Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Saint, You’re So Vulgar! – Chapter 27
Before launching the full operation, they needed to convince the missing people.
Rousing those who lay there without a shred of hope wasn't easy, but fortunately, it wasn't impossible either.
In fact, it was quiteverysimple.
"Th-the Saintess...?"
"A 1st Class Knight...! The Order's ultimate weapon...!"
Words' credibility always depends on who utters them.
A rescue team's escape plan and one from a knight at the pinnacle of martial prowess would naturally feel worlds apart in success rate.
Lubena was the only one who leaned too heavily on her position.
But for the greater good, they all worked together to soothe the missing people.
Hope flickered in the captives' eyes.
Some even sobbed, shedding transparent tears.
Watching them wail not at the prospect of survival itself, but at the thought of reuniting with family, friends, or lovers, Asher smiled faintly.
It was the very picture of a benevolent Saintess.
After calming the captives, he approached Versia and said it out of the blue.
"Thank you."
"Out of nowhere?"
"You went along with my selfish demands."
In a dim corner, their whispers were swallowed by the murmurs inside, leaking no further.
The light was so faint that faces blurred just a step apart.
In such a spot, Versia tilted her head with uncharacteristic ease.
"That's so random."
"Haha, you seemed displeased."
It hit the nail on the head.
Versia felt her stomach drop.
And not without reasonshe truly disliked this plan.
It was purely a numbers game.
Rescuing around sixty captives versus slaughtering heretics numbering in the hundreds.
Asked which benefited the world long-term, she'd pick the latter without hesitation.
The rescue itself was a high-risk gamble.
Dragging along bloated wrecks who could barely run, let alone fight, through that chaos?
And in bodies far from peak condition, no less.
Wasn't the mission difficulty spiking too high?
Failure meant deathshe had to consider that.
Yet why hadn't she objected?
She, who felt no awe for God or piety, had joined the cause anyway.
Ridiculously, it was because of Asher.
Not inspirationno, nothing like that.
A thoroughly selfish motive she couldn't voice, but one she acknowledged inwardly.
She hoped he remained oblivious to her calculating side.
She wanted Asher, who saw her harsh shell as hiding a good heart, to keep believing she was kind.
Only then would he stay by her side.
For some reason, imagining him disappointed and pulling away terrified her.
One mere human had her like this.
This 'thing' had to remain close, or she'd suffocatethat's what she thought.
She couldn't pinpoint when it started or why.
But in this moment,
Asher saw right through her.
Versia dreaded his next words.
That was probably why.
"Are you disappointed?"
A defensive reflex she couldn't deny.
In that instant, Versia realized she'd hurled that question at him countless times before.
Her heart raced.
Feigning blankness, she braced for the verdict.
But as always,
Asher gave an answer that defied her expectations.
"Wh-why would I be disappointed?"
"...Unrighteous thoughts from a Saintess."
"Thoughts are free."
Asher laughed freely.
His following words were so very himembracing a reckless ideal.
"Goodness comes from actions, not intent. No matter how pure your thoughts, without action, it's not true kindness. But the reverse? Suppose an evil person hypocritically saves someone."
"...So you're saying good actions make them good."
"Of course, causality is complex. Concepts like goodwill or the greater good shift with values. But one thing's certain."
His eyes gleamed clear even in the gloom.
That blue swept away the darkness lurking in Versia.
"You're no villain, Saintess. You sacrificed personal gain for goodwill. Your thoughts were calculated, but your actions weren't."
Asher laid his hand over hers.
His expression held a hint of pride, like he'd witnessed something admirable.
"We call forgoing gain for goodness courage. You're courageous, Saintess."
Asher's eyes curved softly.
It soaked her heart once more.
Like rain washing away grime, endlessly tender.
How could he speak like that?
She'd always shown him she wasn't the Saintess he hoped for.
What kept him from giving up?
Would he act this way even without this body's constraints?
Thoughts raced by.
Amid them, she realized he'd say this to anyone.
It irked her.
Her drenched heart began to dry again.
Confusion choked her words.
Unaware or not, Asher flashed his signature awkward, shy smile.
"Anyway, that's why I'm grateful. For indulging my whims... and... um."
He glanced slyly.
Then leaned closer, whispering.
"Wh-when we get back, I'll give you a reward...! Don't get the wrong idea! Not that kind...!"
His cheeks flushed under the hazy light.
Seeing it, Versia knew instinctively.
Her possessiveness toward Asher wouldn't end here.
From the confusion lingered faint uneaseand greed.
She bit back the urges and smiled.
"A reward..."
He shouldn't toss out words like that lightly.
She kept it to herself.
Her thoughts felt too filthy.
* * *
Time passed.
The operation began.
Unknowing what lay beyond the iron gate, their only way to scout enemy forces, layout, and escape routes was one.
-You said they come for rations. We'll interrogate them.
Capture and question a heretic.
Perfectthey came alone for rations and headcounts.
Assuming no resistance from captives, a lone worker entered.
Seizing on that: Satern pries open the hidden corner grate after the door opens, out of sight.
Hide by the door, bind the entering heretic.
Reseal the door for interrogation.
Basic prayers muffled sound.
In short: success.
Then interrogation.
Versia took charge.
"Guhk...!"
Asher stifled a gag.
Crunch!
"Nngh balls...!"
In a divinely sealed space against sound,
The black-robed heretic, bound to the wall, was being stomped.
Precisely, his two lower treasures were being crushed.
"B-balls, ohhh balls...!"
"Feels good? Oinking like the trash you are."
Versia grinned, seeming genuinely delighted.
Asher's lingering male ego protested the excess, but it was swiftly dismissed.
...Heretic scum, after all.
Too lenient to merely tear apart.
The others agreed.
No one intervened.
Even the male captives, seething with hatred, couldn't watch.
Some plugged ears, trembling.
If even Sir Satern averted his gaze, no more needed saying.
Anyway, it worked.
Crunch!
"Kkheeeek...!"
"Aw, burst again. Don't worry. I'll fix it."
Versia asked nothing.
She just crushed the 'eggs,' then gleefully healed them with divine power.
Any Holy Knight knew reattaching hurt worse than breaking.
The repetition itself was horrific torture, a denial of dignity.
Versia never questioned first.
She waited for something, and it came.
"P-please, no more...! I'll tell you anything! Everything!"
Crunch!
"Kkheeeeek!!!"
"Oops, popped again. Sorry, I'm slow on the uptake."
"Balls! Oh balls! Guh balls!"
"I'll fix it again. Talk after."
The heretic shook his head madly.
Versia didn't stop.
Divine power flowed.
At the gruesome sight, Lubena whispered.
Aimed at Asher.
"...You okay?"
"Pardon?"
"I didn't know she was like that... her temper..."
Lubena eyed Versia like a monster.
Versia's smile did look cruel.
'...Hold on.'
Asher sensed danger.
This body was his to reclaim someday, stolen or not.
A tarnished reputation meant hell upon return.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
He scrambled excuses, voice packed with desperation and sincerity.
"Sh-she's not usually like th-this...! She's got a good heart...!"
Lubena gazed at him with pity.
Her reply lukewarm.
"Uh, sure..."
Asher wouldn't know.
His earnestness looked like denial of reality to outsiders.
Defending her honor clashed with her past actions, amplifying the dissonance.
From Lubena's view: the once aloof, lofty Versia turned girlish after meeting her guard.
Falling for this brute, losing herselfit fit.
A beaten wife.
The phrase surfaced in Lubena's mind.
She didn't voice it.
"R-really... she's good to me...!"
Unlucky for Asher.