Sudden Quest (5)

"Ohh..."

Archbishop Henri stood transfixed, overwhelmed by the golden radiance spilling through the crack of the tightly shut door. Never, in all his years, had any Holy Water a worshipper had donated — vaginal fluid, that is — produced a reaction like this. Not even from those who had entered the Church as nuns.

Flushed with joy, he reached to throw the door open and step inside — then froze.

"D-don't come in!!"

"Ah..."

He stopped short, realizing how little consideration he had shown.

"Please summon me once you have finished, Saintess."

There was no reply, but Archbishop Henri felt a deep, abiding satisfaction. A Saintess had appeared in his generation — and he was the one who had found her. Deferential honorifics spilled from his lips of their own accord.

It was maddeningly addictive. Bringing myself to climax with my own hands had taught me something.

No wonder people lose their minds over sex...

Just a moment ago, I hadn't had the slightest intention of going that far. I'd only meant to squeeze out a little of the fluid they wanted. But the instant my fingers stirred inside my pussy, my entire mind went blank.

"Hah..."

I hung my head, staring at my thighs and my pussy glittering in the radiance. Even now, the craving to plunge my slender fingers back inside myself kept jabbing at my thoughts.

And I'd just sworn I was going to hold out.

For the time being, I wiped myself down with a towel, pulled my clothes back on, and shoved the mattress into the corner — the box of toys along with it. I tidied the room in a hurry and opened the door.

"Ohh... O Saintess..."

"P-please don't do that..."

"Not at all. I am simply... helplessly overjoyed..."

The old archbishop took one look at me, dropped into a bow, and started blubbering. I barely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠managed to get him back on his feet before he asked to pay his respects.

"Would you... be so gracious as to extend your hand?"

"...Here."

He slowly pressed his lips to the back of my hand. The gesture was so solemn I couldn't find a single word to say.

"From this moment forward, Oh Na-ho, you shall be received as the Saintess of the Holy God Church. At the same standing as the Saint himself, Arthas Gregory..."

"...Arthas is the Saint?"

"Yes."

They'd been going on about him being the next master of the Divine Sword, or whatever. The thing was, the original game had never had a Saint or a Saintess to begin with. The Holy God Church was just there to support the protagonist.

No lewd nuns, no perverted Saintess — the kind of stuff you'd expect from a church in a game like this.

It always felt like that content just never got implemented. But now... I was getting the distinct, extremely distinct feeling that I was about to become that unimplemented content.

I refused on the spot.

"I don't want to."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"I said I don't want to be treated as the Saintess."

"But—"

"I like things the way they are. I just... want to live a normal life..."

Wondering how to make my absurd Charm stat do some work, I glanced at the archbishop from under my lashes. His face went scarlet in an instant, and he averted his eyes. Fortunately, something close to the answer I wanted came out of him.

"Of course, should the Saintess so desire, there are ways to conceal it for the present, however..."

"Really?"

"Yes. But... should the Holy God call upon you, even I would be powerless. You would have to fulfill your duties as Saintess..."

"I haven't even received anything! What duties?!"

I snapped at him, and the archbishop's whole body started trembling. Wait... now I just felt like I was bullying an old man. He ducked his head in apology and tried to soothe me.

"...Th-the Grand Cathedral shall abide by the Saintess's every word. Whatsoever it may be..."

Whatsoever it may be...?

"Then... even if I wanted to be in the church by myself...?"

"Of course. If that is the Saintess's wish, as much as you desire..."

"I'll do it. But you have to help me stay out of sight."

"Ah... as you wish."

"If I want to pray alone, you can clear everyone out? Not leave a single person behind?"

"Of course..."

Somehow, the path to clearing the quest had just opened up. I smiled in satisfaction and helped the archbishop to his feet.

"You really have to keep it discreet. Don't go deciding to 'help' on your own. Ask me first, every time."

"Yes, yes."

The archbishop nodded over and over. If I wasn't going to throw my weight around now, when would I? A faint, giddy sense of superiority went to my head.

"Then I'd like to pray alone tonight. That's possible, right?"

"T-tonight, you say...?"

"Yes. I became the Saintess today, after all. So I really... want to offer a prayer to the Holy God."

"As you wish, khh— to think you are so devout..."

Devout, my ass.

I was just trying to knock out a filthy quest. Swallowing a twinge of guilt, I stepped out of the room.

"I can go now, right?"

"Yes... however, this matter must be reported to headquarters."

"Ah... okay, fine. And don't you dare assign anyone to 'protect' me."

"..."

"I'm seriously going to get mad, you know? Me? The Saintess is getting mad?"

"I-I understand. Please, set your heart at ease..."

As if I'd let him stick a watchdog on me. I spun on my heel and headed for the church entrance.

The paladin who had brought me here was still standing there.

"Hm? All done?"

"All done? All dooone~?"

"...?"

"Go ask the archbishop over there, then come back and greet me properly."

"...How dare you."

I ignored the paladin's rising temper and looked back toward the archbishop. Henri hurriedly called him over and whispered in his ear. A moment later, the paladin approached with his face gone rigid and dropped to one knee before me.

"S-Saintess—no, this one begs forgiveness for failing to recognize Your Holiness and committing such discourtesy."

"H-heh heh..."

Ah... my chest felt all tingly. So this was what it was like to be the one on top? I clamped down on the smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth.

"What's your name? I never even heard it."

"Berto. Paladin Berto, at your service."

"Do better from now on."

"Yes, Saintess."

"And today's events are strictly confidential. I trust you, Paladin Berto."

"Yes, Saintess."

Leaving Berto answering like a machine, I headed back to class. The others were just coming in, physical conditioning apparently over.

"Na-hooo!!"

"Yu-ra!!"

I started to throw myself into a hug — and stopped.

"Ugh... you smell like sweat!"

"Ah... sorry, I'll go wash up real quick."

Yu-ra grinned like an idiot and headed off to wash with the others, leaving me alone in the classroom. Something was sitting on my desk.

"...Huh?"

I picked up the neatly folded letter and opened it.

"Oh, for fuck's sake..."

I folded it right back up to tear it—wait, no. I folded it carefully and set it on its owner's desk, with a note of apology tucked inside.

A little while later, Yu-ra and the others arrived.

"Did it go okay?"

"Yeah, it worked out. They just said they needed to check ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something."

"Check what?"

"Mm... it's a secret!"

"Whyy? Tell meee!"

We were still bickering when lunchtime rolled around. I shoveled the spicy braised short ribs I'd been dying for straight into my stomach.

Masturbating that hard really does make you starving.

I hadn't even done that much, honestly — it was more that I'd kept going even after I came. Shiofuki, I think the Japanese called it. Never thought I'd experience that firsthand. I ignored the hollow ache in my lower belly and kept stuffing rice into my mouth.

Yu-ra stroked my hair while my cheeks were still puffed out with food.

"Aww, look at our Na-ho, eating so well."

"Hey, are you my mom or what?"

"I help you look for things, I hug you, I take care of you. That makes me your mom."

"..."

We chatted over the rest of the meal anyway.

"Where on earth is that slime?"

"I'll keep looking."

"Thanks."

Unfortunately, Yu-ra had already circled the Academy Athletic Ground looking, and she'd come up empty. She'd searched the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠surrounding area too, so I could probably rule out that side.

Still... it's way too big...

What if the whole thing had been designed from the start just to drop me into hell? Given everything that bastard had pulled so far, it was entirely possible.

"..."

My appetite vanished all at once. If that were really the case, I'd never had a way out to begin with.

"Na-ho?"

"...If you're done eating, let's go back to class."

"Wait!"

Yu-ra crammed the remaining ribs into her mouth, and we headed back together. After that came mana training, which I started while clutching my stuffed belly.

"Miss Oh Na-ho, you'll need to be careful today."

"Yes, Professor."

"Now then, shall we begin today's Mana Respiration?"

In the cool air of the Meditation Room, I closed my eyes and sank inward. I didn't go deep, just as Professor McDonagall had warned. I simply let the mana pooled in my heart flow slowly through my entire body.

"Hooo..."

Bit by bit, through Mana Respiration, the amount of mana I held was growing. The process ran without a hitch, and a smile crept onto my face.

This is fun.

A power I had never felt in my life moved at my command. My absurdly high Magic stat was no lie — the more I practiced, the more natural it became. And then... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I felt something familiar. A faint, hazy sensation. I was following it when—

"All right, everyone, come back to yourselves."

"Ah..."

Professor McDonagall's gentle voice woke the class. I kept my eyes shut a moment longer, hurriedly committing that sensation to memory.

"Mana training is a class you'll attend every single day for three of your four years at the Academy. So don't rush. Build a solid foundation. Understood?"

"Yes!"

I answered loud and bright. The girls around me stared, but I was feeling confident enough to glare right back. Annelise, of course, merely glanced my way with all the effort of a passing thought, her posture utterly slack.

She really is terrifying.

She was the strongest heroine in the original setting, after all. The enjoyable mana training session ended, and history class rolled around again. Professor Roosevelt's lullaby hour. I quietly closed my eyes and drew up my mana.

That sensation from earlier — what was it?

It had felt familiar, like sensing another version of myself. Not the real me, exactly — something smaller. More trivial. A suspicion forming, I spread my senses outward.

Okay... like spinning a spiderweb. Ah—steer clear of the professor and Arthas. And Annelise too...

In a world gone dark, I spun threads of mana outward like a web. Maybe this perverted, hypersensitive body of mine came with a few perks to match. When it came to handling mana, at least, I had nothing to envy in anyone.

The smoothly reaching sense of my mana hit something and stopped. I could feel an enormous barrier.

...What is that?

A sensation like something trying to drive me out hit a moment later, and I yanked my mana back in a panic. If I'd pushed any further, whatever it was might have ridden my mana right back into me.

"Hah... hah..."

I turned my head toward the distant Academy gates. The far end of my reaching senses had been pointed in that direction.

Could it be... the Hole?

The Hole connected to the Anywhere Door. It was a Bound Item, after all. It wouldn't be strange if I could sense its mana. If I dug a little deeper, I might actually get somewhere.

Ding-dong-ding-dong~.

I'd been concentrating longer than I thought — class was already over. Beside me, Yu-ra yawned in a lazy drawl.

"Aungh... that was a good nap."

"What are you going to do about exams?"

"Dunno. As long as you're good in actual combat, you can still become a knight."

Fair point... they weren't about to throw away talent that made it into the Academy just because they were weak in history and liberal arts. Everyone seemed to be sleeping it off with that exact logic. The professor didn't look particularly motivated either.

From there I had dinner with Yu-ra, demolished a parfait for dessert, and returned to my room. And then I prepared for the decisive battle.

"Heh heh... I'll clear it tonight."

The preparations were simple. The temperature-regulating robe I'd received after joining the mage club — jet black, falling nearly to my calves, more than enough to hide my body. Plus two towels and a change of clothes for afterward. I was bold enough to plan on wearing nothing underneath.

It'd make jumping straight into the quest a lot easier.

They'd promised to clear everyone out, after all.

"Nngh... this is a little, hah..."

The moment I stripped completely and pulled the robe on over bare skin, a strange heat welled up inside me. That electric sensation from this afternoon bloomed again from my lower belly.

"Hold it in. Hold it. Go there, come once, and that's it."

After that, I'd learn Sensory Blocking Magic and figure out what that familiar presence had been. A perfect game plan.

I pulled the robe's hood over my head and left the room.