episode_0113

A short while later, we arrived at the small auditorium.

“This is it, right?”

“Yes. The drama club. It’s our first investigation location.”

“As expected of a drama club, it’s spacious. Let’s go in.”

I carefully knocked.

*Knock knock.*

“Excuse me.”

As I opened the door, a wide interior unfolded.

There was a large stage in the center, and scattered around, club members, each in their teams, were busy practicing their acting.

It was a little strange, perhaps because I had no connection to this sort of thing in either my past or current life. As I stood blankly watching, a second-year female student approached.

“What brings you here?”

“Oh, we’re interested in the drama club. Could we observe for a bit?”

“Is that so? Your names are… Ruin and Eris, I see. I’m Merian. I’ll guide you. Would you like to follow me?”

Merian turned her back.

At her movement, the Saintess, who had been quietly observing the situation, urgently called out.

“Ah! W-Wait a moment!”

“Yes? What’s wrong?”

“Could we just look around on our own for now?”

“Just the two of you? You don’t have to, but…”

Merian tilted her head.

Deep suspicion emanated from her expression and eyes.

Under her gaze, the Saintess awkwardly flapped her hands before suddenly hugging my arm.

Simultaneously, a state of ecstasy unfolded.

A softness as if my arm was melting. Like an insubstantial cloud, yet exuding the momentum of a great mountain, it pressed against my arm.

The sensation in my arm gradually melted into that softness, eventually vanishing.

The Saintess’s voice faintly pierced my ears.

“W-We’re lovers! We want to look around slowly, just the two of us!”

“Ah, I see! Alright. Then take your time looking around, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

“Yes! Thank you. Ruin. Let’s go.”

“Oh…”

“Ruin?”

The Saintess shook my arm, as if to snap me out of it. With her movement, her large breasts also bounced, providing an even more vibrant sensation.

This truly was salvation.

‘Repentia, you were right.’

There is no one else in this world who deserves the position of Saintess but Iris!

Just as I was feeling the greatness of God with my whole body, Merian bid us farewell and left.

With that, the heavenly sensation also disappeared.

“…Huh?”

I lowered my head to find the Saintess had already let go of my arm and moved away.

When I turned my gaze to her face, she made a pouting expression and gently hit my side.

“Snap out of it! If you do that again, I won’t keep my promise, you know!”

“Huh? Isn’t that a bit unfair? Is it okay to break a promise so easily?”

“Rua… Ruin, you’re the one who needs to get it together! Hurry up. We don’t have time to dawdle.”

“Alright, alright.”

Barely escaping the allure of her large breasts from her nagging, I began to investigate the small auditorium with her.

Thirty minutes later, we leaned on the railing on the second floor, looking down at the small auditorium.

During that time, we had checked all the club members and even visited the stage production room, inspecting various aspects, but we couldn’t find anything suspicious.

All that was left was the equipment storage room right next to the stage.

“Hmm… I guess we’ll have to check the storage room.”

“Indeed. Let’s go. There’s definitely something in there!”

We went down the stairs to the first floor.

And as if it were something we always did, we naturally moved and grabbed the doorknob.

It was at that moment.

“Who’s there?”

“Oh, huh? Yes?”

A male student, who had been giving instructions to the club members in front of the stage, called out to us.

His brow was heavily furrowed.

“You don’t look like our club members? Who are you, going to the storage room?”

“Ah, ah! W-We’re here for an observation visit.”

“Observation?”

The male student scanned the Saintess’s entire body.

He, too, seemed to be a man, as his gaze lingered for a long time on her chest.

“Hmm… Even if it’s for observation, you can’t go in there. It’s restricted to authorized personnel.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Equipment often goes missing. Please understand.”

“…Yes. Understood.”

We decided to retreat for now.

If we tried to push it here, we would only arouse unnecessary suspicion.

We moved a little distance away from the stage.

“What should we do? It seems we can’t get into the storage room.”

“Ugh… If only that person weren’t here, we could have gone in! In that case, one of us will have to distract him while the other sneaks in.”

“Then who will distract him?”

“That would be you, Ruin, of course.”

“Me?”

“Yes! I’m the best at detecting magical energy!”

The Saintess stared fixedly at me, as if asking why I would ask something so obvious. I couldn’t possibly refute it.

Just as I was about to grudgingly accept it.

“I told you, it’s not like that! More innocently! Like, *ugh*! As if your intelligence is low. That’s how you have to do it!”

A harsh scolding was heard from the stage.

Looking over, the male student who had interrupted us earlier was scolding one of the club members.

“B-But wouldn’t it be better for a Saintess to be more embracing and mature?”

“That’s *your* opinion! The public doesn’t think that way! Look at the Saintess of the Church of Light right now! Does she seem embracing and mature? Her body might be, but her mental age isn’t at all! *Ugh*! Do it exactly the same!”

It was heresy that would immediately be judged as a devil’s tool if anyone from the Church of Light were to hear it.

And the very person concerned was right in front of me.

“What? Low intelligence? Low mental age? How dare you! *Gritted her teeth*!”

“Saintess-nim. Calm down.”

“How can I calm down? Get out of the way! I have to confront him right now!”

The Saintess pushed me aside and approached the male student with thumping footsteps.

He, who had been intimidating the club member, sensed someone’s presence and turned his head toward the Saintess.

“Hey!”

“W-What is it?”

“What you just said. Can you take responsibility for it?”

“Huh? What did I…?”

“That the Saintess has low intelligence and a low mental age! You shouldn’t speak so carelessly!”

Normally, when someone is reprimanded like this right to their face, they tend to shrink back.

However, this male student was no ordinary person.

“But isn’t it the truth?”

“It is not the truth!”

“How do you know that? Do you have any proof?”

“T-That’s not it, but… Do *you* have any? *You* don’t either!”

“I don’t need proof. Anyone who sees the Saintess’s usual conduct would know it.”

“T-This person, really!”

The Saintess trembled with rage.

The male student carefully examined her. He meticulously observed each of her facial features before looking down at her large breasts and nodding his head.

It was a satisfied expression.

“Hmm… If you insist, how about you show a demonstration?”

“Yes? A demonstration?”

“It seems you’re a devout believer, so you must know the Saintess well, right? Then how about you give acting guidance by demonstrating? Then I’ll be convinced.”

The male student’s suggestion was peculiar.

It seemed to give the Saintess an opportunity, yet it was a form where he lost nothing.

‘It’s a trap.’

I immediately recognized his aim.

This was a guess, but it was clear that the male student had been eyeing the Saintess ever since we encountered him in front of the storage room.

Then, when an opportunity arose, he thought, ‘Aha!’ and threw out the bait.

The problem was that the highly agitated Saintess had no room to notice such things.

“Fine! I accept!”

“Hmph! Then let’s go to the stage. I’ll even lend you props.”

“You think I can’t do it if you tell me to?! Ruin! I’ll be back in a moment! Wait for me!”

The Saintess confidently walked onto the stage.

And then she began to act…

“I am Saintess Iris. Uh, that… B-Blessings upon all life on this land! God always watches over us, and… what was it again? Wait, just a moment!”

It was so shoddy, it was hard to tell if she was trying to defend herself, or if her acting was truly ‘hitting them with a shield’ [of terrible performance].

As if impressed by her incredibly terrible acting, all the club members’ gazes focused on her.

‘Isn’t this an opportunity?’

After briefly surveying the situation, I moved stealthily towards the equipment storage room.

After one last quick look around, faster than anyone else, unlike others, I slipped into the storage room.

The interior was dark because the lights were off.

Of course, even so, thanks to my excellent perception stats, I had no trouble distinguishing objects.

I quickly rummaged through the storage room.

All sorts of props were rotting, covered in dust. I had no idea how long they’d been neglected.

“Is this why they didn’t let us in?”

Maybe they were afraid that a new member, having finally come, would be frightened away by this state of affairs.

It was a highly probable guess.

After diligently investigating the storage room for five minutes, I concluded that there was nothing unusual.

The Dark Church might have infiltrated the drama club, but at least in the storage room, I couldn’t find any clues.

I cautiously exited the storage room.

“Do you get it now? That’s what a Saintess is!”

“*Gritted her teeth*! Don’t be sarcastic!”

“See? That’s how she is. Huh?”

On the stage, the Saintess was running wild in her true form, as if she had completely thrown off her mask.

The male student even liked that, making the Saintess even angrier.

Well, thanks to that, the tense atmosphere had dissipated, and smiles bloomed on the club members’ faces, so it might have been for the best.

I approached the stage.

“Eris. How long are you going to keep doing that? Let’s go now.”

“U-Uh? Oh, right! I had something to do! You there! If you insult the Saintess again, you’ll be in big trouble, you hear!”

Not forgetting her final warning, she firmly warned the male student and came down from the stage.

It was when we reached the corner.

“*Whined*… What do we do now? All the time was wasted because of that person. We still need to check the storage room.”

As if she had just remembered her objective belatedly, the Saintess pouted.

I slowly enjoyed her reaction before patting her back.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Yes? Why?”

“Actually, while the Saintess was distracting him just now, I went into the storage room and checked it. There was nothing suspicious.”

“Really? Ruin. That’s amazing!”

The Saintess gave a thumbs up.

Seeing her brightly smiling face, I admitted that the male student’s words were not wrong.

“Then can I get an advance payment?”

“Advance payment?”

“Yes. Just one touch of your chest.”

Honestly, for such a contribution, I thought I deserved at least a small reward.

But the Saintess firmly refused.

“No! That’s only after everything is over!”

“Aw, that’s petty.”

“Hmph! I am petty, actually! Anyway, I think we’ve seen enough of the drama club. Let’s move to another place now.”

“Where’s next?”

“Next is the alchemy club. Let’s go!”

We offered an excuse to the female student who had greeted us when we first arrived, saying that acting wasn’t a good fit for us, and then left the small auditorium.

*

A few days later, I went out to investigate with the Saintess again today.

“*Yawn*… Only two more places left.”

“Yes. I hope it’s in one of these. I’m worried.”

“Tell me about it. It won’t be the very last one, will it? I want to stop now.”

Observing clubs was a little interesting at first, but now it was boring me to death.

As my energy drained and my shoulders slumped, the Saintess placed her hands on her hips and frowned.

Because of her posture, her shirt became taut, creating a scene where the buttons holding the fabric seemed about to burst at any moment.

“Aren’t you too weak?”

“And why are *you* so full of energy, Saintess-nim?”

“Hmph! I train every day, you see!”

The Saintess puffed out her chest at the compliment.

Now the buttons were on borrowed time. It felt like they would burst any moment.

“That’s amazing. Truly admirable. As expected, Saintess-nim is the best.”

“Hehe! Then behave well usually!”

As I showered her with praise one last time, the Saintess pushed out her chest, and finally, the button that had reached its limit spectacularly burst.