Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Following Sensory Linkage, This Time (2)
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"Your Highness? And... Lord Yi Hyun?"
"Lady Marie, it's been a while."
"Ah, yes."
Deep within the temple.
The elderly priestess Marie gazed at me with a troubled expression.
An awkward atmosphere hung in the air.
‘Of course it would. She knows about me and Blanc.’
‘She was the one grilling me last time about whether I’d fooled around with Silpi.’
‘I got away with it by saying I love Blanc...’
‘But how does this look in her eyes right now?’
‘Me, the Imperial Princess’s prospective consort.’
‘Blanc, the woman whose lover was stolen by the imperial family.’
‘Lilliana, the princess who ended up stealing her subordinate’s man.’
‘‘It’s like a damn soap opera.’
I had nothing to say, so I bowed my head.
Marie seemed to feel the same, drooping her head low.
Only Lilliana’s neck stayed stiff.
"Hm? What’s wrong?"
"It’s nothing, Your Highness."
"Very well. Then have her guide us to ‘that one.’"
‘‘Her Holiness,’ you mean?"
"Yes. Yi Hyun, as her prospective consort, has the right to know."
"You’ve often spoken lately of wanting to see Lord Yi Hyun. Understood. Please follow me."
And with that, her footsteps echoed—thud, thud—as she led us deeper inside.
I followed quietly behind.
-Whisper, whisper.
"Lilliana, is visiting the Saintess such a heavily guarded affair?"
"You’ll see. Why we go to such lengths to protect her."
"Protect...?"
"Yes, protect."
Lilliana gave a brief explanation, but... hmm.
No matter how I looked at it, this felt more like imprisonment than protection.
Just counting the iron bars I saw while following the priestess, there were at least ten.
The strict guards gradually thinned out until now, only suspicious crystals were placed around.
Why go to such extremes?
The thought crept into my mind,
"We’ve arrived... Lady Lumine!!!!! May we enter!!!!!"
"......!!?"
"Hm, come in."
The moment we reached the innermost chamber, the elderly priestess bellowed.
The instant she shouted loudly, she suddenly whipped around.
No reply had come, yet she acted as if she’d received one.
"Then I’ll take my leave."
Not content with that, she left us behind and departed.
I tilted my head, wondering what that was about.
Unlike me, Lilliana showed no change in expression.
"Now, Yi Hyun. Let’s go in."
"Uh, um, what about Lady Marie?"
"She’ll be waiting at the entrance, so don’t worry."
With that, the door creaked open—
The sight that greeted us inside the room...
Was an ass stuck in the wall.
"...Huh?"
‘What the hell.’
Plump thighs and a sturdy rear.
A pure white pair of panties paired with an incongruous garter belt.
The soft mound faintly visible through the thin fabric.
A slight hint of thick labia peeking from the edges of the panties.
And above all,
The fact that her lower half was protruding through a hole in the wall.
‘This is... the Saintess?’
How could a Saintess be embedded in the wall like an onahole?
Was it just begging to flip up the panties and thrust in?
‘Glory hole or something?’
"Saintess, are you free to talk now!!!"
I was the only one panicking.
Lilliana didn’t bat an eye and shouted loudly.
She didn’t seem to care at all that the Saintess had her ass on display.
‘It’s definitely the common sense alteration, right? Reading ‘Saintess’ as ‘public onahole’ or whatever?’
A sudden unease washed over me.
"Lillia... ahem, Your Highness. Her panties are visible."
"Hm? She’s in confession, so some dishevelment is unavoidable."
"Ah, got it."
Definitely the common sense alteration.
I felt relieved.
‘This mod really pulls a different stunt every time. Who the hell made this pervy crap...’
After that, I settled into casual appreciation mode.
...Or rather,
I tried to.
Until a voice rang in my head.
[———Your Highness, please depart.]
"Huh?"
A clear, delicate voice that resonated directly in my brain, utterly unlike hearing with my ears.
Anyone would hear it and think, ‘Yeah, that’s a saintess.’
The kind of voice that, if she sang at a festival, people would whip out their MP3 players going, ‘What’s that voice?’
Unfortunately, I’m not big on singing,
So I just muttered inwardly, ‘Cute butt, though...’
"...I’ve brought the Yi Hyun you wished to see, so converse freely!!! I’ll just listen quietly!!!"
As I stood there, Lilliana raised her voice.
The priestess had done the same—everyone was so loud, why?
[That is why I ask. Only the confessor and priest may stand in the confessional—no exceptions, not even for Your Highness.]
"Yi Hyun’s a man!!! What if you’re alone and he does something!!!!"
[Are you telling me to break the Goddess’s ordained rules out of fear of uncommitted sins?]
[Moreover, it’s hard to imagine a righteous man like him harming me. I appreciate your concern, but please depart.]
Still, the Saintess issued the order to leave.
Lilliana’s gaze turned to me.
A strange emotion flickered in her blue eyes.
"I’ll say it now—no funny business!!!"
"You’re really leaving? I haven’t heard anything yet?"
"She’ll tell you herself. And, um, if your lust is too hard to bear, I’ll take care of you tonight..."
"You’ll squirt and pass out in seconds."
"Ahem, anyway! If you do anything lew—lewd to her, I’ll, I’ll punish you!"
But that lasted only a moment.
Lilliana ultimately departed.
At least here, the Saintess’s authority was immense.
-Creak, thud.
"Uh, um. Saintess? Do you have something to say to me?"
[No eavesdropping either, Your Highness.]
"......Tch."
[..........]
[......]
[...]
[Sorry to keep you waiting, Lord Yi Hyun.]
"Uh, um. No, it’s fine."
Somehow, we ended up truly alone.
I bowed my head toward her lower half.
In response, her ass jiggled.
[Normally, we would converse like this... but since today’s purpose isn’t confession, this should be fine.]
"Huh?"
[I’ll open the door beside you. Come through that way from now on.]
"A door? Where—oh."
At that moment—flash—
A door appeared in the blank wall.
Likely the Saintess’s doing.
I opened it and stepped through right away.
"...Oh?"
‘So the front side looks like this.’
The room on the other side.
Only then did I come face-to-face with the Saintess’s upper body.
Green hair, a holy nun’s habit.
Gently closed eyes, a serene smile.
She looked every bit the saintess.
Being stuck in the wall made her seem less so, but still.
"Nice to meet—"
[If you have something to say, please speak directly into my ear. My hearing is nearly gone, so I can’t hear well.]
"Huh?"
I approached right up to Saintess Lumine’s face.
Even as I got that close, her expression showed no disturbance.
As if... she felt nothing at all.
‘No way? Observation!’
I summoned the status window immediately.
To figure out her situation.
Soon enough, my jaw dropped.
[Overhaul Mod - '???'] Applied
(In the confessional, protruding the buttocks for the confessor’s peace of mind is common sense)
[Subject’s Erotic Wall]
(Currently afflicted with ‘Petrification’ curse; identification impossible)
[Sex Status]
Masturbation Count: 0
Sex Count: 0
One-Liner: Petrification won’t lift even after 15 days~
‘Level what?’
Level 221.
It easily surpassed Blanc, the highest level I’d seen so far, and nearly double my current level.
Just this told me everything.
She was undoubtedly the Saintess.
[Curse - Petrification (Unique, Temporary)]
A punishment that corrodes one’s connections to the world, one by one.
Skin dulls, eyes lose their light,
And finally, even the soul’s resonance fades away.
Ultimate solitude awaits, destined to become stone.
‘And what’s with this curse?’
Especially glaring was the Petrification curse.
Lilliana’s stony constitution or Clara’s forced heat seemed tame by comparison.
A solemn hush fell over me.
From the skill description, she was probably at this point...
‘Tactile sense and vision wrecked, and now hearing fading too?’
Terminal stage of Petrification curse.
Now it made sense—the priestess and princess’s reactions.
Why they had to shout so loudly.
And why Lumine was confined under such heavy guard.
She was now vulnerable enough for any passing woman to kill her.
‘No, maybe some hearing remains...’
-Whisper.
"Candy in my ear."
[......]
"Hear that? Ah, aaah!"
[Sorry to trouble you, but could you speak a bit louder?]
"CAN YOU HEAR MEEEE!!"
[Yes, I can hear. Sorry for straining your throat.]
"......"
Her hearing was really almost gone.
I had to shout right into her ear for her to barely catch it.
She was a severe case.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MAKE YOUR EARS LIKE THIS!!?"
[...Yes, I suppose I should start there.]
First things first—grasp the situation.
I shoved aside the lewd thoughts from eyeing her ass and focused on finding a way to help her.
[The Hero, I Lumine, and the Sage. We formed a party to oppose evil...]
"Ahem."
Lumine began unfolding her tale.
It was long, but the summary was simple.
The Hero, the Saintess, the Sage.
They formed a demon-subjugation party and racked up impressive feats.
They hadn’t killed her, but they’d even lopped off Citri’s head once.
[High demon, Plunderer Shax. We succeeded in subjugating him... but our luck ended there. In his death throes, he unleashed a curse that struck the Hero and me.]
Their final achievement: subjugating one high demon.
In exchange,
[The Hero went missing, and I’ve been suffering this curse that strips my senses day by day.]
Party annihilation.
The Empire’s greatest sword, the Hero, vanished.
The Saintess became an invalid who couldn’t walk alone in an instant.
[Thanks to the Sage surviving, she informed me that as long as I stay here where I’ve spent so much time, it’ll be okay...]
The only survivor was the Sage,
But she was a non-combatant from the start.
She only taught how to slow the curse’s progress—no more.
The tale of unsung heroes.
[The public probably thinks the Hero subjugated them alone and went missing. If they knew I ended up like this...]
"Everyone would panic!!"
[Yes. That’s what I thought too—until you appeared, Yi Hyun.]
Now the topic shifted to me.
She turned her head.
Since my mouth was pressed to her face, our lips brushed slightly.
-Mwah.
[Yi Hyun. Hero who slew the high demon Citri alone—the evil we couldn’t subjugate. The one who neutralized the curses of Her Highness and that Clara woman. One blessed by the Goddess.]
"...Uh, um."
‘She doesn’t notice the kiss?’
Lips touched, and I accidentally kissed her.
She didn’t notice that either.
Her sense of touch must be completely gone.
Feeling sorry, I pulled away quickly.
"DID YOU CALL ME TO TREAT YOUR CURSE!!"
[Yes. I can’t escape this curse with my power alone, so I desperately seek the new hero’s aid.]
"WHY DIDN’T HER HIGHNESS SHOW ME SOMEONE LIKE YOU SOONER!!"
[She probably didn’t think it necessary yet. The curse’s spread has halted for now, and keeping me like this is convenient for the imperial family.]
She continued her telepathy undeterred.
Her staying confined to the capital was beneficial for the imperial family.
All her senses were fading, but her Blessing to sense evil remained intact.
Plus, in this temple, she could draw extra holy power from the priests.
[Though recently, the Mage Tower put up their own barrier, causing trouble...]
"During Citri?! WHAT HAPPENED!!?"
[Even I have a woman’s body, so during my monthly cycles, channeling holy power is difficult. Offensive holy spells are fine, but a protective barrier over the entire capital...]
"SORRY FOR ASKING SOMETHING STUPID!!!"
[It’s fine. As long as I’m here, the capital is safe. That’s probably why the imperial family kept you from meeting me easily.]
"I SEE!!!"
A belated realization dawned.
I’d ‘debugged’ it, but the original plan to subjugate Citri was to lure her to the capital.
Even Blanc and 1st Knight Order Captain Seraphina hadn’t understood it, but...
Looking back now, it must have been trusting the Saintess.
Her existence was such top-secret info, even I hadn’t known until now.
At least once, they could take down a high demon entering the capital unaware.
‘Damn Lilliana and Luna, keeping this from me too.’
It was heartbreaking.
Her, treated like a strategic nuke for capital defense despite losing all senses.
I wanted to help her if I could.
[So, Lord Yi Hyun. I know it’s an unreasonable request, but might you help with my curse as well?]
"I CAN’T PROMISE, BUT I’LL TRY!!"
[...I knew you’d say that. You’re as kind-hearted as the Hero.]
"I GET CALLED ‘KIND-HEARTED EVEN IF A BIT DENSE’ A LOT!!"
[Pfft. Saying that without even a Blessing like mine—people have good eyes.]
And Lumine
Nodded faintly.
[Lord Yi Hyun, savior of this world. I beseech you to save me from this hellish darkness. I have nothing to offer, but...]
"IT’S FINE!!! SAVE PEOPLE FIRST!!!"
[Hehe. It’s not much in return, but if the day comes when I regain my light... I shall be the lantern illuminating the world at your side, Lord Yi Hyun.]
"YES!!!"
As Saleos advanced terrifyingly toward the capital,
Saintess Lumine’s treatment began.
It would have been a textbook party member recruitment if it ended there,
[I’m not sure, but something stifling feels much lighter now. What did you do?]
"......"
‘I used Common Sense Alteration Milking Technique.’
Unfortunately, I was a modder far from textbook.