Chapter 134
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: The Blockhead Saintess in Heat (2)
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The secluded path seemed to stretch on forever, but we finally reached our destination.
"...Hoo."
Stretching out beyond the field were countless tombstones.
...This was the graveyard built in Carnea to commemorate those who had lost their lives.
The sight of all those stones was a stark reminder that Carnea had once been not an academy, but a training ground for soldiers heading to the battlefield.
"..."
A few steps further in, among the weathered tombstones, one stood out as almost brand new.
【Emery Sylvester】
【Winifred】
【Eloise】
The moment I saw those familiar names, memories I'd buried deep in my chest began to creep back up.
—Tired? Want me to give you a massage?
—Studying? Don't lie. If you studied that hard, how are you ranked 144th?
I clenched my fist tight and shoved the memories back down into the depths.
'...Don't lose sight of your goal.'
I hadn't come here to apologize to them.
I could do that after bringing a happy ending to this world.
The real reason I was here was to find a corpse that could serve as a host for the 'Revived Corruption'.
One might think that if I knew a corpse here would become a host, I could just smash them all to pieces so they couldn't revive...
But if you damage a corpse too much, it jumps to a new host. So the best approach was to subtly alter bones like legs or arms just enough to create a faint sense of wrongness.
"...Hoo."
I pulled a shovel from my bag and began walking slowly.
I had no idea how long it would take to find a suitable host in this vast graveyard with my mana sensing ability.
"Well... shall we get started?"
Even so, if it could raise my odds even just a tiny bit...
I was willing to do anything.
"Haa..."
Marjan glanced at Lilith, who let out a sigh.
'...Lady Saintess is acting strange.'
In the first few days after classes started, she would come find him during every break, chattering nonstop without pause. But now, she stared blankly at the ceiling with a dazed, absent look.
'Looks like she's got another worry on her mind.'
If it were their first meeting, he might have assumed it was something serious. But Marjan knew better now.
...This saintess was an incredible airhead.
'She's probably agonizing over something trivial, like whether you dip your food in sauce or pour it on... When any sane person knows you dip it.'
Marjan shook his head lightly and flashed her a warm smile.
"Lil...?"
"Ah... Marjan... Haa..."
She let out a deep sigh at his words.
"Lilith, what's troubling you?"
"...W-Was it obvious?"
"Yeah, you've been sighing nonstop lately."
"...Y-Yeah... Marjan..."
Lilith squeezed her eyes shut and slumped face-first onto the desk.
Marjan pulled up a chair and sat beside her, continuing gently.
"Wouldn't it be better to worry together than alone?"
"...But... I'd feel bad."
"No need to. We're friends, right?"
Her big eyes blinked rapidly at the word "friends."
"F-Friends?"
"Yes, friends... Unless you don't want to be friends with me?"
She shook her head furiously, as if making a whirring sound.
"N-No! We are friends! Right? Marjan and I are friends!"
"I'm glad. Then spill it to your friend."
"I-Is that okay?"
"Of course!"
"...Okay... I'll tell you."
With a tense expression, Lilith fidgeted with her lips.
'...She's so cute.'
He knew it was probably something silly, but Marjan swallowed his smile and kept a straight face.
"Hoo... Um..."
After hesitating for a long while, Lilith cautiously spoke up.
"Wh-What is... love?"
...It was way more serious than expected.
A few days earlier.
Lilith stared at her room, which was such a chaotic mess there was barely room to stand.
"This is weird... How did it get like this?"
She'd lived the exact same way in Parthenon, so why was her room a disaster now?
...The reason was simple, really.
In Parthenon, maids had tidied up every time she left the room.
But Lilith, completely oblivious, thought she was naturally good at cleaning.
"Whatever! I'm Lilith! Cleaning is easy! I'll tidy up quick and grab a snack!"
She spent hours "cleaning" her way, but the room only got messier.
"...Wh-Why? No change at all? No... it feels even dirtier... Eek!"
Thud—
She tripped over a pile of clothes, and in her line of sight was a book with a purple cover.
"Hm...? What's this...?"
Staring at the cover jogged a memory from the library.
"...Ah."
...The book she'd grabbed while fleeing blindly.
Sweat beaded on Lilith's forehead.
"Wh-What do I do? I... I stole it..."
She'd only meant to mess with someone a little, not commit outright theft.
"...I-I have to return it..."
But going back to the library meant risking a run-in with the 'Great Detective'.
Hadn't he said criminals always return to the scene?
Plop—
Lilith collapsed in place, covering her face with both hands as she trembled.
"Am I... gonna go to... p-prison like this...?"
To steal with the title of saintess—what a disgrace before the goddess.
Then an idea flashed through her mind.
"...R-Right!... I can... find the owner myself!"
The cover had no name, but maybe there was a clue inside. She started flipping through.
Flip— Flip—
The further she read, the slower her hands moved, her face flushing deep pink.
"Meat to-"
She clutched the book to her chest and yanked the blanket over her head.
'Th-Th-Th-This kind of... b-book exists...?!'
Unlike Carnea, Parthenon strictly separated men and women.
As saintess, Lilith had almost no contact with men.
A high-level erotic novel was a massive shock to someone so inexperienced.
'...M-Meat toilet or... o-orgasm... I don't really get it... b-but it was am-amazing.'
Sex was a foreign concept to Lilith; many words baffled her. But seeing them made her breath quicken inexplicably.
...It might have ended there, with her belated awakening to matters of sex.
But...
—The moment his touch grazed my body, my lower belly clenched sweetly, my heart pounding wildly... This was love.
This description was the problem.
「Love」
Lilith knew nothing of sex, but she understood love's nobility.
Like in fairy tales, where the hero defeats the villain and saves the princess—that was love.
"...Is... this real love?"
The more she read, the more her heart raced just like described, heat rising in her body, a tickle between her legs, her lower belly tightening sweetly.
Instinctively rubbing her thighs, she whispered softly.
"...What do I do... I think... I'm in love..."
"Wh-What is... love?"
"..."
While Marjan was speechless, Lilith continued eagerly.
"...H-Have you... ever been in love, Marjan?"
"L-Love...?"
The topic was far more serious than he'd imagined; cold sweat trickled down Marjan's forehead.
'...No way she has.'
Before meeting Lady Lucia, life in the slums was kill or be killed just for a scrap of bread.
No room for fluffy things like love.
Even after Lady Lucia saved him, he'd poured every moment into learning etiquette and skills to stay by her side.
If any man had come close...
—That earring suits you well.
Only Eugene Calliope.
'T-To think such irreverent thoughts about... Lady Lucia's husband!'
His ears burning red, Marjan mumbled in a tiny voice.
"N-No... I don't think so."
"...Marjan. I think I'm in love."
"...! L-Love?"
Marjan swallowed hard at her words.
'Th-This is bad.'
Lady Lucia had told him to keep a close watch...
Which bastard had gone after the saintess?
"Wh-Who is it?"
"Hm... From a noble family, black hair, sad eyes."
Recalling the book's male lead, Lilith smiled dreamily.
'B-Black hair?'
Marjan gulped.
Black hair was extremely rare in Carnea.
And from a noble family...
'N-No way?'
Only one person came to mind.
Desperate to be wrong, Marjan asked.
"...H-How old is he?"
"...Hm... Well... One year older than me."
It was certain.
Lilith was definitely in love with Eugene.