Chapter 116
Chapter 116
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: The Saint's Inner Thoughts Are Audible
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Victoria's eyes glistened with desire as she licked the nape of my neck once with her tongue.
At the sensation of something soft and sticky, I shivered slightly, unable to comprehend Victoria's sudden action.
"Please stay still. If we truly were lovers, wouldn't this level of physical contact be a given?"
"No, if you're going to do it, at least after washing up..."
"You're backing out now that I'm showing initiative. Was the claim that we were lovers a lie after all?"
Victoria chuckled as she posed the question, like someone testing whether we had indeed been lovers.
"Ah, seeing you blush and your expression is cute. I wonder if it was similar before I lost my memory. I'm starting to get jealous." In contrast, Victoria's inner thoughts seemed to indicate she was enjoying my flustered appearance.
Perhaps having lost her memory, she'd forgotten that she'd cursed and insulted me to hide her feelings.
Instead, she was acting without maintaining any proper distance like this.
"Victoria, I think the joke is going too far..."
"Is that so? I don't think it's excessive at all... Before I lost my memory, you and I did all sorts of things together, didn't you?"
Victoria replied with a fox-like smile. Currently, she was subduing me, even using the unique brute strength of her dragon hybrid heritage.
"That was to heal your body; I had no choice."
"Hmm, then is this current situation also something unavoidable? With your magic, you could easily break free from my restraint and run away, couldn't you?"
Grasping both my wrists with one hand, her movement sweeping from below upward, as if about to strip my clothes at any moment, felt slightly indecent.
"......"
I was left speechless by Victoria's pointed remark.
Even though she'd lost her memory, she wasn't a different person, so part of me didn't want to shake her off.
"You've become a bit more honest now. Good."
Victoria nodded at my silence and lifted my clothes, blowing a small breath onto the scar to test the reaction.
"When did you get this wound? Someone who doesn't know might call it hideous. Did it hurt?"
"...I can't tell you. Because you'd be sad."
"You have quite a stubborn side. If you try to brush it off like that, it makes me want to tease you even more."
Victoria tickled with her fingertips, her gaze demanding I spill the truth.
Perhaps feeling sorry for losing her memory, she seemed fixated on information she didn't know.
"This is from when I went inside a monster that looked like a rose with thorns to save you after you fell into a trap."
Looking at Victoria's face, I felt pity and sorrow, ultimately forcing me to confess the truth.
"I can't possibly imagine them being rose thorns."
"Of course not. That thing's thorns were curved and sharp like fishhooks, designed to shred anything approaching into a bloody mess."
I sighed deeply. Even with a magical barrier, the thorns were so sharp and pointed they pierced through easily.
"You went to save me after I fell into a trap? Why go through all that trouble? With my power, I could have easily escaped..."
"That monster originally used bait that its prey would find tempting. Back then, you had a habit of not being able to sleep unless you hugged a large teddy bear."
Although the target has since shifted to me, Victoria used to have an unexpected trait of being unable to sleep without a teddy bear.
The rose-shaped monster saw through that, brought a large teddy bear from somewhere, lured Victoria, and captured her.
"...That's a bit embarrassing. Seeing that you know even these minor details, we must have truly been close."
Contrary to her words, Victoria wore a soft smile, appearing pleased.
Perhaps she was happy to have found a pillar of support with whom she could share secrets she couldn't tell others.
"If you had shared this secret from the start, I might have believed we were lovers a bit sooner... You probably kept it secret because you thought I'd be troubled." For me, who could hear Victoria's inner thoughts, I understood why she was reacting this way.
"Anyway, after that, we thought it was dangerous to reveal our identities in the Demon Realm... So we've always used Perception Hindrance Magic when moving around."
"I see. Seeing an unfamiliar magic enveloping your body, I thought it was an illusion or hypnosis."
"That's impossible. Who would dare think of toying with the Saint, a figure accepted as a religious icon in the Holy Kingdom of Aurelium?"
"Surprisingly, there were many such scoundrels. Some would send strange items under the guise of gifts, and there was no shortage of humans looking at my body with lecherous eyes."
Victoria wore a slightly disgusted expression.
Indeed, even when I personally arrived at the Holy Kingdom of Aurelium, humans showing interest in her appearance or physique were rampant.
"That's why, when in the Holy Kingdom, I only wore clothes that covered my entire body. Even the paladins or the newly enthroned Pope couldn't overcome mere lust; it was revolting."
"...Was I similar?"
Listening to the memory-lost Victoria's words, a slight doubt arose within me.
Of course, I didn't look at Victoria that way during the early days of participating in the Demon King subjugation, but now that we were lovers, I suppose I could have.
"You're different. The moment you saw me after I lost my memory, you showed a worried or sorrowful gaze."
"Did I? Well, you were always the type to judge people by their eyes."
"Eyes are like windows through which one can see a person's emotions. No matter how skilled a human is, they cannot hide the sadness, anger, greed, and joy reflected in their pupils."
Previously, Victoria found it strange when I looked at her with worried eyes.
As such misunderstandings piled up, Victoria secretly followed me and discovered my efforts to treat her side effects.
Gradually, Victoria fell for me.
"For me, who was more popular with the opposite sex than anyone, to fail to seduce this clueless fellow and resort to such lowly methods of temptation... Frankly, it was hard to understand."
Victoria spoke while inserting her finger into the heart-shaped hole pierced below her chest.
Coming to her senses, wearing such revealing attire and having a stranger whose name and fame she'd only heard claim to be her lover must have been extremely bewildering.
"I was popular too, you know."
"I was well aware of that part. There were even those who mentioned your name, Astal, wishing for the miracle of dating you."
Victoria spread her palm and caressed the cosmos-patterned ring on her ring finger.
"It must have been worn for a very long time; a red mark remained. As if telling me we were lovers before I lost my memory." For me, hearing Victoria's inner thoughts, I was surprised she had noticed even these minor pieces of evidence.
It was the complete opposite of the indecisive and shy personality she usually showed me.
"...I'm glad I didn't grant that request back then. If I had, I might have lost the man who could love a wreck like me."
It felt like seeing the cold, composed Victoria from the early days of the Demon King subjugation.
"Your choice of words seems a bit harsh..."
"Well, it's not entirely wrong, is it? Back in the Holy Kingdom, I was a repulsive human with flowers blooming all over my body. Some people even praised this appearance as beautiful..."
Victoria clicked her tongue as she spoke.
As if recalling an unpleasant memory, her inner thoughts exchanged curses I'd never heard before.
"...In reality, when I tried to shake hands or eat, most people avoided me, saying it was disgusting."
"I see..."
"But it seems that wasn't the case in this party."
Victoria brought her face close and left a brief kiss on my cheek as she spoke.
Even though she supposedly had no memory, it was surprising how much she seemed to like me like this.
"When I asked Anima, our former companion, she said you were the first to invite me to eat together when I was eating alone."
"That's only natural. We never knew when enemies might attack; eating separately is strategically disadvantageous..."
Feeling like I was forcing the memory-lost Victoria to act as a lover, I deliberately tried lying like this.
"On top of that, even without covering my appearance with cloth, we went around enjoying food at tasty restaurants together. That's far from strategy, isn't it?"
Victoria found the contradiction in my words as easily as if she could see through my heart.
"Moreover, even before entering this lodging, you walked on my right side, opened doors for me in advance, showing consideration."
"......"
"If you hadn't supported me when I was sick or struggling, such consideration wouldn't have become second nature. Habits cannot be hidden by acting."
As she said this, Victoria pressed her upper body against mine. Our pounding heartbeats merged into one, making it impossible to tell whose heart was racing.
"...How could I not love you under these circumstances? Even beasts know to be grateful to those who save them."
"But you've lost your memory. Doing this now, later..."
"Astal Kaisaros, are you a fool? The emotion called love does not depend on memory. It overflows from this beating heart right now."
"......"
"Well, I read it in a book, though. There was a story left by an old man with a memory-lost wife, loving each other."
"It's amazing how my heart races just from being close like this for a moment. If I investigate and test more, I'll probably realize whether I truly love you or not." Currently, Victoria's inner thoughts revealed she wanted to test whether the emotions she felt were genuine or a side effect of memory loss.
At that moment,
Thump, roll-roll-roll—!
The sound of something heavy rolling down from above echoed through the room, drawing Victoria's gaze.
"...What is that now?"
"It's the magic containing my last will..."
The last will magic in the form of a blue crystal sphere appeared as if to interrupt our current moment.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "Ta-da, surprised? I regret not being able to see Lord Astal's dumbfounded face." Something resembling Victoria's form emerged from it, smiling at me, leaving us frozen.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "...This was created in case either Lord Astal or I fell victim to the memory-eating slime, Memoria." "Since we, having lost our memories, might hurl abuse at each other like in the past or not believe we were lovers. Consider it a kind of contingency plan." Contrary to the words left by the past Victoria, the memory-lost her was currently in a situation just a step away from pouncing on me.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "Honestly, who secretly develops such gloomy magic? A magic to leave a last will? Consider it an honor that I'm covering it with my beautiful appearance." "...So this is what I was like before losing my memory. It's unpleasant to see how vulgar my speech has become."
Seeing the Victoria from the last will magic even clearing her throat with overflowing self-love, she was surprisingly irritated.
"Interrupting at the best moment is annoying. This means that before I lost my memory, I was this sincere with Lord Astal." Although essentially the same person, it was fascinating to see her jealous of herself like that.
I wondered what reaction she'd show if we subdue Memoria and she regains her memory later.
She'd probably be so embarrassed she'd bite her tongue and wish to die.