Chapter 19
Translator - Zofu
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The hotel's restaurant was lavish.
Si-woo had never been to a high-end restaurant like a steakhouse in the modern world, but he figured this place was at least as lavish as those. With royalty and nobility from various nations visiting every six months, it was only fitting.
Guided by a waiter, he sat down with Hildear Hammington, and the prospect of ordering put him in a rather pleasant mood.
'A banquet hall has its charms, but this is nice too.'
The only downside was that the restaurant was too crowded to see the chefs directly, and—
"That man... is he the rumored one..."
"He's decent-looking, but nothing compared to Lord Baek-hyung."
"Who cares about his face? What matters is down below. There are plenty of handsome men in the Empire."
"Those serving maids are quite something...."
"Rumor has it his virility is at least S-rank...."
—that half of all those guests were showing interest in him.
"......."
"Heheh. As expected of our Si-woo. You're quite popular."
Hildear Hammington was thrilled by the attention from virtually the entire continent.
She loved her homeland Palania Kingdom dearly, but often felt the sorrow of a small nation. Especially with a shortage of hero candidates, she always had to swallow her grief when that time came.
But this time was different. Everyone's attention was focused on Palania Kingdom's hero candidate. And Hildear Hammington had no doubt that Si-woo would return to Palania Kingdom.
"This is way too much pressure...."
Si-woo, on the other hand, was bewildered by the excessive attention beyond his expectations.
A strange sensation he'd never felt in his entire life. A smug, pleasant feeling was creeping up from a corner of his heart, which he suppressed diligently. If he got cocky over this much, he'd be in over his head later.
He needed to adopt a more dignified and proper attitude.
"Your expression has improved."
"Has it?"
Even that trivial compliment strangely lifted his spirits, when at that moment, a woman naturally took the seat next to them.
"Excuse me."
"......?"
Si-woo turned to see Hildear Hammington's eyes wide open.
'Must be someone she knows.'
More than just an acquaintance—it seemed they were fairly familiar.
"Greetings, Han Si-woo, hero candidate. I am Shariang, a knight of the Royal Guard of Hypemus Kingdom. It is an honor to meet you."
"What brings you here?"
He deliberately responded curtly to the female knight.
No particular reason. Hildear Hammington's gaze toward her didn't look too pleased. Apart from being from a rival kingdom, Hildear Hammington didn't seem fond of this knight. And her looks were mediocre at best, so there was no reason to be friendly.
"Oh, well...."
Shariang hadn't expected this reaction from Si-woo and faltered, stammering. Still, befitting a Royal Guard, she quickly composed herself and tried to speak, but he beat her to it.
"I'm sorry, but I'm about to dine with the woman I love and cherish. If it's not urgent, could we talk later?"
"...I apologize. I have been rude. ......If I have offended you, I offer my apologies."
Despite the clear dismissal, she maintained a courteous attitude, bowed, and left.
Si-woo glanced at the knight's departing figure before looking ahead again.
"Someone you know?"
"R-Rival."
"Rival?"
"Y-yes. Hypemus Kingdom borders Palania Kingdom, and we're both rookie knights in our respective Royal Guards, so we've met a few times at friendly matches and parties."
Rival. Friendly matches. Parties don't matter.
Si-woo picked up on the single cause behind their atmosphere.
"What's your record?"
"Huh?"
"Your record against her."
"As expected, you're sharp, Si-woo. It's tied at 2 wins and 2 losses so far."
"Really? But Hilde, you didn't look too happy. Ah. In the most recent match...."
"...Yes, I lost. But it feels strange. I should be filled with competitive spirit, but honestly, it feels like I won."
Hildear Hammington smiled bashfully.
She knew Si-woo had said that for her sake and driven Shariang away. If even Shariang, a stranger, had noticed, there was no way she hadn't. It had only been a few days, but Hildear Hammington didn't see it that way.
'If I didn't notice something like this, I couldn't call myself Si-woo's maid.'
She didn't know how many party members Si-woo would accept, but for now, she was the only one. Hildear Hammington rejoiced in that fact.
But that smile didn't last long.
"Excuse me."
A new voice appeared along with the food the waiter was serving.
Hildear Hammington frowned and turned her head, but froze at the sight of a pink feast filling her vision.
"S-Saintess...?"
"Heheh. Nice to see you, Sir Hildear Hammington~."
"......."
The Saintess of Blessing, Elaine, turned her gaze from the stiffened Hildear Hammington to Si-woo beside her.
He too was wearing a bewildered expression.
"It's only been a day, Si-woo!"
"Indeed. This is quite surprising."
"What is?"
"The way the Saintess is acting as if nothing happened."
Si-woo threw out some fairly provocative words, but Elaine just giggled. She rested both elbows on the armrest, propping her chin up, and stared at his face. She looked like just looking at him made her happy.
"Are you alright, Saintess?"
"I want to ask 'About what?'... but there's only one thing you'd be asking about here, Si-woo. And my answer to that is, of course, yes."
"You must hear 'unusual' a lot."
"Right? I guess I'm particularly intense. The church has more or less given up on me."
At the Saintess speaking so nonchalantly, Si-woo let out a wry laugh.
It seemed about right that they'd given up on her. Come to think of it, it made no sense for a Saintess to be waiting alone in front of a hotel, even if she was scheduled to enter the training center. Even now, there were no guards in sight.
'Though there seem to be observers.'
"Why are you so fixated on me, Saintess? You said some pretty harsh things, didn't you?"
Elaine gave an evasive answer to Si-woo's question.
"Do you know how magnificent and lustful our Goddess, the Supreme Deity, is?"
"Uh... well, I think I have some idea."
The myths from Queen Sharperia and the doctrine Elaine had told him gave him a glimpse of what the Goddess was like. The fact that they could call the Supreme Deity 'lustful' made him think this was quite an impressive religion.
The deity from the first round had the same name but a completely different personality. It was truly fascinating. That Goddess had placed such great importance on chastity and purity.
'So that's why this world itself is so different.'
"They say the Supreme Deity became a completely different person at a certain point. She was magnificent before, but now with lust added, she's even more perfect."
"......."
Something about that 'certain point' bothered Si-woo for some reason. But before he could ask or think deeply about it, the Saintess continued with what she wanted to say.
"They say the four Saintesses first chosen by such a Goddess each possess a special disposition."
"Uh, wait. Don't tell me...."
"That's right. They say the first three Saintesses had very strong submissive personalities."
"So what you're trying to say is...."
"Yes, that's right. Si-woo. Please be my master♥"
The Saintess Elaine smiled cutely yet seductively.
That calm and bold declaration left not only Si-woo but even Hildear Hammington in shock.
No matter how much this world favored men, women didn't just lower themselves unconditionally. Especially high-status women. That much was evident from how many virgins there were among the higher ranks.
"There's nothing special about it. I'm the same. If there's no man who suits me, I'd rather not accept any man at all. As for heirs, I figure I can just arrange a political marriage and use pregnancy magic to get it over with."
"Indeed...."
Si-woo slowly nodded.
He'd heard that part from Queen Sharperia and Hildear Hammington too.
They said it wasn't for no reason that emperors or kings of powerful nations took one consort but multiple queens. They'd turned their eyes to more attractive and powerful same-sex partners rather than mediocre men. Because it was more enjoyable being with other women than the meager pleasure a tiny few-centimeter appendage could provide.
"I have high standards too. Perhaps higher than most. I truly desire a male who can perfectly dominate this female that I am...♡"
In the end, Si-woo's thoughts were correct.
She was the latter—a maiden armed with innate lust and inherited submissive desires, not a pure virgin disguised as a lewd woman.
"By the way, I'm an innocent virgin who's never been alone with a man, not even a priest."
The fact that such a lust-filled Saintess had firmly rejected other men was fascinating, but also pleasing.
The fact that a woman—though not married—had been 'tainted' by another man in any way leads to unpleasant imaginings for a man.
In that regard, Elaine was just as much of a passing score for Si-woo as Hildear Hammington.
"'Si-woo. Then the Saintess as a party member too...?'"
Hildear Hammington's eyes showed slight unease.
As much as she knew how amazing Si-woo was, she thought the members and women gathering around him would be remarkable too, but the Saintess of the Supreme Deity's church from the start? That was too big a name.
The thought that her own place might disappear later made her eyes uneasy. Si-woo understood Hildear Hammington's feelings, but he had no intention of rejecting Elaine.
With a faint smile, Si-woo signaled his acceptance to Hildear Hammington. Then, so other guests couldn't hear, he brought his mouth to Elaine's ear.
"'Who am I?'"
"...You are my master♥"
"That's right. That's my answer."
"Hah, thank you. Master...♥"
The hero candidate who had captured a new woman just a day after arriving at the training center smiled in satisfaction.
The Saintess seemed easy and thus worrisome, but her divine power was as potent as her deep pink hair. She was the best choice for a party support.
"'Training her will be tough, but I'll manage somehow.'"
Si-woo stepped back slightly and looked at Elaine's face.
He could see a faint heat rising to her cheeks beneath her pink pupils.
"'Since you're not my party member yet, I'll keep calling you Saintess.'"
"Ugh, that's a shame, but I suppos— mmph?!"
"Smooch, slurp...."
"Mmm... slurp, yes, hah... ah, slurp...♥"
"Phew. Still, I should mark what's mine."
"...Hah, yes...♥ The bitch Saintess Elaine has been marked by her master's saliva...♥"
The Saintess was suddenly kissed, saliva even smeared around her mouth. Her pupils turned into hearts. She couldn't even think to wipe the saliva away, staring at Si-woo in ecstasy.
It takes time to even form a temporary party. He didn't know what would happen here yet, nor did he know the criteria for assembling temporary party members. So Si-woo thought it necessary to at least make his intentions known in advance.
The surprise kiss with the Saintess was indeed effective.
The eyes and expressions of those looking at him had completely changed.
From a subject of interest with possibly exaggerated rumors, to a top-priority candidate that must be recruited by the nation.
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