Chapter 77

〈 Chapter 77 〉 Self-Inflicted Trap

*

There are few sights as entertaining as a person caught at the Crossroads of Choice, clutching their head in despair.

A child deep in thought about whether to choose mom or dad.

A husband sweating coldly and awkwardly tilting his head at the question of whether he’ll marry the same person in the next life.

A gamer seriously pondering whether to pick fire type, water type, or grass type for a smoother gameplay ahead.

Facing an irrecoverable choice, humans can’t help but imagine what lies ahead, even if it’s just a whimsical daydream about their family.

”Anything… anything…”

Saintess, who had heard what the received paper was and had a clear understanding of it, occasionally murmured to the air in a wobbly voice.

Just a crumpled piece of paper with a few messy words scrawled on it, hardly different from trash.

But the sight of the Saintess holding that similar trash as if it were a precious treasure felt like watching a lucky person stumble upon a treasure map on a deserted island.

”Really… really, will Welna grant me anything I want with just this…?”

”Yes. Of course. This is a special gift just for you, as a reward for being a good girl until now.”

”Okay! Right! Welna has been good! Very good!”

Her confidently assertive attitude momentarily sparked intense struggles in my mind regarding the standards of goodness.

But given the situation, I decided to put those trifling thoughts aside for now.

”But keep this in mind, Saintess. This Wish Granting Ticket can only be used once, and if you don’t decide on a wish by today, it will simply disappear. So, you need to think carefully about what wish you want and tell me, okay? Understand?”

”Uh, yes! Ah, got it!”

”Haha.”

Seeing the Saintess listening attentively and nodding obediently reminded me of a cute image of a child going on their first errand, repeating their parents’ advice, causing a smile to unconsciously slip out.

”Did you give one to her too…?”

”Huh?”

Just then, the Saintess gently tugged at my sleeve and asked a quiet question.

Her reference to “her.”

It was a rather vague term, making it hard to guess who she meant.

But the barely hidden hostility in her guarded voice made me suspect the identity of that individual.

”Are you talking about the Hero?”

”…”

The Saintess silently nodded to answer my question, gazing up at me.

Since our not-so-great first meeting, the relationship between the Saintess and the Hero could easily be called the worst.

The only person whom the typically reserved Saintess openly expressed hostility towards was the Hero.

Despite being the kind of person who seemed to praise and accept everything about the world, the Hero made it abundantly clear that he antagonized the Saintess.

Even Aphis and Dawna, who often growled at each other, didn’t have a rivalry as serious as this.

They could communicate somewhat when a mediator was present, and they didn’t seem to loathe each other to the point of wanting to extinguish one another.

However.

‘I dislike her. She keeps trying to take my stuff. Don’t play with her.’

‘I don’t understand why the Blessing Ceremony is such a necessary ritual! I’m strong without relying on things like blessings! So, I don’t want any help from the Saintess if I can avoid it!’

It was an extreme state.

Since I had been closely observing their interactions, it wasn’t difficult to pick up on the fact that the Hero and the Saintess regarded each other with extreme animosity, evident even in subtle changes in their conversations.

And I had a vague idea of what catalyzed their emotional fluctuations.

I wished to deny it, but honestly, at this point, I couldn’t pretend not to know.

”I haven’t given one to the Hero…”

”Really? Really?”

”Y-yes. I just said that’s specially for the Saintess. Didn’t I?”

”Huh…”

Perhaps my answer was quite satisfactory.

The Saintess, looking extremely delighted, occasionally bounced in her spot like a rabbit welcoming its owner.

Though I couldn’t share certain matters with others, and knowing that the Hero, whom I had spent several years of joys and sorrows with, had developed feelings for me made me feel undeserving of accepting those feelings, I could begrudgingly understand such a circumstance.

But I had no idea why the Saintess was so obsessed with me when we had only known each other for a little over half a year.

Certainly, there couldn’t be a half-sister I was separated from due to unavoidable circumstances in my childhood.

Nor could it be that my past lover had reincarnated and we were reborn together because my previous life wasn’t dramatic enough to be central to such a tragic narrative.

Even if I wanted to seek advice from someone, it seemed the Saintess herself didn’t know the reason, so there was no way I could derive a suitable answer to such questions alone.

If I were to leave this place sooner rather than later, I wondered how the Saintess might react.

Just thinking about that outline overwhelmed me with a dizzying pressure, and I soon abandoned those thoughts.

”Well then, I’ll be choosing a Fairy Tale Book to read shortly. Please let me know once you’ve decided on your wish. Got it?”

”Okay. Got it!”

With the Saintess’s firm response as my cue, I cleared my head of the clutter and shifted my gaze toward the heap of Fairy Tale Books scattered on the floor.

Fortunately, the Saintess seemed pleased with the hastily concocted suggestion I had made.

Gazing fondly at the Wish Granting Ticket she held dear, her occasionally swaying form reminded me of a metronome.

”♬”

Seeing her hum a little tune now and then suggested she was quite happy.

I secretly hoped she would continue to lose herself in her thoughts and let the time limit pass, but I was fully aware that this was too optimistic a thought.

‘No matter what it is, please just refrain from a kiss…’

If things continued like this, the Saintess’s pure lips might be soiled because of me.

However, remaining idle could lead to an even greater tragedy, so unfortunately, the best I could think to do with my lacking brain was this.

I really should have stabbed my hand with a knife instead.

Every now and then, a pale regret blurred my vision, but I shook my head a couple of times to swiftly cast those thoughts aside.

‘Let’s settle my mind with some Fairy Tale Books.’

As I picked up the disheveled books on the floor, I scrutinized their covers one by one.

Last time, I read thrilling adventure stories, so it would be better to choose tales packed with life lessons this time for educational purposes.

”Let’s see…”

Until recently, I had to spend considerable time selecting Fairy Tale Books suitable for the Saintess’s mental age that didn’t contain any lascivious content.

However, that troublesome task had been taken over by the Sister, who had kindly offered to handle it, so now I just needed to choose whatever book caught my eye.

”Oh, this is a new book I haven’t seen before. Did the Sister bring it in?”

The book that caught my attention was an unfamiliar Fairy Tale Book with beautiful illustrations and exquisite, vintage material.

The title was written in ancient Elvish, so apart from the word ‘Elf,’ I couldn’t read anything else.

But at least the content was written in the common tongue and not just confined to the cover title.

It was expected, as it was typical of translated books of Elvish tomes.

I carefully opened the book and read its first sentence.

”Did you really buy an Elf as a sex slave…?”

Thud.

Immediately, I hastily closed the book.

I was sure I had seen it wrong. No, it must have been a mistake.

There’s no way a book like this, with such sinister wording, could exist in a library that the meticulous Sister had boasted about managing.

With my mind in a whirlwind, I reopened the book to reconfirm the identity of that ominous phrase.

Flap.

”T-this is…!”

It didn’t take long for the denial I wanted to maintain to solidify into a shocking reality.

It was definitely true.

It was an Adult Novel.

A type of Forbidden Book that must never be found within the children’s reach, and a dangerous item that adults should never publicly display.

In some ways, it required more caution than handling explosives; the question of how such a book could irresponsibly lie in the Meeting Room where the Saintess was should be addressed later.

The true problem was that the Saintess might have seen this book.

”I’ve decided on my wish!”

Right after that thought, a pure voice filled with intense excitement echoed brightly.

*