Chapter 275: Saint Guwon
Chapter 275: Saint Guwon
No, this is no time to be getting the creeps!
“Excuse me for a moment!”
With that, I unfastened the front of the pants I had just put on.
Then, grabbing my pants and underwear together, I pulled them forward to get a good look at it and immediately used Revived Pride.
In an instant, my son shot up to its maximum size, popping into view over the top of my pants.
Gasps of “Woooow…” erupted from those around me, but I didn't have the luxury of caring about that right now.
Phew. Thank god. It's working properly. That scared the hell out of me.
Seeing me sigh in relief as I stared down at my Dick, Leia smoothly stepped forward, as if to block the view. She gently took both my hands, pulling them away from my pants, then skillfully fastened the front for me.
“It's alright. If you were cursed, a black scar would have appeared there. I examined it closely earlier, but I saw no such mark.”
I see. So that's why she was staring so intently at my junk.
Reassured by Leia's words, I let my Dick shrink back down.
Anyway, what's with that Matilda girl? She's a total walking time bomb.
No, wait. Seeing how she pushed me away and ran out at the end, it seems she had no intention of spreading the curse.
Still, she's incredibly dangerous.
“What the hell is that curse, anyway? Why did it suddenly try to infect me? Was it because I made her climax?”
“…No.”
I thought climaxing was the most likely trigger, but apparently not.
“Then what?”
“…Right. Since Cardinal Matilda isn't here… I'll explain everything from the beginning.”
Leia began, slowly starting her explanation.
“Originally, Cardinal Matilda was an incredibly benevolent and kind person, so much so that her fame spread across the entire continent.”
She started with something I found impossible to believe.
Not that I think my angel is lying, of course. But that insufferably arrogant Matilda?
As if reading my expression, Leia covered her mouth and let out a soft chuckle as she spoke.
My angel is the one who should be famous across the continent.
“Please don't make that face. The attitude Cardinal Matilda showed you just now is not her true self. Cardinal Matilda was, in any case, a kind person, full of compassion, who loved all people. She was so close to being a saintess that people even wondered if she was an avatar of the Goddess herself.”
Looking at her now, I just can't imagine it.
Her arrogant, prickly attitude, that haughty look in her eyes… nothing about her matches that description.
“But one day, she met a woman afflicted by a curse. It seems the woman was cursed while investigating an ancient relic. The curse was known as one of the ancient curses, a very dangerous one that only targets women. The cursed woman herself bears a black scar on her body, and the curse makes anyone she loves impotent. It was a curse that prevented both love and intercourse, a curse that seemed to defy the Goddess's will itself.”
“So… no, wait a minute. The person the cursed one loves becomes impotent?”
If that explanation is true, then isn't what just happened to me strange in a lot of ways?
“Yes. I'll explain it all, one step at a time. Cardinal Matilda met that cursed woman and decided she had to save her, no matter what. Because it's too sad to no longer be able to experience the blessing the Goddess bestowed upon this world. However, there was no way to break the curse with the curse-lifting magic we currently possess. So, Cardinal Matilda made a decision. She would first save the woman by sealing the curse within her own body, and then she would take her time finding a way to lift the curse that had been transferred to her. But…”
It was hard to imagine based on the Matilda I saw earlier, but just from the story, she sounded like a ridiculously good-natured person.
“But she couldn't lift the curse?”
“No. Ah, well, that's true too, but… there was another problem.”
“What problem?”
“Well, um… it seems Cardinal Matilda is someone who… falls for people very, very easily.”
“…Wait a minute. It's a curse where if she falls for someone, that person becomes impotent, right?”
“…Yes. It was known that she was a compassionate person who loved everyone, but we never thought it was to that extent… In any case, after being cursed, it was discovered that Cardinal Matilda has a personality where she immediately falls in love if someone treats her with even a little kindness.”
“Wait. Then just now, I…”
“Well, you used Saint's Touch and gently caressed Cardinal Matilda, didn't you? And at the end, you spoke to her in a soft voice…”
“Just for that?! She falls in love just for that?! Just how…!”
“I-I didn't think it would be to that degree, so I didn't warn you beforehand. I thought there would be no problem as long as you maintained the attitude you've shown Cardinal Matilda so far, and it was difficult to tell her to her face that she falls in love so easily… I'm sorry.”
“No, Leia, you have nothing to be sorry for. But to fall for someone over something so trivial… no, wait. I wasn't cursed, so does that mean she hasn't fallen for me yet? When I think about it that way, that's kind of a blow to my pride…”
“Guwon.”
As I, finally relaxed, spoke in a slightly joking tone, Leia called my name in a chiding tone, as if to say, ‘Don't.’
“Yes. My apologies.”
“Anyway, to continue the story. At first, Cardinal Matilda didn't want to admit that she had such a tendency to fall for people, but after a few… incidents, she had no choice but to accept it.”
A few incidents… Just how many guys has she made impotent so far?
“So, Cardinal Matilda had to think of a way to stop people from being kind to her, and that's why she started acting with that kind of attitude.”
With that, Leia's long explanation came to an end.
I see. Now that I hear the whole story, that Matilda girl is actually really pitiful.
Considering her prickly behavior, I had my doubts about whether it was really an act, but if my Leia says so, it must be true.
Did I tease her too much for no reason? No, wait, is treating her like that actually the right way to handle her?
Knowing the circumstances made me feel incredibly guilty, but it seems being nice to her will just get me cursed. So treating her like I did before must be the correct answer.
And then, as if on cue, Matilda was escorted back into the room by a priest.
It seemed High Priestess Sophia had sent someone to find Matilda while I was listening to the explanation. She's as competent as ever.
“……”
Matilda entered the room like a sinner, unable to meet my eyes, her head hung low.
Occasionally, only her eyes would move to steal glances at me, and her gaze was filled with emotions like pity, compassion, and guilt.
“Hey. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“B-But…”
As she spoke, Matilda's gaze landed squarely on my crotch.
Ah, did the priest not tell her?
“What's with that look? I'm not impotent, you know.”
“Eh? Y-You're lying!”
“Why would I lie about that? Look!”
When I used Revived Pride, the front of my pants bulged and rose.
“A-A lie… How…?”
Matilda stared at me with a look of utter disbelief.
“Why? Did you actually fall for me or something?”
“N-No, I didn't!”
Matilda denied it, her face turning bright red.
I thought this before, but when a girl who supposedly falls for people so easily denies it this vehemently, it's a real blow to the ego.
Well, I have no intention of becoming impotent, so I guess it's a relief.
“So, High Priestess Sophia. Why did you call her back, anyway?”
“Why do you use a respectful title for High Priestess Sophia but just call me 'her'?!”
“Because you're… You're just 'her,' and that's enough.”
That was close. I almost let another joke slip out reflexively.
If I had said, 'It's because we're close,' in a soft voice, it would have caused another incident.
Having to be careful with every single word while also treating her rudely is surprisingly annoying.
“What kind of logic is that?!”
For some reason, Matilda clung to me, looking even more indignant than before.
If you knew how dangerous you are to men, you'd stay still. Stop getting so close for no reason.
“Quiet. So, High Priestess Sophia?”
“Yes. Cardinal Matilda. Do you finally acknowledge that Guwon is the Goddess's messenger?”
“W-Well… that's…”
“What. You still can't accept it? Then I'll have to send you to heaven one more time…”
“I-I'll accept it! I'll accept it, alright?!”
Don't be so scared. It just makes me want to do it more.
In my head, I knew I shouldn't tease her because she was a pitiful girl, but when I saw that prickly attitude right in front of me, I couldn't help but want to mess with her.
This reminded me of when I used to volunteer with people who had tic disorders.
Back then, I knew full well that people with tic disorders would curse unintentionally and constantly, but after hearing it over and over, it was impossible not to get angry.
“I see. That is a relief. By the way, Cardinal Matilda. I have a proposal.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“What do you think about a marriage between Saint Guwon and the Saintess Candidate, Leia?”
Wait a minute! High Priestess Sophia! Why are you bringing that up again!
As she spoke, the High Priestess looked at Leia with a benevolent smile.
Ugh. That's the exact look of a mother sending her daughter off to be married. She's completely focused on her daughter's happiness.
“M-M-M-Marriage?! With him?!”
Matilda, too, seemed completely taken aback by the suggestion and cried out in a bewildered voice.
“Yes. If news of the marriage between the Goddess's messenger and the Saintess Candidate were to spread, wouldn't it give great hope to the many people who are anxious about the absence of a Saintess? So, what if we were to hold a wedding ceremony for the two of them ourselves?”
“Th-That's…! But something like that…!”
Faced with the High Priestess pushing hard for her daughter's happiness, Matilda, for some reason, took a negative stance on the marriage.
I don't know why she's doing it, but go for it! You can do it!
If I cheered for her out loud, it might cause another incident where she falls for me or whatever, so I silently rooted for Matilda in my head.
Matilda glanced at me, her face flushing bright red, and shouted as if throwing a tantrum.
“Something like that is out of the question! For all of us to personally step forward and bless a man like this! It's unthinkable!”
“What? But just a moment ago, you said you acknowledged that Guwon is the Goddess's messenger…”
“I'm only judging it to be so provisionally! It's true that the power this man has shown is incredible, but we can't make a hasty decision based on that alone! Therefore, this matter is on hold! Until this man accomplishes some worthy feat, or until I see the Goddess descend with my own two eyes again, you must not publicly declare that he is the Goddess's messenger!”
Yes! That's it!
In the first place, I only went along with it because I was provoked by Matilda's attitude. I had no desire to be put on a pedestal as the “Goddess's messenger.”
I didn't need the church's support, either.
“But the Goddess's voice was heard by myself and everyone here…”
“W-Well, it can't be helped!”
Before High Priestess Sophia could offer a rebuttal, I hurriedly exclaimed.
“Yep! If that's the case, it can't be helped! Since Cardinal Matilda feels so strongly about it… wait. Don't you fall for me.”
“I-I won't!”
As if I can believe that.
She's the type to nearly fall for me just because I touched her gently, even after I gave her such a hard time earlier.
No, wait, was it more effective because the guy who was tormenting her suddenly caressed her and spoke in a soft voice? Anyway!
“High Priestess Sophia, thank you for your consideration. But it's alright. I also feel that I'm still lacking and not yet ready to call myself the Goddess's messenger. As you heard earlier, there was a bit of a mistake when I came here. I don't even know the exact reason the Goddess sent me to this world yet, so I don't think I can claim to be her messenger.”
Good. Perfect. There's a chance I'll get labeled as a messenger who doesn't even know the Goddess's will, but this is the best way to get through this crisis.
This way, I can avoid the marriage without hurting Leia's feelings.
“…Is that so. I understand.”
High Priestess Sophia looked slightly disappointed, but she still readily accepted my words.
Leia, standing beside me, still had a gentle expression, but judging by her slightly drooping ears, she seemed a little disappointed.
Sorry, Leia. If we're going to have a wedding, let's do it later with the other girls.
“Anyway, our business here is done, so if you'll excuse us…”
“W-Wait a moment!”
Our business here was finished anyway.
I hoisted the unconscious Silvia onto my shoulder and tried to make a hasty exit, but Matilda blocked my path.
What do you want now?!