Saint Cecilia's Special Confession ♥ (2)
"Amazing... It's nothing like our party..."
"Hehe, we're all so close, it really helps in battle too, right? Senpai?"
The tower lord cooed at Bella Sodus with a playful lilt, drawing a complex magic circle with one hand while exuding effortless poise.
"Yes, Saintess. Having that 'special' bond among party members seems to be a tremendous strength."
To the two geniuses, this fight felt trivially easy. The tower lord and Bella Sodus responded to the saintess's mutterings as they unleashed dazzling linked spells, felling enemies one after another. Setting aside their mages' pride for the moment, they respected each other's judgments and pressed the attack. Bella's fireball accelerated through the vortex Irina had conjured, rocketing forward with amplified force. Irina's pillars of frost were sharpened to razor edges by Bella Sodus's magic.
Bella Sodus's battle instincts meshed seamlessly with the tower lord's versatile spells, unleashing a relentless barrage. Their strengths synergized into something extraordinary.
I can feel how deeply they trust each other.
Saint Cecilia reflected, a pang of self-reproach hitting her. Someone had achieved the party unity she'd deemed impossible.
Leon Sodus... he's truly remarkable...
Under the mages' persistent suppression, the magic beast—unable even to close in, slowly dying—made its final desperate lunge. Its core stone glimmered as it charged in a suicidal rush.
"Not a chance."
The beast's last assault was halted by a single fist.
"Hup!"
Princess Elahe deflected the attack with her bouncy bronze flesh, striking its joints. As the unbalanced monster exposed its soft underbelly, Amelie Grace's precise swordsmanship carved a long gash. Unlike their first tense encounter, the princess and knight moved as one, their coordination flawless.
"Excellent work, Amelie."
"All thanks to Your Highness pinning its movements."
After subduing the beast, they bumped fists lightly in celebration. Guts spilling from its wound, the monster barely staggered to the stream before face-planting and going still. No one hurt. Perfect victory.
"...It's nothing like our party. Ours is... well, if I had to sum it up in one phrase, 'every man for himself' fits best."
The saintess let out a small sigh, her envy plain. No surprise—'cooperation' was a word you'd never find in her party's dictionary, even if you scrubbed your eyes raw.
"Aw, our party was awkward at first too. Without Leon's special help, we probably still wouldn't get along."
"Hehe, exactly. You threw yourself into magic research all day, and I was obsessed with saving my homeland."
Bella and Amelie consoled her, confessing their own group had started the same way.
...Could I learn their secret too?
"I suppose I should meet young master Leon sometime."
Her words lit up their faces.
"Hehe, I'm sure you'll love him too, Saintess!"
"Yeah, Leon's really... special!"
Their laughter rang with utter conviction.
Young master Leon turned out to be far more intriguing than expected. I could see why everyone in his party liked him. He read minds or something—the conversation flowed effortlessly.
"Whoa, interpretations of that passage vary, but... I lean toward it being a metaphor."
"Mm, I agree. Some parts just don't hold up as literal fact."
"Exactly! Though on the Tree of the Savior, I side with the previous saintess's take... Oh, sorry, I've been rambling about my niche interests."
"No, no. I've always been curious about that too."
"Really?"
A long-time cleric like me barely knew these doctrinal nuances, yet he unpacked them smoothly. His views matched my own thoughts perfectly, sparking a deep sense of kinship. And naturally, a small question bloomed inside me.
"Um, young master Leon... You grasp the goddess's sacred scriptures so well, so why don't you serve Lumina the Goddess?"
At my question, he smiled awkwardly, trying to steer away. But my persistent probing drew out a short confession.
"I'm a sinner. Unfit to ever enter Her embrace."
"What sin...? You don't have to say if you don't want to. But..."
He hesitated, then spoke with a hardened expression.
"No, I can't."
"Young master Leon."
This felt like the perfect chance to draw him into the Lord's fold. In his wavering eyes, I saw a lost lamb. Guiding faithless wanderers into the faith's enclosure—that was my role as shepherd.
"Humans falter under temptation in life. They might stray into depravity for a moment."
"...Saintess."
"But that doesn't mean eternal groaning in sin's pit."
Imagining the goddess's smile, I spoke to him with utmost benevolence.
"Come, confess your sins to this saintess, repent, and receive forgiveness. The Goddess welcomes the prodigal son."
He seemed slightly flustered by the sudden confession offer.
Push now.
"Hehe, young master? Confess to me, Cecilia, and return to the Lord's embrace—come, sit!"
At that moment, I had no idea his sins were far uglier than I'd imagined.
"I've enjoyed sexual relations with a married woman."
"I see..."
A momentary fluster, but I kept a calm face, guiding his confession. A one-time lapse was forgivable. What mattered was remorse. If he repented now...
"And."
His voice caught, small.
"And...?"
More sins? ...Well, this was proper confession procedure. Hiding nothing, confessing all—that was the only path to true forgiveness. I was a bit shocked more grave sins remained, but I urged him to unburden them fully. Only after airing every sin could he beg the goddess's mercy. I encouraged him, hoping he'd overcome and walk the righteous path.
"I thrilled at forbidden relations, aided their sins. Made the taboo copulate, twisted lusts to corrupt countless women."
"Wait, young master Leon..."
"Warped women's free will into slavery, reveled in it."
"Can even I be forgiven?"
Unholy mana flickered at his lips. No remorse in his expression now—just a vile, smirking grin.
This crossed the line. No hero's worth, no faith's grace. Boasting of the Lord's taboos like that... revolting. I had to leave, warn the other pa■ty members about this da■ger. This man was da■gerous, a ■■■■ th■ ■■ ■■■■.
?
"...Huh?"
My thoughts blanked for a second. What was I doing? Oh, right. Confession. Listening to his. His shocking sin parade had stunned me blank. Fair enough—staggeringly vile stuff.
"Incest, rape, drugs, mind control... grave sins indeed, young master Leon."
Each one demanded not just social scorn but divine judgment. Yet I had to hear his confession. My duty as cleric. Betraying the man who'd trusted me with such weight? No. Forgive his courageous baring of sins. Forgive, unconditionally, by any means.
Pondering briefly, I found the answer in scripture.
"Other clerics might deem them unforgivable... but count yourself lucky I'm here."
Truly lucky. Only through me, the saintess, could such atonement be made.
"The Goddess decreed: Sins of the flesh atoned by the flesh."
I emphasized the next line in a stern voice.
"Yet She also said unpardonable sins exist."
To make him grasp his sins' weight, even a little. Leon Sodus grimaced in anguish. Well-versed in doctrine, he knew of unpardonable sins.
"Aren't my sins unpardonable, unatonable gravities?"
Knowing that, why commit them...?
I corrected his 'misinterpretation' of doctrine.
"If no human flesh can atone, yes. That's why rejoice in my presence, young master."
Smiling gently, I offered salvation's lifeline.
"I now hold part of the Goddess's divinity, a sacred body."
Clutching the goddess-fragment pulsing in my bosom, I expounded.
"The Goddess is free of all sin; as Her part, so am I. Thus, my body absolves all sins."
"...Truly?"
The pitiable sinner approached, moved by redemption's thread. I stripped his pants, exposing sin's root—the masculine lust, the grotesque fount of depravity.
"Goodness, such a massively swollen seed of sin... blasphemous!"
Veins bulging, the hideous, lust-stuffed rod sprang forth. Hands clasped, mouth agape, I brought it to my lips.
"*Slurp*, so thick with wicked desire."
The head-spinning sin-reek made clear my duty.
"Special flesh-sins demand special flesh-absolution... Come, purify your sins with this sacred body!"
Gripping the thrashing goddess-shard in my bosom, I steeled myself. If She watched, She'd praise this lamb's sacrifice.
Lumina Goddess, this must be Your will... I follow Your guidance.
For Her words, I'd offer my body anytime.
Goddess, witness.
To extract his sins, my pure lips enveloped sin's pillar.