fail, always stripped to the waist, and honestly, it made her heart swell. So much so that she almost felt thankful for being locked in that basement, a thought so ridiculous it was funny.

And today was no different. Watching them run around the training ground near the barracks, their upper bodies bared to the cool air, she felt utterly delighted.

“Let us raise our banners high— and safeguard the Empire—”

Their booming military song echoed through the sparse woods, and their running pace quickened.

Despite the cool dawn, a fierce heat radiated from them. Beads of sweat formed like dewdrops on their impeccably muscled torsos.

A satisfied smile spread across her face as she gave them a mental round of applause.

What wonderful days these were, treating her eyes to such a magnificent view.

Of course, even then, her lust truly knew no bounds, and Jeina found herself pondering, ‘How can I get those pants off them?’

If they were running around the training ground completely naked, it would be even more of a sight.

Was it because of his request in the basement? That plea with those tearful red eyes, asking her to refrain from using magic in front of others for a while, since perceptions of mages were still so backward, and to only use it when they were alone. For that reason, she was somewhat restraining herself.

Anyway, she was hopelessly weak to those tear-filled crimson eyes.

So, perhaps there was a way to peel off those tight pants without using magic? Just as she was lost in these lecherous thoughts…

A man suddenly broke away from the front of the running formation. Like the other knights, his upper body was gloriously bare.

The knights, who had been diligently running under their superior’s usually observant but now intimidating presence, flinched.

“Look at you lot, slacking off just because one little war is over. Is this the best speed you can manage?”

Despite the taunting words, his voice was flat, yet strangely irritable. The complaint itself sounded forced, even to her ears.

Over the past few days, she had been quietly drifting around, eavesdropping here and there, and had inevitably picked up on a lot of chatter. Even to her, who was admittedly clueless about the world after being stuck in the Barren Lands, it didn’t seem like something that could be dismissed as ‘one little war.’

Besides, these were knights known for their fast and consistent training pace.

Something felt off, but it seemed the training knights didn’t see it that way. The entire order straightened up, discipline snapping back into place as they answered in unison.

“We will correct it, sir!”

Then, with the man at the front, the shirtless men fell into perfect formation and began running across the training ground.

“I, for one, am not complaining.”

She recalled a rather lengthy section in the author’s observation journals about the Eastern regions. It stated that the energy emanating from a man was called ‘Yang energy.’ It also added that when it came to Yang energy, more was always better.

Anyway, with one more man who seemed to be bursting with energy, the Yang energy here was abundant, overflowing, practically spilling over.

“Mmm…”

She took a deep breath, inhaling the Yang energy that was now heating the cool dawn air.

It seemed they were truly bursting with vigor from the crack of dawn, as the knights endlessly increased their running speed. No, actually, it felt like the one at the very front was speeding up, and the knights behind were just struggling to keep in formation.

The junior knights at the back began to gasp for air, one by one, but their leader at the front—whether he was leading them or driving them—remained flawless, not a hair out of place.