Ch. 131 ■■ takes a hit
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 131: ■■ takes a hit
Translator Note
So minor homophobia warning I guess? I feel like I need to mention it at the very least!! If that is something that makes you uncomfortable I totally understand!! I will put a TL note at the end summarizing what you need to know about the chapter if you want to skip it!
Ever since the incident during the holiday, Leon had a lot on his mind.
In an empty room, he quietly held a staff. Not the common brown staff, but a pure white one.
A branch received from the spirit of the white tree after the Saint descended to this land and made a covenant with it.
In his dreams, he was chosen by this staff and performed great deeds. He nearly destroyed the persistent Shadow Cult, a heretical group connected to the forces that had harmed his mother in reality and even sealed away the Evil God.
As he tried to recall the faint memories from the dream, Sugar and Riley came to mind.
Sugar, whose life had been utterly ruined, and Riley, who used her to summon the Evil God. It was a dynamic hard to imagine in reality, but in the dream, it had happened that way.
Returning to reality, he recently heard their story. He learned about their long-standing enmity since childhood with the groups.
Something is happening.
It feels like a massive whirlpool is forming, intertwining destinies, much like the heroic tales from his dreams.
What if they hadn’t escaped the cult that day? What if Sugar had been more passive? What if Riley had been even more twisted?
Each assumption, each possibility. A world where the future is unpredictable due to slight shifts and misalignments. If even one thing had gone wrong, reality might have flowed similarly to the dream world.
Leon sighed. The thought, “If Sugar hadn’t escaped and things had gone like in the dream, would my mother have been safe?” crept into his mind.
He really was hitting rock bottom, he was annoyed with himself.
Though it had reached a point where he couldn’t dismiss it by saying, “It’s just a dream”, at the end of the day that’s all it was, a dream.
No matter what assumptions he made now, nothing would change. He had to move forward.
He tried hard to erase his delusions and forget his regrets. He suppressed his dark thoughts and lifted his head.
Come to think of it, there was one person who didn’t appear in the dream.
‘…Ian.’
He had never really seen him before. Sometimes, a familiar figure would pass by at school, startling him. No matter how much he racked his brain, there was no scene involving ‘His Holiness.’
Someone so beautiful would surely be memorable if he had seen him even once.
He vaguely remembered hearing that the Saintess had a younger sister, but that was just a dream. The student council president was a man in the dream, but in reality, it was a woman.
So in the end he decided to let it go.
Whatever, he had become his friend.
A beautiful and noble person with a floral scent. A delicate figure with soft lines, pink lips that kept drawing his gaze—
‘No, no, no.’
He clutched his head.
What was he thinking? Pink lips?
He banged his head against the wall. A thud echoed from the next room, but he didn’t care.
That holiday. It was because of the ‘baptism’ he received then. He could brush off everything else that had happened with a ‘well… okay,’ but the forehead kiss was too much.
‘No… it was a baptism. A hastily performed baptism in a life-threatening emergency.’
A man kissing another man’s forehead? If anything, Ian would be the one feeling uncomfortable. Yet, he had done it to save a friend.
A hundred thanks wouldn’t be enough. But how could he have such impure thoughts?
The incredibly soft and moist lips, the thick floral scent that enveloped him and t+he lap pillow that made him feel like he was melting.
It was all done out of goodwill. Out of a heart that loved people.
‘Leon… if you keep doing that, your forehead will get hurt. Doesn’t it hurt? Here… let me kiss it for you…’
“Ahhhhh!!”
He kept banging his forehead. Once the delusions started, they chained together, and he had no choice but to beat his head to forget.
How dare he, a commoner, have such delusions about the grace bestowed by His Holiness. It was outrageous.
Outrageous!
“He’s a man! A man!”
Ian is a man. Not the Saintess, but His Holiness. Even if he hugged him, crawled into his bed, had a pleasant scent, a slender body, and kissed his forehead, he was a man.
He thought he had sorted out his feelings after that incident with the enormous female student’s chest.
He was wrong.
Whatever he felt towards Ian had been growing day by day.
A new connection he met in reality. A friend who warmly told him, as the highest authority in the land, that he would comfort him.
But how dare, how dare, how dare—
“Ha…”
Leon felt that this couldn’t go on. The guilt was piling up. He wanted to vent it somewhere. He was tired of suffering alone.
Someone he could talk to? His pride wouldn’t allow him to talk to that couple. He could clearly see them teasing him, saying, “Finally admitting it?” They might listen seriously, but they weren’t the ones who could absolve his sins.
A place to confess his secrets. A place to confess his sins.
‘…Confessional?’
He had received baptism. As a member of the Saint’s Church, he could use the confessional.
There was no better place in his current situation. Once the thought occurred, his feet moved on their own.
The sooner he acted, the better—
***************
“-Lately, I keep finding myself drawn to a certain man.”
Inside the confessional.
Ian, sitting across from Leon, felt her mind go blank.
What is he saying now?
Regardless, the sinner who had opened his mouth continued his confession.
“Before I know it, I’m following him with my eyes. I react to every little thing he does, and I can’t help but notice him. When I’m alone, I start fantasizing about him. And… well, they’re a bit… unhealthy fantasies.”
‘What!?’
“I don’t know how to describe this feeling. It’s my first time feeling this way… But I know it’s a feeling I shouldn’t have. It’s an improper attraction towards a man.”
Homosexuality was forbidden by the Saint’s Church. Not only that, but it was also heavily taboo in this world.
Listening to her friend’s calm confession, Ian was thrown into confusion. This friend, who seemed the least likely to be gay, was not only gay but also having indecent fantasies!
She covered her mouth, breathing slowly to hide her shocked gasps.
“I want to get rid of this feeling, but the more time I spend with him, the more it grows.”
‘Someone close? Is the person someone close to him?’
Who were the men around Leon? Ian quickly racked her brain.
“He’s such a loving person, so even the smallest things he does without thinking make me notice him more.”
‘A loving person?’
“He’s also very handsome, which makes it even more stimulating…”
‘Handsome?’
“His diligent study habits, his excellent magic skills, the way he cares for those around him… I can’t help but admire him. At first, I mistook it for that.”
‘Diligent study habits… excellent magic skills… caring for others…’
A vague image of someone began to form in her mind.
At the same time, her face turned pale.
‘No… it can’t be… Leon… no way…?’
“But… ah. When I see his sun-like hair fluttering… I… I…”
As he spoke, Leon, entranced, let out a sigh.
Sun-like hair. Probably a golden hue.
The answer was almost confirmed in Ian’s mind. The realization was so heavy and terrifying that she couldn’t stop her body from trembling.
Why, of all things, why.
This shouldn’t happen. This absolutely shouldn’t happen.
Why did you develop such feelings?
‘Leon likes Riley!’
He’ll be killed by Sugar!
‘How on earth did you end up liking Riley!?’
It’s a bomb. An unintended bomb.
A loving person→ Extremely loving towards Sugar.
Handsome.
Diligent study habits.
Excellent magic skills.
Caring for others→ cares for Sugar.
Sun-like hair.
‘…When you list the traits, he is quite charming.’
Even men are captivated by him, Sugar’s jealousy is somewhat understandable.
But Ian knows. She knows how quietly Sugar can wield a knife. How quickly she can target someone. Her execution. Her actions.
The killing intent hidden beneath those pretty eyes, the sticky, suffocating aura.
Afraid someone might have heard, she glanced around. Even though the confessional was soundproof, she was still scared.
“Father, what should I do?”
Snapping back to attention at the question, she responded.
“H-How about slowly distancing yourself and sorting out your feelings?”
“Distance… is that the only way?”
“I’m afraid so. It would be good to focus on other interests, other friends.”
That was all she could offer, so she continued hesitantly.
Making Leon sort out his feelings quickly, ensuring Sugar doesn’t notice.
She continued to offer related advice.
As they conversed, time passed, and Leon’s voice became damp.
“Father… thank you for your sincere advice. I really… think I made the right choice coming here.”
“ …No. I’m just sorry I couldn’t do more for you… Then, as penance, pray every night for three days.”
After that, she concluded with a prayer for the absolution of his sins.
Feeling the other person leave the confessional, Ian slightly opened the door and watched his retreating figure.
A young man with black hair. A very familiar figure.
“Ah…”
Grabbing her head at the realization that it wasn’t a misunderstanding, she leaned her entire body against the chair.
‘I need to come up with a plan… a plan…’
Translator Note
So TLDR if you wanted to skip to the end of the chapter, Ian/Ianne is now under the impression that Leon is in love with/has a crush on Riley after Leon came in and did a confessional. Under Ian/Ianne’s advice Leon is going to distance himself from the person he has feelings for to try and sort his feelings out. Ian is now trying to figure out a plan to deal with this.
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