Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Fell for the Rascal
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Krash slipped out of the Pope's garden and started down the corridor of the grand temple.
[Loosen up that face of yours. You look ready to devour everyone in sight.]
At that moment, a chiding remark from Crimson Garden echoed in his mind.
Just as she said, a storm of considerable anger was raging within Krash.
The reason for Krash's fury was simple.
'There wasn't even a shred of Astraia's will in any of this.'
She had been born as a saintess by Freeman's decree and raised as such.
Having grown up as a saintess, she had fulfilled the role bestowed upon her.
But now.
The life she had lived was being dismissed as fake, and she faced the prospect of being stripped of her saintess title.
'Astraia has always lived however Freeman wanted her to.'
Even so, she had done her utmost as a saintess in her own way.
But lo and behold.
Right up to the very end of her time as saintess, not a single one of her own decisions had been considered.
The nation was making its own choices without her input.
Krash could not tolerate that.
So he intended to act in a way that matched his intolerance.
He was heading straight to see Astraia.
'Holy royal family or whatever.'
Anything that grated on his nerves needed to be turned upside down to settle his frustration.
"...Krash Valheim."
Just then, Krash halted at the sound of someone calling his name.
When he turned his head, he saw the same blue hair as the woman he'd met earlier, Tersada.
But the face beneath that blue hair was different from before.
It belonged to a girl much younger than Tersada—the youngest cardinal, known as such.
Mirei Beakis.
That was why she was there.
Though she didn't know it, Krash—who had met her once at the women's gathering—parted his lips.
"Lady Mirei Beakis, do you need something?"
Mirei opened and closed her mouth repeatedly.
Krash sensed she had something difficult to say.
And that it was likely related to Astraia.
He had a knack for picking up on things like this.
"Perfect timing. I'm on my way to see the Saintess."
Krash gestured behind him with a smile tugging at his lips.
"Care to join me?"
This just might be the key to letting Astraia change her own life.
＊ ＊ ＊
Astraia Stigma Freeman.
The saintess born by the decree of the Holy Kingdom Freeman.
What was this saintess, said to be loved by the gods, doing now?
"He used to like pierogi?"
"Yes, it's one of Krash's favorite foods. He often gets it for lunch."
She was digging into the background of the man she had feelings for.
Through none other than his closest friend, Aslan.
Astraia mulled over Aslan's words again and again.
Though she'd never cooked a day in her life, it seemed she needed to give it a try this time.
Just imagining Krash enjoying the food she made filled her with happiness.
As Astraia dazedly thought about looking up how to make pierogi, Aslan stared at her intently.
Seirang, who had been listening quietly from the side, also folded her arms and gazed at Astraia.
Aslan and Seirang's eyes met briefly.
Aslan nodded soon after.
"How did you end up falling for Krash, Saintess?"
"Kek, hek!"
Astraia, startled by the blunt question, choked on her tea mid-sip.
She pounded her chest and barely recovered from the coughing fit before turning to Aslan.
Seirang nodded in satisfaction beside her.
Her pent-up frustration had finally eased.
Seeing their reactions, Astraia looked flustered.
Her face had turned beet red, like a ripe tomato.
She shook her head vigorously.
"N-No! I never said anything like that!"
She denied it vehemently, even biting her tongue.
But Seirang let out a sigh at the sight.
"Astraia, does denying it so frantically even mean anything?"
"Hiding it now just looks silly. You've been asking all sorts of questions about Krash."
"Th-that's because... we're connected in all these ways, so I was just curious, just..."
Astraia stammered in panic, her voice trailing off as she hung her head.
"...Am I that obvious?"
"Let's just say we're quick on the uptake."
Astraia chewed her lip dejectedly.
To think even Aslan, whom she'd just met today, had noticed—not just Seirang.
There was no way the sharp Krash hadn't figured out her feelings.
"Come on, spill it. What is it about him that you like so much?"
To be honest, Seirang found Krash a bit scary.
He knew about the sensual novels she'd written as a hobby and published.
He was like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.
From her perspective, she had to tread carefully around Krash.
But that had nothing to do with her friend's love life.
Beyond her veil, her eyes sparkled with interest in Astraia's romance.
Astraia slowly lowered her head, flustered by the gaze that pierced even through the veil.
"...At first, it was just his looks that caught my eye."
In the end, Astraia decided to come clean.
Not just Seirang.
Aslan was Krash's friend, so maybe she'd get some good advice.
"Before I knew it, it was just... him. That's how it happened..."
Her face flushed with embarrassment midway, and she bowed her head deeply.
"Well, Krash does have that habit of drawing people in without even realizing it."
Aslan agreed on that point.
Astraia nodded emphatically, her expression brightening.
"Right? He's sneakily mean, but then he's oddly sweet in the strangest ways. He keeps making you notice him. If he's going to be a jerk, he should just stay a jerk all the way."
Whenever Krash looked at her kindly, Astraia felt like she was going mad.
He was usually curt, but if she pushed even a little, he'd give in, keep his promise, or treat her gently.
He seemed oblivious to it, but Astraia had to steel herself time and again against the urge to melt under his gaze.
"And yet, whatever he's chasing leaves him looking like he's carrying the weight of the world, making everyone worry about him."
Seeing him with no intention of ever resting made Astraia's heart ache every time.
If only she could help even a little, but Krash insisted on handling everything alone.
"Wow, Astraia, you really like him a lot."
Seirang looked at her in surprise.
It was the first time she'd seen Astraia like someone this much.
Astraia grew shy after speaking her mind and avoided their eyes.
Still, she felt a twinge of gratitude that they didn't judge her for liking someone as a saintess.
The image of a saintess was that of a cleric devoting her life to others.
It was worlds apart from an ordinary person.
But the two treated Astraia without prejudice.
'Seirang, sure.'
But Aslan holding that attitude—maybe it was because he was Krash's friend.
Krash must be the same kind of person.
Aslan, meeting Astraia's eyes, gave a slight smile.
"You're right. That's Krash for you."
Aslan agreed, knowing exactly the side of Krash she described.
Krash was definitely living like he was being chased by something.
"But it's not like that side of him always seems unstable."
And Aslan didn't see that aspect of Krash entirely negatively.
"At least when he's living like that, it looks like he's found a life that's truly his own."
Astraia, who hadn't considered that angle, stared at Aslan in surprise.
A friend's perspective was indeed different.
"Supporting him now and then is enough for us. Krash always brings something huge anyway."
"That's..."
He did have a knack for attracting incidents.
Or more precisely, whenever something blew up, Krash was always poking his nose in.
Clunk!
At that moment, the door to the room where Astraia and Aslan were talking burst open.
Speak of the devil—Krash appeared, with the youngest cardinal, Mirei Beakis, in tow.
Striding boldly into the room, Krash said to Astraia,
"Astraia, let's flip Freeman upside down."
And out came another absurd bombshell from his mouth.
As Astraia and even Seirang stared at him in bewilderment, Aslan tilted his teacup again and gave a wry smile.
"Right on cue?"
Krash had brought something huge again this time.
"...What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Astraia gaped at him in utter disbelief.
And to top it off, he'd dragged the youngest cardinal into it just to say that.
"The opposition plans to do away with the saintess title altogether."
But Krash continued unfazed.
Perhaps because she'd already heard some from Diona, Astraia wasn't overly shocked.
Her face just hardened.
"Then I..."
"If it suits them, they'll want to erase the saintess position itself."
The opposition's talk of abolishing the saintess yoke was tantamount to erasing her entirely.
"At the very least, they'll want to strip it away from Freeman."
"...God, you're always so reckless."
Astraia furrowed her brow slightly.
Of course they would—they'd used her whenever it suited them, and now they wanted to discard her.
"That's why this time, we're moving according to your will."
"And that means flipping Freeman?"
"Exactly."
Astraia shot him a look that said, How did you arrive at that conclusion?
"The world would be better if everything went smoothly, but sometimes you need to rage properly."
"And how does that lead to flipping Freeman?"
"Because I'm planning to have you smash the Holy Grail yourself."
The next words were something Astraia had never even imagined.
She stared at Krash as if to confirm she'd heard right.
But Krash nodded as if to say she had.
"W-wait, the Holy Grail?"
"Yeah, the Holy Grail."
The opposition wanted to end the saintess tradition.
Then they would surely try to destroy the Holy Grail too.
So Krash planned to beat them to it.
"If the saintess destroys the Holy Grail herself and tells the world about what it's been like as saintess all this time, you could go down as the saintess who shattered it, Astraia."
A do-nothing saintess could be erased easily.
But a saintess who acted to break free of her chains would be etched in people's memories.
"That way, even the opposition wouldn't dare touch you lightly."
Of course, from the opposition's view—wanting a full religious revolution—it would piss them off to lose the first move.
'Tough luck.'
They were the ones more pissed off here anyway.
In his original world, the opposition had failed, so this one might too.
If so, Astraia would just end up collateral damage in their goals.
The holy royal family wouldn't look kindly on a sullied saintess either.
"...Is that really something we can just do?"
Astraia asked worriedly, and Krash pointed to himself.
"I've got you covered."
Where did that confidence come from?
Astraia looked at him with a deflated expression.
But for some reason.
She felt a ticklish flutter deep in her chest.
As she pressed her hand to her chest, unsure of the feeling, Krash continued.
"Of course, this all depends on what you want, Astraia."
And in that instant, she realized what the stirring emotion in her heart meant.
"If you don't like it, we won't. I'll find another way."
Krash was doing all this purely for her sake.
He prioritized her will above all, devising this plan to keep her from Freeman's clutches.
From start to finish.
He moved only hoping for her safety.
The moment she grasped that, Astraia's eyes began to shake violently.
At the same time, her ear tips flushed bright red.
Unable to meet Krash's gaze, she slowly turned her head aside.
As she averted her eyes in silence, Krash stopped talking.
"Not a fan?"
He looked at her calmly, as if ready to drop it if she wasn't keen.
That gaze only made her heart ache more, so Astraia let out a few fake coughs.
Oblivious or not.
He really was a hopeless rascal.