Please eat it yourself.
Please eat it yourself.
What am I doing right now?
I am about to experience the world for the first time since possessing someone in this world.
Meaning, it's my very first day off.
To be precise, it's a day off I gave myself.
Because I'm right below the person in top authority at the Saint's Palace.
For the record, that top authority is the Pope, who is presumed to be the ultimate mastermind.
Anyway, that means granting vacation to the aide is also something I can do.
[Outgoing this afternoon due to personal business.]
I very proudly stamped the outing request form that I had drafted myself.
With this, it's done.
I am the approver, and I am the applicant.
A perfect self-granted vacation.
Ever since possessing this body, I haven't properly rested even once.
Waking Elisia up, washing her, dressing her, forcing her to eat, managing her schedule, and risking my life to stop her from killing people.
While I was suffering like a dog like this, Elisia would barge into the aide's office whenever she was bored, poking my cheek, pulling my hair, and doing nothing but causing trouble.
I need a break.
Very desperately.
Since today conveniently has no events, I plan to go out as well.
"Where are you going?"
However, before I could even fully step out the door of the aide's office, a familiar voice came from behind my back.
I slowly turned my head.
Elisia was standing in the middle of the hallway.
Perhaps because she had no schedule today either, she wasn't wearing the Saint's Crown or her veil.
Apparently, she had been on her way to torment me because she was bored again.
She glared coldly at me holding my outgoing cloak.
'Her timing, seriously...'
Naturally, I hadn't told a soul.
It was barely ten minutes ago that I drafted the outing request form.
Yet she shows up with such mind-boggling timing.
What a truly terrifying woman.
I decided to speak honestly rather than tell a lie that would get caught anyway.
"I plan to go out alone for a bit."
"Where to?"
"Downtown Holy City."
"Why?"
"I have personal business."
"What business?"
"Must I report even that?"
"Yes."
Why...?
I have privacy too...!
Ah, this isn't modern times where privacy is respected, but lucky Middle Ages...
I just shamelessly draped the cloak over my shoulders and walked past Elisia.
"Saint-nim has no schedule today either, so please rest comfortably."
"You're going alone?"
"Yes."
"Let's go together. I'm bored too."
Of course she's tagging along...
If it's like this, it's not a vacation, it's an extension of work...!
I stopped in my tracks and looked at Elisia again.
Then, filled with genuine reluctance, I spoke.
"I don't want to."
"Why?"
"I am going out to rest today."
"I'll rest too."
"Saint-nim can rest in your room."
"I don't want to."
"Why don't you want to?"
"Because I'm bored."
Elisia's expression froze chillingly.
What the hell is boredom to her?
Can't she just spend a day alone?
Lately, she seems to come to me every single day just to toy with me.
"Regardless, I will be going alone today."
"You can't."
"Why can't I?"
"Because I'm bored."
"That is none of my concern."
A pure white light rose from within Elisia's blue pupils.
Unfortunately, the Violence Prohibition Agreement ended yesterday.
Meaning, until I cut her budget again, she returns to being a BE-violence advocate.
I'm in trouble.
All three uses of today's Player's Authority still remain, but I have no intention of using them to fight Elisia on my day off.
I'm telling you, I'm really going out to rest today.
Sensing that Elisia would never back down, I swiftly proposed a compromise so that I could at least leave quickly.
"If you wish to follow along, please change out of your Saintess robes first."
"Why?"
"If the Saint appears on the streets, crowds will gather. Then we won't be able to look around peacefully."
"We can just kill them all."
Where on earth did Elisia's trash-like mindset originate from?
When I played with other Saintesses, the Pope gave off the vibe of a kind grandmother.
Was she actually a total piece of trash?
Argh, is it the Pope again?!
I blamed Elisia's headache-inducing mindset on the Pope and gave her a warning.
"Killing people is forbidden."
"I don't want to."
"Then I will go alone."
Elisia grabbed the end of my cloak.
It looked like she was holding it ever so lightly, but I couldn't advance even a single step forward.
"Fine...! I won't do it!"
"Understood. Then please go change your clothes."
"You change your clothes too."
"Why must I?"
"If you're wearing your aide uniform, you stand out too."
She's not wrong.
The black uniform I am wearing has the Holy Order's emblem engraved largely upon it.
Above all, if I'm in a high-ranking cleric's uniform accompanied by Elisia—who stands out even without her Saintess robes—people would recognize us in no time.
To enjoy my day off peacefully, it would be better for me to disguise myself as well.
"Understood."
"I'll pick for you."
"I refuse that."
"Why?"
"I cannot trust Saint-nim's aesthetic sense."
Jjijik.
The end of the cloak Elisia was holding ripped inside her grasp.
Was being told I don't trust her aesthetic sense that big of a deal?
"I was joking."
"You were, right?"
"Yes."
I spoke flattering words to survive and headed to Elisia's dressing room.
Elisia's dressing room was wider than most houses.
They say it was continuously expanded to store the clothes that kept pouring in as gifts from somewhere or other.
Once again, I'm glad the Saintess robes I usually dress her in are all placed right in the front.
"Wear this."
After moving this way and that inside the vast dressing room, Elisia picked out a cream-colored shirt and a dark brown skirt that looked comparatively plain.
It was an outfit that didn't accentuate body curves excessively, yet neatly defined the waistline.
Seeing her hold it up against me and nod in satisfaction, it seemed Elisia's aesthetic sense was quite exceptional.
Elisia handed me the outfit and took out the clothes she would wear.
A pure white blouse and a long black skirt.
A thin ribbon hung at the neck, paired with a dark navy vest that firmly cinched the waist.
Compared to the extravagant Saintess robes, it was exceedingly plain, but on Elisia, whose figure was essentially a hanger for elegance, it wouldn't look plain at all.
So it was only right to wear something that looked completely plain on the surface.
"I will go change."
When I tried to head to the adjacent room holding the clothes, Elisia followed along.
"Where are you going?"
"I am going to change."
"Change here."
"I refuse."
"You look at my body when bathing me."
"That's because Saint-nim undressed."
"Then this time, you can undress."
"I refuse."
"That's only fair."
"It's not fair at all."
When I tried to close the door, Elisia shoved her foot between the door and the frame.
I glared at her through the crack in the door.
Elisia glared right back at me without backing down.
No, really, let's just change separately.
Why is she telling me to strip in front of her?!
"Remove your foot."
"I don't want to."
"It will get caught in the door."
"Do you think I'd get hurt by something like this?"
"The door will break."
"Then fix it out of your budget."
Wondering what to do, I recalled my initial resolve.
When dealing with a mad dog, become a mad dog.
I just swung the door wide open and unbuttoned my uniform.
The black uniform slid down along my shoulders.
My voluminous black hair cascading down to my waist clung to my bare back, tickling my skin.
As I stripped so brazenly without hesitation, I felt Elisia's flustered gaze.
That flustered gaze soon scanned downwards from my face to my shoulders, passing my slender waist and pelvis, all the way down to my long, straight legs.
She is very blatantly harassing someone else's body with her eyes.
To be precise, it was the kind of gaze one would direct at a sculpture, but since I'm the one feeling embarrassed, I'm taking it that way.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Am I that pretty?"
"Well... your body is nicer than I thought."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Because you're short, I thought you wouldn't look great."
"I am only slightly shorter than Saint-nim."
"Short is short."
So obnoxious.
Why is my height shorter than Elisia's anyway?
Having frantically stripped like a maniac to the point where I was stark naked except for my underwear, I hurried to slip on the shirt Elisia had picked out.
Just then, Elisia approached from behind and snatched the shirt away.
"What are you doing?"
"Give it here. If you wear it so roughly like that, it'll get wrinkled."
Elisia draped the shirt over my shoulders.
Her fingertips slowly brushed along my nape and shoulder line.
Her cool hair and warm fingers touched my sensitive skin simultaneously, making my body flinch.
"Stay still."
"I can wear it on my own."
"As if you'd wear it well. It's expensive, so you must wear it properly."
"Understood..."
Though her words sounded blunt, her touch was gentler than expected.
After fastening the last button and even dressing me in the skirt, Elisia grasped my waist with both hands and turned my body around.
In an instant, we were facing each other.
Her hands were still resting on my waist.
"It looks good."
"Please let go now."
"I don't want to."
"Haven't you finished since you put the clothes on me?"
"I'm checking."
"Checking what?"
"How much the other things will stare."
What's she worrying about when she's tagging along anyway?
I grabbed Elisia's wrists and removed them from my waist.
"This time it is Saint-nim's turn. Please change."
"Dress me."
"Please dress yourself."
"I just did it for you."
I never asked you to though?
I thought about snapping back like that, but not wanting to waste any more time, I stripped Elisia of her Saintess robes and dressed her in everyday clothes.
Once she was fully dressed, she looked not like the usual intimidating Saint, but like the beautiful young lady of a noble house.
However, it was still far too obvious that she was Elisia.
The hair is the problem.
Having identified the problem, I immediately set out to fix it.
Dividing her hair into several strands, I braided it loosely and draped it over one of her shoulders.
Elisia blinked as she looked into the mirror.
"You're better at this than I thought."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"This really is a compliment, so consider it an honor."
Apparently satisfied, Elisia fidgeted continuously with the ends of her hair.
Then, she grabbed a handful of my black hair and held it next to her silver hair.
"The colors are completely opposite."
"That is correct."
"I don't like it."
"Why?"
"It stands out too much."
"That is Saint-nim's fault."
Instead of answering, Elisia intertwined a strand of my hair with a strand of hers to tie a knot.
I have no idea what she's doing.
This will make us stand out way more.
And it's not like she wouldn't know that.
"What did you just do?"
"A mark that this is mine."
"It will come undone immediately anyway."
"Then tie it again."
She does absurd things so nonchalantly.
If we do this, we really have to walk stuck right next to each other.
Maybe people will look at us like we're crazy bitches.
No, they will 100% look at us like crazy bitches.
What kind of crazy bitches walk around with their hair tied together?
I tried to untie and tidy up the hair, but Elisia grabbed my wrist.
"Let's go as it is."
"It is uncomfortable."
"I like it."
"It is my hair."
"Mine is mixed in too."
Elisia showed a stance that she would never concede.
I really don't know why she digs her heels in so stubbornly over such weird things.
In the end, we left the Saint's Palace with a portion of our hair tied together.
Since our scalps would get pulled even if we were just a few steps apart, we naturally had to walk with our shoulders pressed together.
Was this her goal?
No, there's definitely a higher chance she just did it on a whim without much thought.
Because no matter what anyone says, Elisia is someone who acts on pure mood.
.
.
.
The capital's central street was bustling with vitality.
The shouts of merchants and the sound of carriage wheels.
The aroma of freshly baked bread and the fragrance of flowers carried in children's tender hands.
Walking in person through a place that had only appeared as a single background illustration in the game made me realize anew that this world was reality.
"Fascinating."
"What is?"
"Just because."
I don't know how long it's been since I walked the streets without any goal like this.
Even before possessing this body, I had been so absorbed in beating that brat Elisia that I hadn't stepped outside my house for days.
And after possessing this body, I was frantic managing that brat Elisia.
I strolled slowly while leisurely browsing the shops.
Even though Elisia was following along stuck to my side, at first she had a face that showed zero interest in anything.
However, she soon spotted a small street stall along the roadside and halted her steps.
It was a shop displaying thinly candied fruit skewers.
"Would you like to eat some?"
"No."
"Then let's go."
When I tried to walk past since she said no, my hair was yanked back.
It was because Elisia stood unmoving, staring intently at the street stall.
I had forgotten the fact that our hair was tied together.
Wondering what the hell, is even her scalp the strongest in the world? or something, I returned to Elisia's side.
Her gaze still lingered on the fruit skewers.
"Don't you want to eat one?"
"No."
"You keep looking at them, though."
"I was only looking."
"Then I will buy just one."
"Do as you please."
She hates eating meals, but I guess she likes snacks.
Or is she just fascinated by it?
Well, Elisia wouldn't have had the luxury to try street food like this.
In the past, or in the present.
On behalf of the dishonest Elisia, I handed coins to the merchant and received one strawberry skewer.
When I held it out to Elisia, she didn't take it.
"Do you have no hands?"
"You bought it."
"So?"
"Feed me."
In the middle of the street?
Besides, didn't you say you wouldn't eat it?
I surveyed our surroundings.
Nobody recognized us, but with two eye-catching women walking stuck together with even their hair tied, glances were discreetly gathering.
I didn't want to spend my first day off in ages surrounded by crowds again.
So I tried to quickly shove it into her hand to eat by herself.
"Please eat it yourself."
"I don't want to."
"Then I will eat it."
The moment I was about to bring the strawberry to my mouth, Elisia grabbed my wrist and turned the direction.
Her red lips drew near, and Elisia bit off half of the strawberry.
A shard of sugar stuck to her lower lip, glinting.
"Not bad."
"If you were going to do this, you could have just eaten it yourself."
"It's more comfortable when you're holding it."
Elisia ate the rest while keeping it held in my hand.
I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Elisia's lips.
"You got some on you."
Elisia looked down at my hand wiping her lips, then grabbed my wrist again and pulled.
"You got some on you too."
"I will wipe it later."
Regardless of what I said, Elisia gently took my sugar-coated finger between her lips.
A warm and soft sensation touched briefly before parting.
"..."
Faced with such a shameless act occurring in broad daylight on the street, I was left speechless.
Yet Elisia, the very one who committed such an act, had a nonchalant face as if she had merely wiped off the sugar.
"With this, we're even."
"Saint-nim."
"Why?"
"Normally, people use a handkerchief. You have one too, don't you, Saint-nim?"
"Why should I act like a normal person?"
"At least do so when outside."
"I don't want to. Besides, you hate it more this way."
It's not that I hate it though.
I'm just pretending to be nonchalant.
Elisia began walking again as if she had already gotten everything she wanted.
What on earth am I supposed to do with this woman?
And why on earth did I have to deal with such a woman...
Sigh.