episode_0161

“How did you get here…!!”

Tier was about to vomit up the sausage she had crammed into her mouth. However, she calmly took a breath, suppressing the heart that felt like it would burst out of her body, and managed to swallow the piece of meat.

“What are you doing here?”

“You… you are the one—” *cough*

*Cough* *cough*

Apparently, she had swallowed a bit too quickly. She choked, coughed, and gasped for breath.

She managed to pick up a glass of water, gulped it down like a tsunami, and immediately stood up.

*Creak*

“I… I have nothing more to say…!!”

“Hey— wait a minute—”

Tier quickly placed two silver coins on the table and dashed out of the pojangmacha (street food stall). Behind the quickly parted tent, she saw Nari getting up in a similar hurry.

What should I do… What should I do…

What am I supposed to talk to her about—!!

Just seeing her face made her breathless and tense, and she couldn’t imagine having a proper conversation.

Above all, she hadn’t sorted out her thoughts. She had created distance because she needed time to consider what was more important and less important to her.

From over her shoulder, she saw Nari chasing after her frantically. It looked like Nari wouldn’t let her go if she caught her.

“Stop right there—!!”

“No way—!!”

Tier ran at full speed, using every ounce of her strength.

Her physical abilities and magical abilities were no match for Nari’s. Being caught was only a matter of time.

Moreover…

*Sway* *Sway*—

The two large lumps of fat on her body were hindering her run at full speed.

Increasing air resistance to the maximum and constantly shifting her center of gravity to the outside of her body. With each step, it felt like someone was pulling her all over her body.

She felt that this time… it wasn’t going to work.

Tier didn’t stop running. Clasping her hands together, she prayed to the Goddess.

“I earnestly wish… please make my body thin and light, right now—!!”

Normally, such a prayer would never be answered.

However, Tier’s heart was more fervent than anyone else’s at that moment, and she was facing a major ordeal of faith vs. love, a life’s crossroads. Pitied by this, the Goddess bestowed a ‘miracle.’

*Whoosh*—!

Her body was enveloped in the holy golden light of the Goddess of Light. Her long-awaited prayer was finally answered, and she began to feel as if a thin film was tightly wrapping around her upper body.

“Tier!! Doing such a cowardly thing…!!”

“Shut up, you idiot—! Don’t follow me—!”

Her once large breasts successfully shrunk, and she became a slender, flat-chested woman once more.

Having experienced both body types, Tier knew better than anyone the disadvantages of large breasts and the advantages of small ones. She immediately headed for the bustling marketplace, throwing herself into the crowd.

*Thump* *Whoosh*

“Hey, you! Watch where you’re going—!!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! Excuse me!”

She pushed past their shoulders, finding gaps and quickly slipping through. Unlike before, because her body was now thin, she was able to smoothly glide through the narrow gaps.

However.

Nari, who had followed, was in a slightly different situation.

*Sway* *Splash*—

“What’s with you—!! Watch where you’re…”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!!”

“Watch… watch where you’re… no…”

She, who had breasts as large as Tier’s, had no chance of getting through the narrow crowds. Every time she bumped into someone, she would stop, enduring their lingering gazes before she could move on.

She was stopped after just a few steps.

“Damn it… frustrating—!!”

It was a relief.

Tier quickly left before Nari could catch up again. She escaped to a place where no one could possibly find her.

. . .

*Thump* *Thump*

“Haah, haah…”

She had exhausted all her strength in the fierce chase.

Her legs were numb, and she had little strength left. The tension released and her whole body went limp.

Tier, with tired steps, shuffled to the edge of the pier and cautiously sat down.

“Hooaaah…”

Somehow, her feelings had changed since that day.

‘Is it embarrassment…?’

She couldn’t explain it herself. Everything around her was a mystery. She couldn’t even understand why her heart was beating so fast now, so how could she possibly understand someone else’s feelings?

“This pounding heart… it’s just because I ran so fast, that’s all, yes…”

She told herself it was nothing, but the more she did, the stronger the feeling that it *was* something. The harder she tried not to think about it, the more Nari’s face appeared in her mind.

‘I? I’m madly in love.’

“Guuuh…!!”

She pressed her burning face in her hands and shook her head from side to side. She was so ashamed of herself for being so affected by just a few words.

“I… what should I do…”

It’s understandable that she’s influenced by Nari’s thoughts. It was clear that Nari was a charming person, both in looks and personality. It’s simply a natural reaction of human instinct.

The problem is that her heart keeps wavering.

If you suppress a person with strong will using force and tell them to give up immediately, they may not give up readily. There’s such a thing as a strength stronger than physical force.

However, if that person faced hardship in the form of poverty, and was then suppressed not by strength but by money, even if their will doesn’t break, they would surely waver a little. An easy and quick way to overcome the hardship would have appeared.

That’s exactly how Tier is now.

The duty of being a blessed saint, the grace of the temple that took her in and raised her, pitying her body abandoned even by her parents. She knew that she existed because of the immense help she received, and she always carried that gratitude on her back.

But now she was beginning to be crushed by that weight.

As her body grew and her eyes opened, more honor and responsibility than necessary were piled on top of that gratitude. The burden she had to bear became incredibly big.

Because of this, she forgot why she was living, constantly weighing herself and her burdens, and was in a severe state of neglecting herself, blindly looking only at the light of God.

Then.

Someone held a sword to her neck and threatened her.

‘You… haven’t said you love me yet.’

Just a single word, just acknowledging her feelings. She could throw off that weight of life and feel relieved immediately. Unlike those who only saw the light emanating from her body, Nari looked at her as a whole person and promised to be with her forever.

When Tier, who longed for love, was suppressed by unreasonable love, the thick shell that had been constricting her body melted away, leaving only a tender heart. It could only tremble like an aspen leaf.

“Hwaaaah…”

She wanted to see Nari’s face. She wanted to run to her and kiss her lips immediately.

But the moment “Saint Tier’s” existence would disappear.

Light, faith, honor, power, mission… even if she received a love greater than all of it together, those weren’t things she could easily throw away.

Moreover, it’s frightening. It’s terrifying to walk down an unknown path, not a clear path paved by others. She felt the reality that to gain, one must give up, and it made her sad.

*Tap* *Drip*

“I… I really don’t know what to do, Nari…?”

Tears welled up and flowed down Tier’s cheeks.

*Whoosh*—!

And then.

A mystical wind blew before her eyes.

Under the warm sunset, a pure white aura gently floated down and quietly settled beside Tier.

Like the messengers of the Goddess, tiny particles of light. Like the snow that quietly accumulates on the roadside after a winter nap, after blinking a couple of times, those snow-white lights had become human form.

“Sorry.”

“…Since when were you here?”

“From the beginning.”

Tier, at the sudden appearance of Nari, did not flinch in surprise but laughed as if it were natural.

That’s been always her way. As if existing outside the realm of common sense, she achieves whatever she wants. She thought she would be caught unless she fled all the way to the kingdom, but…

“…Idiot.”

Seeing her face again made her laugh.

“I was a bit hasty. Actually… I got rejected by another guy right after the final exams.”

“…Even with this many guys around, you’re still not satisfied?”

“Yes. I am still hungry.”

How many people would it take to satisfy her?

Even while trembling at the boundless audacity of her desires, the intense and warm light she emanated relieved her tension.

*Swish*—

Nari gently reached out and stroked Tier’s head.

“You… can answer slowly. I know you’re struggling a lot, and that your heart’s complicated…”

The warm sunset before her eyes… Nari’s warmth felt even warmer.

“Take your time so far to think about things… about me.”

“…Yes.”

*Hug*—

Tier gently leaned into her arms and quietly closed her eyes.

The irregular sound of the waves, *whoosh*, seeped into the last day of this vacation.

Simultaneously announcing the end of summer.