#2-15 The Saintess Doesn't Want to Submit♥ (Sharon - Perverted Nude Walk) (1)

One day, a message window like that popped up right in front of me.

A conquest notification for a city or village. No doubt about it—it had to be Mea and Lete's doing.

Similar conquest messages had appeared a few times before. Including Stonevic, which we'd successfully conquered in the previous playthrough, we'd now changed the affiliation of a total of three cities and eight villages to our nation.

And no other countries had caught on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yet. Partly thanks to discreet negotiations using Hypnosis, and partly because the dice rolls for [Information Concealment] had succeeded every time so far.

Maybe because Noa Florence is part of our nation now, her luck stat gives a bonus to every dice roll, which has been a huge help.

This game calls itself a strategy simulation, but with the dice-roll element, the [Luck] skill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is straight-up cheat territory.

Thinking back on it, I still can't put into words how lucky I was to dominate Noa early on.

'Guess you could say my luck finally turned after all those loops.'

Everyone's been doing great, but from here on out, conquering new places is probably gonna get tougher.

The areas we've taken so far were the only ones nearby that were feasible. The rest are likely cities and villages immune to mental attacks or shady deals.

And if we push too far, we risk exposing our main base.

So, taking all that into account, they'll be on standby for a while. Might as well tell them to get some good rest.

'...Huh. Now that I think about it, I kinda miss 'em.'

Maybe because of that rare message window after so long, I suddenly found myself wanting to see Mea and Lete again. Barosy too, while we're at it.

All three of them don't remember it, but in the last loop, they gave their lives for me. After going through that, I can't help but trust them completely.

And once you trust people like that, affection grows regardless of the past.

But distance is a problem—I can't just drop by whenever I want. I'm in the capital of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Holy Light Kingdom right now.

There seems to be a teleport facility here in Berthel, but not back home.

Should've built the teleport building before leaving... but we didn't have the spare resource magic, the all-purpose resource.

'It's been about a month and a half since I got here.'

Switching gears, a month and a half here. In game terms, how many turns is that?

I've successfully Persuaded Sion and Sharon, one each. Since [Persuasion] can only be used once per turn (barring special circumstances), that's at least two turns gone.

'One turn's about twenty days... or so.'

Based on the [Persuasion] skill cooldown, that's the rough estimate. There are minor fluctuations sometimes, so it's not absolute—just approximate.

Using that as a benchmark, how many more turns until the final boss, the King of Ruin, revives?

Unfortunately, no clue.

'Depends on the difficulty.'

The timing of the King of Ruin's descent changes based on the initial difficulty selected. Higher difficulties mean earlier arrival, plus a bunch of related events.

The Leveille Kingdom destruction event from not long ago was one of them.

I know we're at least on Hard or Insane, but there are three more levels above that, so no certainty.

Can't even tell what turn we're on now, so I've given up guessing even roughly.

Anyway, when the King of Ruin's descent nears, there'll be clear omens. No point speculating ahead.

So forget the King of Ruin for now—time to focus on nearer problems.

One: the serial killer still stirring trouble in the capital.

Two: the imminent return of 'Most Noble Knight' Eve.

Both headaches, but especially the latter.

'The expedition was supposed to take at least a month... no telling when she'll be back.'

Of course, if she really returns, we'll get word via messenger or courier first. She won't just pop up out of nowhere, but still, no time to slack off.

'Eve.'

'This time for sure...'

"Hey, heard anything about Saintess Sharon?"

"Nah, nothing. If there was news, we'd know right away."

"Then yeah..."

"Ehehe, what're you saying! Don't jinx it!"

"N-no... but given the situation..."

Sharon shuddered slightly under her robe as she overheard the voices around her. She pulled her hood down tighter, afraid of being spotted.

She was out in the market. Having slipped out of the laundry shop where she'd been confined, she was wandering the streets of Berthel alone.

It was her first outing in ages, but she wasn't excited like a kid. If anything, her heart was filled with nothing but anxiety and a desperate urge to head back.

'Come to think of it.'

She'd had a similar experience before, dressed like this. That's when she'd met Gaon Moon, gotten his help, and fallen into his trap.

That day's choices had led her here. If only she'd been wiser back then... The regret twisted in her gut.

'No turning back now that things have come to this.'

'Better focus on gathering info. I won't go back till I get what I want...'

About the killer, the church, and the runaway saintess—herself. So many things she wanted to hear.

She needed information. That's why she was out here.

Asking people directly would be easiest, but Sharon couldn't bring herself to do it. She'd pause in front of people or newspaper stands, hesitate, shake her head, and shuffle away dejectedly.

She'd jump at the slightest approach.

A suspicious figure in a hood, wandering aimlessly with odd behavior now and then. Some residents whispered about her wariness, but the anxious, impatient Sharon didn't notice she was the subject.

And the streets were crawling with holy knights searching for the serial killer and the missing saintess.

It was inevitable that Sharon's suspicious actions would draw their eyes.

"Hey, hold up a sec."

"!"

"Got a tip about a shady character. What're you doing here?"

The holy knight approached. Sharon backed away at the sight, but another knight blocked her from behind.

"Stop."

Front and back. Their serious gazes bore down on her, and Sharon felt her heart pounding.

Stay away. I wanna run right now.

"You look suspicious. Come with us for a bit."

"Just a quick check, then you're free. Don't resist."

"Th-that's...!"

Sharon tried to stammer an excuse, but then—

"Oh~ excuse us, knights~. Did our group do something wrong~?"

A woman popped out from an alley and approached Sharon and the knights. She casually slung an arm over Sharon's shoulder.

"She vanished on us suddenly, scared us half to death. There you are~. So, knights, any business with our lost little lamb~?"

"...Your group?"

"Yup~ She's my group. My little sis, actually~."

The knight frowned at the woman's flirty attitude and asked where they lived. Without hesitation, she replied, "Mera Laundry."

"That's the Mera couple's..."

"Distant relatives of theirs. Crashing there while we're in the capital~."

"...Alright."

The name-drop seemed to satisfy them; the knights' demeanor softened noticeably. Their guard dropped too.

"Sorry if we spooked you. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠There's a nasty thug on the loose lately, so avoid going out at night, and be careful even during the day. Look after your sister."

"Will do~ Thanks for worrying, knight bro~♡"

Pulled along by the woman, Sharon started to slip away from the knights unscathed.

The crisis seemed past, but...

"Wait."

One knight called them back. As Sharon turned, his hand was already reaching out.

"Mind taking off the hood for a sec?"

No time to stop him. The knight grabbed Sharon's deeply pulled hood and yanked it back roughly.

A short while later, Sharon arrived at Mera Laundry.

"Haaaaah~~~~..."

She let out a deep sigh of relief. Exhausted in every way from just a brief outing, Sharon crouched at the entrance.

The succubus who'd saved her from that pinch earlier looked down at her with a grin. She was now fully disguised as human via illusion magic.

"Hehe, you okay, Saintess? You look beat after just a quick trip~?"

"...I'm wiped."

Not physically, but mentally drained.

She hadn't been outed as the saintess. If she had, she wouldn't be here now.

When the knight pulled off her hood, her heart had dropped—but the succubus's illusion had saved her.

She wasn't exposed as the saintess, but...

The real source of her anxiety was something else. To ensure nothing went wrong, Sharon parted the front of her robe, which she'd been clutching tightly the whole time.

Beneath the dark robe, Sharon was stark naked. Not just naked—leather belts cinched her body, accentuating every curve.

"This is... such a sick joke...!"

It was more vulgar and humiliating than plain nudity. Every movement made the belts dig in, constantly reminding her of her shameful state.

A saintess parading like this in public. Just imagining getting caught sent chills down her spine.

No wonder she couldn't approach anyone, and her heart nearly stopped during the knights' interrogation.

"Hehe, wasn't the thrill fun? A bit too stimulating for a saintess cooped up in the church~?"

"......."

Sharon shot a glare at the giggling succubus teasing her, then headed up to the second floor.

Thinking of the man waiting there made her steps grow naturally heavier...