༺ The Lord Is With Us (23) ༻
My reunion with Senior Elsie was short-lived.
She rushed out of the room before I could even ask how she was doing. I wanted to ask if she was hurt anywhere, but like usual, she just did whatever she wanted.
‘Though I guess that’s one of her charms.’
With such a thought, I looked down at my stomach.
The abdominal wound was dressed in bandage that was covered in blood and pus.
Wounds inflicted by demonic beasts didn’t heal easily, no matter how much holy power was poured into closing the wound. I thought it’d be different with the Saintess’ exceptional holy power, but the fact that discharge was still leaking out meant one thing.
That the demonic monkey from that night was especially strong and had demonic energy potent enough to resist the Saintess’ highly pure holy power.
I couldn’t detect it until it was too late. Even if it had moved stealthily, it still meant that it was capable of escaping my senses although my senses were sharper than ever before.
I didn’t know much about the beast, but it seemed worthy of being named.
After all, it had to at least be that strong for it to make me feel threatened for my life. Thinking back, the letter had mentioned that I would be in a life-threatening battle, and it seemed like it was referring to this encounter.
With a click of my tongue, I sorrowfully stared down at my wound.
Recently, I’d been too careless with my body. If I continued to accumulate injuries like this, I figured I might have to listen to the Saintess’ scoldings again.
‘Though she might not care, now that things became estranged between us.’
Right at that moment, a voice entered my ears.
“…….Are you dumb?”
The voice sounded annoyed.
I looked towards the door of my hospital room.
There, a woman with silver hair and pale pink eyes stood. She had a body that left a deep impression on anyone who laid their sights upon her voluptuous curves.
It was the Saintess.
She bit her lips and approached me before abruptly grabbing me by the collar.
“Didn’t I tell you I might not be able to completely cure you anymore?”
A seething voice leaked out from between her lips as a sweet scent tickled the tip of my nose. She was so close that I could clearly see her eyelashes tremble in anger.
It was a reaction I hadn’t expected in the slightest. I thought it would be good enough if she didn’t mock me by saying the injury was rightly served, but right now, she looked genuinely angry.
She had mentioned before that she kept her personal and professional feelings separate, and that really did seem to be the case. In the end, I waved a white flag in surrender.
“……But it’s not like I could have left Senior Elsie to die.”
“You should have been more careful!”
“…I’m deeply reflecting on that.”
She continued glaring at me with ferocious eyes before slightly shoving me away with another click of her tongue.
There was an unexpected amount of strength behind the shove. I had heard from Yuren that she was also training in martial arts, and judging from her strength, she seemed to be at a substantial level.
It was to the point where I wanted to check her skills in a spar.
However, it was obvious that my request for a spar would be met with a cold glare. It also wasn’t as if I could forcibly push her around until she fought me.
As I smacked my lips in disappointment, the Saintess spread her hands out towards the sky while looking at me as if I was pathetic.
“Hmph. In any case, you’re just like everyone else and of no help at all. You all come to me after recklessly getting injured and ask to be healed, treating me like some holy power pouch…”
She grumbled with discontent. However, it wasn’t as if I couldn’t understand where she was coming from since she did have to go through a lot to help all those in need.
But ‘holy power pouch’…
My gaze slowly trailed down her neck. Her chest drew a divine curve that captivated my mind as I recalled the soft, supple feeling of those heavenly mounds as they pressed up against my shoulder.
The Saintess’ eyes narrowed with a sharp glint.
“……Where are you looking?”
Ahem.
I faked a cough as I somehow managed to tear my eyes away. She looked at me with an increasingly disdainful look and lashed out.
“Tsk. Even with severe injuries that spilled your intestines, your eyes still head there? Men really are all the same. Damned horndogs.”
She blatantly expressed her contempt, and when I couldn’t meet her eyes or come up with an excuse, she became even more frustrated as she crossed her arms below her chest before lifting them from below.
“Here, here! Since you want to look so badly, look to your heart’s content. Seriously, I can’t believe you…”
I was starting to get annoyed as well.
I knew I was partly at fault for getting injured, but it was to save Senior Elsie. I had no regrets over the choice I made, and even from a strategic standpoint, it was the right decision at that moment.
She was the only combat mage among us. While Leto was also a mage, he was a magic scholar. As such, there was no one else who could take her place in battle.
Since that was the case, it was more logical for me to bear the dangers instead.
Admittedly, stealing a glance at her chest was completely my fault, but shouldn’t the blame be shared with her exceptionally blessed bosom that automatically attracted the attention of men? After all, those blessed twin orbs were another of Heavenly God Arus’ works.
It was utter nonsense – a logic a criminal would use to justify themselves. But I decided to overlook it for now.
“……Really?”
“Hah…”
The Saintess heaved an incredulous sigh before glaring at me scornfully.
“Yes, yes. Do whatever you want. Just stop getting hurt left and right from now on.”
She then leaned over and pushed her chest out, further emphasizing her chest that already seemed to overflow from her arms.
An odd sense of competitiveness filled me, and I positioned myself to better examine her mystical bust.
They were indeed massive. I wondered how it was possible for her body to hold such large, elastic goodness in place. Not to mention, they had a unique texture in addition to their characteristic softness.
I recalled the moments I was blessed with their touch. Although the day when I could directly enjoy them would never come, I knew from the few indirect contacts I had through our clothes.
Not only were they huge, they were also bouncy while simultaneously firm yet soft. They were perfect all around – a sight for sore eyes no matter what direction one observed them from.
She initially looked down at me with pride, but as the minutes passed, her milky-white cheeks gradually became dyed a deep red as she began squirming in place.
In the end, she failed to endure as she covered the pair of the Lord’s holy artistic interpretations from the eyes of this fervent believer. Emmanuel.
“……S-stop looking.”
“What? But you said I could look all I want.”
I was deeply appreciating the Saintess’ holy power pouches with a fulfilled heart, so when she told me to stop, I whined like a child whose toys were taken away.
Her pink eyes had long been stained with shame when she stammered in embarrassment.
“H-haven’t you seen enough?!”
“I could look at ‘em the whole day. Don’t tell me… did the Heavenly God’s most beloved maiden lied to a pitiful follower?”
“T-this is the first time someone’s stared so o-openly like this! At this rate, I’m not going to be a ‘maiden’ but a ‘slut’…..”
She trailed off abashedly, but I had no intention of letting her off the hook that easily.
At the very least, I wanted to pay her back and make her feel ashamed like I did whenever she looked down at me contemptuously.
“Tsk. Even so, how could you break a promise like that? If you want to resent anyone, resent yourself from a couple of minutes ago. Now, move your arms and- Aghhhhh!”
However, I couldn’t finish what I was saying as her palm met my back in a resounding slap.
The slap contained enough force that the shock reached my injury and painted my mind white from pain. My body instantly twisted in agony as an anguished scream escaped my throat.
But for some reason, she was the one who was more taken aback.
“A-a-are you okay?! Uh, just hold on and bear the pain for a bit! Your wound might burst open if you twist your body like that!”
As I groaned in pain, I directed a resentful gaze towards her, but she immediately avoided my gaze.
In the end, she bellowed out defensively after briefly fidgeting around.
“S-so who told you to stare like that?!”
“No, but… you told me I could……”
“A-anyways, stop! If you bring this matter up again, I’m going to send you to the Inquisition for sacrilege!”
I felt wronged, but no matter how aggrieved I was, the Saintess had nigh-incontestable authority bestowed by the Heavenly God while I was just the second son of a rural viscount. I had no choice but to listen to her.
Then, perhaps due to a guilty conscience, she gently took care of my wound.
She started unwinding the bandage dressed around my wound, and I felt I might even be able to slowly start moving around. While she continued to tend to my wound, I threw out a question.
“…….Is this the only reason you came here?”
The Saintess’ hand came to a still as her pink eyes turned to face me.
I didn’t know what was going on inside her head, but I let out a sigh.
“I’m asking if anything happened in the meantime.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, she also sighed.
“Hah….. It hasn’t been long since you woke up and you’re already itching to go? There are others at the orphanage, you know.”
“I have to get revenge.”
As I replied, I glanced down at my injured abdomen.
A noble had to return just as much as what they received – whether it was grace or a grudge. The demonic monkey slashed my stomach open, so I had to return the favor.
After staring into my eyes brimming with fighting spirit, the Saintess spoke up.
“…..Sister Delphine encountered the monkey beast in the forest.”
Fortunately, there was a clue on the beast.
That day, I left the hospital room with a sword and a hatchet hanging from my waist.
It was time to get my revenge.
**
By the time I left the hospital room, the sun was already setting.
It must’ve been several hours since Senior Elsie left the room.
While my treatment took hours, it was still a short time only made possible because she was the Saintess. I heard that even high-rank priests from the Holy Nation would have needed a week at the very least for an injury as severe as mine.
Honestly, it was nice having the Saintess with us For people like me who often got riddled with injuries, it was convenient to have a capable priest close by.
The Saintess joining us was, in many ways, purely by luck. Initially, I was a bit annoyed, but from a strictly logical perspective, she was an incredibly powerful addition to the team.
If it weren’t for her, I would have died two days ago as the closest temple from here was at least half a day’s ride on horseback.
It wasn’t a distance I could’ve survived with my abdomen pierced through. As such, I walked while being grateful for the good fortune the Heavenly God had bestowed upon me.
However, the orphanage was strangely silent. The children were being uncharacteristically conscious of the adults while Celine and Seria were nowhere to be seen.
I tilted my head as I continued walking.
Right as I was thinking it’d be nice to run into a familiar face, a man with curly, brown hair appeared. It was my best friend, Leto.
.
He was holding a hand to his forehead as if something was troubling him. I immediately raised my hand and called out to him.
“Leto!”
“…….What, isn’t it Ian? Is it okay for you to be out already?”
His voice sounded tired. Although I was puzzled as to why that was, I nodded first to reassure him.
“I was told it’d be okay as long as I don’t overdo it, so it should be fine anyhow.”
“What if you damage your body by not resting properly when you should? If that happens, Celine is going to be really upset.”
Although others might think he was scolding me, it was just his way of expressing himself. As a mage with a complex disposition, he couldn’t honestly convey his worries. It was something I already knew, so I didn’t get upset by the way he spoke to me.
I simply had something I was curious about, so I just asked him in response.
“Come to think of it, where is Celine? No, not just Celine, but where are all the adults? The kids are fairly quiet too…….”
Upon hearing my question, Leto’s brows immediately scrunched brows as he groaned.
“About that… Senior Delphine and Senior Elsie made a ruckus and caused a scene……”
“…….What? How come?”
The news caught me by surprise since I was on my way to see Senior Delphine. I was planning on piecing together information about the monkey beast with what she found out.
But hearing that the two fought out of nowhere was shocking, especially considering that only a few hours had passed since Senior Elsie left my hospital room.
Leto slowly started to recount the event.
“I don’t know the exact details. But from what I saw….”
*
Splash!
Water sprayed everywhere as the water droplets glistened under the relaxing afternoon sunlight.
The person who was abruptly splashed with water was a lady with golden hair whose eyes turned blank.
Her crimson eyes turned around in disbelief to see the doll-like girl standing in front of her.
The petite girl in front of her had sapphire-blue eyes that complemented her brown hair and dainty lips. With a large wide-brimmed mage hat adorning her head, the girl was glaring back with eyes dripping with malice.
A flat, chilling voice leaked from between her trembling lips.
“……Who do you think you are to talk shit about Ian?”
The two women were the Academy’s most infamous pairing like cats and dogs, Delphine and Elsie.
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