Episode 29
We stayed at the temple as guests until the Saint’s token arrived from the Holy See to the Lancaster Temple.
The life of a guest… was truly a 100% satisfying life. Food came automatically, warm water was provided, and there was a cozy bed. All we had to do as guests was attend morning prayers and give thanks to the goddess before meals. Compared to the benefits we received, it was ridiculously simple.
Mom, I want to live here forever.
“…But I haven’t seen the Saintess lately.”
For a while, the Saintess was either busy or completely out of sight. It was nice not having to deal with her annoying remarks, but it also felt a bit lonely without her around.
“…Well, she might just be busy.”
Anyway, once the token arrives from the Holy See, we’ll be together again. Until then, I’ll enjoy this freedom.
*Knock knock.*
Then, there was a knock at the door. A shy, light tap, waiting for me. I didn’t even need to see who it was.
Should I not open it? I briefly considered it. But that felt too mean, so I sighed and got up.
“…Chloe, what’s up?”
As expected, when I opened the door, there stood a girl with purple hair. Chloe. Lately, she’s been coming every day, pestering me to play with her since the Saintess has been out of sight.
But today, Chloe was wearing something a bit different. It wasn’t unfamiliar clothing, but it was something she had no reason to wear.
“How do I look, Hero?”
“…Why are you wearing a nun’s habit?”
Chloe was dressed in the habit of the Solaria Order nuns. Aren’t you a follower of the Rudria Church…?
“I felt bad just lounging around in the temple, so I decided to help the nuns. I wore this to assist them.”
“Oh, so you were volunteering?”
“Yes! Did I do well?”
That’s actually kind of impressive.
…Meanwhile, I’ve just been holed up in my room, doing nothing. I feel a bit ashamed now.
“…You did well. Thanks for your hard work.”
“Hehe, more importantly, Hero!”
“Huh?”
“How do I look?”
Chloe grinned and pointed at herself in the nun’s habit, her eyes and demeanor practically demanding praise.
It felt like watching a niece proudly showing off her perfect homework.
“You look cute. It suits you.”
I complimented her like I would a niece. Surely, she’d be satisfied and leave now, right?
But Chloe’s reaction was more intense than I expected.
“Really? You really think I’m cute!?”
…Why, why are you like this?
Chloe’s eyes sparkled as she insisted on confirming my words.
If I didn’t answer, she’d probably cling to me even more. Reluctantly, I nodded slightly, and Chloe blushed, covering her cheeks with her hands and twisting her body.
“Aah~♡ The Hero said I’m cute!”
“…No, that’s not the nuance…”
Chloe was already lost in her own delusions, barely listening to me. She’s acting even weirder than usual today, Chloe.
…I should probably get out of here.
Carefully stepping past Chloe, who was twisting her body and lost in her fantasies, I left the room. Run away!
#
“Hero, if you want, I can wear other outfits too. Of course, I can also do whatever you want… Hero?”
Snapping out of her delusions, Chloe’s eyes widened. Abel, who had been there just a moment ago, was now gone.
“…Hero?”
Chloe spent a long time searching for Abel after that.
#
“…Haa, haa… Kids these days are scary.”
Coming at me like that… Are you trying to turn me into a criminal?
I ran as fast as I could after leaving the room. Chloe probably won’t find me for a while. I caught my breath and looked around.
“…Where am I?”
I ran without thinking and ended up somewhere I didn’t recognize. The temple grounds are so vast that I haven’t even explored all of it yet.
“Is this marble?”
The path here was entirely paved with white marble. It felt like a place for sacred rituals.
Come to think of it, I saw a large ivory gate when I came this way. Is this also a place dedicated to the goddess?
Curious, I walked a bit further. Nothing particularly stood out, but there was a bit of steam rising. What’s with this steam?
“Hum hum~♬”
Someone was humming. Oh, what a nice voice. It’s as beautiful as the voice the Saintess once shared at the Adventurer’s Guild.
I followed the humming, curious about who had such a lovely voice.
But the further I went, the thicker the steam became.
“…Why is there so much steam?”
Wondering what this place was, I quickened my steps. I’ll just ask the person humming.
Following the white marble path, I finally found the source of the humming. And the source of the steam.
“…Uh.”
“…Hero?”
…A bathhouse?
#
The place Abel had fled to was the “Purification Sanctuary” inside the temple. A sacred place where believers cleanse themselves with holy water to purify their impurities.
Abel had stumbled into this place. While entering the Purification Sanctuary itself wasn’t a problem, the issue was that he had wandered into the area designated for female believers.
“…Uh… uh…”
Abel was frozen in panic, and Estelle, who had just noticed him, wasn’t much better.
Her usual confident demeanor was nowhere to be seen, and her mind went blank as she faced Abel.
Both were too stunned to process the situation, but Estelle was the first to speak.
“…H-Hero, w-what are you…?”
Estelle stuttered as she spoke. Abel, even more flustered, waved his hands in apology.
“I-I’m so sorry!!! I’ll leave right now! Please don’t misunderstand, I just took a wrong turn…!”
Abel turned to leave immediately, but then footsteps were heard approaching from the entrance.
Abel and Estelle instinctively locked eyes, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. The problem was, Estelle was completely naked.
“…Uh…”
Abel’s mind went blank, and Estelle, blushing, quickly submerged herself deeper into the bath.
Meanwhile, the footsteps were getting closer. If this continued, Abel might actually become a criminal.
A shameless hero trying to assault the Saintess in the Purification Sanctuary—that’s what he was about to become.
Abel frantically looked around for a place to hide. But in this sacred place, there were only massive marble walls designed to prevent peeking—no hiding spots.
“…Hero, come here.”
“…Huh?”
“Quickly!”
*Splash!*
“Oh, Saintess, you’re here.”
The newcomers were nuns from the temple. Among them was the nun who had brought Abel his breakfast earlier.
Estelle greeted them with a serene smile.
“Hello, Sisters.”
Her smile practically screamed, “I’m the Saintess,” and the nuns bowed respectfully. One of them asked,
“Saintess, we heard voices earlier. Was someone else here?”
Estelle, covering her cheek with one hand, replied shyly.
“No, it was just me. I was humming a bit because I was in a good mood. I’m embarrassed that you heard.”
“Ah, I see.”
The nuns found her adorable and began undressing to perform their own purification rituals.
Estelle, keeping an eye on them, used a blessing.
《Solaria’s Grace》
She cast it on Abel, whom she had forcibly pulled underwater. Abel had been tapping her leg, unable to breathe.
With the blessing, the lack of oxygen vanished, and his body felt at ease.
Abel was amazed by the blessing’s effect.
Even now, it was hard to accept this situation easily.
‘…This is driving me crazy.’
Once my breathing stabilized, things I hadn’t noticed before came into view.
The biggest problem was that, because Estelle had pulled Abel underwater, her bare skin was fully exposed to him.
On top of that, as Estelle pulled Abel closer, his head ended up resting on her thigh, and her soft thigh was now pressed against his cheek.
And if he raised his gaze just a little, he could see Estelle’s chest.
‘…Good thoughts, good thoughts, good thoughts.’
At this moment, he had to be more restrained than a Bodhisattva. He knew Estelle wasn’t doing this to mess with him—she was trying to save him.
But to sneak a peek at her body in this situation? He felt like he’d be disqualified as a human being.
In fact, this whole situation was his fault to begin with, so he clenched his eyes shut and tried his best not to think about her body.
But Abel wasn’t a saint like a Bodhisattva. He might be a hero, but he was still just a regular human man. It wasn’t easy to stop his eyelids from instinctively fluttering open.
Every time his eyelids slightly opened and he caught a glimpse of Estelle’s bare skin, he’d squeeze his eyes shut again, only to give in to instinct and peek once more. He kept repeating this cycle.
“By the way, Saintess, you have an amazing figure~”
“…Huh? Ah, well, I suppose I can’t compare to Sister Rebecca.”
Sister Rebecca, as Estelle mentioned, had an impressive reservoir of Holy Power. Hearing this, Abel almost turned his head but stopped himself, not wanting to act like a beast.
“Oh, men these days prefer delicate styles like yours, Saintess. It triggers their protective instincts. I’m a bit too big, but you’re delicate and still have such a great figure, don’t you?”
“…I’m flattered by the compliment.”
Estelle didn’t mind having this kind of conversation. It was just a chat between women, and interacting with the nuns wasn’t something she avoided.
But given the current situation, she felt a little embarrassed. After all, Abel was listening to everything underwater.
After some time had passed, the nuns finished purifying themselves and got up, asking Estelle:
“Saintess, are you staying longer?”
“…I’ll stay a little longer.”
“Don’t stay too long, or you’ll collapse~”
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
As the nuns changed their clothes and left the sanctuary, Estelle let out a sigh of relief.
“Haa…”
She then released her grip on Abel’s head.
Abel cautiously surfaced, and Estelle immediately turned her head away.
The two of them seemed to be competing to see who could blush more, their ears turning bright red as they silently avoided each other’s gaze. It was hard to tell if their faces were red from the hot water or from embarrassment.
“…Hero.”
“…I-I’ll get going now!”
Abel, suddenly called out, stuttered and tried to leave in a hurry. But Estelle grabbed his hand with a *tap*.
“…The nuns might not have completely left yet. Wait a moment.”
“…Uh… uh… ah…”
The situation of her, naked, holding onto him was too much for Abel to process. He felt dizzy.
Of course, Estelle’s decision to hold him back was based on rational judgment, but Abel didn’t have the mental capacity to think about that right now.
“Stay here for a bit. I’ll go check if anyone’s still around.”
“Th-then what should I do…?”
Abel asked what he should do while Estelle was out of the bath.
“…Keep your eyes closed. You absolutely cannot open them until I’m fully dressed.”
“…Huh?”
“Quickly.”
Abel, flustered by her words, had no choice but to tightly shut his eyes.
“…They’re closed.”
“Keep them closed. Don’t open them no matter what.”
“…Okay.”
Estelle got up. The sound of water splashing as she stood told Abel that she had risen.
Estelle, suppressing her embarrassment, stepped out of the bath and looked at Abel. She wanted to check if he really wasn’t peeking.
True to her words, Abel kept his eyes tightly shut, not opening them even once. Watching him quietly, Estelle smiled softly.
‘He listens so well, how cute♥’
While feeling this way, she also grew curious if he really wouldn’t peek even once.
Estelle crouched in front of Abel and watched him quietly. But Abel truly kept his eyes closed.
Seeing this, Estelle felt oddly annoyed.
‘…Does the Hero not have any interest in my body?’
…That couldn’t be. Just from the way he looked at her after her shower, it was clear he was very interested.
But he’s holding back this well? Estelle glanced down at her own body. Her fair, smooth skin and slender waist. Unlike Chloe, she had an ideal figure with all the right curves.
Not to mention, the contrast of her wet black hair clinging to her pale skin looked even more attractive to her own eyes.
“…Hmm.”
He must be struggling. Maybe because she was confident he wouldn’t open his eyes, Estelle forgot her embarrassment and felt a mischievous urge.
Estelle’s finger *poked* Abel. But then…
“…Huh?”
“…Uh, uh, uh?!”
Abel opened his eyes. The moment he did, he saw Estelle and panicked, making strange noises, while Estelle froze, unable to say anything.
Abel quickly turned his head and blurted out something that wasn’t quite an apology.
“S-sorry! I thought you were done changing when you touched me!”
“…Ahhh…”
An awkward atmosphere lingered for a while. Estelle covered her face with her hands, embarrassed, while Abel kept coughing awkwardly, his head turned away. His eyes were tightly shut again.
“…Sorry. I’ll change quickly….”
“…Sorry for barging in.”
#
“…I’m dressed now, Hero. You can open your eyes.”
“…Ah, okay.”
Phew. I thought I was going to lose my mind. Turning my head back, there stood the Saintess in her priestly robes.
“…You’ve got your robes on, I see.”
“…Yes.”
“…They’re black this time.”
“…Yes.”
Damn, this is so awkward. In an instant, the Saintess and I became unbearably awkward. How do I fix this atmosphere?
“…Hero.”
“Yes?”
“…Ahem! Don’t do anything weird with today’s memories, Hero♡”
“…Huh???”
Another ridiculous comment…
‘…Huh?’
…Wait, no. I thought she was teasing me like usual, but her usual sly smile and smirk were gone. Instead, she looked almost shy.
It seemed the Saintess was just trying to lighten the awkward mood by throwing out her usual teasing remarks.
If I react weirdly here, the atmosphere will just get worse.
“…I won’t.”
“…Liar♡ You checked out every part of my body today~♡”
“…I didn’t look.”
I did look. Honestly, it’s still stuck in my head, but I’ll try to forget it….
The Saintess, instead of her usual natural smile, gave a very awkward smile and said:
“…Pervert♡ Beast♡ I’ve been teased by the Hero♡ I can’t get married now~♡”
“The Saintess wasn’t going to get married anyway.”
When I retorted like usual, the Saintess glanced at me.
…Huh? Did I mess up?
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. It was a look of dissatisfaction. The Saintess, with that look, said one thing:
“…Idiot.”
