Chapter 37 - Arc 2, Crescent Moon (2/2)

Ernst looked up at Ganche’s masculine face, trailing both of his hands over the raised muscles of his chest.

“That… sounds like it’s convenient, I suppose.”

“In order to survive, it is vital to use each and every sense. To be unable to feel life-threatening heat or cold is to put yourself in extraordinary danger. It is better to feel pain if it means being able to protect yourself.”

“I see – that makes sense.”

“We are able to make ourselves feel, but on the battlefield, we can also block ourselves from feeling. I suppose since we can control this intentionally, it really is convenient.”

“The bodies of the Dunbertian people really do seem as if they were made for fighting, don’t they.”

Ernst glided his fingertips across the swell of the muscles on Ganche’s shoulder. Embracing Ganche’s thick arm, he kissed those fingertips which always moved so skillfully. Ganche’s tight and compact stomach was bumpy with firm muscle, and it didn’t have a single trace of soft or droopy flesh.

“If Dunbertian’s don’t actively train themselves, will they lose their muscle in the same way that Kleber do?”

“That is… a good question. In Grude Continent, there are people who don’t fight, and among them there are also the elderly, but all of them are toned with muscle, as far as I know. I suppose that we always have a certain amount of muscle, regardless of whether we train or not.”

Among the race which resides in Grude Continent, there are four types of people. The Grudes, the Dayers, the Gaia, and finally, the Dunbertians.

All of them are races of war, and both the men and women throw themselves into battle. Once a child turns 10 years old, they must become independent. They may be hired by a wealthy merchant as a mercenary, or they may be like Ganche and be hired as a mercenary for a noble in some country or another.

If not that, then they may sign up to become soldiers in the national army of a country. Otherwise, they might become involved in a criminal group, attacking the very same targets that others of their same race protect as mercenaries.

No matter which choice they make, there is not a single person of the Grude race who has ended their life without having fought at least once, and on that matter, there were very few of them who died of old age.

“The land of the Grude… just what kind of place is it, really?”

Warm water enveloped Ernst’s entire body, the comfortable feeling making him sleepy.

“Grude is… a place that is very harsh for children. The weight of your body when you walk on Schell land becomes ten times heavier when you walk on Grude’s. When I was little, I couldn’t even stand up. If I wanted to get anywhere, I had to move by crawling on the ground.”

When Ernst’s slender shoulders rose from the water, Ganche gently poured some hot water over them.

“At any right, just sitting was enough to exhaust me. It felt like there were ten people riding on my shoulders.”

“That’s – really incredible.”

Ernst wasn’t even able to imagine it.

“If Lord Ernst were to ever visit Grude Continent, then from the moment we arrive to the moment we leave, I wish to carry you to wherever you want to go. The land there is very strange, so it would be better if your feet never touch the ground.”

“My feet?”

“Yes. No matter if it is your feet or your hands, if any part of your body touches the earth on Grude, a weight will press down on your body. However, this won’t happen if not a single part of you touches the ground. That is why newborn children are always carried around by someone.”

It kept getting harder and harder to understand. Just how exactly did this work?

Ernst had naturally only experienced the Schell Continent.Though he had read about other continents in books, once he started doubting whether the contents of the books were actually true, there were many things that he could only think of as strange or mysterious.

“Ganche, you were born on the Grude Continent, correct?”

“I was. For the Grude race, no matter where the child was conceived, they will always return to Grude Continent to give birth. This is because there is a belief that children who aren’t brought up on the land of Grude will be weak. I myself have never met someone born anywhere other than Grude, so I cannot say for sure whether that is true or not, but for my people, being considered weak is the most shameful thing of all.”

“Ganche is strong.”

“There are many people who are more powerful than I am… But, if I’m protecting Lord Ernst, then I’ll surely be stronger than anyone else…”

Ganche’s muscular arms hugged Ernst, and he pressed a kiss to Ernst’s lips.

After being pecked by his kiss, Ernst lifted his body to chase after Ganche’s composed lips, sucking on them. He held Ganche’s large face between his hands, pulling at Ganche’s brown curls with his fingers.

His heart greedily demanded for more, deeper – so Ernst moved to fulfill its desires. He curled both of his arms behind Ganche’s head, embracing him. Ganche’s hair brushed against the warm skin of Ernst’s arms, sending a shiver down Ernst’s spine.

“Lord Ernst.”

Ganche pulled away, but Ernst chased after him, licking at his thick lips.

“Lord Ernst…”

Hearing Ganche call his name in distress, Ernst looked up and met his gaze.

“We can’t…?”

Lust was laced into the sound of Ernst’s voice. The thin fingertips on Ganche’s broad shoulders began to tremble.

“Don’t you want to…?”

Ganche didn’t answer Ernst’s question, but he didn’t separate himself from Ernst, either. His thick fingers strayed down to between Ernst’s legs. They twined around Ernst’s soft and limp member, stroking him up and down as if coaxing him.

“Mmn…”

Ernst’s eyes fell shut as Ganche teased him, his back arching.

“If we just do it once… would that be okay?”

Ernst stared at Ganche with watery eyes. He felt his lower half quavering wretchedly, wishing to take Ganche deep inside of it.

Bending over, Ernst gently took Ganche’s into his hands. It was a mass that was even hotter than the scalding water of the hot springs. When Ernst glided his fingertips over the sticky head, something slick spilled over his fingers.

Ernst moved his hips, guiding it to rest against his entrance.

“Can’t we…?”

Ernst lowered his hips onto it, looking up at Ganche. His hole twitched and mouthed against Ganche’s enormous thing, repeatedly kissing it, inviting it deep inside.

“…Ngh! …Lord Ernst… if we do, will you allow me to carry you back from here to the village?”

The animal nature mixing into Ganche’s copper eyes didn’t escape Ernst’s notice.

“Mhm, I’ll allow it.”

Ganche embraced him with backbreaking strength, his thick tongue ravaging Ernst’s mouth.

Steam billowed with each wave of splashing water. A thick and wide spear ran through Ernst’s body. He arched his back, unable to endure.

Thick arms rubbed against Ernst’s soft stomach. Ernst’s small member did its best to stand tall as Ganche gently massaged its tip, each of his movements in concert with the deep thrusts which struck all the way into Ernst’s body.

Ernst leaned his pale back onto Ganche’s taut stomach, his head resting upon Ganche’s broad chest, his golden hair disheveled.

At some point, darkness had fallen around them. Moonlight spilled over them from between the trees.

It was a quiet and beautiful night, with only the sounds of rough breathing and rippling water filling the silence.

“Ganche! Ganche… mn!”

As his body trembled, jostled by wild movements, hot water splashed on Ernst’s face. Ganche secured Ernst’s body with one of his arms, moving him up and down.

Ernst’s body was too small to take Ganche every night. But if Ernst were to tell the truth, he didn’t want to let pass a single minute of opportunity. Ernst tightened his hole, holding Ganche as if trying to keep him inside. It was as if he wanted to engrave this shape, this heat into his body.

“Lord Ernst…!”

Ganche’s voice roughened. Ernst felt Ganche grow much hotter inside of him, and he knew that Ganche was reaching his end.

“Inside of me… Ganche, I want it all… inside…!”

Ganche’s hips rammed against him, pressing tightly as if to fulfill Ernst’s wishes.

“…ngh!”

Ernst felt Ganche rumble a low moan on his nape. The insides of Ernst’s body lit up with heat. Ganche shot out inside of Ernst, filling Ernst up so much that he felt like his stomach was going to swell. The intoxicating feeling carried Ernst away, bringing him to a slow release.

Ernst’s small member now belonged to Ganche, so even if it was small, it still stood erect. By now, even just a kiss from Ganche was enough to make it hard.

Yet still, it didn’t shoot out the same way Ganche’s did. His release slowly trickled out from the tip.

It looked as if it were crying. To Ernst, it was a shameful, unseemly sight, but Ganche had told him that it looked so adorable that he couldn’t bear it.

Of course, if it pleased Ganche, then Ernst no longer had any misgivings about it.

As Ernst’s body went limp and his mind blank, the cold air felt soothing to him. Ganche quickly redressed Ernst, then put on his own clothes. Even now, Ernst’s body trembled with pleasure, and he let out a hot-breathed sigh as Ganche gently lifted him up.

Ernst rubbed his cheek against Ganche’s hard militia coat. Ganche pressed a kiss to Ernst’s hair, chuckling a little.

Ernst felt Ganche’s heat still within his body. He clenched his body, trying to keep it from flowing down his legs.

If he could keep all of Ganche’s copious release in his body, Ernst felt like he would be able to gain a little bit of the Dunbertian’s strength.

Held within these arms which were safer than anywhere in the world, Ernst dazedly shut his eyes.

They left Iben Village the next day. This village, too, had tried its utmost to host Ernst and his entourage well. It didn’t seem as if this was because Ernst was the lord; rather, he had a feeling that they would treat anyone who visited their village with a warm reception.

They soup and bread they had offered was better than that of Arruca Village’s.

But, in the face of these humble dishes and tableware, Arker had openly furrowed his brows and refused to partake no matter what. Seeing the grim expression Arker showed the villagers, the lively village head came over to appease him.

Yet Arker disregarded the amiable village head who had come to chat with him, and he sat walling himself away from the soldiers, as well as the villagers. Since Ernst had prohibited eating the food they had brought from the estate, Arker sullenly kept silent while hugging his knees.

The militia soldiers completely didn’t pay any attention at all to Arker, and they ate the food that the villagers treated them to.

For them, they had all come from poor homes. As the children of peasants they were unable to eat well, so they had to become soldiers. They might have felt that the taste of Iben Village’s food reminded them of home.

Ernst watched them quietly, observing and taking everything in without saying a word.