Chapter 171
Chapter 171
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 171
Chapter Title: Behemoth - 5
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The shadowy figure turned out to be Selene.
She was walking down the corridor with the exact same dazed expression as Stella's when our eyes met. Her body shivered faintly, and she asked in a slightly moist voice,
"......Honored guest, was that miracle you performed?"
"What miracle?"
"The pillar of light that appeared from the sky... I am asking if that was a miracle you wrought."
'As expected.'
Selene had seen it too, I realized.
And if Selene had seen it, then all the other battle nuns in the city must have as well. It was something I'd already anticipated, but hearing confirmation made the feeling strangely surreal.
"Yes."
Her eyes widened in circles as I readily admitted it. Selene froze like that for a long while before stammering,
"I-I'm sorry...... I'm so sorry, honored guest. I was just so shocked......"
"It's fine. I understand completely. The Heresy Inquisitor had the same reaction."
"The Heresy Inquisitor too......"
Selene murmured blankly.
"But how did you get here? Did the Heresy Interrogator come because of Behemoth too?"
Honestly, I hadn't expected to run into Selene here as well. Stella made sense since I'd seen her in the game, but Selene was different. It seemed like fallout from capturing the forsaken creation of the gods.
"......Yes. I came under His Holiness the Pope's orders to capture that impious demon."
Even in her dazed state, Selene answered straightforwardly. She was far more composed than Stella, who had been too stunned to even respond properly to my questions.
"Then this works out perfectly. That thing's corpse should be in the room at the top of this mansion. I left the cleanup to the Heresy Inquisitor, but if the Heresy Interrogator is with her, it'll go much faster. I still have things to do, so I'll head out first."
Just as I finished speaking and moved to pass by her side, Selene, who had been fidgeting with her lips nonstop, glanced back at me.
"......Honored guest."
"Yes?"
I stopped in my tracks. She looked like she had something to say.
"......I know it's presumptuous, but may I...... impose on you for a moment?"
Her eyes grew slightly moist. For a second, I wondered if she was about to burst into tears, but upon closer inspection, it didn't seem like it.
When I didn't respond, she took it as assent and approached with both hands clasped in front of her chest, her face flushed bright red.
She said it was presumptuous with her mouth, but she showed no intention of stopping.
Her increasingly watery eyes staring up at me felt quite burdensome, so I instinctively dropped my gaze downward. Through the translucent tights, I caught sight of pink protrusions stiffly erect at the tips of her breasts.
I hurriedly lifted my eyes back up. Better to meet her gaze than stare at her nipples.
A heated sigh, haa, haa, slipped from between Selene's cherry lips. Her breath, thick with a woman's scent, brushed against my lips. It was damp and warm.
She came right up to me and placed a hand on her left breast, closing her eyes.
"What are you doing?"
"......I'm sorry, honored guest."
Selene merely apologized again in response to my question and stood still. I had no idea what she was trying to do.
After keeping her hand near my heart with her eyes closed for quite some time, Selene finally opened them slowly. The moisture in her eyes had returned to normal.
"It's done. Truly, truly, I'm so sorry, honored guest."
"No need to apologize. But I'd appreciate it if you told me why you did that."
"......I'm sorry. When I heard you created the pillar of light, I wanted to know just how devout you are...... I know measuring someone's faith is deeply rude, but I did it anyway. If you wish to punish me, I will accept it gladly."
Selene bowed her head deeply and apologized once more. She seemed genuinely remorseful, at a complete loss.
But I, the person in question, felt nothing at all. I didn't know what Selene thought, but I didn't believe in gods anyway. To me, piety was just a stat that went up when you allocated points.
'It probably wouldn't even register much anyway.'
Even if she had measured my piety, it probably wouldn't reach the Holy Kingdom's average. My faith stat was a measly 4, and my divine power was only 10.
'Though if they find out I pulled off a miracle like that with such pitiful faith, they might think it's even more impressive.'
Either way, it was nonsense.
"Understood for now. In exchange, may I ask the Heresy Interrogator one question?"
I decided not to ask what the measurement showed.
Whatever the result, it would be interpreted in a way favorable to me, and with Selene feeling this guilty, I wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible.
"......Yes, honored guest. What do you wish to know?"
"Have you seen a knight named Helga? She's much shorter than me, with a bob cut down to her shoulders—"
"Ah, if you mean the knights under your command, then yes, I've seen them. It wasn't me who found them, but the battle nuns gathered people wearing the knights' uniforms in one place while discerning heretics. Among those knights was a female knight who claimed to be the vice-captain of the Ebony Holy Night Knights."
Relief washed over me inwardly at the thought that they'd already found Helga, but hearing they'd discerned heretics made me tense up slightly as I asked back.
"But discerning heretics means......?"
Reading my concern from my expression, Selene shook her head.
"Not a single soul among the knights who identified themselves as members of the Ebony Holy Night Knights was judged a heretic. And even expanding to the whole city, there were few who lost their souls because you swiftly slew the demon, so you can rest assured."
"......That's a relief."
I let out a quiet sigh of relief. If even one member of the Ebony Holy Night Knights had been swept up by the demon and 'saved' by the battle nuns, it would have left a bitter taste.
I decided not to worry about how they discerned heretics. It was between women, after all. It had to be less embarrassing than if I'd been subjected to it.
"Do you happen to know where those knights are gathered?"
"Of course. It would be an honor if you followed me there, honored guest."
Selene turned and began walking down the opposite corridor. Due to her outfit, the shape of her buttocks wrapped in translucent tights was fully visible. Her long ponytail swayed back and forth along her butt crack.
The unique gait and clothing of women who emphasized their hips combined into something incredibly erotic. I fixed my gaze firmly on the back of Selene's head and followed.
It had been a while since I'd seen Selene, but her outfit was the same as ever.
Three days had already passed since Stella and Selene arrived in this city.
Not only the Heresy Inquisitor and Heresy Interrogator along with their battle nuns, but the Ebony Holy Night Knights were still remaining in Cassandra's city.
Originally, I had planned to leave immediately. Stella and Selene could handle the aftermath, and above all, Nix was still waiting for me in the forest.
However, I changed my mind after hearing their earnest plea that they lacked manpower to maintain order in the city with just the battle nuns I'd brought.
'Though their true intentions differ slightly on both sides.'
The Holy Kingdom's reason for wanting me to stay was obvious. They must have been hugely shocked by the pillar of light I created, so they wanted to keep me close.
I needed the popes' help to figure out what was going on anyway, so I planned to head back to Aurora's territory and then straight to the Holy Kingdom.
With Stella and Selene here, I could send Nix back with the Ebony Holy Night Knights and head directly to the Holy Kingdom, aligning our interests perfectly.
'Though it feels like they're massively misunderstanding something......'
But there was a side effect—or rather, not quite a side effect—of the Holy Kingdom's people treating me with excessive reverence.
Especially the battle nuns' gazes toward me were even more intense than Stella's and Selene's.
Before, it had been something like, 'We must serve His Holiness the Pope's esteemed guest well.'
Now, it was, 'This is someone who performed something akin to a miracle, so we must serve them desperately, even offering our souls and lives.'
Because of that absurd mindset, even though I was the one being served, I felt like I was dying.
They made such a fuss about doing everything for me that I couldn't even drink a glass of water properly.
And to top it off, the regular members were treating me normally, which made it even more ridiculous.
'......I wonder how Helga's doing. I haven't seen her since then. Surely she's not in the same boat.'
To cut to the chase, Helga remembered everything she had done perfectly.
From kneading her own breasts while under enchantment and seducing me, to burying her face in my shoulder and sniffing me, to desperately begging me to sleep with her—all of it.
Perhaps the shame was too much, because after our initial awkward exchange of a few words, I hadn't seen her face once. Even reports came through regular members instead.
I could understand why completely. If it were me, I'd be mortified to the point of death.
I could have her dragged before me if I ordered it, but I decided against it. No harm in waiting until her embarrassment subsided.
Instead, I told the regular members everything.
The Ebony Holy Night Knights had a clear hierarchy, even if I disliked stiff atmospheres and kept things loose. They'd never accept such behavior without a proper reason.
As expected, the regular members grinned and said they could understand completely once they heard why Helga was acting that way.
I told them not to tell others, but whether they'd keep it from the rest of their comrades was up to them. From then on, it was Helga's problem to handle alone.
Serves her right for avoiding my face out of embarrassment.
'Anyway, I just need to recover before people from the palace arrive. No idea who's coming this time. Surely not Kaikilia in person again.'
While sending a letter to Aurora saying an incident had occurred and I might need to stay longer, I also sent one to the palace.
Stating that I had subjugated a demon named Behemoth. It was completely unplanned, but somehow I'd ended up fulfilling my promise to Kaikilia to grant her wish.
"Heehee...... All ready."
Nix, who had been whittling the wood with magic, approached my side with a proud expression. In the spot where Nix had been sitting moments ago lay a crudely carved wooden figurine of a person.
"Got it. Just in case, stay back a bit?"
"Hehe. Okay."
Nix's breasts jiggled as she trotted backward. She hid behind a tree, peeking out with just her face and chest.
It didn't seem intentional with her chest, but they were so large they poked out anyway.
The Wingless Nightmare emitted a brilliant light. I raised the blade, gleaming in gold and silver, high toward the sky.
Now, I was about to test the special ability of the Wingless Nightmare's holy attribute.
I had to determine if it was a temporary phenomenon or a persistent one.
This had happened twice already now. First during the forsaken creation boss fight, and second during the Behemoth boss fight.
The content was nearly identical. When I attacked using divine power, the damage amplified to an insane level.
'Definitely worth testing.'
If this wasn't a one-time effect but permanent, I could just switch to a priest build.
I knew of a place that allowed one stat reset per playthrough, so switching builds now wouldn't be an issue.
I took a deep breath and swung the Wingless Nightmare downward, activating the special ability.
