Chapter 455: Crossroads
Chapter 455: Crossroads
“So, when is the video scheduled to be released?”
“V-Video?! Released?! Lady Matilda! What are you saying! I-I’m not showing it to you!”
And so began our tea time after breakfast.
Diana’s reaction to Matilda’s question was immediate and intense.
Seriously, Diana. Don’t you think you’re being a little too obvious?
I mean, I understood her anxiety, but still.
“Wh-What?! Wait a moment. What do you mean, you won’t show it?”
“I also think it’s better if Matilda doesn’t see it. The other priests don’t know for sure who’s in the video, and besides, the Pope only agreed on the condition that they watch it as educational material, right? Leia and Matilda have no reason to be teaching anyone, and since you know exactly who’s in it, wouldn’t watching it be a violation of clerical rules?”
Matilda was naturally taken aback by Diana’s sudden outburst, but I stepped in to smooth things over.
Diana, you owe me one.
I shot Diana a proud look, but she just glared back as if to say, ‘Isn’t this all your fault in the first place?!’
Well, when you got down to it, she wasn’t wrong.
“N-No, what are you talking about? Of course I wouldn’t watch something like that! I was just asking when it would be used for educational purposes!”
“A-Ahem. Hmm. If that’s the case, it shouldn’t take too long. Distributing it to every temple in the world will take time, but the temples here should receive their copies in a few days. We’re already in the process of duplicating the Magic Stone with the altered voices.”
As she spoke, Diana pulled a Magic Stone from her pocket.
“What’s that? Don’t tell me it’s that video?”
“Mm. It’s the original.”
“You’ve had it this whole time?”
“Of course. Who else would I entrust something like this to?”
“I guess that makes sense. In that case, I’ll hold onto it.”
I snatched the video from Diana’s hand and put it in my inventory.
Even if I didn’t look it, I’d been leveling up my Assassin job quite a bit.
Diana was so surprised she couldn’t react as I took the video.
“Gah! Wh-What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Hm? Why? Keeping it in my inventory is the safest place in the world, isn’t it?”
“W-Well, that’s true, but…! Ugh… It’s nothing.”
Diana looked like she had something more to say, but after glancing at the others, she swallowed her words.
What’s up with her? Is there a problem?
“Anyway, if that’s the case, then we won’t have to wear our hoods outside anymore.”
Sara said this with a look of relief.
Our party had become pretty famous, so our faces were well-known. Whenever the girls were with me, they all had to wear their hoods up.
It seemed Sara had found it quite stifling to always be wearing one.
Personally, I thought the hood suited her, partly due to my own bias that archers and hoods just go together.
“Mm. Indeed. By the time we return from our next dungeon exploration, you should be able to go without them. …It seems I’m the only one who will be stuck wearing a hood again.”
Diana, who still insisted on wearing her hood, muttered bitterly.
Well, the fact that Diana was a member of our party still wasn’t common knowledge among regular adventurers. It was a necessary choice to avoid being swarmed by every mage she met.
She’s got it rough, too.
This whole incident had taught me just how annoying it was to have so many people rushing at me, and I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.
“Hehe. So, are we heading to the dungeon right away?”
Leia, perhaps finding Diana’s expression a little cute, smiled gently and asked me.
“Right. We still have the task of finding a male ant in the ant nest, so we should head out right away… Ah.”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. But there’s no need to rush, so let’s take our time. Besides, Goddess Advent is still on a long cooldown, right?”
I had been about to say we should go to the dungeon immediately, but then I remembered I had other things to do first.
I still hadn’t performed Matilda’s curse removal even once since we got back, and come to think of it, I still hadn’t figured out why Rachel was so angry.
So, I vaguely brushed off the situation. As soon as tea time was over, I was about to approach Matilda.
“S-Sir Guwon!”
But before I could, someone called out to me.
“Hm? Silvia? What is it?”
It was Silvia, who had been sitting quietly in the corner throughout the meal and tea time.
It was extremely rare for Silvia to call out to me like this.
“I-It’s, um… th-the promise!”
Silvia clenched her fists in front of her chest, her face beet red as she desperately forced the words out.
“Promise? Ah, right! The promise to grant you a wish. Yeah. I haven’t forgotten. I remember.”
Seriously?
It’s just that I figured we’d be together for a long time, so I could grant her wish anytime. I hadn’t thought of it as something that needed to be dealt with before heading to the dungeon.
“Have you decided what you want to ask for?”
“Y-Yes! I’ve known from the start…”
Well, considering her reaction last time, that made sense.
She’d made a fuss, saying something about how she’d die if it happened right now.
What on earth was she planning to ask for that would warrant such a reaction?
“Alright. What is it you desire? Make your wish. But bear in mind, I cannot grant wishes that are beyond my power.”
Feeling like the wish-granting god that appears when you gather seven orbs, I looked at Silvia and spoke solemnly.
“I-It’s! I mean! It’s…!”
But Silvia, oblivious to my strange behavior, desperately tried to continue.
It’s a little lonely how she never reacts no matter what stupid pranks I pull.
Wait, what am I thinking? That desperate look on her face is cute, isn’t it?
It’s much better than having her call me out on my stupid antics.
Damn it. I’ve been called an idiot so much lately, have I gotten used to it without realizing?
I had been acting dumber on purpose recently to get Sara used to calling me “Oppa,” but to think I’d become the kind of person who feels empty if I’m not called an idiot…
At this rate, I’m not the one conditioning Sara; she’s the one conditioning me.
The terrifying Sara Magic… she couldn’t have planned this, right?
While I was lost in such foolish thoughts, the girl in front of me, Silvia, had her eyes squeezed shut, desperately trying to voice her wish.
Alright. I should make it easier for her to speak.
I’ll say something silly to lighten the mood.
And this time, I swear I won’t feel empty even if she doesn’t call me an idiot.
“What is it? Don’t be shy, just say it. If it’s for you, I’d even pluck the stars from the…”
“H-Hyaaaaa…! I-I can’t! I’m sorry! I’ll ask you later!”
Silvia clutched her nose as if she were about to have a nosebleed, shouted, and then fled in an instant.
No, no, no. Silvia. You can’t fall for a line like that. Just how little resistance do you have?
I was just trying to be nice.
…Well, I guess I’ll go see Matilda as planned.
“Come hither!”
“Kyaa! Wh-What is it?! If you’re going to knock, at least wait for an answer before coming in!”
When I knocked and entered Matilda’s room, a half-naked Matilda was covering her chest with both hands as she snapped at me.
While not quite on Leia’s level, she was still our party’s number two in that department. A magnificent chest that her two hands couldn’t possibly cover completely.
If it weren’t for Leia, she could have easily aimed for the top. What a truly unfortunate… well, anyway.
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t realize you were changing. You were wearing the same thing this morning, so I didn’t expect it.”
Judging by the other cardinal’s robe lying on the bed, Matilda had been in the middle of changing.
So she has multiple sets of the same outfit, too. I mean, I knew Leia did, but still.
The clothes she wore were cardinal’s robes, so they were a bit more ornate. You just don’t get the impression that someone would have several sets of them.
“I spilled a little something during the meal… Wait! You said you were sorry, so why are you still coming closer?! Get out!”
“Hm? No. I’m going to take them off anyway, so there’s no reason to wait outside while you change.”
“T-Take them off?! What are you talking about, barging in here all of a sudden?”
“Let’s do it. Sex!”
“That’s too sudden! And what’s with that tone?!”
“I have come to break your curse, my lady.”
I immediately dropped to one knee and extended my hand, striking the classic pose of a man courting a lady.
“I-It’s too late to act all cool now…”
Even as she said it, Matilda’s expression had already melted into a daze.
And she gently placed her hand on top of mine.
Thanks to that, the chest she’d been covering with her hands bounced and revealed itself.
Is that really cool? …I mean, thanks, but… that’s definitely because of the curse, right?
“Come, let us go to the bed together.”
“…Yes. Sir Guwon…”
Now completely swept up in the pink atmosphere, Matilda sent me a look of utter adoration.
Seeing that, I, in turn, found it harder to keep up my foolish act.
Normally, I would have continued my silly antics, but I suppose I was in the middle of contemplating things.
I was worried about whether she truly liked me or not, and I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel about having sex with her… Ugh! What am I doing?!
What am I thinking with such a beautiful girl—a half-naked, peerless beauty—right in front of me!
Look at that bouncing chest! Look at the gorgeous curve of her waist and hips! Look at that enchanting garter belt accenting her smooth legs!
Of course, the things I’m worried about are important.
But this isn’t the time to get hung up on them and ruin the mood.
First, sex! Breaking the curse comes first!
I shook off the distracting thoughts creeping into my mind and decided to focus on the sex for now.
“Ahh… so we’re doing it…”
Lying on the bed, Matilda murmured as she gazed at me with a dazed expression.
Something about the way she said that bothered me.
But seeing as she was steadily spreading her legs, she seemed more than willing.
“Yeah. Is there a problem?”
I said, gently stroking the top of her panties.
To think she wore a garter belt like this under a cardinal’s robe that looked so prim it was almost solemn.
It was an outfit that stimulated a man’s heart far too much.
And as I caressed her underwear, I realized something new.
So you wear the garter belt under the panties. I never knew.
“Nngh… Hahh… No… not really a problem… it’s just…”
“Just?”
“Hahh… It’s just that… Leia-ssi will be waiting…”
At Matilda’s words, uttered between sweet sighs as if it were nothing, I instantly froze, stopping all movement.
“…What? Wait. What does that mean?”
“Haah… It’s just… I wanted to talk with the Pope for a bit… Hahh… so I arranged to go to the temple with Leia-ssi…”
“That’s a huge problem! What do you mean it’s not a problem?! You should have told me sooner!”
“Ugh! You’re the one who suddenly barged in and created this situation!”
As I shouted in surprise, Matilda momentarily snapped out of the pink atmosphere and shot back at me.
…Well, she was right. It was my fault.
“Ugh. Can’t be helped. Then maybe a little later…”
“W-Wait a moment.”
I decided to aim for the next opportunity and tried to pull away from Matilda, but she grabbed my arm firmly.
As expected of a former holy knight. She’s surprisingly strong… so strong… wait a minute. This is weird. Why can’t I break free?
She was strong enough to have protected me with a shield on the 5th floor, but still, even so, this was…
…Wait, am I actually weaker than a lot of people? No. Stop. A man’s pride…
“Wh-What is it?”
“Ugh… Y-You’re not thinking of stopping now, are you? After we’ve come this far?”
The mood had been completely shattered, breaking Matilda out of her pink mode, but what she was saying wasn’t much different from when she was in it.
Is she really like this because of the curse? Isn’t this just her real personality?