Episode 44
“Saintess.”
“Yes~♡”
“…How about getting separate rooms from now on?”
On our way out of Athene towards the borderlands, we arrived at a village and stayed at an inn.
“Hero, are you rich~?”
“We have the money saved up from last time. Honestly, staying at such a small inn for a day isn’t that expensive, so is there really a need to share a room?”
To be honest, I just haven’t had enough alone time lately.
No, I’m not some weirdo. People have these desires, you know? If you don’t have the means or time to relieve them, you go crazy, right? And that’s exactly the situation I’m in now.
Plus, the person next to me…just based on looks, she’s a really beautiful woman. Do you know how hard it is to endure and sleep in such a situation?
Hearing my opinion, the Saintess tilted her head slightly and asked.
“…Is there a reason we need to rent separate rooms, Hero?”
“…Well, we’re of opposite genders, aren’t we?”
…That’s all I have as an excuse. Just let me go, you devil.
“I don’t mind sleeping with the Hero~?”
“…I don’t look like a Goblin, do I?”
“That’s not what I meant, I really don’t mind.”
That sounds like you’re saying I have no charm as a man. Huh? Why are there tears…
“…By any chance, Hero.”
“…Yes?”
What kind of nonsense are you about to spout now, you brat.
“Are you embarrassed to sleep with me~?”
“…Huh?”
Such an unexpected question came out, and I made a strange sound. What is she talking about?
But the Saintess seemed to interpret my reaction strangely.
“Getting embarrassed just by sleeping together~♡ You’re still such a child, Hero~♡”
“…Where do you see such a big child?”
“Maybe it’s because the Hero is a virgin~♡ You loser♡”
…Damn brat. You’re one too.
“Don’t keep teasing me about being a virgin when you’re not going to do anything about it.”
It was a joke. I just blurted it out because I was annoyed by her teasing…
…Wait, this is sexual harassment. I’m screwed!
I hurriedly corrected myself.
“Ah, no. That’s not what I meant…”
“G…g…g…g…g…”
“…Saintess?”
The Saintess malfunctioned. She was so embarrassed that her face turned bright red and she couldn’t speak properly.
Thinking about it, the Saintess, for whatever reason, was a ‘virgin’ who had never been in a relationship with a man. It’s natural since she’s the Saintess, but I might have chosen too suggestive a word for someone like her.
…But this brat also calls me ‘X-ba*’ all the time. Why isn’t she embarrassed about that?
I wondered.
“Saintess.”
“G…g…g…”
“Calm down. It was a joke.”
“Hah…”
The Saintess finally came to her senses, looked at me, and then, as if protecting herself, hugged her arms and shouted.
“You pervert! Beast! Since when have you been looking at me with such lecherous eyes!”
“…I…I’m sorry. It was a joke, but it was a bit harsh.”
When I sincerely apologized, the Saintess, who had tears in her eyes, suddenly changed her expression to a cold one.
“…Is that it?”
“…Huh?”
What kind of nonsense is this now?
“…You said to ‘do it’ with you.”
“No, of course, it was a joke…”
“Is that not it…”
The Saintess muttered something to herself, released her arms, and sat up straight.
“…I heard men like women who get embarrassed like this…”
…What did I just hear? Let’s just erase it from my memory because it’s scary.
“…More importantly, there’s something I want to ask.”
“What are you curious about?”
“You have certain words you use often, right? Like…X-ba*.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know the meaning when you use them?”
The Saintess tilted her head slightly.
“It’s a curse word, right?”
“It is a curse word, but…do you know what it means?”
“…Isn’t X-ba* just a word used for weak and useless people?”
…As expected.
The Saintess really didn’t know. I have no idea where she picked it up, but it seems our Saintess, who speaks so beautifully, uses those words without knowing their meaning.
“That’s the situation when it’s used, but you don’t know its origin, do you.”
“…Do you know, Hero? How would you know something I don’t? That can’t be…”
Damn, do you think I’m some kind of idiot?
“…Actually, I probably know curse words better than you, Saintess. As you know, I lived in the countryside.”
Actually, I lived in a modern city. That’s why I know.
“So what does X-ba* mean?”
“…Ahem!”
…How the hell do I explain this? My intention was to tell the Saintess the meaning of the curse word and make her stop using it.
People who often use curse words tend to use them less after learning their original meaning, right? That’s what I was aiming for…
But how do I explain the meaning of X-ba*? The white snow that accumulates on a man’s thing…?
…I feel a sense of self-loathing.
“What does it mean!”
The Saintess, seeing me hesitate, placed her hand on my knee and leaned her face forward.
…That’s too close for comfort.
Her amber eyes were filled with curiosity. She had the expression of someone determined to find out the meaning.
“…It refers to the foreign matter that gets stuck inside an object. An object that only men have.”
I tried to phrase it as innocently as possible. No suggestive words were used. Object, foreign matter. Only very normal words.
But the Saintess is not a fool. She wasn’t someone who wouldn’t understand my words.
“…Huh?”
“…I didn’t lie.”
“…Huh?”
The Saint is broken again. Her amber eyes were trembling slightly. It seems she was really shocked after realizing the true meaning.
Seeing that, I advised her.
“…So, it’s better not to use such words.”
“…Ah…ugh…”
The Saint hung her head low. Her face turned red all the way to her ears, to the point where I was worried it might explode.
“Why…why didn’t you tell me earlier…”
…I thought you knew.
The Saint, blushing and embarrassed, was incredibly cute.
…Damn appearance bias. Even that usually annoying girl looks this pretty. Her face is a cheat code.
In the end, I ended up staying in the same room with the sulking Saint, unable to get a separate room.
#
“Idiot♡ That’s not how you write it~♡”
“…No, what’s the difference between this and that?”
“Maybe you should wear glasses♡ If you look closely here, there’s an extra dot~♡”
The next day, the Saint taught me how to write.
Of course, we didn’t skip hunting monsters. This time, we took down a Moon Fox in the forest. Though it’s called a fox, it was bigger than a regular forest wolf. Plus, it was classified as a mid-level monster.
After taking down the pack of Moon Foxes, we sat on a rock to rest and learn how to write…
“…So, what does this say?”
“Star~♡”
…Star?
Wait, that’s your name. I saw it written the same way at the Adventurer’s Guild last time. Why are you teaching me that?
“Why are you teaching me your name?”
“Hmm♡ How did you know it’s my name?”
“I saw it written the same way at the Adventurer’s Guild last time. But what’s with the ‘star’?”
“It means ‘star’ in my name~?”
…Is that so?
The Saint pointed to her face and asked.
“Don’t I shine like a star?”
…Crazy woman.
But I couldn’t deny it. She was pretty, after all…
“…So, why are you teaching me your name?”
“One day, the Hero might need to fill out some documents, right? You’ll need to include my name as your companion~?”
Then teach me my name first.
“Then teach me how to write my name too.”
“Hmm~♡ No♡”
…What kind of woman is this?
“No, I need to know how to write my name if I’m filling out documents.”
“I can write your name for you~♡”
Then you can write your own name too.
“Is there really a need to go through all that trouble…?”
“I like writing your name.”
“…Huh?”
The Saint’s eyes curved slightly, drawing a beautiful arc.
“Abel is a pretty name, isn’t it?”
“…Is it?”
I was thinking of the Abel from the Bible, so not really…
“It has ‘Belle’ in it~♡”
“What does that mean?”
The Saint smiled softly.
Why are you smiling like that? It’s endearing.
“Belle means ‘beauty’~♡”
…So that’s what it means. Hearing that, the name seems different now.
“…But what does that have to do with you liking to write my name?”
“…Clueless.”
“Huh?”
“Idiot.”
…Suddenly?
#
A week after leaving Athene, we finally arrived at the border area between the Minerva Kingdom and the Vesta Kingdom.
“There are a lot of people here too.”
“I told you before~. The three nations, including the Mars Empire, interact a lot. Did you forget already~?”
“…I remember.”
“Hehe♡ Your memory is better than a tick now~♡”
…Last time, you said it was better than a goldfish. Why the downgrade?
“…Hmm?”
While looking around at the people, someone caught my eye. They were wearing a large hooded cloak, covering their face and body, but a light green priest’s robe peeked through.
And from under the hood, the face and build that were slightly visible…it was definitely a woman.
“…Saint, what color is the Rudria Church’s priest robe?”
“Dark green and light green.”
“Over there…”
As I pointed to the suspicious person walking by, the Saint narrowed her eyes and suddenly flicked her finger.
《Holy Chain》
“Eek!?”
Chains appeared out of thin air and caught the suspicious person. The person struggled but couldn’t escape the Saint’s Sacred Artifact.
…But why use the Sacred Artifact right away?
“What’s going on!?”
I calmed the border guards who were startled by the sudden appearance of the chains. After explaining the situation and revealing my identity as the Hero, they nodded and left.
Then, the Saint and I approached the person still caught in the Sacred Artifact.
When we pulled back the hood, brown hair and ruby-like red eyes were revealed. It was a face I had definitely seen before.
“Eek!?”
“…You’re the Saint of the Rudria Church, right?”
