Ch.155Chapter 155 – Who Should I Choose

Etherna Lumio Sol.

Aisen Beventus.

The two turned their heads to look at each other.

One was the Chief Inquisitor and Saint of the Sun Order, the most powerful religious order aside from the Great Goddess Order.

The other was the youngest daughter of Dorian Beventus, the Swordmaster of House Beventus, a margrave family on the borders of the Gelebrio Empire.

Their gazes met in midair, and they began to stare intently at each other.

‘I heard from my personal maid. Men prefer women who are younger and prettier than themselves. Plus, I’ve just come of age, so I have a much better advantage than Lady Etherna.’

Looking at Etherna, Aisen recognized her advantage of being younger and prettier.

Her personal maid had told her that men are more interested in women who are younger and prettier than themselves.

In other words, she thought that being younger than Etherna and being the daughter of the prestigious House Beventus made her a rare and valuable marriage prospect.

‘You think I’m going to just stand by and let you take the only man I can meet without breaking the order’s rules? I’m almost thirty!’

As Etherna looked at Aisen, she was seething inside.

She was about to turn thirty, and Pathos might be the only potential partner in her life.

Though he didn’t know it himself, most religious orders already regarded Pathos as either a Saint or Apostle of the Great Goddess Order.

How else could they explain that Pathos could mention Epitrina’s name without divine punishment?

According to the order’s rules, Etherna, as a Saint of the Sun Order, could only be with Pathos, who was considered a Saint or Apostle of the Great Goddess Order, and no one else.

Therefore, Pathos was the only person she could possibly marry.

The desperation not to lose him to someone else made Etherna reveal her feelings.

The gazes between Etherna and Aisen were incredibly sharp.

If their glares had materialized, anything caught between them would have been sliced to pieces.

That’s how fierce the looks in Etherna and Aisen’s eyes were.

‘I absolutely won’t give up. He saved my life, so I want to help him in any way I can!’

‘I absolutely won’t give up. I’m the only one who can protect Pathos from the Demon Order’s attacks.’

As Etherna and Aisen continued their silent standoff, Pathos rose from his seat.

“Perhaps both of you should stop now.”

As Pathos stood up, Etherna and Aisen slowly turned their heads.

“Hohoho, it’s fine, Lord Pathos. We’re not fighting at all.”

“This girl had no intention of fighting with Lady Etherna. We were merely… exchanging opinions.”

Both of them looked at Pathos with awkward smiles.

Pathos’s inner thoughts were extremely complicated as he looked at the two of them.

◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈

This is driving me crazy.

Seriously, what kind of situation is this?

The person I cured of Prezzmerin disease suddenly comes to find me and asks if I would take her as my partner because she’s grateful for the cure and has nothing else to offer.

And Etherna, whom I thought was just a reliable colleague, suddenly tells me she likes me.

Having never dated anyone during my school years, I have no idea how to handle this.

If I accept one but not the other, explaining that would be a real headache.

I probably don’t need to explain myself, but the problem is that the people who say they like me are extraordinary individuals.

First, Aisen Beventus.

She’s the daughter of Margrave Beventus, a Swordmaster and border lord.

And his most beloved youngest daughter at that.

Her coming here was probably permitted by Margrave Beventus, but for Aisen to say she wants to be my wife?

‘You scoundrel! How dare you set your sights on my youngest daughter! You villain! What words did you use to seduce my baby girl?!’

Ugh, terrifying. That man is incredibly intimidating.

If a bear were to take human form, it would probably look like Margrave Beventus.

A man who could fold someone like me with just his physical strength…

What if he charges at me with his Aura Blade drawn?

Even the great Etherna couldn’t stop that.

To be honest, I’m afraid to touch Aisen because I don’t know what Margrave Beventus would think of me.

And then there’s Etherna.

Her real name is Etherna Lumio Sol.

She’s a Saint of the Sun Order.

Yes, a “Saint.”

A Saint must always remain pure and chaste to convey the holy will of the gods.

In other words, if a Saint meets a man and loses her purity, she can no longer serve as a Saint.

Well, these days there are many stories where women who meet all sorts of men still act as Saints, but in my mind, a Saint was always a pure being.

…Or am I wrong? Looking at Etherna makes me wonder if I have preconceptions about what a Saint should be.

Still, I have absolutely no intention of touching Etherna.

Although she fits my type of woman, I absolutely cannot allow a situation where I upset Etherna and end up at odds with the Sun Order.

I need the help of the Sun Order and other religious orders to track down and completely wipe out the Demon Order, and the Sun Order is the largest religious order in this world except for the Great Goddess Order.

What if such a powerful order becomes my enemy because of my mistake?

It would become much more difficult to eliminate the Demon Order and save the world from the threat of demon gods.

Plus, in this world, gods really exist, and they perform so-called “miracles” by gifting their abilities to people, intervening in the world through these “ability users.”

Well, I do have Epitrina behind me, but I can’t rely on her protection forever.

Anyway, I can’t touch either Aisen or Etherna right now.

The lower-risk options would be Mina or Elena, but…

‘They feel more like cousin sisters than girlfriends.’

It’s an unwritten rule not to touch your favorite heroine, and I don’t want to upset my favorite heroine by touching her friend either.

‘Ah, this is really giving me a headache.’

I never knew that not having had a girlfriend before would be this difficult.

In other stories, everyone seems to date just fine, so why do I only get such difficult choices?

I don’t know.

To be honest, I prefer older women.

Etherna… she’s close to the older sister type but not quite perfect.

She feels a bit more like a childhood friend of the same age.

Aisen is literally a beautiful young lady, and above all, she’s younger than me.

If it were a case of “I thought she was older but she turned out to be younger,” that would be different, but she’s clearly younger than me and looks younger too, so I’m not particularly…

‘Unless it’s a political marriage to increase power between families, Aisen isn’t the type of woman who suits my taste.’

At least not until she gets older and more mature. Not yet. Not yet.

My type is someone like the Chancellor or that Alchemy Professor—big! mature! someone who can guide me!

My head is a mess.

“This is all too sudden, and I’m a bit confused. Could you give me some time?”

I asked for time as a last resort.

It seemed like we wouldn’t reach any conclusion if things continued like this.

“I understand. This girl… will respect your decision, Count. Please make the right choice.”

“I-I’m sorry. I know this must have been surprising… I’ll explain everything later.”

Fortunately, both of them accepted my proposal.

With that, we ended our meeting, and I returned to my dormitory room.

“Haah…”

Who should I choose?

Aisen or Etherna?

So far, these two were the only ones who had shown romantic interest in me.

Both Etherna and Aisen were actually quite attractive when considering them as people.

Moreover, Aisen showed potential that could rival the Chancellor or Etherna given time.

And Etherna could become my type with just a little more time.

However, my current situation wasn’t one where I could leisurely date someone.

From now on, I needed to prepare for the fight against the Demon Order in earnest.

Shreka had agreed to handle the elven side, but gathering people was my responsibility.

“I think I need the Chancellor’s help.”

In this situation, the only person I could turn to for help was the Chancellor.

[Chancellor, could you spare me some time?]

[Chancellor: Of course. You can come right now if you’d like.]

I sent a message asking for help, and the Chancellor replied that I could visit immediately.

Indeed, at times like this, I need someone dependable like the Chancellor to rely on.