Chapter 29

Issei felt something is weighing down on him, then he felt something soft on his lips and some air went in through his mouth.

He got taken by surprise and cough a bit of air because of that.

Issei - *Cough* *Cough* Wha-

??? - Thank goodness, you're breathing again.

She never really check if he's breathing or not because Issei breathing is pretty soft. And she just lost it when she saw his handsome face, so she forgot to check in the first place and assume he was drowning just now.

His words got cut short by the girl sudden voice and he looks up.

He saw a beautiful girl with blonde hair and dark green eyes looking down at him.

And that very girl is sitting on top of his stomach...

He felt confused with his current situation because the last thing he remembers he was floating on the ocean while still sleeping.

Then he heard the girl talk once more.

??? - Can you tell me your name? Oh, and my name is Riche.

Issei - ...I'm Issei Hyoudou. And you can call me Issei or Ise if you want... Now can you tell me how come we're in this situation again? And where am I?

He answers her question while asking back.

Riche - Oh? Are you a royalty? Hmm but I never heard of Hyoudou household before...

She was surprised that Issei has a surname because in this world just like in Konosuba world usually commoners doesn't have a surname and only royalty does.

But then she remembered his question

Riche - Ah! I'm sorry for getting lost in my thoughts. Then I will just call you Ise, you don't mind if I call you that don't you? And to answer your question. We are at the shore, near Abel town. As for our position as you can see, I saw you were drowning so I saved you.

And I was just happened to pass by when I saw you're floating near the beach. So are you a noble from somewhere? And how come you drowned in the first place anyway?

Issei - No. I'm not a noble as far as I remember. And I'm from <Fresh Fish Island> on a boat, but my boat sunk so that's how I "Drown".

Issei knows that even if he told her he swam all the way from <Fresh Fish Island> she won't believe him and will be more suspicious towards him, and to also tell her that he wasn't drowning but was just sleeping would be even weirder.

Riche - Hmmm. I see... Well, thankfully I found you then.

Issei - Ah. Thank you for saving me.

Issei give her a small smile while thanking her because she does save him out of concern so even though he doesn't need help in the first place, he still needs to say thank you no?

Riche who saw his smile blushed deeply because she got smitten by it. He's the most handsome guy she ever saw and that enchanting wine-red eye seems to make her lost in reverie.

She even thought he's an angel for a second but because of the lack of wings she know he's not an angel which known as Holy Knight of Mother Eve.

But she snaps out of it quickly. After all, she's a princess so its only natural to get her bearings quickly in front of somebody else.

Riche Eden is a princess of the nation of Eden, second daughter of Louin Eden and one of his two wives, and previously third in line for the throne of Eden. Devoted to her homeland, Riche has chosen to defend it by running an independent investigation of the Outlaw conspiracy known as the Snake Crest.

Riche is highly independent and selfish, a truant and a busybody, all qualities that made her ill-suited to be a princess. As a child, she frequently escaped her family's harem to play with the children on the street, where she met her future best friends, Ramius Dreissen and Kathryn Lapucelle. As she grew into adulthood, her family failed to find a role for her in governance, politics, or even a political marriage. Riche would have to find her own calling in life, which she did in pursuing the organization known as the Snake Crest.

Despite her errant childhood, Riche is especially close to her sister, Croix Eden, as well as her father, Louin. She does not get along with the prime minister, Rochefort, both because of her unbecoming behavior and his secret hatred for the monarchy.

Riche has very little regard for the privacy of others and is responsible for both her family's wedding traditions of spying on the bride and groom and also bursting in on them in the morning with breakfast.

Riche despises Hannies, partially due to their invulnerability to magic, but the hatred may go even deeper than that and is possibly irrational. She is a Haniwa mass murderer but has stopped short of taking steps that would wipe them out altogether, such as when given the opportunity to sabotage their special, reproductive clay. (You can search Haniwa Evenicle on google to see their image, cute little fckers but annoying as hell)

While Riche is not technically a knight, as nobility she has "a status equivalent to a knight." She shares a knight's ability to kill people under Mother Eve's Blessing without becoming an Outlaw.

Riche is trained as a Sorceress, a style of a Knight that focuses on the use of magic in combat. She has access to both healing magic and attack magic, namely Flame, Ice and Light magic, though this mixed focus makes it hard for her to do both at the same time. She is not so gifted as a physical combatant.

She faked a cough and couldn't help to tease Issei to cover her mishap just now.

Riche - *G-Gohon* W-what~? You're just gonna thank me and that's that? I lost my precious first kiss for saving you. Oh~ how unfortunate, I was saving my first kiss for my husband too~

Riche wants to make him lost his bearings to get even on him, but she got stupefied by what he said next

Issei - ...I see. I will do anything you wish of me as long it's not against my principle, and if you want me to take responsibility for you then I will do so. But know that I already have wives waiting for me to marry.

Issei told her with a serious face.

Issei felt like something bugging him when he said that, it's like he's forgetting something and he kinda saw some dark silhouette of bunch of women inside his minds, but he ignored it for now.

Riche minds went blank after hearing his words but then he catches on to something

Riche - Wait. Wives? You mean you have multiple women waiting for you to marry them?

Issei - Um. Indeed.

Riche - But it's forbidden to marry more than one partner by Mother Eve's teaching!? You will lose Mother Eve's blessing and become an Outlaw if you have intercourse with multiple partners!

Issei - Ah. I know that. That's why I'm aiming to become a Knight.

Riche - A Knight? Like the ones who fight Monsters and Outlaws, those Knights?

Issei - Yes. That Knight.

Riche - ...Indeed if you can become a Knight your problem would be solved. But to become a Knight is a hard task. The monsters and Outlaws are pretty strong you know?

Issei - I know. On the island, there were monsters too. I killed them pretty easily. Besides I love them both, and they also told me to become a Knight themselves so I could marry them both.

Well not just easy, he basically just kill them all in one hit... And there were some strong monsters near the Mother Eve's ruin over there but they all died just from one of his normal attacks.

Even Kyou and Kinou were surprised because there were some monsters there that would take them some time to kill but Issei just killed them all in one hit... They were pretty aroused when they saw how he handle all those monsters, but they hold themselves back and do their usual 'Activity' during the night to relieve themselves from their arousal.

Riche - Oh... Yeah, I see...

She becomes speechless once more after hearing his words. Not that she can deny any of it if they want to marry him together anyway.

Riche - But... Still, are you sure you're strong enough?

Issei - Hmm... I think I'm pretty strong...

Riche - You 'think' you say...

Issei - But can you get off my body first? It's not like I hate it when a beautiful girl straddling my body but it's just that...

Riche - O-oh right! I'm sorry!

Riche blushed remembering she's still straddling his body so she hastily stands up.

Riche is a beautiful woman who has blond hair and a dark-green eye like gem. She wears what seems to be a princess dress with slight modification here and there, she has a curvy body and has a C-cup breast. (Google Riche Evenicle to see her image)

Issei - Here. Let me show you.

Then Issei draws his sword, cover it with his <Haki> and made a casual swing towards the hill.

*SLASH* *BOOM!*

There's a small gorge created by his casual swing on the hills.

Riche who saw that become totally taken aback and her mouth is wide open that it looks like it about to hit the ground...

Issei - How's that?

Issei asked her totally relaxed like what he just did is nothing much.

Riche who heard his question finally reacted

Riche - W-w-w-wha...

She becomes at loss for words. If he used a spell she can still accept it but that's just a sword slash.

Riche - I-Is your attack imbued with magic or something!?

'That's gotta be the only explanation'. So she thought

Issei - Hmm? No. That was just a normal swing. Ah, but I do cover my sword with my <Haki>.

Riche - <Haki>?! Is that some kind of magic!?

She asked with sparkling eyes.

She got totally hooked because she never heard any magic called <Haki> before and she's adventurous at heart so she loves finding new things and places.

Issei - U-uh no. It's not magic. It's basically...

After some explanation Riche still doesn't get it that much but she knew it's not magic so she lost hope on learning that.

Riche - I see... Ah. Too bad it's not magic... It's such a strong technique too...

She mutters lowly but Issei can still hear it.

Riche - Ah. Indeed you can become an excellent Knight with that kind of strength, and from your way of talking I could tell you're a nice guy so I can vouch for you that you will become a splendid Knight!

Issei - Um. Thank you.

Riche - A-ah. And you can forget about my joke just now, I saved you because I wanted to. And CPR doesn't count as first kiss anyway.

Issei - I see... But I will still stand on my words. If you need anything from me then you can just ask me.

Riche's heart flutters once more after hearing him said that. She does want to marry him a bit after that but she still has a mission to complete.

Then they heard some voices in the distant.

Man - Heeey! Over here! Look at that!

A short distance from the shore a number of people appeared and pointed at Issei and Riche as they approached.

Riche - Uh oh, she's with them. This is bad.

Issei - Hmm? What's wrong?

Riche frantically got up and ran in the opposite direction.

Riche - Sorry! Personal matters.

Issei - Huh?

Riche - Well. See you later, Ise! I have to go now. And I will hold on to your words.

After that, she ran as fast as she can.

Issei - O-Oh...

He's amazed by how fast she was running.

Then he heard the voice once more.

Man - Look, over here! This way, everyone!

Issei - Hmm?

A group of people holding hoes and scythes warily surrounded Issei.

Issei - What?

Issei is confused with this sudden development.

Mob 1 - Eep! H-He talked!

Issei - Obviously. I'm not a mute.

Mob 2 - L-L-L-Lady Knight! Take care of the rest, please!

Issei - Hm? A Knight?

The ring of people around Issei opened up, letting a woman in.

The woman has a beautiful face with red eyes and white long hair that reach till her hips. She has a voluptuous body with big boobs and wide hips, she's also kinda fit for a woman. She wears a dark mini jacket that has white fur around the collar along with a black shirt that only covers till her breast so her stomach is visible because of it. She also wears a black small mini skirt with black stocking with black battle shoes.

She carries a Giant white lance and giant shield with a golden pattern as her weapon. (Google Ramius Evenicle to see her image)

??? - Are you the suspicious character who washed up on the shore?

Then the woman look towards the gorge Issei just created.

??? - And are you the one who did this?

She becomes even wary after seeing the gorge.

Issei - Suspicious? And indeed I'm the one who did this.

Mob 3 - I saw it! He came from the sea!

??? - A stowaway? A poacher after the fish here, maybe? State your name. And how did you get here?

Issei - I'm Issei Hyoudou. And no I'm not a noble for that matter, I travel here with my boat from <Fresh Fish Island> but along the way my boat sunk and I got taken by the current till here.

Mob 4 - F-Fresh Fish Island?! Do you know how far that is?

Mob 5 - And I don't remember anyone can bring their own boat from there because it's a small village and most of the villagers are elderly people. Even if they can it's still impossible without getting attacked by the sea monsters and survived their attack!

Mob 6 - Also I don't remember any merchant ship has a traveling schedule towards there on this month.

??? - Is that right? This only makes you more suspicious.

Issei - *Sigh* It's up to you to believe it or not.

Man - Liar. As if anyone would believe that!

Mob 7 - Yeah! Outlaw scum!

Issei - Outlaw? But as you can see there's no black ring on my fingers.

Issei proceeded to show them his fingers and indeed there are no black ring on any of his fingers.

Mob 8 - Eeek!

Some mob got scared thinking he's gonna do something by raising his hands.

??? - Don't move!

Issei just calmly stares at her.

??? - Indeed there's no black ring on your fingers. But Outlaws have been sighted near town. I'm here for a different mission, but I can't ignore people in need.

Mob 9 - He has to be after our livestock! Lady Knight, take care of him!

Issei - Hoo? So you're the Knight?

??? - Indeed. I'm a Knight of the Kingdom of Eden, Ramius Dreissen.

Issei - I see.

Ramius - Hee? You're not gonna judge me as a Knight even though I'm a woman?

Ramius is a bit surprised because usually people can't believe she's a knight just because she's a woman.

Issei - Why should I? Strength isn't determined by gender. What's wrong with a woman being strong? That just means they are capable and hard working.

Ramius got a bit taken aback because she never heard that from anyone she met, they just keep calling her meathead for that matter.

Ramius - ...I appreciate your words.

Issei - Don't mind it.

Ramius - But even though you don't have a black ring it's still possible the Outlaws have threatened you into assisting with some crime. After all, Outlaws are known for their underhanded means.

Issei - *Sigh* You think anyone can force me to do something I don't want to? Well. Anyway, I came here to become a Knight.

Ramius - It's better to be safe than sorry but, A Knight, you say?

Issei - That's right.

Ramius - Alright then. I'll have you prove it.

Issei - And how you want me to prove myself?

Ramius - Oh, it's simple. If your goal is to become a Knight, I'm sure you're confident in your strength. And by the looks of it, you are indeed strong.

She looks towards the gorge once more while saying that.

Ramius - So you just need to Defeat monsters around this area and bring me 100G as proof! You do know Monsters drop Gold after you defeat them right?

Issei - Indeed.

Ramius - Then to prevent you from cheating, I'll hold onto any Gold currently in your possession.

Issei - Fine. Here you go.

Issei has some gold he got from killing the sea monsters.

As for the Gold he got from the island ruins he donate them to the elderly villagers of <Fresh Fish Island>.

Ramius - Um. I will hold onto your Gold for now. Don't worry I won't steal your Gold, I give you my words as a Knight.

Issei - Um.

Issei doesn't really mind even if she stole those Gold. After all, he can easily gather more Gold just by killing monsters. But he can tell she's not that kind of person just from her eyes alone, there's no impurity can be seen on her eyes.

He somehow can still sense people's soul and he could tell when somebody is bad news or not just by sensing it a bit.

He regains this skill during his exploration at the Mother Eve's ruin on the Island, he saw some lost souls over there and he purifies them.

Ramius - Then if you manage to get 100G, I'll vouch for you and have you given permission to enter the town.

Issei - Sure.

Ramius - Abel's right over there, I'll be waiting.

She pointed towards the nearby city.

After that Ramius the lady Knight left with the mobs.

(Issei is not being a wimp here, Ramius just want to protect the villager so he won't be like an idiot and says fck you I'm strong I don't need your approval. If this is a wuxia novel then that might happen but this is not. He's not some hot-blooded protagonist who kill anyone who gets in his way, besides they are normal people, not some thugs who want to rob him. They are just afraid. If it's some thugs that want to rob him then he will just end them.)