Old Religions Were Surprisingly Open-Minded
Surprisingly, things wrapped up quickly between Kalshutain and Laila. Well, sex with her was all about raw pleasure anyway, nothing like the emotional exchanges I had. From what I overheard, she'd wrung him out three times and called it a night.
Things had finally quieted down, so I kicked the curtain aside with my foot and peeked over. Kalshutain lay sprawled on the bed with a deeply satisfied look on his face, while Laila shot me a sultry smile, her skin glistening with a fresh sheen.
"Eve... my heat's still burning strong. Care to join in?"
"No thanks."
"Aww, you're no fun."
The room reeked of night-blooming flowers mixed with sweat—a thick, lewd haze—so I cast Purify on them right away.
Kalshutain glanced at me sheepishly through slightly hollowed eyes. "This is embarrassing. Knowing you heard everything..."
"It's fine. I won't tell a soul about your tastes, Kalshutain."
"Ahaha..."
"Heh heh. Not bad for a virgin. This guy's got skills that make it hard to believe it's his first time, just like you, Eve—"
"Laila!"
I snapped at her for blabbing nonsense, but she just grinned without a hint of fear.
"What? Embarrassed? What's wrong with being good at it? It's a waste for a virgin like you. I can't wait to see how bouncy your hips get..."
"Ahem, uh..."
Kalshutain cleared his throat awkwardly and pressed his legs together. Laila and I both knew what that meant, and we reacted accordingly—I looked away, while she smirked and rubbed his crotch over his underwear.
"Oh my, looks like little Kalshutain's fired up again. What should we do, Eve?"
"If you're not done, I'll head out and come back later."
I had no intention of fooling around with him while Laila was there, so I turned on my heel. Kalshutain stammered as he tried to stop her.
"N-no, it's done now. Please stop."
"No, bro. You're hard again. What, bored of me already? Eyeing Eve? Fair enough—she's a knockout. Those perky tits straining against her priestess robes, that slim waist flaring into hips peeking through the side slits, those thighs framed by her stockings... pure art. Imagine her straddling you with those long legs, bouncing and moaning as she grinds—"
"Guh, s-stop!"
"Your mouth says no, but your body's honest. That soft cock's rock-hard now. Makes sense—I get wet just looking at her. No normal guy could resist. Look at you, blushing down to your neck. Even your shadow through the curtain's too sexy to let it go down, right?"
"N-no! I've never thought of Ivy that way... guh!"
"So what if you have? You know what's between those firm thighs? A bald little pussy, lips sealed tight. Tease it open, and out comes a pink hole and a cute clit... wanna know what it looks like?"
"Ugh, enough!"
"Holding back's bad for you. Whoa, didn't expect you'd blow already."
Even as she described it in graphic detail, I just felt embarrassed—no real heat stirring in me. Imagining her warm hand stroking up and down on an organ I no longer had... nothing. If anything, a hand on my breasts or slipping into my panties felt more...
But I couldn't get worked up now. Laila needed to finish her "meal," and I had to meet Daesik soon.
"Hah... hah... Ivy, please don't misunderstand. It's all Laila's doing... I swear I'm not fantasizing about you."
Still a virgin even in real life, apparently—Kalshutain fumbled through his excuses from behind the curtain, too flustered for dirty talk. A guy just hitting adulthood might be like that. It was kinda cute, in a purely platonic, "life goes on" way—no romantic sparks or anything.
"Heh heh. But why's it throbbing harder with me than with her, and why so much baby batter?"
"N-no!"
Cute? Scratch that.
I tuned out whatever Kalshutain said next and slipped out with Laila. He'd rest up, get dressed, and join the daily grind soon enough.
To avoid running into people, Laila blindfolded me again. It was stuffy, but I could make out shapes, so no bumping or tripping as I followed her to find Daesik. Neither of us knew exactly where he was, but with everyone around, asking directions would work.
Laila handled the questions since I couldn't see well, and as long as I reined in her sudden lewd jokes, it was smooth sailing.
"Eve. Feeling any better?"
Daesik had his own office as guildmaster, and he checked on me first thing.
His concern warmed my chest, and I smiled. "Thanks to you."
"Not really. I heard you were choking and clutching your throat just earlier. You need more rest, Eve."
"Is that so?"
I shot Laila a look asking why she'd bring that up, but my blindfold kept it from landing. Was she trying to embarrass me, or was it just her cultural bluntness spilling everything to Daesik? Without seeing her face, I couldn't tell.
"...I'll be fine after some rest. Anyway, I came to see you because... I was wondering if there's anything I can do."
I cut in before Laila could spout more nonsense—get to the point, and it'd steer the talk my way.
"Do you really need to work? Just say what the temple needs, and they'll provide it. As a saintess, anything short of luxury is yours."
He mentioned "saintess" knowing I'd hate it, but his tone wasn't mocking. More like, why not use your rightful perks?
"B-but I'm not really a saintess. I just used some skills. If the truth comes out, I'll owe them a fortune. And that's the best case—then I'd get stoned for deception. I can't take anything from the temple. Any priest could cast Resurrection on users if asked."
"Too late for that. After dealing with the Pope, the church publicly declared you the saintess. The corrupt Pope persecuted you, and outsiders exposed it. The royals and church leaders are pushing you as the saintess now—whether you're truly divine or not doesn't matter. Our interests align with theirs."
"Ah..."
Even my existence had been politicized. It stung like betrayal, but I swallowed it—Daesik must've done it for our return, or settling here.
"Still, I need my own money. Living off the temple handouts... it'd trap me."
"Hm. Yeah, begging for pocket change would suck. We can cover that much at least..."
The more he talked, the clearer it was: he didn't want me working. Understandable—a powerless liability who gets kidnapped easily and needs tying up to avoid self-harm isn't reliable.
...Objectively, I was dead weight in the guild. But after two years gaming together, I didn't think it'd sow discord. We've seen worse; this had to be a misunderstanding.
"Daesik, is there a reason I can't work? Why keep dodging?"
"No suitable jobs. Hanbyeol and Iris threatened never to untie you, blocking most production roles—gathering, sewing, alchemy, logging, mining, smithing. Anything appeal?"
"...I could use the tail's strength for some..."
I mumbled possibilities, but he shut it down.
"Does that tail obey you perfectly?"
I couldn't say yes, so I shut up. It read my mind, sure, but didn't always follow exactly.
"Thought so. Reliable quests for you: treat patients or recruit for dungeons/raids. But that's not feasible now. Known dungeons are owned by first discoverers—we need permits, but our rep's too low."
"We did slay that evil tree..."
"Not big enough for user benefits. Timeline doesn't match either—users joined post-tree. Guilds aren't merged; just cooperating to adapt."
Makes sense. Others had to build rep from scratch. I lucked into "saintess" status from early hardship; other possessors were just freed civilians. Unless like Daesik or the Pope with prior power/connections, self-made or bust. Sucks the Pope was exclusionary—his setup could've helped.
"I see... so nothing immediate?"
"Link with mercenary bands for quests, escort caravans to build rep. High nobles won't hire us yet."
"Not even that?"
"Your situation's the snag. Laila's bound to you, taking a slot; Hanbyeol and Iris insist on tagging along. Four spots filled in a 4-5 man party—need one tank. Unless we post first, hard to join quests."
"Fair."
"Temple won't let their saintess on sketchy jobs either, even as 'escort.'"
It deflated me. Bottom line: nothing to do.
I wanted to blame Laila, but I was the real baggage... Head down, I sulked, and Daesik pitied me.
"Hanbyeol's the only mage among users, swamped. Relax—she's well-paid, devoted to you. A raid-leading healer? Opportunities everywhere."
"But she's working hard; I can't just loaf."
"I get it—unemployed blues. Need recharge time, though. Been there, moping on unemployment. Think of it as vacation. No starvation worries."
True—not starving. But freeloading gnawed at me. What if they ditch me? I needed skills, prove my worth before too late...
As I hesitated, Daesik sighed and revealed his hidden card.
"If you insist... Iris suggested something. Hear me out—no judging."
"What is it?"
Hope sparked; I perked up.
"Ancient Egyptians had pharaohs masturbate publicly by the Nile for good harvests. Here, saintesses did the same before crowds. No need now—winter's coming—but to calm unrest..."
"Liar! No way!"
I collapsed, burying my face in my thighs. Couldn't look up.
But Laila patted my back, driving the nail in.
"It's real. Other faiths do it too. Love and fertility goddess? Priests deflower village lads."
"Uwaaaah!"
Don't wanna hear it. No way that's true.
Yet Daesik nodded seriously.
"Modern history shows old religions tied faith to sex. Fertility strengthened tribes. Kama Sutra, bedroom arts—all from that."
"Enough, I get it..."
Exhausted by his earnest, sourced bullshit. A joke, I'd laugh; this? No.
"Didn't wanna suggest it. Iris insisted... Yeah, it's off-putting."
"Yes! Absolutely not!"
"I'd talk you out of it. How about this? Join priestess and nun prayer meetings. Iris recommended—daily mornings."
Suddenly wholesome? Suspicious.
"Every morning...? No dawn wake-ups or lewd stuff, right?"
"Can I come? Won't holy magic smite me?"
"Not dawn, but early. Ask Iris if interested."
Worth checking. Beats public wanking. I sat through army indoctrination without dozing; endured bosses lecturing over meat at dinners. Prayer meetings? Doable. Just group prayer... If only Laila could join, easy cash.
Humans are sly—hate freeloading till work looms, then crave easy gigs. Natural.
Why'd Iris tell Daesik, not me? Slight suspicion, but options mattered.
I thanked him and headed home to wait for Iris.