Chapter 537: The Cardinal's Dilemma
Chapter 537: The Cardinal's Dilemma
Even though it was supposed to be tea time with Rachel, I had no intention of leaving Sara by herself, so unlike our date yesterday, Sara joined us for tea today.
But Rachel didn't show the slightest hint of displeasure. In fact, she struck up a conversation with Sara as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
No, it almost felt like she was talking more with Sara than with me.
By the way, these two are really staring at each other's chests.
Well, to be precise, they weren't looking at their chests, but at their necklaces.
Rachel was looking at Sara's glowing necklace, while Sara was looking at the ring hanging from Rachel's.
Ah, come to think of it, she switched it. It’s on a proper necklace now, not a bracelet.
With the ring on a proper necklace like that, it looks like it was originally designed to be that kind of accessory.
Then again, it probably helps that the model wearing it is gorgeous.
“By that point, we were already surrounded by countless ants, and they were all baring their fangs at us. Seeing them prepare to attack, I knew I had to make a decision. I had no choice but to use Holy Ground Proclamation on my kids!”
Anyway, caught between the two of them, I tried to lighten the mood by telling some fun stories from our time in the dungeon.
“On the ants, you mean?”
“Ah, yes. On the ants. Even if it meant my kids would get caught in it.”
“Honestly, this idiot…”
Seeing me make a slight slip of the tongue while recounting my heroic tale from the ant nest, Sara buried her face in her hands in embarrassment.
What’s the big deal? People make mistakes when they talk sometimes.
“I swear, being with this idiot is so exhausting.”
“Oh my, but don’t you think you were lucky to have met Guwon right after you became an adventurer, Sara?”
“What?! Not at all!”
“Hey, what’s with that reaction? Don’t be shy, just admit it. You’re hurting my feelings.”
“I-Idiot! Don’t get your feelings hurt over something like this!”
“Hee hee. She might say that, but I’m sure she’s grateful. When I first saw you, Sara, you truly didn’t know a thing. You even went so far as to threaten me…”
“R-Rachel! Please forget about that!”
As Rachel spoke with an amused laugh, a flustered Sara tried to cut her off.
But I wasn't about to let that slide.
“What’s this? A threat? What happened? Don’t keep secrets from me, tell me what you two are talking about.”
“Hee hee. Well, you see, Sara was so flustered when she found out I knew her job during her adventurer registration that…”
“W-Well, what about you, Rachel! If we’re talking about not knowing anything, you look like you don’t know the first thing about romance! Weren’t you lucky that this idiot was your partner?!”
Just as Rachel was about to spill the beans, Sara shouted, launching a counterattack.
But Sara, for a counterattack, that was pretty clumsy for you, wasn't it?
What kind of absurd thing to say was that…
“W-What? W-What are you talking about…?”
Contrary to my thoughts, however, Rachel began to panic, as if something had struck a nerve.
“Every time Guwon looked away for a second, you’d fix your clothes or take a deep breath. And when you went to the restroom for a moment, you were even rehearsing in front of the mirror, weren’t you? ‘Ooh-hoo-hoo. Guwon. Aren’t you staring a little too intently at this big sister? Can’t take your eyes off me, can you? So…’”
“Aaaahhh! Aaaahhh! W-W-W-When did you! When!”
Yep. I had seriously underestimated Sara. A flustered Sara always has incredible attack power.
It felt like every single one of her words was a critical hit aimed right at Rachel’s weak spots.
But Rachel, you really did all that when you went to the restroom?
I looked at Rachel, who was too flustered to even speak properly, with a rather tepid expression.
I’d thought it before, but it seemed this woman only acted experienced and composed in front of me. In reality, when it came to romance, she was a complete novice…
“I-It’s not true! Guwon! It’s not!”
“Yes, of course. Of course it isn’t.”
“Y-You don’t believe your big sister, do you?”
That’s strange. I clearly agreed with her, so why is she reacting like that?
“Ah! W-Well, look at the time! Anyway, it’s not true! Guwon, Sara, I’ll see you again later!”
Her break time over, Rachel had to leave her seat without offering any real explanation.
Though, I doubt she could have come up with a proper explanation even if she’d had more time.
Judging by her reaction just now, she might be surprisingly bad at improvising.
And so, another victim of Sara’s verbal assault had emerged.
At this rate, Rachel wouldn’t be able to carelessly tease Sara anymore.
Sara. You’re not planning to win the spot of my main wife through verbal battles, are you?
It felt like she was taking them down, one by one.
“How on earth did you hear all that?”
“I-I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was already in the restroom when I heard her talking.”
When I spoke in disbelief, Sara seemed to realize she’d gone too far with her exposé and mumbled an excuse with a slightly apologetic look on her face.
“A-Anyway, you’re surprisingly not pushing things with her, Guwon. I thought you’d be clinging to her even more desperately after she turned you down once.”
Then, as if to signal the end of that topic, she hastily changed the subject.
I could tell she was obviously trying to switch topics, but I decided to play along.
After all, even though things got a little messy at the end, she hadn’t tried to interfere between Rachel and me at all during our tea time.
And earlier at the guild, she deliberately sent me over to Rachel. She was acting quite helpful regarding my relationship with Rachel.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to complain even if she had interfered.
Perhaps Sara felt a sense of responsibility for what she’d said while teasing me yesterday: ‘I like Rachel, so go ahead and seduce her.’
Of course, she couldn’t have been serious, but maybe she felt bad for teasing me and was trying to cooperate, even if only a little.
“Of course not. This is something where you build affection step by step. Just like I did with you.”
“For some reason, I don’t like the sound of that…”
Sara frowned as she said it, her expression making it clear she wasn’t entirely pleased with me trying to woo Rachel.
So she was only helping me because of what she’d said.
“Anyway, shall we get going? We’re done with our business here.”
“Yeah, let’s.”
Sara naturally linked her arm with mine.
“We didn’t really gain much in the end, though. Maybe it was different for you, Guwon.”
“Of course it was. This time spent walking around with you is a gain I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
“You’re always so smooth with your words…”
Even as she made a slightly prim face, the corners of Sara’s mouth were turned up in a smile.
No matter what, she was surprisingly easy to please. Well, only when it came to me, that is.
“Besides, there’s a bigger piece of information waiting for us at home than anything we could get here.”
“Bigger information? What is it?”
“Matilda should be awake by now, don’t you think?”
“Huh? Matilda?”
Even with a hint that big, Sara just tilted her head, looking like she had no idea what I was talking about.
“Think about it. Matilda is a Cardinal. And she received my Apostle Appointment. Does that ring any bells?”
“Huh? Ah, aaah! T-Then!”
As if she finally understood what I was saying, Sara’s eyes went wide.
“That’s right. It’s time to meet the Goddess again.”
To be honest, at the moment I performed the Apostle Appointment, my mind was so full of affection for Matilda that I’d completely forgotten.
It was only while I was gathering information at the guild, funnily enough, that I realized we could summon the Goddess without having to wait for Leia’s cooldown.
I hadn’t checked her skill window yet, but I was certain Matilda would also be able to learn Goddess Advent.
She may have changed jobs from a Holy Knight, but her current job was still a high-ranking priestess.
When I met the Goddess, I planned to skip the pleasantries we exchanged last time and get straight to the point, bombarding her with questions.
Our time would be short, but I was determined to get answers to everything I was curious about within that limited window.
Finally, all the secrets would be revealed.
Honestly, now that the moment was approaching, I felt a little scared.
What if the Goddess really is the true villain, and she’s just using me? It would be a lie to say that thought hadn’t crossed my mind.
But I couldn’t just stay in the dark forever.
Just you wait, Goddess.
“G-G-G-G-Guwooooon!”
The moment I stepped into the mansion with those thoughts in my head, Silvia came running toward me like an arrow.
She reminded me of a puppy waiting at the front door, rushing over the second I got home.
Not that I’ve ever owned a puppy.
“Oh, Silvia. You’re back. Did you have a good talk with your family?”
“Y-Yes! My mother sends her regards to you… Aaaah! M-More importantly! It’s an emergency! We have an emergency!”
Silvia, who had been smiling shyly while answering me, suddenly changed her expression and shouted in a panic.
Seeing as she wasn’t even vibrating despite being this close, she must have been truly, deeply panicked.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I-It’s! So! It’s!”
Silvia clung to me, her mouth opening and closing, but she couldn’t get the words out, glancing nervously at Sara beside me.
“I-I’m so sorry! May I please borrow Guwon for just a moment?!”
“Y-Yes… go ahead.”
What on earth could have happened to make Silvia act like this?
Sara must have been thinking the same thing, because she nodded, though her expression was puzzled.
“T-Thank you! Then please excuse me for a moment!”
After thanking Sara, Silvia grabbed my wrist and started running toward my room.
…Huh? My room? Don’t tell me she… wants to do it?
No. I mean, I did tell her to let me know before she got too pent-up, but she wasn’t the type to be this aggressive, was she?
“G-Guwon, Guwon!”
As soon as we reached my room and she closed the door, Silvia hurriedly started to speak.
She looked like she needed to calm down, so I slowly patted her on the back.
“Silvia. Calm down. Here, let’s take a deep breath. In… out… Now, follow me.”
“In… out… W-Waaaah…”
Dutifully following my instructions, Silvia took a deep breath. She calmed down, but as she became aware of her surroundings, her vibrations kicked in.
So much for calming her down. Well, it was cute, though.
“Alright, alright. I’ll back up a little. There, is that better? Now, tell me.”
As I spoke from a short distance away, Silvia’s vibrations finally subsided a little, and she opened her mouth.
“It’s an emergency!”
Yes. I heard that part already.
So what exactly is the emergency? Be specific.
As I urged her on with my eyes, Silvia tried to steady her breathing and spoke.
“I went to the castle, and Felicia, Felicia said she fell for your prank!”
“…Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Well, I mean. She thought she was the one playing the prank, but she complained to me that she never imagined you would pull a prank like that on her. So when I asked what happened, Felicia said!”
Silvia swallowed hard, then continued.
“She said she never thought the traces of the aura she’d released wouldn’t dissipate on their own! She said she had a terrible time going around and resolving it for every single person who was affected, and then she asked me if I was okay…!”
“…Wait a second. So you’re saying that aura Felicia released back then, it didn’t go away for other people? Not even if they masturbated?”
“N-No!”
“Let me just ask, it went away for you, right?”
“Yes!”
That’s strange. It definitely went away for Sara, too.
Ah, could it be? Since the Saint is like a higher-tier version of a Succubus, does that mean the people I resolved were fine, even without Felicia’s help?
If that’s the case, then there’s no problem, right?
No. But if that were true, Silvia would have no reason to be panicking like this.
Then what on earth… Ah.
“Vanessa!”