Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Saint, You’re So Vulgar! – Chapter 58
The group didn't return to the Order until about ten days later.
It took another two days to report on everything that had happened, wrap up the loose ends, and get back to their daily routines.
Once all that was done, Judith said,
"Want to drop by my lab sometime?"
But even Judith, who asked, already knew the answer.
"Haha."
Awkward smile and refusal, and the bodyguard standing beside her glaring with murderous intent.
Right after, Asher nodded while holding Versia close and walked away.
In this situation where she knew she'd be rejected but couldn't help clinging anyway, Judith thought to herself without meaning to.
"Ahh, now I get why those airheaded girls throw money at playboys and fall for them."
"Pardon?"
"So this is what love is like."
Marvin tilted his head at the sight of her deeply inhaling her cigarette, with no trace of affection in it.
Judith didn't bother adding anything.
She'd used the word "love" as a half-joke, but to her, the fondness she felt for Versia was closer to intellectual curiosity about an "unexplainable phenomenon."
What on earth was the reason the Curse of Galrae hadn't worked on her?
She pondered it seriously for a bit, then decided to look into it more.
She kept puffing away at her cigarette, then suddenly hardened her expression and turned around.
Any trace of her earlier playfulness was gone.
"To the lab?"
"No, the library."
"Huh?"
"I need to dig more into that curse."
Marvin chuckled slyly and said,
"Even saying that, you're still worried about your fellow Saintess, huh? Well, it is the Curse of Galrae."
"No."
She cut him off sharply.
Her tone was stern.
But Marvin's laughter didn't stop.
Judith tried her best to ignore it.
Unaware that her own ears had turned red at his words.
* * *
Asher flopped onto the bed, sinking into it deeply, and just melted away.
Was home really the best? The moment he lay down on his bed (strictly speaking, it was Versia's), he felt utter peace.
He wanted to just fall asleep like this today.
As he let out a lazy, dazed groan, Dalin appeared out of nowhere at some point.
"Saintess! Welcome back!"
"Mm."
"How was the sea? Did you have fun?"
At that, Asher grinned broadly.
"It was pretty. Oh, and when we were on the boat."
It started as a sleepy mumble.
But as he kept talking, Asher's face lit up more and more.
He'd gotten excited reminiscing about it all.
It wasn't about the mission.
This was a story from the way back, after leaving the archipelago and heading to the mainland.
"I saw flying fish! Actual fish flying over the water!"
When was it again? They were sailing somewhere between the islands and the mainland when there was this splashing sound.
The moment Asher turned to see what it was, he gasped and covered his mouth in shock.
Fish gliding through the air.
Seeing a creature she'd thought was a myth made her realize just how small her world had been.
Versia had chuckled softly at her then, and Asher had shot her a glare.
But that dynamic didn't last long.
"There were whales too! Whales bigger than the ship!"
The wonders of nature always draw awe.
Asher explained to Dalin how facing the world shaped by the Parent God had made her feel like she might cry.
Dalin smiled warmly at that, and only then did Asher feel embarrassed for getting so carried away.
So she didn't tell the next part.
Asher silently recalled the conversation she'd had with Versia the moment they spotted the whale.
-It's a whale! We're really seeing one!
-.
-Saintess?
Versia's eyes had trembled, then she'd smiled sadly somewhere, making Asher's chest achethat wasn't something to share with others.
Anyway, the mission was over, but the trip back had been fun in its own way.
Asher flopped back onto the bed, musing on the mission like that.
Then Dalin said,
"Saintess, you should wash up before bed, right?"
"Ah yeah, I'll go."
"Let me wash you for old times' sake!"
"Eek, no, I can."
"It's been so long since I saw you!"
Dalin's eyes sparkled too brightly.
Asher couldn't bring herself to refuse that radiant enthusiasm.
After a moment's hesitation, she nodded with a creak.
And so she was dragged to the bathroom.
Just like always when Dalin attended her, Asher squeezed her eyes shut, face flushed and trembling.
It was during that.
"Huh? Saintess, what's this?"
Dalin, washing her back, asked curiously.
"Mm?"
"Um, there's something on your lower back?"
"?"
Asher's brow furrowed.
At her reaction, Dalin brought a mirror and showed Asher her back.
The moment she saw it,
"Huh?"
Asher felt her blood run cold.
* * *
It was late evening.
The Order's lights had all gone out, and the night was deep enough that only someone's snores echoed quietly.
Versia received an unexpected guest.
It was Asher, who had sneaked into her barracks.
"Knight?"
"J-just let me in for a sec."
Asher, looking distracted, hurriedly shut the door and came inside.
Versia felt puzzled.
But the bewilderment she felt then was nothing.
"B-big trouble. Take a look at my body."
With that, Asher frantically shed her robe and started untying the sash of her priestly robes.
The words could easily be taken the wrong way, in a lewd sense.
If she'd understood correctly, Versia was about to shatter her own purity with her own handswhat would that count as, masturbation or intercourse?
Such thoughts swirled in Versia's mind.
Of course, it didn't last long.
Because Asher's face was deathly pale.
Something had clearly happened.
Seeing her so unable to calm down, Versia judged that settling her came first.
That was why she spoke.
"Knight, sneaking in at night and stripping like that is a bit."
Asher froze.
Only then did she seem to realize what she was doing, her face blank.
Then it flushed red.
But she didn't snap like usual.
She just looked lost.
Versia grabbed Asher's shoulders and said,
"How about some slow deep breaths first?"
"Y-yes."
Asher's breathing gradually steadied.
By then, Versia had brewed some warm tea, handed it to her, led her to a chair, and sat across from her before asking,
"So, what's going on?"
It had to be urgent for her to barge in like this.
Versia asked with a serious expression, and Asher took a sip of tea before stammering,
"W-well."
"Well?"
"Th-the curse, you know."
Versia's expression hardened.
"Something wrong? You feeling off anywhere?"
The worry she'd had might have come true, and her voice grew icy.
But Asher shook her head firmly, denying it.
Then, in a troubled tone, ears reddening again, she said,
"W-well, want to see?"
"See what?"
"."
Asher glanced around cautiously, then slowly stood.
Lips trembling, she turned her back to Versia.
Then she fully untied the half-loosened sash and started pulling off her top.
At the shy movements, Versia felt a tension that didn't fit the moment.
Asher brushed her hair aside with one hand, revealing her back.
A smooth, pale back came into view. Versia's gaze unconsciously trailed slowly from her trapezius, over her shoulder blades, down her wings and spinethen she stopped breathing.
"The, lower back. The erector spinae."
Just as he said, at the erector spinae where pelvis met waist, there was a tattoo she didn't recognize.
"This is."
A small snake coiled up Asher's spine.
It had wings sprouting backward, and it was red.
Versia's blood ran cold.
No matter how she thought about it, the only reason something like this would suddenly appear on her body was the Curse of Galrae.
Asher's voice buzzed in her ears.
It was a little teary.
"I-I really didn't know. My body's fine, no mental fog or anything Dalin found it while washing me, but the spot, the spot made it so I only just noticed."
Even as she made excuses, her apologetic air was all too clear.
For some reason, Versia felt her insides burning.
"It's still okay, right?"
"Y-yes I really don't feel anything wrong!"
Her mind grew complicated.
Her fingertips trembled as they reached for Asher's lower back.
The moment Versia's index finger touched the erector spinae
"Hahk?!"
Asher's back stiffened straight, letting out a sharp gasp.
Versia's head snapped up at that.
Asher was covering her mouth.
Wide eyes, trembling gazeshe looked as shocked as anyone.
"Just from touching her lower back?"
She thought, and the cause became clearer.
Versia wasn't as knowledgeable as Judith, but as a Saintess, she knew plenty about prayers and curses.
She could analyze this much, at least.
Versia checked the tattoo again.
Then her voice lowered.
"You didn't dodge the curse."
It hadn't failedit had mutated and taken hold.
Whether because the targeting failed, as Asher said, or due to the divine power she'd harbored, she didn't know.
"M-mutated how?"
"You felt it yourself."
Versia clicked her tongue.
It was a tricky form.
She'd need other methods to learn the details, but one thing was certain.
"It's an erosion type. It grows stronger with repeated triggers."
After that reaction, the snake had lengthened by a pinky nail's width.
Versia noticed the difference immediately.
Probably, the curse would complete when that snake's head reached the nape.
So,
"This is a Yin Seal."
It was the Curse of Galrae inscribed as a Yin Seal.
And the trigger was quite clear.
"Sexual arousal?"
That seemed to be it.
In the midst of this seriousness, she felt deeply troubled.
"S-Saintess. Then what do we."
"."
Versia had unintentionally discovered her own erogenous zone.