I'll Take Responsibility and Purify It All for You
“It—It suddenly disappeared?”
Just moments earlier, countless naked women had been trying to seduce me.
I’d kept my eyes squeezed shut, desperately waiting for the illusion to end. Yet when I finally came to my senses and opened them, even the monster’s voice was gone.
This was no time to stand around.
I had to get to Priestess Isabel right away and tell her what happened—
That thought was running through my mind as I reached for the doorknob. Suddenly my breath caught in my throat and my body froze on its own.
No matter how many times I tried, the same thing happened.
Whenever I tried to hurry and inform the priestess, it felt as though another will inside me flatly refused.
This story can never be told to anyone else—
The instant that thought crossed my mind, my face went deathly pale.
Mental Seal!
I knew that practitioners skilled in mental techniques sometimes used methods like this. It was a compulsion that prevented certain actions. So the creature knew how to cast something this advanced? It must have been more powerful than I realized.
I frowned at the unexpected complication. Yet if that were true, why couldn’t I sense any presence…?
I crossed my arms and sank into thought for a moment.
.
.
Before long the morning sun rose.
Before beginning my daily routine, I pushed every other thought from my mind and asked Priestess Isabel to check whether an evil spirit from the ruins might have latched onto me. I told her I was worried, just to be safe.
When I explained it that way, she nodded and examined me with sincere gravity.
Good. That worked.
She pressed our palms together to induce an ether resonance, then used her own specialized healing arts. She checked me several times, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Only then did Priestess Isabel offer a gentle smile and declare that there was no problem.
With her skill, there was no way she would have missed the monster.
…Did it truly vanish? That’s right—its presence had been fading from the start. It had also been desperately trying to persuade me.
If that was the case… perhaps the Mental Seal the creature had secretly placed on me remained because my realm was still too low.
Well, it didn’t matter for now.
Since I had shed a major worry, I decided not to dwell on it any longer.
Thump.
.
.
Early that morning I headed to the mercenary guild and found Sera. After opening and closing my mouth several times, I cautiously explained that Priestess Isabel had taken the loot for religious reasons.
Sera gave me an incredulous look, then immediately raised her voice in anger and began to badmouth the priestess. But the moment I added that the Order would compensate us with a healing-type artifact as an apology, her mood improved at once.
It seemed the Asteros Order’s artifacts were quite famous among practitioners.
At Priestess Isabel’s firm insistence that I rest for a while, I decided to take a few days off from mercenary work.
Sera, however, seemed disappointed that we wouldn’t be partying together. She crossed her arms and grumbled in a strangely sulky tone.
Only then did we finally exchange addresses, promising to send letters if anything came up.
.
.
.
.
.
Thump…
When the sun stood high overhead, I lay on the bed in my second-floor room, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Ever since arriving in Fletur I had been rushing from one request to another. It had been a long time since I’d spent the day in such idle leisure.
Thump…
Still, how should I describe it? The sensations I felt today were strangely off.
I felt languid one moment, strangely clear-headed the next, then dazed again. The unknown, awkward feeling I had never experienced before gradually turned into irritation.
I slowly placed a hand over my heart. The heartbeat that met my palm felt unusually vivid and alive.
What on earth is this feeling…?
I spent half the day rolling around in bed, trying to calm the inexplicable frustration.
.
.
Thump… thump…
By the time the sun had set and darkness blanketed the world, I stood outside Priestess Isabel’s room, fingers wrapped around the doorknob, hesitating.
This is strange…
Even while we ate the dinner she had prepared earlier, my heartbeat refused to slow. I had tried not to show it, but simply looking straight at her had felt oddly difficult.
Haa, calm down. What am I even doing?
I took a small, steadying breath and stepped into the priestess’s room.
The entire space was decorated in soft silvery-white tones, creating an atmosphere that felt both sacred and gentle. On one wall stood the usual small altar with a statue of Goddess Asteria. Neatly arranged before it were old scriptures. A faint lily fragrance drifted through the air, and the soft, warm glow of a magical lamp bathed the room in calm comfort.
“Priestess… Did you call for me?”
“Ah, Rowen. You’re here.”
She smiled the moment she saw me and parted her lips. The topic was, of course, my spoils. She wanted to know how matters were progressing… the usual work-related conversation.
Wait, it’s not even time for the purification ritual. Why call me at this hour?
So it really was just business. Well, that was normal, I supposed…
Thump-thump-thump.
“…So when you have time, shall we go together to choose your reward?”
“……………”
“…Rowen? Are you listening?”
“Huh? Ah, yes! I’m listening. I was distracted for a moment…”
“Are you truly all right…? Would you like me to heal you?”
With a deeply worried expression, Priestess Isabel slowly approached.
I swallowed quietly without realizing it.
She was wearing a silk white nightgown. The loose, thin fabric featured a plunging neckline that revealed a generous view of her chest. The hem was also quite short, fully exposing her smooth, shapely legs.
I stared blankly at the priestess’s beautiful body…
I already knew she preferred comfortable, revealing clothes when indoors. I knew her figure was incredibly sensual, possessing a rather provocative volume. I knew she carried a faint, sweet scent that pleasantly tickled the nose.
But knowing and experiencing were entirely different.
I felt my mind gradually emptying.
That was when it happened.
“…Uht!?”
A sudden heat and hardness surged from below. Before I could do anything, the sensation stretched outward, pulling my loose pants tight and forming a massive tent.
In a panic I quickly lowered my hands, but I couldn’t possibly hide the entire large, rigid presence straining against the fabric.
With my heart pounding from an unfamiliar excitement, I stole a glance at the priestess.
“R-Rowen…?”
Priestess Isabel’s large eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before her. She instinctively turned her head away, then drew in a small breath. Slowly, she looked back at me.
A red flush had already crept across her beautiful cheeks. She tried to maintain her usual calm expression, but I could see the slight tremble in her eyes.
She asked me carefully.
“Rowen. Right now… um… your lower region has become healthy, hasn’t it…?”
“……………………”
I nodded. And nodded again.
“…Is this the first time it has grown this large…?”
“……………………”
I nodded once more.
Her voice remained kind and gentle, yet carried an extra note of caution. Even in this embarrassing situation, she was clearly trying to be considerate of me.
I kept my flushed face bowed.
The priestess tilted her head slightly, observing my reaction, then continued.
“You know, Rowen… why did it suddenly… become like this…?”
Uht…!
It was the first time I had heard the priestess’s voice take on such a subtle, almost suggestive tone. For some reason, the moment I heard it, the thing inside my pants gave a powerful twitch.
I fumbled for words, desperately searching for an answer. But I was barely clinging to reason, so nothing logical came to mind. I simply said the first thing that surfaced.
“I don’t know either. It just… happened when I was looking at you, Priestess. I’m truly sorry…”
“…………………………………………………Haaaaaaa……”
Priestess Isabel let out a long, quiet sigh. When I glanced up, I saw her standing with her back to me, both hands covering her mouth. I couldn’t see her expression, but when she finally turned around again, her face was filled with gentle warmth.
“It’s all right. Rowen, there’s no need to apologize. It seems the medicine has finally taken effect and caused this state… Do you remember what I told you last time?”
Even with her cheeks dyed red, she spoke to me in that same calm, measured voice.
I nodded. Of course I remembered her advice.
First, because of my rare illness, whenever my ether circulated properly and I became healthy—no, erect—I must always release my semen.
Second, handling it alone was unstable and dangerous, so it was best for a trustworthy woman to assist.
Since I kept nodding like a mute, the priestess drew even closer. She looked up at me with a soft smile.
“Don’t worry too much. From now on, I will take full responsibility for Rowen’s unstable ether energy… and purify every last bit of it for you.”
“P-Priestess…”
Faced with Priestess Isabel’s benevolent, smiling eyes, I had no idea how to respond. The only reaction came from below, where my pants were pulled so tightly they felt ready to burst.
“Now then…”
After a few seconds of silence, she slowly walked toward the bed.
Sway… sway…
The heavy, graceful sway of the priestess’s hips seemed especially embarrassing—and strangely seductive—today.