Chapter 513: Aftermath
Chapter 513: Aftermath
No. I mean, I knew.
Even I had recognized from the start that there was no real reason for Matilda to follow us into the dungeon. And of course, I’d figured that a person of her stature—a Cardinal—would return to her original place once her curse was lifted.
But was it because my feelings for Matilda had changed during our time together? Or was it because this was the first time I was hearing it stated so plainly from someone else’s lips?
Whatever the reason, I felt a knot form in my chest.
“I…! See…”
For a moment, I considered letting my emotions get the better of me and arguing back, whether it would work or not. But I quickly gave up on the idea and had no choice but to quietly accept it.
I knew, deep down, that this wasn't a problem I could solve by throwing a tantrum.
Most importantly, it was Matilda’s decision that mattered.
I couldn’t just stubbornly insist that I didn’t want her to go when I didn’t even know what she truly wanted.
After that, I exchanged a few more pleasantries with the Pope, and then High Priestess Sophia and I left the room with the communication magic device.
But even as we walked, my mind was completely filled with thoughts of Matilda.
Come to think of it, Matilda has often had a troubled look on her face lately. Specifically, ever since she spoke with the Pope.
I had assumed it was because she’d heard something important regarding the church, but what if the Pope had asked her to come back, and that’s what she was agonizing over?
It was a guess colored by my own wishful thinking, but it was also a plausible one.
Above all, if my guess was right, then the time she’d subtly refused to come to bed with me could be seen in a very hopeful light.
Of course, it was less a refusal and more her saying that swimming was more important than breaking the curse.
But that in itself was strange.
She could have used her authority as a Cardinal to transfer the curse to someone else, yet she chose not to, bearing the burden herself. That same person was prioritizing swimming over lifting the curse?
Sure, it was true that I’d been in danger because she couldn’t swim.
And it was also true that she currently liked me—whether it was her true feelings or the curse, I didn’t know.
But even so, there were countless men still suffering from the curse, unable to get an erection.
Seeing her prioritize swimming practice over lifting the curse in that situation had felt a little off to me.
But if she was showing that much hesitation about breaking the curse, didn't that mean she wanted to stay with me more than she wanted to return to the Holy See?
…Of course, that too was likely because the curse made her feelings for me overwhelmingly strong. There was no telling what would happen once it was gone.
Sigh. My head is a mess.
And I already have a mountain of things to deal with. From the immediate problems, like my impending date with Rachel and what to do about Sara’s age regression, to long-term issues, like how to perform the Apostle Appointment on Silvia without killing her.
And now Matilda’s situation is piled on top of it all.
No, well, most of this is my own fault, I guess.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel like my thoughts were getting tangled.
But the moment I returned to High Priestess Sophia’s room, I had to push those worries to the back of my mind.
Because something that needed to be dealt with before any worrying was waiting for me there.
What in the world is this chaos?
To put it simply, Silvia was pouncing on Sara.
Sara was on the floor, struggling, while Silvia was using all her strength to hold her down.
Don’t tell me the lesbian play that ended in failure at the palace was now continuing inside the sacred temple…
“Waaaaah! Guwooooon! Where did you goooo!”
“M-My Lady Sara! P-Please calm down! Even if you go out now, you won’t be able to find Sir Guwon… Ugh! S-Sir Guwoooon!”
But the conversation I immediately overheard told me that wasn’t it at all.
Right. Of course. It had to be. Yep. I believed in them. There’s no way our Sara and Silvia would get into that kind of relationship behind my back.
It seemed Silvia only noticed my presence after Sara shouted. With a face that looked like she was about to cry, she released Sara.
She started to follow Sara toward me, then flinched—or maybe recoiled—and fled to a corner of the room.
Seriously? Even at a time like this, you can’t bring yourself to come near me?
In any case, it looked like restraining Sara had been quite difficult for Silvia.
Both of their faces were flushed bright red, and they were drenched in sweat.
That’s why when I first saw them, I misunderstood…
Ahem. Sara is surprisingly strong for her appearance.
Well, Silvia is also different from how she looks. No, Silvia is even more so.
Once you take off her armor, her body is so slender and delicate you’d never believe she was a knight.
“Guwooooon! Guwooooon!”
The moment she was free, Sara charged at me like she was delivering a shoulder tackle, burying her face in my chest and rubbing it frantically.
“Yes, yes. There, there… High Priestess Sophia. By any chance, is the distance from here to the communication room more than 100 meters?”
I asked the High Priestess while stroking Sara’s hair.
From what I could feel, it definitely didn’t seem like more than 100 meters.
But there were so many winding corridors that I honestly couldn’t be sure.
It would be great if the map worked indoors.
There’s no need to follow the game system for things like this, but whenever I enter a building, the map just stays on the town view with an icon indicating I’m inside.
“W-Well, I’m not sure…? May I ask what’s going on?”
High Priestess Sophia, who had just returned to her office to find two beautiful women grappling on the floor, drenched in sweat, managed a relatively calm response despite how flustered she must have been.
“There are some circumstances that make her unstable if I’m not within about 100 meters of her.”
It seemed Sara didn’t want anyone to know about her age regression, but after a scene like this, not explaining would only lead to even stranger misunderstandings.
So, I pointed to the knife lying on the floor and explained the situation to the High Priestess.
“I-I see. Well, after what happened, that makes sense.”
Seeming to grasp the general situation after seeing the glowing knife, Sophia nodded in understanding.
I was truly grateful for her compassionate nature.
“Well then, we’ll be on our way.”
“Ah, goodbye…”
With the incident settled, we said our farewells to High Priestess Sophia to leave the temple.
Sara, looking so embarrassed by her behavior that she probably wanted to find a hole to crawl into, gave an uncharacteristically shy bow.
But the way she kept one hand gripping my sleeve was just so adorable.
“Yes. Please come visit with Leia next time.”
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so. High Priestess Sophia murmured this with a warm smile on her face.
As someone who was rooting for Leia and me the most, she was being very generous, even though Sara was technically in the position of a romantic rival for her daughter.
“Hah. Finally done. It’s been a long day.”
“…I want to go home quickly…” Sara muttered in a weak voice, as if echoing my sentiment.
It was true for me, but it must have been an incredibly long day for Sara, too.
At the palace, she was overcome by Felicia’s aura and forced to climax by my skill. After that, she got angry at Felicia’s antics, and at the temple, she was even suspected of being in a lesbian tryst with Silvia.
Truly one thing after another.
“Well, there’s one more impassable gate we have to get through before we can go home.”
“Huh? What’s that?”
“Ah, you don’t have to worry about it, Sara. I’m talking about Silvia.”
“Y-Yes?! A-Are you talking about me?”
When I said it so casually, Silvia, who had been trailing behind us at a distance, flinched as if caught off guard and spoke up.
“Yeah. You.”
“Wait. Are you trying to tease Silvia again?”
“Tease her? What do you take me for? It’s not me, it’s the situation that’s teasing her. Here, look.”
I replied to Sara’s glare with a nonchalant expression and pointed straight ahead.
I was confident. It really wasn’t my intention to tease her.
Besides, a glare from a girl who was clinging to my sleeve and trotting along beside me wasn’t scary in the slightest.
Where I pointed, there was the same sea of people as before, packed so tightly there was no room to even step.
“Uwaaah…”
Seeing that human wave, Silvia’s face went pale, as if she had foreseen her own fate.
“Alright, come here.”
“Uuuuugh… Y-Yeees…”
But when I beckoned, Silvia walked over to me with a look of complete resignation and let me hold her.
To be able to project such an exhausted, trudging demeanor while vibrating nonstop like this…
In a way, it’s a talent. A real talent.
“Hyaaat… Hiiit… Huut… Can’t… I really can’t anymore…”
By the time we finally escaped the sea of people, Silvia’s body had gone so limp that she couldn’t even pull away from me on her own.
No, forget pulling away; she looked like she could barely stand.
Thanks to that, I had to wrap an arm around her waist to support her, which only forced us into closer contact.
In any case, Silvia kept muttering to herself in informal speech, as if her thoughts were spilling out unfiltered, or perhaps she just didn’t have the mental capacity to bother with honorifics.
“Can’t what? I didn’t ask you to do anything. What is it you can’t do?”
“Uuugh… L-Living…?”
“No, no, no. You can’t say that. Don’t give up on life, no matter how happy you are.”
Though, I had to admit, seeing her tilt her head in a complete panic and mutter informally was kind of cute.
“Silvia, if you’re really having a hard time, should I support you instead?”
Sara made the offer, perhaps thinking Silvia might actually die if left like this.
This wasn’t jealousy over Silvia clinging to me; it was genuine concern. I could tell by her expression.
Besides, Sara wasn’t in a position to be jealous.
Even after we’d escaped the crowd, she was still stuck to my side just like Silvia.
“Hey. Don’t take away Silvia’s only pleasure. She likes this. Right, Silvia?”
“Y-Yeheet…”
“Guwon, you’re not really trying to kill her, are you? …Hmph!”
I looked at Sara, answering for Silvia and then seeking her agreement, which Silvia, the cute thing, actually affirmed.
Hearing our exchange, Sara muttered in disbelief.
But midway through her sentence, her expression suddenly changed, and she began to stare intently at a single spot.
Then, her face started to turn redder and redder.
“U-Um, Guwon. I kind of need to go to the bathroom…”
Sara tried to distract me, but it was too late.
Because I had already realized why she was acting that way.
The area inside the temple grounds where carriages could wait—a parking lot, so to speak.
It seemed we were the only ones who had come by carriage at this time of day, as our carriage sat there all alone.
So, even though it was just for a fleeting moment, I knew exactly where Sara’s gaze had been directed.
“Nngh… Kh… Huut…”
When I focused my hearing, a strange, lewd sound began to reach my ears.
…Is this, by any chance…
“R-Right! Come to think of it, I need to use the bathroom, too!”
Grasping the situation immediately, I shouted and tried to turn around.
Even I’m not enough of a scoundrel to barge in on a situation like this.
And unlike the time I pounced on Diana in the bathroom, I wasn’t feeling particularly frustrated today.
But it seemed my voice was a little louder than I’d intended.
“Ngh…? Khut…! …Welcome back.”
There was a frantic rustling sound, and then Vanessa appeared from inside the carriage, her face even redder than before.
As expected of our iron-blooded butler, she was dressed perfectly without a single thing out of place, but it seemed even she couldn’t control her flushed face and slightly ragged breath.
And judging by the sound I just heard, she probably didn’t even get to finish, which must be even more agonizing.
“……So… should we go somewhere else and come back?”
“…Hmph! That won’t be necessary.”
I understood the situation perfectly.
Vanessa was the only one who hadn’t dealt with the effects of Felicia’s aura, and our conversation with the Pope had dragged on, making us take longer than expected.
On top of that, there was no one else around. I could completely understand why she’d try to take care of it.
That’s why I tried to be considerate, but Vanessa just shot me a resentful glare and flatly rejected my offer.