Chapter 456: Crossroads
Chapter 456: Crossroads
“What? Are you serious? You said you were meeting Leia, didn't you?”
“It’s alright. Leia will understand. …It’s all to break the curse, after all.”
“Well, I suppose, but… you should at least go tell her first.”
“L-like this?! Just as Diana said, you really are…!”
No! What kind of misunderstanding is this!
Damn it, Diana… Why did she have to go and say something like that? I’ll have to get her back for this later.
I made a silent vow, deciding not to reveal Diana’s particular tastes to Matilda for the sake of her reputation.
“Who told you to go out like that?! Get dressed and go!”
“B-but… I-I can’t possibly wear these clothes in this state…”
Matilda said, shyly gesturing toward her already-damp nether regions.
Well, she had a point. It would be a bit much to put on her Cardinal’s robes like that.
“Aargh! Seriously! Fine! I’ll go, alright?! I’ll go!”
In the end, that was all I could say.
I can’t believe I have to go tell my girlfriend I’m about to have sex with another woman.
Of course, since it was Leia, it was far better than having to tell Sara or Diana, but I couldn’t help but feel depressed.
“Oh my. Guwon. What brings you out of there? Did you have some business with Cardinal Matilda?”
And as soon as I stepped out of Matilda’s room, I ran right into Leia, as if on cue.
Since we had just parted ways after tea time, it seemed Leia didn’t think I had visited Matilda for that kind of purpose.
Her purely innocent gaze felt like a dagger in my heart.
No. If I’d been just a little later, she would have seen me rolling around in bed with Matilda. I should just be glad it’s much better than that.
“Ah, yeah. About that. It’s… you see…”
Even as I tried to steel myself, the words just wouldn’t come out easily.
But as if she’d guessed something from my demeanor, the warm smile on Leia’s face faltered for a split second.
It was only for a fleeting moment, and she quickly returned to her usual gentle expression, but that, for some reason, hurt me even more.
“Ah… um, Guwon. I’m sorry, but could you pass a message to Cardinal Matilda for me?”
“Huh? What is it?”
“We were actually supposed to go to the temple together now. But, um, something’s come up, so I don’t think I can go right away. I’m so sorry, but perhaps next time… Kyaa!”
But despite it all, Leia didn’t say a word about me having sex with Matilda. Instead, she even gave me an out.
Ugh. An angel. Why are you such an angel?
I couldn’t hold back any longer and pulled Leia into a tight hug.
“Leia. I’m sorry. I’m going to break Matilda’s curse now.”
“I see. Hehe. It’s alright. You have nothing to be sorry for, Guwon. This is all for the good of the world.”
I cut Leia off and told her the truth. She reached her hands around my back, returning the hug as she murmured.
For the good of the world… Is that why she’s enduring this…?
“Besides… tonight is my turn, you know. Since you’ve disrupted my schedule, you’ll have to love me plenty tonight, okay?”
“Yeah. Of course. I promise.”
“Hehe. Mmm… smooch. I’ll see you later, then.”
Leia stood on her tiptoes slightly and gave me a light peck on the lips before turning away with a smile.
She was acting like nothing was wrong, but I could see right through it, Leia.
I mean, her tail wasn’t wagging at all. It was just hanging there, limp.
My heart ached at Leia’s incredible kindness, but I headed back into Matilda’s room for now.
Honestly, after seeing Leia like that, my desire to be with Matilda had completely vanished. But telling her my heart ached and we should do it later would be even more ridiculous.
“Ah, d-did it go well?”
“Yeah.”
Matilda was still on the bed, having taken off all her underwear while waiting.
Of course, the garter belt was gone, too.
Normally, I would have made a fuss, asking why she took it off and telling her to put it back on, but I wasn’t in the mood. I just calmly took off my own clothes.
“Eek, ah, you’re not ready yet…. Th-then I’ll…”
“No. It’s fine.”
Matilda glanced at my still-flaccid member and spoke shyly, but I shook my head.
I could get hard with a skill anyway.
Receiving her service was purely for my own mental satisfaction.
But right now, I just wasn’t feeling it.
Of course, to increase the efficiency of breaking Matilda’s curse, it was important for me to feel good, so it wasn’t a completely useless act, but…
If that was the case, it might be more efficient to just insert it quickly rather than receive her service.
Nothing beat insertion when it came to pure physical pleasure.
With that in mind, I immediately reached for Matilda’s large breasts to get her sufficiently wet.
With Saint’s Touch activated.
“Nngh! T-to suddenly do this…”
Even as she spoke, Matilda’s eyes began to glaze over.
I see. I’d been feeling a sense of unease, and this was why. Matilda wasn’t in her pink mode.
Usually, she entered this mode before we even finished taking our clothes off.
That’s why her slightly shy demeanor had felt so out of place.
Well, whatever.
While kneading one of her breasts with one hand, I slid my other hand down to her pussy to check her condition.
“Hnngh!”
I was only checking how wet she was, but Matilda’s body trembled as she moaned in pleasure.
Well, I was using Saint’s Touch, so I guess that was natural.
In any case, she was already plenty wet.
I immediately used a skill to get hard and slid right inside her.
“Hnngh! Haah! T-todayyy!”
Matilda seemed to be trying to say something, but I ignored her and moved my hips.
Right now, my pleasure was the top priority.
Normally, I would have moved my hips while also stimulating Matilda’s sensitive spots, but not today.
I had the Sex Boost stacks, and I was using my skills.
Even without deliberately stimulating her sensitive areas, Matilda would surely feel plenty of pleasure.
With that thought, I moved my hips purely for my own gratification.
There was still a significant level gap between us, so the feeling inside her was indescribably good.
No. Even without the level gap, Matilda must be a masterpiece by nature.
Because of that, it felt good enough even without thrusting, but I spurred myself on, rubbing my own pleasure spot against her insides again and again.
“Hnngh! Haah!”
Matilda reached a hand to my cheek and gazed at me lovingly, but I intentionally avoided her eyes and focused on the movement of my hips.
The sensation of Leia’s kiss still lingered on my lips, yet here I was in a position where we looked like we were about to kiss.
Whether it was because of my efforts or for some other reason, the urge to cum came much faster than usual.
Well, good. The more I cum, the better.
Today’s goal is to reduce the marks of the curse by about 10cm on both the top and bottom.
With that mindset, I came inside Matilda over and over again.
“Hnngh… Haah… Haahng… H-hey… you…”
How many times had I finished? Matilda, who had been moaning in pleasure, managed to wrap her legs tightly around my waist, forcing my movements to a halt.
“Hm? What? What’s wrong?”
Having been mechanically seeking only pleasure, I finally stopped my hips.
Looking at Matilda’s face, I realized I hadn’t been looking at her at all this whole time.
Her expression was somehow different from when we usually worked on breaking the curse.
Her face was slack with pleasure, just like always, but something was different. Something.
“Nngh… What’s wrong with you?”
…That tone. Don’t tell me she’s not in pink mode?! No way! Didn’t she say she gets into this mode just from trying to insert it, and that it was a problem?
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“What do you mean, ‘what do you mean’? Nngh… Anyone can see you’re not your usual self.”
“H-how so? Was it… not good?”
I could feel my own panic, but I threw out the question as if to brush my feelings aside.
“No. That’s not it. It’s not that, but… the you right now, how should I put it… Yes. I don’t feel any love.”
But Matilda wouldn’t let me get away, answering me head-on.
“Love? With you, that was never…”
Feeling cornered for some reason, I blurted out those words to try and deflect.
The moment they left my mouth, I knew I’d messed up, but it was too late.
“Is that really true?”
But unexpectedly, Matilda didn’t look hurt at all.
No. Instead, she gave me a warm, enveloping smile as she spoke.
It was a look so divine that, even naked and in my arms, the title of Cardinal suited her perfectly.
“Is that really true? The you I know wasn’t like that. When you perform the act, you always think of your partner, and you, too…”
“……”
Her last words were mumbled too softly for me to hear, but I understood what she was trying to say.
That’s why I couldn’t answer.
Even I had to admit that my actions today were a bit much.
That was probably why Matilda’s pink mode had been dispelled.
For her pink mode, which activated so easily, to be broken… I couldn’t even begin to imagine how terribly I must have acted.
“Is something troubling you? This kind of sex… it’s not like you. If you’re okay with it, I’ll listen. Come on, tell me.”
“Troubling me? There’s nothing…”
“No. There is. Otherwise, there’s no reason for you to have sex like this.”
As I tried to deflect again, Matilda looked at me with a steady gaze and denied it.
Funnily enough, her denial was filled with a deep trust in me. That, combined with her almost sacred aura, made me want to find a hole to crawl into.
This was a worry I hadn’t even told my girls about yet. Was it really okay to tell Matilda?
No. Maybe because she isn’t one of my girls, it’s okay to tell her?
Of course, it was hard to see Matilda as a neutral party, but I had a feeling that the Matilda before me now could give me the right advice.
“…The truth is.”
Feeling overwhelmed by her presence, I confessed my worries as if I were giving a confession for the act we had just committed.
“…I see. Hah. The princess certainly said something foolish. I thought she was quite a brilliant person, but I suppose no one can be perfect in every way. And you, you’re just as bad for letting such words trouble you.”
“What? Are you saying my worries are wrong?”
“Of course they are! Worrying about whether you should have loveless sex? There’s no way that could ever be a good thing! The Goddess wouldn’t want that either.”
…Is that so.
Hearing Matilda’s answer, I honestly couldn’t hide my disappointment.
I thought she would give me proper advice, but she was just speaking from a religious point of view.
In the end, she’s a Cardinal, I guess.
But as if oblivious to my disappointment, Matilda continued.
“In the first place, you say you’re doing this so the three of them won’t be sad. Stop using them as an excuse. It’s simply that you lack the confidence to satisfy them, isn’t it?”
“What? Hey! What does that even—!”
“Isn’t it true?! Even if you hold me or another woman like this, if you just give it meaning and embrace them with emotion as you always do, if you can just give them the faith that you will love the three of them forever, there would be no problem. Am I wrong?”
“That’s just pure idealism! There’s no way that’s possible—!”
“Are you giving up without even trying just because it’s an ideal? You, the one chosen by the Goddess, the Saint?”
“Ugh…! What’s a Saint? I’m just an ordinary—!”
“An ordinary person? From what I’ve seen so far, you seem to underestimate yourself a little too much. It’s not a bad thing. To be in your position and still have a common touch, to live so freely—honestly, it’s quite endearing. But you need to recognize your own specialness a little more.”
“Of course I know I’m special. But still, I was originally…”
“I don’t know what kind of life you lived before coming to this world. But in this world, you are the Goddess’s messenger, the Saint. In the first place, an ordinary person could never make a Hero and an Archmage their lovers at the same time. No. It’s not just a Hero and an Archmage, but a Saintess, too. You’re the one who will make Leia a Saintess, aren’t you?”
…Well, she had a point there.
When she put it like that, I had nothing to say.
If I had to make an excuse, it would be that I didn’t know Sara was a Hero when I first met her.
“Normally, all three of them would be in a position where it wouldn’t be strange for each of them to have several men of their own. You’ve made all three of them your lovers at the same time, and now you’re saying you’re just an ordinary guy, so you don’t have the confidence to maintain relationships with other women besides those three while having sex with your full emotions?”