Chapter 195

EP.195 The Saint Who Was Shocked Twice

Swoooosh—!

The powerful stream of water hits the back of my neck and shoulders.

Adel, who had been lazily feeling the warm water pressure, suddenly started fidgeting with her lips.

Then, she hung her head low.

The face of Jihyuk, who had been getting closer, came vividly to her mind.

She remembered every detail of his nervous face, but the exact situation of the kiss was a blur.

Right before their lips touched, she had tightly closed her eyes and recited the commandments of the Rosario Church, but the moment she felt the soft touch, she messed up the order and could only apologize to Rosario.

Even though she was flustered, it was absurd that a Saint, a high-ranking figure in the church, couldn’t even recite the commandments properly.

‘Lord… please forgive me…’

Apologizing inwardly to Rosario, Adel turned her body.

Feeling the warm temperature all over her face, she smiled pleasantly and poked her belly while looking down at herself.

A soft feeling. It seemed like she had gained a little weight from eating too much lately.

It was completely different from Silvia’s healthy, toned body.

Adel really liked Silvia’s straightforward personality, her tall stature, and her alluring face shape.

It was an ideal that made her think, “Is this what a real adult is like?”

She, who gets startled by the smallest things and overreacts, probably wouldn’t turn out like that even as she grew older.

Feeling down for no reason, Adel thought of Jihyuk.

He really liked her, just as she was.

His eyes were practically overflowing with affection.

-“I like you too, Adel.”-

Recalling Jihyuk’s sweet confession before the kiss, Adel’s eyes grew hazy.

As she squeezed body wash onto the shower puff, she muttered without realizing it.

“I like you too…”

After cleaning herself thoroughly, Adel dried her hair roughly with a towel and stepped out of the bathroom.

Then, Silvia, who had been sitting on the sofa, approached her with a smile and said,

“Let me dry your hair. If you sleep with it wet, your pillow will get ruined.”

“I-I’m not a child… I can do it myself…”

“I know. Actually, drying your hair is just an excuse. I wanted to talk to you. You didn’t say a word to me when you came back.”

“Did I?”

“You ignored me and went straight to the shower. Did something happen?”

Something happen? Something *huge* happened.

Until just yesterday, Adel had thought it was natural to share everything with Silvia.

But today was different. It was extremely awkward to talk about the kiss incident with Jihyuk.

How could she talk about something so embarrassing and personal?

The problem was that having a secret was written all over her face.

No half-hearted attempt to brush it off would get past Silvia’s sharp eyes.

A desperate situation. Adel quickly racked her brain.

But she couldn’t think of any excuse.

She couldn’t lie to save her life, and trying to change the subject would only make Silvia more suspicious…

In the end, Adel decided to be honest.

“It’s hard to talk about…”

“Really? Okay.”

Silvia readily let it go.

Her reaction made Adel feel even more guilty.

They had always been honest with each other about their worries until now.

Feeling completely deflated, Adel hesitated, and Silvia comforted her with a bright smile.

“Everyone has secrets they want to keep. I’m not upset at all, so don’t worry.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize.”

“Okay…”

“And while you were showering, Jihyuk called.”

“Jihyuk did?”

“Yeah. He said he had something important to talk about. Something about the device’s charging method.”

Adel felt a pang of disappointment toward Jihyuk.

In terms of closeness, she was closer to him than Silvia, yet he told her first.

Of course, that wasn’t wrong.

In fact, it was better to tell Silvia, who had exceptional understanding.

But still, it hurt. She’d have to scold him firmly when they met tomorrow!

“How does it charge?”

“Well…”

She hesitated and then said,

“It charges through the emotion of love.”

“Love?”

“Yeah. Honestly, it’s hard to believe… but he said it so seriously that I had to believe him.”

Silvia was half-convinced, but Adel thought that the pure power of love could very well be the source of the mysterious energy known as Aiter.

“I see… So, just having love is enough?”

“I’m not sure. He said he’d explain the details to you tomorrow?”

At those words, a warm breeze blew through Adel’s heart.

It was just like Jihyuk. She canceled her plan to scold him firmly. She’d gently reprimand him instead.

“Really…? It would’ve been better if he told me first… I’m a little disappointed.”

“You don’t look disappointed at all. You’re smiling right now.”

“No, I’m not…?”

Unable to hide her blooming smile, Adel brushed it off and went into the bedroom.

Lying down on the bed, she picked up her phone and saw two missed calls from Jihyuk.

It seemed he had tried to tell her about the Aiter charging method first.

This was enough to consider leniency.

Thinking that, Adel sent Jihyuk a message.

[What time are we meeting tomorrow? (ღ’ᴗ’ღ)]

Not long after, a reply came from Jihyuk.

[7 PM.]

[Earlier.]

[6 PM?]

Only an hour earlier… Adel frowned and sent an emoticon.

[(,,Ծ‸Ծ,,)]

[Then 5 PM…]

[(งಠ _ಠ)ง]

[I’ll call you in the morning depending on the situation, so come to the lab when I call. By the way, it won’t be fun even if you come.]

Just seeing his face would be fun, so what did he mean by “not fun”? Jihyuk really had no sense.

Sending a reply saying she understood, Adel put her phone down and stared at the ceiling for a while.

Then, she pulled a pillow over her face.

She even crossed her legs and drummed on the bed.

A smile bloomed on her face. She was in love.

**

Click.

Done. Now, just put in the Aiter and cover the middle with polymer, and it’s finished.

The device for Adel was almost complete.

Putting down the tweezers and wiping off the cold sweat, I turned my head when I felt a gaze from inside the lounge’s transparent window.

Adel was there.

She had been staring at me intently for a full two hours while eating snacks and drinks, not taking her eyes off me for a second. It was ridiculous.

The source of that focus must be love.

And not just any love—the sweet, first love of her life.

Stretching while sitting, I gestured for Adel to come over.

She immediately opened the lounge door and quickly sat down across from me.

“What? Why did you call me?”

She asked playfully.

With a kind smile, I pointed to the device.

“It’s the device you’ll be wearing. It’s almost done. Take a look.”

“Really!?”

Adel’s eyes widened, and she leaned in close.

With a face full of curiosity, she examined the device here and there, exclaiming in admiration.

“Finally, I’ll be…!”

“Yes. You’ll become a Beast Slayer alongside Sehwa and Yuria. There’s still one last step left, but once we put in the Aiter, it’ll be done quickly. I’ll also make your weapon. A warhammer, right?”

“Yes…! One with protrusions on both sides. I’d like the handle to be long so I can swing it easily! Should I draw it for you?”

No, that’s not necessary.

I remember it well since I died because of you.

If I make it almost exactly like the design you’re thinking of without any reference, you’ll probably be even more delighted, thinking we have some kind of telepathy, right?

“Can you leave it to me?”

When I indirectly said I’d make it myself, Adel immediately agreed.

“Of course. I trust you, Jihyuk!”

She clasped her hands together and laughed happily.

It seemed she wanted to become a hero as soon as possible.

Silently watching Adel, I brought up an important topic once she seemed to calm down.

“Adel, now that the device is almost done… I need to talk to you seriously about the charging method.”

“Go ahead.”

She straightened her posture and placed both hands on her knees.

After a brief pause, I spoke to Adel, who was smiling brightly.

“You heard the general explanation from Silvia yesterday, right?”

“Yes, she said it charges through love. Is it that a strong heart that cares for each other fills the power of Aiter? If so, then my Aiter won’t have any charging issues, right?”

She was letting her imagination run wild.

And very optimistically, at that.

“No. Actually, saying it needs love was a very softened expression. Charging is done through a certain act.”

“A certain act?”

“You know… when people who love each other express their affection physically… From simple things like holding hands to what we did yesterday, kissing…”

“W-wait a minute!”

Adel suddenly cut me off.

She covered her face with both hands.

It seemed she was embarrassed by the reminder of yesterday’s events.

After a moment, she lowered her hands and let out a sigh.

“Haa… You can continue now…”

“Yes. Let me continue. Kissing, of course, and even more daring acts… Aiter gains power from these daring acts.”

Adel’s eyes rolled.

“M-more daring than kissing…?”

Laughing inwardly at her reaction, I nodded with a serious expression.

“Yes. To be precise, it’s through sexual acts with someone you love. That’s how it charges.”

“…..”

Adel’s face went blank.

Her jaw dropped so low it looked like she was about to fall over in shock.

Her mouth opened wide enough to fit a fist, and her already large eyes grew twice as big.

Gasping like a goldfish, she barely managed to squeeze out a voice.

“Y-you’re lying… Don’t lie to me…! Did you think I’d laugh at this kind of joke…?”

Yeah, it’s understandable to think it’s a joke.

“Adel, your device is almost complete, so I thought I should tell you. If you ask Sehwa, Yuria, or Dr. Cash, they’ll give you the same answer. I’m not joking.”

Adel couldn’t continue speaking.

It was natural for her to react like that.

Innocent as she was, she had never experienced, or even thought about, sexual acts.

Her mental state seemed to be greatly shaken… but as a suitable candidate for Aiter, she’d overcome it quickly.

Beep beep—! Beep beep—!

As we sat in silence, staring at each other, the warning sound echoing through the lab snapped us back to reality.

Without a word, we both turned to look at the status panel.

To be continued―――――――――――――――――――――

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