Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The North (3)
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‘Carmen, there must be some backstory I don’t know about.’
Polar had just cut down those demons and exchanged a few brief words with her when she responded to my reply—which could easily have come off as rude—with a meaningful smile.
After that, she hadn’t said much else and had gone back to fawning over Ariana just like yesterday. But something still felt off.
“Is? What are you thinking about?”
“Ah, Saintess.”
I’d been lost in thought about Carmen for a moment when Ariana asked me, looking concerned.
“It’s nothing. Just pondering a bit about Lady Carmen…”
“What?! Why?!”
“Pardon?”
Ariana suddenly got all worked up and rushed over to me.
“No way—you’re interested in Lady Carmen?!”
“Saintess, I’m sorry, but that’s not happening. I’m not into women.”
Having grown up as a saintess, she must have gotten her hopes up thinking there was something between Carmen and me…
“Besides, you shouldn’t say things like that so lightly. Lady Carmen is the proper daughter of the Northern Duke’s house, and I’m just a Holy Knight from the slums.”
“Ah, sorry…”
“It’s fine. You’re a proper lady yourself, so it’s only natural you’d be curious about that sort of thing.”
“R-Really...?”
Watching her visibly relax with relief, I gave her the same warm smile as always.
And so time passed until lunchtime.
“Um… Lady Carmen? Isn’t that a bit too close…?”
“Huh? Don’t worry about it~ But seriously, the more I look, the prettier you get.”
“Th-Thank you?”
Carmen sat not beside Polar but next to Ariana, right across from me.
And then she started putting on that lesbo act again toward Ariana. I debated throwing my fork at her dozens of times.
“Haa… Carmen. Why are you sitting there? You’re making the Saintess uncomfortable.”
“Sitting next to Dad is boring.”
“…Even so, come over here so the Saintess can eat comfortably.”
“No way. I’ve got a ton of questions for the Saintess.”
“Carmen…”
Ignoring her own father, Polar, completely, Carmen stayed glued to Ariana’s side and kept firing off questions.
“So, what do saintesses learn?”
“Doesn’t that outfit feel uncomfortable?”
“What kind of food do saintesses get?”
“I heard the Holy Kingdom pushes for early marriages—so does that mean saintesses are supposed to get married even quicker?”
Bombarded by the nonstop barrage, Ariana could barely eat as she answered each one. Just as my brow started to furrow…
“Ah, so as a saintess, you and the Hero must… you know?”
“Lady, please don’t assume that saintesses and Heroes always end up like that.”
Ariana had been going along with Carmen’s whims up to that point, but when the question about her and the Hero came up, she straightened right up and answered firmly, word for word.
Even Carmen froze for a moment at that—and so did I.
“Y-Yeah…? Sorry. It’s just, so many past Heroes ended up marrying saintesses, so I thought maybe…”
Carmen deflated in an instant, but after scarfing down a few bites of meat, she perked right back up and kept the questions coming.
“Then… you’ve never loved anyone even once up till now?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Hmm… I see.”
For some reason, Carmen’s gaze slowly shifted toward me.
Why the hell is she staring at me like that? Ominous as fuck.
“What about… him? You’re stuck together all day—doesn’t that stir up any feelings at all?”
“Y-Yes?! Is?!”
Ariana’s face turned beet red as she nearly jumped out of her seat.
Like she’d finally landed a solid hit, Carmen immediately pounced on the opening.
“Aha! So that’s how it is! Yeah, if you didn’t like him, you’d at least show some discomfort after being together all day! But these past two days, you haven’t acted bothered even once! You even looked happy about it! I knew it!”
“N-No, I mean… Of course I see Is in a good light—he’s kind and considerate and righteous, so…”
At that moment, Carmen cut her off and jumped in.
“But you should really think it over again. Men are all the same—full of bravado and brawn, nothing else. Even the knights in our territory are like that, so what makes him any different—”
“No!”
Ariana cut her off right back.
“Is isn’t like that! Is… he’s the ‘hero’ who fought a whole horde of goblins all by himself to protect his people, even at a young age! And… he gladly took what was honestly an unreasonable request to become my direct Holy Knight and passed the exam! Passing means he trained diligently every single day! And even now, he trains hard every morning and comes to pick me up—there’s no better man than that!”
*Huff… huff…*
She’d unleashed that machine-gun rant, and now Ariana was panting for breath.
At her reaction, Carmen flashed a sly grin before hurling another teasing jab her way.
“If you’re going that far, then you must really like that guy—”
“Enough.”
I couldn’t take any more, so I finally stepped in.
“Lady, it seems you’re under some strange misunderstanding, but the Saintess and I have a strictly professional relationship. She brings hope to everyone, and I assist her in that. That’s all. We might be friends to some extent, but we’ll never, ever be ‘like that.’”
The other heroines were one thing, but Ariana was the easiest one to win over—as long as Ruin turned over a new leaf, her heart was his. Unless we went down the world-ending route, Ariana was destined to fall for Ruin.
There was no room for me in that equation.
“And… Your Grace, if it’s not too much trouble, may I speak with the Lady alone after the meal?”
“…Make it so. I’ll have a word with the Saintess in the meantime—you handle her protection. And can you forgive my daughter’s rudeness?”
“It’s fine. Girls her age are always curious about that sort of thing.”
With Polar’s permission, we finished the rest of the meal in silence.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “Hey, where are you taking me?”
“…”
“Where, I said!”
“We’ve arrived.”
“This is?”
“My room.”
“What? You little shit, don’t tell me you’re—”
“As a Holy Knight, I swear to the Goddess I have no intention of doing anything untoward.”
“…Fine then.”
I led Carmen inside the room.
-Click.
I locked the door to keep anyone from barging in, then turned to face her.
“Why’d you lock it?”
“Because this needs to stay between us.”
“What? You can’t mean…!”
I clasped my hands together in prayer.
“You’re really gonna—”
“Let’s begin the confession now.”
“…Huh?”
Confession.
This world’s confession rite wasn’t exactly like Earth’s, but the core idea was the same: confessing your sins without facing the other person directly.
“Normally, this would be done in a confessional at a church… but there’s no church here, so we’ll improvise.”
I draped a blanket over the chair and bookshelf corners to make a partition.
Instant makeshift wall.
“Now, please have a seat.”
I knelt and gestured for Carmen to sit. She looked reluctant but followed my lead for now.
“Ahem. This is my first time performing a confession rite, so please forgive any inexperience.”
Still kneeling, I closed my eyes and clasped my hands.
“Now, close your eyes and clasp your hands.”
“…You’re really doing this?”
“Yes.”
“Haa…”
She sighed, but I could hear the rustle of fabric from behind the blanket—she was complying, thankfully.
“So… what do I do? What’s a confession rite?”
“It’s simple. Confess your sins to the Goddess.”
“…Right here?”
“Yes. The Goddess will forgive you, so confess the sins you’ve never been able to tell anyone else—lay them bare before Her.”
“…”
Carmen seemed to be hiding something.
She’d shown signs of hating men, too.
When you want to uncover someone’s troubles, nothing beats a confession rite.
The only question was whether Carmen would open up to me after just two days of knowing each other…
Fortunately, my plan was going smoothly.
“…I confess my sins before the Goddess.”
She was properly taking part in the rite.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Meanwhile, inside a certain cave not far from Icicle territory.
“Ugh, so cold! Freaking freezing!”
“Still, achoo! We’re almost to Icicle territory. We had to take a detour due to the unexpected start, but… thanks to you pushing so hard, Hero, we should arrive ahead of schedule.”
“Fuck! I’m the one who busted my ass! How the hell do priests of all people drop from a little cold?”
“Well… I suspect it’s less the cold and more the nonstop march for nearly three weeks…”
“What? You High Priest wannabe mouthing off now?”
“Haha, no, of course not.”
At the Hero Ruin’s words, Lib High Priest deftly healed his own arm—which Ruin had broken with a punch on the way.
“Hoo… That fucking Temperance prick won’t even let me rest…!”
Ever since his encounter with Perantia Temperance, the Holy Knight of Temperance.
Ruin had planned to hole up at the inn and train, but along with a lecture about sloth being a sin, they’d shipped him off north.
All because the northerners supposedly needed him.
Perantia had gotten reassigned midway to another region and split off, but by then Ruin had already set foot in the north.
“Fuck, guess I gotta watch my cursing from now on too, you prick.”
Ruin, who could no longer hold back his curses.