Honorable Experience

Creak~. The door suddenly opened, and in came Ruo Wei, who wore an expecting expression after hearing Heian Ciemnosc had woken up. However, when she entered the bedroom, she smelled something looming in the atmosphere, different from the previous medicinal fragrances. She looked at Cara, who was cleaning her backhands, wrists, forearms, and shoulders of the medicine while muttering something along the lines of, 'I think some went into my mouth' and asked her. "Cara? What medicine is this one? I don't remember any of the others smelling as sweet as this."

“Careful, or someone might get angry, heh heh.” Cara laughed and chucked internally after being initially started by the door opening. This made Ruo Wei tilt her head in confusion, and immediately after, she saw a limp virile member resting on Cara’s lap and realized what kind of words she had just said. Ruo Wei blushed hard, flung her arms downwards, and turned around to exit the bedroom. Heian Ciemnosc shouted, stopping Ruo Wei at the doorstep, “Wait! Could you tell Beto to come see me? I… need some time to get my body moving.”

“Well, I think it can move already…” Cara commented with a gesture on her mouth’s left corner as she looked down. Ruo Wei ignored the blondie’s comments and turned to face Heian Ciemnosc, ignoring the prick Cara was now softly cleaning with her hands. She looked into his darkest eyes and said, “Sure. You… try not to flash everyone else? We’re in another organization’s space station. We wouldn’t want to steal their beautiful females away without them knowing or anything in exchange, you know?”

“...” Ruo Wei left after Heian Ciemnosc fell speechless. Once the door was smashed closed, he looked at Cara, who diligently cleaned the urethra that exploded just now. She looked at him and acted as innocently as she deserved to be. “What? I’m just helping! This is studying. Ruo Wei is taken, definitely, so she doesn’t have these moments whenever she can. I’m single, I can fool around, you know?”

“Now she thinks I’m like this,” Heian Ciemnosc said, shaking his head at this feminine girlie. She grinned and lowered her head towards him, asking with a ‘senior’s’ grin, “So? Aren’t you like this?”

“Not anymore? I have wives and principles.” Heian Ciemnosc said, pushing her hands away in a not-good humor. Cara smiled and nodded, “Alright, alright. My bad. If that beautiful wife of yours comes asking for answers, I’ll be the one to tell her I’m the bad girl. Hmm, wait… Did you say, wives? You’re being shared? And you’re in the 40%??... Like I’ll believe you! Hah! I’m sure you wouldn’t stop me if I asked to fellate you!”

“...” Heian Ciemnosc was left speechless. Since when was Cara this open to fool around? And why did she make it sound like he was seducing her passively? As if he was trying to bang everything that moved? He only wants to be a proper, gentlemanly husband who plays with whoever his wives tell him to! What’s so wrong about that?

“Alright, I’ll leave. Next time, I won’t molest you while you’re unconscious, and I will always ask first. Is that enough?” Cara said as she stood up and showed him the bucket’s contents, emptied and with his body starting a new healing process. Heian Ciemnosc nodded and gestured at her with his right hand. He wanted to use the left, but he didn’t have one… Cara smiled slightly and nodded. She picked up her skirt, dusted it, and left the bedroom with Heian Ciemnosc’s body well-cleaned up. Before leaving, she sent a tiny cloud of dusty Neutral Energy to clean the ‘sweet’ aroma for females. All Heian Ciemnosc smelled was just his typical scent of sperm, nothing else.

‘Sigh…’ Heian Ciemnosc mentally shook his head that he is such a desirable young man. He was so handsome, after all.

… Heian Ciemnosc didn’t have to wait too long, as the door sounded with a ‘creak’ and an expectant Beto walked in. He looked at Heian Ciemnosc, who tried a shirt but threw it away and just wore his dark coat. Heian Ciemnosc looked uncomfortable with upper clothing after his left arm was destroyed. Heian Ciemnosc looked up and turned his head before facing Beto. Beto walked forward, smiled slightly, and patted Heian Ciemnosc’s left shoulder.

“It’s good you’re awake,” Beto said. He grabbed Heian Ciemnosc’s right hand and shook it. Heian Ciemnosc looked at his team leader weirdly before directly asking. “Team leader, was ‘mommy’ helping me whenever Cara’s treatment finished? Or… she was away?”

“Mn, yeah. She took care of contact with many alchemists and even used half her gold coins to buy them. Your Covert Space bags have a complex array formation. Not even she could open them, and we didn’t want to break them. The same thing happened to your Ornament. Wei only opened them a couple days ago and has been repairing them ever since. Wei also made sure your medicine was well mixed. The alchemists had to work hard for 20 hours before she let them go. She worked hard.”

“Oh,” Heian Ciemnosc exclaimed, his doubts about what his unconscious body went through confirmed. He looked at Beto and nodded. “I will. Where are we? How long since I was unconscious? And… what happens now with the Faction?”

“Hey~, easy. You just started being seen in a different light by your teammates. Without your shenanigans, we would’ve had to request more Fighters after not having to for decades. It would’ve been embarrassing, you know?” Beto pressed Heian Ciemnosc’s shoulders with his fingertips, stopping Heian Ciemnosc from asking more questions. Then, he elaborated while sitting beside the seat Cara sat on.

“It’s been 12 days since we departed from the Carrier and that space station. We’re at our destination. We used the last Rychly Transporting Formation Array and continued flying until arriving here. We’ve already contacted the main force. They’ve sent our Frigate to pick us up after confirming we couldn’t move away. They’ll arrive in a day or 2, depending on the time limit they gave our Frigate commander. Or… if she cares about you or not. We arrived here 6… days ago. You’ve been out since the 4th day, so…”

“I understand,“ Heian Ciemnosc nodded. Beto nodded in return and continued, “There was no one from the Empire we’re aiding, but we received intel from an attendant that they hid because their enemy’s whole spacecraft flew around here, scaring them. They were going to hide for 2 weeks, but after they received word from us, they contacted me, and we’ll meet in 2 hours. Wanna come?”

Heian Ciemnosc nodded and straightened his back, feeling like his body could move so effortlessly, unlike before, when he was still conscious in that battle. Beto nodded back and led Heian Ciemnosc outside the bedroom. And when they exited the room, Heian Ciemnosc's darkest eyes welcomed the superficial sunlight. It fell on them but didn't reflect, and they remained wholly dark without difference between pupils and irises other than a thin line that looked more imaginary than real the more one looked.

Heian Ciemnosc looked up into the sky, and for a minute, he didn't lower his head until he felt it was enough. Beto waited a few meters before him, not moving, and let the big boy have his peaceful moment.

Step, step... Heian Ciemnosc continued walking. Beto also resumed walking and headed towards the meeting Beto had arranged. The merchants' enemies were... obliterated, after all. Although not everyone was destroyed in space, a tiny margin of their spacecraft fled after the Frigate's charge was blocked by just 2 people. They were scared out of their minds to leave not just the battle but the war as a whole. Thus, no more danger could threaten the Team or the Empire they were contracted to help.

Heian Ciemnosc was debriefed of all the small details everyone else in the Team already knew, and when things became silent again, Beto guided him towards a tower-like structure that was just a store for several different purposes from Craftsmaking products to Stone and coin trade. However, this was the meeting place, and the owners were none other than the people who contacted the Crimsonbreaking Faction.

"... Crimsonbreaking Faction's Team's leader has arrived, Beto. Your miss Rila contacted us in person, and she-" Beto walked to a man's stall outside the tower-like structure and spoke. But before Beto could finish elaborating, since there was no keyword or phrase, the man stopped Beto and gestured to wait before rushing into the tower.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

...Step, step, step. Shortly after, 3 people walked out of the store building straight towards Beto and Heian Ciemnosc. They were 2 young men and a woman, wearing military uniforms and worried expressions. Then, they saw the emblems on Beto's upper-right chest and Heian Ciemnosc's dark coat. They relaxed and hurried over with fawning, pleased faces.

They ignored Heian Ciemnosc's half-bare body and walked up to them, bowed, and respectfully asked. "I see our friends managed to escape hell. We're so glad! Is the cargo safe? What happened to our merchant vessels? Where is miss Rila?"

"Miss Rila..." Heian Ciemnosc stepped forth as Beto didn't intervene and let him interject. While speaking, Heian Ciemnosc brought something from a dark bubble that suddenly formed at his chin and enlarged to cover his mouth. Everyone could see how Heian Ciemnosc's jaws opened wide but didn't see how as miss Rila's corpse came out of the dark bubble, streaming down.

Miss Rila's corpse wasn't complete. Her skin paled a little, more than when she was alive for the last minute of her life. Her legs, right arm, and shoulder were gone, and her skin was slightly flaccid, as if it had been layered off of her body but continued remaining on their spot.

Heian Ciemnosc presented them with the corpse with his hands on her back. Her clothing had been erased before she could preserve her carcass, but he covered it with a piece of fabric and tied it around it with a quickly created string from some Faunas' fur. He made them resistant and slightly luxurious, though.

"Hoohhk!" The young man fell to his knees and lifted his hands, facing the sky, tremblingly supporting miss Rila's corpse's lower back. The others stepped in and held miss Rila's body together, then looked up at Heian Ciemnosc with pain in their eyes. "What happened? She... It had to be absolutely necessary if miss Rila... perished."

Heian Ciemnosc knelt with his right knee and supported his body with his left elbow on the other thigh before nudging forwards and saying with a cold expression. His pale red lips slightly protruded forwards and looked attractive but coldly serious. "A Frigate was dispatched to end us. Her death wasn't hiding in the spaceship for safety. She perished fighting a whole Frigate by herself... Who was she?"

"... Thank you, uhm..." The man stood up with his comrades' help and faced Heian Ciemnosc after bowing his head deeply, but didn't know how to address Heian Ciemnosc. Beto stepped with his right foot and nodded at them. His mouth opened, but it halted and only moved after a second, "Black monster. You can call him by his nickname."

"Black monster, miss Rila was- is one of the crown princess's personal maids." The man said as he gently and carefully held miss Rila's corpse, not desiring to put it in a Covert Space bag. "She will be known for her merits. This... is nothing ordinary. We will always remember her as our greatest General under our Ancestral Empress and Emperor."

"If she was that important, why was she sent to do this job and not others?" Heian Ciemnosc asked the 3 before they departed. They were about to turn around but stopped at Heian Ciemnosc's mention. Looking at him, the other young man softly uttered, "Because only she could do it. And she wanted to do so herself. She wouldn't let others do it."

"..." Heian Ciemnosc kept quiet. He remembered the young woman's determination, regulations, and will to keep those goods safe, reminding his teammates and team leader how important it was to keep them intact... He was a little shaken.

Step, step, step.

"Heian Ciemnosc?" Beto said just as was busy placing boxes full of ingredients, materials, and other items on the floor for other people from their employer to pick up as they exited the tower-like structure. Heian Ciemnosc ignored him and opened one. He returned to the trio with miss Rila's corpse and presented them a fruit similar to grapes, with buds from a light cyan color in his only pale hand.

"Black monster?" Although surprised, they didn't feel ill-intent from Heian Ciemnosc and asked him confusedly. That was from the most important batch of resources they had bled and sold their Souls to attain. Heian Ciemnosc looked at them, his darkest eyes becoming mighty attractive, charming them to hear him out, yes or yes.

"I don't care who your negligent crown princess is, but with this Tearbreeding Fruit, I will make something in her honor." Heian Ciemnosc said while gesturing towards the corpse in one of the young man's careful embrace.

"!!" The trio looked at him, shocked. Beto looked at him, silently startled. Heian Ciemnosc relaxed his stance and lowered his arm, still grabbing onto that fruit but a little weaker.

"Sir, we thank you, but you've suffered from our task a lot. Losing a limb is too much! If you will it, you can keep this fruit. We have more, as you know it, but-" The other young man walked forth and shook his head, not wanting to trouble the Crimsons anymore. However, Heian Ciemnosc shrugged his shoulders and elaborated.

"Nah, I don't mind. Miss Rila's actions were good, and I liked them. This, I will do for them. I wonder if you'll let me keep a set of 3 pills, 1 incense, and 1 potion after I concoct, brew, and forge them." Heian Ciemnosc's words startled the trio and formed a cheeky, wide smile on Beto's lips. He looked as the trio agreed to Heian Ciemnosc's proposition, and Heian Ciemnosc walked into the tower-like structure.

"Don't worry, he's good. Although I never saw him concoct something as difficult as this, he should at least make upper-quality pills." Beto walked to them and said, trying to comfort them. He didn't know how silly his words were.

. . .

Several days later, only a few hours from the Crimsonbreaking Carrier. Early morning. In the Frigate's mini-storage, where Fighters could be repaired and resupplied.

Heian Ciemnosc stood near the commander, who was standing on a stage slightly higher than the floor with his teammates and team leader around him. Beto stood before everyone else and mommy Ruo Wei beside Heian Ciemnosc. Their shoulders were near each other, and they bumped into each other sideways, like dumb kids playing to spend time.

During these few days, Heian Ciemnosc's pale left hand only needed more flesh and his pale skin to regrow... oh, and his fingers. After waking up and concocting pills only few in the world can smoothly gain access to, the same with the potions and incenses he made from just 1 Tearbreeding Fruit, Heian Ciemnosc shocked the employer's people and his Team when he offered top-notch Herbal-Wonder Tear pills.

Just as Heian Ciemnosc had once found the Orangebreeding Fruits, and they were renowned as the greatest augmenting type of an alchemist's product in the First Step since it boosted one's talent in everything, including the Soul, the Tearbreeding Fruits were their evolved form, useful for the Second Step.

Heian Ciemnosc spent a lot of effort concocting, brewing, and forging pills, potions, and incense with the fruit because he couldn't fail. He wanted to see if he could succeed on the first try and also do it for the brave warrioress's sake, even if it was childish.

However, when he delivered the results to the trio and showed off in front of his team leader, it proved more than worthy. Heian Ciemnosc was thus known as a top-notch alchemist in the Second Step, which only made sense to them after hearing so much bullshit about the Wrath Nihility Academy's clubs whenever they got curious to know about their new teammate.

However, the 3 pills, 1 potion, and incense Heian Ciemnosc kept weren't for himself or his Team. Either way, the Team now knew he could be this amazing, although they didn't know since when...

On the other hand, Heian Ciemnosc looked for Ruo Wei more often after the situation with Heian Ciemnosc gifting their Employer's abundantly. Knowing she did much for him without asking, being asked, or owing him anything, as she even owed him instead. Heian Ciemnosc decided to charm her into becoming one of his doors to become accepted into the Crimsonbreaking Faction.

The Team itself was Heian Ciemnosc's most important early door, but it was a gesture showcasing Ruo Wei's importance in Heian Ciemnosc's brain. She didn't push him away like before. Instead, they slowly grew to know each other. He and Cara already started that phase, albeit differently, but with Ruo Wei, Heian Ciemnosc could exchange and share his Craftsmaking experience in creating spacecraft, warships, and armored vehicles.

From speaking his tales of the Sinvonnia Kingdom, where he believed he knew everything about armored vehicles and warships and their peak state, to devising a unique Ornament for himself. Ruo Wei spent most of her time shaking her head when hearing him out, but she slowly grew used to his presence, and his status as the outcast dwindled fast.

Moy and Clanton didn't need to spend time with him like Cara or Ruo Wei. They were all bros in the end. Thus, after the Frigate arrived, and brought them away, he repaired his Ornament with Ruo Wei and Cara. Beto was even less needed to spend time with Heian Ciemnosc, as he was the most receptive among the Team.

Heian Ciemnosc started feeling like one of his foot's toes was stepping into a warm circle conformed by the others, and they were watching him with open eyes as he sneakily made his way inside.

However, the Frigate was too small for doing races, and they had to return asap, so they couldn't go to space since the Frigate was at maximum speed at all times. Fortunately, they didn't have to choose their Kingdoms safely as they were no longer burdened by the bribing wars between lower powerhouses.

However, Heian Ciemnosc was now about to step up the stage with the rest of the Team and saw 7 different boxes with medals on them. While he was ruefully smiling and the commander was finishing a small speech, he felt Ruo Wei clench his right, existent hand... with fingers— and nudge at him. This was the first time Heian Ciemnosc was encouraged by a fellow soldier unit, so he was left astonished and didn't notice the commander had finished her speech.

"... Team #&!$!/·!%! has passed this test, and their place in our big family of killers, conquerors, and criminals strengthened. Give this bunch of survivors applause. They have stepped higher in their path of cultivation!"

Wooooh... Heian Ciemnosc and the Team walked forward, but he let his teammates step up first and took last place with Ruo Wei nodding towards him, reminding him he... wouldn't remain alone for much longer. The sound from the crowd was ecstatic but not loud, and they were pretty chill still.

...