Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The Saint's Inner Thoughts
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“Then, let me explain our plan again.”
The Hero, Kyle, gathered us all and began explaining with a map spread out.
“Our goal is to arrive at the Nightmare Theater ruled by the Succubus Queen, Bellamora…”
Kyle opened his mouth with a grave tone, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. We had spent a year wandering the Demon Realm preparing to subjugate the Succubus Queen.
“We kill her and reduce the Demon King’s forces as much as possible.”
Kyle spoke through gritted teeth. He seemed to have trauma from an enemy who burrows into people’s dreams and shows them realistic illusionary dreams.
He had a childhood friend and lover he left behind in his hometown.
Once, Kyle even said that for her sake, he would gladly kill a Demon King like this.
Even now, he showed his devotion by sending letters every day, so it was highly probable he had nightmares related to his childhood friend.
After all, I had dreamed of nightmares where Victoria confessed to me.
“…So, Kyle, why are you so injured?”
“Indeed. I was worried something might have happened when you didn’t show up long after the meeting time.”
Taryon and Anima noticed something strange about Kyle’s scratched and injured appearance. The agreed meeting time was exactly 10 o’clock, but it was now much later.
“I tripped and fell badly on the way.”
Kyle was lying for me and Victoria’s sake.
Despite surely being exhausted from killing numerous demons and monsters, he never once uttered a word about being tired.
“That’s a lie, anyone can tell…”
“Indeed. Kyle, are you hiding something from us?”
Seeing us silent, Taryon and Anima began to press Kyle. Anyone could see those weren’t ordinary injuries.
“I had to stop by the Holy Kingdom of Aurelium because of Victoria’s condition. So Kyle had a bit of a hard time.”
“…Astal?”
Seeing that scene, I told the truth to my comrades. Lies are like snowballs; they grow bigger the more you try to hide them.
Moreover, thanks to the person next to me, I really didn’t feel like hiding emotions or lying.
“What, got a problem with that?”
I said a word to Kyle, Victoria, and the rest of my comrades, whose eyes were wide open. I really hated seeing someone in the party die.
“Y-yes, that’s right. Sir Astal… for me, for my sake…”
- What should I do… Now I really can’t get married….
Victoria couldn’t lift her head, her face flushed red, just standing still beside me with her hands clenched. The tingling sensation spreading from her fingertips felt strangely ticklish.
“Astal, you really do like Victoria, don’t you…?”
“Frankly speaking, I even thought you two were playing a prank by colluding.”
Anima blinked her eyes in disbelief seeing this scene, while Taryon looked at me with a satisfied smile.
“How did you get to the Holy Kingdom from here? It shouldn’t have been possible with the usual spatial gate.”
“I pierced through space with my own body. Like a thread and needle, I moved straight to the Holy Kingdom in one go.”
“…Wow, is this guy completely insane?”
Anima let out a hollow sigh and cursed, slapping her forehead with her palm, her bear ears twitching slightly.
“How could you even think of piercing space with your own body? To what extent do you not even tell us, do you really treasure Victoria that much?”
There was a separate reason why Anima, who’s usually just a bit blunt, was cursing like this. Normally, a more moderate method would have been appropriate.
After all, I was always someone who meticulously analyzed cause and effect and used the most ideal magic possible.
“You used to fight like you couldn’t stand each other, when did you become this close? I’m a bit hurt?”
“…Shut up, it was an emergency. There was no choice.”
“Then, can I summon an emotion spirit to check?”
Anima took a step closer to me and twisted the corner of her mouth as if she’d had a good idea.
Emotion spirit, Phantasma.
A spirit that judges the scale of feelings towards someone as ‘favorability’ and converts it into an objective numerical value.
Using that, I could clearly know Victoria’s feelings of liking me, but since I have no ulterior motives towards her…
‘The contract relationship will be exposed…!’
I swallowed my saliva and recognized the severity of the situation.
If that happened, an unfavorable situation could arise when facing the Succubus Queen. This fake lover was only an advantage for us if others didn’t know.
Just as I was pondering whether to deceive the spirit’s favorability and racking my brain about what magic to use without incantation…
“Jokes aren’t good, Anima.”
“Ah, why? Astal always told us things like ‘Love is inefficient,’ ‘Don’t you know how much of a nuisance it is to ruin things swayed by emotions?’…!”
A hand reached out to stop Anima from summoning Phantasma. Taryon, lifting her arm like a doll and holding it.
“Anima, feelings of love cannot be expressed in concrete numbers, can they? Is there a need to test a couple who seem to be getting along?”
“But they’ve been acting too weird for days! My intuition is telling me something’s fishy…!”
“Anima, even if my feelings for you were shown as a number, that truly couldn’t tell the whole story, could it.”
Anima was looking up angrily, and Taryon spoke in a calm voice to soothe her.
‘Ugh… What nonsense are those lovebirds spouting….’
It was a nauseatingly sweet comment. I hid my clenched hands behind my back and pretended to be fine.
Is this how blind people become when they’re in love?
Victoria had her hands together covering her mouth with a moved expression, and Kyle was nodding with the corners of his mouth raised.
I couldn’t understand it, nor did I want to.
“Taryon…”
“So, let’s wait a bit for those two now. Isn’t that the virtue of those who became lovers first?”
The way a person changes like that with a single word from their lover is almost like a succubus casting charm or some strange hypnosis.
I would absolutely never show such a sight.
Given my personality, it’s highly unlikely I’d become someone who gives their all for a single woman.
“Hmph, you should know you owe your life to Taryon. I want to pull out Phantasma right now and check what you guys are up to!”
“Yeah, thanks a lot.”
I replied to Anima with a nonchalant expression. After all, even if she had pulled out Phantasma, it wouldn’t have shown that I like Victoria.
“Victoria, what on earth is good about this guy that you’d date him? Didn’t he confess first anyway…!”
Anima spoke as if scolding Victoria, disparaging me, but she still couldn’t properly lift her head.
“……Yes, he is… far too good, far too good for me.”
Instead, Victoria spoke in a shrinking voice, fidgeting with her fingers pressed together.
- The person who risked his life and went to the Holy Kingdom for me, got angry at slanderous ruffians on my behalf, and chose to endure pain to save me….
Victoria’s inner thoughts were on the verge of overflowing with praise for me. It almost felt like seeing a shopkeeper firing words like a machine gun.
“Sir Astal is always someone who surprises me.”
– How could I not love him?
Victoria placed her hand on her chest as if to calm her heartbeat and began taking deep breaths.
“…Victoria? Are you feeling okay?”
“No. It’s just that my emotions are heightened…”
I was listening to her inner thoughts right beside her.
Honestly, I couldn’t understand how a Saint could give her heart away so easily over such small kindnesses.
“That’s enough excuses, right? Then I’ll take Victoria. Let’s meet again tomorrow and head for the Succubus Queen’s domain.”
Before Victoria could make another slip of the tongue, I grabbed her hand and pulled her away. It was also better not to get caught bringing food secretly from our comrades.
A food good for stamina that increases the pregnancy probability of mixed-bloods—who wouldn’t think of something sinister upon hearing that topic?
“Yeah, it’s already getting late and the sun is setting. Let’s each think about how to escape Bellamora’s illusionary dreams.”
The Hero, Kyle, seeing me like that, slowly closed one eye.
He had noticed the awkward situation for me and Victoria and was showing kindness by postponing the plan by a day.
“Ah, Astal… Your pace is too fast…! Wait a moment…”
Clearly, with Victoria’s strength, she could easily resist me pulling her, yet she obediently held my hand and walked.
- Sir Astal tried to protect me… I’ve never had someone like this before….
Listening to her inner thoughts, it seemed she was too flustered to think otherwise.
I was starting to get a bit of a headache, wondering how long I had to keep up this farce.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Thus, arriving back at the lodging, Victoria and I ended up using the same room again. It would have been strange to ask for separate rooms at this point.
‘The food I ate before definitely seems to be a problem….’
My body kept feeling hot, and I tried to release the tension building up in various places with detoxification magic.
It was a mistake to swallow all the food into my stomach to avoid being caught by my comrades. Since Victoria kept watching, I couldn’t easily discard it.
‘It was also partly because she kept trying to feed me directly, which was awkward, so I wanted to finish quickly….’
Perhaps my feelings had changed due to the events in the Holy Kingdom.
- Now, open your mouth. Isn’t it your lovely lover feeding you?
Victoria tried to feed me grilled eel with a fork and knife, and I disliked that cringeworthy act, so I quickly shoveled the food into my mouth.
‘…I should have secretly thrown it away after all.’
Regret came belatedly, but I had no other means.
Even though I knew through her inner thoughts that it was food good for stamina, if I showed I noticed, Victoria might have found out.
If she learned that I could hear the inner thoughts of Saint Victoria, filled entirely with sinister thoughts, she might try to die of shame immediately.
“Victoria, shall I come in?”
Since Victoria said she’d shower first, I deliberately exercised to sweat out the food’s energy and returned after moving my body.
Because if I didn’t relieve it, it felt like an incident might really happen—that persistent, pulsating sensation kept coming. It was similar to the feeling of a eunuch regaining his masculinity.
“…Yes, you may come in. Sir Astal.”
A seductive voice came from inside the door, and when I opened it, I doubted my eyes for a moment.
“I was waiting. My fake lover.”
- Tonight, I want to see if Sir Astal gets properly excited by me.
Because Victoria, wearing only her underwear with my oversized robe lightly draped over her body, was sitting on the bed.
“…First, wash up. Isn’t that basic courtesy?”
Victoria exhaled a breath sweeter than ever before, wiggling her sweaty fingers, and sent me a bewitching smile.