The Saint's Teasing Whisper
In Bournon City, one of the central urban centers of the Vesta Kingdom—slightly smaller than Poculum, yet still a bustling metropolis.
How did you know that? I said it naturally, of course—the Saint told me....
“This place is quite impressive.”
It was far larger than a simple café, and the number of people passing through the city was much greater. Even if the scale of the central city differed, the distinction was clear.
“Hero-nim~♡”
“Hm?”
Suddenly the Saint approached me from behind with a gentle smile in her eyes.
Again, she’s coming with that smile... what nonsense is she about to spout?
“It’s getting late. How about we stop at an inn for the night and start the search tomorrow~?”
“Ah... I was actually thinking the same thing.”
That wasn’t the line I expected at all?
Of course I figured she was just teasing me again. Maybe I had read too much into her usual behavior. But since she had always acted this way, perhaps it wasn’t my fault. It didn’t seem to be a problem of mine.
“Then shall we head straight to the inn?”
“Yes~♡”
Bournon City, with its larger urban scale, had plenty of inns scattered throughout. Which one should I pick?
“Which one would you like?”
“Hero-nim is already quite famous, so a quieter place would be better~. People might use your notoriety to pick a fight, like what happened at the adventurer guild last time.”
“Then we should choose a smaller inn.”
Suddenly Celine, who had been silent the whole time, tossed out a single line.
“A place with good soundproofing.”
“Eh?”
Soundproofing?
Hey, Celine? In a sleeping inn, why are we looking for soundproofing?
“That sounds perfect~♡”
“Eh??”
The Saint agreed with Celine’s suggestion, and my head started to spin a little.
Why are you jumping in too?
“Why are you looking so flustered, Hero-nim♡”
“...Why are you considering soundproofing?”
“Of course, I don’t want to be disturbed while I sleep~. I don’t want to listen to other guests snoring~♡”
“Ah.”
Ah... yeah, that makes sense. But I never thought she usually cared about that.
The Saint looked at my reaction and let out a soft chuckle, clearly amused.
“Fufu♡ Is the Hero-nim perhaps having some strange thoughts~?”
“...No, I wasn’t.”
“Then maybe... you want to hear the sounds of other people’s intimate moments♡ How naughty♡”
“When did I ever say that!?”
...This is insane.
“...You’re not being honest enough.”
Celine delivered a loaded comment, but there was no time to interpret its meaning. The Saint had already urged us to find the inn immediately.
We entered the inn I had been recommended by merchants on the way—small in size but praised for its facilities and soundproofing.
“Welcome.”
Inside the inn, a kind-looking man stood behind the counter.
“We’re here for one night. Do you have any rooms left?”
“We do, but only one is available.”
“Eh, really?”
One room was inconvenient. Ever since the Saint had joined, we always booked two rooms and I slept alone.
“Maybe we should look elsewhere?”
“It’s fine. We’ll take the one room.”
“Eh?”
That wasn’t the Saint speaking—it was Celine. If it had been the Saint, I would have accepted it without question. But Celine was the one who usually suggested separate rooms.
“...Is that okay?”
“There’s only one left. We have no choice.”
“...Hmm.”
Why not just go to another inn?
“Don’t overthink it. It’s late—let’s rent the room and rest.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Celine had said so much that I couldn’t refuse. I asked the innkeeper while booking the last room.
“Master, is dinner available?”
Since I hadn’t eaten since lunch before arriving in Bournon City, my stomach was quite empty. When I asked, the innkeeper smiled pleasantly.
“Of course. How many portions would you like?”
“Two, please.”
“I’m full~♡”
“Me too. I’m tired, so I’ll just sleep.”
Then only I would eat.
“Just prepare one portion for me.”
“Yes~ including lodging, that’s one gold.”
Given the good facilities, the lodging fee was higher than expected.
“Here you are.”
“The meal will be ready soon~.”
“Okay.”
I sat blankly at a table in the inn lobby and waited. The innkeeper soon brought the meal—rich meat stew, several soft slices of bread, and milk.
“Enjoy your meal~.”
My hunger drove me to scoop up the stew with my spoon.
Haa... I’m going to die. Honestly, I was starving.
“...Women don’t get hungry?”
We had eaten lunch, yet neither of us had eaten since then. Were they both that tired that they didn’t feel hungry?
Well, if they got hungry they would come down anyway. The innkeeper approached me as I continued eating without pause.
“Excuse me, sir.”
“Yes?”
“If you need any contraceptive items, please let me know. I can bring them right away.”
“Cough!”
I nearly spat out the stew. I swallowed it back and stared at the innkeeper.
“Why are you bringing that up out of nowhere!?”
“Um... did I offend you? I assumed it was necessary based on the situation....”
Necessary? What situation?
“...Not needed. My companion and I are just colleagues, so don’t misunderstand.”
“Ah... I’m sorry. I was overstepping.”
The innkeeper apologized with a sorry look and returned to the counter. Suddenly asking about contraceptive items was awkward.
...One could misunderstand a man sharing a room with two women, but asking so openly?
On top of that, I had already heard about the Saint’s strange openness condition. That must have made the innkeeper’s words seem confusing.
“...Sigh.”
I don’t know. Let’s just eat.
#
After dinner we headed upstairs. Celine had taken the key first, so I couldn’t open the door and had to knock in front of it.
“Celine, I’m back.”
“Ah, one moment.”
Celine was on the bed; I heard her footsteps approaching the floor. It had good soundproofing, right?
Celine opened the door and welcomed me.
“Was the meal delicious?”
“Yes. The food was good.”
“Come in.”
I followed Celine into the room. But I couldn’t see where the Saint had gone.
Where did she go?
“Where is the Saint now?”
“...Where do you think she is?”
“Eh?”
Celine smiled sweetly and gave me a meaningful look.
“...Celine?”
“The Saint is washing right now.”
I heard the sound of water being splashed at just the right moment. The Saint was in the bathroom washing up.
...Why did she have to say it with that expression? I thought something had happened.
“Hero-nim.”
“Yes?”
Celine’s voice calling me sounded slightly excited. Like she was enjoying herself.
“The Holy Sword of Order... should be activated?”
“...Eh?”
Wha!?
#
Abel’s face showed pure surprise at Celine’s words. Celine looked at him and smiled, amused.
“Fufu, why are you so surprised?”
“You said something that couldn’t help but surprise me!”
“Why is activating the Holy Sword so surprising?”
“...Don’t joke, Celine.”
Abel narrowed his eyes, annoyed that Celine was trying to force the truth out of his own mouth.
At that, Celine giggled.
“Did I tease you too much? But, Hero-nim.”
“...What?”
“Why is the Saint washing right now?”
“......Eh?”
“This isn’t a joke.”
Celine stepped closer to Abel and whispered. She was like a demon offering an irresistible, seductive proposal.
“The Saint is being brave enough to take this step, so sometimes Hero-nim needs to be a little braver too.”
“W-what are you saying, Celine!?”
“Don’t keep refusing. You have feelings for the Saint, don’t you?”
Abel’s eyes widened at Celine’s words. Celine smiled teasingly.
“The shy Saint may not realize it, but I have already seen it.”
“N-no, that’s not...”
“Not? Then you wouldn’t mind if the Saint dated another man?”
“......”
Abel couldn’t say yes; his words stuck. If the Saint had no feelings, it wouldn’t matter who she was with or if she was happy.
Celine nodded at Abel’s silence.
“That’s your heart. Stop lying to yourself and be honest....”
“...Still, no.”
“Eh?”
“...Activating the Holy Sword is important, but first the Saint is the Saint of the Solaria Church. I heard the Church’s doctrine requires priests to remain pure.”
Abel’s face flushed crimson as he gave a very rational answer. Celine nodded, understanding.
But Celine’s next words were something Abel had never expected.
“But that means... she can just stop being a priest?”
“...Eh?”
“The Saint seems to be considering that?”
At Celine’s words, Abel froze in place. Her innocent reaction made Celine laugh again while gripping the doorknob.
“Then I’ll step aside. Please do your best.”
The door, which had been quietly opening, closed with a soft thud. Alone in the room, Abel turned his head sharply.
The sound of running water from the bathroom had stopped. Abel swallowed hard and stared at the bathroom door.
Abel was extremely tense. Had he ever been this tense before?
When he was ambushed by kobolds and faced the chief? When he first encountered the aura of a Barbatos-class monster? When he charged a chimera’s claw bare-handed without any blessing?
No, none of those moments compared to this. The long silence of running water. The locked bathroom door. In that situation, Abel’s mouth felt dry.
Then, a faint ripple disturbed his tense heart.
Click—the door opened louder than usual. Abel, staring at the bathroom door, saw Estelle the moment it opened.
Wet black hair clung to her snow-white shoulders and deep collarbones, following the smooth lines of her neck.
Her skin appeared especially smooth after the wash, with plump peach-colored lips slightly parted, an elegant straight nose, and faintly trembling amber eyes that somehow looked playful. All of it was more than enough to stir Abel’s heart.
Moreover, Estelle stepped out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a single towel. She knew Abel was there.
Even though this had happened before, the atmosphere was completely different. Then, her teasing was obvious; now, it wasn’t.
Estelle’s flushed cheeks and the jewel-like amber eyes that stared fixedly at him—especially her gaze—were particularly beautiful.
No matter how dense Abel was, he realized the situation. His face burned red as he subtly took a step back.
But he couldn’t keep backing up; he was in the room.
“...Hero-nim.”
Estelle looked at Abel with eyes completely different from her usual. No teasing glint or arrogant confidence was visible.
Still a little anxious, yet filled with affection, Abel swallowed hard.
“...Eh?”
“My pathetic Hero-nim♡”
Abel snapped awake at the word “pathetic.”
“...Eh?”
Thinking this was just more teasing, Abel gave a foolish response. But there was no playfulness in Estelle’s eyes.
“At first you were just a cute little Hero-nim, but when did you become this strong♡ I was surprised too.”
Abel was a little flustered. She was teasing, but now Estelle was simply speaking honestly about what she thought.
Her eyes were more serious than ever, so Abel understood. Estelle’s face flushed as she approached him slowly.
“At first... you were just a cute and small Hero-nim.”
One step.
“But now you’ve grown so much.”
Another step.
With every step Estelle took, Abel’s mind grew more complicated. He answered randomly.
“Because the Saint trained me hard....”
“You worked hard yourself.”
Again.
Before he knew it, the distance between Abel and Estelle had narrowed to two steps.
“I did exactly what I was told, and you never complained.... Because you worked so hard, I was happy too.”
Final step.
Estelle reached the distance where Abel could feel her breath. Just as embarrassed as he was, she couldn’t let the meal Celine had prepared go to waste.
Estelle bit her lip lightly. Now it was time to show courage.
She reached out carefully.
“Hero-nim.”
She hooked her index finger between his fingers. Thinking he would run away, Estelle was slightly startled.
Abel didn’t run. He simply answered while looking straight at her, blushing.
“...Yes.”
Abel looked at Estelle with eyes full of seriousness, his face still flushed from embarrassment.
“You’re adorable♥”
Estelle, now less anxious, whispered quietly yet clearly.
“I’ve wanted to say this for a while, Hero-nim.”
A thin finger slipped between Abel’s fingers—middle, ring, and finally pinky—gently interlocking with his.
It wasn’t one hand carrying all the strength. Both hands carefully held each other. Estelle looked straight at Abel.
“Hero-nim.”
“...Yes.”
Her amber eyes widened slightly. Her lips, which had been pursed, parted gently, and the corners of her mouth lifted.
She wore a smile Abel had never shown anyone before—never shown to anyone at all.
The most adorable smile she could offer herself.
“I love you.”
Her sweet voice tickled his ears once more.
“I love you, Abel.”