Chapter 677: Daily Life
Chapter 677: Daily Life
Vanessa must have offered to drive the carriage herself just so she could have that conversation with me a moment ago.
Now that our talk was over, there was no real need for her to keep driving. But it seemed that once Vanessa decided to do something, she intended to see it through to the end.
Either that, or she truly wanted to spend even a little more time with me.
For whatever reason, we ended up heading to the temple in the carriage driven by Vanessa.
“You know, it feels like it’s been a very long time since we’ve gone to the temple together like this.”
Leia, sitting beside me, smiled as she spoke, then snuggled up and hugged my arm, nestling it between her breasts.
Leaning against me shifted her posture, causing her long tail, which extended from her backside, to swish back and forth. She seemed to be in a very good mood.
But looking at her happy face, I felt a pang of guilt.
Of course, Leia hadn’t said that to make me feel guilty, but the fact that she felt it had been a long time was my fault.
“I’m sorry. I know I said I’d always go to the orphanage with you.”
I apologized for not keeping a promise I had made some time ago.
Of course, the reason I’d said that back then was because of the ruffian who had been targeting Leia at the orphanage. Now, that same man had become like a monk who had reached enlightenment, so there was no longer a need for me to accompany her every time.
But Leia didn't know any of that.
It wouldn’t be strange at all if she secretly resented me.
“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”
But my angel, as if to prove she was nothing of the sort, apologized to me instead, as if she was the one who had said something misleading.
Honestly, my angel is so kind it’s a problem.
“No. You have nothing to apologize for, Leia. It’s true that I haven’t been able to spend much time with you during the day lately. I’m sorry.”
I wasn’t just talking about not going to the orphanage with her.
With Silvia, Matilda, Rachel, and Vanessa—plus Felicia, for good measure—I’d been so busy that on my recent trips to the surface, I spent most of my days with the newer women rather than the original three.
Of course, I tried to make up for it by spending my nights rotating between the three of them, unless there was a special circumstance, but I knew that wasn’t enough.
I could have extended my time on the surface to leisurely spend more time with Sara, Diana, and Leia during the day, but…
Even knowing that, I couldn’t bring myself to suggest we slow down our dungeon exploration.
That dream I had before was still bothering me.
That dream… no matter how I thought about it, it felt like a flag.
Of course, I could just dismiss it as a silly, meaningless dream.
It’s not like I have the power of prophetic dreams or anything.
And the concept of a “flag” is something that really only applies to works of fiction.
But my current situation was too unique to just brush it off like that.
Being transported to a world like a game and becoming an emissary of the Goddess was the kind of thing that only happens in fiction, to begin with.
For that reason, I couldn’t afford to slack off on conquering the dungeon and building my strength, even while telling myself the dream was nothing.
“Guwon… No. I believe I, more than anyone, understand the weight of the mission you carry. Both as a priestess who serves the Goddess, and as your woman.”
I hadn’t said a word about the dream or my mission, but for some reason, Leia wore an expression that said she understood everything.
She gently caressed my arm from top to bottom with just her fingertips, and then, at the end, she tightly clasped my hand, interlocking our fingers.
“So, if I can just have moments like this with you sometimes, that’s more than enough for me.”
Her soft voice tickled my ear, like a gentle caress on my brain, and I felt a sense of salvation.
Normally, she should have pointed out that I was busy because I was indiscriminately adding too many women to my life, not because of my mission as the Goddess’s emissary.
The fact that she didn’t mention that at all made Leia’s kindness cut deep into my bones.
“Leia…”
“Guwon…”
I turned my head to face her directly, and Leia met my gaze with eyes full of affection.
The distance between our faces closed naturally, so much so that neither of us knew who moved first, and…
“…So this is what people around me feel like when my curse acts up.”
Just as Leia’s and my lips were about to meet, that single comment from Matilda, who was sitting across from us, shattered the mood completely.
Hey. Matilda. That’s just mean.
I mean, sure, I’m sorry for ignoring you and getting lost in our own little world, but you didn’t have to ruin the mood like that.
“Cardinal Matilda…”
Leia seemed to feel the exact same way I did, as she gave Matilda a look of faint resentment, something she rarely ever did.
“Ah, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you two. It just… slipped out.”
Receiving the resentful glares of both me and Leia, Matilda looked flustered and apologized, seeming to indicate she hadn’t done it on purpose.
Well, I knew she wasn’t that malicious of a person.
“In any case, I don’t think what people around you feel when you go into your pink mode is anywhere near this level.”
Of course, unlike Matilda, I had a mischievous streak, so I decided to tease her openly.
No, “tease” is the wrong word. This is just another form of affection.
“Wh-What do you mean by that?”
“I mean you shouldn’t underestimate yourself so much. Want to compare right now and see?”
“P-Please, at least wait until after we’ve visited the temple!”
We were in the smallest carriage to make it easier to navigate the crowded streets, but it was still a carriage owned by Diana.
Even at its smallest size, there was enough room for three people to sit side-by-side.
Despite that, the reason Matilda was sitting alone across from me instead of next to me was, in fact, at her own request.
It seemed she was aware that her “pink mode” had been getting more intense lately, and as a Cardinal, she had asked me to help her avoid situations that might trigger it so she wouldn’t make a fool of herself at the temple.
We hadn’t arrived yet, but she claimed that if she went into her pink mode in the carriage, she wouldn’t have the confidence to snap out of it by the time we got there.
Funny, considering she has a knack for snapping out of it instantly when it really matters.
Her pink mode had never once been a hindrance during our dungeon explorations.
“Should I take that to mean you want plenty of it after we get back?”
“Well, of course, if that is what you desire, I would gladly… Goodness! Just stop it!”
My teasing words must have sounded sweet to her, because her expression began to melt for a moment before she hastily composed herself and scolded me.
It had been a while since Matilda had reacted like that, so honestly, I was enjoying it a little.
No, this is bringing back memories of when I first met her, when I thought she was just some arrogant noble lady.
“Well, we’re going to break the curse when we get back anyway, so you’ll be in pink mode continuously whether you like it or not.”
Knowing she wouldn’t like it, I said it on purpose.
I even made a circle with the thumb and index finger of one hand, then made a mischievous gesture of thrusting the index finger of my other hand into it.
“To express such a sacred act with such a shameless gestu—aahng… Ugh! You really are something else!”
As expected, Matilda’s face flushed red as she reached out with both hands to stop my lewd gesture.
In the process, however, she ended up grabbing both of my hands, and an almost melting moan escaped her lips before she flinched in surprise and pulled away.
Then, not with her palms, but with her collected fingertips, she lightly slapped my hands.
It was as if she was afraid that if her full palm made contact, it would trigger her pink mode again.
All things considered, she was surprisingly good at controlling her pink mode.
And the fact that her state in pink mode was getting more intense even as the curse was gradually being broken…
It was enough to make me doubt if the curse was really the cause.
No, having seen the vicious marks of the curse carved into her body with my own eyes, I couldn’t truly doubt it.
“Vanessa. Why don’t you come inside with us today?”
And so, after spending a pleasant time in the carriage, we arrived at the temple.
Before getting out, I made the suggestion to Vanessa.
The guilt I had felt for her that morning had lingered throughout the ride.
Once again, Vanessa had been left out of our cheerful conversation, silently doing her job.
It was entirely possible she was driving the carriage herself just to be with me, and I felt terrible for treating her that way.
Well, I say that, but I was the one who hadn’t managed to speak to her during the ride.
I mean, we were passing through a crowded area, and I was worried that distracting her might cause an accident.
More than that, after our conversation this morning, I thought that if I paid her too much attention, it might make her uncomfortable.
“Yes, Vanessa. Since you’ve come all the way to the temple, why don’t you join us in offering a prayer to the Goddess?”
Leia, though she probably didn’t know the finer details of my feelings, backed me up.
That’s my angel.
“…No. I will remain here and guard the carriage.”
But Vanessa flatly refused our offer.
She wore a slightly more regretful expression than usual, whether because she felt bad for refusing my offer or for turning down a priestess’s invitation to pray together.
“But still…”
“Unlike the palace, the temple doesn’t have staff to look after the carriages.”
I didn’t give up and tried to coax her one more time, but Vanessa was adamant.
“…I see.”
“…Yes. My apologies.”
I couldn’t very well drag Vanessa, who was bowing her head despite having done nothing wrong, so I had no choice but to enter the temple with only Leia and Matilda.
As usual, the inside of the temple was packed with a sea of people.
Of course, there was no place with more people who revered me than here, so wherever I went, people would push each other aside to clear a path for me, but even that had its limits.
What that meant was, we had no choice but to stick close to each other to get through.
Well, I was planning on holding Matilda tightly by my side anyway, to keep her from even looking at other men.
“Haaaah… Youuu… Mmm… Mwah. You… You.”
In other words, Matilda’s efforts in the carriage had been completely meaningless.
Still, it was a hundred, a thousand times better for her to have her eyes fixed only on me like this than to have her pink mode triggered by some random guy.
“Phew, we made it. Hey. Matilda, we’re here, so snap out of… mmph.”
After finally breaking through the crowd and reaching the area where the priests resided, I turned my head to stop Matilda’s pink mode, and my lips were immediately blocked by hers.
“Haum… Mwah. Aahm…”
This girl. She said she didn’t want to show an unseemly side of herself in the temple, and now she was even using her tongue.
“Aahng! You, honestly…”
The sudden intrusion of her tongue made me instinctively tighten my grip on her waist, and at my touch, Matilda let out a sexy whimper and pressed her body even closer to mine.
“…This is what it feels like, Cardinal Matilda.”
“…Eh? Hah?!”
It was only after Leia, who was clinging to my other side, said that while watching us that Matilda finally came to her senses and hurriedly pulled away from me.
It was a simple comment, but given what she herself had said in the carriage, it seemed to have worked quite well.
“You! How could you kiss me back so passionately!”
Matilda must have been quite embarrassed, because she took it out on me.
Well, maybe it wasn’t entirely misplaced. I had, after all, knowingly accepted her kiss.
“You were kissing me. How could I not kiss you back?”
“You… Th-That’s what I’m telling you to stop!”
Matilda shot me a slightly resentful look and even took a step away from me as we walked.
In any case, having passed through the crowd, we decided to head to High Priestess Sophia’s room first.