In the Carriage

What on earth has become of the Celestial God?

Bigrind knelt in the assembly hall of the central cathedral in Evian diocese, clasping her hands together and offering a prayer.

Bigrind prayed while tightly holding the rosary symbolizing the Celestial God.

And that prayer was an earnest plea for the Celestial God to look down upon this human.

Also, for strength to correct the Celestine Church that was rushing down the wrong path.

The Celestial God who appeared when Bigrind became a Saint.

Although the Celestial God had appeared like that, even after appearing, there had been no divine revelation other than warnings, let alone blessings.

That divine revelation saying a great calamity was approaching.

And the revelation that Ludvik and Bigrind must face that calamity.

Besides these, the human world needs blessings.

Good harvest.

Good fishing.

In the lives of humans represented by this Capatia Empire, what could be more precious than those two words?

The originally barren Northern Continent was an excessively harsh place for humans.

With the blessing of the Celestial God descending on such a place, it became a more livable place, and combined with humans’ unique adaptability, human influence in the Northern Continent became this strong.

But now that those blessings have stopped, good harvests and good fishing have become words heard only occasionally, and the current situation is a vicious cycle where the population increases but living conditions become more impoverished.

So now, more than ever, the blessing of the Celestial God was desperately needed.

And in the midst of this, one Saint was offering a desperate prayer, and that was Bigrind.

The door of the assembly hall opened silently, and a man entered.

The sunset light cast a long shadow into the hall.

A black shadow in the crimson sunset.

The tall man entered the assembly hall quietly, slowly came in, and sat on a long bench placed in the hall, endlessly gazing at Bigrind’s back.

A man with brown hair.

Staring at Bigrind’s back with infinitely gloomy eyes, Ludvik kept his mouth tightly shut.

‘What… am I doing?’

As always, he had been confident in his martial skills.

The title of Gold-rank Adventurer had always been a name that adorned him, and on top of that, he was given the honor of being a Hero and the power of the Celestial God, along with the weapon called the divine spear.

Moreover, he had Bigrind, the Saint who always firmly supported him.

For such a person, the yoke of fear no longer seemed necessary.

That’s why he had bravely charged in, and thought he had finally defeated [the enemy]—

Such a miserable defeat.

And since that day, he could tell that even the cathedral knights and priests looked at him with strangely different eyes.

‘What on earth am I doing?’

In fact, such things didn’t matter.

If one were the type to care about others’ gazes, they wouldn’t even reach the level of Gold-rank Adventurer.

They would have become a corpse lying in some corner of an unknown dungeon.

What’s troubling Ludvik now is a single statement Bigrind left:

• • Isn’t it all defined by the Celestine Church whether someone is an apostate or not? Well then, let me ask you, Hero. Whose Hero are you really? Are you the Hero who upholds the will of the Celestial God and carries out His intentions, or are you the Hero—no, the puppet of the current Celestine Church which has rotted to the core, making even the Celestial God sigh? Which is it really?

    Ludvik covered his face and rubbed it dry.

    Even now, Bigrind’s back, quietly kneeling and offering prayers, showed not the slightest tremor, but what was shaking was Ludvik’s heart alone.

    Ludvik sank into deep and profound contemplation.

 

“Ah, I’m really annoyed.”

Yona’s lips were protruding sulkily.

When Rubina saw Yona like this and patted her chest, Yona finally looked down at Rubina.

“Big sister isn’t angry. I’m just in a bad mood, that’s all. I’m not angry at Rubina, so you don’t need to worry. Okay?”

Rubina nodded as if she understood.

Yona stroked Rubina’s head and looked out the carriage window.

When she slightly lifted her front collar to look down at her chest, she felt exasperated.

The tattoo that had covered her right breast, after absorbing Damian’s power, was now covering her left breast.

So now, if you look at it, Yona’s upper body is completely covered in tattoos.

Moreover, Damian’s tattoo is shaped like a mouth with teeth showing, so its appearance is truly horrific.

‘It really looked terrible. Sigh…’

After all, Yona’s pale white skin had been her pride, but now it’s covered with such tattoos, so how could she feel good about it?

Although it can’t be helped, this is still too much.

【Do you have some worry?】

‘I’m worried that I didn’t know you were this weak, why?’

Why did Berbaria have to speak up at this moment of all times?

【…It was just a bad match-up, Saint. You seem to misunderstand.】

‘You’re talking nonsense about match-ups.’

If he had lost fighting Damian, it would be a different story, but he was completely and utterly defeated not even by Damian, but by Damian’s underling.

Yona had trusted Berbaria and rushed in like that, but when Berbaria was defeated like that, she was truly helpless.

If it hadn’t been for Bigrind, perhaps Yona, Alec, and the entire group would have all died there.

She hadn’t expected Berbaria, who was strong enough to overturn the Church territory like that, to be defeated so helplessly.

【Damian is one of the top-ranking strong ones among the demon Grand Dukes. He’s a being of a different class from a local folk deity like me, so it couldn’t be helped…】

‘If it wasn’t for Bigrind, we really would have all died… Sheesh.’

【Damian was that strong as a human. He was human, and because he had so many lives, he became of the same class as demons.】

Berbaria was speaking carelessly.

It’s not something Yona doesn’t know.

Hadn’t she already clashed with him once?

She knows it all the better for that reason.

But what’s annoying Yona now isn’t that reason.

Because of various events until now, she had been quiet for a while.

But now, being peaceful all the way to Port Lukasia like this.

And with Alec constantly hovering in front of her eyes.

The fact that a ticklish feeling is rising from her lower abdomen.

This is the problem.

Yona knew well what this was.

And because she knew well, it was that much more of an awkward situation.

It’s nonsense to play with herself in the carriage, but just letting it build up is driving her crazy.

As those feelings built up and up, they finally sublimated into irritation.

‘Hey, Berbaria.’

【What is it, Saint?】

‘Damian died, and I only absorbed his power, right?’

【That is correct.】

Berbaria had devoured the human Damian well.

In the end, that sorcery power became Yona’s strength, and knowledge about sorcery is also being gradually absorbed by Yona.

But unlike Berbaria, Damian didn’t speak to her in her mental world, and even when she tried calling out to him just in case, he didn’t answer.

He must have died after all.

He must have died and disappeared.

Bigrind had said that in the end, he disappeared while screaming, absorbed into something called the Gate of Heaven, so it must certainly be so.

‘Then that means you’re the only one who can dwell in me and speak to me now, right?’

【That’s right.】

So, it’s a legitimate deduction.

After all, it’s been nearly 3 years since she became a woman’s body.

It’s not that she hasn’t tried playing with herself a bit during that time, but it was the last time that it really became unbearably intense for the first time.

And now there’s a high possibility of it becoming like that again.

‘…You, um… perhaps, um.’

【What are you trying to say, Saint?】

Yona screamed inwardly, “Aaaargh!”

Even now, the itchy, tingling sensation in her lower abdomen, as if ants were crawling around, is throbbing unbearably.

Meanwhile, from Alec sitting next to her, that wild scent mixed with sweat is wafting over.

‘I need to shave Alec’s head again.’

His jet-black hair is unusually lush.

So just by sweeping it back and styling it a bit, his face suddenly comes alive.

Yes, that’s the problem.

Wasn’t he quite good-looking to begin with?

Plus those broad shoulders, and um—well, from what she glimpsed, those firm and tightly packed muscles.

The lean muscles tightly fitted between those large muscle groups can only be described as firm, nothing else.

And on top of that, he has a good face, and with his hair swept back and styled, he looks not like an adventurer but like some noble cathedral knight.

‘No, he is actually a cathedral knight.’

That’s right, he is.

So in the end, it means he’s good in looks, strength, and background—

Is it enough to just have good looks, strength, and background?

It all fits, damn it.

Yona was going crazy every time Alec hovered in front of her eyes.

【Saint, why aren’t you speaking?】

‘…It’s nothing, nothing.’

She couldn’t bring herself to ask if she was going into heat because of him, could she?

“I’ll rent out the entire inn today. I think it would be fine for all of us to rest comfortably.”

“Huh? Is that okay?”

Yona asked with round eyes at Alebiang’s words.

No matter what, given what they’ve been doing until now, is it possible to rent an inn and sleep?

Of course, if it’s possible, there’s nothing better than that.

“Anyway, Lukasia is closely connected to Evian diocese, so it should be fine. If anyone says anything, we can just use the Saint’s name a bit.”

Yona nodded at Alebiang’s words.

When you hear it, it makes sense, doesn’t it?

Yona hasn’t been to Lukasia either, so she can’t say much, but using Bigrind’s name should solve things.

It seems that the value of the name that helped save Evian by assisting the Saint might still be more effective than the name of apostate.

And maybe this is an opportunity to somehow quell this burning sexual desire.