Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Saint, You’re So Vulgar! – Chapter 35
What kind of expression was that?
A prickly disappointment rolled around in his mouth like a thorn.
Asher and Versia's eyes met.
In that instant, the chill that had hung over her face vanished as if washed away.
Filling the void was the sly smile Asher knew all too well.
"You're back."
"Pardon? Ah..."
"I didn't expect it to happen so soon. Still, it's a relief."
Was that look one of embarrassment?
Yet it felt strangely dark and murky for that.
A small ripple stirred inside him.
Unable to say more, he watched as Versia smiled with her eyes.
Then she placed a hand on her chin, and lower still.
Asher jolted back, overwhelmed by a shame so intense it scattered his previous thoughts to the wind.
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
"Just happy to see my friend here."
"Get it off! Now!!!"
"No way. This is my body right now."
"Argh, come on!"
As Asher lunged forward, Versia extended her arm and grabbed his head.
The overwhelming difference in reach meant no matter how much he flailed, her hand blocked him, leaving him swinging at empty air.
Asher gritted his teeth.
"Urgh...!"
"Shouldn't you be grateful? I didn't touch here while you were out cold, you know?"
"That's a given! Molesting someone who's asleep is a serious crime...!"
"Well, I did touch other places."
"Huh?"
Asher's eyes wavered.
Unbidden, illicit scenes flooded his mind.
His cheeks flushed red.
The corners of his lips trembled.
The moment he pictured her hands roaming his sleeping body...
"Y-you pervert! You demon!"
He cried out in a shrill voice.
Stumbling back to the bed, Asher wrapped himself head to toe in the blanket.
His eyes, filled with enmity and betrayal, shot toward Versia.
"I trusted you! I was trusting you!!!"
She scanned him with utter satisfaction.
Then added one more line.
"I used your arm as a pillow."
Asher flinched hard.
"...Huh?"
"I used your arm as a pillow. It felt weird leaving you alone while nursing you, and I needed rest too, but you were hogging the whole bed. What were you even thinking?"
His expression turned blank.
Versia's eyes curved into a smile.
"Such a pervert. For real."
The nail was driven home.
Conscientious and pure-hearted Asher hung his head, unable to retort.
His body shook with self-loathing.
It was a humiliating initiation.
* * *
There's an old saying: the higher you fall, the more it hurts.
The greater the expectations while running toward a goal, the greater the disappointment.
That was Asher's situation right now.
On the first day of his escort duty, their bodies had swapped, forcing him into an unthinkable role as the saintess for a full month and a half.
He'd endured crises and all sorts of hardships, finally thinking his body was backonly to wake up back at square one.
Parent God!!!
Forget grand planseven a devout soul like Asher couldn't help feeling the Parent God watching from above seemed stingy at this point.
If it was going to revert like this, why not do it the moment he regained consciousness? Toying with his hopes like this was downright malicious.
Of course, it wouldn't shake his faith, but a twinge of resentment was inevitable.
Still, he couldn't mope forever.
Asher let out a deep sigh and spoke.
"...At least we've confirmed one thing."
"Yeah, well... how the body swap works."
"Right. The body returns when the saintess is in danger. It swaps back once the crisis is fully resolved. That seems to be the basic rule. But the scope of 'danger' is ambiguous."
Asher's brow furrowed.
"We don't know what level of injury qualifies as grounds for a swap. During our spar, I slammed you pretty hard, but nothing changed then."
"Doesn't it have to be a threat to life?"
"That makes it even more problematic. What the Parent God is protectingher flesh, or her soulwe don't know."
And indeed, this time Versia had thrown herself into harm's way, so returning the bodies left her flesh and soul both intact.
But consider the reverse.
If Asher threw himself in for Versia, her flesh would be in peril.
In that case, whether the Parent God's power protected her flesh or soul remained unknown.
After explaining all that...
Asher said firmly.
"We can't just watch a crisis unfold. If things go south, I need to be able to throw myself in th"
However,
"No."
The response was not what Asher expected.
Versia gripped his hand tightly.
His body flinched at the touch.
With shadowed eyes and a smile only on her lips, she continued.
"You mustn't think of throwing yourself in harm's way."
"B-but..."
"You mustn't even think of putting yourself in danger. Right?"
Her thumb stroked his wrist smoothly.
It was cold. Asher's body tensed.
"You're hopeless. Thinking of handling someone else's body so carelessly."
Her pupils were pitch black, like deep pits.
Her tone was coercive, authoritative.
Asher shrank back.
"......"
The faint unease he'd felt now draped over him openly.
A gloomy, sticky emotion wrapped around his entire body.
He was flustered.
His upper body leaned back slightly, but Versia pulled him closer, refusing to allow it.
"Sir Knight."
"...Yes."
Asher answered, turning his head away.
For some reason, it was hard to look at her.
But she wouldn't even permit that.
"Look at me."
"......"
An uncomfortable sensation welled up; he couldn't find the words.
It felt like sitting on pins and needles.
Was their size difference always this vast?
They were sitting face-to-face, yet he felt swallowed whole.
His lips parted soundlessly.
Then, Asher mumbled.
"Th-that hand..."
"Don't."
"Pardon...?"
"Don't talk about throwing yourself away or sacrificing yourself. I hate that, so just don't."
Only then did Asher look at Versia.
A sigh escaped him immediately.
"Ah..."
It was a sad face.
Like a blow to the back of his head.
...I see.
If he died like that, she'd be left alone.
He should've known how despairing that would be for her, yet blind duty had made him overlook it.
...Or perhaps it was simply that having someone worry about him was too foreign after so long.
Asher reflected.
This was careless talk that sowed anxiety in someone who'd already suffered nursing his comatose bodypotentially forcing her through it again.
He smiled bitterly.
No face to show.
"...Yes, I'm sorry. That was short-sighted of me."
"Do you really think that?"
"Yes. Above all, I mustn't harm the saintess's body. It's part of what I'm sworn to protect."
He added it to lighten the mood.
Only then did her smile return to its sly curve.
"Good boy. That's the right answer."
"Haha..."
Asher exhaled in relief.
What was that just now? A question arose, but he didn't dwell.
For some reason, he didn't want to probe.
* * *
Though he'd risen from the sickbed, not everything was fully mended.
For starters, after nearly two weeks in a coma, he needed repeated check-ups, extending his house arrest a bit longer.
Judith handled the examinations.
After flipping Versia's eyelids, checking her pulse, and such, she said:
"That's enough. Don't call me for the same thing again. It's a hassle."
"Th-thank you...!"
"......"
Judith's expression turned odd at Asher's thanks.
Like she'd seen a ghost.
As Asher tilted his head, she muttered:
"...Is it really split personality?"
Asher, who had been comatose, had no idea how Versia had treated Judith lately, so he only felt puzzled by the reaction.
After the check-up ended.
He considered a stroll in the garden when Lubena burst in, flinging the door wide, looking frantic. She glanced between Asher and Versia, her face crumpling.
Ah, had she worried too?
Asher felt a small touch of emotion.
They were comrades who'd suffered together, after all...
"Finally, I can breathe! I thought I'd die of awkwardness!!! You two kept me from shopping!"
...Nope.
Asher smiled awkwardly.
Lubena approached him, scrutinizing his face intently.
The moment their eyes met, she let out a hollow laugh.
"You ignored me the whole time, and now you're full of life? Must be a millennium of love, huh?"
"L-love?!"
"Whatever! While you were under house arrest, I was running myself ragged covering for you!"
Asher froze.
"House arrest?"
"Huh? Don't play dumb after enjoying the full term. Wait, don't tell me you're pretending you didn't know I was doing your errands...!"
Asher whipped his head toward Versia.
Come to think of it, he hadn't heard what happened while he was out.
House arrest!
The saintess punished?!
What on earth had she done?!
At his bloodshot glare, Versia beamed.
His eyes squeezed shut at that sly expression.
The back of his neck cramped.