Chapter 11. No, wasn't the 'Saint' in 'Saintess' supposed to be the holy kind?
Chapter 11. No, wasn't the 'Saint' in 'Saintess' supposed to be the holy kind?
The backseat of the black armored sedan leaving the academy's main gate was, quite literally, hell.
It wasn't that there was any physical pain, but how should I put it? The density of the air had become dozens of times thicker than usual.
"Haa, haa..."
The breathing of Agent A-ssi, who was holding the steering wheel, became ragged.
As if possessed by something, she kept twitching her nose and sniffing.
She kept glancing at me through the rearview mirror, and every time she did, the car swayed slightly from side to side.
This is going to be a safe ride, right...?
The state of Agent B-ssi, who was sitting in the passenger seat and supposed to be protecting me, was even more severe.
She had already unbuckled her seatbelt and pressed her body tightly against me.
"Sseup, haa... sseup, haa... i-it's not kimochi~..."
Agent B-ssi's eyes were already half-unfocused.
Her hand trembled as it wandered near my thigh.
To put it bluntly, the dictionary definition of the word 'protection' had already ceased to exist inside the armored sedan heading to the Hunter Association headquarters.
"Excuse me... is there any reason we have to be this close?"
When I asked, sweating bullets, Agent B-ssi, who was practically straddling my left thigh, looked up at me with hazy eyes.
"P-protection. It's because I have to protect Park Haneul-gun. Especially here~♡"
Her finger began to crawl up the inside of my thigh, reaching a precarious spot.
'Heh, since when did protection and sexual harassment become the same thing?'
I twisted my body in shock, but this time, Agent C-ssi on my right buried her nose into the nape of my neck and took a deep breath.
"Haa... Haneul-gun, your scent is so good. Did you mix some kind of drug into this? An investigation... a metcha-kucha intense investigation is necessary...!"
'No, what kind of intense investigation! I'm not a criminal right now, I'm a VIP. You crazy women!'
Every time the heart tattoo near my navel pulsed as if it were enjoying this, the air inside the car became even thicker and dyed in an erotic pink.
The agents' eyes were on the verge of turning into heart shapes, and I had to shout "Please, calm down!" thousands of times until the Hunter Association headquarters building came into view.
After many twists and turns, I arrived at the Hunter Association headquarters' reception room.
Having barely escaped the chaotic sedan and finally being alone, I buried my body deep into the sofa.
"I survived... I really thought I was going to be eaten alive."
It's already exhausting enough dealing with Sia and So-hee noona, and now this because of the Demon King...
Taking a moment to catch my breath, I began to organize the current situation.
Due to my intervention, the knowledge of the original [Hunter's Age] was already in tatters.
The final boss, Asmodeus, has already descended, and she even bestowed the 'Human Aphrodisiac' blessing upon me.
"According to the original story, this should be the timing where the protagonist Sia is out catching goblins..."
Come to think of it, have I even seen any regular monsters since I got here?
"It's not like this is a bug-ridden game... I feel like sending a protest truck to the author."
There was even no rule saying that the intermediate boss, 'Belzenia', who is even more devious than the Demon King, wouldn't appear.
Belzenia.
The intermediate boss of [Hunter's Age] who starts acting in earnest from the middle of the original story, and the leader of the villain organization Black Wings.
However, her true identity was a Black Dragon who had fled to Earth after being defeated by Asmodeus in a war for the throne in the demon realm.
The reason she is truly dangerous is not her martial prowess as a dragon, but her hobby-like ability to mentally encroach upon others, digging into the most vulnerable parts of their hearts to turn them into puppets.
'Once you're caught, you end up moving according to Belzenia's desires without even knowing what you're doing. She's the type I really don't want to deal with.'
So-hee noona came to mind, but I shook my head, knowing well that she, who possesses a straight-edged loyalty to those she has sworn allegiance to, would resist mental attacks, just as she did in the original.
And at that time, I didn't know what kind of result this optimistic thinking would bring.
Kkiiik—
Just then, the door to the reception room opened quietly.
A woman with long, flowing blonde hair entered, leaning on a cane, accompanied by the subtle scent of lilies.
It was 'Seraphina', the strongest healer of humanity and a Saintess who had just returned from the United States.
She was blind, with no focus in her eyes.
She herself was a user of High-Speed Recovery, but her congenital disability was not in the realm of recovery, but in the realm of creation.
Of course, for her, who handles mana, visual impairment was no obstacle at all.
Rather, her mana detection, hearing, and sense of smell, which had developed in place of her lost sight, were second to none.
"You must be Park Haneul-gun. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Seraphina sat in front of me with a benevolent smile.
Setting aside the title of Saintess, I knew the setting that she, as a devout believer, usually showed indifference bordering on mysophobia toward men, so I let out a sigh of relief.
'Thank goodness. If it's her, at least she won't pounce on me like a beast like those agents earlier.'
But that was my huge mistake.
When I first heard that a man with the same High-Speed Recovery ability as me had appeared in South Korea, curiosity came first.
The expectation that a colleague who could leave more salvation for humanity might have been born.
The fact that he was a young man?
'There is no distinction between men and women in salvation.'
As a devout believer in God, I had never felt the unpleasant desire of lust, and today was no different...
'...or so it should have been? Hnnng~♡'
Thump, thump...
'W-what on earth is this feeling? Who is this man...?!'
I opened the door to the reception room.
As soon as I sat in front of the boy named Park Haneul, I felt the faith I had guarded my whole life shaking to its roots.
To me, who cannot see, the world is composed only of the flow of mana, scents, and sounds.
Yes, the scent.
This very scent!
From his body, a scent was emanating that was so sweet and sensual, the likes of which I had never smelled in my life.
It was as if all the flowers and honey in the world had been concentrated, no, a 'masculine' fragrance that stimulated my instincts far more than that.
'Ah, haa...♡ My nose feels like it's burning. It feels like my brain is melting♡'
Outwardly, I maintained a benevolent smile befitting a Saintess, but my legs under my dress were already trembling thinly.
Saliva kept pooling, making my mouth sticky.
Gulp.
His form, felt through mana detection, was drawing such perfect curves that it was seducing me.
'I want to... feel that man more closely. Oh God, are you testing me? Or are you giving me a reward?'
I steadied my trembling voice and finished the mana verification, which was the original purpose.
In fact, the verification was already the last thing on my mind.
Because in the first place, there was no way to check if his purification ability and mine were compatible without the presence of Demonic Energy.
Normally, there would be no more justification for me, a hunter from another country, to keep him, but what does that matter?
'I-it's a shame to part ways like this. A little more, I want to feel him a little more! Haa haa...♡'
"Then, is the business all finished? If it's finished, I'll be going now..."
As Park Haneul-gun tried to get up from his seat, I grabbed his wrist in a hurry without even realizing it.
Oh, no!
I can't let him go like this♡
"More... I want to feel you more closely... no, wait?! I think I need to examine you more thoroughly!"
"More... I want to feel you more closely... no, wait?! I think I need to examine you more thoroughly!"
"Yes? What did you just say...?"
I tilted my head at the Saintess's slip of the tongue (her true feelings).
However, seeing her, who couldn't see, grabbing me in such a hurry looked quite desperate, so I sat back down without much thought.
'Eh, surely she's a Saintess. I must have misheard. She must really need a detailed examination.'
But the 'detailed examination' that followed was beyond my imagination.
Squish, squish.
Fumble, fumble.
"E-excuse me, Saintess-nim? Where are you touching..."
"It's an examination. It's a very holy process of verifying the correlation between Park Haneul-gun's muscle density and mana through touch. Haa, haa...♡"
Her touch was already passing my shoulders, moving to my chest, and persistently scanning near the heart tattoo on my abdomen.
Squishy, squishy(?)
The palms of her hands, which were fumbling over my abs and thighs, were exceptionally hot.
'...This is an examination?!'
They say people who can't see judge appearances through touch, but this was clearly crossing the line.
In the first place.
'Saintess, you may not be able to see, but you're a top-tier hunter! Aren't you seeing exactly what I look like and where everything is through mana detection right now? This is sexual harassment disguised as an examination!'
"W-wait a minute... No, at least pretend to listen when someone is talking! Is this woman crazy? How far are you going to touch just because I'm staying still?!"
"Haa haa~♡ I-it's an examination, so stay still, Park Haneul-gun! A little more... I need to feel a little more!"
What kind of examination is this!
You just let out a slip of the tongue saying you need to feel a little more yourself?!
As her hand headed toward my buttocks, I got goosebumps and sprang up like a spring.
If I had left her for just a little longer, she would have been ready to commit blatant sexual harassment, saying, "Ho ho ho~ let's see how big our grandson is down there~" like the grandmothers in the old countryside.
'No, isn't she already a sexual offender in progress?!'
Now that I look at it, this woman, the 'Saint' in Saintess wasn't the 'Holy' Saint, but the 'Sexual' harassment Saint!
"Get off me right now!"
I roughly shook off her lascivious grip and ran to the reception room door.
"P-Park Haneul-gun! The examination isn't finished yet... Ah, he's gone. That sweet scent..."
Leaving behind Seraphina's sigh of regret, I desperately ran out of the building.
When I left the main gate, the Association offered to provide the armored sedan again, but I firmly refused.
"I'd rather walk than be eaten alive in that car!"
I began to walk the night road toward the academy dormitory alone, dragging my exhausted body.
"Ugh, I was so suddenly summoned that I only just realized I left my phone and wallet at the academy."
The sun had already set, and the city was submerged in darkness.
I was originally going to return by taking a taxi assigned with a 'Male Safety Service' driver, but I needed money for that...
I was already sensitive to even the smallest sounds in my surroundings because I had become a walking biological aphrodisiac, and just then, I saw familiar silver hair under the streetlight.
"So-hee noona?"
Unlike the other women, I felt glad to see her, so I waved my hand and approached her.
But as I got closer, I felt a chilling fear down my spine.
Han So-hee's eyes had no life in them.
Like a doll whose soul had been sucked out, she was staring into the air with unfocused eyes.
Her lips moved mechanically, letting out a bizarre sound.
"HaneulismineHaneulismineHaneulismineHaneulismine..."
Like a scene from a horror movie, she was repeating the same words infinitely.
I instinctively realized.
That Belzenia's mental encroachment had already swallowed her whole.
"S-So-hee noona? Pull yourself together! It's me, Haneul! Ugh... this is bad. I have to run away now..."
I stepped back and tried to run, but Han So-hee's shadow expanded like a living creature in an instant and snatched my ankles.
Sseuseuk—
"Where are you going, Haneul-ah... You're mine now, only mine♡"
Her unfocused face came right up to my nose.
I felt as if I could hear Belzenia's fishy laughter inside her eyes.
"N-no! Pull yourself together, So-hee noon... Ugh?! Ughhh~!"
The shadow wrapped around my entire body.
Without even being able to scream, I was helplessly sucked into the deep, dark abyss of the shadow that So-hee noona had created.
Seriously, author, you bastard, go easy on me~!