Ch.144Chapter 144 – The Nun is Sexually Frustrated (2)

Christina was sulking.

Naturally, the cause was me.

‘Was I too harsh teasing her about being sexually frustrated?’

I felt a bit sorry.

Honestly, half of what I said came out impulsively.

“Christina?”

“…Hmph.”

As I tried to apologize, Christina turned her head away.

How should I apologize for this?

While pondering that, the scent of food began to waft through the air.

When I turned my head, I saw several shops that looked like restaurants.

It seemed we had walked this far without realizing it.

As I kept glancing between Christina’s mood and the shops, one particular establishment caught my eye.

“Christina?”

“…Hmph.”

“Want to eat that?”

Christina quietly began to shift her gaze.

And I didn’t miss how her blue eyes briefly fixed on the shop before I asked.

“Want to eat it?”

“…Yes.”

I moved along with Christina.

The place we arrived at was a shop selling large roasted bird meat divided by cuts.

I don’t know what kind of bird this is, but surely they wouldn’t sell something inedible.

“What would you like?”

“The leg, please.”

Christina chose the leg portion, which would be easy to eat while walking around.

And shortly after, Christina was holding a roasted bird leg in her hand.

After quickly paying, I grabbed one for myself and followed beside her, just as Christina took a bite of the leg.

“Wow, it’s delicious!”

Christina said with a bright smile.

Then she immediately flinched, glanced at me once, and turned her gaze away again.

Still, it seemed her sulking had eased a bit.

“…Christina.”

When I quietly called her name, Christina looked at me.

And facing her, I bowed my head and said:

“I’m sorry. I went too far with what I said, didn’t I?”

“…How could you say a girl is sexually frustrated.”

Christina pushed out her lips slightly and took another bite of the leg.

Then she smiled and said:

“…But since you bought this for me, I’ll let it slide.”

“Thank you.”

Fortunately, it seemed her anger had subsided.

Christina finished eating the bird leg and stared blankly at the large bone with a slightly disappointed look.

“Want to eat mine too?”

“Yes!…I mean, well.”

Christina answered immediately but quickly restrained herself.

She seemed concerned about something as she glanced at me cautiously.

“Um, benefactor.”

“Yes?”

“…Do you perhaps like plump people?”

So that’s what she wanted to ask.

I chuckled and answered:

“I haven’t thought about it deeply, so I’m not sure.”

“Uh….”

“Eat it if you want. You won’t suddenly gain weight from eating that.”

At my words, Christina gulped once, then reached out and took the bird leg from my hand.

I could see her starting to eat it with relish.

And so Christina demolished the second bird leg.

“…Ugh, I feel guilty for some reason.”

“It’s fine. If you move your body vigorously, you’ll burn it off.”

“Oh, have I gained weight compared to before?”

“Hmm.”

I looked at Christina.

For some reason, I wanted to tease her again, but I had just managed to get her out of her sulking mood.

So maybe I should try flattering her instead.

“You haven’t gained weight. If anything, you look like you’ve lost some.”

“Really?! That’s a relief…!”

Christina began to rejoice.

“…I thought I’d been eating a lot lately. I was worried about gaining weight.”

“You actually don’t eat enough normally. It might be better to eat well while you have the chance.”

“Is that so?”

Christina said with a smile.

Judging by how much better her mood seemed, I had successfully cheered her up.

Besides, Christina hadn’t gained weight anyway, so it wasn’t even a lie.

“Were you that concerned about it?”

“Of course. The bride standing at the wedding just now was so slender…”

Christina spoke as if envious.

“…With Guildmaster Eve, Lady Beatrice, and even Sera around me, they’re all beauties, so I can’t help but be conscious of it.”

“I think you’re plenty pretty as you are.”

When I said that, Christina looked at me with slight surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“I, I thought I might have misheard.”

After saying that, Christina cleared her throat once.

Then she quietly looked at me and said:

“…Could you say that again?”

“I think you’re plenty pretty as you are.”

When I said that again, Christina’s face turned slightly red as she averted her gaze from me.

Seeing her embarrassed expression made me smile involuntarily.

‘Maybe I should tease her this way.’

It wasn’t exactly a lie that Christina was pretty, but seeing her get so embarrassed awakened the mischievous side in me.

It’s your fault, Christina.

“What’s the matter, beautiful sister? Would you show me your pretty face?”

“Ah, well.”

“Beautiful Miss Christina? Would you show me your face?”

“S-stop teasing me!”

Christina shouted with a reddened face.

“If you keep doing that, I’ll just marry you, benefactor?!”

“Me? What would be good about someone like me?”

“You might be hidden by burn scars, but you have a good build, you’re tall, you’re good at fighting, you’re steady, considerate…”

What’s that about?

No matter how I think about it, that’s not me at all.

It seemed Christina was just shouting whatever came to mind in her excitement.

‘This is embarrassing.’

If someone heard this, they might actually think I’m that kind of person.

Thankfully, my helmet covered my face.

Otherwise, my reddened face would have been as obvious as Christina’s.

“And, and…”

“Enough, enough. I was wrong, so let’s stop there, Christina.”

I quickly grabbed Christina’s shoulders and shook her once, causing her to blush.

Fortunately, she seemed to return to reality as her face turned slightly pale.

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence fell between us.

Then Christina spoke:

“I think we got too excited.”

“I agree.”

It seems my attempt to tease her grew into something else entirely.

‘It’s hot.’

Thinking that it wasn’t just because of the helmet, I cleared my throat.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Looking to the side, I saw Christina clearing her throat in the same way.

Then our eyes met.

“…Let’s calm down.”

“…Yes.”

And so we regained our composure.

We started walking again, matching Christina’s pace, and soon found our destination.

“Ah, there’s the general store.”

Christina’s expression showed slight excitement.

Following her, I suddenly remembered something and asked:

“But do general stores sell books?”

I’ve never seen that before.

Christina smiled at my question and said:

“Cities usually have bookstores, but in rural or less developed areas, general stores sometimes sell books.”

“I see.”

When Christina opened the door, we saw a shopkeeper who looked rather unmotivated.

“Welcome~.”

“Do you happen to sell books?”

At Christina’s question, the owner pointed to the back.

That seemed to be answer enough for Christina, who headed inside.

“It’s true.”

There was a single bookshelf with not many books, but they were displayed nonetheless.

Christina began looking at the books with interested eyes.

“Do you like books, Christina?”

“Growing up in a church, you end up reading books for entertainment. I haven’t read many specialized texts, but I’ve read quite a few entertaining books.”

After saying that, Christina added somewhat embarrassedly:

“When I think about how Guildmaster Eve, Sera, and Lady Beatrice probably read a lot of specialized texts, it makes me a bit ashamed.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to be ashamed of. Just reading a lot of books in general is impressive in my opinion.”

I said while looking at Christina.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t read any books since coming here.”

“Would you like me to pick out some good ones for you?”

That didn’t sound like a bad idea.

My room in the carriage was honestly quite boring with nothing to do but lie down.

Occasionally, it might be nice to have some books to read while sitting.

I looked at the bookshelf.

“Is this a history book?”

“It seems to be a book that briefly describes major historical events.”

I nodded and picked up that book.

Then I noticed another book that had been hidden behind it.

“Oh, this.”

“Ah, this.”

Christina picked up the book.

Looking at the rather thick book, Christina smiled.

“It’s a fairy tale about the legend of the hero.”

“A fairy tale?”

Vaguely, I remembered that the fairy tale books I knew rarely exceeded the thickness of one finger joint.

Christina smiled and explained:

“This book compiles various stories related to the hero. Rather than a single fairy tale, it’s more like several volumes bound into one.”

“You seem to know a lot about it. Have you read it before?”

“The church has the same one. I read it a lot when I was young.”

Christina seemed lost in memories.

‘But a hero, huh.’

It feels like I’ve been getting involved with heroes quite a bit lately.

I’m not sure how useful it will be as a reference, but I thought about buying a copy to look through occasionally.

“Then I’ll go with these two.”

They should be good for passing time.

As I was about to pay, I looked at Christina.

“Hmm, which one should I choose…”

Looking at the books Christina had selected, I smiled slightly.

It seemed she was hesitant to choose novels she liked because she was conscious of me.

“Christina?”

“Ah, yes. I’ll choose quickly…”

I tossed my wallet to her as she spoke.

Christina caught it in a fluster.

“What’s this?”

“Buy whatever you want. I’ll wait outside.”

It’s not like there’s a ton of money in the wallet.

But considering the price of the books I bought, it should be enough for a few books for Christina.

If it’s not enough, she can supplement with her own money.

“B-but even so, this is…”

“It’s a gift. I’ll be outside.”

I quickly dodged Christina as she approached to return the wallet and ran away.

“Benefactor? Benefactor?!”

“Take your time choosing.”

I swiftly exited the general store.

+

“Oh my…”

Christina fell into a bit of a dilemma.

‘I definitely wanted to buy a lot of books…’

When she opened the wallet, there was quite a bit of money inside.

With this much, she could probably buy all the romance novels she wanted.

‘Is this really okay…?’

Buying books was fine, but Christina worried about what would happen if Sera became jealous that she received a gift from Kay, or if Eve scolded Kay for overspending.

Of course, Beatrice wouldn’t show any reaction, so that wasn’t a concern.

“How sweet.”

“Eek?!”

She had forgotten the shopkeeper was there.

His presence was so minimal that she had overlooked him.

Christina turned around in surprise to see the shopkeeper smiling at her.

“Is he your lover?”

“What? No, that’s not it… well.”

Come to think of it, how should she explain it?

Benefactor? Object of admiration?

That would be the right description.

As she was about to explain, a voice echoed in Christina’s mind.

[Be honest with your own feelings.]

‘Kara.’

Be honest with herself.

Then what were her feelings?

What feelings did she harbor for her benefactor?

Christina looked at herself again.

‘Is it really just admiration? Gratitude?’

Is that all their relationship is? Is that all she wants it to be?

‘…Somehow, I don’t like that.’

Though she couldn’t express it well.

Christina found herself wanting to get a little closer to him.

“I see, unrequited love, eh.”

“Huh?”

She had been too lost in thought in front of the shopkeeper.

Christina hastily put down the books she was holding.

She had already selected all the ones she wanted, so she just needed to pay and escape.

“Um, I’d like to pay!”

“Just a moment before that.”

The owner smiled and approached the bookshelf.

He seemed to be searching for something, then soon returned with a book.

“This is…”

“This is a weapon I can prepare for a young lady who has fallen into unrequited love and wants to make it come true.”

It was a book.

A book that someone had clearly read quite a bit, yet had been carefully maintained.

“Actually, this book was sold to me yesterday by the young lady who got married today.”

“Married…”

Was he talking about the couple they had passed by earlier?

Was he saying this book had led her to marriage?

“…How much…”

“Since you’re buying so many books, you could take it for free, but… well, let’s say one silver coin.”

Christina gulped and took out her own wallet.

She had to buy this book with her own money.

“I never thought I’d see this book here again.”

In a way, it was fate.

Christina thought as she took out a silver coin and carefully picked up the book as if it were a treasure.

A bestseller that the senior nuns at the church had bought long ago.

The sensational book that once swept through the women of the capital.

[How to Captivate a Man]

What had once been just an entertaining read now appeared to Christina as a formidable weapon.