Is This the Main Story...?
Is this the main story…?
“…and so, I’m in a rather awkward situation. That’s also why my face looks like this.”
“I see. I was wondering why Brother Kyle’s usual smile had vanished from his face.”
Today as well, the Saintess was in the midst of the sturdy body-building project under Kyle’s guidance. Having just barely mastered the proper squat form, she was listening to Kyle’s story during a short break.
“Still, this group project thing sounds like it could be pretty fun.”
“…That is a grave misconception, Saintess.”
“Why? If you form a team with all sorts of different people, exchange opinions, divide the work, produce a wonderful result, and get a good grade, wouldn’t that be really nice?”
Of course, it wasn’t as though that possibility was completely nonexistent. If one spun the happiness circuit at full power, that is.
What the Saintess was describing right now was properly understood as the hope version of group projects. If things really worked out that way, a group project would deserve to be called the greatest gift of all.
But the world, as a rule, had far more despair versions than hope versions. You were supposed to exchange opinions, yet there was no one worth exchanging opinions with, and no one had any intention of dividing the work. The resulting product was entirely the work of a single person, while the grade was shared equally by everyone. That was the despair version of group projects—and the realistic one.
“Saintess.”
“Yes?”
“…Never mind.”
He couldn’t bring himself to tell her the reality; it would have felt too pitiful. Since the Saintess would never enroll at the academy as a student anyway, he decided to let her keep seeing only the hope version. That was why Kyle had simply closed his mouth mid-sentence.
“All right, that’s enough rest. Time to get moving again.”
“Already? Ah, it hasn’t even been ten minutes yet, has it?!”
“Rest precisely, train precisely—if you do it like that, you won’t grow. Resting even one minute less! Moving even one minute more! That is the best shortcut for the future.”
“Euuuugh!!”
Forced back to her feet, the Saintess once again settled into her squat stance.
“We repeat just like before. The number of reps matters, but pay careful attention to locking in the form correctly.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Just because it’s hard, you must not simply stand up. When you lower yourself and when you rise, feel the muscles stretch and contract fully. Move while thoroughly accepting that progressive overload.”
Ordinarily he was such a kind person, yet the moment training began he became extremely strict. He left no openings whatsoever. Not a single concession. He would make sure the target was met no matter what.
Thinking that, the Saintess continued stacking up her squat count, grunting and straining all the while.
“Kiiiing!!”
“Don’t collapse! You can do this!”
“Hwiik!!”
With a bizarre scream, the Saintess finally forced her body upright. The time of endurance passed, and though it had been a close call, she still reached the target set.
“Don’t sit down immediately. Keep your breathing steady, slowly. Don’t release the tension in your body.”
“Hwi… hwaaah…”
“Yes. Now you may sit down slowly.”
“M-my legs… the strength… i-is gone… I don’t think I can sit properly… C-could you help me just a little?”
“Huh? Saintess? Wha—whoa whoa whoa!!”
Kyle launched himself forward and managed to catch her just before she could plant her rear on the floor. The hips had the most flesh and were supposedly good for shock absorption, but if you sat down wrong you could still injure your coccyx and end up extremely uncomfortable.
“Uh… uhh…”
Somehow the Saintess had ended up nestled snugly in Kyle’s arms. That fact seemed to embarrass her greatly; her face flushed bright red.
“Whew… Saintess. I told you not to release the tension, didn’t I?”
“Ah! Y-yes! I’m sorry, Brother Kyle!!”
Even so, Kyle checked carefully to make sure nothing was injured and gave her a light scolding. She was only now managing the basics; if she got hurt here it would all be for nothing. Even if holy power healed the body, the memory of the injury could still create an aversion to training.
“You’re all right? Nowhere else feels uncomfortable?”
“N-no! Nothing at all, Brother Kyle!!”
“Good. Then we’ll stop for today. I have another lecture to get to.”
“Yes! Thank you for your hard work, Brother Kyle!”
“You’re the one who’s always working hard, Saintess. I’m the one who’s grateful that you keep following so well. The way you never try to cut corners and always give it your best—it’s truly a pleasure to watch.”
“Really!?”
At Kyle’s praise the Saintess happily threw both arms up into the air. Having her efforts recognized, and receiving Kyle’s compliment on top of it, seemed to have lifted her spirits sky-high. After smiling once at the sight of her, Kyle asked the question he had been wanting to ask for a while.
“How are the people of the Holy Order doing? Are they managing well?”
“According to the letter that arrived yesterday, they’ve at least started… but everyone is finding it extremely difficult.”
Of course they would. The priests of the current Holy Order were people who had never properly exercised even once. Back when the Empire had been deep in war and the world was in extreme chaos, the priests of that era had run in every direction to calm even a little of that turmoil. No matter how harsh or remote the place, they had forced their way there on sturdy legs and comforted the people. It was no exaggeration to say those priests had been tougher than most ordinary soldiers of today.
But once peacetime arrived, nearly all of that vanished. What remained was simply kneeling and offering prayers of gratitude and peace to the gods. With the world quiet, the Holy Order had grown completely accustomed to those gentle waters.
“Of course it’s hard. That’s only natural. Is it easy for swordsmen to swing their blades? Is it easy for mages to research day and night? Hard training always brings results to match. I only hope the priests come to understand that as well.”
“It will be just as Brother Kyle says. Everyone in the Holy Order is devout. Even if it’s painful and grueling right now, they will accept it as a path of asceticism for the gods, as suffering undertaken on behalf of all people, and they will overcome it with even more faithful hearts—I believe that without a shadow of a doubt!”
Ahhh! What an exemplary member’s attitude this was! Such a fierce will to let go of neither training nor faith! If the people of John Nassen had seen this, they would have said things like: She’s far fiercer than she looks, or There’s still some real people left in the Holy Order, or This is the proper image of an Imperial woman, and so on.
With someone like this as the Saintess, the people of the Holy Order will be rock-solid before long. Yes, this is how a proper religious organization should be. If all you ever do is talk pretty, how are you any different from a cult?
Thinking that, Kyle was about to offer the Saintess another round of praise when—
“….”
He turned his head and began carefully studying the space beyond the door.
“Brother Kyle?”
“…Saintess. Were you perhaps… expecting a guest today?”
“A guest? No? I haven’t heard anything. No one from the Holy Order is coming either.”
“There are definitely people guarding you around the chapel, correct?”
“Yes. There are Holy Knights of the Order and people sent by the Empire’s Special Affairs Department. Why do you suddenly…?”
Without a word, Kyle pulled the Saintess to his side. Then he tucked her behind him so he could protect her the instant anything happened.
Beyond the door, an extremely powerful presence could be felt. It was on par with Priscilla, whom he had sparred with a few days earlier—or perhaps a fraction stronger. That alone was reason enough for tension, yet the other party had entered the chapel without making a single sound. There were supposedly escort forces nearby, but he hadn’t heard so much as a clash.
A thousand thoughts raced through Kyle’s mind. Should he launch a preemptive strike right now so the person could never even approach the Saintess? Or should he turn around entirely and leave this place with her? If the Saintess got hurt it would be a true disaster, so the latter was preferable to the former. But—
Leave the position. Withdraw. …Run away? Me? Why?
The moment his thoughts reached that point, every one of those plans vanished. What remained was a single, blazing John Nassen will: he would absolutely crush the powerhouse beyond this door.
“…Ah!”
From beyond the door came a woman’s sharp scream. Thanks to that, the thick murderous intent that had been prickling his skin vanished, and something familiar took its place instead.
This presence… wait a second. Don’t tell me?
It seemed Kyle was not the only one who had sensed the sudden change. The Saintess, still hidden behind him, let out a soft “Oh?” and parted her lips.
“Princess Yulika?”
At the same time Kyle seized the handle and yanked the door open. Standing there in an extremely strange, half-crouched posture was the Fifth Princess, Yulika.
“…What are you doing here, Fifth Princess?”
At Kyle’s question, the Fifth Princess, Yulika, let out a forced “Ahem!” of a cough. Knowing that Kyle and the Saintess were together, she had decided to tease them a little by releasing her murderous intent—her true power, completely at odds with the aura she normally scattered about. It was a pressure that even the Imperial 10 Strongest would momentarily choose to evade. Middling knights sometimes simply collapsed on the spot and trembled.
Yet what she felt beyond the door was another rough presence meeting that aura of hers head-on. No—weakly, but still, pushing it back.
Words like “amazing” were insufficient to describe it. This was… yes. Exactly the image of a true man she had so desperately wanted.
Haa… damn… this man is way too tempting.
Something wet between her thighs told her she had leaked a little. She had gotten so excited, so ecstatic, that her body had reacted on its own.
“…Kyle John Nassen.”
And so Yulika, having already completely forgotten the Saintess’s existence,
“Marry me.”
“Huh?”
pulled Kyle into a fierce embrace and declared,
“I’ll be your woman, so you be my man.”
“What on earth are you suddenly saying…?!”
“Let’s make babies. Us.”
Faced with a development he could never have imagined, Kyle had no choice but to bellow, “What kind of nonsense is that!!”
And…
“Uh…?”
Watching Yulika, the Saintess still could not understand why her own mood had suddenly turned a little sour. She simply kept blinking her two eyes.