Confession – 2

After comforting Aurora a little, I left the room to find Rije. Aurora said she was tired, saw me off, and immediately lay down on the bed.

Finding Rije wasn’t difficult. The Golden Twilight Knights had effectively undergone dissolution by being absorbed into the Jet-Black Holy Night Knights, but the Silver Dawn Knights were perfectly fine.

Laksia decided to handle the organization of the members, whose numbers had suddenly doubled. Laksia seemed quite bewildered when all the former Golden Twilight Knights unexpectedly gathered again.

Other vice-captains and regular members were no exception. While everyone was bewildered but diligently racking their brains, I headed to Rije’s duty station.

Inevitably, conversations about me came up, and the praise was so excessive it made me cringe, so I didn’t particularly want to stay with them.

“What brings you all the way here? Are you done talking with Minerva-nim?”

Rije, who was standing in a spot with a clear view of one side of the Imperial Palace, waved as soon as she saw me. She had a dagger at her waist and was clad in full armor.

“It’s not time to wander around yet, is it?”

“There’s still some time left. Why?”

“I have something to tell you. No one should hear it.”

I relayed the exact same words I had told Aurora to Rije. At first, Rije listened with a curious expression, wondering what I had to say, but as soon as I finished speaking, she burst into boisterous laughter, snorting.

It was completely different from Aurora, who had frozen with a horrified expression. It was a very Rije-like reaction.

“Is that true? Even His Majesty the Emperor and His Holiness the Popes? To you, Delta?”

“I heard the same thing from Aurora, but if I lied about them, my head would be off in an instant. I’m not someone who doesn’t value their life that much.”

“Looking at the things you did in the past, it’s not convincing at all… Well, if you say so, then it must be so. Alright. I’ll believe you.”

Rije nudged me with her elbow. Perhaps because she was wearing armor, her movements were very careful, as if she was afraid of accidentally hurting me.

“To think my man was such an amazing person, my judgment is truly good after all. It’s not like I just randomly picked you as someone who would hold my leash from our very first meeting, you know?”

After rejoicing like that, Rije took off her helmet, saying that even though it was still duty hours, a small deviation would be fine since I would protect her.

I saw strands of hair, slightly damp with sweat, clinging sparsely to her cheeks. I carefully brushed away the hair clinging to her cheek with my finger. Rije giggled, saying it tickled.

“That’s a more normal reaction than I expected.”

“Me? What was Lord-nim like?”

“As soon as she heard, she dropped her book and spilled her tea.”

“That’s understandable. Even though Lord-nim has a strong heart in her own way, the things you do, Delta, far exceed our imagination. Honestly, I was incredibly surprised on the inside too, you know?”

“You don’t look like it at all on the outside, though?”

There was not a single trace of surprise on Rije’s face. It was a lie without even a blink.

“Well, that’s just a figure of speech. So, Delta. Did you do it with them too?”

Even though many things were omitted from that expression, it wasn’t difficult to guess the meaning of those words.

It was partly because of the gesture of putting her right index finger in and out of a circle made with her left hand. But even without that, it would be stranger not to understand what that subtle expression meant.

“That’s right. I did.”

“……Really? Not lying?”

“You asked, so why are you surprised?”

“Uh… because it’s amazing?”

Startled, Rije glanced at my lower body, then suddenly clutched her head with a look of immense shock. It was truly a dramatic change. I was once again struck by her incredible personality.

“……Delta. His Holiness the Popes are sisters, right?”

“That’s right. The Pope of the Moon is the elder sister, and the Pope of the Sun is the younger sister.”

“And you probably did it with both of them at the same time.”

“That’s also right. Why?”

“It’s just a shame that Erica and I couldn’t be the first to give you a sister sandwich…”

“Where on earth did you learn that expression?”

I never imagined I’d hear such a word all the way here. I retorted with an exasperated tone. Rije, on the other hand, acted as if *I* was in the wrong.

“Isn’t that right! If Erica had just been a little more honest, we would have been the first to try a sister sandwich! That dense idiot Erica couldn’t do it-oof.”

If it had been somewhere else, I would have just let it slide as Rije being Rije, but this was the Imperial Palace. A place where ears and eyes were everywhere. I covered her mouth, just in case someone might overhear.

Even with her mouth covered by my hand, Rije didn’t stop grumbling for a while.

“We’ve pretty much done everything with just the two of us, so I was going to try challenging the three-person kind… I even thought about who should suck what and what roles everyone would have…”

“Hey.”

And with her last words, she put the finishing touch.

For one, there was nothing wrong with what she said. Excluding physically impossible ones, I had tried all the male-dominant positions with Rije first. That’s because there was something I had asked for during our first experience.

Neither of us liked female-dominant positions, so we mostly skipped them, with the exception of cowgirl. Rije absolutely detested it, and I wasn’t keen on that kind of thing either, so we were in agreement.

“Anyway, that’s good. Since they’re included now, you can increase the number without worrying, right? I welcome up to 20 people. More than that might be a bit much, though.”

“I have no intention of increasing them indiscriminately, nor do I plan to increase them that much, you know? What do you take me for?”

“Hmm… Let’s see. Let me do some calculations.”

The fingers inside her gauntlet repeatedly folded and unfolded one by one. As she seemed to be calculating something, she then opened her mouth with a wide smile.

“First off, it seems like 10 people are confirmed?”

“Where did that calculation come from?”

“His Majesty the Emperor, His Holiness the Popes, me, and Lord-nim, that’s 5 people, right? And if you include my friends, that’s 8. Lastly, I figured you’d have about 2 more women hidden here and there?”

Though not included in that list, if you add Nyx, whom the Goddess herself confirmed came from another world and who follows me unusually well, that’s 9 people. And if you add Minerva, just in case, it really does become about 10.

I inwardly shuddered at that fact and changed the subject.

“……What about the other Knight Captains?”

“Didn’t I tell you last time? Iris told me she likes you, and Erica has similar taste in men as me, so she’d fall for you with just a little coaxing. So they’re confirmed, I guess. As for Claudia, she doesn’t seem to have any interest in that kind of thing unless it involves alcohol, so I’m not sure, but with you, it might be possible.”

“That’s really irresponsible of you. And Iris was affected by a demon, you know.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I trust you, Delta. Wouldn’t it be better for all four of us to be with the same man?”

Rije smiled and winked. It was a smile that showed not a single trace of jealousy about me dating other women. Did she even know what she was saying right now?

“So, is that the only reason you came to find me? If you’re done, come here for a moment.”

“It is done, but why-“

Rije suddenly leaned in and kissed me.

Wondering what was wrong with her, I stayed still for a moment, then responded by entwining my tongue with hers as it pushed between my lips. It was already a familiar act. I felt the hard sensation of her armor against my chest.

Rije was the first to kiss and the first to entwine her tongue, but after exchanging breaths for a while, it was also Rije who was more dazed and panting more heavily when she pulled away.

Rije had half-lidded eyes, her tongue slightly out, and was exhaling warm breaths. Rije’s scent mingled with her breathing.

“W-what, you. Did your skills improve again?”

“Well. I don’t know.”

“Damn it, I’m not going to end up coming just from a kiss later, am I? That would really be a disqualification as a woman…”

I held back my laughter inwardly upon hearing that. It was a grumble that made me wonder what Kaikilia’s reaction would be if she knew she had actually climaxed from just a kiss, just as Rije had described.

Of course, it wasn’t intentional, but she had effectively insulted the Emperor she served, calling her disqualified as a woman. Even if Rije claimed her body was sensitive or she was a mess, it was nothing compared to Kaikilia.

“That much is fine. It’s above average.”

A look that said, ‘What the hell kind of bullshit is that?’ came back at me.

[Stats]

[Level] 75(+4)

[Health] 1

[Mana] 10

[Faith] 10

[Stamina] 5

[Proficiency] 1

[Strength] 75(+50)

[Magic Power] 60(+50)

[Divine Power] 60(+50)

[Durability] 7

“……”

Considering the experience I had accumulated so far, I placed my hand on the Status Check Orb, and as soon as I saw my stats, I stood there blankly for a moment, overwhelmed by the feast of massive numbers.

It seemed she had truly kept her promise to lend her strength, not just offering lip service. The increase was so significant that it made the numbers I had steadily accumulated so far seem meaningless.

The Goddess had clearly said she would provide as much support as she possibly could, and the increase shown in these three stats must be the maximum result of that.

Because with her remaining power, it would be overwhelming just to stop that dragon from devouring even the last world.

Other stats remained the same except for those three, but I wasn’t bothered in the slightest. The rest were nice to have but not a major inconvenience if absent, and in the case of Health, it would actually be problematic if it increased.

Just in case, I tried investing stats.

[Stats]

[Level] 75(+1)

[Health] 1

[Mana] 10

[Faith] 10

[Stamina] 5

[Proficiency] 1

[Strength] 76(+51)

[Magic Power] 61(+51)

[Divine Power] 61(+51)

[Durability] 7

The increase in numbers changed to 51, and the final stats each increased by 1. In other words, if I confirmed these stats and closed the status check window, they would increase by that much.

When I heard she would help me, I just brushed it off, thinking she might send down another pillar of light, but I truly never imagined I’d receive such direct assistance.

I thought she’d just amplify my Divine Power a bit, like she occasionally did before.

‘I’ll be busy for a while.’

I needed magic, dark magic, divine spells, a magic staff, and a divine catalyst. I had skipped them for efficiency, but if I could use them, it was definitely right to do so.

Getting them wouldn’t be difficult anyway. For magic, I could ask Minerva; for dark magic, Nyx; and for divine spells, the Popes. A staff or divine catalyst would also be within reach just by asking.

‘The best part is that I don’t necessarily have to engage in close combat.’

If I could freely wield magic, dark magic, and divine spells depending on the situation, I wouldn’t have to engage in risky close combat.

Although I would occasionally need to use the Vampiric Impulse Rune to replenish health lost from dark magic, there was no need to engage in close combat from start to finish like before.

Because it would simply be a matter of heavily reducing their health from a distance, then approaching to finish them off and activating Vampiric Impulse.

[Stats]

[Level] 75

[Health] 1

[Mana] 12(+2)

[Faith] 12(+2)

[Stamina] 5

[Proficiency] 1

[Strength] 75(+50)

[Magic Power] 60(+50)

[Divine Power] 60(+50)

[Durability] 7

I distributed my stat points between Mana and Faith, then removed my hand from the Status Check Orb. I planned to raise both to 15, then put all remaining points into Mana.

With a Divine Power stat of 60, you can consider it highly unlikely to run out of Faith unless you use divine spells like water. So, investing just an appropriate amount of stats is enough.

Mana doesn’t really have natural recovery methods, so I’d have to carry potions, but that’s not a big problem either. The Magic Tower, the production site of top-grade mana potions, was right next door, so why would I worry about that?

‘I’ll have to worry about how to change weapons later.’

In games, a character might automatically pull out a weapon by pressing Ctrl and scrolling the mouse wheel up and down, but it’s not like that here.

I could assume I’d wear the divine catalyst at my waist, as I had always done, but I needed to think about how to carry a staff.

I left the Magic Tower with light steps. It felt as if my complicated feelings had somewhat resolved.

Stats equivalent to 150 levels were added, but my level hadn’t increased at all, still only 75. This meant I had also gained experience equivalent to 150 levels.

Although the experience required for levels near triple digits is significant, it’s still just a drop in the bucket compared to the high-level zones above level 200.

“You look very pleased, my child.”

Outside, Minerva was waiting for me with a wide smile. She told me I looked pleased, but her own expression looked like she was about to fly away.

Originally, I had planned to return to Aurora’s domain to use the Status Check Orb there, but Minerva told me there was no need and allowed me to use the Magic Tower’s item.

“Hello, Delta. We meet again.”

Pareunari, who was standing next to Minerva, wearing a robe identical to those worn by the Magic Tower’s mages, waved at me. The horns on her head were nowhere to be seen, as if hidden by magic.

“You haven’t left yet, Pareunari-ssi?”

“For the time being, I’ve decided to be Minerva’s… no, Skientia-nim’s assistant.”

I was about to just let it pass, thinking, ‘So she succeeded after all,’ but then I paused. It was because I had a strong feeling I absolutely had to ask this.

“Just in case, I’m asking, but how many years is that ‘for the time being’ you just mentioned?”

“It’s not long. About three hundred years.”

Pareunari replied as if it were obvious.

“……”

It seemed Minerva’s smiling expression had other reasons mixed in, not just the ancient scrolls.