Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: The Saint's Inner Thoughts Are Heard
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“So what should we do? Should we really let Victoria beat him to within an inch of his life with her hammer, and then heal him when his original personality returns….”
“That’s far too dangerous. If she accidentally fails to control her strength, he could really die, and then there’d be no way to fix it.”
Victoria and her companions were debating what to do while looking at Astal, who hadn’t returned to his original form.
Even though that form was Astal’s childhood personality, they judged it was dangerous for him, who had a somewhat impulsive and hot-blooded side, to fight the Four Heavenly King, Memoria.
“Then is there any other good method? If we go through the underground like this and emerge on the surface, it’ll be Oblivion….”
The party leader, Kyle, also continued speaking with a deeply troubled expression on his face. The result of him exchanging a few words with Astal had been the worst.
– Oblivion? Why not just reverse Ideia and turn it into a bomb that blows everything up and blast it away?
– We have to rescue the people trapped inside the Demon Realm first? Is that really necessary? Last time we did that, Victoria got stabbed by a sword, or you guys nearly got seriously hurt.
– And there are those who side with demons or monsters and sell out humans, so do we really have to save them all?
Astal was showing a merciless side toward the humans in this Demon Realm to the point where one could say he was no longer the Harmless Mage.
Of course, Astal’s words weren’t without basis.
In reality, in the Demon Realm, there were incidents where people, unable to trust the Hero’s party, betrayed them for the sake of monsters and demons, or even got angry after being rescued.
“We are not humans who selectively save people. If we were to act like that, it wouldn’t be fitting for the name ‘Hero’s Party.’”
However, even after experiencing such things, Kyle and his companions didn’t give up on their idea of saving as many people as possible.
Because that was unheroic behavior.
Because it wasn’t an action befitting a hero who would slay the Demon King and bring peace to the world.
And, because the person who had always been at the forefront of saving people was Astal himself.
“Originally, among us, Astal-nim was the most altruistic and gentle person, but I didn’t know he had such a merciless side.”
Taryon spoke with a tone of surprise while looking at Astal’s seemingly opposite demeanor. Although he was a comrade who fought alongside him, this was the first time he’d learned of such a cruel aspect.
It was always Astal who prioritized people’s lives and fought by putting his own body on the line, and it was Astal who sympathized with a child who had lost their parents and risked danger to secure passage on a ship heading to the continent.
“I had somewhat of an inkling, you see. After all, we are together day and night, inseparable.”
“Specifically, by what method? Just hearing about it vaguely, I don’t quite understand….”
“…I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”
Victoria tried to boast to Taryon about her closer relationship with Astal, but she couldn’t reveal that the source was the intimate acts they’d shared while sleeping together.
No matter how much they were comrades who had shared life and death, there were things one could say and things one couldn’t.
“Hey, why are you discussing solutions with Taryon or Kyle when I’m right here? There’s no need to mix words with other men.”
As if displeased with Victoria’s actions, the red-haired Astal was showing signs of irritation even at her conversing with other male comrades.
“To begin with, we could just say we’ve mingled bodies twice. Even though Heavenly God Lumina blocked us from doing it properly—Oof.”
“…You perverted mage, do you, as a person, have no sense of shame at all?!”
Victoria hastily covered Astal’s mouth, her face flushing slightly with embarrassment.
“Why? I don’t like you talking with other men. No matter how much they are comrades who have lovers.”
Astal was behaving this roughly, attracting Victoria’s attention while preventing other male comrades from even exchanging words with her.
“Even so, Kyle and Taryon are fine! And right now, we’re trying to restore your physical condition to its original state!”
“The paladins of the Holy Kingdom Aurelium and His Holiness the Pope were perverts who targeted you, Victoria. How can you be sure of them unless you read their inner thoughts?”
Astal shrugged his shoulders as he recounted past events.
Victoria’s appearance and figure were objectively beautiful, so there were many who targeted her regardless of location, be it the continent or the Demon Realm.
“…You speak as if you can read inner thoughts.”
“Even if I said I could, you wouldn’t believe me, would you?”
The red-haired Astal uttered a meaningful remark toward Victoria, but she shook her head, denying the fact that he could read inner thoughts.
Victoria’s relationship with Astal was quite complicated.
“Yes. If you had such an ability from the start, you wouldn’t have stood idly by after seeing me insult or berate you.”
Her first impression of him was the worst, and she softened her attitude after seeing him leap into enemy lines to save her.
But after actually falling for him, she tried to hide her true feelings by saying harsh things to Astal or pretending to dislike him.
“…Anyway, my opinion is this. If you guys are worried that I won’t save people, you can just use magic to stop me from moving as I please, right?”
Astal let out a snicker upon hearing Victoria’s words and extended his arms forward, bringing them together.
Then, with a *swish*, he created rings of flame around his own wrists, rendering them unable to move freely.
“See? How about this? This is what they use to capture mages who’ve committed crimes. Commonly called ‘Rings of Flame’…. It prevents them from breaking set rules.”
The first magic shown by the red-haired Astal was unexpectedly fire, and the color of his mana, which symbolized him, had also changed from blue to red.
“…You, normally, only used the magics you learned at the Blue Magic Tower, didn’t you?”
“The childhood me thought that magic was all about being powerful or large-scale…. Maybe that’s why? Actually, I don’t really know either.”
Victoria, who had always watched Astal from close by, immediately noticed even such minor changes, but no one knew the exact reason.
“Now, I’ll listen to whatever you say, Victoria. If we set the rules in advance, I won’t be able to perform such actions at all.”
“Is that really true…?”
Victoria’s eyes turned cold for a moment. She wondered if he would really accept unconditionally if it were her command.
“Yeah, whatever. Think of me as a puppet that moves according to a written rulebook.”
The red-haired Astal also saw Victoria swallow hard, her Adam’s apple bobbing noticeably, and spoke as if he knew what thoughts or intentions she held.
‘Then, even disgraceful things I couldn’t ask of the original Astal-nim’s personality…. Might be possible now…?’
Seeing that even Astal, who seemed the opposite of his original self, trusted and followed her opinion, Victoria entertained a slightly frivolous thought.
“…You must prioritize saving people no matter what happens. Similar to your original personality.”
“What, you’re trusting me without even testing me?”
“The Astal-nim I know isn’t someone who lies to me often.”
“Aha, so that’s why you trust me? You’re surprisingly considerate of me in this aspect too.”
She thought she should distinguish the time and place now, so she didn’t give such a command.
Moreover, since he was currently in the state of Astal’s childhood personality, she thought she shouldn’t exploit this weakened state.
“…Right now, even if I told you to lick my feet, you’d listen, but are you really satisfied with that? The original personality isn’t this proactive, you know.”
The red-haired Astal, who could hear Victoria’s inner thoughts just the same, provoked her with a chuckle as he watched her suppress her desires.
“I do not harbor such disrespectful thoughts! To begin with, why are you saying I would tell you to lick my feet? What kind of absurd remark is that?”
“You requested something similar last night. Clearly, a milk cow…. Ah, alright, fine. I should respect your privacy.”
“…If you degrade me one more time with such vulgar words, I will kick you in the lower body.”
“See? Victoria likes me more than you guys, so don’t even think about touching me or mixing words.”
The red-haired Astal slowly raised his arms like that and flashed a smug smile toward his companions.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Right now, I wanted to regain control more than anything while listening to the words coming out of my own mouth.
Because I was saying things to Victoria that I, in my original state, would absolutely never say.
‘…Hey, be honest. Can you hear me right now?’
I attempted to communicate with my other personality through inner thoughts.
– Uh, I can hear you? To begin with, the idea of binding oneself like this was yours too, wasn’t it?
Actually, I had somewhat caught on a while ago.
After all, transformation involves sharing each other’s memories.
Most importantly, the binding magic he showed earlier.
It was a magic I had conceived in my mind because I didn’t want to harm Victoria, and this guy had used it on himself.