Chapter 78: The Enting Young Saintess (03)

  "It's been a while, Sir Knight."

  "It's good to see you again, Saintess."

  The young Saintess I met today had grown much taller than before.

  At this point, I wondered if she was too tall to still be called a 'young Saintess'...

  'Well, looking at her chest, she could still pass for a young Saintess.'

  pared to her height, her chest seemed quite unimpressive, and I thought I would have to wait a few more years, but the moment I looked down at her chest, the knight assumed a posture as if about to un attack, so I had to deliberately avert my gaze and face the Saintess instead.

  "You've bee even more beautiful."

  "Oh, I haven't ged much?"

  She said that, but the joy was evident as she cupped her cheeks.

  Even as a Saintess, she seemed to retain the sensibilities of a girl her age.

  Seeing her grow up radiant, beloved by everyone here without a hint of darkness, warmed my heart and made me smile like a proud brother.

  "Isn't the statue of the goddess beautiful?"

  "Yes, beautiful..."

  As I said this, it was embarrassing to talk about the young Saintess's face, and the words wouldn't easily e out.

  "Were you praying to the goddess statue, Sir Knight?"

  "Yes. Something like that."

  It would have been wrong to say that I had bsphemous and disrespectful thoughts about the goddess statue, so I had to show agreement in a suitable manner.

  "It's good to pray. I've heard that many knights nowadays have fotten the heart of prayer, but our knight is indeed faithful."

  Me, faithful? Rather, I felt the others who didn't believe were probably better.

  "And this is a secret..."

  The young Saintess leaned in close to whisper to me.

  "Actually, during the Holy Week, the goddess herself listens to the prayers directly. So if you pray a lot now, the goddess will listen more attehan usual."

  Is that true?

  Or just a bit of a joke to highlight the speess of the Holy Week?

  Either way, si oken by a chosen Saintess, it sparked a bit more trust than other clerics' words.

  "We don't have much time, Saintess. You must return soon."

  As usual, u year when she had ample time, this year her schedule seemed busy, and the female knight beside her was hurrying her along.

  Maybe they were just hurrying to keep her away from me.

  "Just a moment. I have something to give to you..."

  With no one else watg, the young Saintess reached into her sleeve and handed me a cookie ed in thin paper.

  "Are you going to eat it alone?"

  I smiled as I listeo her whispered void sent her on her way.

  Of course, the esc knight was gring at me unpleasantly, but I let it slide, sidering he had saved me from a potential crisis in front of the Saintess earlier when I almost blurted out how the goddess statue was arousing.

  "..."

  Looking at the brightly shining cookie ihe paper, I quietly pced the cookie envelope in my pocket.

  'I should it...'

  From what I saw, eating it wouldn't kill me, but it would definitely cause unbearable pain, so I decided to keep it quietly in my pocket.

  'But to think she hears the prayers directly? Does that mean she also heard all my bsphemous thoughts?'

  Holy, if that were true, I wouldn't be surprised if divine lightning struck me.

  'So, the goddess might overlook certain naughty thoughts?'

  After all, if she possesses the powers of a pure goddess of love and marriage, she would naturally dislike being viewed with lustful eyes. However, thinking about it, a goddess of love and marriage should be shown in all her beauty a in the fruits of a man and woman's union.

  'If that's the case, is it alright to see her with naughty thoughts?'

  sidering the goddess of love and marriage, if love tio maintain its marriage and relevance...

  'Then maybe the goddess of love and marriage could also be seen as the goddess of desirable newlyweds?'

  Thinking about it, it makes sehat she became a wife because she was beautiful and alluring, and her charm peaked not before marriage but after being another man's wife. That’s when people arouarted to re-evaluate her a that she was someone else’s, at least that’s what Jake read in a novel.

  I'm not particurly ied in stories about married women, but maybe it's pusible up to the point of newlyweds...

  "It’s only because she's a true goddess that I overlook it. Even if she's a newlywed, the goddess grants her grace."

  I felt as if the giant goddess statue was gring at me, but it must have been a delusion born from my fual respect for the divine and a guilty sce.

  "The eyes of the goddess statue moved!"

  "My goodness, such a miracle during Holy Week!"

  Ah, it was just an optical illusion. This is why religious folks...

  * * *

  As I returo my room, hugging Molng and Shuru, there was no one else around.

  Since many people from the trainier took time off during Holy Week, the entire pce was empty, except for people like Instructor Pahe lonely old bachelor.

  "From now on, more nobles will be arriving, so the young Saintess will be busy... and if there’s nothing else, senior knights like me go alone."

  Returning from the temple, or perhaps because I was carrying a cookie full of the Saintess's blessing in my pocket, my body seemed to glow faintly.

  Shuru came close and rubbed against my face, while Molng seemed to hide in a er, watg me warily.

  'Slimes are mooo, so maybe they're affected by the sacred power?'

  I id down on the bed, waiting for the natural dissipation of the sacred power from my body.

  "What should I do with the cookie..."

  As night fell and darkness deepehe cookie given by the young Saintess shone even more brilliantly. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like a dangerous object, so simply burying it in the ground or throwing it irash seemed like it would cause problems.

  'I could dispose of it by eating it... It won't kill me to eat it...'

  g!

  The cookie was so powerfully ented that when I hit it against the wall, it sounded like striking iro when I grabbed it with my hand, it easily bent, indig that I could eat it without it breaking from external effects.

  At this rate, it looked like it wouldn't spoil even if left uen for about 10 years, so I was thinking of giving it time when there was a knock at the door.

  "Are you asleep?"

  The senior knight who had ehe temple with me today was knog on the door.

  "No, I'm awake."

  I quickly hid Shuru and Molng uhe b and opehe door, and my senior simply gestured for me to follow him without entering the barracks.

  As soon as we ehe office, the senior closed the door a up a partition to prevent sound from leaking outside.

  "Isn't it just the two of us?"

  "Even so, we o be cautious. It’s easy to let yuard down thinking it's just us, or that person has been around long enough to be trustworthy... That's how big mistakes happen."

  'He's n.'

  With just the two of us remaining, my senior invited me to sit doulled out a letter sealed with the insignia of a noble family.

  "I nning to hand this over before asking."

  "Yes."

  "Do you have any fear or revulsion towards corpses?"

  "Wouldn't aurally have that? It would be strao like dead bodies, right?"

  "What I mean is not just aversion that anyone might feel, but whether you’d faint or foam at the mouth and vulse at the sight of a corpse."

  "No, I don’t have that issue."

  I had dealt with monster corpses before, after all.

  "Good, then that's settled."

  Only then did my senior hahe letter, which had several seals on it to keep its fidential tents secure without breaking them.

  "Is it something important?"

  "To some extent."

  I broke the seal oter ahe tent inside.

  "Unlised neancer sighted he capital’s outskirts, currently using an old estate turned graveyard. Damage esg. Location is currently produg undead from the graves..."

  "This is a serious issue. Normally, this would be a task for the Order of Knights, but they 't move during Holy Week."

  It was Holy Week, so many nobles would be visiting the temple.

  Moreover, although the Saintess had been repced st year, she hadn’t been active for long since her inauguration, and this year was her first official public appearance, whiaturally attracted more people.

  With so many people gathered, issues were bound to arise, and if we didn’t mahe iioween the feuding nobles and their knights iemple, the Order would o intervene or enforce discipline. But with so many visitors during Holy Week, they were stretched too thin to spare even one knight.

  "You’d think they could just deal with it afterward, but..."

  'The authority of the temple would plummet to the ground if people found out that undead were being geed despite the temple’s cim that not even demons could enter uhe goddess' prote. They'd want to ha as quickly as possible.'

  Even if we mao get a knight out, their armor would be too spicuous and draw people’s eyes the moment they moved.

  "This is essentially an unofficial request for help. The temple will vouch that you were here. Iy, you'll be gone from the capital for a few days."

  "What about pensation?"

  "The blessing and favor of the goddess..."

  I already had enough of that with the cookie from the Saintess.

  "Just kidding, the high priests agreed to provide some support."

  k!

  My senior then threw me a small, palm-sized bundle made of ornate cloth, filled with silver s.

  'Wow, look at how much mohese temple folks have...'

  That’s why there's a saying about making mohrough religion.

  "Take this. Accepting it puts you in the Order's debt."

  Before running off on the mission, I po ask Instructor Pao look after Shuru and Molng again, but it just so happehat on the day I was to leave, Instructor Pandel had posted a note about being away for a few days and was o be found.

  "Damn, the one who always sticks to the infirmary reading musty medical books is never around when you need him?"

  With no o the trainier to leave them with, I had no choice but to take Shuru and Molng with me.

  'Well, what could possibly g?'

  Ultimate-Harem-fan