Corruption in the dungeon

EP.24 Chapter 24 Holy Virgin Knight Rebecca

"Captain, where are we going?"

Rebecca delayed answering the question from the subordinate knight riding beside her.

What should she say?

Even while selecting 3 escort knights to assist her, she hadn't told them why they were chosen.

No, she couldn't.

She couldn't say that a Holy Maiden candidate had gone missing and they were going to find her.

This matter needed to be known by as few people as possible, and that included her trusted knights.

"This mission is strictly confidential. I can't tell you either, but I hope you'll follow along well."

"Understood."

Her loyal subordinates all accepted with just those words.

Rebecca looked at Roina riding beside her.

With her short blue hair fluttering, silently riding her horse, she was Rebecca's most trusted right-hand and vice-captain, the second strongest knight among the Virgin Knights under her command.

Roina, famous as the most devout knight among the Virgin Knights, had silently followed along without any complaints when Rebecca said to come with her.

Though she once lived as difficult a life as Rebecca, now she was a member of the Virgin Knights who sincerely followed God's words more than anyone.

"I'm sorry. For dragging even the vice-captain into this."

"Not at all, Captain. It just means it's that important a matter, right?"

"That's right. I can't say, but this is an order given directly by the Bishop who summoned me."

"I'm ready to follow whenever you order, Captain."

"...Roina..."

Rebecca's face became touched hearing Roina's words pledging loyalty to her.

That was because she and Roina had a secret known only to them, unknown to their subordinates.

Not just a relationship between captain and vice-captain.

"But how long are you going to speak so stiffly?"

"There are still eyes watching."

"I want to hear Roina call me sister."

"When we get lodgings later..."

"Alright. I'll wait until then."

The two of them had developed into lovers.

To become part of the Virgin Knights, one had to absolutely maintain their virginity. Building up skills while not having relations with men was the rule of the Virgin Knights.

In other words, all 4 of these female knights riding horses now were virgins.

Though losing their virginity wouldn't make their mana and efforts disappear, in the Holy Order with strict religious doctrines, knights having relations with the opposite sex was considered taboo.

But could human desires be stopped just by forbidding them?

Even in an organization running on such oppressive rules, human love and passion still burned.

Quite a number of knights maintained their virginity but engaged in romance between fellow female knights in order to love.

A precarious tightrope walk on top of taboos.

The sense of blasphemy and thrill of maintaining a relationship considered taboo by the Order had an inescapable drug-like addiction for knights unable to have socially accepted romances.

Everyone kept quiet about it, but maintained such relationships under the surface.

Not all Holy Knights were like this, but quite many Holy Knights were cultivating romantic feelings with comrades within their units.

Just like Rebecca and Roina now.

"...Sister..."

After being shy for a long time, Roina said in a very small voice only Rebecca could hear, her white face turning red.

Rebecca's ears turned bright red hearing her words.

"Captain, there's Lorangrevel. Looks like we've arrived."

At the report from the knight in the lead, Rebecca looked ahead.

A small village located at the gateway connecting to Mount Duvel.

It was the last village the missing Holy Maiden was said to have stopped at.

"Then let's begin our work."

"Understood."

***

"The village seems a bit bigger than what we heard."

Rebecca thought the same.

She had certainly received reports that it was an unremarkable mountain village.

A small mountain village suffering from monsters before winter, needing to regularly hire adventurers because of that.

A place where most of the income came from farming and hunting...

"There are quite a lot of adventurers."

"Could there have been some mobilization order nearby?"

"No. The atmosphere is too light for that. I don't feel the unique sense of gravity from adventurers going to battle."

As Rebecca observed the adventurers walking through the village, a strange characteristic caught her eye.

"Most of them are male-female pairs?"

"That's right."

What is this?

It was full of incomprehensible things.

Arriving at the village chief's house like that, Rebecca dismounted.

"Oh my, what brings Holy Knights all the way here?"

The village chief came running breathlessly and made the sign of the cross seeing them.

"Did a priestess perhaps come to this village before?"

"A priestess... Ah, she did come! About a month ago, she came to subjugate goblins."

The village chief nodded.

They had come to the right place.

"Do you know where that priestess went?"

"Uh, well... I remember the party including the priestess setting out to exterminate goblins. However, it seems they went straight up to the city without returning to the village."

"They didn't return to the village?"

"Yes. Since the goblins that were appearing disappeared, we just assumed they had completed their mission and returned. But why do you ask?"

The village chief made a puzzled expression.

Throughout listening to him, Rebecca closely examined the village chief's face.

She looked for evidence of lies, but her intuition cried out that the village chief was speaking only the truth.

"Why didn't you report it?"

"Report? I thought they just left without seeing anything since it's such a small village... Did something happen?"

"It's nothing. We're just looking for someone."

"Ah..."

Rebecca lightly looked around the village.

"But there are many adventurers. Did a dungeon appear nearby?"

"Ah, yes! That's right. Adventurers have been gathering in groups to conquer the dungeon. I'm not sure what kind of dungeon it is though, haha."

"I see."

A dungeon...

Could Amy have fallen into this newly appeared dungeon?

It was a quite possible story.

'There's a high chance she died inside the dungeon.'

The Bishop's words to bring her back alive even if dead came to mind.

Bring her back alive.

It meant to bring back even a fake.

Since the Bishop said that, she had no choice but to comply.

"Thank you for telling us."

"It's what I should do as God's creation. Haha."

Rebecca, making the sign of the cross, asked.

"Is there perhaps any lodging? We need lodging for 4 people."

"Hmm, there are a lot of guests right now, but... I should be able to provide space for Holy Knights."

"Thank you. May God's grace be with you."

Rebecca and the Holy Knights received guidance from the village chief and were given a small house.

A small house with 2 rooms.

It wasn't a grand house, but the structure wasn't bad for staying one night.

"We'll stay here for just one night and move."

"Yes, understood!"

The knights each went into their rooms to unpack.

Rebecca and Roina used the relatively larger room together.

As they were removing their armor and wiping off sweat.

"Captain, the priestess who came to this village, wasn't that Amy?"

"..."

"Something happened to Amy."

"I can't say."

"Did a Holy Maiden candidate perhaps go missing?"

She shook her head.

It wasn't good information to know too much.

As Rebecca was about to change into underwear that revealed her body's curves.

She felt a soft sensation on her back.

"Eep!"

"You can tell me, can't you? Why do you keep trying to bear it alone?"

Roina had embraced her from behind.

"R-Roina? I haven't even washed yet..."

"That's the same for me too. You're going to let the subordinate knights wash first anyway, right? Right? Sis.ter?"

"Roina..."

Rebecca's strength melted at Roina's voice tickling her ear.

"Tell me. What happened? Did the Holy Maiden candidate really go missing?"

"Sorry, Roina. I can't tell even you... Mmph!"

Rebecca's body suddenly turned, and something soft touched her lips.

Roina's soft tongue dug into her slightly parted lips.

"Haum, heum. Mmph~"

The two female knights shared saliva and felt each other's breaths for 5 minutes.

"You still won't tell me?"

Rebecca looked at her vice-captain with a completely melted expression.

"I can't... I can't say."

"How disappointing, sister... I thought you'd tell me."

"Haung..."

"It's okay if you don't tell me. Actually, I just wanted to see your troubled expression."

Roina mounted Rebecca who had fallen onto the bed.

"You should only show such a troubled look to me, okay?"

Roina began licking Rebecca's fingers covered in sweat.

The two female knights' moans were so loud they could be heard outside the room.

The subordinate knights hearing those sounds went to take a bath in embarrassment.

The two female knights didn't notice at all.

***

"Holy Knights have arrived in the village."

"How many?"

"Four. They heard about our dungeon from the village chief, so they'll come right away tomorrow."

Four Holy Knights.

It was neither a small nor large number.

It was a number worth being wary of, and a number that could be defeated if fought well.

"Will you be alright?"

"We've prepared traps, and I have you and Amy, so there's no reason we can't."

"...Thank you for believing in me."

Yulia bowed her head.

"But it seems they've come looking for Amy. However, their level is too high for those coming to find a mere adventurer."

"Right. They're unusually strong."

Why?

Who in that party could the Holy Knights be looking for?

'It must be Amy after all.'

The only likely candidate was her, the priestess.

That inference gained strength because she was the one carrying powerful divine power in her lower abdomen, near her womb.

"Do you plan to send Amy to the front lines?"

"Of course. That's why I corrupted her."

Though she was a devout priestess until recently, she had now become a perfect dark priestess.

I thought her heart wouldn't waver even if Holy Knights appeared before her.

"And I need to test her once."

To see if Amy has truly fallen completely.

"Understood. Then will you sleep alone tonight?"

"Call Amy. I need to imprint on her once more who her master is before she meets the Holy Knights."

"Understood. Then..."

Yulia bowed her head.

Her swaying cleavage stole my gaze, but she's still sour grapes. Sour grapes I can't eat yet.

Not long after Yulia left my room.

"Demon King..."

Amy came to my room.

She was blushing as she looked at me.

"Come in here."