9 - Chapter 6: Episode 6 [Saintess...?]
Right, Saintess Aria.
There's no way she'd lose to desire.
Even as I rationalized it,
Aria slowly crept closer to my side.
Aria, who had pressed close enough for her shoulder to touch mine,
then tightly hugged my arm between her breasts.
"Gulp."
That sight was a bit too stimulating for me.
I'd spent my life on battlefields,
and even though all my comrades were women,
we were always busy fighting, standing guard, and just trying to recover from fatigue.
So, before things got even more awkward, I had to get her off me.
"Um, Aria?"
She looked up at me, smiling brightly.
"Yes!"
"So, how long are you going to keep doing this?"
"Until the Curse is fixed, of course!"
"No, I wasn't talking about that, I meant, could you perhaps step back a little?"
"Oh no! We don't know what might happen!"
"But there's no need to stick to me like this..."
"There is! What if someone comes and snatches Yuria away?"
"Come on, this is The Capital's Royal Palace."
"Didn't you get dragged away by the Four Heavenly Kings' Succubus Queen last time because you were too relaxed?"
"Well, that was..."
If she brings that up, I've got nothing to say.
After all, it was the Saintess who saved me right before I was completely devoured by the Queen.
She heroically rescued me, turning all those monsters into a bloody mess with her mace.
But seriously?
I'm a man too.
If a woman's breasts keep pressing against me like this...
I turned to my right and looked down to see
Aria's innocent silver hair and endlessly transparent eyes.
Lowering my gaze a bit more,
her breasts, making their presence abundantly clear, were tightly squeezing my arm.
On top of that, a subtly sweet scent and her alluring breath had been caressing my skin for a while now.
"Hmph."
I need to maintain my composure.
My composure...
I am the Hero.
I cannot lose to desire.
Even with such self-hypnosis,
the desire wouldn't easily recede.
Right.
Let's recall the saddest thing.
Yes, the incident when the Demon Race trampled my village when I was young.
"Sigh..."
The worldly desires slowly began to fade.
But I can't let my guard down yet.
Other thoughts.
Let's think of other things.
Come to think of it, what about Aria's Coitus Stat?
Aria Stats
【 Name 】
Aria : Lv 95
【 Stats 】
▷Strength : 101
▷Agility : 65
▷Stamina : 70
▷Mana : 30
▷Holy Power : 115
▷Coitus : 90
Uh...
Hmm...
The first thought that came to mind after seeing that was,
"I should not mess with Aria."
What the... No...
How could a Saintess...?
Her Coitus Stat is 90?
Saintess Aria is, of course, a virgin.
It's a fact I coincidentally learned while adventuring with her.
How could a virgin Aria...
If I was so utterly devoured by Enma, who only had a Coitus Stat of 6,
then if I were to be raped by Aria, who has 90...
"Gulp."
"What's wrong? Hero, are you nervous?"
"Ah... No, hahahaha."
Plus, my stat is only 3 right now, so to reach 90...
Nope.
Can't do it.
Impossible.
Let's give up.
Right, all I can do is pray that Aria doesn't lose her composure.
Because if she loses her composure and pounces on me, there'll be no way to stop her.
Right, I thought it wouldn't be bad to just borrow her strength.
She is already a person so strong that there's no one among humans who can rival her.
On top of that, she holds the position of Saintess, with authority equal to the Pope.
Who would dare bare their fangs at her?
Why worry about things that haven't happened?
Let's trust her, the Saintess,
and think about what's next.
Thanks to Aria, my personal safety is secure, so maybe I should think about solving this problem?
"Aria, I think I need to discuss this with the other comrades."
"Huh...?"
"Ultimately, we have to get rid of this Curse-like Trait, right?"
"That's true, but..."
Aria looked somewhat displeased.
"Why? Is there something you're worried about?"
"Well, it's just..."
She took a breath, then spoke in a serious tone.
"Yuria, I'll protect you my whole life, so how about we live together?"
"Uh...?"
"Let's build a house on some good land in a rural village and live together."
"You mean..."
"That's right! Since things have come to this, I'll take responsibility for you until the very end!"
I can't do that.
"No, Aria, I'm sorry."
"Why...?"
"I'm sorry, Aria, but I'm not rejecting your feelings."
"What?! You mean—!"
"But not right now."
"Why not?"
"Let's first resolve this Curse-like Trait, and when everything is truly over, then let's be happy, okay?"
Aria couldn't quite hide her disappointed expression.
"Mmm... I understand."
"I'm sorry for being so stubborn. When everything is over, Aria, I'll grant your wish."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Any wish?"
"Yes, any wish!"
"Alright!"
Though I had rejected her proposal,
I didn't dislike her feelings either.
However, there was something weighing on my mind.
Even though the Demon King was defeated,
with the remnants of this Curse still lingering,
I couldn't consider it truly over.
The unease remaining in a corner of my heart.
The Curse he left behind.
I must resolve this first.
If, by some chance, I were to fall into the hands of the defeated remnants...
Humanity would have to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
If that were to happen, I'd rather
just commit suicide...
"Yuria! You just had a bad thought, didn't you?"
She noticed it like a ghost.
As expected of Aria.
"Haha... Could you tell?"
"I know what you're thinking, but if you think like that one more time, I'll kidnap you and lock you up for life, okay?"
"Uh... huh? Ah, I understand."
That look in her eyes was serious.
Whenever Aria gave that look, she was always serious.
I need to change the topic.
Right.
That's right, I need to break this Curse first.
To do that, I need the help of my comrades.
"Aria, then we need to solve this problem first, right? Let's gather the comrades and have a meeting."
"Um..."
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"This time, could we gather everyone except Ella?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Well, Ella is..."
"Ella is?"
"Oh, right! She said she's busy with research and would be hard to contact for a while."
"Really?"
Did Ella say that?
Well, if Aria says so, it must be true, right?
"Then I guess we'll have to gather everyone except Ella and talk?"
"Ah, yes!"
"Are they outside?"
"Yes, you may give your command."
"Could you please bring Cynthia and Lily to the room?"
"Yes, understood."
With that, the sound of footsteps faded away.
"But, sigh, since even the Goddess isn't answering, what should we do?"
"Indeed..."
Aria finally let go of my arm and stepped away.
She seemed to be pondering for a while, then...
"Um, Yuria."
"Huh?"
"When Lily and Cynthia arrive, I'd like to have some time for us women to talk first."
"Oh? Should I go to the next room then?"
"Yes, I'd be grateful if you did that."
"Well, no need to be that grateful."
"Hehe, Yuria is the best, as expected! Oh, and no eavesdropping, okay?"
"Do I look like the kind of person who would eavesdrop on women's conversations?"
"No, hehe."
Just then, the Maid's voice was heard from outside.
"Lily and Cynthia have arrived."
"Ah, they're both here. So I'll go to the reception room then?"
"Yes."
I opened the door to the reception room and entered.
Inside, Enma, who had arrived earlier, was visible.
"Hero..."
"Alright, Enma, are you a bit calmer now?"
"Yes... I don't know how to thank you..."
"Don't worry, that incident wasn't your fault."
"But Hero, why are you here?"
"Ah, well, the women said they wanted to talk among themselves, so I'll just stay here until they're done."
I am Saintess Aria.
I had thought that after defeating the Demon King, I would live a happy life with Yuria, the Hero.
That was just an hour ago, mind you.
That is, until some damn Maid stole Yuria's first experience.
Even now, I want to storm into that reception room and smash the Maid's head with my mace, but...
if I did that, I'd never win the Hero's love.
Hero Yuria, with his endlessly noble and pure heart.
Ah...
Hero...
My love, Hero Yuria.
His spotless, pure heart was always so beautiful and dazzling to behold.
That's why
he tries to protect those who suffered due to his mistakes, to the very end.
Even if it means pushing himself too hard.
While I love that side of him,
sometimes I worry about him.
That's why I have to protect him.
The comrades entered the room.
"So, why did you gather us all?"
"This is Yuria's room, but where's Yuria, and why are you here?"
They were comrades,
but also my rivals in love.
That's why I plan to deceive them, mixing truth with lies.
"Alright, alright, I have a major announcement to make. Please take a seat."
"What the hell is this? The desk is completely smashed!"
"Seriously, Aria, did you do this again? I told you not to go around senselessly breaking things!"
The comrades, seeing Yuria wasn't there, started subtly getting on my nerves.
"Haha, I didn't break that, you know?"
Only then did they realize that Yuria was the one who had smashed the desk.
"Ah, well then... I guess he must have been angry about something."
"Yeah, yeah, it's good to smash things and relieve stress sometimes."
These crazy bitches' attitude changes are top-notch.
"Alright, I didn't call you here for idle chatter."
"Then?"
"Sigh, sit down. This might take a while."
Aria explained Yuria's current condition and everything that had happened so far.
"And one more thing: Yuria loses himself every time he has relations. So don't get any wild ideas."
"Tch, fine."
"I thought you'd be the first to pounce on him, surprisingly."
"Haha, do you think I'm like you guys? There's no way I'd do anything to harm Yuria, right?"
I will share true love with Yuria.
Not through dirty and despicable methods like rape.
"So that's why you didn't call Ella, huh?"
"Yes, because who knows what that crazy mage might do. So let's keep this a secret from Ella."
"Alright, I agree with that."
"Me too."
"That's a relief."
The discussion ended more smoothly than expected.
"Shall we bring Yuria over now?"
"Where is Yuria?"
"Oh, he's in the inner reception room."
"Then should we just go over there to talk?"
"This place is all broken anyway."
"Good."
With that, the three women opened the door to the reception room.
And what met their eyes was...
Enma pouncing on Yuria, forcibly tearing his clothes to shreds.
"St-stop, Enma, please!!"