Joji returned to his room, lit the mana stone chandeliers, and began to read.
With Head Knight Gregorius's guidance and the notes left behind by the original Joji's father, the Everhart Tempest Arts finally began to make sense.
It was not the rigid style he had first imagined. It could shift to suit the moment, almost like a tool with many uses.
Close quarters. Marksmanship. Even the sort of controlled movement that could carry into ordinary work around a household.
It did not bind its user to a single weapon path.
Joji had never been a master of combat in his past life. He had started as a man with a bachelor's degree in physical therapy, then pushed through medical school and earned his license in his fifties.
For years, he had used that knowledge to keep his own body functioning like a youth. Now he began turning it into a weapon.
He started with what he understood best. Bodies were made of limits and leverage. Tendons held tension. Bones bore weight. Muscles pulled and released in patterns a man could study the way he studied exercise.
Aura was new to Joji, but it did not feel like a miracle. He followed the book's instructions, then tested them against his own senses.
Control through muscle seemed to be the key to using it without burning himself out.
More aura did not automatically mean more destruction. It only meant more to lose if he moved like a fool.
The book put it in its own blunt way. Aura answered like another limb. Not some distant glow hanging in the air, but an untrained arm that could go numb the moment his focus slipped.
So Joji practiced carefully. Every clench. Every flex. Every slight adjustment of shoulder, hip, and wrist. Each repetition was measured.
"Man, that felt like reading one useful reddit post," he muttered.
Then he checked his status window, and what he saw there left him genuinely stunned.
{Name: Joji of Sins Crossroad} {Age: 21}
{Constitution: Embryonic Storm Bringer}
{First Job: (Rank 3) Knight}
{Aura: 13.1}
{Mana: 2.2}
{Brawn: 5.4}
{Quickness: 5.1}
{Wisdom: 20.4} (⇧ 1.2)
{Stamina: 16.1}
{Charisma: 17.9}
{Fortune: 27.5}
{PROGRESS OF ARTS AND TRAINING}
{Fundamental Level of Swordsmanship}
{Measure of Proficiency: 65.4%}
{Intermediate Level of Swordsmanship}
{Measure of Proficiency: 12.2%}
{Everhart Tempest Arts Series: 3/10} {Rank: S}
{Lightness of the Wind}
{Measure of Proficiency: 9.0%} (⇧ 6.6)
{Emerald Blade Wind}
{Measure of Proficiency: 8.4%} (⇧ 6.5)
{Protectorate Barrier Wind}
{Measure of Proficiency: 7.6%} (⇧ 6.1)
{TITLES AND ACHIEVEMENTS}
{Everyman - Can do, learn, and master pretty much any kind of job.}
After a moment of smug satisfaction, Joji glanced at the bed and dropped onto it.
He did not even notice the sun had already risen again.
When he woke, he felt oddly refreshed. He wiped himself down with a towel and a nearby bucket of water, then made his way to the dining hall.
No one was there. The long table sat empty.
"Weird... where's everybody at?" he murmured.
A passing maid noticed him standing there and stopped at once.
"Sir Joji. What may I do for you?"
"Why's nobody here for breakfast? Something going on?" he asked.
"There is nothing amiss, sir. It is already half past three in the afternoon," the maid said, then gestured toward the water clock.
"My bad," Joji muttered, catching himself. "Where's the food, though?"
"Allow me to bring you a large serving, sir," the maid said, then hurried off.
A short while later, Joji left with a heavy cloche in one hand and a pitcher in the other.
Then he headed for Daisy. Some old instinct in him, the kind that had survived age and another life, told him she was not in a bad mood.
He knocked on her door and called out his name.
"Yo, Daisy, baby girl, you in there?"
"Come in," Daisy said from behind the door.
Daisy looked a little crestfallen. She had wanted their little moments together to happen every day, wanted Joji's touch again, wanted that sweet blankness he left in her mind.
Joji recognized that disappointed look at once. It was the same quiet hurt as a wife waiting with dinner, only to hear her husband had already eaten elsewhere.
He set the food down on the side table, still learning which turns of phrase sounded smooth in this world and which came off awkward.
"Daisy," Joji said softly, "allow me the taste of your lips."
Daisy closed her eyes and turned her face toward him at once.
Joji met her gently, guiding her with care.
Daisy tried to return the kiss as best she could.
She was clumsy, but never forceful, and that only made her seem more tender, more delicate, more endearing.
"Daisy, look at me when you kiss me," Joji murmured.
So he taught her slowly, with patience, showing her how to follow his pace and not fear the closeness.
By the time he drew back, Daisy's face had already turned a shade of pink from their little lesson.
Joji wanted this woman to want only him. For all his years as an adult film actor, he had still managed to build relationships that meant something.
The only line he had never been willing to cross was children. It was not because of some sordid past.
He had simply loved his life too much to trade it away. He did not regret any of it.
The grand parties. The yacht. The fine restaurants every other day. The travel. The freedom to go where he pleased and live exactly as he liked.
None of that left bitterness in him. Not once. But this life was different.
In the last stretch of his old life, Joji had begun to think that having children might not be so bad after all.
And now, in a world like this, it felt like the right time to see what that choice might mean.
Joji then remembered the masochistic themes Daisy had in her book.
Joji was well versed in the ways of women. He knew that readers like Daisy always had these fantasies running through their thoughts.
They spent their nights dreaming of the very things they feared during the day. They wanted to be overpowered by a man who knew their secrets.
Some would even go as far as to do it with a stranger just to feel it.
Joji did not want to be a cuck because he failed to indulge Daisy in such a fun activity.
He would be the one to give her everything she dreamed of. He would make sure she never had a reason to look at anyone else.
Daisy was no small woman at five feet and nine inches. She was the same height as her mother, but she was tiny in front of Joji who stood at a flat seven feet.
Joji lifted her skirt to reveal the simple loincloth covering her private parts. He spread her legs like the wings of a bird.
Daisy wanted to struggle, but Joji was too strong. Her stomach churned with butterflies as her pink blush turned into a fervent red. She was excited for what was coming.
Joji lifted her high toward the ceiling. His lips found her pussy and he began to suck. He loved how his future wife tasted.
Daisy felt like her body no longer belonged to her. Her hips moved on their own toward his mouth.
Daisy fought the urge to scream. Her lips trembled with the weight of indecent moans that threatened to spill out. It was as if her body wanted to tell the whole world what she was doing.
Her mind felt fuzzy and her eyes teared up in pure bliss. Joji looked up from his work.
Joji loved how she stopped herself from making any sound. She acted as if they were doing something illegal.
The silence in the room made every wet sound feel louder. It made the heat between them feel more dangerous.
Joji wanted to see more. He pushed her further and intensified his tongue action just to see if she would finally break her vow of silence.
Daisy now started trembling. She was certain soiling her self in this room will smell, and despite how pleasant she smelled, she knew her mother could tell she had gave Joji a unsightly display of herself right here.
The trembling took over Daisy's entire frame. She feared the mess she was making would ruin the air of the chamber. She was a woman of high standing but here she was nothing but a fountain for Joji's hunger.
The image of her mother entered Daisy's mind. She knew the woman would smell the musk of her daughter's surrender.
The Duchess would know she had given Joji a shameful display. The thought of almost getting caught made Daisy more aroused.
Her heart hammered against her ribs with a new kind of fear. It was the fear of a secret being exposed.
Morality tried to fight inside Daisy. She puckered her lips and bit them down hard to keep the sounds of her surrender trapped.
She tried hard not to let any sound out. She looked at Joji while her head kept shaking from the intensity.
Her face was already wet with tears and her nose was getting runny from the extreme pleasure. She was a mess of salt and heat in his arms.
Joji stared up at her with a look of pure satisfaction. He loved seeing her like this.
Joji relished the pitiful sight of the broken heiress. The sight of her ruin only made him want to push further.
He worked his tongue with a savage intensity. Daisy's thighs shook like reeds in a storm. He watched as her opening start to become stiff as the muscles locked up.
With a blur of motion, Joji grabbed a table napkin. He brought her down just enough to catch the flood. Daisy sprayed against the cloth until she was spent.
Joji worked his hand with a savage intensity against her swollen slit. Daisy reached out and bit down hard on the meat of Joji's neck. Joji did not pull away from the sting of her teeth. He welcomed her aggression.
He continued the rhythmic motion until her body was shaking with a new wave of pleasure. She poured her muffled grunts into his skin as Joji kept making her release her fluids. The friction was relentless and left her gasping for air.
Joji put her by the cushioned bench and placed her hand on her pussy. He started guiding Daisy's hand with his own.
"I want you to pleasure yourself while I watch," Joji said.
Daisy was a fast learner. Her own weakness exposed itself quickly.
She never knew she could feel this way. There was no masturbation or self-pleasure in this world.
People preferred to focus on survival by looking for inheritances or manuals. Joji gulped down water and ate ham while he watched her.
"Joji, this feels really good. I do not want my hands to stop," Daisy said.
She felt hot being watched by her man. She felt like a temptress exclusively for him.
Daisy was about to climax again when a knock came at the door.
"Daisy. May I come enter?"
Daisy's gaze went wide at the sound of the door, but her body was already lost to the peak.
Her pussy pulsed and she trembled as Joji helped her release. His fingers rubbed her swollen pussy with a frantic rhythm.
Daisy thought Joji did not care anymore if her mother saw them. She let herself go and allowed her mind to wander on how deep Joji's love was.
Joji felt misunderstood by his masochistic fiancee for being labeled an exhibitionist.
Still, he kept his cool. Nothing came from panicking.
Joji lifted Daisy up while she was still trembling in his right arm.
She looked down at the velvet of the cushioned bench.
Her long legs were marked, and a drip of herself remained in the middle of the material.
"Daisy, are you not there?" Duchess Rosalind called again from outside.
Joji leaned close and whispered what Daisy ought to say.
Her thoughts were plainly running wild, and if he did not guide her now, she might betray everything with a single word.
"Mother, allow me a moment of silence," Daisy called back, though her voice still trembled.
"Are you feeling unwell? Should I call Jane to look you over?" Rosalind asked, sharp enough to catch the strain in her tone.
"No. I am only reflecting on my magical practice," Daisy said, trying to sound steady.
"Very well. Shall I return later?" her mother asked.
While mother and daughter spoke through the door, Joji moved quickly.
He used his aura like a blower and started drying the velvet bench. He took the perfume from Daisy's desk and poured it where her scent might mark the fabric.
He also threw the soiled table napkin out the window.
"Use some fireball to dry out the velvet and the carpet," Joji commanded.
Daisy nodded. Her hands produced a flame. She held the heat close to the slick of her fluids and the perfume oils Joji had dripped into it.
Soon everything looked proper. The room felt fresh and the evidence was gone.
Then he turned back to Daisy.
Her face still wore that foolishly bright smile, the sort that would tell on her faster than any stain or scent.
Joji reached up and adjusted her expression with his fingers, trying to smooth some composure back into her.
"Be serious, Daisy," he whispered. "I do not want the duchess thinking you are wanton. Let this remain our little secret."
Daisy nodded and gave a small cough, forcing her face into something more proper.
Even so, the happiness still lingered too plainly in her eyes, and Joji could only hope her mother would not notice.
Joji himself needed a reason to be here. His eyes moved quickly and fell on the stack of knightly missions Daisy had been sorting through.
That would do. With papers in hand, he could pretend he had been reading all along. Once everything was set, he schooled his face into something grave and opened the door.
Duchess Rosalind stepped inside.
Surprise flickered across her face at the sight of Joji. She studied him with the sharp, measuring gaze of a woman used to seeing more than others meant to show.
Then her eyes shifted to Daisy and narrowed. There was a faint dampness at her daughter's brow, and the slightest sheen of sweat above her lip.
Worse still, her eyes were too bright, too openly pleased, though Rosalind could not have said exactly why.
Even so, she crossed the room and sat on the cushioned bench.
It was the same one where Daisy had spread her legs earlier while Joji watched. She was completely unaware that she had covered the crime of these two.
"Well then, Sir Joji, you seem deeply invested in those papers," Duchess Rosalind said. "Can you not spare my daughter even a passing glance?"
Joji truly did fix his attention on the papers then. He needed to. It was the surest way to keep both himself and Daisy from being found out.
"I was looking over a mission," Joji said, then held one of the sheets toward her.
It concerned beast attacks and missing townsfolk in a settlement a day's ride away.
Rosalind took it, though her thoughts wandered elsewhere.
She had never known any wild sort of passion with her husband.
The man had been honorable to a fault. He had kissed her, bedded her once to give her Daisy, and after that there had been little beyond quiet affection and duty.
That was the way of many in this age, especially among knights who took their vows and crafts too seriously to be ruled by appetite.
So she guessed the two had perhaps stolen a kiss or two.
She could not begin to imagine how Joji kissed her daughter, nor where those kisses had already wandered.
"Well then, Sir Joji," Rosalind said lightly, "do you mean to greet those beasts with kisses as well when you find them?"
Daisy's face turned red at once. Whatever composure she had forced onto herself convinced no one.
The knot of fear in her chest finally unraveled. The sting of potential ruin was gone. Her vulgar tryst with Joji remained hidden beneath a layer of perfume.
"What does kissing the beast meant?" Joji played dumb, then went serious. "Aren't we ending anybody out here? Says here twenty people are already missing."
Duchess Rosalind spared the pair any further teasing. Instead, she took the paper from Joji's hand, read the name, and slowly shook her head.
"I know that woman," she said. "She is the widow of the late town mayor. Both of them once served here, one as a magician and the other as a knight."
Her eyes shifted to Daisy.
"When did this request for aid arrive?"
"It came yesterday afternoon," Daisy said at once.
"I'll go," Joji said.
Daisy moved before anyone could answer. She stepped into him and wrapped both arms around his shoulders, clinging tight.
They had only just begun to find this new closeness with one another, and already he was talking about leaving.
"You shouldn't. Please, Joji," she said, her eyes already reddening.
Joji patted her back and gently shook his head. There was no need to speak the ugly truth aloud. Both of them knew it well enough.
They were broke.
Between them, they had little more than twenty thousand each, and that was not the kind of money that lasted forever in a world like this.
Joji needed coin, yes, but more than that he needed footing. Connections. Experience. A better sense of how the land traded.
"Let me show you something."
He pulled out the Everhart Tempest Arts and held it up, letting the proof speak for itself.
Duchess Rosalind drew Daisy back to her side and gave her a small, firm shake of the head.
"Daisy. He already cast aside his future once to protect your honor. This time, you should simply stand by him," Duchess Rosalind said, in the tone of a mother teaching her daughter how to be a good wife.
Then Rosalind looked back at Joji, her gaze sharpened by the expectation that he had already thought this through.
Joji answered before she could ask.
"I do have a plan. But it is better if only two people go."