Chapter 193
Chapter 193
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: Tree and Iron
-----------------------------------------------------------------
…Purity?
Judah, who had been about to dismiss the message, blankly stared at the word. He knew purity referred to either not having had physical relations with the opposite sex or the state of being so. From Saintess of Lust to Saintess of Purity—this was going from one extreme to the other.
"Urgh—!"
Arhil, who had been forcibly put to sleep, opened her eyes. The first thing she thought upon waking was how light and refreshed her body felt. Then, spotting a pair of white bare feet right in front of her kneeling form, she startled and looked up. Seeing Gabriel standing there, she gasped in shock.
Not only were the white wings—symbol of an angel—spread wide, but there were six of them. Three pairs of wings, a circular golden halo above her head, green hair!
Arhil recalled Gabriel's name.
"H-Holy King!"
Gabriel nodded with a light smile at her call. It was a kind smile.
"Nice to meet you. Why don't you stand up first?"
"Ah, yes!"
Arhil carefully grasped the hand Gabriel extended and rose to her feet. In that moment, she felt the divine power that had filled her body drain out all at once from her back. Turning around, she saw enormous white wings taking root there. Regardless of her will, the wings spread wide, scattering abundant feathers in all directions as they oxidized into light. Like they weren't an illusion at all, countless feathers fluttered down.
"Wh-what is this?"
"It's the divine power of mine that remained in your body. I pushed in quite a bit to eradicate the evil power."
As the flustered Arhil looked around and asked, Gabriel kindly explained. Only then did Arhil realize the sticky energy inside her had vanished. She hadn't shown it much until now, but the unpleasant demonic power hiding beneath the divine power had been slowly mutating her body bit by bit, which had terrified her. Now she could finally relax.
"By the way…"
Gabriel trailed off, reaching out toward the feathers fluttering in the air. The white feathers faintly glowed golden. That shining radiance startled her.
"Your soul is truly pure. It's a color that's hard to find among human souls, so no wonder the Seven Deadly Sins took notice. …Good. What's your name?"
"It's Arhil."
"Arhil. Alright. This might be sudden, but from now on, you'll become a saintess. With such a pure soul, you seem more than qualified. Ah, you don't need to worry about the mindset of a saintess that the temple gossips about. Just use that power however you want, like you've always done."
Arhil blinked at Gabriel. She needed a bit more explanation. She remembered entering the temple and arriving at the lake, but from the moment she saw the shining light, her memory blanked. Her body felt so light, like she'd woken from sleep, and now the Holy King Gabriel was before her. It even seemed the Holy King had personally purified her body.
She could barely believe that, and now she was a saintess. It felt utterly unreal, like a dream. But Gabriel's words weren't over yet.
"However, if possible, it would be even better if you used that power for the sake of Judah Arsher by your side."
"Yes! Don't worry!"
Of course. When the Holy King herself said so, there was no refusing. Even if she hadn't become a saintess, if the Holy King had asked, she would have gladly stayed by Judah's side. Arhil still couldn't quite grasp the situation, but the fact that Gabriel had requested it was what mattered, so she nodded without deep thought. Perhaps finding the sight adorable, Gabriel smiled warmly and reached out to gently stroke Arhil's brown hair.
"In honor of your pure soul, I bestow upon you the title of Saintess of Purity."
"Eh…? Pu-purity?"
"Yes. Do you like it?"
Arhil let out a hehe laugh, then cautiously glanced at Gabriel's expression before mustering the courage to ask.
"Um, well—it's because I was a priestess serving Yophiel before. Lady Yophiel's teachings were quite… lenient regarding romance and such. Just in case, really just in case, I'm asking, but… having relations, or… masturbation… masturbation should be fine, right? No, not masturbation, but if I lose that purity… will I lose the saintess's power too?"
"Yes?"
"I-I mean! If I have s-sex! Is that not allowed!?"
"Ah…!"
Evidently a very important question, Arhil asked while staring straight into Gabriel's eyes, her face red enough to burst. It couldn't be, but her voice seemed to echo through the temple. Startled by the intensity, or perhaps by the completely unexpected question, Gabriel blankly looked at Arhil before nodding. Interpreting the nod as meaning it wasn't allowed, Arhil's face crumpled in despair.
"N-nooo! That's so unfair! I haven't even tried it yet! Holy King! You might think it's ridiculous, but…! Even so, isn't it too much to live your whole life as a human guarding your purity forever? Becoming your saintess, Lady Gabriel, is the greatest honor of my life, but…"
"Wait, calm down."
Arhil, about to unleash a torrent of words, immediately stopped at Gabriel's interruption.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. The purity I spoke of doesn't mean abstaining from intercourse between man and woman—that is, it doesn't mean avoiding the sex you mentioned."
"Th-then what?"
"It's a title given because your soul is utterly clean, free of any selfish desires or wicked thoughts. You can have sex as much as you want. My views aren't much different from Yophiel's. Sex can also be a beautiful way to confirm love between two people."
"Really?"
Gabriel nodded with a smile, giving her reassurance.
"Of course. Just don't be too promiscuous. There's a reason lust is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. It might not mean much now, but if you live a debauched life that tarnishes my honor or act shamefully as a saintess, I'll take that power back."
"Don't worry! That'll never happen."
Gabriel's expression turned ambiguous at Arhil's utterly genuine joy. Judah, who had been quietly listening to the exchange, stayed silent, unsure what to say or if he should interject. After one final pat on Arhil's head, Gabriel turned to Judah.
"…Do you have something to say?"
"Judah Arsher, I wanted to have a longer conversation with you, but… regrettably, we must part here today."
With a light sigh, she slowly ascended. Eyes full of regret, Gabriel bowed her head to Judah.
"I'll take my leave now, placing great significance on our meeting."
With those words, she vanished like an illusion. Staring at the spot where she disappeared into the pitch-black void, Arhil and Judah stood dumbfounded.
"Wow… this isn't a dream, right?"
"It feels like one, but it's not."
Judah dropped the bastard sword in his hand and looked at Arhil. It was dark, so he couldn't see clearly, but as time passed, even without his demon eyes, he could make out her outline.
"Why don't you float that glowing orb thing in the air?"
Arhil immediately cast a divine spell. The orb that manifested at her words didn't just emit bright light—it carried a faint golden glow. Was this what happened when one became a saintess?
He checked her status window.
──────────────────────
「Status Window」
[Name: Arhil]
[Title: Savior]
[True Name: The One Who Never Loses Hope]
[Level: 44]
[Job: Saintess of Purity (A)]
[Race: Human]
[Strength: 27 (D) / Potential C]
[Vitality: 35 (D) / Potential B]
[Agility: 30 (D) / Potential C]
[Divine Power: 68 (B) / Potential S]
[Magic Resistance: 55 (C) / Potential S]
[Faith: 66 (B) / Potential S] ◀ Special
[Knowledge: 40 (C) / Potential A] ◀ Special
[Luck: 59 (C) / Potential C] ◀ Special
[Affection: 65 (Interest)]
[Trust: 100 (Friendship)]
「Traits 6/6」
[Gabriel's Apostle] - Rank: A
[Savior] - Rank: A
[Divine Amplification] - Rank: B
[Irresistible Temptation] - Rank: A
[For Your Sake] - Rank: D (S)
[Saintess of Purity] - Rank: A
「Skills 4/5」
[Divine Magic - Blessing] - Rank: A
[Divine Magic - Defense] - Rank: A
[Divine Martial Arts] - Rank: B
[Self-Defense Technique] - Rank: B
──────────────────────
There were no special changes to the stats or trait ranks. However, her race, which had been mutating from human to demon under Asmodeus's influence, had reverted to normal, and some of the strangely named traits had been properly renamed.
'Lucky. It resolved much more easily than I feared.'
Letting out a sigh of relief, Judah recalled that he hadn't used the World Tree sap from Via. Should he return it? For now, he'd hold onto it. As he moved to close Arhil's 〈Status Window〉, he noticed her affection had risen quite high. He remembered it being in the high 40s before, but now it was 65.
'When did it go up like that?'
As he wondered, Arhil called out to him. Snapping to attention, Judah closed the window and looked at her.
"Did you call?"
"Yes, I did."
She smiled brightly, facing him directly, then bowed deeply at the waist. Her long brown hair fell forward. Lifting her head, it was quite tousled. Arhil brushed the strands that had fallen over her face back with her hand.
"Thank you. Truly."
"…For what?"
She looked at him playfully.
"Come on, you know everything without me saying, right? Thank you. For everything. For accepting an inadequate me as a companion, for letting me have this mystical, once-in-a-lifetime experience despite the hardship… Even though it was my carelessness that got me hit by the demon, you asked the elves to treat me when you didn't have to… And thanks to you, I got to meet Lady Gabriel, who every priest who believes in angels dreams of."
"The former things are worth my thanks, but becoming a saintess isn't thanks to me. It's purely because you, Arhil, had the talent and qualities."
"Hehe— Anyway, I guess we have to keep the saintess thing a secret, right? If the church finds out, it'll be trouble?"
Judah nodded. A regular priestess becoming a saintess. And one who met the Holy King directly at that. If the church knew, they'd try to take her by force. Gabriel wouldn't block that much, so it was better to keep it quiet. But given her personality, she wouldn't go around bragging about being a saintess, so no need to worry.
"Well, seems like our business here is done, so let's head out."
The way back was pitch black, but thanks to Arhil's divine magic, they exited without issue. The temple door was closed, but as Judah and Arhil approached, it opened on its own. The heavy door groaned, shaking off dust as it moved. Through the gap, he saw the barrier that had repelled Via finally dissipating.
'What? If you're gonna do that, light the holy fire on the way out too.'
They lit it coming in, but not going out?
Forgot, maybe? Feeling 2% shortchanged, he stepped outside.