Preparations for the Move! The Unbearable Saintess (2)
Dungeon City Henencia. A city situated near the demon tribe’s territory known as the Desolate Ruins, filled with the many dungeons the Demon Kings had created. It was also praised as an innovative city that commercialized those dungeons to generate profit.
I had once operated here as a member of a party. My mentor Aina. The knight Irina. When I first met them, their similar names made me mistake them for family. In truth, only their names were alike.
So much time had already passed. Aside from the fact that Aina’s time had stopped forever, the city remained almost unchanged from what I remembered.
While I was lost in those old memories, the grandmother sitting beside me offered her farewell.
“Well then, take care. Young man… it was pleasant talking with you…”
“Yes. Safe travels, ma’am.”
She departed, leaning on her cane. The grandmother in the next seat had been one of the kinder ones. Her life advice about how a stable job was best had been a little annoying, but she was essentially a good person.
Still… if Sicilia Saten had been sitting next to her instead, a fight would have broken out without question. Saten never endured irritating situations and never cared about the other person’s age. I might have witnessed her slapping an elderly woman across the face. Yes, it was better that I had been the one sitting there.
After parting with the grandmother, I stepped off the train and looked around.
The children… they must not have gotten off yet.
If it would take some time, I could head to car A first and wait. I walked slowly toward car A.
Just then the doors of car A opened and people began pouring out. Since each of the children had chosen a brightly colored hood, I didn’t need to search hard.
There they are.
Yellow, pink, black, white. A suspicious group of hoods in every color of the rainbow. I headed toward them as they disembarked.
Hare, true to her thief nature, spotted me first and came running with a shout.
“Ah, Uncle…! I missed you…!”
She sprinted toward me on her short legs with everything she had. It had barely been an hour, yet she ran as if we had been separated for a hundred days. Hare reached me and wrapped her arms tightly around my waist.
“While you were gone, I felt so lonely… But I endured it and waited… I’m a good girl, right…?”
“…Yes, you did well. Did you get along with your friends?”
“Yes! I really got along with them…! Hehe, Hare is a good girl, right…? Right…?”
“…”
I said nothing and simply stroked Hare’s head. Getting along with her friends would strengthen the party’s bonds, which was excellent from my perspective.
More importantly…
“Runa, why are you just standing over there?”
“…Hmph. It’s nothing.”
She stood in the distance, staring at me with wide eyes. Her expression looked somewhat sulky. Was she upset that I hadn’t praised her for enduring the hallucinations? Her face was full of discontent.
“…If you have a complaint, say it with words, Runa.”
“…No thanks! I don’t need your praise anyway!”
She was thoroughly offended. She would probably cheer up on her own once we ate a delicious dinner. I decided not to engage her further.
The most urgent matter right now was not Runa.
“H-Holy Water… give me Holy Water…”
The one staggering toward us like a zombie from far away was Estia, and she was currently the highest priority.
Her condition is terrible.
Estia, the Holy Water addict, had endured far too long. She was likely standing at the edge of a cliff. Any further delay and she might lose consciousness entirely.
I approached the girl who looked ready to collapse.
“Estia.”
“You kidnapping jerk… give me Holy Water… give me Holy Water…”
“…I’ll give you some once we reach our lodgings. So just hold on a little longer.”
“I-I can’t endure it… you bad old man…”
“…I’ll carry you to the lodgings.”
I lifted the delirious Estia into a princess carry. Her body burned like fire and cold sweat poured down her face. If she didn’t receive Holy Water immediately, she would likely go into convulsions. We needed to reach the lodgings before it was too late.
With Estia in my arms, I approached the waiting hero party.
“Children, follow me. Estia’s condition is poor.”
We headed toward the lodgings where we would stay briefly while searching for a proper house. I led the hero party forward.
***
True to its name as a dungeon city, the inns of Henencia were generally high quality. There were many options, including lodgings tailored to the size of adventurer parties. Therefore, I rented a place with five rooms that could accommodate all five members of the hero party including myself. We would stay here until we found a permanent house.
The moment we arrived at the inn, I said,
“Wait here. I’ll calm Estia down and return. Choose any room you like and rest freely.”
“Y-Yes…”
I carried Estia into a room alone. She desperately needed Holy Water right now. I laid her on the bed and gently patted her cheek.
“Estia, are you conscious?”
“…”
“She fainted…”
She wasn’t moving at all. Her mind must have finally given out. I quickly took a bottle of Holy Water from my subspace. Taking it out was simple enough.
The problem came after that.
“…How exactly do I administer it?”
Holy Water was a liquid. It had to be taken orally, but I couldn’t ask someone who had lost consciousness to drink. Pouring it down her throat by force carried a high risk of choking. What was the correct choice…
How should I feed the Holy Water to the Saintess? You pervert Lee Junwoo. You’re not having any lewd thoughts, are you? Make your choice!
[1. Hold the Holy Water in your mouth and deliver it to Estia.]
[2. Dip your finger in the Holy Water and let Estia drink it that way.]
Perfect timing, Minerva. The only shame is that I don’t have a chance to use the Answer Sheet.
If only I had the Answer Sheet, I would have checked option one.
If holding the liquid in my mouth was acceptable, option one was the safest and most standard method.
But option two…
Option two risked Estia biting my finger off, so it was hard to choose. However, if I chose option one, held the Holy Water in my mouth, and became addicted myself…
The future that awaited would be Estia controlling me: “Oppa, I’ll give you Holy Water as a reward~ Open wide!”
I had no choice. I dipped my index finger deep into the bottle of Holy Water, then slid the thoroughly soaked finger into Estia’s mouth. The sensation was strangely uncomfortable.
“…Don’t bite, Estia. Drink it slowly.”
I moved my finger inside her mouth as if applying the Holy Water, stirring carefully so as not to hurt her. It felt like painting on canvas with a brush. I moved with the utmost caution.
Perhaps my efforts paid off.
“Mmm… mmmuu…?”
Estia’s eyelids fluttered and she let out a dazed sound. Good. I could continue like this. I kept dipping my finger in the Holy Water and coating the inside of her mouth with it. Each time, Estia twitched as the effect took hold.
“…Is this the most effective spot?”
I was starting to get the hang of it. The place where Estia reacted most strongly was her tongue. I should focus on applying the Holy Water there.
“I hope you regain your senses soon, Estia.”
I was afraid she might bite my finger off. While I continued feeding her Holy Water with my finger, something strange began to happen.
“…Estia?”
“Mmm… hehe… Holy Waterrr… daa…”
Slurp—
Estia, who had finally come to her senses, was now licking my finger with her tongue. She had regained consciousness, yet remained out of her mind. Damn it.
“Oppaaa… are you giving me Holy Waterrr…? Licking feels so gooood…”
Lick—
Estia licked my finger diligently, savoring every drop of Holy Water on it. Fortunately, the fever had left her body and the cold sweat had stopped. However, her broken mental state had become a new problem. Fixing one thing only created another.
“…I originally planned to give her the Holy Water and leave.”
Things had become complicated. What a nuisance.
Estia ignored my words and continued licking my finger. The Holy Water on my index finger had long since disappeared, replaced by her saliva.
“Estia, stop licking my finger now. The Holy Water is right here.”
“Ehehe… Holy Water… slurp, so good… give me moreee…”
“…Let go of my arm and drink from the bottle.”
“Ah, ahhh… so good…! Hehe…”
Lick— Lick—
She wasn’t listening to me at all. Holding my arm with both hands as if she would never let go, Estia kept licking my finger. I could not allow this to continue.
Whoosh—
“Stop.”
“Eh…? Where did the Holy Water go…? Where did it gooo…?”
I forcibly pulled my arm away so Estia could no longer lick my finger. She stared at me with a devastated expression.
I wasn’t sure if conversation would work, but I tried speaking to her with a small hope.
“Estia. The Holy Water is right here, so drink it yourself. There’s no reason to lick my finger.”
“Ah, aah…! Holy Waterrr… I want Holy Water… give me Holy Water…!”
“Not my finger. Drink the Holy Water. Here, I’ll leave the bottle. Enjoy it by yourself. I’ll leave you alone now.”
“…”
She had regained some awareness, so she should be able to drink on her own. Watching someone sink deeper into addiction was painful. Since this was not the controlled stage, I did not want to watch Estia consume the Holy Water.
I stood up and placed my hand on the doorknob to leave the room. At that moment, Estia’s gloomy voice reached my ears.
“…I-I don’t want to… I don’t want to be alone… Can’t you stay with me…? Estia doesn’t want to be alone… B-Being alone… is too scary and I hate it…”
Drop, drop—
Tears fell as Estia desperately cried out to me. She looked like someone suffering from a fatal illness that would kill her if left alone.
“S-Stay with me…! E-Estia… hates being alone… Let’s be happy together… O-Oppa… don’t go… Stay with me…”
“Estia…?”
“I-I hate surviving alone… S-Stay with meee…”
She begged, cried, and threw a tantrum. It was like watching a small child. Did drinking Holy Water turn her into one?
She probably wouldn’t remember any of this tomorrow anyway.
“I-I always… hate being alone…”
Estia hugged her knees, looking lonely as her tears continued to fall. I approached her, smoothed her disheveled white hair, and asked to confirm.
“Do you truly want me to stay?”
“M-Mm… O-Oppa is bad because you didn’t give me Holy Water before… but you gave me some today so I like you… S-So today… stay with me… Estia was always alone…”
She was asking me to stay with her while she drank the Holy Water. It was probably related to the deficiencies she carried. I felt that if I properly examined Estia’s past, I would understand why she said such things.
Does drinking Holy Water make her honest? Or is she simply lonely…
Judging from the current situation, it seemed closer to the former. Estia clutched my sleeve tightly with a pitiful gaze. If I refused her now, she looked so desperate that it seemed she might actually die. My heart weakened.
“Estia.”
“Y-Yes… Oppa…”
“…I’ll stay with you, so drink the Holy Water. I’ll remain by your side until you regain your senses.”
“M-Mm! Th-Thank you…! Hehe… I’m happy… Estia is happy…!”
Gulp— Gulp—
Estia drank the Holy Water without hesitation. After emptying the entire bottle, she came over and sat beside me. Then her body began to tremble as the reaction set in.
“A-Ahh… Hic… It feels so gooood… O-Oppa… hold me… I’m happy but… I’m scared… Hold me…”
I embraced her warmly as she asked. Her body trembled so violently that it seemed it might shatter at the slightest touch. She appeared to be experiencing intense pleasure. Estia buried her face in my chest.
“I-I… am happy… Hehe… I wish this could last forever… I hope my friends… all of them… could be this happy too…”
“…”
Estia, drunk on Holy Water, kept murmuring about how happy she was. I could not give her any reply. She looked as though she might break at any moment, despite claiming to be happy. She seemed to feel anxiety even within that happiness. I had known that long-term Holy Water consumption could not leave her normal, but her mind was far too unstable.
What I could do for her right now was simple.
“S-So good… Holy Water is so good…”
“…”
To hold her warmly so she could wake from her dream. And to return Estia to normal so the hero party could function properly.