The Saintess's Blood Holds Life Force
The Saintess's Blood Holds Life Force
Now that the Hero and Linda's training was over, I had come to the Hero's tent where he was sleeping and was looking at him.
Kylon, who had taken off his top and exposed his upper body, had bruises all over his body, and as if he knew it well, he groaned and bent his body forward.
"Ah, it hurts..."
"Does one usually go this far just to pick up a girl?" I was simply appalled by his strange obsession.
"...Do you have to go this far?"
"Well, what can I do... In the game script, it was a really easy way to raise favorability, but now that I'm actually doing it, it's become the most difficult thing."
Hearing him say that, I felt like I could understand a little.
More than that, Linda's capture method, and that it was training involving hitting the body, I'm hearing this for the first time.
I, sweating profusely, quietly stared at his back and furrowed my glabellum.
Then he just gave a bitter smile and shrugged his shoulders.
The only reason he was sitting in front of me with his top off was for the treatment of those bruises.
So I looked at those bruises for a long time before letting out a deep sigh.
I had no idea how to use my abilities on someone else's body, not my own, so I pondered for a long time.
"...Hmm. Should I pray?"
I, touching the golden cross hanging around my neck, mumbled carefully.
I, who was just looking at Kylon's bruised back, at a loss as to how to even use Veronica's abilities, could only express my helplessness.
As I agonized and pondered for a long time, Kylon's voice, which had been quiet, continued.
"...Status Window."
"What?"
The moment I heard those words, I felt my mind go blank.
Status Window. There was no one who wouldn't know what that was.
It was something often encountered in novels and comics, and if one knew its origin well, it was one of the things most desperately desired here.
So, this place right now was inside a game.
Inside a game, one could best understand their own status, and it listed abilities and skills in an easy-to-view manner, making it the epitome of convenience, displaying the character's current situation in numerical values.
But this scoundrel Hero had it.
Of course, since it was inside a game, it might be natural, but hearing that, I couldn't help but think, "Why only you?"
"Oh, it works?"
"What...?"
When he said that the ability he had casually mentioned worked again, I couldn't help but stare at him with wide eyes.
Grinning, he looked at the Status Window that only he could see, spread out before him, and after fumbling with his fingers or chuckling, he then opened his mouth and glanced back at me.
"Look at this, my HP is severely depleted."
"Is that something to be happy about...? No, more than that..."
Leaving Kylon, who was gesturing this way and that as if trying to show me the Status Window that I couldn't see, I held my throbbing head and slightly turned away.
Thinking that if I also had a Status Window, I could easily use my abilities, I mumbled with a certain expectation.
"...Status Window."
There was no response.
"Status Window."
There was no response.
"Why only me... I'm a Possessor too."
What I realized in the end was a harsh reality.
Although I was also a Possessor, the appearance of an ability that wasn't granted to me, as if saying I was merely an Extra, a Heroine, not the protagonist, made me embrace my disheartened feelings and pout.
Then Kylon, who had been quietly watching it, cleared his throat with a "hem," then approached me and carefully opened his mouth.
"...Don't be too disheartened. I'll still protect you. Anyway, I've cleared it once, so there shouldn't be any danger of getting hurt."
"...Haha."
Hearing words that I wasn't sure if they were comfort or something else, I gave a dry laugh and looked at his body.
I didn't particularly like looking at a man's body right now, but thinking that he simply wanted healing from me and had taken off his clothes for that healing, I had no intention of commenting on it being a man's body or anything.
I just let go of the feeling that I didn't have the most useful game features like a Status Window or Inventory, and let out a deep sigh with a sense of resignation, trying to shake off distracting thoughts along with it.
"Just turn your back. If it doesn't work... I'll make you a Potion or something."
"A Potion? You can make something like that?"
"Uh, yeah."
It had been made before. Of course, I hadn't tasted it, but the Wang had been delighted, saying it was effective, so it was clear that it would be sufficiently effective.
Putting aside the unnecessary sense of deprivation, I looked at the Hero's muscular back once, and at the same time, looking at the bruises scattered everywhere, the marks created by the training with Linda, I held and touched the cross around my neck.
As I gently lifted it, the string followed, and I kissed the cold metal.
Since I had never really been religious, for me, who knew nothing about the mindset of a Saintess or any prayers, I had no idea what to say to convert it into healing magic, and my head throbbed.
I let out a groan, and then finally opened my mouth.
I hadn't lived a life of faith, and among the prayers I had seen at the Nunnery Training Center, I picked out the most plausible one from the incomplete prayers in my degraded memory and uttered it.
"Goddess-nim, please watch over us who are suffering, and grant salvation to this lamb."
After finishing the prayer with the cross tightly clasped in both hands, I opened my tightly closed eyes and looked at the Hero's condition.
But no matter how long I waited, the bruises on his back showed no sign of disappearing and remained intact.
"......."
Was this not it? Did something go wrong?
Trying to suddenly use an ability I had never used before, I was simply at a loss as to how to use it, and my glabellum naturally furrowed.
I was also thinking that in times like these, it would be better if I could use the Status Window and it would tell me how to use my abilities.
As I kept my mouth shut and clenched my fists, Kylon's voice was heard.
"Well, if it doesn't work, a Potion is fine, but come to think of it, where did you buy it? I didn't bring any."
Hearing those words, I shook my head and reached out my hand, tapping Kylon's shoulder with my finger.
"A knife, please."
"......? Here."
Kylon, who hadn't fully understood the meaning of my words, stood blankly for a moment, then took out a knife from his Inventory and handed it to me.
I, receiving the knife, stared at it blankly for a moment, then approached him, cut my left thumb with the sharp blade, and then pushed it into his mouth.
"......!"
I suddenly cut my hand, and at the same time, as I pushed that injured hand into his mouth, Kylon's expression, with his eyes wide in surprise, came into view.
I wondered if this was okay, but since I couldn't use my Saintess-like abilities right now, there was nothing I could do.
Since I knew my blood acted as a Potion, it was better to use it that way.
What I was doing, then, could be said to be a supporting role for Kylon, who was the protagonist, even though I was not the protagonist.
It wasn't that I particularly liked it, but without Kylon, I wouldn't be able to reach the end of this game.
In truth, I didn't know if seeing the Ending was a condition.
I couldn't possibly understand how I could escape this space or return to my original world, but still, with a "what if" thought, and because there was nothing that hinted at a clearer end than this, I had no choice but to challenge it.
If reaching the end of the game was the way to leave this game.
Thinking that, I extended the finger of my left hand and shoved it into his mouth, and watching him suck on it, I felt strange.
Normally, one would probably be surprised and pull their mouth away at least once, but that was for other ordinary people; Kylon was not like that.
As if he immediately understood what this meant, he even tilted the corners of his eyes and flicked his tongue.
The feeling of his tongue licking my finger sent shivers down my body, and I unconsciously pulled my hand back, then looked at Kylon, who wore a regretful expression, with a furrowed glabellum.
As I glared at him, who was flicking his tongue and smacking his lips, he shrugged his shoulders and said.
"The Saintess's blood is sweet. More than that... it's dangerous, isn't it?"
At the end of his playful words, he wiped his expression clean, became serious, and then held out his hand to me.
"Give it back. I didn't give it to you for that."
"...Then what did you give it to me for?"
"Well, I thought it might be a new ability. Since it's a game, nothing would be strange, but self-harm is a no-go."
Kylon was always busy making cunning expressions, having sly eyes, or a chilling smile, but at this moment, only a cold expression of not backing down remained on his face.
My body, unnecessarily scared, felt as if it had frozen, and I, who had been groaning, eventually carefully handed him the knife I was holding in my right hand.
Then he took the knife with a "thwack," threw it into his Inventory, and looked at me, who was standing still.
The straight cut on my finger, which had felt stinging, was now gone, but Kylon's saliva remained, creating an unpleasant feeling.
Through the silence, Kylon's lips moved.
"...I understand that my stamina is recovering. Is this the Potion you mentioned?"
At his questioning voice, I nodded, and he lowered his head deeply and let out a sigh.
At his demeanor, as if saying, "What should I do about this?" I felt my body freeze slightly with tension.
Kylon, who had raised his head again and was looking at my face, then stared intently at my face, no, my neck, and continued speaking.
"Did you scratch something earlier too?"
Startled, I put my hand to my neck, but the roughness that indicated a deep wound, like before, was not there.
As I stared at him with wide eyes, thinking, "How did he know?" he pointed at my hand.
"Your neck healed, but there was a trace of blood on your fingernail."
"Ah..."
Something was still left on my right fingernail. And did he see it the moment I handed him the knife? That thought made me feel like I needed to add another assessment of Kylon.
That he was subtly sharp.
"It's about time you start traveling with the others, so if you're having a hard time, just say so."
"......."
"What, did you think I was so obsessed with sex that I wouldn't care? You're the only one here who came from the same place as me. If you want, I can stick by you 24/7."
Of course, I thought Kylon's words were unexpected.
But even so, wanting him to care for me, and him sticking by me 24 hours a day was something I declined, so I mumbled with a disgusted expression.
"It's fine. I'm leaving now. No, can't you just sleep over there?"
"Hey, my favorability hasn't even gone up yet, and you want that..."
"Tch."
I tried to make one last desperate attempt, but seeing that it didn't work, it seemed I was out of luck.
Leaving my regret behind, I exited the tent where the Hero slept alone, and with a sigh, I crossed over to the tent where the other companions were.
What a strange game it was, an Adult Game where cohabitation was the norm, but sleeping together didn't happen until favorability was built.
No, was it originally like this?
This was also a problem. If they were wandering adventurers, they would be grateful just to be given a place to sleep, without caring about food or death, but since these people had a lot of money, abilities, and status, they seemed to be picky about everything.
"...Excuse me."
I lay down at the end of the tent where the three of them were lying side by side, and carefully assumed a proper posture.
In a straight posture, looking up at the sky, with my clasped hands on my stomach.
To be honest, it was uncomfortable, but there was nothing I could do, so it was my lot to just close my eyes and try to sleep.