Chapter 385: Another Hero
Chapter 385: Another Hero
I had managed to overcome the immediate crisis, but that was all it was—the immediate crisis.
Looking at the long term, I felt like I had just stepped into a swamp from which I could never escape.
Damn it. The salvation of all people? Am I actually going to have to do this?
Maybe I should just disappear somewhere, like Diana did when I first met her.
No, I knew that was impossible. If I ignored the Goddess's command to conquer the dungeon and did that, there was no telling how she would react.
I really needed to figure out a way out of this.
“Still, saving everyone… Silvia, what do you think? Do you have any good ideas?”
“Uwaah… augh… ahh… uwaaah…”
I asked Silvia, who was in my arms, but she had completely melted and was just making strange noises.
We were currently waiting for Matilda and Leia in the temple’s rest area.
Matilda had apparently come to the temple to pray in the first place, so she had headed to the chapel, and Leia had gone with her.
Silvia and I had offered a short prayer at first, but we couldn’t possibly keep up with the endless prayers of two priestesses.
Besides, I was an atheist before coming here, so I wasn’t used to praying in the first place.
That’s why Silvia and I were here alone, but… the stares from those around us had been incredibly intense for a while now.
Being famous is a pain.
The heated glares from the men, in particular, were agonizing.
I’d almost prefer it if those stares were directed at Silvia… no. On second thought, that would be just as irritating.
In any case, these looks were unbelievably burdensome.
Did Diana have to endure this every day if she didn’t wear her robe?
A newfound respect for her began to bubble up inside me.
Then again, Diana ended up running away from home, too.
“Hah… Silvia…”
Anyway, the best way to escape this uncomfortable situation was to focus my thoughts elsewhere.
Leaving this place would be ideal, but I couldn't just abandon Leia and Matilda.
To forget the gazes piercing my skin from all directions, I decided to hug Silvia even tighter, rub my cheek against her hair, and enjoy some Silvia Therapy.
“Auh… ah, ahhh…”
Silvia reached a hand out into the empty air, her fingers twitching strangely like a broken machine as she let out odd sounds.
Mm. Silvia is cute again today. Just looking at her like this feels healing.
Though I have no idea how Silvia herself feels about it.
No, she must like it. She’s the one who stalks me every day because she likes me, after all.
“E-Excuse me!”
But my happy Silvia Therapy session didn’t last long.
Finally, one of the men moved beyond just staring and approached me directly.
“Yes?”
“Are you Sir Guwon, the Saint of Hope?”
“The, the Saint of Hope?”
“You don’t know?! The one who will save all of us men who live crushed under our wives’ thumbs! The light of the world, the salt of the earth! Sir Guwon, the Saint of Hope, who is hope itself!” the man cried out, the veins on his neck bulging.
He looked like a complete fanatic.
And despite the man’s intense reaction, the other men around us nodded their heads furiously in agreement.
What is this? It’s terrifying.
“Ah, no, I’m not.”
“What? B-But! A man of incredible beauty with black hair and black eyes…”
“Black hair and black eyes aren’t that rare, are they? But thank you for the compliment. I’m sure the Saint is far more handsome than someone like me.”
The man didn’t seem to know the specifics of my appearance, so I just made something up to get out of the situation.
“I-Is that so… Well, you are handsome, but I suppose the Saint is on another level entirely. My apologies.”
The Saint is on this level, you bastard. Don’t talk shit when you don’t know anything.
Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud, so I had no choice but to smile and send the man on his way.
“Guwon-ssi. We’ve finished our prayers. Cardinal Matilda is over there…”
It would have been perfect if Leia hadn’t shown up at that exact moment.
Of course, I’m not blaming my angel in the slightest.
“It-It really is the Saint!”
“Waaah! Saint-niiim!”
“Leia! Silvia! Run!”
“Kyaa!”
“Hye?! Uwaaaah…!”
I scooped up Leia and Silvia, tucking one under each arm, and escaped to where Matilda was.
Thankfully, Matilda was waiting in an area forbidden to men, so the Saint fanboys couldn’t follow us any further.
Getting chased by a bunch of guys who are into me. What a horrifying experience.
“Wh-What is it, you people? Why are you in such a hurry…?”
Matilda seemed startled by our sudden intrusion, but I didn’t have the luxury to care about that.
“Let’s talk once we get to the carriage.”
But to get to the carriage from here, we had to pass through the area with all those fanatics again.
I guess I have no choice but to use a disguise.
Of course, just me being in disguise wasn’t enough.
Leia and Silvia had been seen with me, after all.
Besides, they were both so strikingly beautiful that they would draw attention the moment we stepped outside.
So, I gave each of them a robe.
Of course, the other robes were Diana’s spares for emergencies, so they were a little small.
“Guwon-ssi. This robe, the chest area is…”
As expected of my angel. She’s overwhelming.
Even the grown-up version of Diana’s robe looked like it was about to burst at the seams, but at least it closed.
“……”
Silvia, please stop smacking your chest like that. You have your own unique charms.
She never used to do this. Did she get influenced by Diana?
Honestly, Diana is something else. She always seeks out Silvia whenever she gets attacked about her chest, and now the kid has turned out like this.
“Then, Matilda…”
“Wh-What is it? As long as my face is covered, it’s fine, right?”
Matilda exclaimed, covering her chest as if embarrassed, but the front of her robe, visible between her fingers, was properly closed.
This confirmed one thing for certain.
The bust-size ranking in our party was Silvia < Pre-growth Diana < Sara < Matilda < Post-growth Diana < Leia.
Well, not that I didn’t already know, having touched them all.
Anyway, despite the minor incident, we managed to pull on our robes and safely reach the carriage.
Though I broke into a cold sweat when we were almost discovered because of Leia’s chest and tail.
“Hah… so. What was all that about in the end?” Matilda asked, throwing off her robe as the carriage started back toward the mansion.
“Well, it seems I’ve acquired a following that, along with some strange rumors, has started to worship me.”
“Ah… you mean that. From what I heard from the Pope, it seems it’s not just an issue in this city.”
“Wh-What? What do you mean?”
“Apparently, the rumors have spread all over the capital where the Holy See is located. The rumor that you will save all the men of the world. I heard everyone is having a hard time because they’re being flooded with inquiries about when they can receive their salvation.”
“Are you serious…?”
So that’s why High Priestess Sophia was so proactive.
“Yes. Even the Pope asked me to find out when salvation might be possible.”
My escape route was now completely cut off.
I thought I had stepped into a swamp I couldn’t escape after my conversation with High Priestess Sophia, but it seemed I was already in it up to my waist.
“What should I do? I never planned on saving anyone.”
“That’s why you should have been more careful with your words. I told the Pope that I was prioritizing the removal of my own curse for now, but I don’t know how long an excuse like that will work…”
Ah, so Matilda made an excuse for me.
When you think about it, she should be on the same side as the church.
“Seriously, what do I do? There’s no way I can personally see and educate every single one of them. I’d rather die than do something like that.”
“N-No, Guwon-ssi!”
My muttering startled my angel, who wrapped her arms around me and shook her head as if to tell me not to say such things.
“I-It’s okay. It’s just an expression.”
“You shouldn’t say things like that, even as a joke! I’ll help you think of a solution.”
I got scolded.
But the way Leia comforted me right after proved she was truly an angel.
“Sorry, sorry. But salvation… I guess I’ll leave what High Priestess Sophia suggested… as a last resort.”
I saw Leia’s expression darken as she held me, so I had to change my words immediately.
Besides, I had my doubts about whether that “education” would even work properly.
I mean, educating the priests meant teaching them by sleeping with them directly, right?
And since priests try to keep their acts hidden from others, it would mean sleeping with each and every one of them, one by one.
First of all, it would be exhausting to give a lecture while having sex, and I doubted the priests would even be able to learn properly.
They’d be getting fucked by me. There’s no way they could maintain their composure and learn anything.
And to top it off, she said low-level priests would be in charge of the education to prevent death from sexual overexertion.
Even if I used Weakling Stance to lower my level, my skill levels were so high that I couldn’t lower my level enough for them to endure it.
I never even use that skill, Weakling Stance. I learned it, but that’s it.
My girls all have high Charm, so they can handle me just fine even with a bit of a level gap.
But if that’s the case, the only remaining option is…
“Just gather them all in an auditorium and give a lecture while having a group sex session…”
“I will never forgive such a shameless act! You are the Goddess’s messenger! A group orgy hosted by the Goddess’s messenger! Do you think that makes any sense?!”
“No. Uh, I’m sorry.”
Matilda seemed genuinely angry, so I had no choice but to apologize immediately.
I had a strong impression of her as an easy woman, but a Cardinal is a Cardinal. She’s surprisingly scary when she gets angry about matters concerning the Goddess.
I could never imagine her as a former Holy Knight, but seeing her just now, I could finally picture it a little.
“Guwon-ssi, don’t be so hasty. Let’s think about this slowly. I’m sure there’s a solution.”
My angel hugged me tightly and soothed me, and my mind began to calm down a little.
It seemed the horrifying experience of being chased by a pack of dick-wielding fanatics had made me more impatient than I realized.
“Yeah. You’re right. Well, if all else fails, I’ll just write a textbook on proper sexual conduct or something.”
…Huh? It was something I’d just blurted out without much thought, but the more I considered it, wasn’t this a really good idea?
Putting aside the question of how to explain sexual techniques in writing to create a textbook.
If the writing didn’t have perfect clarity, it wouldn’t function properly as a guide.
No, wait a minute. What if, instead of writing, I could show them with something like a video…!
An idea struck me like a bolt of lightning.
I hadn’t seen it myself, but there had to be technology in this world to record and play videos.
Whether it was thanks to the otherworlders or because of magic, this world had strangely advanced technology for what was supposed to be a medieval setting.
Of course, that wasn’t enough to be certain about video technology, but I had another reason to suspect it existed.
It was that crystal ball at the teleportation magic circle that allowed for video calls with people far away.
It wouldn’t make sense for that kind of technology to exist without the simpler technology of recording.
Yes! Video recording technology must exist!
If I use that technology to film myself having sex and have them learn directly from that…!
I felt elated by my own genius idea.
Alright! As soon as I get home, I’ll…! …Ah.
But my excitement was short-lived. I realized there was a critical flaw in this plan.
God damn it! I don’t have an actress to film it with!
My girls?
I don’t care about myself, but showing my girls’ naked bodies to the entire world? I’d rather die!
My disappointment was as great as my excitement had been, and I decided to stop thinking about it for the day.