After the Storm Passes (1)
Soft morning sunlight brushed across Ariel's cheek.
"Mmm..."
Her consciousness, submerged deep in murky waters, slowly rose toward the surface. Her eyelids fluttered open. Long, damp lashes trembled faintly. Beneath them, her violet eyes—still heavy with sleep—struggled to find their focus.
"Ugh... my butt hurts..."
The intense anal sex had not been a dream. The foreign sensation of a cock still buried in her rear hole remained vivid. Her anus, roughly pounded, throbbed with a dull, stinging ache. Even that unpleasant burn felt good enough to make her hips twitch.
Her belly felt heavy. Thick, sticky semen sloshed in her lower abdomen. When she'd taken his second load, it had forced her into a full semen enema. Right in front of Lowen she had squeezed it all out in long, wet streams. Because she had cleaned herself thoroughly inside with divine power, only semen had come out with those gurgling sounds.
"Haaah... I was crazy... so crazy..."
Looking back, spewing semen from her gaping rear hole right in front of Lowen was truly mortifying. But at the time Ariel had been so lost in the moment that she would have put on any shameful display. If Lowen had ordered it, she would have barked like a dog and done an ass dance—she had been that far gone.
As she savored the afterglow of the anal sex, a warm breath drifted down over the bridge of her nose.
"Ah..."
She was nestled in Lowen's arms. Both of them naked, skin pressed tightly together. Lowen lightly cupped her buttocks while she clung to his waist. Listening to his breathing, she looked up at him.
"Mm..."
Seeing Lowen's sleeping face made her heart pound. I gave this man my first time.
"Eheh, eheheh."
Ariel wriggled and grinned bashfully. The sense of achievement from exploring an unknown world filled her. In those erotic novels, when a saintess got her anus pounded and moaned coquettishly, she had always thought, Even for a novel, this is too much. But after experiencing the anal pounding herself, she understood. Even if it was fiction, it wasn't all lies.
Well... she had already realized that when her ass got spanked. The realization that pain could feel like pleasure. Anal sex was simply an extension of that. The pain of her tightly clenched anus being forcibly stretched had terrified her at first, but as she was thrust into with wet squelching sounds, the fear gradually floated away and became pleasure. Even as she thought, What if my anus gets ruined?, the thought Pound me more! Ruin me! had coexisted.
That was what it meant to feel pleasure through pain—a state where cold reason and hot emotion mixed together.
Ariel buried her face in Lowen's chest.
"Sniff... haaah..."
The thick scent of a man soaked her sense of smell. The sour tang of sweat mixed with the fishy smell of semen, plus Lowen's warm skin scent, all combined to leave her mind hazy and soft. Smelling him made her lower belly heat up. She wanted to do it again. Even though her rear hole still stung and semen sloshed inside, she wanted to suck on Lowen's cock with her asshole.
With her face buried in his arms, Ariel whispered to herself.
"When we go back to the cathedral in Baram-sae Forest... do it again..."
The first time is always the hardest. Experiencing it once doesn't make the next time easy, but at least it creates the possibility of doing it again.
"Bishop Lowen enjoyed it too, so..."
If she begged for more ass sex, he would definitely do it. Her happiness circuit spun, imagining enjoying anal sex for the remaining nine months.
Is it okay for a Saintess to enjoy anal sex?
As long as I keep my front virginity intact!
Answering her own question, Ariel created a reason why it was fine to enjoy anal sex.
Staring up at Lowen, she wet her plump lips with saliva and kissed him.
"Chup."
It was a cute kiss, like a chick pecking at feed.
"Hehe. Chup."
Embarrassed yet still, Ariel kept pressing her lips to his. As she playfully smacked her lips against him, Lowen's eyes slowly opened.
"...Saintess?"
"Bishop Lowen, good morning."
Still holding him, Ariel nuzzled her face against his chest coquettishly.
"Yes... good morning."
Lowen smiled faintly, his sleepy eyes curving. Having come three times in Ariel's springy rear hole without even taking a break, his body felt languid. A cigarette would make for a refreshing morning.
"I was too rough yesterday."
Even though it was already done, Lowen apologized rationally.
"No. Actually, the rough... roughness felt good."
It had felt so good her vessel of pleasure overflowed. She had blacked out while drooling pussy juices.
"Bishop Lowen, did my rear hole taste good?"
Ariel casually spat out vulgar words. After getting her ass pounded and even barking like a dog, this was nothing. Lowen was momentarily flustered but smiled and played along.
"It was delicious."
"Eheheh."
What kind of conversation was this? Change just one noun and it would be a girlfriend shyly receiving compliments on her cooking. As they exchanged crude talk in a sweet atmosphere—
—Knock knock! Knock knock!
The sound of knocking on the door tensed them both.
"L-Lowen Bishop...!"
Ariel went pale. The magic surrounding the room had long since dissipated.
—Knock knock! Knock knock knock!
Still patting Ariel's butt, Lowen rose and pulled on his pants.
"Saintess, I'll leave through the window. Please handle the rest."
"This is the fourth floor!"
"I'll go to the next room."
Lowen gathered the clothes scattered on the floor and climbed out the window.
"Uwaah... uwaaaah...!"
Ariel frantically wrapped the blanket around herself.
"I-I'm coming out...!"
Semen still clung in globs around her ass, but there was no time to wipe it. To keep the semen filling her belly from leaking out, she clenched her asshole tight and stood up.
A female priest in red clerical robes stood at the door.
"Saintessss!!"
The priestess, who had looked serious, immediately teared up with emotion upon seeing Ariel.
"Cardinal Cleo?"
Cardinal of Evdomos Great Cathedral, Cleo Gritia. Ariel's cardinal.
"I came running the moment I heard!"
As soon as she received the report of the incident in Rest Town, Cleo had rushed over to check on Ariel's safety.
"You're not hurt anywhere, are you? Your nails—did you get a hangnail or anything?"
Cleo checked Ariel's hands.
"Wh-what is this...!"
One fingernail was slightly cracked. It had broken from gripping the bedsheets so tightly while getting her ass pounded.
"Cleo."
Calmly settling her startled heart, Ariel smiled gently.
"I'm perfectly fine."
Fully in Saintess mode, Ariel took Cleo's hands.
"Thank you for rushing all this way for me."
"Of course I would, for the Saintess!"
"I'm sorry for worrying you, Cardinal Cleo."
"As long as you're safe, that's all that matters."
After confirming Ariel was unharmed, Cleo asked one more question.
"But why are you wrapped up so tightly in the blanket?"
Ariel's shoulders flinched as she smiled benevolently.
"Well..."
Thinking of an excuse, she decided to be honest.
"I'm... not wearing anything underneath."
Cleo's eyes went wide.
"What?"
A thousand thoughts raced through her mind. But she couldn't find a proper reason for the Saintess to be naked.
"They say sleeping like this is good for your health. You can get deep sleep, and it helps with blood circulation."
She used knowledge she'd learned somewhere. It wasn't the exact reason she was naked, but she wasn't lying.
"Hmm..."
Cleo thought carefully, then nodded.
"I've heard that nude sleeping is good for your health too."
"Right."
"But it's bad for digestive health, and it can affect your period."
Cleo considered it seriously.
"More than anything, there's the risk that others might see the Saintess's beautiful body. Saintess, even if it's good for your health, please make sure to wear nightclothes from now on."
Ariel always slept in fluttery nightgowns. But this time she had no choice. Given the circumstances.
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."
Ariel slowly backed away.
"I'll change and come out, so please wait a little."
"It's been so long—let me dress you."
Ariel shook her head firmly.
"I'll do it myself."
"Don't refuse. Just like at the Great Cathedral, I'll dress you."
Cleo stepped toward the bedroom.
"Cardinal Cleo, are you trying to make me lazy?"
Hurriedly blocking her path, Ariel puffed out her cheeks with a stern expression.
Cute.
"That's not it, I just..."
"I'd like it if you dressed me, Cardinal Cleo, but I can't keep relying on you forever."
At the Saintess's declaration of independence, Cleo's face crumpled as if struck by a heavy blow.
"I'll put on my own clothes, so please tie my hair for me, Cardinal Cleo. No matter how hard I try alone, I just can't do it. And you always tie it so prettily, too."
Mixing in just the right amount of praise, Ariel's words made Cleo's face light up brightly.
"Yes! I'll tie it prettily for you!"
Ariel chuckled softly and slowly closed the bedroom door.
"Just wait a little."
The door shut. The benevolent smile on Ariel's face twitched and went slack with relief.
"Haaah..."
She let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest.
"This is no time to be standing around..."
Ariel picked up the underwear scattered on the floor and put it on.
"Hah...!"
As she pressed the panties against her ass, the damp semen spread out like a map.
"Saintess, I heard. You protected the knights from inside a giant pillar of fire?"
Cleo chattered about Ariel's heroic exploits while combing through her long hair.
"Protecting people as a Saintess is only natural."
"You used the Purification Blessing in Baram-sae Forest, and now you've defended Rest Town. You've grown so much in the short time I wasn't looking. As the one who protects the Saintess, I'm happy—and a little sad that you grew while I wasn't by your side."
Cleo offered a bittersweet smile.
"No. Without you, Cardinal Cleo, I never would have grown this far."
"How do you always say such kind things?"
"Because I'm a Saintess. Hehe."
Cleo smiled and tied Ariel's hair into a single neat bun the way she always did.
"There. All done. Shall we go to breakfast?"
As they walked down the corridor toward the morning meal, a priest approached from the opposite direction.
"Saintess, good morning."
Lowen offered a morning greeting as if they were meeting for the first time that day, all casual nonchalance.
"Yes, Bishop Lowen. Good morning to you as well."
Ariel matched him with equal nonchalance.
"Hm?"
Just before greeting the cardinal beside Ariel, something caught Lowen's eye.
"Saintess, one moment."
He undid Ariel's neatly tied hair and skillfully braided it into a single plait.
"This style suits you far better, Saintess."
In Lowen's eyes, a single braid that made her look like a goddess from myth suited Ariel far more than a simple, elegant bun.
"......"
Cleo glared at Lowen with shocked eyes.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Lowen, bishop of the cathedral in Baram-sae Forest."
She wanted to snap, How dare you undo the Saintess's hair!—but she couldn't say a word. Infuriatingly... Lowen was right. Ariel looked even more beautiful with her hair braided into a single plait.