Alone with the Saintess (1)
The Holy Land of Marleryung. Beneath this city lay a dungeon that defied its peaceful appearance. Monsters were born without end, forming their own twisted ecosystem. One might wonder if having a dungeon right under a city wasn’t dangerous. But it was fine. True to its name as a holy land, Marleryung maintained an incredibly powerful barrier that sealed the dungeon completely. No monster could ever pass through it, and the Holy Church regularly dispatched priests to manage the seal. As a result, the dungeon had become nothing more than a workplace where adventurers earned their coin.
“Let’s make some money today too.”
“Yeah, let’s finish this quick. I’ve got an appointment with Edward tonight. Gotta go see my man. If I’m late, some other bitch might snatch him.”
“Fuck, you still can’t quit your pretty boy addiction?”
“He’s hot. As long as it feels good, who cares about the rest?”
“Fair enough.”
With crude jokes flying back and forth, the party of adventurers stepped into the dungeon. They were veterans who had spent a long time here. The moment they entered, a heavy wave of demonic energy pressed down on their bodies, but to them it felt as comfortable as their own living rooms. They knew every monster in this place like the back of their hands. For them, there was practically no danger to their lives.
“We made a decent haul today, huh? Weird how all the expensive ones are swarming around. Lucky us. Wanna push a little deeper? We should earn while the earning’s good.”
“Ugh, but I have to see Edward tonight…”
“Ha… Fine, I’ll give you an extra share. Let’s go.”
“Well, if that’s how it is.”
The adventurers ventured deeper. Having reached the dungeon’s core several times before, they moved with complete ease. Today felt like a good day—rare monsters were showing up in droves, which meant a big payday.
Or so it should have been.
“Worship the resurrection of the Demon King…!”
Today was different. Something they had never seen before appeared.
“What the hell is that? I’ve never seen a monster like that.”
The adventurers stumbled backward. Their instincts screamed at them. The creatures before them were on an entirely different level from the usual monsters.
Purple skin and horns rising from their foreheads—there was only one race in the world that looked like that.
“D-Demonkin?!”
It was the appearance of demonkin. Come to think of it, they had heard the rumors lately. The Demon King’s army was rampaging across the continent. Three horns visible. At least mid-rank demonkin. It was said they couldn’t be killed without sword energy, and these adventurers didn’t have that kind of power. Running was their only option.
“Where do you think you’re going, humans?”
Demonkin fed on negative human emotions. Even without trying, they could sense the adventurers’ desperate desire to flee. With a casual wave of his hand, the mid-rank demonkin shattered the entrance the adventurers had come through. It happened in an instant. The adventurers collapsed where they stood. No escape route. No strength to fight back. Only death remained.
‘Am I really going to die like this…? I fucking loved Edward, damn it.’
One adventurer thought of his lover in his final moments. The only regret was that he wouldn’t get to hold him one last time.
“Then farewell, humans. I’ll use you as sacrifices for the glorious monster legion.”
With a mocking laugh that signaled the end, the demonkin launched another attack. It looked like the adventurers would lose their lives right then and there.
But—
BOOM—!
Something suddenly stepped between the adventurers and the demonkin.
KWANG—!
It perfectly blocked the demonkin’s attack. Or rather, it bounced it back. The strike had landed, yet it only left a few scratches.
“A beastman…?”
The demonkin cried out in shock. What stood before him was a fox beastgirl with flowing red hair. A precious being that had nearly gone extinct in the recent war with humans.
Gulp.
The demonkin swallowed hard. Just meeting her eyes was enough to tell him. This small girl was far stronger than she appeared. He finally understood why the Demon King had ordered them to recruit the beastmen. They were natural-born predators.
If he fought this girl right now, he would undoubtedly lose.
Recalling the Demon King’s command, the demonkin spoke to the beastgirl.
“Beastgirl, don’t you hate humans? Come, join us! The Demon King has promised you prosperity, power, and revenge! Our Demon King’s army will give the beastmen our absolute support! Together, let’s slaughter every human in this world!”
At the demonkin’s shout, the adventurers wet themselves in terror. Everyone knew what beastmen were. They viewed humans as mortal enemies. As citizens of Marleryung, the adventurers understood the relationship between humans and beastmen better than anyone. It was common knowledge that the Holy Church and the Holy Land of Marleryung had been at the center of the beastmen’s near-extinction.
If the demonkin and beastmen joined hands, their own futures were as good as over. Instead of dying quickly at a demonkin’s hands, they would be torn apart piece by piece by the beastgirl in the most brutal way imaginable.
‘Fuck, dead is dead either way.’
The adventurers closed their eyes in resignation.
At that moment, the beastgirl opened her mouth.
“Every human?”
“That’s right.”
“Shut up….”
“W-What?”
The demonkin doubted his own ears. Had she really just told him to shut up? Thinking he must have misheard, he stepped closer to the beastgirl. The moment he asked her again—
BANG—!
“I said shut up! I’m in a really bad mood right now!”
One punch. The demonkin exploded and died on the spot. The very demonkin who had once been fated to lead Akasha into the Demon King’s army and make her a commander met his end with a single blow.
“Hic…!”
The adventurers gasped in horror. They didn’t even dare think about running. This predator had killed a mid-rank demonkin with one hit. How could they possibly turn their backs on her?
“You lot, get lost too.”
“Huh?”
“If you don’t want to die, then scram!”
“Yes ma’am!”
The adventurers somehow forced their trembling legs to move and fled. Watching them disappear, Akasha let out a long sigh.
‘So annoying.’
No matter how hard she tried, her hatred for humans refused to disappear. She had come to the dungeon to work out some stress, slaughtering every monster in sight and popping that annoying fly of a demonkin. Yet she still couldn’t forget the disgusting sight of that Soho woman sitting alone with Sieg and smiling at him.
“Grrrrr!!”
This wasn’t going to work. She felt like she might lose control of her emotions and do something drastic. Akasha knew she shouldn’t act this way. If she so much as laid a hand on Soho, Sieg would surely be disappointed. She knew that. She knew it very well.
Yet the jealousy toward Soho, the possessive desire for Sieg, and her original hatred for humans all surged up at once.
“Haa…”
After rampaging for a long while, Akasha let out a deep sigh and made up her mind. She would return to the lodging. It was almost time for Sieg to come back. The last thing she wanted was to make him worry.
“Akasha’s back!”
“Welcome home!”
The moment Sieg returned, Akasha wagged her tail and greeted him with pure joy, as if nothing had happened. Today was the day he finished his exam. Akasha asked how it went, hoping for good news.
“I think I did pretty well!”
“Ooh!!”
Akasha wagged her tail from side to side to show her happiness. The sight made Sieg smile naturally. A fox beastgirl wagging her tail like a puppy—this was quite the rare sight.
“Hmm?”
While talking with Akasha, Sieg suddenly widened his eyes. He had spotted some small wounds on her arms and legs. Had she scraped herself somewhere? He asked where she had gotten hurt.
“U-Um, well…”
Akasha turned her face away. She didn’t want to worry him, so she didn’t know what to say. Should she tell the truth? Or hide it? But wasn’t she supposed to be completely honest with her God? Hiding her true feelings from Sieg-nim felt wrong. Her chest tightened with guilt.
“Don’t worry, just tell me.”
Seeing her trembling eyes and anxious expression, Sieg gently stroked her head. She looked like a scared puppy whimpering, and it tugged at his heart.
Only then did Akasha open her mouth and explain everything step by step. How much she hated humans. How that feeling wouldn’t leave her head and she couldn’t control it. She confessed it all honestly.
“I see.”
Sieg simply continued stroking her head in silence. Thinking about the original Akasha, it was honestly a miracle she had stayed this well-behaved for so long. She had lost her country, her village, her family, and her mother to humans. How could she easily let go of that hatred? Rather than acting on those feelings, the fact that she had told him honestly made Sieg happy. Anyone who knew the original Akasha would be shocked to see her now.
“I don’t know what to do with these feelings. I hate humans so much. But I’m scared that if I act on it, Sieg-nim will hate me. So I’m really confused.”
She couldn’t move forward or backward. It was painful. When she spent time with Sieg, the hatred faded, but the moment he was gone even a little while, it came rushing back. And above all, that human woman named Soho was trying to steal even Sieg away from her. Controlling her heart felt nearly impossible.
“What should I do? Sieg-nim. Please help me.”
Akasha clung to him desperately. Wasn’t Sieg a god? Gods were beings who turned the impossible into possible. He would surely have the answer.
“…”
Sieg fell into deep thought. Truthfully, there wasn’t much he could do. If simply casting a spell that said “Stop hating humans!” actually worked, life would be so easy. The only power he possessed was healing magic. He was just an ordinary healer who could cure wounds and curses, nothing more.
But that was exactly why Sieg said:
“As you know, I’m a healer, Akasha. I’ll heal you with my magic.”
He activated his healing magic. Honestly, he didn’t expect it to actually ease her heart. He had never heard of healing magic providing mental peace. Still, there was the placebo effect, wasn’t there? People even sold sugar pills with no real effect just for that reason. He simply wanted to give her some comfort when she needed rest the most.
“Akasha, don’t worry. No matter what’s troubling you, I’ll heal it. And if those feelings come back, just think of me. Don’t think about anything else—just look only at me. Then you’ll feel at ease.”
“Yes… Shin-nim!”
The light of healing seeped into Akasha’s heart. It was truly a warm light. All her worries melted away like snow. Sieg’s magic had melted her heart.
‘As expected of my God.’
It had been resolved as if by magic. Akasha marveled inwardly. And once her heart felt lighter, she realized she had been overthinking things. If she was worried Sieg might leave her, then she simply had to seduce him so that he would only look at her. Besides, her mother had taught her a secret technique. One of the seven secret arts passed down through their clan for generations. Her mother had used it to charm her father, she said.
‘Alright!’
Akasha made up her mind to use every means possible to seduce Sieg.
Sniff sniff.
Buried in his embrace, she breathed in Sieg’s scent. As always, it was incredibly sweet.
The day after the exam ended, I headed to the Holy Church. It was the day the results would be announced.
“You’ve come to check your results, I see.”
When I approached the receptionist, she recognized me without even asking. I must have already become famous.
‘Well, yeah. After all that chaos.’
One cardinal had lost his position. There was no way the rumors wouldn’t spread.
“Then I’ll guide you.”
“Huh? You’re not just telling me the results right away?”
“There is one final step remaining—the interview.”
An interview? I was puzzled. I had thought that once you heard the test results, you simply received your healer license and that was it. What could this be about? Filled with questions, I followed her guidance.
The place I was led to was a large room. The door in particular was made of luxurious wood with ornate carvings, giving off an unusual atmosphere. As the door creaked open and I stepped inside, my eyes met those of a woman—
“Hello! Nice to see you again.”
Her hair swayed gently like soft cherry blossom petals in the wind.
“Welcome, Sieg-nim!”
It was the Saintess, Freya Badanis, smiling brightly at me.