Chapter 137: For Some Reason, the Saintess Smelled Like a Kindred Spirit.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 137: For Some Reason, the Saintess Smelled Like a Kindred Spirit.
'What on earth is going on right now?'
There was Kim Min-su, laughing and chatting brightly, and the Saintess, walking beside him while pleasantly accepting all his nonsense.
First of all, I couldn't believe that Kim Min-su was capable of having such a harmonious interaction with a woman.
What kind of guy was he? The kind of guy who would laugh and chat with a girl?
He was the rude bastard who, upon our very first meeting at a drinking party, point-blank asked about someone else's sex fantasies.
A loser who couldn't read the room, lacked any sense of tact, and prioritized his own libido above all else.
Moreover, it was pathetic to see him grinning like an idiot just because a Saintess had appeared, completely forgetting how he had been hitting on Hye-mi until just the other day.
'How should I handle this?'
The Hero and the Saintess.
Looking at those two titles alone, there was no combination that suited each other better.
Normally, the probability of a late-appearing heroine becoming the "main girl" should be infinitely low.
However, the mere fact that she was a "Saintess" threatened to make all the existing heroines seem bland and colorless.
The seductive Witch, the tsundere young lady, the devoted childhood friend, and now the Saintess.
If you asked a hundred people who they thought would win in that lineup, all hundred would undoubtedly choose the Saintess.
'For now, let's move in.'
I could have waited for Kim Min-su to stick his foot in his mouth on his own, but that was too risky.
I didn't know how highly the Saintess regarded him.
What if she was the kind of woman who could actually enjoy and laugh at all of Kim Min-su's nonsense or bullshit?
In the absolute worst-case scenario, Chubby Ahn might have designed her specifically to be a woman who finds Kim Min-su's jokes funny.
Therefore, the priority was to interfere.
"Whoa, look who it is! Isn't that Min-su?"
Seeing as they had come all the way to where I lived, it seemed they were out for a night stroll.
Well, their pleasant walk was officially over.
"...? What the—Baek Tae-yang? What are you doing here?"
"I live right here. This is the place Bogeumjari arranged for me."
"Ah... oh, really? I see..."
Whether Kim Min-su had realized my intention or just felt it instinctively, he looked quite anxious as he glanced back and forth between me and the Saintess.
His eyes kept darting left and right, sensing that their private time together had come to an end.
If he had been wearing a confident expression from the start, I would have been the one making that face.
Fortunately, it didn't seem like they had gotten into any deep conversations yet.
"And who is the lady next to you?"
"Ah... well, you see..."
Without wasting time, I immediately pulled the Saintess into the conversation between Kim Min-su and me.
Two acquaintances and one stranger.
When this combination meets, if handled poorly, one person can end up feeling extremely alienated.
If they take the time to introduce each other, it becomes very difficult for the existing person to butt in.
Because of that, he seemed extremely reluctant to introduce the Saintess to me.
'But if you don't say anything, the atmosphere just gets weird.'
Just as a strange awkwardness was about to settle because Kim Min-su had suddenly stopped talking, the Saintess spoke first.
"Have you heard of the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom of Rubenia? That would be me. And you are Cadet Baek Tae-yang, correct?"
The Saintess seemed to know exactly who I was.
Her face was hidden behind a veil, so I couldn't see her expression clearly, but she sounded quite amused.
"So you are the Saintess? I saw you in the news. I heard you were coming for the joint training... but as far as I knew, there were still a few days left before your arrival."
"Ah, that's because something came up, so I entered the country a bit early."
"Something came up?"
"That's a secret."
As we talked, I brainstormed topics that Kim Min-su wouldn't be able to jump into.
Things that would make the atmosphere cold if he tried to force his way into the conversation with a sudden outburst.
The most important thing was to keep the conversation flowing without pause.
'First, let's get moving.'
It was difficult to stay together for long if we just stood there talking on the street.
Since it felt like we were just passing each other by, it would be normal to just exchange a few brief words and move on.
My position was also naturally in the middle of the Saintess and Min-su, a position for passing through.
To overcome this, I slowly stepped back and then turned my body.
"Huh...? Aren't you going?"
Kim Min-su spoke up, flustered, as if he immediately understood what my actions meant.
Did his intuition sharpen because he felt like his woman was about to be snatched away right in front of him?
"Oh, I just realized we're heading in the same direction. Where are you guys going?"
"Ah... well... that..."
The guy had a look on his face that said he realized things were going horribly wrong.
It was only natural, as he was experiencing the ruin of his cozy date with the Saintess in real-time.
He must have sensed that if he mentioned a destination, I would stubbornly follow them.
That's why he was trying to say as little as possible, but the problem was that the Saintess wasn't helping him.
"We didn't really have a destination; we were just taking a walk around the block."
"Oh, really? Then do you mind if I join you?"
"Of course. It's no trouble at all."
No set destination, and I had even secured consent to walk with them.
Furthermore, since my position was between the Saintess and Kim Min-su, walking together naturally placed me right between the two of them.
This meant the distance between Kim Min-su and the Saintess would widen, while I would get that much closer to her.
'The key is to keep talking about whatever so Kim Min-su can't get a single word in with her.'
A walk without a destination meant that as long as one was a good talker, they could laugh and chat indefinitely.
No matter how uncharismatic Kim Min-su was, there was a lightning-strike chance he might develop some charm if they talked enough.
Since the Saintess seemed to view Kim Min-su favorably for some reason, I couldn't afford to let my guard down.
'I need to work on Hye-mi's side too before Kim Min-su falls for the Saintess.'
I thought he would be going all-in on Ryu Hye-mi for a while.
This piece of trash really is beyond saving.
"Saintess, do you happen to know what we'll be doing for the joint training this time? We haven't heard anything on our end yet."
"Hmm... I wonder. Since it's training involving the Hero and the Saintess, wouldn't it focus on Gates or Dungeons? Right, Hero?"
"Ah, right, right! Exactly! With the amazing combination of the Saintess and me, an S-Class Gate or even higher wouldn't be a problem! Even a Labyrinth Dungeon would be nothing!"
"Pfft... ah... hoho, you're right. Indeed."
The Saintess was looking at Kim Min-su very favorably.
Seeing her address Min-su despite all the groundwork I'd laid to block the conversation made me realize she was no pushover.
Did Chubby Ahn really intend to make her a "sunflower" heroine who only looks at Kim Min-su this time?
If she was the "motherly" type who embraced everything with a generous heart and a warm bosom, it was dangerous.
But I could have sworn she just stifled a laugh at Min-su's words.
'I must have imagined it, right?'
The Saintess really shouldn't like Kim Min-su.
"Ahem... well, honestly, even if the Saintess and I were wandering aimlessly, I never expected to end up at my dear friend's house... I, uh..."
Emboldened by the fact that the Saintess had spoken to him once, Kim Min-su naturally draped an arm over my shoulder.
I was about to just walk quietly since I couldn't treat him like I usually did in this situation, when the Saintess spoke.
"Oh my, just as the Hero said... I heard the Hero was very close with Cadet Baek Tae-yang."
"Oh, is that so? Did he say anything else?"
"Besides that... ah! Right, he mentioned that every time you two had a secret duel, the Hero won magnificently. Is that true?"
With every word the Saintess spoke, Kim Min-su's face grew paler and paler.
In his desperation to look cool in front of a woman, he had bluffed as much as he could, and now the time for a fact-check had arrived.
'He could have just said he cleared two S-Class Gates.'
Why did he have to go out of his way to include lies and exaggerations?
"Well... I don't recall ever having a secret duel... I must be mistaken about something."
"Pfft-kgh... ugh... whew... Ah, I just have a bit of a cough... I see... The Hero might have been mistaken then."
"Ah, well... you see... a secret duel is, by definition, a secret, so I apologize for the fact that he has no choice but to speak like this."
Min-su blurted out words frantically, trying to cover up his lie.
At that moment, I felt a sense of doubt regarding the Saintess's behavior.
Just like before, and now again.
The laughter that leaked out whenever Kim Min-su said something ridiculous.
'Wait, is she mocking him?'
I didn't know what material the veil was made of, but it perfectly obscured the Saintess's face, making it impossible to see her expression.
However, I felt a similar energy.
The way she laughed just now overlapped perfectly with the way I would blatantly mock the guy whenever he talked nonsense.
No, that couldn't be it.
I had to be realistic; where in the world would you find a Saintess who mocks the Hero?
There was no way Chubby Ahn would have created a heroine with such a setting.
"That...! Saintess, it's getting late, so perhaps we should both head back? Sir Perkus must be very worried. Now that he has given me the solemn and steadfast mission of escorting the Saintess..."
"Ah, yes, I think you can stop talking now. I understand. Well then, Cadet Baek Tae-yang, we shall take our leave."
Cutting Kim Min-su off mid-sentence, the Saintess disappeared, taking Kim Min-su with her.
'What was that?'
For some reason, the Saintess smelled like a kindred spirit.