The Saintess stood frozen, utterly speechless.


    Her motionless figure reminded me of a statue. Even after a prolonged silence, she couldn’t regain herposure.


    For a moment, I was under the illusion that time had stopped.


    That’s how dramatic the Saintess’s reaction was.


    Even the gentle breeze that had been flowing through the corridor seemed to vanish. The heavy, sinking atmosphere mirrored her feelings.


    My bewildered gaze turned to the side.


    Senior Elsie, who was clinging to my arm, appeared just as flustered. It just had been a casual provocation, but it appeared she hadn’t expected the Saintess to react so innocently.


    Of course, Senior Elsie wasn’t one to feel any regret over something like this.


    She instead shed a wicked smile and pulled my arm even closer.


    A soft, supple sensation pressed against my arm muscles.Before I knew it, she was slyly smirking.


    “Huh? Did you really not hear? I’ve decided to enter a somewhat serious rtionship with Master.”


    <em>Well, if you consider it serious, I guess it’s a serious rtionship, but…</em>


    I couldn’t carelessly open my mouth, as I couldn’t gauge the Saintess’s true intentions. I needed to figure out why she was acting like this first.


    It would have been nice if Leto were by my side.


    If he were here, I’d probably have already been smacked on the back of the head. And I’d be mindlessly reciting whatever he told me to say.


    But right now, the one beside me was Senior Elsie.


    She was a girl whose name would undoubtedlye up if you were to list the Saintess’s rivals.


    There was no way she would want to see an improvement in the rtionship between the Saintess and me.


    Given she had even confessed her feelings, it wasn’t strange for her to be wary of the women around me.


    It was at that moment that a crack appeared in the Saintess’s frozen time.


    Her eyshes quivered, and soon a pained voice filled with disbelief escaped her lips.


    “…L-Lie.”


    “It’s not a lie, though?”


    However, her feeble attempt at denial was once again dismissed.


    Senior Elsie pressed her cheek even closer to my arm with a seductive gaze. Seeing that I wasn’t showing any sign of pushing her away, she became even more triumphant and said,


    “If you’re curious, go ahead and ask Master.”


    The Saintess, who had been trembling for a while, turned her gaze toward me.


    In those light pink eyes, faint resentment and expectation were intertwined.


    Her gaze was sharp, but the subtle glimmer of tears in her eyes tugged at my heart.


    At this point, even someone as dense as me couldn’t fail to notice.


    That if I responded carelessly right now, it would only cause unnecessary misunderstandings.


    I hesitated for a moment, sorting out the words swirling in my mind.


    I needed to answer as briefly and concisely as possible.


    Composing myself, I quickly spoke up.


    “Saintess, while it’s not a lie, there’s a bit of misunderstanding……”


    Of course, my good intentions were not going to be realised so smoothly.


    I felt a firm grip as someone tightly hugged my arm.


    Senior Elsie had risen on her tiptoes, naturally leaning on my arm for support.


    Soon, her sweet voice whispered in my ear.


    “Master… let’s do that.”


    Her gaze was sultry.


    A captivating blue, reminiscent of moonlight beyond the night’s curtains, was directed at me. Her muffled whimpers only served to deepen her flushedplexion.


    I couldn’t react at all, for various reasons.


    First and foremost, I couldn’t fathom what Senior Elsie was trying to do or imply.


    <em>‘That,’ she says?</em>


    It would’ve been better if I couldn’t make any guesses at all. At least then, I could’ve just brushed it off with a forcedugh.


    But the person in question was none other than Senior Elsie.


    If I tried to vaguely gloss over things, there were just too many pitfalls.


    While I was flustered and unable to respond, Senior Elsie’s teasing continued.


    “You know, that thing… When Master touches me, and I feel all tingly, like electricity running through me, which makes me feel so good. Last time, my legs got so weak I even copsed…”


    “Ah.”


    I let out an exmation as if I finally understood.


    It seemed Senior Elsie was talking about the ‘chin stroking.’ It was a new reward I had developed after ‘head stroking,’ and I was d it appealed to her.


    However, my relief didn’tst long.


    Because I sensed a strange tremor transmitted through the air.


    Snapping back to my senses, I looked straight ahead.


    There stood the Saintess, trembling all over.


    She appeared to be faintly simmering with anger.


    Her slender hands, sped like she was praying, were now tightly clenched with force.


    That’s when I realised something had gone terribly wrong.


    “……Sa


    Even at my cautious call, she remained silent for a while.


    She kept her head lowered and bit her lip several times before finally ring at me with tear-filled eyes.


    A stammering voice spilled from her lips.


    “


    And just as I was about to somehow calm her down—


    “……Even though I was first!!”


    The Saintess let out a shrill, almost cute shout and immediately started walking away.


    The way she wiped away her tears made it seem as if she’d just had her heart broken.


    While I was just left dumbfounded, watching her retreating figure.


    <em>What was she first in?</em>


    Naturally, that question remained unanswered.


    Because before that, Senior Elsie burst intoughter.


    Having finally let go of my arm, she was jumping up and down in joy.


    She clenched her fist and shed a victorious smile.


    “Kyahahaha! You rude milkbag bitch, serves you right! After mocking me like that.”


    As expected, this seemed to have been Senior Elsie’s scheme.


    I sighed deeply, rubbing my forehead.


    Her jealousy was genuine, even though we weren’t even dating yet.


    A voice filled with exasperation slipped from my lips.


    “Senior Elsie…”


    I intended to reprimand her, but Senior Elsie shrewdly acted first.


    Her petite body once again dove into my arms. Then she yfully winked at me.


    “……You’ll forgive me, won’t you, Master?”


    Since her confession the other day, Senior Elsie had changed a bit.


    In the past, she would have been fidgety or constantly gauging my reaction, but now she responded slyly.


    Perhaps she was finally starting to show theposure of someone older.


    Looking back, it was rather abnormal that she used to tremble whenever I held the hatchet.


    This, too, should be seen as growth.


    Though as a result, I had lost one means to fully control Senior Elsie.


    Still, she would probably listen if I spoke sternly..


    Feeling both proud and a bit wistful about that, I decided to give Senior Elsie a little punishment.


    “Master, what are you… Wait, ah?! Hnnngh?!”


    The punishment was none other than the ‘chin stroking’ that Senior Elsie so dearly desired.


    It didn’t take long before Senior Elsie had to squeeze her thighs together.


    Even so, I didn’t stop stroking, and after some time, she melted and copsed to the ground.


    Her dted pupils, rapid breaths and flushed face created a peculiar atmosphere.


    As if even her tongue seemed to have lost its strength, Senior Elsie let out a dazed nasal sound.


    “I-I was wr… Hnnngh, I am sowwy…”


    Only then did I show a satisfied smile.


    Surely, by now, Senior Elsie must have reflected enough.


    Although I was still bothered by the Saintess’sst tearful look, I figured that with time, there would be a chance to clear up the misunderstanding.


    With that thought, I left the temple.


    There was still work to be done.


    Senior Delphine, the North and the Princess.


    I needed a chain to link these mysteries together.


    **


    There was still no word from Senior Delphine.


    Even though sses had started, there was no sign of her returning. Even Seria had no grasp of the exact circumstances.


    It was unlikely I’d be able to gather any useful clues if I went searching myself.


    So before setting off to the North, I decided to meet the people I needed to see.


    First among them was, of course, Emma.


    As always, even while battling the Corpse Giant, I greatly benefited from her potions. Had it not been for them , I might have met an early end.


    Conversely, it was also true that, because of her potions, my recovery was somewhat dyed.


    But since it was due to my overuse of them, it was hard to me Emma for that.


    Fortunately, the news that I had fallen into critical condition was not made public.


    The fierce battle with the Corpse Giant was a heroic feat. Not to mention, I was the one who had been in conflict with the Dark Order even before that.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Announcing the downfall of a rising star was burdensome in many ways.


    Especially since the Dark Order’s presence was bing more evident day by day.


    On top of that, they’d have to endure criticism for failing to support me in time.


    It was said that both the Empire and the Holy Nation carefully monitored my condition with utmost discretion.


    Thanks to that, there was no unfortunate incident of Emma rushing to me in tears and making a fuss. For that, I was particrly grateful.


    Imagine if the soft-hearted Emma had heard about my situation.


    It wouldn’t have been strange if she had fainted on the spot.


    My body shuddered at the unfortunate thought. Thest thing I wanted was for Emma to copse and end up in the ICU again.


    That’s precisely why I brought a hefty amount of gold with me today.


    ording to what I’d heard, Emma spent all the money she had on ingredient costs.


    There were even stories of her surviving on forest mushrooms or going hungry.


    Of course, I couldn’t just stand by and let that happen.


    Today, I was determined to firmly tell Emma not to touch her food budget.


    With that firm resolve, I stood in front of her workshop.


    <em>Thud, Thud</em>, but even when I knocked on the door, there was no answer.


    This wasn’t unprecedented.


    Thest time I visited her workshop, Emma had copsed from overwork.


    Recalling this, I immediately became anxious.


    That’s why I, somewhat hastily, kicked the workshop’s door open.


    “……Emma, are you okay?!”


    With a <em>bang</em>, the door was forcibly opened as I shouted.


    Immediately after, I was met with wide, emerald-coloured eyes.


    Emma was crouched on a chair in her workshop, munching on something.


    A quick nce showed it was dried mushrooms.


    She seemed to find them so delicious that, as she chewed, tears were welling up in her eyes.


    Struck by both pity and disbelief, I mped my mouth shut.


    But I wasn’t the only one surprised.


    Soon Emma gulped down the mushroom she had been chewing and gave me an awkward smile.


    “Ah, Hey. Ian…”


    And then, silence.


    After standing there speechless for quite a while, Emma stiffly stood up.


    It was then that her voice began to waver, as if she was about to cry.


    She stood there, eyes brimming with tears, for a while.


    And the choice of a girl caught in such an unseemly situation was as follows.


    “I-I… I’ll just go die now!”


    With those words, Emma burst into tears and dashed away.


    Of course, I desperately tried to stop her and prevented her from doing so.


    As always, a woman’s heart was truly delicate.


    Especially Emma’s heart—even more so.