Why Are You Looking at Me in This Situation?

From ancient times, people have believed in God.

Perhaps it was because they saw traces of God without much thought.

God exists by their side, and whether directly or indirectly, traces are surely left behind. Places where such traces remained deep were called Holy Lands.

That is why the Clergy, though not often, have undertaken Holy Land Pilgrimages to visit each Holy Land when the time comes.

And that was also one of the reasons why the current Pope disappeared without a trace.

It was impossible to tell whether it was related to the Holy Land Pilgrimage or not, so they had to confirm it.

As I groaned, lost in thought, Kylon, who was beside me, carefully opened his mouth.

"...So the Pope lost contact, and the King was acting arbitrarily."

Hearing those words, I nodded.

In fact, if the Pope had been here, it would have been better for me to directly tell him what the King had done to me.

Of course, I needed some evidence, so I had to find the nun in charge of the Nunnery Training Center who was there when I first opened my eyes, or the Noble Knight who led me to the King. But for now, I was just stuck, not knowing where to even begin searching.

Even with status, acting recklessly without any evidence would only incur risks, with no real benefits to be gained.

At most, it would be the fleeting satisfaction of achieving revenge.

As long as the Holy Kingdom couldn't explain the Pope's disappearance, it wasn't good to arbitrarily announce it.

Because I knew that the moment the Holy Kingdom's prestige fell, the moment it became difficult for the Holy Kingdom to exist as the Holy Kingdom, would be the day I would be dragged away as the Holy Kingdom's next Pope.

If that happened, I might not be by the Hero's side when he defeated the Demon King, so I had to keep my mouth shut for now.

Groaning, I glanced at Kylon beside me and then opened my mouth.

"Then, first... we need to find the Pope, don't we?"

It felt daunting. I just wanted to tell everything and feel relieved.

I wanted to create public opinion for a moment and depose the King.

However, the highest authority right now was the King, and in a situation where I didn't know how far the King's influence reached, acting rashly could lead to the King simply sweeping aside the Hero and everything else, and trying to drag me in. So I had to stop.

How could I blindly rush into the unknown darkness, not knowing what was there?

This world was a game, but to me, it was reality, and thus abilities like save and load didn't exist.

There was no ability to return to square one, so I had to make each choice carefully.

Kylon nodded after hearing my words.

"But it's quite a distance. I'll have to push through the story again... but it's good that there's something extra to pick up along the way. It seems like a place I would have just passed by if I hadn't known."

"Really? Then... it's about time to conquer Agnes too. I've already pushed her halfway."

I nodded at Kylon's words as well and told him so.

It was no exaggeration to say that I had contributed a little here.

I had already dealt with Linda's wariness, who was already smitten with Kylon, and after avoiding Agnes's probing questions, who was just starting to get going, I was the one who threw a lifeline of hope, suggesting it was worth trying even with Linda around.

Honestly, I thought it would be hard to gauge how quickly things were progressing, given that I was helping Kylon with heroines he would normally have to spend time on.

Well, Flora would use a Hypnosis Tool, and with such a cheating Hypnosis Tool, there was no need to specifically raise her Favorability Score. But for Linda and Agnes, there was no such tool to use, so they had to be directly conquered.

Kylon, seemingly surprised by my words, stared at me and then furrowed his Glabellum.

"No... I never asked you to, so why?"

"Because the girls who have feelings for you keep sending me scary glares, so I sent them away, why?"

Kylon doesn't know. How many things I'm fighting against.

Fighting Trauma could be considered a fight, but what was truly mentally exhausting were the gazes of the heroines beside me, who suspected and were wary of me.

Of course, I knew they were also psychologically battling each other with their own wariness, but I didn't want to get involved in that.

It's exhausting. I don't even want much anyway, so I don't know why they arbitrarily drag me in and try to fight, but it wasn't entirely incomprehensible for them to growl and be wary when they thought there were multiple options next to the person they desired.

Then Kylon sighed, 'Haa,' and then, with a displeased expression, he nodded and moved forward.

"...Alright, I get it."

And so, Kylon and I rejoined the heroines who had been guided to the tea room for a moment, and then we left the Cathedral.

Evening time, a time for dinner without any particular events.

Perhaps because I had been starving, I was so hungry that I ended up sitting down for a meal, but I had no idea what to eat, so I ordered a crispy Biscuit.

My judgment ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was that if I couldn't taste it anyway, then enjoying the texture would be enough.

And naturally, as I picked it up and put it in my mouth, I could distinctly feel the crispy ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠texture.

Crunch, crunch.

As I chewed, focusing on the texture rather than the taste, Agnes, who was beside me twirling pasta into her mouth, swallowed with a 'gulp' and opened her mouth.

After clearing her throat with an 'Ahem'.

"...Um, Kylon?"

"Hm?"

He, slightly surprised as if he hadn't expected Agnes to call him, widened his eyes and turned his head towards her.

And at the same time, Linda reacted to Agnes's voice and looked back at Agnes and Kylon.

But Agnes merely chewed, ignoring Linda.

"I have something to tell you a little later..."

"Oh, really? Alright."

Kylon already half-knew because of what I had said, but he simply resumed his meal without showing any particular sign.

Listening to the clattering sounds, I felt a little relieved.

Recalling Kylon, who had been busy trying to conquer Linda recently but kept bothering me, was truly frustrating. But now, at least, he seemed to be trying hard in his own way.

And in the midst of that, Linda seemed a little uneasy because of Agnes, and her trembling appearance caught my eye.

Calling her a Masochist bitch/woman, I wondered if she was still underdeveloped, seeing her constantly trying to take on the girlfriend role. A 'hmm' naturally escaped my lips.

If she kept interfering with Kylon's romantic endeavors like that, I'd get a little anxious. Even if Linda whined, there wouldn't be much way to stop it if Kylon decided to go for it, but just thinking about a potential catfight on their future journey made my head throb.

A martial artist who has already mastered Noble Knight to some extent?

If it were watching them fight after being placed in a coliseum, it might actually be enjoyable to watch.

But the future where they ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would drag me in as if I were also a competitor and be wary of me already felt so tiring that I could only sigh.

Can't I just use the Hypnosis Tool on Linda?

Thinking that, I slumped my shoulders and put a Biscuit in my mouth.

As silence briefly settled and the sounds of chatter and clattering cutlery reached my ears, it was none other than Flora who first broke the stillness of this party.

"Kylon, are you getting a confession or something?"

"Ah, no...!"

Agnes reacted to those words with a loud 'thump' on the table, and Linda, who was drinking water, choked on it.

"Cough! Cough!"

Come to think of it, Flora was supposedly in a Mesugaki position according to Kylon, but she hadn't shown any notable actions beyond her first impression.

Actually, her concept was probably to ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tease the clueless Kylon, but the current Kylon wasn't a naturally naive and insensitive character you'd see in a game. He had an aggressive personality, came from a rich family, and had many friends in reality, so Flora seemed to be completely powerless.

Well, there are people Mesugaki works on and people it doesn't, so perhaps she knew that well and couldn't find anything to say.

She should be teasing Kylon, but if she just teases him, it feels like things would quickly turn intimate, so she doesn't seem to easily challenge him.

So, it seemed she usually maintained a 'Hmph,' Tsundere persona, but occasionally found opportunities to deliver such impactful lines.

This party composition looks tiresome no matter how I see it. Unable to shake the premonition that it would soon turn into a chaotic scene, I continued to enjoy the crispy texture.

"It's, it's not a confession...!"

"Ah, Agnes... is that true?"

Linda's questioning voice grew deeper at Agnes's flustered tone.

And behind them, Flora curled up the corners of her lips, subtly leaned against Kylon, and linked her arm with his.

It was immediately clear that this wasn't because she liked Kylon, but an action to tease Agnes and Linda over there.

"Hmph, I think it's good though?"

Is she approaching them by pretending to tease others because teasing Kylon is difficult?

Honestly, I couldn't really understand the personalities of girls like that, so there was no need to even try to comprehend them.