Savior – 2

“What kind of ridiculous stunt did you pull this time?”

The day after I dealt with the creature abandoned by God, Rije burst into my room.

Her chest, covered by a thin white cloth, violently swayed with each step, clearly showing her owner’s emotions. Rije had a completely fed-up expression.

“It wasn’t much different from what I usually do. Why, is something wrong?”

“Yes, there is. And a lot of it.”

Rije flopped onto the bed with a sigh of exasperation. Then, she took the pillow from the head of the bed and hugged it tightly. Her chest, pressed against the pillow, bulged out significantly to the side.

It was a very bold action, as if she didn’t care at all whether I was next to her or not. Naturally, I ended up sitting astride in front of Rije’s abdomen as she lay on her side, looking this way.

“What on earth is it?”

“You know that the battle nuns from the Holy Nation are on standby nearby, telling you to call them if you need anything, right?”

“I know. But why?”

“Since yesterday evening, no. Right, it was precisely after you, Delta, returned. Since then, it’s as if they collectively ate something wrong, their morale was much higher than usual, wasn’t it? And what’s this about wanting to change my clothes for me?”

“…They said they’d change your clothes?”

Instinctively, I subtly lowered my gaze towards Rije’s body. A short sleeveless top that clearly revealed her toned abs, and blue dolphin shorts that were short enough to be called underwear.

‘In an outfit like that?’

All the Knight Commanders wore was a sleeveless top and a pair of dolphin shorts. That’s because they don’t wear underwear underneath.

Even if they put it on and took it off roughly, it was an outfit that would genuinely take a generous 10 seconds to change, yet they offered to change it for her. Honestly, even to my ears, it sounded ridiculous.

Well, the Knight Commanders have a strangely twisted perception of clothing, so my thoughts wouldn’t be exactly the same as theirs.

“What, Delta, are you interested in my clothes too? Want to try taking them off?”

Perhaps I had been thinking for too long, as Rije seemed to notice my gaze and pulled lightly at the chest area of her sleeveless top with a sly smile.

The clothing slid down, exposing her violently deep cleavage and the upper part of her chest, which bulged out significantly from being pressed against the pillow. I quickly averted my gaze and met Rije’s eyes.

“That’s enough, just keep explaining.”

“Tch, how boring.”

Rije, pouting her lips, let go of her hand. The pink protuberance, which had been visibly protruding even through her clothes and was on the verge of being exposed, disappeared beyond the white sleeveless top.

Surely she wasn’t actually planning to pull it all the way down if I hadn’t told her to stop.

“So, as I barely managed to send the nuns back, I had a hunch. Ah, Delta must have pulled off something amazing again in the Holy Nation.”

In reality, it wasn’t just something amazing, but a matter that concerned the fate of the Holy Nation, but there was no particular benefit in blabbing about that monster everywhere.

It was enough for the Knight Commanders to only know to the extent they were guessing, which was that I had pulled off something amazing again. Not for my sake, but for the Popes’.

Because to explain the danger of the creature abandoned by God, I would inevitably have to mention the sacrifice the Pope of the Moon had to make.

I couldn’t just reveal such confidential matters on my own, could I? The Popes would have to say it themselves, or give permission for it to be said.

“But why? It’s comfortable and good if they change your clothes for you.”

I deliberately smiled slightly and changed the subject. Because if she asked what on earth I had done to make the battle nuns’ attitudes change so drastically, it would become awkward in many ways.

“What nonsense are you talking about? It feels subtly strange when someone else touches my body, you know?”

“Didn’t you always push me to touch you?”

“Are you, Delta, the same as those people?”

Saying that, Rije buried her face in my pillow and took a deep breath. I heard a ‘swoosh’ sound, and her slightly raised buttocks trembled. It was quite a lewd sight.

I thought the skin on the underside of her buttocks might be exposed if she wasn’t careful. No, if it were Rije, it wouldn’t be strange at all if she were doing that on purpose to show me.

“Besides, we’re perfectly capable of changing clothes by ourselves.”

“Really?”

“What do you mean, ‘really’? Are you teasing me?”

Rije looked at me with a pouting expression, then suddenly wore a face as if she’d thought of something amusing and smiled slyly. It was the smile she usually wore when she was about to play a prank on me, as always.

“Alright. How about we make a bet?”

“A bet out of nowhere?”

“I’ll take off all my clothes right now, and we’ll bet on whether I can put them on by myself. If I win, I’ll order you to do whatever you want with me.”

“Then, conversely, if I win?”

“I’ll let you do whatever you want with me.”

With a playful laugh, the strap of her sleeveless top began to slide down. Her right arm was raised, as if she really intended to take off her clothes. A clean, spotless armpit was revealed.

It was a very blatant gesture. Ever since I confessed that it would be hard to control myself once I crossed the line, Rije had always tempted me like this, teetering precariously on the edge of that line.

And I, too, could feel my patience reaching its limit more and more. There was a time when I thought I had adapted somewhat, but not anymore.

“It seems like the outcome is the same whether I win or lose, somehow?”

“Then it’ll be good for both of us, whether I win or lose.”

Rije smiled brightly. I reached out and stroked her head.

“Don’t say strange things. So why did you come to my room? Just to hang out? Or do you have something else to do?”

“Huh? Oh, right. I came to tell you something. I forgot because I was messing around with you, Delta.”

“As soon as you opened the door and came in, you started complaining that the battle nuns had gone crazy, didn’t you?”

“It’s been a long time since I saw you, so I wanted to talk first. And when did I say they were crazy? I said they were full of spirit. Are you going to say things that others might misunderstand?”

So, showing off her armpit with her shoulder strap half-down, like now, isn’t a situation that could be misunderstood, is that it?

I took my hand off her head. Rije buried her face deep in the pillow and peeked out with only her eyes, looking up at me.

“His Holinesses the Popes are holding a banquet. They say it’s the night after tomorrow?”

“A banquet? His Holinesses the Popes?”

“Yeah. Especially you, Delta, they said you must attend. That’s great, isn’t it? His Holinesses the Popes are personally inviting you to the banquet. Just what amazing thing did you pull off?”

Rije poked my side with her finger. When I caught her finger, Rije immediately intertwined her fingers with mine. Hand overlapped hand, and our fingers interlocked tightly.

Rije, meeting my eyes, grinned and pulled up the corners of her mouth.

“Rije. So you were here after all.”

Suddenly, the door burst open. With a blunt voice, someone walked into the room, their long silver hair flowing. It was Iris.

As soon as Iris entered, she saw Rije’s half-lowered shoulder strap and our intertwined hands, and froze stiff in place. Then, realizing that the situation she had worried about hadn’t occurred yet, she took another step.

“Oh, Iris? Why are you here?”

“…Why are you, Rije, saying that instead of Delta?”

“Indeed. Why are you saying that instead of me?”

Come to think of it, this was my room. Rije acted so naturally as if it were her own room that I was momentarily confused too.

Rije, receiving our gazes, wore her usual playful smile. Iris shook her head and then opened her mouth again.

“Anyway, I also came to deliver a separate message. At first, I tried to send Rije, but she never came down no matter how much time passed. Delta, you heard from Rije that there’s a banquet the night after tomorrow, right?”

“I just heard.”

“It’s related to that. Could you come out to the lobby?”

“Now?”

“Claudia and Erica are also waiting. I’d appreciate it if you could hurry as much as possible.”

“Alright. I’ll be right there.”

After finishing her words, Iris looked at Rije for a moment one last time, then closed the door and left. I also got up from the bed. I don’t know what it is, but if they want me to come out, I should follow.

Rije, after wiggling her body with her face buried in my pillow one last time, neatly tidied the bedding and stood up, following me. I stared blankly at her.

Rije, feeling my gaze, tilted her head.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You just tidied my bed. It’s surprising because you seem to have a personality far from cleanliness.”

“…How come you, Delta, are saying the same thing as Erica?”

Rije grumbled but stuck close to my right arm and linked her arm through mine. It was a sight I had become so accustomed to that I felt no particular emotion. Except for the soft sensation of her chest pressing against my arm, that is.

Due to the considerable height difference, I headed to the lobby with Rije, who was practically dangling as she moved. The lobby was quite a bit more bustling than usual.

First, Claudia saw me and smiled brightly, waving her hand vigorously. Erica, who was sitting next to her, greeted me by slightly bowing her head.

In front of them stood Stella and Selene. Stella and Selene silently stared at Rije, who was clinging to my right arm, then politely bowed at the waist towards me.

“You have arrived, Honored Guest-isiyeo.”

“Welcome, Honored Guest-nim.”

At the sight of the two being much more polite than yesterday, the Knight Commanders shot sharp glares at me. I tried my best to ignore those gazes and sat on the sofa right next to them.

“Since everyone has gathered, I will begin. You are aware that His Holinesses the Popes have invited the Honored Guest-nims to a banquet two nights from now.”

The glares directed at me finally disappeared only after Selene began her explanation. I confirmed that the four pairs of eyes were gone and sighed in relief inwardly.

“Before that, just a moment, have you decided how long you will stay in the Holy Nation?”

“I plan to leave at least four days from now.”

It was the conclusion reached after discussions with the Knight Commanders. It meant staying for only about a week, so the Popes would be very disappointed, but there was a reason to hurry back to the Empire.

Caecilia.

Caecilia, the Emperor of the Aeternum Empire, was the problem.

Considering that Selene herself even went to visit the Emperor before we headed to the Holy Nation, who knows what might happen if we stay here any longer.

“I understand. In that case, I will get to the main point.”

Selene and Stella simultaneously turned their eyes to me. The Knight Commanders also followed their gaze, so this time, a total of six pairs of eyes were looking at me.

“Regarding the banquet, may I ask a favor of the Honored Guest?”