Are You Really a Man?
"Hey, Hero."
"What am I supposed to do?"
The Saintess muttered the words as she stroked the horse's face.
The horse didn't understand a thing. It only gave a pleased snort, as if asking her to keep petting it.
It felt a little cold, but what could she expect from a beast?
Perhaps the Saintess hadn't even been looking for an answer.
She fidgeted restlessly, then turned her head at the sound of the Hero approaching.
Soaked through, the Hero walked toward her with a perfectly calm face, as if nothing at all had happened moments before.
A strange scent seemed to cling to the Hero. Breathe it in long enough and everything that had just taken place came flooding back.
"Sorry for the delay. Shall we head out now?"
"Ah… yeah."
The Saintess opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again at once.
The Hero, in an obvious hurry, untied the reins, was already astride the horse, and held a hand out toward her.
Looking at the face of the Hero reaching for her… the image of that same face only moments ago, mouth full of the thing that had grown between the Saintess's own legs, overlapped in a haze.
She didn't quite understand why, but her cheeks felt hot. And—
"Is something the matter? Is there something on your mind? Did you perhaps figure something out about this anomaly?"
The Saintess shook her head and hurriedly took the Hero's hand.
The Hero lifted her as easily as pulling a radish from the ground, seated her behind, and took the reins.
"People seem to have started searching for us. We should hurry back."
"…Yeah."
Before long Ciela urged the horse forward, and the Saintess pressed herself familiarly against her back, resting her hands there.
The same swaying horse as always.
On any other day the Saintess would have looked around without a second thought, but today she kept becoming aware of the Hero's body.
She hadn't done anything in particular, yet her senses kept locking onto the Hero.
Probably because of that "secret" from earlier. The Saintess still hadn't fully processed it, but there was no other reason it should feel this way.
And once that happened… a sense of something off rose naturally.
The Hero had definitely said she was a man. Most of the nagging she directed at the Saintess had to do with exactly that.
The Saintess didn't particularly dislike the nagging, but those words circled back now as questions.
She pressed herself tightly against the Hero's back. The Hero, driving the horse hard, didn't stop her.
With so much else on her mind, she didn't even notice the Saintess secretly feeling her over.
There were more urgent matters waiting, and her body wasn't in normal condition either.
On top of that, the Saintess had never doubted her before, so she assumed this time would be the same.
Thanks to that, the Saintess was able to examine the Hero's body very slowly, very carefully.
Her hand slipped into the gap between the armor and the loose clothing.
The curves she felt were somehow unnatural for a man's waist. If she had to put a name to it, it felt similar to her own.
She had never touched another man, but the Saintess thought the Hero's body felt a lot like hers.
That didn't mean she immediately concluded, The Hero is a woman!
Because that would mean the Hero had lied to her, wouldn't it?
Was there any reason to?
There was no way their Hero would do that.
But the more she felt around, the more something felt wrong.
"Nnh…"
At the same time, strength flooded into her lower half—which had only just settled down—without her meaning it to.
"…Saintess? Why are you suddenly playing a game you never do? Please stop poking me with your fingers."
"Ah… um."
That wasn't a finger.
"Or is there something you wanted to say? It might be better to get down and talk about it—this isn't a good time."
"…Yeah."
Barely managing a reply, the Saintess wondered what to do, then started searching for an answer inside the scriptures.
That was all she knew, after all.
But what do you know.
As she flipped through her mind for a suitable passage, the tension in her lower half melted away.
Her heart grew calm.
Without realizing it, the Saintess had enacted a universal method for dealing with an erection. She breathed a sigh of relief and held onto the Hero's body.
Separate from calming the erection—
the Hero's body still felt similar to her own.
Much larger than hers, of course.
The Saintess decided she would ask the Hero later, and let herself sway with the motion of the horse.
"You're safe!"
The people who had been fretting over the Hero and Saintess's failure to return greeted the two of them, panting hard.
Utterly exhausted, Ciela felt a strange satisfaction watching how happy they looked.
She couldn't rejoice purely, but at least it didn't feel unclean.
This is all that old man's fault.
I'm not that good of a person, you know.
No—I'm just an ordinary person you could find anywhere.
Still, a burden had been lifted from her heart rather than added to it, so Ciela chose to take it positively in her own way.
It wasn't as if there were no problems.
By the way, what the hell was that phenomenon at the pilgrimage site?
Judging by how flustered the Saintess had been, it didn't seem like a common occurrence.
Her head was a mess.
She had the feeling the pilgrimage was about to turn from a backpacking trip from hell into a forced march through the abyss.
They would need to stop by once more to check before leaving for the next pilgrimage site, and there would probably be all sorts of things to deal with.
But before that—
she just… wanted to rest a little.
In the middle of that, the lord's invitation sounded far too sweet. And the justification was good, wasn't it?
"A messenger just arrived. His Lordship says he absolutely must host the Hero and the Saintess."
A day or two would be fine, right? It wasn't as if she was going to rest here for the rest of her life.
Still, as the Hero, she couldn't skip asking the Saintess's opinion.
Please say we should stay the night.
After I even did that kind of thing for her… no, if I think that way I sound like a weirdo, so scratch that.
Fortunately for Ciela, the Saintess nodded.
"If that's what the Hero wants."
"…It's not particularly like that. Ahem. Since the Saintess has given her permission, we'll accept the hospitality."
"Haha, you two seem quite close. That's wonderful."
Whether it was wonderful or not, Ciela didn't particularly care.
If it's a noble's mansion, I should be able to rest a bit more comfortably.
She'd never actually been to one, so she couldn't really imagine it. She just had images from media, so she could only guess it would be something like that.
Thinking it over more carefully, there had been noble bastards among the Hero candidate cartel too, and the faintly sour memory made her expectations cool right off.
"Welcome, Hero! And Saintess! We are truly indebted to you this time!"
The man who introduced himself as some Baron or other welcomed them so enthusiastically that Ciela felt awkward.
After enduring every kind of flattery and blather, Ciela and the Saintess were soon guided to private rooms.
They had introduced themselves as male and female respectively, so it was only natural.
The Saintess looked rather displeased about it, but she didn't say anything for the moment.
"We won't need any attendants, so please don't trouble yourselves."
"If you insist. Tomorrow there will be a luncheon prepared for the two of you—"
After a tedious and pretentious exchange, Ciela finally secured time alone.
In this world there was never any time alone.
She wasn't planning anything strange, but for someone who still retained a modern person's sensibilities, this precious private time was always valuable.
Everything's fine except that old man never understood the concept of privacy.
Even if he treated her like a boy, he still knew she was a girl, so it was less… if he hadn't known…
She didn't want to think about it.
"Haa."
Ciela sighed and locked the door. She checked carefully that it wouldn't open, then even propped a chair against it for good measure.
Would anyone really barge into the Hero's room? Still, you never knew.
Just as the Saintess had to keep what had grown between her legs from being discovered, she—publicly male—had to be just as careful about her female body being found out.
Only then, fully realizing she was alone, did Ciela… take off her clothes first.
She was already bulky from wearing layers, and after squeezing out Holy Power and doing that weird thing… her body was soaked in sweat.
They said the bathwater was already prepared, so there was nothing to hold her back.
Shedding everything like a skin, she headed for the bathroom set up inside.
"Oh."
Compared to places with just a wooden tub sitting in a cramped space, this was truly luxurious.
The thought that an ordinary modern bathroom looked cleaner and better did cross her mind, but that was looking at it through modern eyes, so who cared.
She scooped up the warm water and carefully washed the grime from her body. The wound on her palm had already healed, which left a bitter taste.
Still, sinking into whatever it was at the edge of the tub, the piled-up emotions and fatigue seemed to melt away.
…No. Actually, once she was submerged, all sorts of random thoughts crowded her mind.
The largest share, of course—
the fact that she had taken the Saintess's thing in her mouth. It was only natural. No matter how much she wanted to forget it, it had been an impressionable event in many ways, for better or worse.
Her throat still felt raw, like gum stuck to it.
Even speaking was a little uncomfortable… well, that huge thing had crushed an unprepared throat, so it would be stranger if she were fine.
Her stomach still felt heavy; she couldn't even begin to estimate how much had gone into her belly.
If she blew air out of her mouth, that smell might waft out.
"…Fuck."
Thinking about it again, it had been truly horrific. But she had judged and chosen it herself, so she couldn't blame anyone else.
She still couldn't understand why a dick was growing on the Saintess's lower half.
Surely this won't happen again.
Separate from that, though, something had entered the realm of certainty.
It seems like every time she performs the ritual at a pilgrimage site, that thing sprouts.
What that was supposed to mean, she had no idea.
Unless the Goddess just wanted to watch her suffer, it made no sense.
"…Hmm."
Come to think of it, there wasn't any doctrine that said a woman with a dick shouldn't fuck another woman.
"I don't know…"
Ciela stopped thinking. Every time she pondered it, the sensation of that glans pressing against her cheek and nose came back vividly.
Being crushed by something that swung slowly like a club… wasn't exactly pleasant.
Same with the throat business.
So maybe she should try thinking about something a little more constructive.
Ciela closed her eyes and began observing her inner self from inside the tub.
And a truly surprising result greeted her.
…It increased.
Her Holy Power capacity had grown. Not enough to call it a massive jump, but far more than any flower tea could compare to.
The cause and effect were clear.
She hadn't eaten anything except the white stuff the Saintess's dick had ejaculated.
How the hell was she supposed to interpret this.
It was like the Saintess's dick was swaying in front of her eyes, putting her under hypnosis.
Ciela shook her body roughly. No matter how you looked at it, this was a bit much.
What a Hero should hold in her hand was a sword, not the Saintess's dick.
…It's gone for now, so it should be fine.
Ciela postponed the thought for her future self. Right now she just wanted to rest.
But the world wouldn't leave her alone.
After finishing her bath without further thought, she once again wrapped the special bandages around her chest and put on her clothes.
Then—
"Hero? Hero?"
A voice calling for her came from outside. Ciela sighed, checked her appearance, moved the chair, and opened the door.
Naturally without showing any sign that a chair had been propped there.
"What is it?"
"Well… it seems you should go see the Saintess for a moment."
"Please show me the way. Has something happened to the Saintess?"
"Whether you can call it a problem… I'm not sure, but it seems only the Hero can resolve it."
"…?"
Ciela tilted her head in puzzlement even as she followed the man.
She had already dealt with the lower-half issue, so it seemed some other problem had cropped up.
In that case, of course Hero Ciel had to step in.
Whatever it was.
Following the man, she found maids gathered in front of what seemed to be the Saintess's room, wearing troubled expressions.
"I've brought the Hero. How is the Saintess doing?"
"She still says she doesn't need help…"
Even as the maid trailed off, thumping and crashing noises came from inside.
Ciela pressed a hand to her forehead without thinking. She had a rough idea what was going on.
"…I'll handle it, so the rest of you may leave."
"Is that really all right?"
"Yes. She doesn't easily trust strangers, it seems. My apologies."
"Not at all. Then we'll withdraw. Please call if you need anything."
Confirming the others had left, Ciela swallowed a sigh and knocked on the door.
"Saintess, it's me."
"Hero?"
"Yes."
"The others?"
"I sent them away."
Then the door opened a crack and the Saintess poked her face out.
It was hard to put into words, but honestly it was a little cute.
Even to Ciela the modern person, the Saintess was fairly pretty, which only made it more so.
…Even if earlier she had been swinging something vicious that didn't match that face at all.
"May I come in?"
"Yeah."
Ciela opened the door and stepped inside. Even then the Saintess kept scanning outside and around her like something was bothering her.
Ciela couldn't understand why she was acting like that—until she soon found out.
"Uh, Saintess."
"Yeah, Hero."
"Why is… that still there?"
"Sorry, Hero. I don't really know either."
"…I suppose not. But why didn't you say anything?"
"You… told me to tell you later."
"Ah."
So that was what she had wanted to say earlier.
Ciela felt lightheaded.
Still, she had to say what needed saying.
"You did well to hide it from the others, just as I said."
"Yeah."
She was grateful the Saintess was so obedient. Even so, there was more to say.
"And even so, you need to be careful about showing that kind of appearance in front of a man."
"I didn't let anyone in except you."
"…That's good, but please don't forget that I am a man."
Ciela's fixation on this was, in a way, only natural.
She had lived her previous life as a man, and even in this life she had grown up being treated as a boy.
It was a vibe that came out naturally, like breathing—a defense mechanism for enduring hard things.
Regardless, the Saintess worked her lips for a moment, then carefully spoke.
"Hey, Hero."
"Yes, Saintess."
"Are you really… a man?"
"…What?"
The Saintess asked with an utterly clear face.
Ciela felt cold sweat pouring down.
What is this situation.
Her head spun.