Chapter 67
Chapter 67
Saint, You’re So Vulgar! – Chapter 67
People's lives never quite go the way we want them to.
Sometimes, even when you pour your heart and soul into something, the results fall short of your efforts, leaving you sighing in disappointment.
Usually, it's some external variable that's to blame.
This was exactly that kind of situation.
The healer returned after finishing her diagnosis.
Asher faced Versia with a deadly serious expression.
It was only natural. The path was still within safe limits, but if it kept lengthening this easily, that margin for error would vanish soon enough.
Judith had strengthened the seal and taken various other measures, but as with any illness, the curse hinged most on the victim's own will.
This had happened after just one night... no, precisely two nights. How could he not be serious?
With that, he parted his lips.
But it wasn't easy.
"I'll just ask you straight out."
"Sure, go ahead."
"Saintess, did you... "
His words came to a screeching halt.
Saying something like, 'Did you relieve your sexual excitement alone last night?' wasn't easy, even as a joke.
It couldn't be helpedhe had no immunity to it.
Sure, he'd been exposed to all sorts of vulgar words through Versia, but hearing them and saying them himself were two entirely different things.
"Ja... jack... "
Asher's face grew redder by the second.
His expression twisted in embarrassment.
And as his body tensed up too, the conversation dragged on interminably.
That was when it happened.
"Handjob?"
"Ack!"
"What's there to be embarrassed about? Handjob, jerking off, fapping, wanking..."
"Ack! Ack! Ack!"
Asher jolted at the sudden barrage of words.
Versia let out a hollow chuckle and said,
"I didn't."
"...Ack?"
"I didn't, okay? I'm not crazyI wouldn't do that right after getting a slit down there."
Asher gave her a dubious look.
Judging by her usual behavior, she seemed like the type who would.
Versia propped her chin on her hand, raising one eyebrow as she spoke.
"What? It kinda pisses me off."
"No... I mean, well..."
If you didn't do anything, then why did the slit lengthen?
He said it with his eyes alone, but Versia understood perfectly.
"I didn't jerk off."
"......"
"I didn't rub it raw..."
"Eek?! Y-Yes, I get it, stop...!"
Asher's lips quivered.
When he covered his face with his hands, Versia sighed.
"Just..."
"Y-Yes..."
"......"
Versia fell silent.
Asher peeked at her through his fingers, catching a rather unfamiliar reaction.
"...Saintess?"
"......"
Versia was still propping her chin up.
She'd turned her head away, sullenly glaring into space.
That much was whatever, but...
"...Saintess, are you okay?"
Her face looked oddly flushed.
Worried, he asked, and Versia replied.
"Anyway, I didn't. I'll be careful from now on."
Be careful about what, if you didn't even do it?
The question lingered unresolved, but Versia didn't seem inclined to explain.
In the end, all Asher could do was swallow his doubts and nod.
* * *
Versia felt a sense of alienation.
In other words, after so long, returning to her original body took a lot of effort to adjust to.
It couldn't be helpedAsher's body had been robust.
His senses were sharp, his stamina seemed inexhaustible.
The vitality coursing through his entire body was on another level, always keeping him in peak condition. Now that she'd returned to her own body, all that was gone.
It's always the drop that hits harder than the rise ever felt.
Just as Asher had grown accustomed to living in Versia's body, she'd felt the same.
It was worst when she woke up in the morning and opened her eyes.
Her whole body felt heavy and listless, like a waterlogged cotton ball.
That alone was tough enough, but the real ordeal was something else.
...Ah.
Again.
She'd dreamed again.
Versia's lips pressed into a tight line.
She crawled out of bed and grabbed the hand mirror from the shelf beside it.
Then she angled it behind her.
"......"
It had grown again. About the length of a fingernail.
Cold sweat beaded on her skin.
And her face flushed a little.
It was a shy reaction that would shock Asher, but she was alone in the bedroom.
Why had the slit grown?
Did she masturbate? Or have some lewd dream?
All wrong.
Versia recalled the dream from last night.
Even by her own standards, it was pretty embarrassing.
-I like you, Saintess.
In the dream, Asher had taken her hand and confessed those words.
The boy's pure innocence shone in his smile, untainted love dwelling in his eyes.
Then he leaned in for a kiss.
And that was it. The dream ended right there.
In other words, the slit had grown because of that dream.
How on earth could she tell anyone that?
Versia could laugh off talk of sex, handjobs, dicks, or tits, but precisely because she was that kind of person, voicing pure feelings was hard.
It felt too cringey and awkward.
Of course, she'd rather say something like, 'I dreamed of rolling around in a sweaty mess with that guy. Got a problem?' than admit, 'I got turned on dreaming about the knight confessing to me.'
If it came to that, she'd sooner hang herself.
Versia wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or despairing that some purity still lingered inside her.
It was in the midst of this turmoil.
"Saintess! It's time for your medicine... Oh, you're already awake?"
Dalin entered the room.
Her face beamed with a bright smile, one of the changes unfamiliar to Versia.
In her memories, Dalin was always a kid who eyed her warily.
Truth be told, in terms of comfort, the old way was still easier.
Versia was the type more accustomed to silence than conversation, after all.
She only chattered like that in front of Asher.
Even she found her own behavior baffling.
Anyway, now that she was back in her original body, should she make the girl quiet down again?
She thought about it, but didn't act on it.
-How about trying to be kind to others too?
Asher's occasional subtle suggestions came to mind.
As did the events with him just the day before.
Not out of pure intent, but with clear purposebecause it was Asher's opinion, she accepted it.
"...Good morning."
For the first time, Versia greeted Dalin first.
Dalin responded with a radiant smile.
"Yes! Good morning!"
Dalin, who was bright by nature, grinned ear to ear.
She evoked the image of a puppy wagging its tail at anyone.
A chuckle escaped Versia.
She'd never bothered with such things before, but as Asher said, greeting others wasn't so hard or taxing.
* * *
Because of the slit, she bathed and changed alone after Dalin tidied the room and left.
She met Asher in the afternoon.
"Good morning, Saintess!"
"It's afternoon."
"Haha, there's joint training today, so...!"
She knew.
What was surprising was how his face glistened brightly, even after that sweaty, grueling training.
Guess a knight's still a knight.
In that moment, Versia truly felt Asher's essence for the first time.
Right after, she blankly recalled the morning's events.
Should she tell him about greeting Dalin first?
But she dropped it.
Bragging about it herself felt too childish.
"Yeah, well. Good work out there."
In the end, it ended with their usual exchange.
Thus began the day.
There was still no sign of their bodies switching back.
Maybe they'd stay like this forever.
The thought brought a strange feeling.
It used to fill her with dread, but not now.
Courtesy of Asher, pure and simple.
A psychologically stable state. That was the right way to put it.
Versia found this version of herself both fascinating and foreign.
She was lost in such thoughts.
"Ah, there's a meeting today. I'll escort you to the conference room!"
"You seem in a good mood."
"Of course! Now we can truly serve you as a knight, Saintess!"
"Hm..."
People really are animals that react to what they see, huh.
The same words and actions looked different now that he was in a man's body.
Anyway, it wasn't so bad.
Asher was an excellent knight and a fine partner.
With him around, life in the church and looming threats didn't seem so scary.
Maybe everything was getting better.
That thought crossed her mind, and it didn't take long to realize it was an illusion.
"Sir Terbion! Hello!"
"Ah, hello."
"Eek!"
"......"
On the way to the conference room.
Right then, Versia felt her emotions curdle and rot.
She realized who those priestesses' gazesgrowing cloyingly sticky during her time in that bodywere now fixed on.
When she'd been on the receiving end, it hadn't bothered her.
Those looks were clearly for her, and Asher's annoyed reactions had been amusing.
But things had changed.
"...Ah."
"Hm? What's wrong, Saintess?"
Versia looked at Asher.
An innocent face oblivious to the issue.
If those priestesses acted on their lecherous intentions, this scatterbrain wouldn't notice and would fall right into it.
Someone other than her might grope Asher, hug him, seduce him.
Even as his guard, they weren't together 24/7, so the more she thought about it...
'......'
Her mood soured terribly.