Love is Always Fleeting
"Elray, you've come. I'm always grateful."
Dite expressed her sincere gratitude to Elray, who had visited once again today. Tending the mill was arduous work, yet she was both thankful and impressed that her daughter-in-law's friend would come so often to help.
"Oh, what is there to thank me for? I'll take the sheep out to graze with Lina and be back soon."
Elray waved off the gratitude as if it were nothing and naturally began herding the sheep. Dite called after the pair as they moved into the distance.
"Monsters have been prowling nearby lately, so be careful."
"Yes, yes. We'll be careful. Let's go, Lina."
"We'll be back, Mother."
They really do get along well.
Dite watched the two figures receding into the distance with a warm smile. Her son Arek, fighting hard on the battlefield, would surely be delighted to know their relationship had mended. After all, he had always hoped the strain between them would heal.
Knock, knock.
Hm?
At the sound of knocking, Dite opened the door with mild curiosity.
"Oh my."
There stood a priest so strikingly handsome it was rare to see his equal in her lifetime.
"May I have a word with you? Sister Dite."
The priest asked with a gentle smile, and Dite nodded in a daze. There was simply something about the man before her—an undeniable presence that made refusal impossible.
--
This level is still not enough, is it?
Squelch. Squelch.
As Satan walked the muddy path, she felt the demonic beasts she had dispatched burst apart and perish. How many had she sent? Roughly ten, each one dying in under ten seconds.
Well, if it were only this much, he would have been disappointed instead.
Satan continued walking, lost in thought. In truth, this had only been meant to annoy Beelzebub; she had never expected any real damage. The surface world was truly pleasant. Having returned after so long, she found it still perfectly to her taste. Yes—this was the place suited to her. That was why she desired it so fiercely. This air, this vibrant earth teeming with life, and the rich mana that filled it. She wanted it all.
Though she had grown excited at first and overstepped, drawing attention now would not be wise. Satan had therefore reined in her temper and was avoiding unnecessary conflict with humans. It was for that reason she walked this barely-there path.
Gwoooooooar!
A tremendous roar shook the air as a colossal monster emerged. Gazing at the creature that looked as though it had been formed from clumped mud, Satan smiled. If she could not kill humans, she could simply kill something else. The intelligent ones seemed to sense danger and stayed away, but...
The bigger, the better.
The larger the monster, the more blood it would spill. Satan licked her lips.
Then...
Riiip!
The goat mask she wore split wide open at the mouth. She had decided this creature would serve as her meal today.
--
Slurp. Squelch.
After setting the sheep to graze, the two women naturally began to explore each other's bodies. It had always been this way. Dite had no idea, but from the beginning, helping Lina had never been Elray's true purpose.
They devoured each other's lips. Elray's thick fingers slid downward as if it were the most natural thing in the world, stroking the hidden folds between Lina's thighs.
"Hngh."
The way Lina desperately held back her moans out of fear they might be heard was so adorable that Elray could barely restrain herself. She kneaded those soft breasts through the fabric, savoring their yielding warmth, while her other hand continued its wicked work beneath the skirt. The place between Lina's legs was already soaked; her fingers glided in with ease.
Squish. Squish.
"Haah... haah..."
Lina's breathing grew ragged. Elray's own excitement mounted with every heated gasp. Even the scent of sweat rising from her lover's skin seemed sweet. She nipped gently at the soft curve of Lina's neck.
"Ah, Elray... that hurts a little."
She knew it was wrong. Leaving a mark like this was far too risky. Yet an impulsive wave of possessive desire had driven her to brand that pale throat as her own. While her hands continued to caress those soft breasts, Elray pressed her own aching core against Lina's thigh. Each time Lina's body trembled helplessly, Elray found her even more irresistible.
With a soft thud, she laid her lover down in the grass and began stripping away her clothes. Pure white skin was revealed, crowned by two lovely, erect peaks that stood proudly before her.
Elray could no longer hold back. She yanked open her own shirt. Though the northern air was cold, neither woman felt the chill as they shared their warmth.
Squish. Squish.
The wooden phallus carved in the likeness of a man's organ moved busily between them. With every thrust they moaned sweetly, lost in mutual pleasure.
"Hmm. Seeing it in person like this is rather embarrassing."
"...!"
Elray, on the verge of climax with the carved shaft buried inside her, snapped her eyes open at the voice behind them.
"P-Priest!"
Incredibly, the man sitting atop a large boulder behind them was the very priest they had met earlier that day. Elray stared in panic. Lina frantically covered herself with her discarded clothing.
Even as he regarded the disheveled pair, the priest's voice remained perfectly calm.
"Asa. This is clearly caught in the act, is it not?"
"Ah, yes..."
Asa answered with her head bowed in mortification. She had not expected the scene to be quite so explicit. Though the naked women were the ones exposed, she somehow felt even more ashamed.
"This makes punishment rather difficult. Truly. I find myself quite troubled."
Lina the Heretic: Ten days of repentance prayer and Sexual Correction Therapy to be administered by her husband upon his return from the front.
Elray the Heretic: Sexual Correction Therapy to be administered directly by Archbishop Jenkinson, followed by completion of proper sexual education at the church.
Jenkinson pondered the church's established rulings. Cases of homosexuality were typically sentenced to Sexual Correction Therapy. Prostitutes or male courtesans would be hired to teach the sinner about the opposite sex. In unavoidable circumstances, a priest would personally demonstrate the meaning of proper relations through bodily instruction.
When adultery was added to the equation, the sentence became Heresy Condemnation followed by Sexual Correction Therapy. In this instance, hiring a male prostitute was not permissible. The church deemed it too cruel to force decent believers—even those performing lowly tasks—to mingle their bodies with heretics.
In other words, it fell to Jenkinson himself to teach her the proper way. Such harsh duties were the burden of God's servants. The church, which constantly demanded sacrifice from its priests, naturally expected the same here. Those with greater power bore greater responsibility and sacrifice. He understood the principle well enough.
The problem was...
It really doesn't appeal to me at all.
Even knowing it was his duty, Jenkinson felt no desire to carry it out. At that moment, the image of that woman flashed through his mind. Why did she come to mind at times like this? In the past, he would have unhesitatingly offered his body to fulfill the goddess's will. Why, then, was he hesitating now?
"...I told you before, Elray the heretic. I said it would please me if I could call you 'sister.'"
At those blunt words, Elray finally lifted her gaze to Jenkinson's face.
Ah...
The moment she saw his usually smiling face now completely expressionless, her whole body went cold. It was strange. Why? A shiver ran down her spine. Why was her body beginning to burn with excitement beneath that icy stare?
Unable to understand her own reaction, Elray simply stared up at him in a daze.
"I will now deliver my verdict."
His cold eyes noted how wet she had become once more. Jenkinson steeled his resolve.
"Lina the heretic shall undergo ten days of repentance prayer and Sexual Correction Therapy with her husband. As for Elray the heretic..."
Since Lina had a husband, the man could be recalled from the front to carry out her correction. Sexual Correction Therapy meant engraving proper sexual conduct into the sinner's body so they could engage in correct relations.
In other words...
"Elray, you will receive Sexual Correction Therapy directly from me and complete proper sexual education within the church."
As a priest, he was obligated to teach her how to love the opposite sex correctly.
Though it truly did not appeal to him in the slightest.
--
"The cooperation notice has been dispatched. Lina the heretic's husband will return here at the earliest possible date."
Jenkinson spoke to Dite, who remained utterly stunned.
"Once he returns, you may proceed with the Sexual Correction Therapy. I would appreciate it if you would instruct your son to cooperate fully."
"H-he's really coming back? Then...?"
To Dite, the news that her son was returning from the battlefield seemed far more important than her daughter-in-law's affair.
"Yes, he will return."
Jenkinson gave a firm nod. The commander of that sector, Gilbert, was not the sort of man who would refuse cooperation in such matters.
"Oh! Thank you, Juno!"
Dite clasped her hands together in prayer to the goddess, grateful beyond words at the chance to see her son again.
Lina hung her head in shame, unable to face anyone. Elray remained in a dazed stupor. Watching them, Asa's expression grew increasingly complicated.
"Why do you look like that?" Jenkinson asked.
"It's just... strange to learn that someone I know committed such a crime," Asa replied.
She still could not quite believe the person she had only recently grown close to had been carrying on an adulterous affair.
"...I see."
Besides...
Asa stole a glance at Jenkinson and felt a flicker of tension. No matter how she looked at him, the priest did not appear to be in a good mood. For some reason, that frightened her.