episode_0174

One bright autumn morning.

“I… did it again…”

The first thing that overwhelmed Tier upon waking was immense regret.

The damp bodily fluids clinging stickily to her entire body.

Pulling the covers over her naked body, clearly visible in the morning sun, she slowly got up, clutching her throbbing forehead.

*Gurgling sound*

“Ugh…”

A terrible feeling of emptiness, accompanied by a loud noise, emanated from her stomach.

Looking at the clock, she realized it was long past breakfast time.

Even so, the Aither Temple’s breakfast menu consisted of herbs, vegetables, and greens, which was far from enough to fill her stomach. A large donation had been received some time ago, but the issue of budgeting was something only the head priest could handle, so any hope of improvement vanished into the unknown.

Tier groped for the space beside her on the bed.

“…Where did you go?”

But Nari was nowhere to be found, only the remnants of last night’s passionate encounter stained the sheets, making her fingers damp.

By calling Nari to the temple, she had hoped for at least a slight change in her feelings, but perhaps that was the wrong approach.

Only by clearing up these complicated feelings and accepting Nari would she be allowed to have her beside her.

No matter how hard she tried to prove her feelings through intense sex, as long as it remained physical pleasure and not love…

In the end, the first thing that would greet her when she opened her eyes in the morning would always be this ‘loneliness.’

Tier threw back the covers and sat up.

“Ouch…”

At that moment, a sharp pain shot through her body as if lightning had struck her waist.

She hadn’t noticed when she was lying down… last night’s sex had been so intense that her lower back ached and her groin throbbed.

Of course, those weren’t the only areas that had been focused on. Her abdomen and lower back were particularly sore, but in reality, her wrists, ankles, and even her neck had been gripped until she was drained, relentlessly pleasured.

Despite the all-out pleasure they’d shared, thankfully, Tier had a recovery magic spell on her body, limiting the muscle soreness to specific areas.

Even so, she hadn’t been able to fully satisfy Nari.

“Well… I saw her go at it with five people right in front of me, how am I supposed to compete with that?”

Nari’s stamina and physical strength were as extraordinary as her fighting ability. She wasn’t particularly well-built or muscular, yet it was a mystery where she got such strength.

She sat on the bed, helplessly laughing until the pain in her waist subsided.

Suddenly, two large objects on the table caught her eye.

“Those are…”

A pair of dildos, gifts from the day before, from the person who’d had her pleasured all day.

If she’d been relentlessly ravaged by the main body at night, she’d been used by this pair during the day. Given the mission to use them all day, the gifts seemed natural.

Tier leaned over, reaching under the bed with her arm, her fingers rummaging in the darkness until she found a box.

*Click-*

Inside was the black dildo she usually used. She pushed it to the side to make room and neatly placed Nari’s gifts next to it.

The sight of the two dildos side by side brought back memories of having both of her holes toyed with simultaneously. Just as moisture started to gather between her legs, she quickly snapped out of her fantasies.

“I have to control myself… I have to… Oh—?”

As she tried to close the box and put it back in its place…

There was something else on the table besides the dildos.

*Flutter-*

It was the Sacred Kingdom dispatch documents she had received from Priest Alex yesterday.

She glanced over the contents and gasped.

“They leave me to die and only contact me when it suits them, damn it.”

Immediately after her parents died, Tier hadn’t yet awakened her light mana. Although she was old enough to receive care, she was deemed useless and excluded from the support program.

On that terribly cold winter day, she escaped south in search of warmth to survive. She was only barely saved near the kingdom’s border when she was noticed by someone from the Aither Temple.

Treated less than human, they suddenly expected her to work her weight in gold with this ‘request for support,’ or rather ‘conscription notice.’ It was disgusting—one thing while they didn’t need her and another when they did.

“I’ll just use my authority to ignore this official document—”

Just as she was about to grab the edges and tear it up…

As if it were treasure hunt day, she noticed some small writing.

Below the list of names of those ‘volunteering’ for forced conscription—

「Dispatch Applicant Name」 「Tier Aither,…(Omitted)…, Narias Philbrogue」

—A name far too familiar was included among them.

. . .

Around lunchtime, Nari returned to the room.

Tier had already washed off the sticky residue and changed into clean new robes.

Having finished her grooming, she sat at the table, quietly tapping her fingers, waiting for Nari.

“Where have you been?” “Huh? Where do you mean… It’s a weekday, so I went to class.”

Her casual act of taking off her coat and hanging it on the rack before pulling up a chair, seemed to show how familiar she had become with the place, giving rise to complex emotions.

And she was smart and strong, so Tier assumed she’d just skim over classes. The fact that she went to class on time after what she’d done the previous night was unexpected, surprisingly diligent even.

“He…heee… I see.” “Hungry? I bought some food.” “Oh-? Yes, yes…”

She was surprisingly thoughtful, too.

As if she had seen Tier sleeping soundly when she left the room, she seemed to have realized that Tier had missed breakfast and was famished.

Tier circles a finger in the air, bringing forth a shadowy outline. From within, she draws out a steaming paper bag.

“Huff, huff huff—this is…!!” “Delicious, right?”

Inside were calzones—meat and cheese baked in a flour dough. Cheap ingredients, maximizing flavor and fullness; one would be enough for a meal. A very popular dish among the common folk.

In other words, it was a greasy, unhealthy food ideal for weight gain and absolutely unavailable at the temple, and therefore, the forbidden “outsider food.”

Of course, Tier focused intensely on the calzone and drooled. Nari watched with a satisfied expression as she took one out of the bag.

The bread, golden brown, looked scalding fresh from the oven. It was indeed too hot to handle barehanded, so Nari carefully split one in half and blew on it to cool it down.

She tore a bit of the bag to wrap around the bread to make it easier to hold, gently offering it to Tier.

“Here.” “Oh, hot, hot!” “Careful.”

Even so, Nari held the bread carelessly with her bare hand.

Seeing Nari’s slightly reddened fingers, Tier opened her eyes wide and took a calzone.

“Hooo—hooo… Mmm-”

As soon as she took a bite, hot juices and oil gushed forth. The heat slowly cooled in her mouth as the savory taste of meat and cheese arose.

The crisp yet soft bread beautifully complemented the rich flavors; an explosion of umami, tempered by a smooth counterpoint; Tier felt a sense of bliss.

“Mmmmm… Delicious.” “Eat up.”

Next to Tier, who devoured the calzone in a flash, Nari rolled up her sleeves.

She’d showered, but Tier’s room still needed cleaning. The bedsheets and floor were damp with their bodily fluids, and dust had gathered on the furniture—a likely sign of Tier neglecting her duties lately.

Nari had watched Yuri work many times before; she knew Yuri’s magic spells like the back of her hand.

It was just a matter of showing off what she had learned.

“[Water Ball], [Steam], [Cleaning Powder]… Ah, right.”

Cleaning while someone else was eating wasn’t exactly polite, Tier should be the one to move, but seeing how hungrily Tier was eating made Nari sympathize.

She extended a hand toward Tier.

“[…Terr Barrier].”

Immediately, a translucent white barrier enveloped Tier. It looked much like she was inside a soap bubble.

“What’s this…?” “To prevent dust from getting on your food.” “Uh-huh, thanks… Mmm-”

She thanked her, but the food before her was simply too amazing. The thanks and the food had become a single action.

Nari smiled and flung open all the windows of the room.

*Swish swish swish—*

Then, she conducted herself like an expert playing with soap.

With each gesture, white foam would clean various places around the room. Wherever the foam passed, contaminants would be removed, leaving an immaculate surface.

She stripped the sheets, hung them outside, and then put them into large water bubbles and swirled them around, mimicking a washing machine. As if by magic, the water vanished and turned into steam which disinfected the sheets.

Finally, they were dried with a burst of hot air. The fluffy clean sheets floated into the room like a rug and were neatly placed on the bed.

“Whew… That should be better.” “Amazing, really…”

The result was nothing compared to Yuri’s standard, but Nari was pleased with her efforts for a first-timer.

Nari soon removed the soap bubble from around Tier and reached forward to gently cup her cheek with her palm. She used her thumb to wipe the sauce from Tier’s lips.

Naturally, that thumb sought more familiar territory.

*Smooch-*

“Wh-what… If there was sauce I could have just said so…” “Did you not like it?” “Uhhh… No…”

Was there anything in the sequence of events that Tier would dislike? Instead, every ordinary act tugged and swayed Tier’s heart.

Whether intentional or not, it seemed so natural for these simple things to keep happening in her everyday life.

Result:

Tier’s heart fluttered, her cheeks turning crimson.

She quickly averted her gaze, it falling upon the document on the desk; she grabbed it to change the subject.

“S-so… I saw your name here…” “Oh, that? I added it.” “You didn’t need to follow me to the Sacred Kingdom dispatch…”

It was work she would’ve preferred not to do. It was a country, and a religious institution, she didn’t want to see again.

The harsh words she had accumulated in her heart poured out of her mouth; it was too late before Tier found herself listening intently.

“I guessed as much… that’s about right.” “So, this is my problem. You don’t have to go…” “Then I have even more reason to go.”

*Swish-*

She quickly took the document from Tier’s hand and scanned through it again.

The date was tomorrow, the location was the central religious shrine of the Sacred Kingdom, and the journey would take about three days. Even if she had decided to help Tier, it was something she should probably not be involved in.

But when had Nari’s actions ever been bound by such calculations?

A mischievous grin spread across that face as she returned the document to Tier.

“We need to settle things.” “Settle things… What are you planning to do now?” “I’m gonna settle things with the people holding you back. I’m grateful for having been born and raised by them, but I chose you, so they need to let you go.”

Tier’s face turned crimson in an instant.

*Bang-*

“Th-that’s… not possible…!! It’s too…”

“I’ve been observing for days now. I can’t leave you here.”

Though Nari thought the Lumina church acted like an extension of Tier herself, she’d already repaid her debt.

Those words were filled with warm affection for Tier’s life, but they were also bold and stubborn— impossible to accept.

“You said you’d give me time… This sudden urgency—” “I gave you enough time. I’m leaving, and you need to answer me.”

Tier’s eyes swam, overwhelmed by the rapid pace of the discussion. Nari leaned in close.

“Do you dislike me?” “It’s not that…”

Good.

Too good.

So exciting and so beautiful that it was almost overwhelming; her heart felt like it was leaping out of her chest.

But, if she said those words, if they took physical form as words,

It would be like crossing a river with no return.

Frightened by that possibility, Tier couldn’t easily formulate an answer.

Her heart was so complicated. Did Nari not realize, or did she know already? Nari’s gentle smile made her wish she could smack her.

But her hand, raised assertively, paused; her fist clenched tightly.

*Chuckle-*

“I’ll go for today now. The thing left only needs…the one major thing left to finish tomorrow anyway.” “……….”

As Nari got up and put on her coat, Tier reached out her hand.

But her fingertips lacked the strength, her hand falling limply.

Don’t go.

She silently urged.

“…See you tomorrow.”

Nari looked at her, then left the room.

Tier stared at her for a long time.

She looked around. Clean furniture was everywhere, the room scented pleasantly fresh. The lingering aroma of the calzone tickled her nostrils; She wished she’d gotten to hate her; that way she wouldn’t have this problem. Her life as just a puppet saint, maybe occasionally seeking help from Nari for her sexual frustration.

Without guilt, without complaints.

Focusing only on the past rather than the future, she would’ve kept living as a saint.

But Nari, that boulder somehow rolled into her life, twisted Tier’s body and forced her to look towards the future.

A bright, warm future, just thinking about it filled her with happiness.

Did this mean she could leave everything behind?

The to-do list, winter snow-like in its thickness, had been cleared away by Nari.

Tier had a long, long time to finally think things over.