Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Saint's Drunken Confession
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"Do you even know what you're saying right now?"
A surge of irritation instantly washed over me.
Even on normal days, I could tell Victoria became a different person when she drank; her alcohol tolerance was weak. It was clear that tomorrow, once she sobered up, she'd act ignorant and scold me, saying, 'Did I really do such a thing?'
Victoria was always like this. She piled up lies to hide her true feelings and had grown accustomed to hurting others.
I couldn't even begin to guess what kind of life she had lived. With that kind of approach, in the end, all that would be left for her was getting hurt in return.
"I judge it to be a fairly rational thought... I've heard that male adventurers often devise various methods to resolve their desires...."
Victoria exhaled a hot breath, "Hoo." She was visibly, staggeringly drunk; her eyes were unfocused, and she wore a constantly teasing smile.
"Rational, my foot. In the first place, a woman shouldn't say such things carelessly. Do you know how scary this world is?"
I immediately raised my voice, cutting her off. No matter how much she presented logical reasons, it still didn't constitute a reason for me to have a child with her right now.
Having a child requires a great deal of preparation and resolve. If love is missing from that process, wouldn't the life being born be pitiful?
Moreover, I still didn't have the confidence to become someone like my parents. They were people who, without hesitation, offered their only lives to save their child.
"Are you looking at me as a woman now...? Seeing a disgusting monster whose body is half-turned into flowers with such eyes... You truly are an incorrigible pervert."
"Finally, you're looking at me. I'm happy, but also a bit complicated...."
Hearing my words, Victoria let out an enchanting laugh and traced her index finger up from my chin.
"It would be nice if you were a bit more proactive like this normally...."
"If we had met before my body became like this.... I wouldn't have had to hide my heart like this."
Perhaps it was a satisfying enough answer, as she smiled softly, the corners of her eyes crinkling gently. In contrast to her relaxed and confident exterior, her inner thoughts were rotten and crumbling.
A woman filled with wounds, like holding a jar teeming with worms. That was the true nature of Victoria Everhart, the Saint.
"If I acted like this normally, wouldn't you say, 'Are you in heat? It's unpleasant that you think of a nation's Saint as an object of lust...'?"
To be honest, I pitied that Victoria. This feeling was far from love or affection.
"...You really are different from other men. Even after tormenting me with such harsh words, you're the first person who doesn't think badly of me."
"That's not a compliment, is it? It's an insult. You think I'm an easy mark, don't you?"
"Hehe, did I get caught?"
"Your inner thoughts are always twisted like a snake. I wish you'd be a bit more honest."
I let out a deep sigh.
If my first impression of Victoria had been slightly better, and if she had been more open about her true feelings, perhaps our relationship would have taken a different form than it is now.
Not this kind of fake lover, but a real one. Once that thought crossed my mind, I couldn't help but feel a sense of regret.
"Ah, it's cold...."
"Stay still. You're very drunk."
As I usually did, I used magic to chill my hand and placed it on Victoria's forehead to cool her feverish heat.
"Touching a woman so carelessly, I suppose I should acknowledge you're a playboy after all...."
"I might really pounce on you, so keep your mouth shut."
"...You don't even have the courage to do it, yet you talk big."
"You could, you know.... I even wore pretty underwear today.... I don't know why you always draw the line like this. Do I really have no charm?"
"...Mm."
Saying that, Victoria tightly closed her eyes, her body trembling slightly as if waiting for something.
Did she really want me to pounce on her? Seeing her like this, I couldn't understand how she was chosen as a Saint.
"Ha, I'm only letting this slide because you're the Saint."
I gently stroked Victoria's head. Like petting a puppy, I even playfully tickled her chin.
"Huh, hyahk...! Wh-what are you doing...!!"
"How can someone who gets startled from just a little touch go around saying things like 'pounce on me'?"
Watching Victoria jump in surprise like a cat leaping in place, I couldn't help but curl the corner of my mouth in disbelief.
Normally, she would just evade or not react, but seeing this vulnerable side of her felt like discovering a new facet.
"Mmmm.... A little more...."
"It tickles, but.... feels good.... If I get a taste of this, I might never go back to how I was...."
Victoria even let out a coquettish purring sound. Seeing her like this, her actions and words really resembled a female cat hiding its claws and acting sensitive.
"Are you sober now? Can you walk to your room?"
"...No. I want to stay with you a bit longer."
"I don't wanna be apart.... I want to talk longer.... It's been so long since we were alone together!"
"What...?"
I froze in shock at the sudden use of informal speech. Victoria was puffing out her cheeks with a sulky expression.
"Why? Even if it's a one-month fake relationship, no matter what anyone says, you're my boyfriend right now.... The continent's strongest mage, the Saint's lover.... Hee hee hee."
The woman who always maintained distance with stiff formal speech was now cutely shaking her head, saying she wanted to stay with me.
"Aren't you going to properly play the role of a fake lover? Victoria is going to get upset, you know...?"
"I wish Astal would think I'm cute.... I almost fell for you again during the fight earlier...."
"What's wrong with you? Are you really feeling unwell? You're not under some curse, are you? Did you drink too much...?"
Victoria even referred to herself in the third person, speaking as if about someone else. Faced with this unprecedented situation, I even looked around to see if there were any enemies nearby.
I suspected she might have been subjected to some mental attack or received a revelation from a Heavenly God, twisting her very personality. After all, even I, called the continent's strongest mage, had fallen under the curse of hearing Victoria's inner thoughts, so I couldn't swear that something similar hadn't happened to her, a nation's Saint.
'Nothing seems particularly wrong...?'
I immediately used magic to assess Victoria's condition, but aside from the blossoming flowers, I couldn't find any other abnormalities in her.
Just then, an empty beer barrel rolled over with a clatter.
The writing on the oak barrel that Victoria and her comrades had been drinking from just moments ago looked familiar.
"[Horizon's Sleep-talking]...? Don't tell me you bought this with the money from selling the Phantom Dragon's materials?"
It was said to be what the magic dragon Horizon, called the boundary that divides the world, drank when sleeping. Only dwarves living in the far north were said to secretly know its brewing method, making it practically priceless here in the Demon Realm.
"I was the one who suggested we drink it, *hic*.... I did. Because I thought I wouldn't be able to suggest having a child with you while sober.... I thought I'd be too embarrassed...."
"I thought Astal would dislike a Saint with such a vulgar body like mine.... Just having stupidly big breasts...."
The drunken Victoria was spouting incredible nonsense. Hearing such audacious words, my thoughts momentarily ground to a halt.
There was something about Victoria's action of lightly lifting her soft chest, creating a violent, curvy silhouette, that stirred something inside me.
The heavy manifestation of divine power moving up and down when she let go visually demonstrated that her chest was soft and pliant.
"You should save things like that for someone you truly love. Victoria."
I said, grabbing her shoulders as she tried to throw herself into my arms.
Despite my heart pounding wildly at her uncharacteristic attitude, the thought that I shouldn't cross the line here came first.
After all, I wasn't her real lover.
"...I, you see. To kill the Demon King, I can abandon everything. In the end, I'm just a consumable item, a Saint."
Victoria hung her head low, then looked at me with a faint smile, beginning to speak as if trying her hardest not to show sadness.
"In the end, isn't that also the reason for our contract relationship? Like the Phantom Dragon said, if we just had ten children, don't you think the Demon King really wouldn't be able to stop us...?"
The intoxicating heat of alcohol spread through the air. Victoria, drunk to the point of incoherence, was saying harsh things.
"Then what happens to those children? You'd be pushing our revenge onto innocent children born from a loveless relationship."
I seriously considered whether I should use magic to sober her up, but I also felt that if I went a little further, I might learn about the trauma she carried.
"Thinking about it, you're right.... I'm sorry. Astal. My words were too harsh."
"I didn't really want to say such harsh things.... I'm sorry...."
"......"
The woman let out a long sigh, "Hoo." Right now, Victoria's inner thoughts almost perfectly matched the words coming out of her mouth.
"Why am I like this? Always afraid of getting hurt by others, I end up choosing to be hated first...."
"If I don't do this, I feel like you'll drift away...."
"What's wrong with being a little honest? You don't have to act tough, do you?"
Since I could read Victoria's inner thoughts and knew her exterior and interior were different, I said this.
Only when I patted her back did she finally stop crying. I even wiped her tears with my hand, slowly comforting her.
"...No. I have a reason why I absolutely must be like this."
Then, shaking her head vigorously, Victoria said something meaningful. As if trying not to tell me, she shook off my arm and fled toward the inn room.
"Wait, what does that mean...? A reason?"
"I will absolutely─not tell you! It's a secret...!"
Sticking her tongue out slightly, Victoria tried hard not to reveal her circumstances, but...
"Because I don't have much time left ahead of me."
For me, who could hear her inner thoughts, the entire truth was being conveyed unfiltered.