Unsealing
"Aah… Aahh…!"
"Aaaah…"
"O God."
The nuns' moans echoing from within the convent showed no sign of ending throughout the night.
Holy Power has increased by 2.
Holy Power has increased by 1.
Holy Power has increased by 3.
Holy Power has increased by 5.
. . .
The four nuns took turns continuing their service. Their personal beds were already soaked with semen and their own fluids. Nuns moaning without end. Nuns praying to me. Nuns sucking greedily. Nuns rejoicing as their buttocks were struck. The light in their eyes had long since vanished. Following my lead, the nuns offered their bodies and were used as females. The act repeated without pause until dawn broke.
"We thank you for your devotion, Brother Kang Seo-ja."
At the church entrance, the pastor and a nun greeted the black-haired man with smiles.
"The church will remember your service, Brother."
"Then…"
The black-haired man gave a brief nod and turned to leave. The red-haired nun clasped her hands in prayer as she watched his retreating back.
"How was the Brother's service, Head Nun Choki?"
Pastor Chidin asked, looking at Head Nun Choki.
"The Brother was no incubus."
"Yet the convent was quite noisy for that, wasn't it?"
Head Nun Choki revealed her blinded eye, hidden beneath her red hair, to the pastor.
"My eye… What happened?"
"The Brother healed it for me."
"An eye that even Holy Power couldn't cure?"
"Yes, Pastor."
"How is that possible…"
Pastor Chidin gazed at the man walking away with an expression of disbelief.
"He is clearly no ordinary brother."
"Indeed. Washing away the sin of demonic erosion is something even the high priest cannot accomplish."
Pastor Chidin looked at the man once more, still unconvinced.
"We should summon an inquisitor from the order to investigate thoroughly."
"Is that necessary, Head Nun Choki?"
"The power the Brother possesses is not ordinary. It is as though it was granted from the heavens."
The red-haired nun placed a hand on her tingling lower abdomen, lost in deep thought.
"Verification is required."
"Yes. He may be someone the order needs."
The pastor and the nun recalled the black-haired man as they opened the church's main door and stepped inside.
I had spent the night with the nuns, accumulating Holy Power. I had expected other stats to grow as well, but only Holy Power rose consistently, which was rather intriguing.
Holy Power, huh…
The Holy Power the nuns had given me was mostly related to healing abilities and knowledge. Ordinary adventurers would return to the church after missions to heal their wounds before setting out again. It seemed unnecessary for someone like me who recovered through nighttime activities, but I realized it could be quite useful in battle. During urgent fights, I couldn't rely on sexual intercourse to recover.
Now I could heal my slaves or remove status ailments like poison and curses using only Holy Power. That alone was satisfying enough.
You have learned Paladin's Oath.
Yet the moment I absorbed the head nun's Holy Power, another piece of knowledge flowed into me. The countless scars on her body and her blinded eye suggested what role she had once played.
I never expected she was a paladin, not a nun.
Paladins were the shield of the Holy Order and the guardians of the continent. They focused on buffs and recovery centered around Holy Power rather than swordsmanship. Their tenacious survivability and combat endurance supported their parties in every battle. Their mere presence would greatly increase a party's stability.
For such a paladin to have come to this abandoned territory and taken the position of head nun, there must be a story behind it.
She retired because of her blinded eye and wounded body.
It was also possible the order had cast her out after she was injured and her strength depleted. Perhaps the position had been forcibly chosen by the order for her sake.
I should ask her the next time I visit the church.
Thinking of Head Nun Choki, I arrived at the blacksmith's forge.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the space filled with fire, iron, and sweat, the blacksmith swung her iron hammer.
"Back again?"
The blacksmith glanced at me with annoyance and plunged the sword she had just forged back into the molten metal.
"I need a sword."
"Right. What about the one I gave you?"
I took out the scabbard and handed it to her.
"What? There's no sword in it."
"It melted away while fighting a salamander."
"What? A salamander? You?"
"Yes."
The blacksmith stared in disbelief before smiling and returning the scabbard.
"I thought you'd be holed up somewhere hunting goblins, but you've got more skill than I expected."
Her tone was dismissive, yet I could feel she was opening up somewhat. The wariness she had shown at first had clearly disappeared.
"How long will it take?"
"I've got some good iron ready. Take it."
"How much?"
"Ten gold. I told you before, you strange fellow."
"So you did. Here."
I took out ten gold and handed it to her.
"What are you hunting next?"
"An ogre."
"Pfft… Hahaha! You're a real man."
After laughing for a while, she looked at me again.
"That sword won't be enough. Not even close."
"Then what kind of sword do I need?"
"At least mithril, or better yet adamantium, to pierce its hide."
"If I bring you the ore…"
"I'll make it for you."
The blacksmith promised as if it were obvious.
"Understood."
"It won't be easy to get. It's not something lying around everywhere."
Unlike her prickly first impression, the blacksmith was listening to my story to the end.
"I'll visit again next time."
"Yeah. Don't die before I can make you that mithril sword."
"Yes."
Leaving the forge, I headed to the armor shop run by the blacksmith's younger brother.
Jingle jingle…
"Welcome!"
The blacksmith's brother turned at the sound of the bell.
"I'm here to look at armor."
"Ah, it's you again~"
He greeted me warmly upon seeing my black hair.
"How have you been?"
"Still alive, thanks to you."
"Haha, that's good to hear."
"I'm looking for light yet sturdy leather armor again."
"We just got a large shipment of giant boar hide. This way, please."
I removed the shabby leather armor I had been wearing and tried on a set of dark brown armor.
"Most monster attacks won't penetrate this."
I trusted it since I had hunted a giant boar myself. We had needed four people to break through its hide, so we had used forced bleeding to take it down. Thinking back, I remembered my slaves.
"I'll need two more sets besides this one."
"Shall I prepare them?"
"Yes. How much will it be?"
"Thirty gold per set, so ninety total… I'll give you a discount and make it seventy-five for all three."
"Good."
Buying armor of this quality for seventy-five gold was a great haul.
"Thank you."
"May I ask one more thing?"
"Anything."
"Is the blacksmith outside your older sister?"
"Yes, she's my real sister. Why?"
"I was wondering if there's anything she likes."
"Likes? Are you interested in my sister?"
"No."
I answered firmly and showed him the new sword.
"She said she'd make swords for me at a low price. Since she won't take the rest of the payment, I wanted to give her a gift instead."
"Ahaha… My sister really… I told her not to run at a loss…"
The younger brother sighed.
"She does like alcohol quite a bit."
"Alcohol, is it… Understood."
"Haha… Sorry about that."
"It's fine."
Next time, I could bring the blacksmith ore and fine liquor as gifts. Leaving the armor shop, I headed toward Syucali's hideout.
Click… Creak…
"Welcome, Master."
Eos emerged from the shadows.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"No, I did not."
"…"
I handed her the giant hog set.
"This is… armor?"
"It's yours. Wear it."
"Yes, Master."
Eos immediately stripped and donned the new leather armor.
"It suits you."
"Thank you, Master."
"Where's Syucali?"
"She's in the laboratory. She said she came up with a new potion formula and locked herself in."
"I see."
Knowing Syucali's tendency to rely on potions, I figured she would come out soon if I waited.
"I should unseal her mana in the meantime."
"Yes, Master."
Eos and I moved to the bed. I naturally laid her down and spread her arms.
Ritual Spell
Whoosh…
"Release."
With a flickering flame at my fingertip, I slowly unraveled the twisted mana seal.
"Nngh…"
"Almost done. Just hold on a little longer."
"Yes."
Listening to Eos's shallow breaths, I continued the unsealing ritual. For several days, I had been focused solely on this armpit. The spell seal that had seemed impossible at first began to loosen gradually, and finally, the end was in sight.
"This is it."
Fwoosh!
The last remaining spell unraveled, releasing Eos's first mana seal.
Whooooom…
Dense, rapid mana began overflowing from Eos. Facing that overwhelming mana, only one word left my mouth.
"Impressive."