Chapter 678: Daily Life
Chapter 678: Daily Life
“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
After meeting with High Priestess Sophia and exchanging simple greetings, Leia bid us farewell, saying she was off to the slums for her charity work, just like any other day.
“Ah, then I should go and greet the Pope as well. Let’s walk together part of the way.”
Matilda also rose from her seat, as if remembering she had things to do.
Wait a minute. This flow of events is…
“What will you do?”
Just as I expected, Matilda stood up and turned to ask me.
It made sense. It wasn’t like I was receiving private lessons from her anymore, and there was nothing for me to do here alone with High Priestess Sophia.
But… sigh. Right. I’m the Goddess’s Messenger. I should probably go and at least pay my respects, shouldn’t I?
It wasn’t that I disliked meeting the Pope. I now understood the reason for that strange pressure I’d always felt from her.
No, maybe it was the opposite. Now that I knew, it felt a little more awkward to face her.
She was Matilda’s grandmother. To me, that would make her… my grandmother-in-law, wouldn’t it?
“Hah. How can the Goddess’s Messenger be hesitant to meet the Pope?”
Perhaps noticing the troubled look on my face, Matilda let out a conspicuous sigh and spoke in a slightly dumbfounded tone.
“No, it’s not because she’s the Pope, it’s because she’s your grandmother. What if I make a mistake, even a small one?” I replied, sounding like I was making an excuse.
Well, it wasn’t an excuse, it was the truth.
In any case, my excuse seemed to be the right answer.
“If you were to… Hah! Ah, I understand. Then I’ll go by myself.”
Matilda’s gaze went hazy for a moment before she snapped back to her senses with a start, quickly turning away as if it were dangerous to make eye contact any longer.
“Really?”
I had planned on going, despite my brief hesitation, so her words came as a bit of a surprise.
But her subsequent mumble made me understand why she had suddenly changed her mind.
“Yes. It’s not like you have anything to say to the Pope as the Goddess’s Messenger, right? And if you come with me, I might… A-anyway, I’ll go greet her alone.”
This girl. Is she thinking it would be a problem if she went into her pink mode while talking to the Pope?
Actually, now that I thought about it, that would definitely be a problem.
And it wouldn’t just be a problem for Matilda; it would be quite a problem for me, too.
Getting all lovey-dovey and clingy in front of my grandmother-in-law. What kind of penalty game is that?
“R-Right. Then give the Pope my regards.”
“I will. Now, Leia-ssi. Let’s go.”
“Ah, yes. Well then, Guwon-ssi. I’ll be back.”
“Okay. Sorry I can’t walk with you.”
“Fufu. It’s alright. I understand completely.”
When I repeated the same sentiment I’d apologized for in the carriage, Leia gave me a warm smile. She leaned in, pressing herself against my chest.
It was as light as a feather, yet the sensation of those two massive peaks pressing against me was anything but. I felt like I was strolling through heaven.
She then stretched her neck slightly, brought her lips to my ear, and whispered, her breath gently tickling my skin.
“And besides… today is the day I get you all to myself.”
After speaking in a voice tinged with a slight allure, Leia pulled away. Her face was flushed a faint red, likely from the embarrassment of saying such a thing in a place like this.
“Okay. I’ll see you later.”
Her expression was so lovely that I forgot we were in High Priestess Sophia’s room and gave her a light kiss on the lips.
“Fufu. Yes. I’ll be back.”
Well, seeing Leia’s tail swishing left and right in delight, I didn’t regret it, even if it was a little embarrassing.
“……”
“Hey, Matilda. You know what’ll happen if I kiss you. I’ll give you plenty when you get back, even if you say no, so just go for now.”
I offered this reassurance to Matilda, who was staring intently at Leia and me.
I wanted to make it clear that I hadn’t kissed Leia because I liked her more.
Of course, Matilda, not being in her pink mode, didn’t take my words at face value.
“I-I didn’t say anything! Now, Leia-ssi. If you’re done, let’s go!”
“Ah, yeees! Then, Guwon-ssi, we’ll be back!”
There she goes again, even though she was clearly looking on with envy.
In any case, Leia and Matilda quickly left the room.
And so, only High Priestess Sophia and I remained.
“You two still seem to get along so well.”
The High Priestess’s expression as she said this was one of utter, boundless delight.
Seeing that look, I was struck by the fresh realization of what I had just done in front of her.
Come to think of it, to me, she’s basically a mother-in-law.
Well, she was too young to be a mother-in-law, and she wasn’t Leia’s biological parent, but still.
Damn it. The pressure from the Pope was so intense that I’d forgotten.
On top of that, I’d known High Priestess Sophia for a long time and had even taken private lessons from her, so I’d grown comfortable around her.
But no matter how much more comfortable she was than the Pope, I couldn’t bear that expression.
It was especially hard coming from High Priestess Sophia, whose flawless impression had initially made me think she was strict, even though I now knew she had a gentle personality.
“…Um, High Priestess Sophia?”
“Yes?”
“Is there something you wanted to say to me?”
“No. Nothing from my end.”
I tried to say something, anything, to break the silence, but the High Priestess just kept looking at me with that pleased smile.
P-Please stop! Don’t look at me like that!
No matter how thick-skinned I am, even I get embarrassed when you stare at me like that!
Wait, nothing from your end?! Does that mean you expect me to say something?!
What do you want from me? Do you want me to recount some sweet, lovey-dovey episode with Leia? I can’t do that!
“Ah, ahh! Right, it would be a disaster if Matilda ran into a male priest on her way to the communication magic device! I should get going too! Goodbye!”
In the end, I couldn’t withstand the High Priestess’s silent pressure and blurted out an excuse that would sound like a lie to anyone, before hastily exiting the room.
“Yes. Take care.”
The High Priestess didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping me, sending me off with the same gentle expression.
*
Although they had said they would walk part of the way together, the location of the communication magic device and the storage for medicinal herbs for the slums were in completely different directions.
By the time I followed after them, Leia was already out of sight.
Well, it didn’t matter, since I’d left under the pretext of escorting Matilda anyway.
“Matilda!”
“Gah! Y-You! What was that for? You scared me!”
Perhaps she hadn’t sensed my presence. When I called her name and tapped her on the back, Matilda flinched and let out a small scream.
“It’s dangerous, so I’ll walk you.”
“Oka—Ugh! I told you, it’s fine. The male priests are especially aware of my curse and are careful around me.”
Well, she almost went into pink mode right after that.
It was a close call, but she seems to be holding it in particularly well today.
Maybe being inside the temple as a Cardinal helps her keep her wits about her.
Then again, it was a little strange to think that just being mentally sharp would allow her to easily escape the curse’s influence.
“No, still.”
“Besides, it would be strange for you to come all the way there and not greet the Pope. If you’re going to do that, why not just greet her with me?”
No, I mean, the Pope… my grandmother-in-law… is a bit hard to meet…
Besides, she went out of her way to acknowledge me as the Goddess’s Messenger, and here I am, the scoundrel who declared he would take her precious granddaughter, a Cardinal, as a mere concubine.
“…I’ll wait for you out front.”
“You really are… You don’t need to be so concerned.”
At my answer, Matilda shook her head as if she couldn’t be helped and went down the stairs alone.
Left alone in the hallway, I had nothing better to do, so I leaned against the wall and stared blankly at my map, lost in thought.
The map displayed the temple’s interior with the precision of a blueprint.
Right. It was different from the first time I came to the temple, when the map didn’t show building interiors and I got lost.
Originally, the map only showed a large overview of the town, not detailed layouts, but at some point, it had become capable of showing building interiors like this.
Well, thanks to that, I was able to navigate the mansion last night even while looking up.
I didn’t know the exact moment it had changed.
But I knew the map function hadn’t suddenly expanded while I was in town. If it had, I would have noticed right away.
It was sometime after returning from the dungeon that I became able to see the internal structure of buildings.
In other words, the expansion of the map function was more likely related to my job level than my overall level.
Based on that assumption, I was thinking that my map function was probably related to my Adventurer level.
It was a job I’d gotten by registering at the guild just like everyone else, but from the very beginning, my Adventurer job felt different from the others.
Things like Analyze and Butchering.
Other adventurers learned to vaguely guess an opponent’s level or the approximate location of a magic stone through experience. In my case, I had those abilities as explicit skills.
Thinking along those lines, the map ability was the same.
Experienced adventurers, even if they weren’t mappers, didn’t easily forget a path they had once taken.
If I thought of it as having that adventurer ability as a literal map function, it fit perfectly.
The fact that it didn’t exist as a skill could be explained if you assumed it was implemented this way because maps are a basic system in games.
Well, there was no need to overthink it and dig for the cause. I could just think of it as a convenient ability becoming even more convenient.
It felt like a lifetime ago, but the gamer instinct sleeping inside me wouldn’t let me just gloss over things like this.
As I was pondering such trivial matters while looking at the map, I suddenly realized something.
…Huh? It’s not that far from here to where the carriage is.
No, it wasn’t just ‘not far’; they were right next to each other.
Since I had nothing else to do, I walked down the hall to check, and sure enough, through the window, I could see the carriage we had arrived in.
And in the driver’s seat, I could see our super butler, sitting perfectly still under the scorching sun without a single twitch.
Of course, it wasn’t like there was a door leading directly outside from here, so I couldn’t get there right now.
If that were possible, we would have just come through here instead of going through the main entrance and pushing through the crowd.
But this window… it’s definitely big enough for one person to pass through.
No, of course, I’m not a thief. A person of my stature, the Messenger of the Goddess, couldn’t possibly climb out a window to get over there. Especially not for a trivial reason like being a little bored, and I’d have to come back here when Matilda returned anyway.
There was no way I could climb out that window to get there.
But man, Vanessa really isn’t moving at all.
Is she actually sleeping with her eyes open?
I wanted to wave a hand in front of her face to check.
But as the Messenger of the Goddess… Ah, to hell with it! Since when did I care about dignity?!
In the end, I couldn’t overcome my instincts and vaulted over the windowsill, running toward the carriage.
“What are you doing out here? You could at least sit inside the carriage. You’ll get a tan. Then again, maybe a homebody like you needs to get some sun every once in a while.”
“…Guwon-nim. A person of your stature, the Messenger of the Goddess, should not be climbing out of temple windows.”
As expected, Vanessa wasn’t sleeping with her eyes open.
On the contrary, it seemed she had clearly witnessed me escaping through the window.
“Huh? You saw? I used Stealth when I climbed out.”
“That made you all the more suspicious.”