A Date with the Saint
Early in the morning, Remia was still fast asleep beside me.
"I-I've gotta get out of here before she wakes up…"
My clothes were so drenched in blood from everything that happened yesterday that they were completely unwearable.
Which meant…
"Mmm…"
I quietly fished a set of Remia's clothes out of the closet and pulled them on. The chest was a little snug, and the fabric hung a touch too loose everywhere else.
Is this really okay…?
Sneaking into a girl's clothes like this… I was legally disqualified as a human being. Guilt came crashing over me, but since I didn't exactly have any other options, I decided to rationalize it away as simple necessity.
Left with no choice, I retrieved the blood I'd collected yesterday and set it on the table along with a note.
To Remia,
I'm stepping out to run an errand at Minerva Workshop. Have this for breakfast — I'll be back soon.
— Sea
That should cover it… right?
Next, I pulled the rest of the blood out of the fridge and wedged the bags under both arms.
'H-heavy…'
Grunting and groaning, I shuffled out the door.
"Hah… hah…"
It was barely three kilograms. Why was it so heavy?
'I should've just asked Remia to help me…!'
"Ugh… this is killing me…"
My balance gave out, my ankle twisted, and I was about to faceplant right there on the pavement when—
"…Oh my."
Someone caught me.
'That was close…'
"Th-thank you— Huh?! Saint?!"
"Good morning, Sea. Did I get that right?"
What were the odds of running into the Saint of all people out here? Without a word, she took the blood bags off my hands and carried them for me.
'Is she an angel…?'
Watching her hold my blood like it was the most natural thing in the world reminded me of something.
"B-by the way, Saint—"
"Not 'Saint,' please. Call me Sua."
"Su-Sua, what's that Core you're carrying?"
The Saint gave a faint smile and reached toward my forehead. Purple light flickered from her hand, then died out.
"…Huh?"
Looking flustered, she asked me to show her the Core.
"Well, that's…."
As I explained everything that had happened yesterday, her frozen expression slowly melted away—
"I knew it…"
—and she murmured something under her breath, too quiet to catch.
"Sorry?"
She waved it off as nothing and asked where I was headed.
"I'm heading to Minerva Workshop too. Care to walk together?"
"…Sure."
If Remia found out about this, I was a dead woman. But I couldn't think of a single reason to refuse, so against all better judgment, I ended up walking beside her.
"By the way, Sea — those clothes are Remia's, aren't they?"
Was it that obvious?
She knew I used to be a man. Was she looking at me like some kind of pervert right now?
"W-well, you see…"
"Hehe. Since we're stopping by the workshop, would you keep me company for a bit afterward?"
Remia would be waiting, but being a little late couldn't hurt. When I agreed, the Saint smiled like she'd just been handed a gift.
Ding-a-ling—
"Welcome in~"
Yoonseul's eyes went wide at the sight of the two of us together. She seated us at a table and slipped off to fetch tea.
"You know Yoonseul?"
"My guild signed an exclusive contract with her."
The Holy Guild had an exclusive contract too… Just how famous was Yoonseul's little shop?
"Shall we talk while you have a drink~?"
Yoonseul brought out the tea and settled into the seat across from us.
"So, Sea — you're really willing to sign an exclusive contract with me?"
I nodded, handed over the blood, and mentioned that mass production should be possible soon.
Yoonseul stared at the sheer quantity in disbelief, then said she'd verify it right away and disappeared into the back of the workshop.
"Sea."
The moment Yoonseul was gone, the Saint dragged her chair over and leaned her shoulder against mine.
"Y-yes?"
Thump—
Thump—
My heartbeat was deafening. Surely she could hear it.
'This is so embarrassing…'
Noticing the wound on my wrist, the Saint asked if it hurt, then gently healed it.
"Th-thank you."
"Tell me if anything hurts, okay?" She guided me to lean against her and closed her eyes.
CRASH—
"S-Sea!"
Yoonseul burst out of the workshop in a rush. She grabbed both my hands, her eyes sparkling.
"Sign the exclusive contract with me! You absolutely cannot sell to anyone else…!"
She shoved a contract into my hands, practically vibrating with urgency.
I started skimming through the clauses.
7. Lee Sea shall supply product whenever she wishes, and in whatever quantity she wishes.
"…Huh?"
When I asked about clause seven, Yoonseul explained that since my potion-making process was so peculiar, the clause had been added purely out of consideration for me.
"Ho-how thoughtful…!"
"Hm?"
Oops. Wrong language. Gotta watch that…
"So what should we put down as the brand name?"
"Brand name?"
Yoonseul said that so many customers came in asking specifically for my potions that having a seller's name on them would make things easier.
A name, huh…
Nothing came to mind, so I just decided to go with "Sea."
"Thank you! Come again soon!"
Yoonseul saw us off, hugging the blood I'd given her tightly against her chest with both arms.
Once Minerva Workshop had vanished from view behind us, I realized the Saint was still following along.
"Hm? Saint— I mean, Sua?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"Didn't you say you had somewhere to be?"
"Did I?"
Hadn't she? Maybe I'd misheard. I let it slide.
"Then shall we go have some fun?"
She led me by the hand until we arrived somewhere.
"Th-this is…"
The place the Saint had brought me to was a department store.
"You promised to keep me company, remember?"
And so I was dragged inside. The moment the Saint started striding through the halls with me in tow—
"Oh my goodness, it's the Saint!"
"Hello, hello~"
.
.
.
People kept coming up to greet her. Was that what being S-rank was like?
My abilities are EX-grade too, you know…
Petty jealousy got the better of me, and I looped my arm through hers.
"Let's go."
The Saint's eyes went round as saucers as she looked at me.
A moment later, she was steering us toward a particular shop.
"Welcome to— hghk…! It's the Saint! It's really the Saint!"
The instant the clerk laid eyes on her, tears welled up in her eyes as if she'd witnessed a miracle.
"C-could I get an autograph…?"
The Saint graciously signed, told the clerk she and her companion would be browsing together, and the clerk retreated to a respectful distance — where she proceeded to sneak glances at us every few seconds.
'This is so awkward…'
"Sea, why don't you try this on?"
The Saint returned holding a blouse and a skirt.
"A silk blouse and a pleated skirt."
A skirt…?
I stammered that skirts were a bit much for me and tried to decline—
"And what exactly are you wearing right now?"
The Saint's eyes sharpened. Cornered, I carried the clothes she'd handed me into the fitting room.
"Sh-she wants me to wear this…"
I wanted to hide in here forever, but she was waiting outside. When I finally emerged—
"S-so… how is it?"
The Saint told me I looked beautiful, and somehow the compliment only made my face burn hotter.
I'm a man, you know…
"I-I'll go change back."
"No, you won't."
With that, she marched over to the clerk, declared we were taking everything, and paid on the spot.
That looked expensive…
And so we wound our way through the department store while she bought out half the racks. Soon both my arms were buried under a mountain of paper bags.
'H-heavy…'
The Saint reached out and lifted one of the bags from my aching arms. When I looked up, she was smiling down at me with the softest eyes.
'…Nngh.'
A face like that should be illegal…!
"My place is just nearby. Would you like to stay for lunch?"
I had zero idea what Remia would do if I pushed things any later — but somehow I found myself following the Saint anyway.
"What do you think? It's a bit chaotic since I live alone — please be gentle with me."
The inside of her home was messier than I'd expected. When I saw the tips of her ears turning red, I couldn't hold back a snicker.
"Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
I said anything was fine, so the Saint declared she'd make fried rice and sat me down at the table.
I found myself staring blankly as she cooked.
She's actually good at this…
Even the way she handled the knife looked impressive. Compare that to our Remia, who…
"All done."
I'd been so entranced watching her cook that I completely lost track of time — and suddenly the food was on the table.
"Thank you for the meal."
It was several times better than anything Remia had ever made me. I ate and ate until I was stuffed, and then—
"Buuurp—"
"Hah…!"
The Saint let out an adorable little sound right in front of me. I apologized profusely, and she just laughed softly and said it was fine.
"Since you've finished, I'll go make some tea. I only have black tea, though… sorry about that."
"N-no, it's fine!"
The warm black tea went down easy, and drowsiness crept over me.
"Mmm…"
I tried to fight it, but something felt wrong. Like my consciousness was being force-shut-down—
Thud—
…
An EX-grade awakener lay curled up with her head resting on my lap.
"Fufu…"
Poor, helpless little Sea…
Sua slowly stroked Sea's hair.
The Wyvern's Core acknowledging her… that was unexpected.
For a Core to merge into her heart of all places…
"You exceed my expectations… nngh."
She pressed her fingertip against Sea's lips. In her sleep, Sea parted them and began suckling gently on the finger.
"Mmnh…"
"This is rather fun, too…"
Her body felt warm. Was this really the same person who'd been a man?
"Fufu…"
"I only meant to tease Remia a little… but since the Wyvern's Core has accepted you, I suppose I have no choice."
Sleep well, my hero.
So there's this potion shop I go to all the time, and every once in a while a really good potion shows up, right?
But when I went today, the owner said she'd just signed an exclusive contract and made me buy THREE potions (normally it's a strict one-per-day limit, and even that barely had any stock).
I asked for the seller's name and she said it was someone called Sea.
No cap, this potion works so well you could skip paying for hospital treatment entirely.