Chapter 457: Crossroads
Chapter 457: Crossroads
…Huh? No. Wait a minute.
“Hey. I was listening quietly because you seemed to be making sense, but what’s this about not being confident you can maintain the relationships? I never said a single word like that. I just said I didn’t want to see my girls’ sad faces. Don’t you dare try to subtly twist the facts.”
“Th-That’s the same thing!”
When I pointed it out coolly, Matilda, who had looked every bit the Cardinal just a moment ago, flushed slightly and grew flustered.
Seeing that, I felt that something wasn’t quite right.
“…I smell something.”
“…Wh-What? H-How rude! What are you talking about all of a sudden!”
“I smell a plot.”
“I-It doesn’t smell down there! Stop saying weird things to try and change the subject!”
As she spoke, Matilda suddenly reached a hand toward her groin.
“…Huh? No. What are you talking about? I meant a conspiracy, not… that.”
“……Ah. Ahhh….”
As if she’d finally realized her misunderstanding, Matilda covered her face with both hands, looking like she wanted to find a hole to crawl into and hide.
The hand you’re touching your face with… it’s the same one that just reached for your crotch. You sure that’s okay?
Your face is getting covered in your own juices… Well, I’ll just keep that to myself.
The thought of a Cardinal with her face slick with her own fluids was actually quite a turn-on.
In any case, now that things had come to this, the Matilda who had seemed so holy just moments ago began to look like her usual self again.
I must have been so overwhelmed by the atmosphere that my eyes were playing tricks on me.
To think I saw this Matilda as holy. It was absurd, even to me.
“So. What was your reason for distorting the facts?”
“Wh-What are you talking about?”
“I was clearly worried because I didn’t want to see my girls looking sad. But you changed the subject to ‘maintaining relationships.’ There must be a reason for that, right?”
“Th-That’s… more importantly, about your worries!”
Matilda tried to steer the conversation back to my problems, but I wouldn’t let her.
“Tell me.”
“Hk….”
Normally, I wouldn’t nitpick every little word choice like this.
But this time, I had a feeling.
There had to be an important reason why Matilda had rephrased it that way.
And seeing her flustered attempt to change the subject, my feeling turned into certainty.
“B-But… but….”
I watched Matilda quietly as she hesitated, repeating herself, and waited for her to speak of her own accord.
“But if you deny your relationships with all other women just because you don’t want to see their sad faces… then there would be no room for me to squeeze in at all.”
After a long hesitation, Matilda finally mumbled those words, averting her gaze.
She probably felt guilty for twisting things to her advantage, but I didn’t think it was something to feel that guilty about.
As far as distorting the facts went, all she did was slightly rephrase a truth that was hard for her to face.
I figured that was something anyone might do out of a desire to be with the person they love.
Besides, aside from that one final rephrasing, it was also true that Matilda had given me sound advice for my problem.
My judgment was that she hadn’t just said things that suited her.
In fact, here she was, feeling guilty over such a small thing. She just didn’t have the personality to act that selfishly.
If she were that selfish in the first place, she would have just passed this curse on to someone else and been done with it.
I didn’t know for sure, but her position as a Cardinal surely came with that much power.
In any case, there was something that bothered me more than Matilda’s slightly self-serving choice of words.
“What? You mean you….”
“…Yes. I love you.”
Before I could even finish my question, Matilda sent me a loving gaze and spoke in a tender voice.
The only problem was that her expression was one of pure ecstasy, which didn’t fit the situation at all.
“No. That’s completely because of the curse.”
“Hah! N-No, it’s not! I-I really! L-Look! Even in this state, I love you this muuuuch….”
…She’s not doing this on purpose, is she?
When I failed to react, Matilda’s pink mode faded, and she started to groan in frustration.
“Ugh… I-If you’re that suspicious, then you should just hurry up and break the curse!”
Seeing her mutter with tears welling up in her eyes, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing, though I felt a little bad.
To think she could make me feel this way after we’d been having such a serious conversation.
“Alright. For now, let’s focus on breaking the curse.”
With that, I started moving my hips again.
Unlike before, I made sure to be properly conscious of Matilda’s feelings.
“Hah… S-Suddenly, like that…!”
“I definitely did you wrong earlier. As payback, I’ll give you sex filled with plenty of genuine emotion this time.”
Matilda’s earlier advice hadn’t completely resolved my worries.
But it was also true that the pendulum, which had been slowly tilting to one side ever since I parted with Leia, had now swung back to the center—no, it even felt like it had swung to the opposite side.
And since I still hadn’t made a decision either way, I felt that having such mechanical sex had definitely been wrong.
“Haah… Nngh….”
“You noticed right away, even while feeling so good. You like it, don’t you? Sex filled with emotion.”
“Hnng… Yes… I like… Hnng… I love it….”
No, Matilda. When you say it with that expression, I can’t tell if you mean you love the sex or you love me.
Well, whatever. Either one was fine.
As if to make up for my earlier actions, I stimulated the sensitive spots deep inside Matilda with my Dick.
“Hoo… Should we call it a day?”
“Hahet… Yes, yeheah….”
And so, several hours later.
Earlier, Matilda hadn’t entered her pink mode no matter how many times I came, and had even stopped me to lecture me. This time, however, her entire body had gone limp, and she was so overcome with pleasure she could barely speak.
It seemed Matilda was fully satisfied this time.
And thanks to my own satisfaction, I was able to reduce the mark of the curse by about ten centimeters from both the top and bottom, just as I’d aimed for today.
Come to think of it, when we paused earlier, the mark hadn’t shrunk much compared to how much I’d ejaculated.
It seemed that sex enjoyed properly was more efficient than just mechanically thrusting one’s hips.
I summoned a water spirit and commanded it to wash both my and Matilda’s bodies, then gently draped a blanket over her clean form.
Just as I got dressed and was about to leave the room, I heard Matilda’s voice from behind me.
“Haah, w-wait….”
“Hm? What is it?”
“…I know it’s hard to believe me when I say this after I acted like I was taking advantage of your worries… but the things I said to you were sincere. Even setting aside the fact that you’re the Saint, I believe you have the capacity to accept everyone. And I believe that’s what the Goddess would want, too. Separate from my feelings for you, I’m certain of it. Even if you were to ask for my advice again, I would answer the same way without hesitation.”
Matilda spoke while still breathing heavily in the afterglow of her climax, pushing her upper body up from the bed with great effort to look at me.
“Yeah. I know. I believe you.”
I said only that and left Matilda’s room.
Returning to my own room, I was once again lost in thought.
I wasn’t entirely convinced by Matilda’s words.
I still thought her argument was idealistic, and I wasn’t confident I could handle it well.
No, to be honest, my belief that my girls would be hurt if I formed that kind of emotional connection with another woman hadn’t changed, no matter how well I handled it.
Even if the three of them accepted it, it would be more like they were suppressing their own feelings for my sake rather than truly wanting it.
But despite all that, I thought that continuing to imbue sex with meaning and build emotional connections was the right choice.
Even if it resulted in me accepting more women.
This decision wasn’t born from the same foolish thought I had when I first came to this world—that a harem is a man’s dream, so I should build one.
I realized it through Matilda’s words, and through my act with her.
I realized just how empty mechanical sex without any emotional connection was.
And I also realized that even if I did it out of consideration for my girls’ feelings, it would ultimately lead to me being so focused on them that I’d end up disregarding everyone else’s emotions.
Of course, my girls’ feelings were my top priority, but that didn’t mean it was okay to neglect the feelings of everyone else for their sake.
The feelings of the people who liked me. And above all, my own feelings.
Suddenly, I remembered what Leia had said when she refused the temple’s plan to have us marry.
She’d said that while she herself would be happy, I probably wouldn’t be, because I’d feel guilty toward Sara and Diana. And seeing me like that, she wouldn’t be happy in the end either.
That was Leia’s true heart.
No, I was sure Sara and Diana felt the same way.
If Silvia were to confront me with her true feelings, and I were to reject her, I would be crushed by guilt.
And it would be the same with Matilda, if she came to me with her feelings after her curse was broken.
Let’s be honest with myself. I want to accept Silvia and Matilda, too.
It might be a selfish thought, but I believed my girls would also prefer that I accept the two of them rather than watch me live with guilt.
Of course, I expected some resistance. But as Matilda said, if I could prove to them that I love the three of them more than anyone, I believed it would work out in the end.
Having made my decision, I shot up from my seat and left the room.
“…So. What is it? What’s with that look all of a sudden? You’re not planning some weird perverted scheme again, are you?”
I left my room and hastily gathered Sara, Diana, and Leia in one place.
It was, of course, to tell them all about my decision.
I’d made up my mind, but I still had to get their approval, right?
To be honest, I was prepared to get slapped once or twice.
My heart was pounding. Maybe it was just my imagination, but Sara’s cool face seemed even colder than usual today.
“Guys. I’m sorry. I… am going to build a harem!”
“…Huh? What did you say?”
Sara was the first to react to the words I’d uttered after steeling my resolve.
Her cold gaze felt like it was freezing my heart.
“You. You call us here with that serious face, and I thought you had something important to say. Did you really call us just to make a joke like that?”
Diana seemed to think I was joking, her tone dripping with disbelief.
“No. Sorry, but it’s not a joke. I’m going to build a harem from now on.”
I shook my head, denying Diana’s words, and spoke with a serious expression.
“Guwon. Could you please explain what you mean?”
Finally seeming to realize I was serious, Leia took my hand between both of hers and spoke.
“As you all know, I already have relationships with women other than you. And I’ll probably have to have relationships with many more in the future. But I’m not the kind of guy who can skillfully separate actions from emotions. I’m sorry to you three for allowing me these relationships, but I’ve developed those kinds of feelings for Silvia and Matilda, too. To the point where I want to accept them as my women. I’m truly sorry.”
Because of the Goddess’s mission, I would have to have relations with other women in the future.
We might even have to become close enough to meet the conditions for an Apostle Appointment.
So, like it or not, I had to be prepared, starting now.
I decided not to make any such excuses.
After all, this was a conclusion I’d reached without giving the Goddess’s mission a single thought.
Therefore, in a declaration that was basically the same as saying I was going to cheat on them openly, I bowed my head to the three of them and stated my intentions with confidence.