The Neutral Saint Teaches the Unlucky Heroine Something Good(?) (2)

The Neutral Saint had taught the unlucky heroine something good(?). (2)

"The reason Joyeon's personality changed at the restaurant was clearly due to stress he couldn't handle. So to return him to his original self, we'd need to draw out the opposite emotion."

Sosia had said something completely out of the blue to Arty because she intended to use her for Joyeon's sake. As a trigger to draw out happy emotions rather than stress.

'This child can never just let go of a debt of gratitude. She's been protected by Joyeon all this time, and today he even saved her from being captured by thieves and nearly losing her life. She won't be able to refuse even an excessive request.'

Having spent a fair amount of time with Arty at the hospital, Sosia knew her personality quite well.

'Arty Stria Jewel Heroine' understood herself very well. She never carelessly displayed her talents that far surpassed others, instead hiding and utilizing them as her own power. Though her superior figure and face were absolute advantages against the opposite sex, she knew they caused jealousy and hostility from the same sex, so she used them only at the right time and place while maintaining a fundamentally humble attitude. And she knew exactly how unlucky she was.

In the world she originally lived in, her talents never truly shone because of those who envied and were jealous of her. The goddess, pitying her, gave her the miraculous opportunity of reincarnation into this world, but due to the worst possible timing, she was branded as the most unfortunate being in existence.

That was why she always felt grateful to Sosia, who had helped her, and had used her abilities for her sake. Though she possessed abilities great enough to justify arrogance, she wasn't arrogant. Though she was beautiful enough to justify pride, she wasn't prideful. And because she was the unluckiest person in the world, she never forgot a debt of gratitude.

A personality so unique it seemed to exist only in fantasies. In other words, if you granted her a favor, she would do anything you asked—a perfect tool that was easy to use.

"If it's repayment, then what kind of..."

Arty hesitated, glancing at Joyeon. Sosia put on a deliberately surprised expression, acting as usual.

"Not very enthusiastic, are we? Don't tell me you don't want to repay the person who saved your life?"

"N-no! That's not it... I-I just thought being by his side would be enough..."

"Hmm~? So you can say that so confidently even to your lifesaver?"

"W-well, I suppose? But there's not much I can really do... Ah! Then I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠make him a present! Even if I look like this, in my past life I was called an 'artist envied by all'..."

"No. That's not it."

Sosia forcefully cut her off. Arty was flustered at having her suggestion rejected before she could even explain it properly. Sosia approached her and whispered quietly into her ear.

"There's a simpler way for you to show sincerity to Joyeon. A much more effective method than a gift—you don't need to waste time and effort."

"W-what kind of..."

Sosia sighed softly at Arty's lack of understanding and firmly pressed her finger against the girl's chest.

"With your body. You can serve him with this ridiculous body that bewitches men."

"H-huh?!"

Arty let out a near-scream and stared at Sosia with wide eyes. At her cry, Joyeon tried to approach out of curiosity, but Sosia shot him a sharp glare that clearly said not to come closer. Joyeon pouted and stayed where he was.

Arty's face flushed bright red. She glanced at Joyeon while hugging her barely-covered chest and shouted quietly at Sosia.

"W-what are you saying, Saintess! How can you say something like that?!"

"You already know it well, don't you? Men are simple. Especially someone as innocent and honest as Joyeon would obviously prefer this over some incomprehensible work of art."

"E-even so, serving with my body..."

"Think carefully. I'm giving you your 'last chance' right now."

"...Last chance?"

Though she called it a chance, Sosia's eyes held no kindness or suggestion. It was a gaze closer to coercion and threat. Arty, unable to understand what "last chance" meant, froze like ice, unsure what to do.

'Serving with my body... I can't do something like that...! Men have always approached me first, I've never acted that way before... B-but Saintess is right that Joyeon would probably like this more than art... And last chance... What does that mean... How do you even serve someone with your body? Surely not all the way? N-no way, right? Then maybe just a hug like Saintess was going to do to Joyeon? Ugh~ But we already did more than that this morning, so would a hug even count as repayment...'

Just as Sosia expected, Arty didn't show much resistance to the idea of serving Joyeon and began seriously considering how to satisfy him.

Sosia watched her reaction for a moment.

'As expected, my guess was right. Even when I say something like this, Arty doesn't refuse. She'll be very useful.'

Sosia whispered to Arty again.

"You don't need to overthink it. As long as you can show the greatest 'sincerity' you're capable of, it'll be fine. You don't have to make it complicated."

"The greatest sincerity I can think of..."

"Your mindset is what matters."

"M-mindset..."

"If it's still too difficult, how about this? Start by approaching him lightly. Then act cute and sincerely express your gratitude."

"A-act cute... Ugh..."

"Pressing your proud body against him would work too. That alone would definitely please Joyeon."

"Th-that's..."

Arty's face turned tomato-red as she mumbled, unable to continue.

'Still resistant to the idea of pressing close?'

Sosia, unaware that Arty and Joyeon had already embraced each other in a nearly half-naked state in bed that morning, wondered if she'd gone too far. But Arty's next words were the opposite of what she expected.

"W-would that be enough...? He's my lifesaver... Just that much..."

At Arty's shocking statement, Sosia momentarily stopped moving before a crescent-moon smile spread across her face.

'This child really is... someone I absolutely cannot afford to lose.'

"So you understand too. Of course. There's no way just a few words and clinging to him could repay a lifesaver. So... say this to Joyeon."

Sosia whispered to Arty once more.

****

"What the hell is she trying to pull? Mom's acting really weird. Suddenly trying to hug me and pat my head when she's never done that before... Well, it's not a bad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thing, but what do you think, House?"

"Right? You don't get it either? Me neither."

While chatting with House at his feet and waiting for Sosia and Arty's conversation to end, Joyeon suddenly felt a gaze and looked up. Sosia had returned to her usual demeanor, while Arty—her normally translucent white skin now flushed bright red—was hesitantly approaching him.

"...What's wrong with her now."

At that moment, Arty's eyes met Joyeon's. She immediately lowered her head and began muttering to herself.

"I-I'm just repaying a debt. Just repaying a debt. Nothing else. Of course, since he saved my life. This much is only natural. Saintess said so, so this much is... this much is..."

Before long, Arty stood right in front of him. Still embarrassed, she couldn't lift her head. Joyeon, sensing that Arty's condition was even stranger than Sosia's earlier behavior, grew concerned.

"...Hey, Arty."

"H-huh?!"

"...I don't know what Mom said to you, but you don't have to force yourself to do something you don't want to do with that kind of expression. I'll tell her not to make you do unnecessary things."

"......"

At Joyeon's worried words, Arty froze for a moment before shaking her head vigorously and firmly pressing her lips together as if she'd made up her mind.

'This is repayment for saving my life. It's only natural. I should at least be able to do this much for Joyeon. He's protected me from misfortune until now and stopped men from bothering me, right? And even now he's doing this for me... So I should at least...'

Arty brainwashed herself and took one more step closer to Joyeon, who was already right in front of her.

"Hey, what are you—"

Press!

"Whoa?!"

Arty's chest pressed against Joyeon's stomach. Startled, Joyeon tried to step back, but Arty's arms had already wrapped around his back and pulled him in.

"W-what are you—!"

Squish...!

Arty's chest was now completely pressed against Joyeon's chest. The firm yet soft pressure made his mouth fall open. Arty's light pink hair came right up to his chin. The overwhelming softness, the sweet floral scent, and the sight of her crown and pink hair—reminding him of that morning—began to cloud his mind.

"J-Joyeon. Thank you for saving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me..."

Arty called his name in a trembling voice and looked up at him. She wasn't in her right mind either.

'He's my lifesaver, so... this much is natural. It's only natural. Arty, you have to do this. Just like Saintess said... I need to show sincerity...'

Arty desperately recalled how much Joyeon had helped her until now. From the moment they first met—catching her when she nearly fell, protecting her from a falling flowerpot, stopping a patient bed hurtling toward her at incredible speed, blocking a flying syringe with his face...

'He's helped me so much...'

Protecting her from falling rubble at the half-destroyed main gate, and even after running out of mana, trying to save her by using his own body to block more falling debris.

'H-he really is my lifesaver...'

And finally, the image of Ju Joyeon in the seemingly impossible battle against the War Troll, commanding his followers and ultimately subjugating all enemies under his absolute, overwhelming power.

'......'

Blush...

Arty's face grew even redder. This time, it wasn't from shame or embarrassment.

"...I-I don't really have anything else I can give you right now... S-so I'll give you the right to command me to do anything... anything you want..."

Arty's voice was very small, but it reached Joyeon's ears clearly—and the effect was tremendous.

'W-wait, what did she just say? Command rights? Command rights? Anything? She'll do anything I say?'

Joyeon's wavering eyes fell to Arty's cherry-red ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lips and her watermelon-sized chest.

A status abnormality caused not by skill or magic, but purely by Arty's natural appearance. Joyeon, rendered unable to act by Arty's embrace and a few words, could only stare at her with wide eyes and an open mouth.

Arty, unaware that Joyeon had fallen into a status abnormality because of her, puffed out her cheeks and stomped her feet in embarrassment, wanting to escape the situation quickly.

"Uuu~!! R-react already! Do you like it? Or hate it? I said you can command me to do anything?! Anything! S-so hurry up and say you like it~!"

Arty's pure yet deadly aegyo born from embarrassment. Combined with the breathtaking sway of her dynamite body—which was anything but cute—the warm, soft sensation rising and falling triggered an automatic reflex in Joyeon that he couldn't resist, causing him to step backward.

Thud!

Joyeon's foot caught on his iron ball. His body fell backward helplessly.

"Eek?!"

At the same time, Arty—who had been tightly embracing him—tried to support him but lacked the strength and fell with him. Awakened from his status abnormality by Arty's scream, Joyeon instinctively hugged her tightly to protect her.

A man tripping and falling, and the woman in his arms falling with him. A man getting a bump on his head, and the woman who didn't get seriously hurt thanks to him worrying about the man.

...However, these two were beings defined by carelessness and misfortune. Unfortunately, one of the remaining iron balls happened to be positioned right where Joyeon's head was falling.

Thud.

"Guh...?!"

"J-Joyeon!"

Fortunately, Bone Armor recognized the situation as dangerous and materialized between the iron ball and his head, mitigating the impact somewhat. The extremely dangerous situation ended with Joyeon losing consciousness.

"Joyeon! Are you okay?! A-are you hurt? Wake up!!"

Arty, who hadn't been injured at all thanks to Joyeon, frantically held his head and checked for bleeding. During this, Joyeon's head ended up buried in her chest, and even while unconscious, a smile appeared on his face.

Watching this quietly from a few steps away, Sosia slowly walked toward them.

'...I was mistaken. This child didn't act just to repay a debt.'

As Sosia approached, she also checked on her precious Joyeon's condition. Thanks to Bone Armor, there was no wound or bleeding. It wasn't anything to worry too much about.

"Calm down, Arty."

"A-Ah, Saintess..."

"Since there's no bleeding, your scalp isn't torn. It's just fainting from a mild concussion. He'll wake up soon, so lay him down properly."

"Y-yes."

Arty immediately lowered Joyeon's head onto her thigh and laid him down properly. Joyeon wore a faint smile as if he knew exactly what situation he was in. Thanks to Sosia's explanation, Arty finally felt relieved. As she gradually calmed down, she realized what she had done and what she was currently doing, and her face began to flush again.

"Arty. Shall we talk for a moment?"

Sosia called out to Arty, bringing her back to her senses. When Arty looked at Sosia's face, there was no expression whatsoever.