Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Saint, You’re So Vulgar! – Chapter 19
Dawn broke.
Sunlight poured through the window.
Versia lightly furrowed her brow and slowly opened her eyes.
It wasn't an unfamiliar ceiling... rather, one she'd grown quite used to by now.
She untied her hands, which were neatly folded over her stomach, and sat up.
Even though it wasn't filled with much, the room welcomed her with a warm atmosphere.
It was Asher's room in the Holy Knights' barracks.
Out of habit, she scanned the room's layout.
One corner was packed with bookshelves full of doctrinal texts and knightly literature.
Next to them, a desk neatly arranged with writing tools and such.
A large mirror by the wardrobe, and the bed she was lying on.
Ah, so last night wasn't a dream after all.
With that thought, she got out of bed.
The sticky sensation between her legs had become familiar now, too.
She let out a soft chuckle, straightened her pants, and opened the window.
The morning air refreshed her lungs.
Stretching made her whole body scream, waking her mind fully.
Asher's body was remarkable.
It brimmed with vitality she'd never felt in her own lifetime.
Of course, she didn't find particular joy in that fact.
Considering that all of this was likely some prank by the Parent Godsomeone with a very high probabilityit soured any good mood she'd felt.
Versia went into the bathroom and washed up.
It was fortunate that Asher was a 1st Class Knight.
If it weren't a single room, she'd have felt immense discomfort living with some stranger.
She quickly dismissed the idle thought.
After all, if he hadn't become a 1st Class Knight and crossed paths with her, this body swap wouldn't have happened in the first place.
After finishing her bath, she got dressed.
Asher's clothes were generally prim and restrictive.
Versia picked the loosest one among them, then suddenly furrowed her brow.
'Ah.'
Today was training day.
She let out a deep sigh and changed into her training uniform.
It was a hectic morning for Versia, chiding Asher for his laziness.
* * *
Versia's world was colorless.
Not because of some condition like color blindness, but because her perception of things was endlessly dry and dull.
Pondering when it had started was pointless.
She no longer wanted to waste her energy on it.
She lived because she didn't die.
More precisely, she lived because death wasn't permitted.
It was the scheme of someone who loved her obsessively.
If she had to describe that life as a journey, it was like wandering off the path without destination.
Finding a cliff to jump off would be a welcome discovery.
She stared blankly with such thoughts.
Her gaze fixed on Sir Whale atop the platform.
It was the roll call before training.
"This is a time when heretics swarm! I trust you all know that as the Parent God's swords, we must strengthen our bodies all the more! All eyes front!"
"Yes!!!"
"Training begins!!!"
The witch's rampage had been confirmed.
The training intensity was now incomparably harsher than before.
Versia panted irritably, sweat dripping down.
During runs that left her breathless, resentment toward Asher welled up fiercely.
Then, she suddenly chuckled.
She pictured his flustered face every time she vented about the day's training woes.
Using sadism as fuel wasn't healthy... but so what.
Versia had no intention of being devout or upright.
She felt no need for it.
As she wished for the routine to end quickly, the run finally concluded, and it was time for a break.
Versia wiped the sweat from her forehead with her shirt.
Her sensitive hearing caught the distant sighs of the priestesses.
For a fleeting moment, she wondered if showing off someone else's body so freely was okay.
'Whatever.'
It was a well-sculpted body, so she ought to flaunt it a bit on his behalf.
Thud. Marvin, who had been running beside her, collapsed to the ground.
"Ughhh...!"
"Good work."
"Arghhh...!"
Brown curly hair, a face too uncle-like to call handsome even in jest, sturdy build.
Surprisingly, he was Asher's best friend and the same age.
That was her personal assessment.
How could someone be friends with Asher and yet so unreliable?
Marvin wasn't enthusiastic about training.
He wasn't particularly devout either; he became a Holy Knight simply because it was a decent living.
Shouldn't spending time with someone as rigid as Asher rub off on him a little?
She thought, then reflected on herself for the answer.
Come to think of it, Asher wasn't the type you wanted to emulate.
He was the type you wanted to dye in your own colors for fun.
She couldn't help thinking about Asher again.
Of courseafter all, wasn't she handling his relationships for him?
Anyway, back to Marvin.
Aside from his unreliability, he was someone Versia quite liked.
"What the hell is the Parent God doing... not catching any heretics...!"
He grumbled curses at the Parent God.
The real Asher might have scolded such talk, but Versia had no intention of going that far.
"He must have his reasons."
"Here we go with that interpretation nonsense again."
"I'm not."
"As if I don't know you."
He probably didn't know her one bit.
Versia smiled brightly at Marvin's exasperated look.
Then she plopped down on the ground.
What followed was chatter time.
Marvin's topics were consistent.
Talk of fun, women, and those priestesses' stares.
"They're multiplying by the day? Word's gotten around or something?"
"Has it?"
"No, seriously. The ones who used to avoid you because you stank of sweat now swarm like bees only on days you're here!"
"Must be your imagination."
Versia laughed it off coolly.
Marvin let out a hollow chuckle.
Then he shook his head proudly.
"You rascal, turning into a real man all of a sudden...!"
He was a simple guy.
Normally, if your closest friend changed overnight, you'd suspect somethingbut not Marvin.
Versia recalled their first encounter after the swap.
When she told his worried face, "The Saintess is too naive, so I realized I had to become reliable. Time to change," he was instantly moved to tears and hugged her.
She remembered the unpleasant mix of sweat and bachelor stink.
Things had stayed that way since.
Now, Marvin looked at her with half-admiration.
"Introduce me to just one over there..."
"No chance."
"But actually, there's this one I fancy..."
"How many 'ones you fancy' do you even have?"
She scolded him in Asher's style.
Of course, her inherent elegance made her tone gentle, giving it an air of subtle intimidation.
Marvin pouted and grumbled.
"Fine, what would a one-track loyalist know about true love. You don't know romance."
TwitchVersia's fingertips trembled.
Asher came to mind again.
One perk of keeping Marvin close: moments like this, hearing about the old Asher.
That guy was all "Saintess this, Saintess that," and now he's here.
So, up close, even prettier?
Whoa, congrats anyway! Reminds methat thing about needing a pure mind and body to stand by the Saintess, no jerking off... Ah, don't glare like that. Sorry...!
Apparently, brushing past her in the past was why he became a Holy Knight.
Sadly, Versia didn't remember.
She wore masks too often on inspections, and any favor shown was shallow acting by her standards.
"Attention!!! Resume training!!!"
Sir Whale shouted amid it all.
Versia stood up.
Marvin groaned as he did the same.
"Parent God, please, the witch! Ease up on training!"
It sounded sincere, but who knows.
"Maybe you're supposed to handle it yourself."
"Wasn't He supposed to be merciful?"
"Mercy can be selective."
To Versia, He was.
The Parent who shaped this land was far from a great king fair to all.
He was a wicked voyeur who built a vast model garden, placed one doll He liked, and watched.
In that, the doll's feelings didn't matter.
Hence this horrific favoritism.
The suffocating tightness that always shadowed her, squeezing her throat, surged again.
So familiar it was exhausting; she didn't even bother shaking it off anymore.
She picked up a wooden sword.
Better to swing it at least.
When her heart raced, stray thoughts faded.
Pain swept away the gloom.
"One!"
She swung the wooden sword.
Sweat poured out.
Training wrapped up just past noon.
Versia returned to the barracks and washed up.
Even then, the bitterness lingered.
Her throat still felt constricted, like it was parched.
It hadn't been this bad before.
The idle thought crossed her mind as she finished bathing.
This time she wore the baggy clothes she'd planned, her movements hurried.
She didn't realize it herself.
She left the room.
Ran into Marvin.
"Oh, lunch then?"
"...Yeah, sure."
Heading straight to the garden would just earn her grief about skipping meals for work.
And Asher would nag too.
About needing proper nutrition after exercise, blah blah.
She could recite it in her sleep now.
Her mood soured again on the way to the cafeteria.
The choking sensation in her throat, the growing bitterness.
It was then.
"K-Knight... sir!"
A clear, bright voice rang out.
Versia's steps halted abruptly.
She turned her head.
Her breath eased instantly.
"There you are...!"
Sky-blue hair and clear blue eyes shone brightly.
Her face, trying to smile big then stiffening upon realizing who she was with, added freshness to the clarity.
Asher froze stiff.
Probably realizing who he was with.
Comfort swept through her body.
Something dormant inside stirred awake.
Versia smiled brightly.
Unaware of the mechanism herself.
Chin
She placed a hand on Marvin's shoulder.
"Ah, Saintess. We were just heading to eat. Care to join us?"
"Ch-Chief! Greetings, Saintess!"
Marvin snapped a crisp salute.
Then grinned at her.
Prodded her side with his elbow.
Whispered.
"Man, she came all this way looking for you? This guy...!"
Something that would annoy her other times felt delightful now.
Of course.
That friendly attitude came with his reaction.
Clunk
Asher dropped the water bottle he was holding.
His eyes shook with complex emotions.
Their nature? Perhaps loss.
"I-It's... a pleasure... to meet you..."
Asher stammered haltingly.
His attempt to hide the emptiness was obvious.
It was unbearably funny, so full of life, that Versia felt her breath open up.
"Will the Saintess join us? The three of us, me and 'my friend.'"
"Oh dear, would that be alright?"
She felt alive.
A bit of color mixed into her colorless world.
A very pale sky blue, still indistinguishable from gray.
* * *
Asher felt a hole punched through his chest.
The feeling deepened watching Versia and Marvin arm-in-arm so chummily.
Marvin guffawed, praising Versia.
Saying he'd become manly, a knight befitting the Saintess.
Versia demurred with a bright smile.
Anyone could see they were best friends.
A heartwarming friendship.
Only Asher couldn't watch it with a smile.
'Ah, right... it was like that.'
Memories were fading.
The bonds he'd built were now Versia's.
She looked at Asher.
Her eyes softened.
Then she leaned in, whispering where Marvin couldn't hear.
"Sorry for stealing him? But you've got me now, right, Knight?"
Her utterly unapologetic attitude made resentment surge in Asher.