Chapter 21: Holy Site Pilgrimage
“Aigoo, my back…”
“Mine too…”
It was morning.
As we stepped out of the inn, both of us groaned in pain. Looks like we'd gone way too hard on each other last night—Irene and I were both rubbing our sore backs.
“I told you to take it slow back then…”
“It's your fault, Maurice. You got me so worked up. When you react like that, I can't help but get excited and ride you hard.”
I recalled last night.
[Maurice, Maurice! Why are you so cute today? You jumped me to satisfy my lust, right? Then why act like this? You're making me lose control!]
Yesterday, Irene had gone wild. Things were going fine until she suddenly climbed on top of me, grabbed my legs with those manic eyes, and fucked me like she was raping me.
Irene definitely wanted sex yesterday. No doubt about it—otherwise, she wouldn't have lost control like that.
“Honestly, it was kinda scary…”
Scary? Or maybe startling?
She'd switched so suddenly, I got sucked right in, freaked out. I think she rode me for about two hours straight in that position.
“Was I that horny?”
That awkward position wrecked my back, and Irene's constant hip movements did the same to hers. That's how we ended up like this.
“Horny… yeah. Anyway, you seemed totally crazy for a bit there.”
“All your fault, Maurice! You were so cute. Your reactions!”
“What was so cute that you…”
“That dopey grin when you're feeling good!”
Was that really that adorable? I wouldn't know. Irene just giggled, hooked her arm through mine, and we walked out of the inn together.
“Fine… whatever. Anyway, should we actually head to the cathedral today?”
“Yeah, let's go~ It's been ages since I prayed properly.”
“Gonna pray to feel happy again today too?”
“You heard that?!”
Irene's head snapped up in shock. As if I couldn't hear her moaning it out loud...
“You said it all out loud...”
“Ugh... busted...”
She rubbed her face against my arm like she was embarrassed. She was so cute, I just let her. Then I patted her head. Felt like the right thing to do.
“Huh? Why?”
“Huh? What?”
“Why pat my head?”
“Just... you looked cute all of a sudden?”
“...”
Her face flushed bright red, and she buried it back in my arm. She didn't properly lift her head again until we reached the cathedral.
Why is she like this?
Her reactions were so good, I kept petting her head as we walked.
“This must be the biggest cathedral around here...”
“The innkeeper said it's built where a saint once lived.”
“Even this place is based on a saint's legacy...”
Surprisingly, there were a lot like that nationwide.
Gravesites, places of teaching, homes—whatever saintly traces they had, they'd demolished the originals to build grand cathedrals. Made the whole thing feel a bit off.
“What did this saint do?”
“They played a huge role healing people's diseases here. Plague was ravaging everyone, but when the saint laid hands on them with prayer, it all vanished.”
Irene rattled off the saint's tales effortlessly. Did the innkeeper tell her that much?
“Innkeeper gave you a lot of info, huh.”
“Huh? No. I learned it in saintess classes. He just mentioned the name, and it clicked who it was. So I'm telling you.”
Oh. Part of saintess training, then. So all the saint stories she'd shared before were from her lessons?
It really hit me again—she'd been a Saintess.
...But a total succubus who loved sex, seduction, and getting wild like that? A Saintess?
“Huh? Why the stare?”
“...Can't wrap my head around you being a Saintess.”
“Whaaat? What do you mean?”
“A Saintess obsessed with fucking? How contradictory and hot is that?”
“...”
Irene glared up at me. It was cute, so I chuckled and gave her head a quick pat.
“Let's head in already, Sextess.”
“Hey, that's Saintess with a different 'sex'!”
“Oops, caught me.”
“Ugh, don't mock your ex-Saintess! Want a taste of my divine power?”
She playfully smacked my back with both hands.
“Aigoo, sorry~”
We laughed our way into the cathedral.
“Outside looked small... but the inside is impressive.”
The church had everything despite its size, with clever space use that made it feel bigger.
Miraculous? Or just the saint's blessing?
We slowly walked to the worship hall right by the entrance.
“Ah, pilgrims?”
A priest noticed us, bowed in greeting, so we bowed back.
“Yes. Here to pray briefly.”
“Hoping the saints bless us.”
Irene squeezed her arm around mine tighter, like she was showing off our relationship. The priest smiled and nodded.
“Newlyweds, eh. Got it. I'll pray and bless you.”
Newlyweds... who knew the misunderstanding was this convenient? At the inn, everywhere—folks treated us better, gave perks. Young couples probably seemed like they needed the help.
Might wanna buy rings just in case.
“We pray to the gods, beseech the saints: forgive our sins, bless us from heaven. May these companions ahead share lifelong joy and happiness.”
The priest prayed briefly, sprinkled holy water on us. A small bowl appeared before us.
I got the hint, pulled a silver coin from my wallet, and dropped it in.
“Thank you for your donation. May fortune follow your path.”
Customary. Priests had to bless, but couldn't live on duty alone. Donations covered it—basic courtesy.
“Need anything else?”
The priest smiled. Asking if newlyweds wanted confession, scripture, whatever.
“No, this is plenty. Thanks for the blessing.”
“Thank you.”
We thanked him and turned to leave.
“Priest! Priest!”
Then a kid burst in, crying, and ran to the priest.
“What's wrong?”
“Th-there... monsters came out of the forest...!”
“Monsters?!”
Monsters.
The pests I'd hunted endlessly as a Holy Knight. I stood quietly to hear more. Irene listened seriously too.
“They're attacking my friends and the grown-ups! What do we do, Priest?”
“Q-quick, call the warriors...”
This called for a Holy Knight.
I stepped forward.
“We'll handle it.”
“Huh?!”
The priest blinked in surprise. But when he saw golden divine power sparking from my hand and Irene's blue sparks, his eyes widened.
“A Holy Knight...? And that blue light... a Saintess?!”
His jaw dropped.
Wouldn't have guessed the folks he'd just blessed were a Holy Knight and Saintess.
“Ex-Saintess.”
“Kid, lead us there? We'll help.”
“Really...?”
“Yeah, we're strong.”
Not many monsters could handle a high-ranking Holy Knight and Saintess duo.
“O-okay! Follow me!”
“Too easy.”
“Yeah. Didn't expect one sword swing to make 'em pop like that.”
The monsters we found following the kid were pushovers. Lowest-grade at best—trainee Holy Knights' practice fodder.
We rescued everyone they'd grabbed and wiped out the monsters.
“Still, their numbers made it annoying.”
About ten of 'em—ten swings.
“Our thanks. Please accept this!”
The priest who'd come along held out a money pouch.
Not a fortune, but solid travel funds. We took it without hesitation.
“Just doing what we do on the road.”
“A Holy Knight and Saintess's duty.”
Save the persecuted and pitiful.
Core virtue.
“Truly grateful... you minimized the damage! Such luck having a Holy Knight and Saintess at the cathedral—surely the gods' blessing!”
The priest prayed. We joined in.
After prayer, while cleaning up monster corpses, he spoke up.
“Traveling, then? Pilgrimage to the sanctuary?”
“Yeah... something like that.”
No way I'd mention exile. Irene nodded, letting it slide.
“I see...! Safe and happy pilgrimage, then. Oh, but...”
He glanced at Irene. She tilted her head.
“Aren't Saintesses required to be virgins?”
“Ex-Saintess. Lost the title when I married.”
Irene explained. He nodded, satisfied, and dropped it.
“Understood. Blessings on your path! We pray again!”
He and the kid headed back to the church. Just us in the forest.
Corpse cleanup done—dump enough divine power to melt 'em.
Sun was setting.
“Back to the inn?”
“Yeah.”
We returned to the darkening city.
Sun fully down, night streets.
Heading to the inn.
“Yawwn... kinda craving booze.”
Irene said.
“Booze out of nowhere?”
What's up with her?
We'd drunk before when stressed, sure.
“Eh, just. Haven't had any in forever, so...”
“Any bars open...?”
Nighttime—probably some.
I scanned around, spotted a lit cafe. Curious, I checked the sign.
[Bunny Girl Cafe]
“Bunny Girl Cafe…?”
A name that screamed 'enter me.'