Chapter 329: An Ancient Curse
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 329: An Ancient Curse
“Then I shall wait here,” the maid who had acted as our driver said, bowing politely.
Even though we’d found a way to break the curse, it wasn’t broken yet. Matilda still needed to travel by carriage whenever she went outside.
However, since we might have to go to the castle to retrieve some equipment, we had left Vanessa and the best carriage back at the mansion. This meant we had come in a moderately sized carriage driven by another maid.
“Alright. Matilda, stick close to me for now.”
“Huh? Ah! S-So boldly…”
“Ahem. Sir Guwon.”
As I pulled Matilda into an embrace, Leia, looking a little pouty, hugged my other arm.
“No, it’s because of the curse. It’s dangerous.”
That was right. Even though we’d arrived at the temple by carriage, the temple grounds were still teeming with an incredible number of visitors—mostly men.
The male devotees still overwhelmingly outnumbered the female ones… Ah! So that’s it!
I suddenly understood why the temple was so crowded.
Of course, the people of this world were generally devout, but at least half of these guys were here for the education center!
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen a single brothel since coming to this world. It wouldn’t have been strange for a city with so many adventurers to have a whole district of them.
I had assumed that because of the nature of this world’s goddess, exchanging money for sex was a taboo, so they simply didn’t exist. But now, I realized it might be that there was just no need for them.
After all, if you were level 10 or below, you could do it at the temple under the pretext of ‘education.’
Furthermore, having the justification of ‘education’ was a way for a man to maintain his pride.
Why? Because in this world, you knew for certain if your partner had climaxed through the increase in your experience points.
What if you went to a brothel, thrust your hips with all your might, and didn’t gain a single point of EXP?
You’d just end up wasting money and having your pride torn to shreds.
But with the excuse of ‘education,’ there was less risk of a bruised ego.
For the many men in this world who were bound to get hurt by its system, the temple’s education center was a dream-like place.
And whatever the reason, when people flocked to the temple like this, their faith would naturally deepen.
You could call it a win-win relationship.
If I had known about the education center when I first arrived in this world, I would have been incredibly… Ah, right. I see. I was wondering why our angel was so fired up about keeping an eye on me today.
She was anxious because I might find out about the education center.
“Hm? Sir Guwon? What’s wrong?” Leia asked, tilting her head as I stared at her.
“Leia. I love you.”
“Hehe. I love you, too.”
Leia smiled brightly, pressing her chest even more firmly against my arm.
She really is an angel.
Don’t worry. Do you really think I’d do anything to make you anxious?
I didn’t even glance toward the education center and headed straight for the room of the High Priestess… Ms. Sophia.
“Hello… Ms. Sophia.”
I’d been calling her High Priestess for so long that calling her Ms. Sophia felt awkward. It was even more so because I thought of her as a figure who was almost like a mother-in-law to me.
“Oh my. Welcome. For you to come with Cardinal Matilda… does this mean you now acknowledge Sir Guwon as the Goddess’s emissary?”
Ah! Right, there was that!
I had a bad feeling about the three of us coming here! I’m screwed!
“…That’s right. I have no choice but to acknowledge it.”
And before I could even give her a signal, Matilda readily agreed.
Why did you agree so easily?! Before, you insisted you’d never believe it until you saw it with your own eyes!
“Does that mean… the Goddess descended once again?”
“No, not that… but this man. He isn’t affected by my curse.”
“W-What?!”
The answer was so unexpected that Ms. Sophia, who was always so composed, stared at Matilda with a slightly flustered look.
“Furthermore, the curse has lifted, if only a little, through sex with him. If we continue like this, we can probably break the curse completely. In fact, that’s why we came here today.”
“I-I see.”
Sophia glanced at Leia with a complicated expression.
She’d just heard that the man her daughter-figure, Leia, loves had slept with the Cardinal, who was basically her superior. Of course she’d feel conflicted.
Ugh. I’m so sorry.
But Sophia quickly composed herself and asked me with a serious face.
“Then, Sir Guwon. Can Cardinal Matilda become a Saintess as well?”
I knew it. I knew it would come to this.
Dammit. Right. I had a feeling this was how it would go.
I should have come with Sara or Diana.
“No. It’s impossible for Matilda.”
It was obvious where this conversation was headed, but I couldn’t lie, so I answered honestly.
“Eh? It’s impossible?”
“That’s right.”
Come to think of it, she doesn’t know about the Apostle Appointment.
Did she think she could become a Saintess, too?
Ah, right. I think she was originally a candidate for Saintess.
“In that case, Leia is still the only one who can become a Saintess.”
Sophia muttered to herself, then looked at Matilda again.
“Then, Cardinal Matilda. I would like to once again propose to His Holiness the Pope that the church move forward with the holy matrimony of Guwon the Saint and Leia the Saintess.”
Ugh. It really is happening.
No, it’s not that I don’t want to. I want to marry Leia, too.
It’s just, marrying only Leia first is…
“W-Wha?! Excuse me?! What did you say?!”
Matilda’s eyes went wide as she stared at Sophia, as if she hadn’t expected this at all.
“I believe I have mentioned this before. The Saint and the Saintess are already in a relationship of mutual love. Furthermore, to revitalize the church’s atmosphere, which has stagnated in the long absence of a Saintess, this matter is…”
“W-Wait. Please wait a moment, Ms. Sophia.”
“What is it, Sir Guwon? Do you have some complaint about our Leia?”
Sophia stared at me with the same cold expression she’d had when we first met.
She knows why I’m acting this way, so she’s probably saying that on purpose.
“Absolutely not! It’s not that, but… the Goddess told me to go to the Dungeon, right? If rumors spread that I’m the Goddess’s emissary, it might be a little inconvenient for me as an adventurer.”
“Th-That’s right! Marriage is too soon!” Matilda chimed in, desperately agreeing with me.
It seemed that once you sweet-talked her, the effect lasted for a while.
“Cardinal Matilda, you are losing your composure. I believe it is particularly pronounced because of the curse. Why don’t you try to view the situation calmly?”
“Hngh!”
But Sophia didn’t back down from Matilda in the slightest.
Her tone was polite, but her attitude was like that of someone scolding a subordinate.
And Matilda, whether because she had a guilty conscience or because she couldn’t treat Sophia carelessly, was rendered speechless.
As expected of the head administrator of such a grand temple. Perhaps Ms. Sophia was a much more formidable person than I had thought.
“And Sir Guwon. You said it would be inconvenient if it became known that you are the Goddess’s emissary?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Certainly, some of the rougher adventurers might become jealous, and they might even try to tail you in the Dungeon. You would have to be mindful of your every move so as not to bring shame to the Goddess’s name. However, don’t you think the merit of receiving our church’s full support far outweighs such demerits?”
“Ugh, w-well… but…”
“But what?”
Dammit. I think of her as a mother-in-law, and she’s been my teacher until now. When she comes at me like this, I feel completely overwhelmed.
“W-Well… right. It would be hard for Leia, too.”
In the end, I had no choice but to ask Leia for help.
It was the only way I could think of.
If the marriage was decided here and the temple held us for a wedding ceremony?
It would be a hopeless situation.
Even with Diana on our side, it would be impossible to interfere with the marriage of a Saint and a Saintess.
All the mages in the world? On this side, we’d have all the followers of the Goddess in the world. There’s no way we could win.
“Leia?” Sophia looked at me as if to ask what I was talking about.
“Yes. Leia isn’t a Saintess yet, is she? Of course, I will make her one, but I think making such an announcement before she officially becomes one would put too much pressure on her. Right, Leia?”
I looked at Leia with pleading eyes.
Honestly, it was a pathetic, shameless thing to do.
Leia obviously wanted to marry me more than anything. Just the other night, she’d even engaged in that kind of play, saying she wanted to have my child.
To ask that same Leia for help to prevent our marriage… even I had to admit there was a limit to how shameless a person could be.
“Yes. I think making an announcement like that before I become a Saintess would be too much pressure.”
But Leia stared into my eyes for a moment, thinking, before turning to Sophia and saying just that.
“What? Leia, but…”
“It’s alright. You don’t have to worry.”
As Sophia started to say something in bewilderment, Leia smiled gently, took both of Sophia’s hands, and shook her head.
“I want to build our relationship at my own pace, nice and slow. And I’m already happy enough as things are.”
“I see… I apologize.”
“No. I’m always grateful to you.”
After saying that, Leia came back to my side and linked her arm with mine.
“Leia…”
I gazed at Leia, overcome with a mixture of guilt and emotion.
“Hehe. Why are you making that face? It’s really okay.”
Leia gently placed her index finger on my lips to stop me from speaking and said with a smile.
Ugh. Just how much of an angel is she? No. She’s not like an angel. She is an angel. In fact, angels are like Leia!
“Ahem! W-Well, anyway! I’d like to speak with His Holiness the Pope about my curse for a moment. Could you guide me to a place with communication magic?”
Matilda, who had been watching us quietly, seemed to snap back to her senses. She cleared her throat and spoke to Sophia.
“…Very well. Please follow me.”
Sophia led Matilda out of the room.
All they needed to do was confirm if anyone had been cured of their condition, so there was no need for me to follow, right?
I decided to wait here with Leia.
“Leia. I’m sorry.”
Only after we were alone could I finally apologize to her.
“Hm? Why, all of a sudden?”
“You must have wanted to marry me.”
“Oh my. It sounds as if you didn’t, Sir Guwon.”
“No! That’s not it! It’s just…!”
“Hehe. I know. I was just teasing you,” Leia said with a little laugh. She moved to stand in front of me and took my hands in hers.
“You have nothing to apologize for. Everything you did was for my sake.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I thought about it. Would I truly be happy if we got married like that? Ms. Sara and Ms. Diana would probably be in pain. And seeing them like that would cause you pain, too, Sir Guwon. And if that happened, wouldn’t I, who has to watch you suffer by your side, end up suffering too? That’s why I refused the marriage. It was all for my own sake.”
“Leia, that’s…”
“And… it’s also true that being called by the title of ‘Saintess’ already felt like a burden,” Leia said, playfully sticking out her tongue a little.
She said it was for her own sake, but that was completely for my sake!
Unable to hold back, I pulled Leia into a tight hug.
“Kyaa!”
“Leia. I really love you. I swear I’ll cherish you for the rest of my life!”
“Sir Guwon, His Holiness the Pope has just… oh my.”
Just as I shouted my feelings to Leia, Ms. Sophia re-entered the room.
“It seems I really didn’t need to be so impatient.”
Then, she and Leia looked at each other and shared a warm smile.