Priest and Morning Buff (2)
Priest and Morning Buff (2)
#
「Yoo-jin. I love you.」
「I love you too.」
「Reni stood on her tiptoes and offered her lips to me. I pulled Reni into my arms. Reni shyly stuck out her small, cute tongue and began licking my forehead.」
「I felt a cool, pleasant wetness on my forehead...」
…
…
…
'Licking my forehead?'
…
"Huh?!"
"Ah, you're awake?"
When I opened my eyes, Reni was looking down at me with a worried expression. And on my forehead was... a damp towel?
"Are you all right?"
"Uh, no... why the towel?"
"You seemed to have a fever... you felt different from yesterday..."
A fever?
"I'm fine, though?"
"What? No, you're not..."
...
Ah... right. I'd kept 「Body Temperature Increase」 on to lure Reni in, so...
Damn. I was driven mad with lust and scheming to do something lewd, while Reni had worried about me enough to prepare a damp towel first thing in the morning. I-I was trash... complete trash... This time, I couldn't even blame anyone else.
...But I didn't set Body Temperature Increase that high...?
Well... Reni's body runs a little cool, so maybe she could tell.
"Yoo-jin?"
"I'm not sick. I'm fine. We should go eat."
Reni had already changed her clothes and was completely ready to go. But her face was slightly flushed...
…
...That was a dream, right?
Come to think of it, there was something I hadn't thought about yesterday because I was too tired and out of it. Why did Reni think nothing of sleeping in the same bed as me?
Could she have a lot of experience? ...No, it didn't seem that way...
Was this world okay with this much as long as you didn't actually have sex? I didn't recall hearing anything like that...
...But I couldn't ask. That would only create trouble where none existed.
In any case, this worked out. Today, I'd keep Body Temperature Increase active and behave like a needy mutt again.
# # #
"So, what do you plan to do now?"
Reni asked while nibbling her bread. She looked so adorable that I briefly wanted to tease her, but I gathered my thoughts before answering.
"There should be an old church nearby. Today, I need to investigate it first. After that, we'll go to the dungeon."
"Investigate?"
"Yeah."
A sword with the holy attribute was hidden somewhere in that church.
According to the novel, roughly a year later the protagonist's party would arrive to restore Riverbridge after a dungeon rampage half-destroyed it. While attempting to eliminate the source by conquering the dungeon, they'd discover a weapon in a church along the way.
But by then the protagonist's party would already be wrapped in cheat items from battling the demonkin, so they'd shove the weapon into some corner of the inventory and forget it.
If it was an item like that, there shouldn't be any problem with me grabbing it.
The problem wasn't who grabbed the item.
The problem was that the novel never described the discovery in detail. It merely said that a priest in the party had 'picked it up' while searching the Church, so I did not know the exact location.
To find that thing, I needed Reni—or more precisely, I needed a priest's skills.
Still, I'd probably have to do a lot of legwork... what a pain...
Anyway, after picking up the weapon, I'd confirm a few more things and then head to the dungeon. Riverbridge's dungeon only had undead, and a holy-attribute item was a direct counter to undead.
"I think there's something there."
"But Yoo-jin, how do you even know all of this?"
She looked puzzled, but fortunately she showed none of Kate's urge to interrogate every detail.
But... how should I answer...?
If I said I knew the future, kind-hearted Reni would definitely say she'd help me with everything. Sorry, but I didn't have that kind of obligation.
No, it wasn't a matter of obligation. I simply couldn't do such grand things in the first place.
Sex Warrior (性戰士) might have the word "warrior" (戰士) written in it, but in reality, its abilities were specialized for being a public whore or a stud. With abilities like this, I was supposed to throw myself into grand events like the protagonist's party?
With these laughable abilities, my limit was barely managing to take care of myself and the heroines.
Well, the protagonist's party was supposed to handle everything on their own even without me anyway. But... I couldn't exactly say that. I'd have to fudge it appropriately.
"Umm... I just see images."
"Images?"
"Yeah... The Goddess doesn't directly tell me to do this or that. Instead, I see certain recurring images. They're not clear—more like a picture blurred by water. I only get the general impression."
"Huhhh..."
Reni's eyes sparkled. That was a bit much to handle.
I regretted laying down such a grandiose plot hook. Still, whatever. It was fine. There was always a way to wriggle out later.
In any case, I'd pull every trick I could, rake in a ton of money, and then hole up at home with Reni and the other heroines, spending my life steeped in wine and women...
"Yoo-jin? You're drooling..."
"Ah."
Slurp.
"But where is this church?"
"No idea."
"Nnneh?!"
"The Goddess doesn't spell everything out, remember? She just gives me vague clues. I'll have to figure out the rest myself."
After saying that, I called over the innkeeper.
"What is it?"
"Is there a church and a dungeon nearby?"
"There are... but why are you asking?"
The thick-armed innkeeper sounded annoyed. Listen, if I didn't destroy that dungeon now, you were going to be in serious trouble. But I couldn't say that. Drawing attention would do me no good.
"We're aspiring adventurers headed for the Great Labyrinth in West Keep. We thought the local dungeons might provide useful experience. Did you not say there were three or four nearby?"
The burly-armed guy gave me and Reni a quick appraising look. A rough face, thick arms and legs... did you take an arrow to the knee during your adventuring days too?
"For now, we plan to check it out for the experience."
"Won't help you much. The Great Labyrinth and the piddly dungeons around here are on completely different levels."
"Ha-ha. I'm a coward, so I want to get some experience first. If I can't even handle a dungeon at this level, I'll just give up early and head home."
"Hmm..." "W-what?!"
...Reni... you're so clueless... I'm just saying whatever works... stay quiet...
"And you can speak casually to me. You're much older than I am... Ah, and I have a lot of questions about that dungeon, so I plan to stay here for a while. Please take care of us."
The innkeeper relaxed at the invitation to speak casually and the prospect of a long stay. Yeah. Money really was the best.
The innkeeper opened his mouth.
"The Church is about an hour or two from here, toward the mountain range. It's more of a pile of bricks than a church, though. And there are five dungeons in total. They're deeper in the mountain range beyond the Church."
He switched to casual speech immediately...
The thick-armed innkeeper explained in considerable detail. From the way he spoke, he had probably visited the place himself.
I didn't know why the Church was so far from the village, but... whatever, it didn't matter.
Good. Now that I knew the approximate location, it was time to leave. Once we were close, I could confirm the rest on the minimap.
"For a church to end up like that... why..."
Reni seemed a little dejected at the news that the Church was in ruins.
"A pile of bricks... would there really be anything there?"
What if there was no weapon in the Church? It didn't matter.
I had other backups besides the Church's weapon anyway.
No, honestly, the backup was more important. This whole expedition was to confirm that backup in the first place.
# # #
A few hours earlier. Reni woke up in Yoo-jin's arms.
"Nnnuuuhh...."
She must have instinctively crawled toward the warm spot in the night without realizing it. Thank goodness she'd woken up before Yoo-jin did.
'I shouldn't be doing this. I need to get a grip.'
After slapping both cheeks a few times, Reni began her prayers.
Reni had a routine she followed every morning the moment she woke up. A simple prayer and a check on her divine power.
It was a ritual she'd performed ever since learning how weak her divine power was. Had it increased overnight? Had the Goddess granted her wish?
A desperate, reverent, yet fruitless ritual.
Today was no different. Had yesterday's events been a mistake after all? Suspended between hope and anxiety, Reni clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.
"...!"
'The Divine Power hasn't disappeared!'
When she'd received the buff on her hand, Yoo-jin had said it only lasted four hours. But even though she'd only allowed her neck and shoulders this time, the buff still remained. More than ten hours had already passed.
'All he did was move his touch from my hand to my n-neck... yet my Divine Power rose so much more... and it's lasting this long...'
Had Yoo-jin's ability bloomed rapidly? Or was it like he said—did it differ depending on where contact was made? Was it both?
'Th-then where should we try next? Would it work if we made contact over a w-wider area...?'
Just how far could she... The mere thought made her so embarrassed that Reni shelved the dilemma for later.
...
After breakfast, however, the thought of entering a dungeon suddenly frightened Reni.
What would happen if she couldn't do what Yoo-jin asked of her well enough?
Yoo-jin had asked Reni to help explore the dungeon because they had met at the castle.
It was such a flimsy connection. So flimsy that it wouldn't matter in the slightest if someone else were there instead of Reni.
Someone like her did not belong beside such a powerful Awakened. The reason she could accompany him instead of a High Priest, an Archmage, or an entire order of knights was simply—
'I'd gotten lucky...'
She had just gotten lucky. Still, she couldn't let that luck slip away. She absolutely could not let Yoo-jin slip away. But—
Even with the buff, Reni's divine power was still weak. Could she really carry out what was asked of her?
What if she didn't live up to his expectations?
Kate had told her to return once she finished her business in Riverbridge, and Yoo-jin had agreed. If she couldn't fulfill Yoo-jin's expectations, would she be discarded back to the training center just like that?
'I can't let that happen...!'
She needed a stronger buff. Right this very moment.
And so...
# # #
We went back up to the room, and while I was getting ready to head out, Reni hesitantly spoke to me.
"Yoo-jin... um..."
"What?"
"Um, the b-buff... I, I checked it too..."
Reni's expression was serious.
'...!!!'
Right! The buff!
Yesterday I'd lied and said the buff I put on her hand was short! That it was only four hours! And for the buff I put on her shoulder... I never mentioned a duration at all!
Over ten hours had passed, and it was still going just from touching her shoulder a little. Had she realized I'd lied? Had she confirmed it?! Damn it! I should've suggested putting on one more buff before we went to sleep!
Screwed screwed screwed screwed. Cold sweat ran down my back. I was screwed. What was I going to say?
But that wasn't what Reni was talking about.
Hesitant fidgeting. A reddened face. Eyes that wandered across the floor. Lips twitching open and shut. Hands clutching her robe tightly. Could this be...
"Nngh... ahh..."
Only after a long bout of mumbling did Reni finally speak.
"A-as I thought... depending on where you touch... the b-buff seems to get stronger."
"Uh-uh... uh?"
"S-so what I'm saying is... b-before we go... o-one more time...."
"Uhh..."
At last, Reni pressed her lips firmly shut as if steeling her resolve.
Then she undid the back buttons of her priest robe, slipped her arms free, exposed her armpits, and tied the sleeves behind her back.
Now Reni was wearing her priest robe like an off-the-shoulder dress, with her shoulders completely bare.
'Sh-she's got good instincts?!'
Phew... saved.
Now that the relief had set in, excitement came rushing in.
I'd meant to go to the Church... but if she was asking me to go this far...
In that case, this time... I'd try something a little special.
I would make a complete mess of her... Heh heh...