Dispatched Saintess (3)
'What the hell does that even mean...?'
Lucia stood in front of the door with a puzzled look on her face. Let me out, it had said. And that was definitely Carrot's voice.
Her confusion didn't last long, though, as a bewildering phrase hung in the air. Then came Rachel's sultry voice from inside the room.
"Are you sure that's okay? For a priestess to be doing something like this?"
Followed immediately by Carrot's response.
"I-it's... it's fine... It's just... to cool down the heat..."
Her voice trembled, laced with an odd urgency, like she was desperate for something. It sounded so impatient, completely unlike the Carrot she knew. What on earth could have driven her to visit Rachel's room in the middle of the night?
To unravel the mystery, Lucia pressed her ear close to the door. But her eavesdropping was cut short.
Tap.
"Eek?!"
"Mm... Saintess sis? Whatcha doin' there...?"
Ruen had popped out of nowhere and poked her. Lucia let out a small yelp, jumping in surprise. Her eyes went wide as she stared at Ruen, then she frantically waved her hands and shook her head.
"Ah... n-no, it's not... I wasn't doing anything weird—"
"Huh...? Weren't you lookin' for the bathroom...?"
Those words snapped Lucia back to reality. Ruen looked half-asleep, rubbing her eyes. It seemed she was the one who'd woken up. Seizing the opportunity, Lucia forced an awkward smile and turned her body away.
"Ahaha, yeah... where is the bathroom...?"
Her movements were stiff and unnatural. Quickly changing tack, she put distance between herself and Rachel's door.
"I'll show ya... c'mon, let's gooo..."
Lucia nodded slowly at Ruen's words and walked with her toward the bathroom.
A faint moan seemed to echo from the room—Ah, uh...—but she dismissed it as her imagination and kept walking. Probably just Carrot feeling under the weather, asking for some cold medicine. She'd be fine. She was Carrot, after all—a holy knight of the Lorren Church, the strongest priestess around.
"Wh-what?"
"Hm? Nothing."
Lucia shrugged. She smiled casually, then fixed her gaze back on Carrot's face. What had happened last night was nagging at her. She'd brushed off the unease at the time, but now, thinking it over, something felt off—more than one thing, actually.
Why had Carrot gone to Rachel's room in the dead of night? What were those moans? And why hadn't she returned to bed until 4 a.m.?
It left a sticky, uncomfortable feeling. She couldn't exactly peek inside rooms, though—not just because of doctrine, but because she hadn't learned scrying magic. She simply had no talent for it. Only Carrot could wield both holy power and magic with such skill.
Poof.
Lost in serious thought, Lucia suddenly felt Carrot lean into her from the side. Realizing her expression, she softened into a gentle smile.
"...Something wrong?"
Carrot asked worriedly. Touched by the pure concern, Lucia slowly stroked her hair, then pulled her into a warm embrace. Holding her like this brought instant calm to body and mind. Just hugging her makes everything better. Am I really a phytotherapist or something? Lucia mused foolishly.
She patted Carrot's back for a moment before getting out of bed. It was 9 p.m. now—bedtime, and there was something bothering her.
"...Already leaving?"
"Yeah. Time to sleep."
"Let's sleep together. It's been forever since we've even seen each other like this."
"I want to, but... you're not feeling well lately. You'd probably sleep better alone tonight."
"Ugh..."
Carrot sounded deeply disappointed, her face drooping. Lucia nearly caved and said let's sleep together, but she had something to check tonight. Back in her own room, she lay on the bed, staring blankly for three hours. She'd brought some books, but had no interest in reading.
All that filled her mind was Carrot's strange voice from last night.
...Time to go.
The mansion's residents were all asleep by now. Succubi usually slept by day and roamed at night, but this household bizarrely reversed it. Maybe some unique constitution—or deliberate choice. With their holy power affinity, it wasn't that strange.
She slipped out quietly and hid in a corner of the second-floor hallway. From here, she could see everything moving through the corridors—who went where, which rooms they entered or left. All the paths were visible.
Yesterday, Carrot had headed to Rachel's room, so tonight she'd eavesdrop for sure. Thirty minutes passed with no one stirring. Lucia frowned. Hadn't it been around this time yesterday?
Flustered by the deviation, she wandered the hall and pressed her ear to Rachel's door.
Mmm... strawberry... cake...
Just Rachel's sleep-talking. Maybe it wasn't every night. As a last resort, she checked Carrot's room—planning to just lie beside her if nothing was amiss.
Confirming the hall empty, she approached Carrot's door. The moment her hand touched the knob—
Aahn...
A weird sound came from inside. Lucia's eyes widened. She pulled her hand back, swallowed hard, her pupils trembling as she pressed her ear to the door.
Ah... aahn... haah... uh...
Lewd moans drifted from within. Thump, thump, thump—Her heart pounded wildly. This was definitely...
A moan, right...?
Carrot, who never even masturbated, let alone talked about anything lewd. Moans from her room? It made no sense. Memories of Carrot flashed through her mind.
The pouty face whenever teased. The hand-waving dismissal of dirty jokes. The pure, innocent touches. The way she'd say hugs felt warm and happy.
All those images overlapped.
Haah... ahn...
The innocent Carrot Lucia had built up in her mind was being shredded by those coquettish moans.
"Hah... huff..."
She came to, breathing raggedly. Her heart felt like it would burst, her head spinning. The Carrot who'd smiled so purely in her arms just recently—making these sounds? She denied it, listening over and over, but it was unmistakably Carrot's voice.
Subtle, sensual glimpses of Carrot flickered by.
Lucia... ahn... Luciaaa...
And then—her own name, moaned amid the sounds. An unbearable emotion surged through Lucia.
The strange allure, the affection, the lovable moments she'd felt watching Carrot. Dizzy, she stumbled back to her room.
"Hah, huff..."
Breathing heavily, she clenched her fists. An unspeakable feeling crashed from her core, sweeping her body. And amid it, the basest, most intense one: lust.
She'd gotten aroused seeing Carrot pleasuring herself with those aahns.
"Haa..."
Lucia curled up, biting her lip hard. Her heart thundered; her hand drifted downward unconsciously. Swallowing, she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed to her goddess.
Almighty Manus, free your creation from this filthy lust. Uh...
Keep us from blindness to truth. Carrot...
Save us.
I'm a crazy saintess... Lucia thought, biting her lip. She trudged along with an utterly exhausted face. It was 8 a.m., breakfast time. Her eyes were hollow from masturbating all night.
Unlike Carrot, it didn't drain her holy power, but using a fellow church member as mental fodder was a huge issue for a priestess. What had come over her?
It felt like... it wasn't even me.
Lucia rarely masturbated anyway—too busy with work, low sex drive, usually too tired. She'd probably gone two months without touching down there except when washing.
Walking in a daze—
Thud.
"Ah... s-sorry, ma'am."
"Oh my. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I should've watched where I was going..."
"No harm in a little bump."
She'd collided with Rachel in the hall. Apologizing profusely, Lucia bowed repeatedly; Rachel smiled kindly and waved it off.
"You look exhausted. Did you have trouble sleeping?"
"Y-yeah... probably the change in beds."
"Hmm..."
Rachel's eyes narrowed slyly. She gave Lucia a strange look. Tilting her head in confusion—
Rachel leaned in close.
"Or was it because you were up late masturbating so enthusiastically?"
"...Pardon?"
Lucia's face went blank. Rachel chuckled, clearly amused.
"Aahn... Carrot, Carrot... do more... Carrot..."
Mimicking last night's half-mad mutterings in a coquettish tone. The words stabbed Lucia's chest like a dagger.
"...I thought the saintess was all about abstinence."
Rachel said with mocking scorn.
"You're quite the lustful one, aren't you?"