A Saint's Thunderous Warning and a Dress Showdown in the Hall
Estelle’s short remark struck Revius like a death sentence. Revius forgot the pain searing through his body and slowly backed away.
“Argh…”
“Revius? What’s wrong?”
Natalie and Sonia had no idea what was happening. They couldn’t understand why the saint traveling with Abel was having a personal conversation with Revius, but they were even more bewildered by why he was acting like he feared her so much.
Of course, they knew. They had caught a glimpse of that saint’s power during the Amon-class monster extermination. It was clearly on a different level from the Saint of Storms they had seen with Celine.
Yet the question still lingered in Revius’s mind: why did he need to be afraid? This saint hadn’t used her power on him, nor had she used it to exterminate monsters…
But the two companions didn’t know that before that monster extermination, Estelle had already defeated Revius with her own divine power.
“Why didn’t you come to apologize back then?”
“…M-me… apologizing to a commoner…? Do you even think that makes sense?”
Unlike before, Revius’s tone had softened considerably. Even in this situation he was still holding onto his composure and speaking politely. Natalie and Sonia were surprised.
“What doesn’t make sense? The words the Hero of Joy spat at you were practically slander. Nobles apologize to each other when they slip up.”
“Hmph… that’s between nobles. Those kinds of words don’t apply to me!”
“What’s the difference? We’re both heroes. It’s only natural that a hero doesn’t apologize for slandering another hero.”
“Same… hmph, hero or not, that guy is still a commoner!”
“…I see.”
Estelle took one step closer to Revius. Startled, he tried to back away.
“Revius, what are you doing?”
“Let go. Let go of me, Natalie! Hold him right now!”
“Why, why…?”
“Miss Natalie, I’m sorry, but could you hold his wrist? Just like this?”
It seemed Estelle wanted to heal Revius’s wrist. Revius looked shocked, and Natalie nodded obediently.
“Oh, okay.”
Estelle knelt and poured divine power into Revius’s wrist. Watching her, Natalie spoke up.
“The saint is trying to heal you, so why are you so tense, Revius?”
“Eh… huh? …I guess I was wrong.”
The snapped wrist healed in an instant, the pain fading faster than anyone could believe. Natalie and Sonia gasped in awe. The divine power was incomparably vast, far beyond Celine’s. Estelle pulled her hand away.
Revius, no longer in pain, looked at Estelle and said, “T-thank you.”
“…You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t do this for you alone.”
“Huh?”
Estelle, who had been expressionless, let out a small laugh. Revius felt uneasy and looked at the hand that had healed him.
A mark that looked like a sun had appeared on the back of his hand, glowing in a vivid crimson red. Revius stared at it, eyes wide.
Then Estelle leaned in close and whispered quietly into his ear, so softly only he could hear.
“If something like this happens again, the power of the sun will burn your arm off.”
“W-what…?”
“So be careful. Notice the clues. Since you’re the eldest son of the Grosphel family, you should understand.”
With that, Estelle stood up. Natalie and Sonia kept thanking her, convinced she had only healed Revius.
“Thank you, Your Holiness.”
“Thank you so much!”
“No need. I hope you both put aside any grudges against Revius the Hero and get along with our heroes as well.”
Estelle glanced at Revius once more. He trembled as he looked at the mark on his hand.
“Then I’ll be going. Get better soon, ♡”
#
I wondered what Estelle was still doing here. I walked over to Celine, who had left earlier.
“Celine, are you okay?”
“Huff… huff…”
“Celine?”
When she looked up from her bowed head, she suddenly lifted it and turned to me.
“D-did you see?! What the hell did you say to Revius the Hero?!”
“Eh…”
Now that I looked closer, Celine was clearly excited. Her face was flushed with joy. She must have been happy that she had properly scolded Revius, who always suppressed her.
“Yeah, I saw. I did it for you and I’m really moved.”
You showed courage for me. That made me happy. When I thanked her, Celine blushed slightly on her cheeks, looking a little embarrassed.
“Of course… the Hero is my boyfriend, right? I wouldn’t stand by if someone harassed my lover.”
Boyfriend.
The moment I heard that word, my mood lifted on its own.
“…Can you say it one more time?”
“Huh?”
“That line earlier.”
“Ah… y-yes, the Hero is my boyfriend.”
Yes, that’s what I wanted to hear.
A day when a beautiful woman like Celine called me her boyfriend would come? I really thought life would be long. Of course I hadn’t lived long enough to say something like that, but still.
I was grinding through a mountain of quests, part-time jobs, and endless chat loops, but who could have imagined this day would come.
Celine kept blushing as she said, “Hero, your face looks a little stupid.”
“It’s all thanks to Celine.”
“…What did you just say? You’re such an idiot.”
I guess I have a different kind of cute charm from Estelle.
We should probably head to the banquet soon. When was Estelle coming?
“Abel.”
“Oh, you’re here? What were you talking about?”
I asked the approaching Estelle. She smiled faintly and replied, “I just gave a short warning. Next time it probably won’t end with a warning…”
“…I see?”
…So I’m really scary.
“By the way, shouldn’t we start getting ready for the banquet? I can get ready in a moment though…”
Women aren’t like that. When Estelle heard my words, she nodded.
“Hmm, yes. Then…”
Estelle’s amber eyes narrowed slightly, her eyelashes forming a crescent moon. She gave me a bold, teasing smile.
“What if I let Abel choose for me~ ♡”
“...Huh?”
#
I was more nervous than ever. It felt like the moment I faced an Agares-class monster.
Was it the tuxedo I was wearing that felt uncomfortable? No. Was it the awkwardness of a banquet attended by nobles and royalty? Of course there was awkwardness, but that wasn’t it either.
It was right here…
“Cel ine! That’s way too revealing!”
“You’re one to talk, Your Holiness! Are you trying to announce that you’re actually a lewd saint?”
“What… what did you just say?!”
“Hero, you’d say the same thing, right?”
“Eek… I’ll just ask!”
The two women were arguing behind the closed door. When their voices grew closer, the door suddenly swung open.
“Abel.”
“Hero-nim.”
I was left speechless at the sight of Estelle and Celine. How could I even describe it? It felt like my head had been slammed hard by beauty itself. Violent beauty.
The two beautiful women asked me at the same time.
“How do you like this dress?”
“Amazing.”
What else needed to be said? Our saint ladies were simply the best.
But our saint ladies weren’t satisfied with my reaction.
“…Is there no other impression? You’ve just been saying that word over and over.”
“…Huh?”
I couldn’t just say I was dying inside.
Estelle wore a dress that perfectly displayed her stunning figure, and Celine wore one with a deep V-neckline. From a man’s perspective, it was impossible not to feel flustered.
At that moment Estelle pointed at Celine’s dress and said, “Abel, look at the dress Celine is wearing~ ♡ The neckline is so deep and revealing. Isn’t it too lewd~? Perfect for perverts~?”
“You’re the one wearing such thin, clinging dresses. Even the woman by the window wouldn’t wear something like that.”
“What?!”
…How could they know each other so well and still come out like this? They didn’t even need to wear such dresses in the first place.
“Since you’ve shown me enough, let’s pick something properly.”
“W-when was I supposed to show Abel…!”
“Excessive self-consciousness, Hero-nim.”
What?
“Then since I don’t want to show you to anyone else, both of you change into something else. I only want to see that side of you.”
“Eh…”
“Eek…”
My girls are for me only. When I said it honestly, Estelle twisted her body cutely and said, “Then Abel will choose for us?”
“I don’t know if I have that aesthetic sense… but I’ll try.”
I led them back into the dressing room prepared by the royal family. The variety of dresses on display was much greater than the one I had seen in the Habsburg palace.
“Hmm…”
Dresses could be roughly divided into two categories: the more revealing and the less. I hadn’t seen many dresses, so this was my best way to judge.
I set aside the highly revealing ones. Moderate exposure was fine, but I didn’t like overly exposed ones as a couple. I started with Estelle’s dress.
“Estelle, how about this?”
The dress I picked was a light yellow, almost beige. It had some exposure, but only on the shoulders and part of the collarbone.
I told her why I chose it. It would suit Estelle’s pretty shoulders and collarbone.
Estelle blushed lightly and said, “…It’s fine. If it was chosen with Abel’s poor sense of aesthetics, it’s still great~ ♡”
She seemed satisfied from her reaction. If she hated it, she wouldn’t have blushed.
Next was Celine. I scanned the room and lifted a dress.
“How about this?”
It was a sky-blue dress with many pleats. No puffiness, just a thin, gathered look.
“…Doesn’t it feel similar to the dress the saint is wearing now?”
“Huh? Estelle’s dress is completely body-hugging, while this is different.”
From a glance, it seemed only the lower body would be exposed. And showing the lower body line suited Celine, whose hips were wide and legs beautiful.
Celine blushed when I explained and said, “…If you like it, I like it too.”
“Then both of you change and come out. I’ll wait outside.”
How long did I wait? The door finally opened with a creak, and the first saint appeared.
Estelle, with her striking black hair and amber eyes.
“Abel~ ♡ What do you think~?”
Estelle gave me a bold, smiling question. She looked even more attractive with her round, snow-white shoulders and deep collarbone. Her hair was tied up, fully revealing her pretty jawline and neck. The ponytail suited her perfectly.
“…It really suits you.”
“Hmm♡ Hearing that makes me happy♥”
Estelle looked satisfied and let out a cheerful laugh. I was glad she liked it.
“But the kiss mark on your neck is covered.”
“Eek, then show it! You pervert hero…!”
I was joking, but her reaction was intense. She laughed shyly as the door opened again.
“Hero-nim…”
Celine appeared next, looking a little embarrassed. I immediately understood why. This dress clearly showed the waist and body lines starting from the hips.
It still looked great. Not overly revealing at all. Celine’s beautiful hip line made it even more fitting.
“You look pretty, Celine.”
“H-huh… but it’s a little embarrassing. How did you wear such a dress, Saint Estelle?”
“I’m confident about my figure~ ♡ What about you, Celine?”
“…I’m confident too.”
I thought there was no need to add competition, but that made Celine’s embarrassment disappear a little.
“Then shall we go?”
I offered my hand equally to Estelle and Celine. Both saints raised their small, pretty hands shyly, faces slightly flushed.
“Yes.”
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