The Letter Comes Again

“I’m in front of your temple now, Lister.”
After narrowly avoiding being caught using teleportation magic midway, we somehow managed to arrive at the capital, where sophisticated buildings lined the streets.
Guards were seemingly spread everywhere, and people adorned with luxurious clothes and ornaments.
The carriages moving along the streets were so splendid and luxurious that it would be embarrassing to even compare them to the carriage I rode during my request.

Like country folks visiting Seoul for the first time, we were sightseeing around when we reached the front of the temple where Lister was said to reside.
‘Did I come too suddenly…? Maybe I should have contacted her before coming.’
The reason we came here was to consult with Lister about the contents of the mysterious letter in my pocket.
It was good that we came to the capital, but Marian, who held the position of captain of the Green Guard, wasn’t someone easily met.
…After being stopped by a subordinate guard, choosing Lister was the next best option.
I was planning to meet her anyway since we came to the capital.

“Wow… the cross is huge.”
“The building is also incredibly magnificent. This must be the capital indeed.”
Saya and Puel were amazed by the overwhelming size and grandeur of the temple.
The temple in the capital, said to be the largest in the empire, was a place that exuded holiness even from the outside.

“Hoee…”
But unlike the children who were looking around the temple with sparkling eyes, Cherny was trembling and nervous all over.
“Um, Ariel-nim? Su-surely you’re not trying to offer me to the temple…”
Cherny spoke to me with a trembling voice. Large tears were welling up in her big eyes.
…Seeing her like that made me feel mischievous, and I ended up saying something I didn’t mean.

“That’s right. Because you’re a demon.”
“Hiiieek!!!!”
“…It’s a lie, so you don’t need to run away.”
I caught Cherny who immediately turned her back to me and tried to run away. Her reaction was so funny that I couldn’t resist teasing her.
“R-really?”
“Of course.”

“Ariel!!!!!!!!!”
Not long after, the tightly closed doors of the temple opened, and a familiar face appeared.
Lister came straight to me and hugged me.
…I started to feel the soft touch of her body and her unique scent.
I thought it might be a bit excessive skinship, but even when we were in the hero party together, Lister was generous with skinship….

“Huff… huff…”
“Um… Lister?”
Somehow Lister’s breathing is rough. Did she run out in such a hurry?
“It’s been a while, Ariel.”
“Were you surprised that I came suddenly?”
“…Really. The slightly different feeling from usual, is it because of the disguise magic?”
“That’s right. You recognized me well.”

I thought she might not recognize me because I changed my features slightly with disguise magic as usual, but she recognized me right away.
“Tch. There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize Ariel.”
“You didn’t recognize me last time though.”
“Th-that time!”
Lister’s voice sounded slightly mixed with dissatisfaction.
At the same time, Lister’s hands that were embracing me started to slowly stroke down my waist.

My waist bent like a bow at Lister’s soft touch… no, it was just a bit ticklish.
‘Is it just me who feels it’s slightly erotic…?’
“I-it’s ticklish.”
“Huff… this is punishment for surprising me….”

Even after a long time, Lister showed no intention of letting me go. It’s a bit embarrassing….
“Um, sister. It seems like Ariel sister is uncomfortable.”
Puel spoke carefully after seeing us like that. Nice, Puel.
“…Uncomfortable?”

Hearing those words, Lister raised her head and looked at me with a slightly sad face.
‘She’s really beautiful.’
A beauty that could make my heart stop for a moment.
Lister, originally half a head shorter than me, looking up at me with doe-like eyes, had an incredible destructive power.
Enough to make my heart flutter a bit.

‘Get a grip. We’re both women.’
…Well, strictly speaking, only my body is.
“W-well….”
While I was hesitating to speak under her gaze, the strength in Lister’s hands that were embracing my body gradually loosened.
“Fufu. I’ll stop here for today. By the way, what brings you here, Ariel?”
“…I have something to discuss.”
I fingered the letter in my pocket.

“Something to discuss? …Wait a moment.”
Lister paused her words for a moment.
Her gaze moved towards Cherny, who was trembling.
“Um, Ariel. Why are you with a demon?”
“Ha, haha….”
Indeed, Lister’s eyes can’t be deceived. Well, there’s no demon that could deceive even a saint’s eyes.

“Come in for now, Ariel. You’ll have to explain in detail about that demon.”
Ariel spoke in a nonchalant tone.
“Alright….”
I had to tell her someday anyway. I hope she doesn’t get angry.

“Hoee…. I feel like I’m being purified…”
Cherny was shrinking due to the sacred atmosphere around.
‘…She’s not really being purified, right?’
We entered a reception room inside the temple following Lister’s guidance.
The reception room’s appearance well reflected the temple’s classic atmosphere.

“Hmm, you said Saya and Puel, right? You can eat these snacks here as much as you like.”
“Thank you! Pretty person!”
“…Thank you.”
The children’s eyes lit up as they picked up and ate the high-class snacks placed in the reception room.
“It’s delicious!”
“…It’s tasty.”
As expected, children are honest when it comes to food.
Seeing the children happily eating expensive snacks they’ve never seen before, I felt a bit emotional for some reason.

‘Your sister will earn a lot of money… and buy you lots of delicious things!’
Leaving Saya and Puel, I sat at a different table with Cherny and Lister.
“Well then. Would you like to explain why there’s a demon next to Ariel?”
“W-well…”
“…I’ll explain, Lister. It’s like this…”
I answered instead of Cherny, who had become timid and shrunk under Lister’s gaze.

Lister listened to the whole story.
“Hmm, to summarize, the kind Ariel took in a homeless demon as a pet, is that right?”
“I-I’m not a pet…”
“Pardon?”
Cherny was trying to refute Lister’s words timidly.
But her resistance immediately crumbled under Lister’s cold gaze.
“Woof woof….”

‘Sorry, Cherny.’
For not being able to protect you.
The truth is, I’m a bit of a special case, and people in this world generally despise demons. Lister is no exception.
“Can you remove the disguise magic? Ariel? Ah, you don’t need to remove the perception interference barrier. It’s useless against me anyway.”

“Eek….”
As she said, the perception interference barrier cast by Cherny is meaningless against Lister, who has immense holy power.
Asking to remove the disguise magic is probably her intention to see Cherny’s true appearance with her own eyes.
“Just a moment….”
When I removed the disguise magic on Cherny, she returned to her original appearance.

“Indeed. It’s the demon I saw back then. The demon who provided us with information. So your name is Cherny.”
Lister nodded, seemingly recognizing Cherny’s face.
“Cherny-san.”
She then approached Cherny’s ear and started whispering something.
“Hi-hiiieek!!!!”
“Cherny-san. Be quiet.”
Then Cherny, who was screaming in terror… was silenced again.

“…”
I don’t know. Sorry, Cherny.
“Hey Lister, what did you say to Cherny?”
“Fufu. It’s a secret. Anyway, what did you want to consult about?”
Lister spoke after briefly showing a meaningful smile.
“Well, can you look at this first?”
“What’s this? A letter?”

What I handed to her was the letter from an unknown sender that arrived yesterday.
…No, to be precise, it was a letter from someone calling themselves Phantom Thief Lemona.
“Pfft, kidnapping Marian? They must be quite remarkable. She was perfectly fine yesterday… Huh? This picture…”
“Lister…? Do you have any idea about something?”
Lister, who was laughing as if it was absurd, suddenly seemed to realize something and asked me.

“Did this letter arrive a few days ago?”
“…Probably yesterday.”
Since Cherny said there was nothing before that, it must have arrived yesterday.
“If the letter arrived yesterday, then a week later would mean six days from now. That day is your birthday… Aha.”
Lister smiled meaningfully as if she had realized something.

“Do you have any guesses?”
“…Fufu. Who knows. I don’t think we need to worry about Marian. I saw her yesterday too. It’s probably someone’s bad prank.”

That would be good, but… somehow her behavior seems suspicious.
“Well then. Shall we go eat? I’m hungry~. Dog food should be fine for Cherny-san, right?”
“Hueeeng….”
“Fufu. I’m joking.”
Lister, who seemed to be in a good mood, stood up and led us out of the temple.

“Treating us to a meal too, I don’t know how to repay this…”
“Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing. The dignity maintenance allowance that comes for the Saint is more than you’d think.”
The place she led us to was a restaurant that looked luxurious at first glance.
When we were trembling at the prices of the place where even water cost money, Lister immediately said she would pay.
Of course, I refused at first, but in the end, I had to accept due to her firm attitude.

After finishing a satisfying meal, we took a brief walk around and arrived back in front of the temple.
“Lister. Thank you!”
“…Thank you for the delicious meal, Lister sister.”

Saya and Puel politely thanked Lister. Whose children are these well-mannered kids? They’re our children.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Cherny-san, did you like it too?”
“Ye-yes! I feel like my stomach is about to burst!”
Is this what they call a Saint’s benevolence? It was a kindness that could create faith where there was none.

“I’m going to believe in the Lister religion from now on…”
“Fufu. You’re joking.”
I’m not.
“I should get going now. Thank you for accompanying me this far, Ariel.”
“…Next time you come to our house, I’ll make lots of delicious food for you.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Well then… see you next time.”

Lister said those words and entered the temple.
Afterwards, we briefly looked around the capital and then returned home.
‘I guess it was just a mischievous prank as Lister said.’

Five days later, a day before the date written in the letter claiming to have kidnapped Marian, something happened that made me scratch my head again.
“Ariel-nim! Th-there’s another letter!”
The letter Cherny brought had the following content:

We’ve kidnapped Lister too.
Phantom Thief Lemona.