Chapter 165
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Not Quite a Sickbed Visit -4-
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The door finally opened after a long wait, and a man with a sword at his waist approached.
"Alice! Sorry to keep you waiting so long?"
"...Let's just go."
She was done wasting time at the Church, waiting for her party member Roman.
Now it was time to head back to the Adventurer's Guild and pick out a commission in advance.
"Thanks for your help."
She nodded to the Church members in sight as she left, but suddenly her head started aching.
It wasn't anything truly complicated, but...
Because of who had given her the advice, she couldn't help suspecting some hidden meaning or deeper intent she wasn't privy to.
'A person who can see spirits... Mom was the only one before this.'
She never imagined she'd run into a platinum adventurer at the Church—a guy with the same name as a friend from her hometown, of all things.
Two encounters, and both times he'd struck her as an oddly inscrutable person, hard to pin down.
The intensity of their first meeting went without saying.
The second had left an impression for entirely different reasons.
—And just because someone can see spirits doesn't make them automatically good or kind. Don't buy into rumors without proof. You get what I mean, right?
It was the first time she'd ever heard anything like that.
She could see spirits herself—what reason would he have to undermine that lore?
It didn't benefit him at all, as far as she could tell.
On the other hand, if he'd meant it sincerely, with no ulterior motive...
'Advice? Why me...?'
Did she really come across as so hopelessly amateurish to a platinum adventurer that he couldn't hold back from lecturing her?
—There are no evil people among those who can see spirits.
It was what her mother had told her when she'd met Tero and formed a contract.
It was also the typical praise people heaped on anyone who could see spirits.
They say pure hearts make spirits visible, or it's a sign of innate beauty, proof of divine favor... and so on.
There were all sorts of flattering lines that boosted your self-esteem just for being able to see them.
There was even a theory that while not seeing them didn't make you evil, it could be evidence of goodness.
Alice had never felt particularly virtuous herself.
She never bothered denying it because there was nothing to gain from doing so.
Her father was a beastkin, her mother a dark elf.
Her mother, with elven blood, had seen spirits since birth and even contracted one, but her father had never glimpsed a single one his whole life.
Yet she knew her father was just as good-hearted as her mother.
Which made her think her own encounter with Tero probably wasn't due to any innate virtue or special favor from the goddess.
It was far more likely she'd simply inherited her mother's blood.
"Alice?"
"...What?"
"I'll really be more careful from now on! I'll make up the potion costs from this one somehow—"
Seeing Roman mumbling to himself made her temper flare, and Alice looked away, suppressing the surge of emotion.
'I need to think about this seriously.'
Ever since she'd lost her famed sword at the Adventurer's Guild, Roman had been getting injured on commissions more often.
He used to bisect foes effortlessly with his original blade, but the cheap replacement couldn't manage it, leaving him vulnerable in fights.
Because of that, on their last commission, he'd taken a direct hit from a minotaur's fist, suffering severe internal damage and vomiting blood as he collapsed.
Regular treatments had healed him up completely now, but...
Without those high-quality potions back then, he might have actually gone to the goddess's side.
'Should I just send him back home somehow?'
It wasn't like she'd dragged him along—he'd insisted on coming because he was worried about her heading to the capital alone.
She was charging ahead without rest, eyes on the top.
Meanwhile, after seeing sapphire and platinum adventurers in action, he'd slumped into despair, convinced he'd never reach that level of talent.
The friction between her relentless drive and his defeatism was mounting, making her wonder if she should just disband the party and start over.
Even beyond the thick door, the clamor was palpable.
The downside of her superhuman hearing was waking up to noises like this.
The upside? She could guess what was causing the racket.
"Mm..."
Eclair slowly opened her eyes. She'd been sleeping soundly in his arms without a peep.
"Sleep well?"
"..."
Clearly unaware she'd dozed off, she rolled her eyes to take in the situation, then covered her face with both hands.
"Why cover your face?"
"This is an unforgivable blunder... Coming to visit a patient and stealing their bed to sleep."
"For one thing, I'm not even a patient. Watching you sleep recharged me plenty. Just looking at you gave me energy."
"..."
He pulled her closer, but she curled up like a shrimp and slipped under the covers to hide.
'She's even cuter knowing she's genuinely embarrassed.'
The lack of any intentional charm doubled the appeal.
Who else got to see Eclair Dreitna like this?
To savor this exclusive sight, he burrowed under the blanket after her.
"Kitty. It's fine, really."
"I can't forgive myself..."
"Anyone can nod off when they're tired. I've fallen asleep in the woods mid-commission myself. Even when I knew I had to hurry back."
"..."
"Sleeping when it's safe is no issue. You just avoid dozing off when it's not—like I did."
Swish—
Eclair uncurled and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.
The kind of strength that would snap a normal person's spine.
She pressed right against him, burying her face in his chest, still hiding her expression.
"Fine, I get it. But don't insult yourself just to comfort me, even as a joke..."
"Sorry."
His light apology earned him a gentle headbutt to the chest.
"...Don't apologize either."
What could he say to untangle her mood?
The warmth from two adults huddled under the blanket set the tone.
"I love you."
She finally lifted her head from his embrace, showed her face, and smiled.
"That's... the right choice."
"Your answer?"
She straightened her curled form, met his gaze head-on, pulled his waist closer, and kissed him.
Eclair sometimes took the lead during kisses, riding the mood and tangling tongues aggressively.
But usually, she preferred drawing his tongue into her mouth to suck and lick it.
"Mm..."
He rolled her on top, savoring the warm press of her uniform, the resilient curve of her hips, her toned thighs, the soft breasts yielding through the lingerie she'd started wearing for him.
Every inch drove him wild.
When his hand reached for her chest from below, she'd twist her upper body just enough to let him freely grope the breasts hidden beneath her uniform.
"Hmph...! Ah..."
Even mid-kiss, as she moaned, one hand slid down to gently stroke and caress his cock.
Pop—
He undid the top button of her black uniform and slipped his hand inside. Silky fabric gave way to soft, yielding flesh pressing firmly against his palm.
"Ha...! W-What did you and Rike get up to today? Don't tell me you did something sacrilegious here, under the goddess's watchful eyes?"
Eclair bit her lip to stifle moans from his unrelenting hands, urging an answer.
"Mm... We didn't go all the way."
"All the way...? Ngh...! So what did you do?"
"Dodged the goddess's eyes and fooled around a bit under the blanket? Cleanup's a pain, though."
Voices drifted occasionally from beyond the thick door, but they were distant.
Eclair kept kneading and stroking his cock while staring at the door, her face deep in thought.
"We don't have to do anything. I can hold out for a few days."
"...You say that with this right in front of you? Ah..."
His rough hands mauling her breasts. His cock straining like it might rip through the patient gown.
Even he had to admit it lacked conviction.
Best a man could do in this situation was grin.
"Can't help it with my woman. It'll settle down after a bit, though."
She confirmed the door was locked tight, sighed, tugged down his gown bottoms, and gripped his cock leaking precum profusely.
"Hoo... You look miserable, so just once."
'I could've held out fine...'
But no need to refuse when she offered.
Under the pretense of dodging the goddess's gaze in the Church.
Different from Rike, but similar setup—Eclair positioned herself at his lower half under the blanket.
She knelt without exposing her legs and took his cock into her mouth.
⋯
⋯
If asked whether he'd been true to his gender today, he could say without a doubt: absolutely.
A day dumping loads into the mouths of an academy priestess-in-training and a saintess.
No contraceptives taken, so picturing it as pulsing life poured down their throats got him aroused all over again.
He wasn't usually like this. The power women held over the heart was truly profound and mysterious.
Was this growth in a man's psyche?
Or regression, fostering childish possessiveness?
Either way, he was certain: this was the happiest time in his life so far.
For some reason, he wanted—no, needed—to say it aloud.
Best to express it as often as possible.
Even if it seemed out of nowhere.
He told Eclair lying beside him exactly that.
She blinked in surprise, then beamed with genuine joy, hugging him tight and peppering him with kisses. "Tell Rike too!"
As he basked in the lip barrage, she poked his chest and got out of bed.
"Wait here. It's late, but I'll grab something decent for dinner."
"I'll come with, Knight!"
She shrugged on her outer coat from the chair and pushed his shoulders to reseat him on the bed.
"Where do you think you're going in patient garb? Just stay put."
"Hmm..."
As he pondered how to convince her, he noticed her uniform looked different from usual.
'Because we're in the Church?'
No sword at her waist.
Maybe preparing to go all-out with Innocence if trouble hit unexpectedly.
'What the hell is Innocence, anyway?'
Realizing they'd always gotten sidetracked whenever he tried asking about her weapon,
he decided to show her the chains dwelling in his body first.
Especially since he couldn't afford to forget again.
"Gleipnir."
Clank—
Her head snapped toward the sound of chains emerging from thin air.
"...!"
"Our hard work paying off! Say hi."
Shink!
One chain stiffened like a snake, bowing its tip then straightening.
Eclair halted her preparations and approached, inspecting Gleipnir from all angles.
"What in the...?!"
Confirming it wasn't some thin-wire trick or mana illusion, she looked utterly baffled.
Seeing her dumbfounded expression made his bed romps training silly maneuvers with Gleipnir feel worthwhile.
"We never finished talking about Innocence, right? I'll explain this little guy over dinner."