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“Ah! Our Hero has arrived!”

“Greetings.”

Indeed, the timing was tight, as by the time I arrived, everyone except me had already gathered.

At least thanks to Yuli handing me a sandwich, I could avoid skipping breakfast.

However, since I had rushed over and couldn’t chew and swallow properly, my mouth was still stuffed with a half-eaten bite of the sandwich.

“Why not swallow what’s in your mouth before speaking?”

“…Gulp. Hello, Saint.”

After a few more chews, I could finally greet Mariel properly again.

“Yes, hello. Well… it’s definitely important to eat breakfast.”

“Hmph, hmph! Eating is always right, isn’t it?”

During the first semester, I often skipped breakfast due to being short on money, but by the second semester, there were hardly any days I missed it.

This was partly thanks to the support I received after becoming a Hero, and living in a four-person room with my friends, which meant Selian and Yuli always dragged me along for breakfast.

As for Anne?

While I usually got up on time and made my way to the dining hall by myself, Anne couldn’t get up even after numerous attempts to wake her, requiring one of us to literally grab her hand and pull her along for her to stumble behind us.

Even then, she was still half-asleep, eyes closed, and sometimes you could hear her unique snoring sounds while she slept.

The good news is that once we got to the dining hall and she smelled the food, she finally woke up.

“You didn’t skip breakfast today, did you, Saint?”

“Umm… Of course, I usually make it a point to eat breakfast, but since I had to prepare early today…”

With a sheepish expression, Mariel gently rubbed her belly with her slender hand.

Without Selian and Yuli’s help, I too would have ended up skipping breakfast like Mariel.

“Ah! Would you like some of my sandwich? It’s just breakfast, and I can’t finish it all anyway…”

“Huh?”

I hesitantly held out the sandwich that I had only taken one bite of towards Mariel.

However, Mariel only gave a short exclamation and didn’t respond.

“Saint?”

“Uh, yes!? Did you call for me?”

When I called her once more, she finally answered with a startled expression.

“I was asking if you’d like to have some of my sandwich.”

“Huh? Oh, right….”

Mariel spoke as if it wasn’t about her.

Considering she wasn’t showing any signs of refusal, it seemed like Mariel was also hungry.

So why hadn’t she asked to share?

Was she doubting the taste of the sandwich? But she had already seen me take a bite. Unless I made it look unappetizing, this assumption might be off.

Then perhaps another possibility—was she feeling guilty about eating my breakfast?

This assumption seemed quite plausible.

Sometimes Mariel followed her own interests and haggled, but she was generally sincere with her goodwill.

Whether it’s kindness shown to her by others or vice versa.

“Really, you don’t have to refuse. Why act so formal between us? If you want to eat, just go ahead.”

“Oh, no, it’s just…”

I slightly lifted the sandwich I was holding in my hand towards Mariel.

Yet she seemed hesitant, her gaze still glued to the sandwich.

“Ah! It might feel a bit weird since I’ve already taken a bite. Just wait a moment. I’ll cut it in half…”

“Ah, no! One bite is enough for me!”

I had intended to tear off half of the sandwich to give her the untouched part, but Mariel grabbed my hand as if I were trying to take it away and slowly brought her mouth to the sandwich.

Perhaps aware that I had mentioned my bite, Mariel chewed into the very part I had nibbled, attempting to make it less awkward for me.

However, the portion she bit off was so small that she only managed to take just my bite-size portion.

What’s more, perhaps due to her reluctance to eat much, she seemed to be trying to savor it as she wasn’t moving her jaw at all.

After slowly letting the sandwich roll around in her mouth for a while, she finally swallowed it with a disappointed expression.

“Um… Would you like another bite?”

“Uh, it’s fine. You should eat too, Hero.”

I wondered how hungry she must be as I offered her another bite, but Mariel shook her head and told me not to worry.

It felt a bit awkward to eat in front of someone who looked hungry, but if she didn’t want to eat, what could I do?

I glanced at Mariel while taking another bite of the sandwich.

But just before I bit into it, Mariel shyly chuckled and spoke.

“Hehe… I’m really hungry, so can I have just one more bite? It’s okay, right Hero?”

Well, of course.

One bite? Just a tiny bite considering she was being so considerate.

I chomped down on the sandwich and silently extended it towards Mariel.

Mariel then took a bite of the very part I had eaten.

Only taking a tiny piece from where I had bitten, she was still chewing slowly and leisurely using her tongue instead of her teeth.

No matter how much I nudged the sandwich towards her encouraging her to eat more, she just kept her mouth shut and shook her head.

After I took another bite, she finally pleaded for just one more.

She didn’t need to play coy; if I gave her half, she might just worry I would take a smaller part intentionally when I gave her half.

So even when we were alternating bites, she was likely taking only the tiniest pieces.

After all, who else but a Saint would act this way?

However, if I hadn’t done this, it seemed like Mariel wouldn’t have had anything at all, so we ended up sharing the sandwich, taking turns to take bites from it.

*

The sun was beginning to rise. The streets were already filled with people who had come to watch the opening ceremony, and Mariel and I were waiting in a designated area for the ceremony.

“Alright, it will start soon. Please get ready.”

The person in charge, who had been conducting the rehearsal, came to call us.

At their words, Mariel and I prepared to head outside.

“I see you remembered the shushu I gave you.”

As we stood side by side waiting to go out, Mariel placed her hand on my ponytail.

Honestly, I always wore it as a wristband even when I wasn’t tying my hair up.

And today was a special day, not just any day.

With Selian’s help, I had tidied my hair better than usual and tied it up carefully with the shushu she had given me.

“How do I look? Is it strange?”

I tilted my head a little to show off my hair tail.

“Hehe. It suits you well! By the way, look! I also wore the hairband our Hero gave me!”

Mariel playfully lifted her veil, revealing the small floral hairband I had gifted her sparkling beneath it.

Since she had kept it hidden under the veil since the moment we met today, I hadn’t even realized she was wearing it.

Truly a Hero and a Saint. I guess that’s what it means to be soulmates.

Thinking of Mariel, I wore the shushu she gave me while she wore the hairband I gifted her.

“You look great too, Saint. Though you’d look pretty no matter what you wear.”

“Hehe… Then should I just get rid of this?”

As she casually tossed the veil aside, Mariel’s ivory hair flowed down beautifully.

With the opening ceremony about to start, she handed the veil off to the busy staff.

“Wasn’t that outfit provided by the Temple? Is it okay to just take it off like that?”

“Oh please, it’s just a veil. Or are you hoping to see me nude, Hero?”

Cough cough! “W-What kind of words are those from a Saint?!”

I spluttered, choking on my words as I vehemently denied it.

But all Mariel did was chuckle at my flustered reaction.

To be honest, when Mariel brought up nudity, I couldn’t help but imagine a little.

But that’s something inevitable for a guy, isn’t it?

Mariel’s body, usually hidden under her plain nun habit, is something all guys would have at least thought of once in their minds.

If there were guys who hadn’t, then nine out of ten would be liars, and the remaining one would likely be gay.

So I can proudly say I’m innocent.

I’m sure even the Goddess would agree!

As I was silently scolding the noisy Holy Sword that kept buzzing, Mariel moved closer to me.

When her gentle breath tickled my ear, she whispered softly.

“If you’re curious about my naked body, wanna go to the bathhouse together?”

“…No thanks. Not a chance. Anywhere but the bathhouse.”

For at least the duration of our time at the Academy, I wouldn’t step foot in the bathhouse while I had to be cautious around my friends.

There’s no way I’m risking getting caught showing the Master-Servant Mark in the bathhouse.

“I-Is that so?”

But even with my rejection, Mariel seemed to be even more cheerful.

“Then how about after the Celestial Festival… we hang out together? Okay? It’s a promise!”

It seemed Mariel had focused more on my willingness to go anywhere else rather than my refusal to the bathhouse.

“No need to make promises… Just don’t worry and think of where you want to go.”

“No! It’s a promise! Come on, let’s pinky swear.”

Mariel extended her pinky towards me.

“Do we really need to go this far…? Well, this will do, right?”

As I held up my hand to link our pinkies, she pressed my thumb several times for a good measure.

“Hehe… I’m already looking forward to it!”

However, seeing the suspicious grin on the Saint’s face made me wonder if this was a good idea.

But well, a man can’t back down on such things. How could a Saint truly take me somewhere inappropriate?

For now, let’s just focus on the opening ceremony that will happen shortly.