Chapter 168 – Behemoth – 5
The figure was Selene.
Walking down the hallway with a blank expression just like Stella, Selene trembled slightly as soon as our eyes met and asked in a slightly moist voice.
“… Distinguished Guest, was that a miracle you performed?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was asking if that pillar of light that appeared in the sky was a miracle you caused.”
‘As expected.’
Selene saw it too, I thought.
And if Selene saw it, then the rest of the battle nuns in this city had definitely seen it as well. It was something I had already anticipated, but getting confirmation felt strange.
“That’s correct.”
When I answered affirmatively, her eyes widened. Selene froze for a while in that state and then hesitantly spoke.
“S-Sorry… I apologize, Distinguished Guest. I was just so surprised…!”
“It’s fine. I completely understand. The Inquisitor had a similar reaction.”
“The Inquisitor too…”
Selene muttered absentmindedly.
“But how did you get here? Did the Inquisitor come because of the Behemoth too?”
I honestly didn’t expect to meet Selene here. It’s one thing to see Stella since I knew her from the game, but Selene wasn’t supposed to show up. This seemed to be the aftermath of capturing the Creature Abandoned by God.
“… Yes. I also came to capture that blasphemous demon under Your Holiness’s orders.”
Despite her blank expression, Selene answered readily. She was much more composed than Stella, who was too shocked to respond properly.
“Then it worked out perfectly. The corpse of that thing should be in the top room of this mansion. I entrusted the cleanup to the Inquisitor; if you’re together, it’ll definitely be done faster. I still have things to do, so I’ll go ahead.”
Just as I was about to pass by her, Selene, who had been constantly twitching her lips, glanced back at me.
“… Distinguished Guest.”
“Yes?”
I stopped. She seemed like she had something to say.
“… I know it might be rude, but may I impose on you for a moment…?”
Her eyes were slightly glistening. For a moment, I thought she might burst into tears, and I hesitated, but upon closer inspection, it didn’t seem like that was her intention.
Assuming my silence was an expression of consent, Selene brought her hands together in front of her chest and approached with an excited look on her face.
Although she said it would be rude, it didn’t seem like she was going to stop.
Feeling somewhat burdened by her increasingly glistening eyes, I unintentionally lowered my gaze. Through her translucent tights, I noticed a stiff pink protrusion at the tip of her breast.
I hurriedly raised my gaze again. It was better to make eye contact than to stare at her nipple.
A heated haa, haa moan slipped between Selene’s slightly parted lips. The breath, heavily mixed with a woman’s fragrance, brushed against my lips. It was damp and warm.
Approaching right in front of me, Selene placed her hand over her left breast and closed her eyes.
“What are you trying to do?”
“… I’m sorry, Distinguished Guest.”
Even at my question, Selene only offered an apology and stood still. I had no idea what she was trying to do.
For a while, Selene remained with her hand over her heart, eyes closed, and only after a significant amount of time had passed did she slowly open them. Her once glistening eyes returned to normal.
“It’s done. Truly, I’m very sorry. Distinguished Guest.”
“There’s no need to apologize. I would appreciate it if you could just tell me what you were doing.”
“… I am sorry. I wanted to gauge Your faith level since you created the pillar of light… I knew it was deeply rude to measure someone’s faith, but I did it anyway. If you wish for punishment, I will accept it gladly.”
Selene, with her head bowed deeply, apologized once again. She seemed genuinely upset, not knowing what to do.
But honestly, I felt nothing. I didn’t know how Selene felt, but I don’t believe in God. To me, faith was just a stat that increased when I hit a point.
‘It wouldn’t amount to much anyway.’
And even if she measured my faith, it probably wouldn’t reach the average in the Holy Kingdom. My faith stat was only 4, and my divine power stat was just 10.
‘Oh, maybe with such little faith, they’d find it even more surprising that a miracle occurred.’
In either case, it was a gamble.
“For now, I understand. But, could I ask one question of the Inquisitor?”
I decided not to ask what the measurement result was.
No matter what the result was, it would be interpreted in my favor, and since Selene felt so guilty, I wanted to change the subject as soon as possible.
“… Yes, Distinguished Guest. What are you curious about?”
“Have you seen a knight named Helga? She is much shorter than me, with a bob cut that falls to her shoulders—”
“Oh, if you’re referring to the knight under your command, I have seen her. It wasn’t me who found her, but during the battle nuns’ process of identifying heresy, they gathered the knights conquered by the heretics in one place. Among those knights was a female knight who introduced herself as the vice commander of the Dark Night Order.”
Feeling relieved that they had already found Helga, I furrowed my brows slightly upon hearing that they identified heresy.
“But, identifying heresy means…?”
Selene seemed to read my concern through my expression and shook her head.
“Among the knights who introduced themselves as members of the Dark Night Order, none of them were identified as heretics. Moreover, even when expanding the scope to the entire city, due to your prompt killing of the demons, there were hardly any souls who had been deprived, so you may rest assured.”
“… That’s a relief.”
I sighed inwardly. If even one member of the Dark Night Order had fallen prey to a demon and been ‘saved’ by a battle nun, I would have felt pretty bitter about it.
I decided not to worry about how they identified heresy. As fellow women, it was understandable. It would be less embarrassing than what I would go through.
“Do you perhaps know where those knights are gathered?”
“Of course. I will gladly guide you, so please follow me, Distinguished Guest.”
Turning around, Selene began walking down the opposite end of the hallway. Her clothes revealed the silhouette of her bottom covered in translucent tights. Her long ponytail swayed from side to side at the base of her back.
The combination of the way she walked, emphasizing her hips, and her outfit was incredibly provocative. I focused my gaze on the back of Selene’s head and followed her.
Even though it had been a while since I last saw Selene, her attire remained the same.
It had already been three days since Stella and Selene arrived in this city.
The Inquisitor and the Inquisition, as well as the battle nuns beneath them, were still in Cassandra’s city, along with the Dark Night Order.
I originally planned to return immediately. Stella and Selene would take care of the subsequent matters, and most importantly, Nix was still waiting for me in the forest.
But after hearing a heartfelt request to help maintain order in the city, as the battle nuns brought along wouldn’t suffice, I changed my mind.
‘Both sides have slightly different motives, though.’
It was obvious why the Holy Kingdom wanted me to stay here. They must have been significantly shocked by the pillar of light I created, so they’d want to keep me as close as possible.
I needed the assistance of the popes to figure out what was going on, so I intended to return to Aurora’s domain and head straight to the Holy Kingdom anyway.
However, with Stella and Selene around, I could send Nix back with the Dark Night Order and head straight to the Holy Kingdom, resulting in a mutual understanding of interests.
‘I feel like I might be misunderstanding something big though…’
However, there was a side effect of the people from the Holy Kingdom starting to hold me in unusually high regard.
In particular, the way the battle nuns looked at me was far more intense than that of Stella and Selene.
Previously, they thought of me as just “a distinguished guest of Your Holiness who must be well cared for,” but now it had changed to “a person who has accomplished something close to a miracle and must be desperately cared for with soul and life.”
Thanks to this ridiculous mindset, even though I was the one getting treated like a guest, it was me who felt like I was dying.
They babbled so much about wanting to do things for me that I couldn’t even drink a glass of water properly.
In the meantime, the regular members treated me just fine, which was even more puzzling.
‘… How is Helga doing? I haven’t seen her since then. I hope she’s not in a similar position as I am.’
To cut to the chase, Helga remembered perfectly well what she had done.
From the charm that made her rub her breasts while enticing me to the moments she buried her face in my shoulder to smell me, and even her desperate plea to mix our bodies, she remembered it all.
Whether it was the embarrassment or what, I hadn’t seen her face since that time, except for a few hesitant words we exchanged. Even the general members delivered messages in her stead.
It was easy to understand why that was happening. I would’ve been mortified if I were in her position.
If I gave an order, I could have her brought to me, but I decided against it. There was no harm in waiting until her embarrassment eased a bit.
Instead, I told the regular members everything.
Since I disliked a stiff atmosphere, I was keeping things relaxed, but there is indeed a hierarchy in the Dark Night Order. They wouldn’t understand such behavior without a proper reason.
As expected, after hearing the reasoning behind Helga’s sudden actions, the regular members said they could understand since it was like that, chuckling.
I told them not to tell anyone else, but I didn’t know if they would keep that secret from the other comrades. From then on, it would be a burden Helga would have to carry alone.
Who said she could avoid looking at my face just because she’s embarrassed?
‘As long as I recover before someone from the Imperial Palace comes, it’s fine. I wonder who will come this time. I hope Kaitquilia doesn’t come in person again.’
While sending a letter to Aurora saying that it looked like I would have to stay here a bit longer, I also sent one to the Imperial Palace.
I wrote that I had subjugated a demon named Behemoth. Unexpectedly, it turned out that I kept my promise to Kaitquilia, vowing to grant her wish.
“Kihihit… All set.”
Nix, who was busy magically carving wood, approached me with a satisfied expression. In the place where Nix had just been sitting, there was a crudely carved sculpture of a person.
“Got it. Just in case, could you stand a bit further back?”
“Hehe. Sure.”
Nix bounced on her chest and dododod stepped back. Then she hid behind the wood, peeking at me with just her face and chest out.
It didn’t seem like she had done it on purpose, but her large chest naturally protruded, drawing attention.
The Wingless Nightmare radiated brilliant light. I lifted the splendid sword shining with gold and silver high into the sky.
I was about to test the special ability of the Divine Attribute of the Wingless Nightmare now. I needed to find out whether it was a temporary phenomenon or something that applied continuously.
This was already the second time such an event occurred. The first was during the boss battle against the Creature Abandoned by God, and the second was during the Behemoth boss battle.
The content was almost the same. When I utilized divine power to attack, the damage of that attack multiplied immensely.
‘It’s worth trying.’
If it turns out this isn’t a temporary effect and is something that applies permanently, then I can just switch to a cleric build.
Even though it’s a one-time use per round, I know a place where I can reset my stats, so it wouldn’t be a problem to switch builds now.
I took a deep breath, then swung the Wingless Nightmare down and activated its special ability.
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