Chapter 384: Another Hero
Chapter 384: Another Hero
Alright, so what should I do now?
Even if Sara’s body isn’t in immediate danger, the existence of the Demon God has been confirmed.
And what’s more, our opponent is the War God.
Just looking at the Hero who received his blessing, it’s clear his military might is on a level that transcends imagination.
And I have to face a guy like that.
I pride myself on the belief that I won’t lose to anyone as long as they’re a living creature, but it was hard to imagine that even the Saint’s skills would work on a god.
In the end, the only thing we can do is get as strong as we possibly can.
With that in mind, I wanted to head to the dungeon right now and start training.
Diana had already finished reinforcing and repairing all our equipment before she went to the dungeon, and it was still only lunchtime—a perfect time to go.
There was just one problem. Diana herself had just returned from the dungeon.
If I asked her, she’d probably say she was fine, but as the party leader, I couldn’t push her that hard.
Besides, didn’t Diana say it herself earlier?
The mana flowing through the dungeon is different from the mana on the surface, and it tires you out more easily.
She needed to rest for at least a day.
I gazed down at Diana, who was sitting on my lap.
The moment Leia and I separated, Diana had claimed my thighs, and she was now in the middle of relaxing with a cup of warm tea.
After all, we hadn't seen each other for a few days, one way or another.
And last night, we ended up doing it for a much shorter time than usual before she passed out. Well, I suppose the content itself was quite rich, though.
In any case, that’s why Diana was now on my lap, soaking up my warmth to her heart’s content.
“Haaa… Hmm? You there?”
My hand, which had been stroking her hair, paused for a moment while I was lost in thought, and Diana looked up at me with a relaxed expression.
“No. It’s nothing.”
I resumed stroking her hair and continued my thoughts.
I considered using this free time to take care of my dinner promise with Rachel, but seeing Diana like this, it might be better to spend the day with her.
Come to think of it, Rachel always seemed to be working as a guide during the day. Would we even be able to have a meal together?
From what I saw yesterday, she seems to get off work incredibly late.
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
As I was spacing out, Matilda spoke to me.
“Um… I have a favor to ask.”
“Huh? Ah, ahh. Sorry. Right now is a little… Let’s do it a bit later.”
It wasn’t that I was particularly against it, but it felt a little awkward to talk about this with Diana sitting on my lap.
I reached a hand behind Matilda’s neck, brought her face close to mine, and whispered softly.
“Eut…! Ahh… Yes… Later… Hah! Th-that’s not the favor I was going to ask! I-I mean, I’d like you to do that soon, too, but… A-anyway, that’s not what I meant right now!”
Matilda, who had been about to nod in agreement with a dazed expression, quickly snapped out of it and shouted.
For that Matilda to break out of her characteristic pink-hued haze so quickly…
Did she have an important request other than breaking her curse?
“Oh? What is it?”
“Well… I’d like to go to the temple for a bit.”
Thinking it was a truly important favor, I asked without any hint of teasing, but her answer was a surprisingly ordinary request.
Then again, a person of her stature, a Cardinal, hadn’t been to the temple in days. Now that I thought about it, this probably was an important request for her.
But for her to ask me before Leia…
It seemed Matilda had finally realized that she absolutely couldn’t wander around outside without me.
After she almost fell for that bastard Threon, had a sense of crisis finally kicked in?
“Hmm… But the temple… about today.”
“If you are concerned about me, there is no need.”
I was about to use Diana as an excuse to refuse Matilda’s request, but Diana beat me to it.
“H-huh?”
“Mm. You need to gauge the church’s movements anyway, don’t you? By now, the rumors should have spread sufficiently within the temple. Why don’t you go and see what the church thinks of the words you spoke before? Since you were the one to say them, it’s not as if you can avoid it by running away.”
Diana finished her tea, said her piece, and then hopped down from my lap.
It seemed she had noticed I’d been deliberately avoiding the temple lately.
Damn it. She cut off my escape route. I guess I have no choice.
And so, I was practically pushed into heading to the temple with Leia and Matilda.
Oh, and Silvia tagged along, too.
“Uwaauuuu…”
When I didn’t ask her to come, she tried to secretly stalk us, so I just grabbed her and brought her along.
We came in a carriage, though. How exactly was she planning on stalking us?
Sure, if Silvia ran at full speed, she could probably keep up with a carriage, but at that point, it’s not really stalking anymore, is it?
In any case, I couldn’t relax the entire way to the temple.
A plan for the Demon God, ensuring Sara’s safety, the bet with the princess, my promise to Rachel.
I already had more than enough to worry about, and now I had to deal with this, too.
Damn it. Even if it was to escape that situation, I shouldn’t have said something like that.
On top of that, I had to look after Matilda.
“Hey. Don’t stray. Stick close.”
“I-I know!”
“I’ll do the walking, so you just keep your eyes on me and nowhere else. Got it?”
“Yes… I’ll only look at you.”
I said, pulling Matilda’s waist closer. She replied while staring intently at my face.
Even though we came by carriage, the danger wasn’t gone just because we got out and walked into the temple.
I was currently walking with my arm wrapped tightly around Matilda’s side.
If only she genuinely liked me, not just because of the curse…
That thought crossed my mind as I looked at Matilda, who was gazing at me with hazy eyes.
Truthfully, there was one method that could perfectly resolve my current worries—both the plan for the Demon God and the questions about Sara’s safety.
It was to perform the Apostle Appointment on Matilda and have her learn the Goddess Advent skill.
If I did that, I could speak with the goddess immediately, without having to wait for Leia’s Goddess Advent cooldown to finish.
But…
There were too many things holding me back.
First, the feelings of my girls.
Right now, my girls were being incredibly generous with me.
They had accepted that I had to have regular relations with Silvia and Matilda out of necessity, and they had even given me permission to sleep with other women if needed.
And one of the biggest reasons my girls were being so permissive was probably the Apostle Appointment.
I believe they can be this tolerant because they have the anchor of knowing that they are the only ones who have received it.
But if I were to perform the Apostle Appointment on anyone else… I don’t know how my girls would react.
I’m scared of Sara being in danger, but I’m even more scared of my girls’ affection for me cooling.
That’s why I’d noticed the solution but deliberately kept my mouth shut.
I noticed it. The others have probably figured out this solution as well.
But the fact that no one has mentioned it… I have to assume it means they, too, don’t want me to perform the Apostle Appointment on anyone else.
Besides, even if my girls were to understand, there was still one more problem.
The fact that I don’t know Matilda’s true feelings.
If Matilda genuinely loves me, then there’s no problem.
But what if she only loves me because of the curse?
If the curse were to be lifted and her feelings of love for me completely vanished, yet she remained bound to me by the Apostle Appointment, there could be nothing more painful.
I considered having someone else ask Matilda about her true feelings, but even if she said she loved me then, I couldn’t be sure if those feelings would be strong enough for the Apostle Appointment to succeed.
For all those reasons, I had half given up on the idea of speaking to the goddess through Matilda.
I convinced myself that there was plenty of time before we had to go beyond the 6th floor, and that Leia’s Goddess Advent cooldown would be over by then.
“Oh my. It’s been a while.”
While I was lost in these thoughts, we had arrived at the High Priestess’s chambers.
“Ah, yes. Hello. High Prie—Ms. Sophia.”
“I heard, you know. That you declared you would save all the suffering men in the world? Such an act is truly befitting of the goddess’s messenger. I admit I found you a little unreliable at first, but you’ve become so dependable… Hehe. Was that a bit rude of me, speaking to the goddess’s messenger like that?”
The moment we exchanged greetings, she hit me with a powerful hook.
For her to bring it up before I even had a chance to…
Just how high are her expectations?
Well, the temple does go so far as to educate men on these matters, so I can understand her excitement.
But the rumor had been strangely exaggerated.
What was this about saving all the suffering men in the world? Is she an idiot? There’s no way that’s possible.
I could spend my entire life giving lectures and it still wouldn’t be possible.
No. If I had to spend my whole life watching other people fuck, I’d choose suicide in the first place.
“Ha, haha. No, not at all. The reason I’ve grown so much is all thanks to your guidance, Ms. Sophia. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit lately. Have you been well?”
Of course, I showed none of these feelings and replied with a smile.
Changing the subject is the best tactic in these situations.
“Yes, I’ve been well. And there’s no need to be sorry. I hear all about how busy you’ve been. We received news from the Holy See just the other day, that another group of men who had been afflicted by Cardinal Matilda’s curse have been liberated. Come to think of it, you said you were postponing the salvation of men to prioritize breaking Cardinal Matilda’s curse, but it seems like completely lifting her curse will take quite some time. If you’re alright with it, Mr. Savior, how about you proceed with liberating the men in your spare time? It’s not as if you embrace Cardinal Matilda every single day, is it?”
It failed. I thought I’d deflected it nicely, but the conversation went right back to where it started.
Just how high are her expectations?
High Priestess Sophia seemed unusually excited, and the pressure of her genuine anticipation for my work was immense.
“Ha, haha… W-well, you see. That is… Y-yes! I’m actually planning it out! I declared I would save everyone, but I only have one body. If I were to guide them one by one in the usual way, it would be impossible to save everyone even if I dedicated my entire life to it. So right now, I’m working hard on a plan for how I can save them all. I feel like I’m on the verge of a breakthrough, but I just can’t quite grasp it.”
“Oh my. Is that so? In that case, let me help you think. Let’s see… Ah! How about this? Mr. Savior, you could first teach our priestesses one-on-one, and then our priestesses could…”
“H-High Priestess!”
As High Priestess Sophia spoke, Leia cut her off in a fluster.
Don’t worry, Leia. I’m not going to do it.
More importantly, High Priestess Sophia. I’d been thinking of you as a mother-in-law, but to say something like that in front of Leia. What in the world…
“Oh my. Leia, what is it? Surely you’re not jealous over education? Hehe. To think that our Leia has become capable of expressing such self-centered emotions.”
“H-High Priestess, honestly! It’s not like that!”
When the High Priestess spoke in a slightly teasing tone, my angel became visibly flustered. What a pitiful, adorable sight.
“Hehe. It’s alright. I’m complimenting you. You’ve grown, Leia. You need to be a little more self-centered like that. You’ve been far too selfless until now.”
“High Priestess…”
The conversation was flowing as if she had intended this reaction all along, making it sound like a good thing, but I’m pretty sure her earlier suggestion about educating the priestesses was genuine. Her eyes were not joking at all.
But is that how it is? In the High Priestess’s mind, are education and sex filled with love two separate things?
As I thought, the common sense of this world is subtly different from my own.
At least my girls are fine, since they’ve spent so much time with me that they’ve adapted more to my way of thinking.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Even if I were to educate the priestesses, I don’t think it would be as effective as direct instruction. I don’t believe it would be possible to save everyone that way.”
“Oh my. Is that so.”
That reaction. She was definitely serious about what she said earlier.