Chapter 551: For the Goddess's Advent
Chapter 551: For the Goddess's Advent
Silvia had desperately refused my offer to hold her first thing after returning from the dungeon. In the end, when I gave her just a light, soft kiss on the lips, she fled in a panic.
I hadn't paid it much mind during the day, but seeing her tremble like that from a single kiss, I wondered if she had truly felt it.
Even if it’s possible to climax from mental pleasure alone, isn't she a little too sensitive?
Of course, the level gap between us had shrunk considerably compared to when we first met, but Silvia was level 193 and I was level 154. There was still a difference of nearly forty levels between us.
Perhaps the fastest way for me to level up would be to just insert myself into Silvia and relentlessly shower her with kisses.
No. If I did that, Silvia would definitely die.
Anyway, after talking things over with Silvia and sending her on her way, I washed up in my room's bathtub and then lay down comfortably on the bed to wait for Leia.
“Have you been waiting?”
Leia, who had washed up separately for the first time in a while, appeared before me in a sexy outfit consisting of just a bathrobe.
Flushed red skin. Damp hair. The great hills of her chest, which a mere bathrobe could never hope to conceal. And the hem of her robe, riding up twenty centimeters above her knees.
It was a sight that never failed to elicit a sigh of admiration.
Of course, washing with Leia was always a joy, but this view was so magnificent it made me think that washing separately like this once in a while might be worth it.
“Guwon…”
Unlike her usual self, Leia approached me slowly with a smile that felt somehow slightly provocative.
Seeing her, I sat up on the bed. Leia placed her hands gently on the mattress and then, like a cat, slowly crawled toward me on all fours.
No, maybe describing her as a fox is more fitting than a cat?
In any case, her chest, already boldly exposed by the unfastened robe, was emphasized even more in this crawling posture, making for a delightful sight.
And with each step she took toward me, her two large peaks swayed against each other like pendulums… I actually had something I needed to talk to her about, but with an angel seducing me so sexily right before my eyes, I felt my reason slowly slipping away.
Leia came all the way up to me, placed a hand on my chest, and pressed her own torso tightly against mine.
Her face was this red for a reason other than just being flushed from her bath, I was sure of it.
Leia gave me another seductive, provocative smile, then slowly pressed her lips to mine.
Warm and soft. It felt as if the very touch of her lips conveyed her gentle nature.
“…The taste of Silvia…”
Though the words she muttered right after sent a slight shiver down my spine.
“Ah, um… w-well, you see, Leia? It’s not like we did anything weird or anything…”
“Ah, ye-yes. I know. There’s no smell at all…”
No, that’s even scarier.
As if sensing my thoughts, Leia brought her nose close to my face and sniffed cutely before pulling back with a start.
“Ah, no! I-I mean, it’s not like that…! Th-that is! G-Guwon? You’re going to use your skills on me again today, right?”
Judging by her reaction, it seemed like everything from her comment about Silvia’s taste was just something she’d said unconsciously, not with any intent to blame me.
Leia tried to set the mood again, attempting to seduce me with a sexy smile that felt a little more awkward than before. But with the atmosphere broken, I was able to remember that I had something I needed to talk to her about.
“Leia.”
“Y-Yes… Guwon.”
“You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”
“Hk…!”
The moment I said it, Leia’s body flinched.
She’s always been terrible at lying or hiding things.
Well, that’s why she’s an angel.
“Is it something you can’t tell me?”
I’d been thinking something was strange for a while.
I may look like I’m just coasting through life, but when it comes to my girls, I observe them very, very carefully.
Something felt off ever since yesterday, when Matilda said she couldn’t learn Goddess Advent.
At the time, I brushed it off, thinking I was just imagining things.
But earlier today, I felt that sense of wrongness again when Leia gave me a cute little scolding after seeing me make Silvia faint.
Of course, it was a situation where she had every right to point it out and be angry. Even more so if her jealousy toward Silvia was mixed in.
If any of the other girls had scolded me, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it.
But this was Leia, the girl who would believe me if I told her the sky was green. For her to scold me, however lightly, even after I made an excuse… something was strange.
Was it because of jealousy?
Of course, Leia is human, so she gets jealous.
But not like this. I can guarantee that Leia has never once expressed her jealousy in this way.
Leia only shows her jealousy when she gets so angry she can barely contain it.
For example, when I got permission for Elder Sister Rachel… well, let’s not get into that right now.
On top of all that, there was her reaction just now.
Whatever the reason, the fact was that I had kissed Silvia right before bed with Leia.
This was a situation where it would have been perfectly fine for Leia to get angry, or at the very least, show a little jealousy.
Of course, knowing Leia’s personality, it was entirely possible she wouldn’t.
But if that were the case, she should have at least reassured me that it was okay before moving on.
But instead of reassuring me, Leia seemed to be in a hurry to get intimate.
And she did it while telling me to use my skills. Urging me to perform the act that would help her find a clue to controlling her Gumiho state.
But before, she always seemed more embarrassed by how completely undone she became whenever I used my skills.
With all this, I finally realized that Leia was hiding something.
Laying it all out like this might make it sound like it took me a while to notice, but I guarantee you, anyone else wouldn't have even noticed.
In fact, none of the other girls seemed to feel anything was off about Leia’s behavior.
“N-No… it’s not… I’m sorry… for hiding it…”
Hearing my question, Leia’s expression crumbled as if she’d given up on hiding anything, and she mumbled weakly.
It’s not like I’m blaming her.
For the Leia who can’t lie to try so desperately to hide something by pretending it’s nothing…
She must have had a reason.
Well, I’m still going to get it out of her.
Because I’m confident I can handle anything she throws at me.
“So, can you tell me?”
To be honest, I already had a pretty good idea of what Leia was hiding.
I mean, it was obvious, wasn’t it?
But I wanted to hear it from Leia’s own lips, so I guided her to confess it herself.
“…The truth is, Guwon. I… I think I know why I was able to use Goddess Advent.”
So it was about that.
At Leia’s confession, I said nothing and simply nodded for her to continue.
“Um… do you remember when I told you that the High Priest tried to test a treatment on me?”
She mumbled this with an expression that said she wanted to die, as if she were sorry for even mentioning another man.
An expression that said if she could turn back time, she would never let another man lay a single finger on her.
It’s okay. Just having that thought is enough.
“Of course. There’s no way I’d forget something you told me.”
I whispered, conveying my feelings as I gently stroked her shoulder.
“Back then… I don’t remember anything after the High Priest tried to undress me… but when I came to my senses, the High Priest was… hic…”
As it became more painful to speak, tears welled up in Leia’s eyes.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I… I’m so… Normally, I should be grieving the High Priest’s death when I talk about this… but I feel more sorry about having to tell you this story… Am I… a bad person…?”
“Of course not. If anything, you’re too nice for your own good. I guarantee you, if you’re a bad person, then there isn’t a single good person left in this world. What you’re feeling right now is perfectly natural. It’s okay. It’s okay. If it’s too hard, you don’t have to say…”
I already had a rough idea of what happened anyway.
I was about to end the conversation there, but Leia shook her head, her damp hair rustling.
“No… please… please let me continue. After the High Priest passed away like that… the effectiveness of my healing magic increased.”
In other words, she was trying to say that by absorbing his essence and killing him, she might have stolen his abilities.
Just as I thought. It was exactly what I expected.
Well, it’s a common trope.
Absorbing someone’s abilities along with their life force.
It’s a plot point more common in martial arts stories than in this kind of fantasy world, with things like the Essence Absorption Technique.
In any case, that would explain why, among all of Leia’s skills, only her healing skills were exceptionally high, while her buff skills weren’t.
“That High Priest. He wasn’t the type to go into the dungeon at all, was he?”
“N-No… Ah, but he was so talented that people said he would have surely been a candidate for Saintess if he had been a woman…”
Leia affirmed my words, but she looked at me with anxious eyes and answered in a trembling voice, as if she felt sorry for praising another man in front of me, or perhaps for some other reason.
She didn’t have to react so sensitively.
Over something so trivial… I mean, I am jealous! I’m jealous just hearing my angel talk about some other bastard! But still, the guy’s dead.
I’m not pathetic enough to be jealous of a dead guy.
No, it’d be the same even if he were alive.
No matter what, in the end, I’m the best for my angel.
I have at least that much faith.
Anyway, just as I expected, that High Priest wasn’t the type to go into the dungeon.
Meaning, he was the type who had no need to learn buff magic that raised defense, enhanced attack power, or blocked a certain amount of damage.
Of course, the only skills he would ever have a reason to use would be healing magic.
And the part about him being a candidate for Saintess if he were a woman was the clincher.
I thought about it.
Until now, it’s been said that only a Saintess can use Goddess Advent, right?
And the condition to learn Goddess Advent is to have either ‘Faith of a Holy Knight’ or ‘Faith of a High Priest’ at max level.
And indeed, Matilda, who was a Saintess candidate, didn’t have ‘Faith of a Holy Knight’ at max level, but its skill level was quite high for her character level.
In other words, the people of the church, without even knowing about the existence of passive skills, have been subconsciously identifying those with high levels in ‘Faith of a High Priest’ or ‘Faith of a Holy Knight’ and making them candidates for Saintess.
This perfectly explains everything, right down to why Leia’s ‘Faith of a High Priest’ was at max level shortly after she became a High Priestess.
Indeed. The mystery is solved…! No, that’s not what’s important right now.
“But if that’s the case, it would have been better if you’d just told me from the start. Don’t tell me you didn’t say anything because you didn’t want to bring up your past with another man?”
“Th-that’s part of it, but… Guwon… are you really not bothered by this at all?”
I’d spoken in a deliberately light tone for the sake of the downcast Leia, but she asked back, her voice still trembling.