Chapter 309: Bread and Dagger (7)
Chapter 309: Bread and Dagger (7)
The Saintess stood frozen, speechless.
Her motionless figure was reminiscent of a statue. Even after a long silence, she showed no signs of snapping out of it.
For a moment, I fell into the illusion that time itself had stopped.
That was how dramatic the Saintess’s reaction was.
Even the gentle breeze that had been drifting through the hallway seemed to vanish. The heavy, sinking atmosphere spoke volumes of her state of mind.
My bewildered gaze shifted to the side.
Senior Elsie, who was clinging to my arm, seemed equally taken aback. It was a provocation she had thrown out casually, but it seemed she hadn't expected the Saintess to react with such pure, unfiltered shock.
Of course, Senior Elsie wasn't the type to feel regret over such things.
On the contrary, a wicked smile spread across her face as she pulled my arm even closer.
A soft, elastic sensation pressed against my arm muscles.
Before I knew it, Senior Elsie was wearing a triumphant smirk.
"Oh? Did you really not hear me? I said Master and I decided to enter into a... somewhat serious relationship."
Well, it is a serious relationship, in a sense.
However, unable to gauge the Saintess’s true intentions, I couldn't bring myself to speak recklessly. First, I needed to understand why she was acting this way.
If only Reto were here.
If he were, I would have already been smacked on the back of the head. Then, I would have been mindlessly reciting whatever he told me to say.
But the person beside me right now was Senior Elsie.
She was a girl whose name would always come up if one were to list the Saintess’s arch-enemies.
There was no way she wanted my relationship with the Saintess to improve.
In the first place, she had already confessed her feelings to me, so it wasn't strange for her to be wary of the other women around me.
It was then that a crack appeared in the Saintess’s frozen time.
The woman’s eyelashes fluttered, and then a pained voice escaped her lips as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"…L-Lies."
"It’s not a lie, though?"
But her desperate denial was immediately shot down.
With a seductive glint in her eyes, Senior Elsie pressed her cheek even closer to my arm. When I showed no sign of pushing her away, she grew even more emboldened.
"If you're curious, why don't you ask Master yourself?"
After trembling for a while, the Saintess turned her gaze toward me.
In those pale pink eyes, a faint resentment was mingled with expectation.
It was a sharp look, but the subtle moisture glistening in them weighed on my heart.
By this point, no matter how dense I was, I couldn't fail to realize it.
If I answered carelessly now, it would lead to a massive misunderstanding.
After a moment of hesitation, I organized the words floating in my mind.
I had to answer as shortly and concisely as possible.
Steeling my resolve, I quickly opened my mouth.
"Saintess, it’s not exactly a lie, but there’s a bit of a misunderstanding—"
Of course, there was no way my well-meaning intentions would go smoothly.
I felt a firm squeeze as she hugged my arm tightly.
Senior Elsie naturally leaned her weight on my arm, rising slightly on her tiptoes.
Then, a sweet voice washed over my ear.
"Master… let’s do that."
Her gaze was deep.
Beyond the curtains of the night, a blue as alluring as moonlight was directed at me. A small moan escaped her, tempering her flushed complexion.
I couldn't react, for several reasons.
First, I couldn't fathom the implication of what Senior Elsie wanted to do.
'That'?
It would have been better if I couldn't even guess. I could have just brushed it off with a hollow laugh.
But this was Senior Elsie.
When she left things vague like that, there were far too many things it could refer to.
While I was too flustered to respond, Senior Elsie’s temptation continued.
"You know, that… that thing where it feels so good, like an electric tingle, when Master touches me. Last time, my legs even gave out and I collapsed..."
"Ah."
An exclamation escaped me as I finally realized what she meant.
It seemed Senior Elsie was talking about the 'chin scratch.' It was a new reward I had developed following the 'head pat,' and I was glad she liked it.
However, my joy didn't last long.
I felt a strange vibration traveling through the air.
Startled back to my senses, my eyes snapped forward again.
There stood the Saintess, her entire body trembling.
She looked faintly livid.
I could see her slender hands, clasped as if in prayer, were now white-knuckled with force.
I finally sensed that a disaster was imminent.
"…Saintess?"
Despite my cautious call, the Saintess remained silent for a long time.
She kept her head bowed, biting her lip several times, before finally glaring at me with tear-filled eyes.
A stuttering voice broke from her lips.
"I, I, I—!"
And just as I was about to try and calm her down.
"—I was first!!"
The Saintess let out a cute, high-pitched shriek and immediately stormed off.
The way she wiped her tears made it look as if she had just been dumped.
I could only watch her retreating back in a daze.
What exactly was she first at?
Naturally, that question remained unanswered.
Before I could think further, Senior Elsie burst into a fit of laughter.
Finally letting go of my arm, the girl hopped up and down in delight.
She pumped her fist with the smile of a victor.
"Kyahahahaha! Take that, you rude, big-breasted bitch! Serves you right! How dare you look down on me!"
As expected, it seemed this had all been Senior Elsie’s scheme.
I pressed a hand to my forehead and let out a deep sigh.
We weren't even dating yet, but her jealousy was the real deal.
A voice tinged with exasperation escaped my lips.
"Senior Elsie…"
I intended to scold her, but Senior Elsie shrewdly beat me to the punch.
Her small body dove back into my arms. Then, she gave me a playful, charming wink.
"…You’ll forgive me, right, Master?"
Since her confession a while back, Senior Elsie had changed a little.
In situations where she would have previously been restless or walking on eggshells around me, she now displayed a sly, composed attitude.
Perhaps she was finally starting to possess the composure of an older girl.
Thinking back, the way she used to tremble whenever I just picked up a hand axe was what was actually abnormal.
I suppose this, too, should be seen as growth.
Even if it meant I had one less way to fully control her.
Still, she would probably listen if I spoke sternly.
Feeling both proud and a bit disappointed by that fact, I decided to give Senior Elsie a punishment.
"Master, what are you… Wait, ah?! Hyuuuuh?!"
The punishment was none other than the 'chin scratch' that Senior Elsie had been longing for.
Before long, Senior Elsie had to press her thighs together.
Despite that, the scratching didn't stop, and it was only after a long while that Senior Elsie melted into a puddle and slumped down.
Her unfocused eyes, heated breath, and flushed face created a peculiar atmosphere.
As if she couldn't even control her tongue properly, Senior Elsie let out a dazed, nasal whine.
"I'm sowy… Hyuuuuh, I wuz wrong……."
Only then did I show a satisfied smile.
This should be enough for Senior Elsie to reflect on her actions.
The tears the Saintess showed at the end weighed on my mind, but I figured there would be an opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding as time passed.
With that thought, I left the temple.
I still had things to do.
Senior Delphine, the North, and the Princess.
I needed a chain to link these mysteries together.
There was still no word from Senior Delphine.
Even though classes had started, there was no sign of her return. Even Seria didn't seem to know the full story.
There was no way I would be able to find any proper clues on my own.
So, I decided to meet the people I needed to see before leaving for the North.
The first among them was, without a doubt, Emma.
As always, I had benefited greatly from Emma’s potions during my life-and-death struggle with the Corpse Giant. If it hadn't been for her potions, my life might have ended much sooner.
Conversely, one could say my treatment was delayed because of her potions.
But since that was due to my own overconsumption of them, it was hard to blame Emma.
Fortunately, the news that I was in critical condition had not been made public.
The bloody battle with the Corpse Giant was a heroic feat. Furthermore, I was the one who had been clashing with the Dark Cult since even before that.
Announcing the fall of a rising star was a burden in many ways.
Especially when the presence of the Dark Cult was becoming more vivid by the day.
Moreover, the authorities would have had to endure criticism for failing to support me in time.
The Empire and the Holy Kingdom reportedly examined my condition with the utmost discretion.
Thanks to that, there was no disaster of Emma coming to find me while wailing and crying. I was especially grateful for that.
Just imagine if the already soft-hearted Emma had heard the news.
It wouldn't have been strange if she had fainted on the spot.
My body shivered at the unlucky thought. I wanted to avoid Emma collapsing and being admitted to the concentrated healing room again at all costs.
The reason I brought a large amount of gold coins today also stemmed from this.
According to what I’d heard, it seemed Emma had spent every cent she had on material costs.
I had even heard rumors that she was picking mushrooms from the forest to eat or was flat-out starving.
Naturally, I couldn't just stand by and watch.
Today, I would make sure to tell Emma firmly not to touch her food budget.
With a firm resolve, I stood before Emma’s workshop.
However, when I knocked on the door, there was no answer.
It wasn't unprecedented.
On a previous visit to the workshop, Emma had a history of collapsing from overwork.
Recalling this, my heart immediately grew frantic.
It was for that reason that I kicked the workshop door open somewhat hastily.
"…Emma, are you okay?!"
With my shout, the workshop door swung open with a loud bang.
Immediately after, I came face-to-face with a pair of wide, emerald eyes.
Emma was huddled in a chair in the workshop, munching on something.
At a glance, they looked like dried mushrooms.
They must have been delicious, as there were even faint tears in Emma’s eyes as she chewed on them.
My mouth clamped shut in a mix of tragedy and embarrassment.
I wasn't the only one who was surprised.
Emma, who soon gulped down the mushroom she was chewing, gave an awkward smile.
"O-Oh, hello. Ian……."
And then, silence.
After a long moment of saying nothing, Emma stood up with a stiff posture.
It was then that a sob began to mix into the woman’s voice.
After glistening with tears for a while.
The choice made by the girl who had been caught in such a pathetic state was as follows:
"I, I… I’m going to go die!"
With those words, Emma burst into tears and bolted.
Though I desperately held her back, preventing her from carrying out that intent.
As always, a woman’s heart was truly delicate.
Especially Emma’s.