Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: I Hear the Saint's Inner Thoughts
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How long did we walk while holding Victoria's hand? This time, we encountered an unexpected figure.
"You have quite the nerve. How dare you consider taking my form, no matter how you disguise yourself?"
"That's my line, you filthy demon lackard..."
A man with blue hair and eyes, his robe pulled low over his face. The appearance of the continent's strongest mage, known by the epithet "Harmless Mage," was right before my eyes.
To put it simply, the human named Astal Caelestros had doubled into two.
"This is unexpected. I thought there was only one piece of trash like you in this world..."
- This is my chance...! The Phantom Dragon in that disguised form should have similar memories and emotions to Lord Astal, so I can find out how he really felt about me!
Seeing another me, Victoria gave a sly smile, brought her hand to her mouth, and then, as if struck by a brilliant idea, took a large step forward.
Unlike the situation earlier, since I was already holding her hand when the fake appeared, there should be no confusing the real one.
"Lord Astal, what do you think of me? Please answer honestly. It's an important way to distinguish the real from the fake."
Victoria was asking the Phantom Dragon, disguised exactly like me, the things she had been curious about all along.
"What are you doing right now?"
"I'm simply doing the same thing you tried to do to tease me earlier. Don't you think it's unfair if only I'm subjected to it?"
If she gets attacked or struck, what then? I had no choice but to layer several defensive spells over Victoria's body.
"...I think you're a really annoying and irritating woman."
"Is that really true? You could have given me a little compliment. The Flower Saint, considered the most noble and faithful in the world..."
"You're not like that with me, are you? I know you usually sponsor orphanages and secretly care for the sick, doing good deeds."
A face as if looking at something lower than an insect.
Surprisingly, the fake me, unaware of Victoria's true feelings, was making a genuinely disgusted expression towards her.
"You don't think of me as a punching bag, and enduring your usual verbal abuse and violence was solely my burden."
"Th-that's...! It was all for your sake...!"
Victoria couldn't hide her flustered expression upon hearing the fake's statements. These weren't the words she wanted to hear.
"No matter how good a medicine is, if it's bitter... people have hearts, you know... Hearing those rough words constantly is bound to hurt one's feelings."
Surprisingly, perhaps because the fake me also possessed similar memories and emotions, it didn't back down when speaking to Victoria either.
Good, well done. If we keep this up, Victoria will get completely fed up with me.
I never understood why she kept clinging to a man who didn't even like her. Victoria wasn't a woman so lacking that she needed to waste her emotions on someone like me.
"Lord Astal, do you really think of me that way? Do you feel I have no points that distinguish me from other women, no good qualities?"
Victoria, as if unable to believe the current situation, kept repeating the same question.
"None? Objectively speaking, you're pretty, but what matters is a person's heart."
Whether the Phantom Dragon disguised as me was clueless or not, it continued to crush Victoria's expectations miserably.
"Pfft, puhuhu... Just how badly did you treat me normally..."
I couldn't hold back the rising laughter, barely managing to cover my mouth with my hand and endure. It really hit home how poorly I thought of Victoria just a week ago.
Back then, I couldn't hear Victoria's inner thoughts. The misunderstanding between us was so deep that only with this mind-reading ability could I understand her true feelings.
"Don't laugh! Lord Astal, how badly did you really think of me normall─."
At that moment, a shimmering flame flickered behind Victoria's back, and I caught sight of the fake preparing to unleash its breath.
Whoosh.
Seeing that, I quickly embraced Victoria, pulling her into my arms, and created a magical barrier to protect her.
Superhuman dynamic vision. That was another weapon of my special eyes, capable of seeing magical power.
"...That was dangerous. No matter how much it looks like me, the opponent is a dragon."
"Eh, uwa... Ah?"
- Lord Astal hugged me. Lord Astal hugged me. Lord Astal hugged...
I let out a sigh of relief looking at Victoria nestled gently in my embrace. She had a tendency to sometimes not be afraid even when seeing demons or monsters.
Victoria was a naive Saint who would call even enemies pitiful lambs abandoned by God, objects to be saved.
"What's wrong with you, having no learning ability? I always told you never to trust demons or monsters."
Flick─!
I gave her a light flick on the forehead to snap her out of it, as she blushed to her ears and rolled her eyes, unsure where to look.
"Ugh... I was careless. No matter how I think about it, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to tease you for the rest of my life."
Victoria rubbed her forehead and grumbled. She hung her head as if regretful.
"First of all, I don't think of you that badly. Learn to distinguish between the real and the fake."
To improve Victoria's mood, I deliberately said words that praised her.
After all, Victoria was a woman worthy of the title "Saint."
She shed tears for children who lost parents on the battlefield, and she spared no effort in caring for the pitiful while wandering through slums.
A foolish woman willingly using miracles that gnaw at her body and mind for those she deemed more pitiful than herself.
To me, the woman named Victoria Everheart was that kind of person.
"...Is that really true?"
"A week ago, I might not have known, but after traveling together like this, my thoughts have changed quite a bit."
"That's unexpected. I thought someone like you would see me as a bimbo whose intelligence all went to her chest, or a venomous snake filled with thoughts of slandering and cursing you."
- Is the contract relationship really working? Maybe the saying 'to get closer in heart, get closer in body' was right after all...!
Victoria's lips curled up ever so slightly at my compliment, not showing any particular emotion, but her inner thoughts were practically giggling.
Victoria, whose emotional expression was frighteningly faint and whose poker face rarely changed.
"More importantly, your chest. It's still touching me..."
"...Ah, sorry."
"It's fine. Fortunately, seeing you react like that, I guess a virgin mage is just hopeless."
Since Victoria's chest possessed an overwhelming form unlike others, such incidents were inevitable.
"Or perhaps, did your lower half become stiff because of me? Your movements seem more sluggish than before."
My face flushed as I released my arms from around Victoria. She then stuck her tongue out slightly, taunting me.
As if she was disappointed that I wasn't touching her.
"...Crazy talk."
"Kyaa, I'm being violated by the mage of the Hero's party... Crushed mercilessly by the huge magic tower hidden in his pants... Becoming a fool who knows only Lord Astal...♡"
Victoria spoke in a sticky, viscous tone, deliberately letting her breath reach my ear.
- Th-this should be stimulating enough, right? It's from those subversive books confiscated by the Papal Court. I heard men all fall for this kind of talk...
Contrary to her outward appearance of trying to shake my heart, her inner thoughts revealed someone more pure than anyone.
"Stop it. You're a virgin too, talking like that. Since when does a Saint who follows the Heavenly God's words speak such obscenities?"
I pressed my fingers against my forehead, suppressing my irritation. Where did she learn such things? She always had a knack for making people uncomfortable.
"Huhu, I tease you because I know you won't lay a hand on me even if I talk like this."
- That's exactly what's frustrating! How can you not give in when such a pretty person is actively courting you?
It's because that person is Victoria Everheart. First of all, I had no intention of dating anyone right now, but if it were her, the refusal was even more resolute.
Because I couldn't even imagine what she would do if she were to actually date me, given how she keeps needling me even now.
"I'm a man too. No matter what, you should watch your mouth. You never know when it might come back to bite you."
To calm my heart, I pursed my lips and advised Victoria. If she ends up marrying someone else later, everything happening now would become a dark history.
That's what a contract relationship is, after all. A fake can never become real.
"My, you're calling yourself a man? I thought you were just a stone on the road, given you showed no reaction to me for the past year."
- That's also why I want to seduce you more. You don't seem like the type to ever cheat with another woman.
Victoria looked at my face and gave a cold sneer, pretending it was nothing.
- I want to make those noble eyes of yours look only at me, crave only me, turn you into a body that can't live without loving me...
The emotion contained within was greater than anyone else's.
Love is heavy. My body felt crushed under the weight of the surging guilt. Eavesdropping on someone's inner thoughts was more burdensome than I thought.
"Even such a stone knows that you, Victoria, are a kind-hearted and beautiful person. To the point where I feel it's a waste for me to be pretending to be your fake lover."
I calmly voiced my impressions of Victoria. I felt I had to do this.
"...Huh?"
"So, thank you for always looking out for me! Without you, I would have drowned in alcohol or nicotine in this expensive demon realm and become a wreck."
Overcome with embarrassment from the awkward, cringeworthy words, I scratched the back of my head and endured the rising shame.
"I must have misheard. Could you please say that one more time?"
- What? What did I just hear?! Could it be Lord Astal was thinking positively of me too? Is there really a possibility of us dating?!
"I think my ears just went deaf."
Victoria blinked her eyes repeatedly, showing an attitude of disbelief at what she had just heard.
I'm absolutely not saying it again.