episode_0218

“Are you both doing well?”

“Yes. Nothing unusual happened.”

I vaguely replied, not feeling the need to explain in detail, when one of the little kids shouted.

“Saintess! They kissed!”

“Huh? Kiss?”

“Yes! The older kids asked if they had lovers, and they said they were dating, then they kissed!”

The Saintess’s gaze turned to me.

Her eyes were full of confusion. Since I had just said we were only colleagues a few days ago, such words would be quite hard to believe.

“Young Master. Is this true?”

“Shall we move somewhere first? It’s a bit difficult to talk about here.”

“…Must we go that far?”

“It’s not good for the children’s education, is it?”

I gestured around.

The Saintess looked at the children encircling us and nodded.

“Alright. Follow me.”

Leaving the children with Deborah, we headed to the deserted backyard.

The Saintess faced me and asked.

“Now, please answer. Was what they said earlier true?”

“Both yes and no.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means truth and falsehood are mixed.”

As I continued to answer ambiguously, the Saintess frowned, looking frustrated.

She placed her hands on her hips.

“Which part?”

“We are indeed colleagues.”

This implied that we did kiss.

Though we weren’t lovers, the fact that we had freely kissed in front of others seemed to shock her; the Saintess’s eyes widened in horror.

She stammered, asking with difficulty.

“C-can you do that? Isn’t there a moral issue…?”

“We don’t really have lovers, do we? What’s the big deal? When unattached young men and women spend time together, a kiss might happen.”

“Even so, that’s…”

As if her way of thinking couldn’t accept it, she stiffened, moving like a broken robot.

Seeing that, a sudden playfulness surged within me.

‘I want to tease her.’

I suppose I’d be surprised if I heard something like that too, but if her reaction is that good, I can’t just leave her alone.

I grinned, dropping a bombshell as if it were nothing.

“It’s not that big of a deal. I could even do it with you, Saintess.”

“W-what did you say? Y-you’d do it with m-me?”

“Yes. If you want to kiss, just say the word. I’m fine with it.”

“U-uh, u-u-uuh…!”

The Saintess’s face rapidly flushed.

Her face, flushed red as if it would burst any moment, was like a tomato.

Seeing her beautiful golden eyes trace my lips, I wondered if she was imagining kissing me in her mind.

I took a big step forward.

“Shriek! No!”

As if she thought I was going to pounce on her lips, the Saintess made a fuss and backed away.

It was impressive how she stuck flat against the wall.

While feeling satisfied, I outwardly wore a puzzled expression.

“Why are you avoiding it so much? How big of a deal is a kiss, anyway?”

“Y-you playboy! Young Master is a playboy!”

“Me? I’ve never toyed with a woman’s heart.”

“But you’re doing it to me right now! Trying to kiss me without taking responsibility!”

She just said something quite interesting.

The Saintess’s statement was ordinary, but it was the kind that could easily be twisted.

I deliberately misinterpreted it.

“Then, if I say I’ll take responsibility, can I kiss you?”

“W-what?”

“I’ll take responsibility, so, will you kiss me?”

Saying that, I approached the Saintess.

As the distance closed, the Saintess’s eyes trembled.

Soon, I was very close.

Reaching out and holding her soft cheek, I lowered my voice significantly and whispered.

“Iris. Close your eyes.”

“Uh, ugh!”

The Saintess, not knowing what to do, rolled her eyes nervously.

In her confusion, when I brought my lips closer, swept away by the atmosphere, she mistakenly closed her eyes.

If I kissed the Saintess like this, I might really go straight to marriage.

Then I’d be able to freely touch those alluring, voluptuous breasts.

‘Tempting.’

Besides this, there was also the advantage that I could almost perfectly escape suspicion of being a transmigrator, but I couldn’t bring myself to force the kiss.

After pushing Deborah away with all sorts of excuses, to then get together with the Saintess is something even trash wouldn’t do.

I flicked the Saintess’s forehead.

Thwack!

“Ow!”

With a groan, the Saintess clutched her forehead.

She shed a few tears and cried out, as if feeling wronged.

“Why did you hit me!”

“Then why did you close your eyes, Saintess? Did you perhaps want to kiss me?”

“N-no, I didn’t! It just happened to…”

“It just happened? Do you just happen to kiss any man, Saintess?”

“W-what are you talking about! It’s because it’s you, Young Master! I wouldn’t do that with other men!”

What in the world did that mean?

Other men aren’t allowed, but I am? Even if I tried not to think that way, my mind arbitrarily brought up one possibility.

‘Could it be that she likes me?’

Thinking about it, the Saintess had shown a rather favorable attitude from our very first meeting.

Even when I stared intently at her chest, she didn’t curse much. And when I said my head seemed hurt, she even gave me extra treatment.

She even lifted her chest and jiggled it, claiming she was testing if I was truly fine.

If all that was because she fell for me at first sight, then it made sense.

I opened my mouth with a sigh.

“Saintess. I apologize, but I have no intention of dating yet.”

“…Huh? What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Didn’t you just say it? That other men aren’t allowed, but I am. Doesn’t that mean you love me?”

The light vanished from the Saintess’s eyes.

From her golden eyes, which had been staring blankly at me, rage blazed.

“Not at all! Why would I love Young Master?”

“Then do you dislike me?”

“It’s not that I dislike you, but I don’t love you either! You playboy! After kissing Deborah!”

Thump! Thump!

The Saintess thumped my chest.

Outwardly, it looked like a slender beautiful girl throwing a tantrum, but her fists, trained in martial arts, packed an unusual punch.

Even with these light thumps, a subtle profound principle was mixed in, and the impact pierced through my skin, reaching my bones.

The Saintess probably wasn’t consciously aware of it, acting instinctively. It meant her skills had become completely internalized.

In suffocating pain, I quickly grabbed the Saintess’s arm, stopping her.

“Please stop.”

“Let go! I haven’t hit you enough yet!”

“If I get hit any more, I’ll die. Please stop.”

After I repeated it several times, the Saintess, as if finally sensing my sincerity, stopped.

As if she’d never been angry, she cautiously examined my chest with a worried expression.

“Did it hurt a lot?”

“Moderately. If I’d been hit two more times, my breastbone would have broken.”

“That’s serious! Stay still.”

Perhaps feeling sorry for my completely honest answer, the Saintess quickly placed her hand on my chest.

Divine power flashed and began to heal the impact.

As the pain subsided, my suffocated breathing regained stability.

It was at that moment.

Thud!

“Iris-nim! It’s about time to move to the dining hall… What are you two doing?”

Deborah, who had opened the door and entered, asked a question, then saw us and her eyes narrowed into a glare.

The Saintess was greatly flustered.

“Ah! D-Deborah.”

Yet her hand didn’t leave my chest. This was because the treatment wasn’t fully complete yet.

Having worked as a Saintess for many years, her obsession with healing had become fanatical.

To the extent that she couldn’t stop the treatment, even if she received the jealous gaze of a woman.

However, fortunately, Deborah seemed to quickly realize that treatment was underway, and she regained her composure.

“The children will be moving to the dining hall. I’ll go ahead, so you can come there.”

Clunk!

With those words, Deborah closed the door.

The Saintess, who had been frozen for a moment, made a tearful face and clung to me.

“Young Master, what should we do?”

“About what?”

“Sh-she might misunderstand! Aren’t you worried, Young Master?”

“Not particularly? I told you, Deborah and I aren’t dating. Besides, Deborah said she didn’t care what I did with other women.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. So don’t worry.”

The Saintess tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand and fell into deep thought.

I waited for her to calm down sufficiently, then subtly patted her shoulder.

“Anyway, let’s go now. It’s finally the long-awaited cake tasting time.”

“Ah, ah! Yes! L-let’s go!”

Whatever she was thinking about, the Saintess’s face flushed slightly, and she hastily rushed outside.

I shrugged and followed behind.

A moment later, when we arrived at the dining hall, the children were sitting in their respective seats, trembling with fear.

They were afraid of the fact that they would soon have to eat the horrible food.

The relatively normal children were a small minority who were still too young to have ever tasted the Saintess’s cooking.

Perhaps among them, there would be children tasting the Saintess’s food for the very first time today.

Then, the cake finally appeared.

Rumble!

The orphanage director approached, pushing a three-tiered cake on a tray.

The children flinched and looked at the cake, then, seeing its surprisingly normal appearance, they felt a glimmer of hope.

“Huh? What is this?”

“Could it be that she bought it?”

However, the older children still glared at the cake with suspicion.

“Don’t let your guard down, everyone. You never know.”

“That’s right. You get betrayed because you have expectations. If you don’t have expectations in the first place, there’s nothing to be disappointed about.”

A famous line I felt I’d heard somewhere before.

While observing their reactions, the Saintess quickly ran over and helped the orphanage director.

She lowered the cake to the center, skillfully cut it, and placed portions onto small plates.

Deborah and I each distributed one to the children.

Soon, everyone had a piece of cake.

“Alright, everyone, shouldn’t you all thank the Saintess? She must have worked hard making the cake.”

-Whoa…

-Thank youuu…

Their voices completely lacked gratitude.

Normally, the orphanage director would have sternly lectured the children, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so and subtly let it slide.

“Then, everyone, let’s eat the cake. It looks truly delicious.”

The orphanage director raised her forced enthusiasm, cutting the cake with a fork and bringing it to her mouth.

Her face was as if she were drinking poison.

The children even hastily averted their gaze, as if they couldn’t bear to watch the sight.

Finally, the cake vanished into her mouth, and the orphanage director, who had been tasting the cake with a grimace, her eyes widened as she blurted out her surprise.

“Hmm? It’s, it’s delicious?”

As if she couldn’t trust her own judgment, she tasted the cake once more.

And then she drew a conclusion.

“Kids! H-hurry and try it! It’s a truly delicious cake! Hurry!”

At her face, full of a bright smile as if it were no lie, hope dawned on the children’s faces as well.

One by one, they began to taste the cake.

“Wow! It’s delicious!”

“It’s sweet!”

“This is amazing!”

The children each exclaimed in admiration and devoured the cake like crazy.

The Saintess, who had been anxiously observing the situation until then, upon seeing those reactions, finally let out a sigh of relief.

She expressed her gratitude to Deborah.

“Deborah. Thank you. Thanks to you, the children seem to be enjoying it.”

“Don’t mention it. All I did was give you the recipe. There are so many people who can’t do it even if they’re given the recipe.”

“Still. Thank you very much!”

“If you’re grateful, then keep following the recipe well in the future. Now, let’s eat too!”

After exchanging amicable smiles, Deborah and the Saintess turned their attention to the cake.

I also slowly tasted the cake.

‘It’s delicious.’

It was a taste I had already become familiar with from several tastings, but eating it with everyone made it even better.

After the cake tasting ended, we came to the lounge.

Looking out the window, perhaps because it was winter, the sun had set and it was dark.

“Ruan! I’ll be going first then. I need to help my master. She’s probably preparing food now.”

“Oh, okay. Go on. See you in a bit.”

Just then, Deborah left to prepare for the party, and it was just the Saintess and I left.

Suddenly, the Saintess sprang up and extinguished the magic lamp that illuminated the room.

“Saintess?”

As I stood up, calling her name in confusion.

“Y-young Master. Will you close your eyes?”

The Saintess’s face was flushed so red that it was visible even in the darkened room, and she pleaded.

In the unusual atmosphere, I blurted out a silly remark.

“It’s already dark, though?”

“Even so! Close your eyes!”

“…Alright.”

Suppressing the pounding of my heart, I slowly closed my eyes.

My vision was cut off.

Rustle— Rustle—

The sound of cloth brushing against a body was heard.

At that imagination-provoking sound, I unconsciously swallowed.

How much time had passed?

Time passed, feeling both instantaneous and eternal, and the Saintess’s permission came.

“You can open your eyes now.”

“……”

It was a strangely alluring voice.

With a feeling I had never imagined experiencing from the Saintess, as I cautiously opened my eyes, an equally unimaginable sight entered my vision.

“Gasp!”

The Saintess was revealing her chest.

She pulled up the front of her nun’s habit and bit it with her lips to hold it in place, and holding her chest as if supporting it with both hands, she slightly offered it to me.

Instead of the innocent white underwear I had seen before, sexy black lingerie was barely containing her massive, voluptuous breasts.

On the skin that the bra couldn’t quite cover, moonlight fell and shone pure white.

As I stared blankly at her chest, the Saintess mumbled.

“D-do you want to touch them?”

“…Huh?”

“My chest. Do you want to touch it?”

It was a shocking proposal.

At that sudden proposal, I didn’t hesitate… but immediately accepted.

I had regretted refusing last time, so I couldn’t miss this opportunity again.