“Schlus?!”
“It’s just fainting. It’s all over. You can relax.”
“······.”
Iris, who had come out through the main gate, was surprised for a moment but soon let out a sigh of relief.
As she approached Schlus, who was being supported by Trie and Hertlocker on either side, she realized he was breathing.
However, his condition wasn’t good.
His skin was peeled, burned, or crushed all over.
None of the wounds posed a direct threat to his life, but the pain was horrifying just to imagine.
“What about Erica and Aintz?”
“Both fainted from mana exhaustion. No external injuries.”
“That’s a relief. Then no one······.”
Iris’s smile slowly contorted.
She spotted a stretcher coming through the main gate.
A middle-aged man split in half at the torso and a familiar face stained completely black in the abdomen.
Watching that sight, Iris sighed.
“Professor Sergey and the Royal Guard Captain······. Both of them perished.”
“I see······.”
Though she hadn’t had the chance to attend Professor Sergey’s lectures, she had heard much about his character.
The person who was like a giant tree at the Imperial University had passed away.
Iris stood quietly before the two corpses, murmuring words of prayer.
She wished for them to sleep peacefully.
“What should we do with this sword?”
“For now, let’s move it to the basement storage.”
“About the casualties, we need to report to His Majesty······”
“I’ll take care of Schlus!”
Seizing the moment of confusion, Iris hastily took Schlus into her arms.
He was heavy.
But with the help of magic, it wasn’t impossible to move him alone.
The treatment for the injured guards from the fanatic’s attack had all been completed a short while ago.
So now, she could dedicate herself to Schlus’s treatment without any interruptions······
“Civilian casualties are enormous! Are there no available medical personnel? We need to hurry out for support!”
“Haaah······.”
That couldn’t be true.
Now that she looked, Schlus’s flesh was healing, albeit slowly, but fast enough to be visible.
Such was the power of a Majin.
Even wounds that would regularly seem fatal to a human were healing with no issue······.
No matter how exaggerated she tried to be, Schlus’s wounds weren’t at the life-or-death level.
So, there was no other choice.
“Hey, nurse!”
“Yes?”
“Please provide first aid to Schlus Hainkel. Just disinfect the wounds and wrap a bandage, and he’ll wake up on his own later.”
“Yes, a moment······?! Schu, Schlus Hainkel?!”
Iris entrusted Schlus to a passing nurse and tied her hair back.
Iris was still a saint.
A saint protecting the people.
There was a time she considered giving up being a saint, but after failing to conceive, she had let it slip away.
Of course, even if she wasn’t a saint, Iris’s choice would be the same.
She had to go save people.
*
I didn’t think I had wounds severe enough to faint.
There were parts where my muscles were torn and inner bones were visible, but there was no major issue with movement.
It was probably the sudden influx of the Majin’s power into my body that was the cause.
I had felt dizzy for a while when absorbing the Madman’s power, but this time, I immediately projected mana at full force without any time to adapt, so it wouldn’t be strange to faint.
Yet it wasn’t a big issue, so the duration of my unconsciousness likely wasn’t long.
Before 48 hours were up, I woke up······
“Uum······ um······. *slurp* *slurp*.”
There was a sound coming from beside me that made it hard to open my eyes.
I tried to stabilize my breathing while carefully assessing the hospital room situation.
My whole body was wrapped in bandages.
My right arm, where the bandage had come undone, was being licked by a girl in a black nun’s outfit.
“Ahh······ eehhh······.”
Every time Iris’s tongue touched the gruesomely mashed, red flesh on my forearm, it stung.
At first, it seemed utterly lewd, but seeing the flesh gradually healing made those thoughts lessen.
There were rumors that a saint’s saliva had holy power.
In practice, it contained a large amount of mana, aiding in healing magic.
“This is crazy.”
Nonetheless, it was impossible to completely erase the lewd thoughts.
With my extended arm held tightly by Iris, a soft sensation and pressure were felt against my lower arm.
“Okay. All done.”
As Iris lifted her head with a satisfied smile, the wound on my forearm had completely healed.
I almost jerked in surprise at the sight of her saliva stretching like a thread.
By the way, Iris used casual speech in her monologue.
It was refreshing to see Iris not using honorifics.
“The treatment is all done, so······.”
I felt like everything was over now.
Busy Iris would probably leave right after finishing the treatment, as usual.
Just then.
“Uum······ *slurp* *slurp*······.”
My arm, now free from pressure, was raised, and something soft touched my fingertip.
It was Iris’s lips.
She gently kissed the tip of my index finger before slowly sliding it inward.
A hard tooth brushed against the soft flesh inside.
Next, her tongue wrapped around my finger as she delicately licked it like savoring candy.
That strange caress continued for quite a while.
After sufficiently wetting my finger with saliva, Iris moved it to rub against her cheek and the roof of her mouth one after another.
As if telling me not to forget this sensation.
‘Is this part of the treatment?’
No way.
Even I, being uneducated in healing magic, clearly understood this was not a treatment.
Yet, I decided not to open my eyes.
I was curious about how far Iris would go.
Soon, Iris released my index finger, leading me to believe it was finally over.
But she proceeded with the same process on my middle and ring fingers as well.
Was she planning to do all of my fingers?
But since she left out the thumb and pinky, it seemed not so.
Ah. No way.
“Hrgh······.”
No way, so dangerous.
Iris took my saliva-soaked hand and brought it down.
As she slowly lifted her skirt···
“Ah.”
Our eyes met.
Iris, gasping for breath, froze as her body stiffened, staring into my eyes.
Moments later, her cheeks flushed bright red.
“W-when did you wake up?”
“What do you mean?”
“You saw everything······.”
Iris let go of my arm and turned away, dashing out.
But forgetting she had her foot caught on a chair, she stumbled forward and fell.
Thinking about how Iris’s big heart must have been crushed, I felt her pain.
“A-are you okay······? It’s okay······.”
“You look like you’re in pain. Come here.”
“I really am fine······.”
I sat up and opened my arms.
Iris hesitated for a moment but approached me.
Not knowing what to do, I hugged her tightly and made her sit on my lap.
Her nun outfit was all torn, stained with blood and mud.
With such chaos unfolding in the middle of the institution, many people must have died or gotten hurt.
It must have been tough for her.
“Good job.”
“Aah, I still have patients to take care of.”
“Just stay for a moment. If you collapse after working non-stop, that would be even worse.”
“Hrgh······.”
Just as she was about to push me away, Iris hugged me even tighter.
Iris must need some recharging too.
She would need a support to lean against for a moment.
If Iris wanted, I could gladly be that role.
I could see the strong saint turn into a cute girl.
“You can finish.”
“What?”
“You were going to make my fingers wet, right? You can finish that.”
“Hrgh?! I-I want to go now! Emergency patients are coming in!”
With a *bang*, Iris pushed against my chest and fell.
But forgetting that her legs were tangled around mine, she tried to move back and nearly fell again, so I hastily caught her at the waist.
Iris’s face was turning bright red as if it would burst any moment.
She couldn’t look at me directly and simply averted her gaze.
She seemed to be quite embarrassed.
“Let me go······.”
“If you tell me what you were going to do, I’ll let you go.”
“I-I don’t kno······.”
At that moment, I felt Iris’s expression subtly change.
What was that?
“I got it! I’ll show you what I was going to do.”
“······?”
Iris came in closer, tilted her head, and pressed her lips against mine.
Then with her tiny hands, she slowly slipped my wrist into her skirt.
It seemed like we’d be making a little mischief in the hospital bed.
.
.
.
‘What the, what is happening?!’
I felt icy dread as I pressed against the hospital door, unable to contain my shock.
Whether people passing by in the corridor were giving strange looks, I couldn’t care less.
I couldn’t help but be agog at what was happening just beyond the door.
‘Why is she acting like that? She must be crazy!’
What kind of absurdity was she committing to someone who was unconscious?
Isn’t Schlus also a proper patient?
Trembling quietly, watching Iris’s bizarre act······
“Ah.”
Iris’s eyes opened, allowing me to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
If she regained consciousness, surely Iris wouldn’t dare pull such a bold stunt.
At first, Erica felt at ease, but then—
‘When did they get so close······.’
She soon felt bitter and clenched her teeth.
The closeness between Iris and Schlus seemed to ooze honey.
Though she knew they were close, was it to the point of physical contact so casually?
Iris was supposed to be a saint, so she couldn’t be dreaming of romance.
Yet seeing Schlus held tightly in her embrace made her chest tighten.
It was a strange feeling.
Regardless of the relationship between Schlus and Iris, it shouldn’t concern Erica.
“Let me go······.”
“If you tell me what you were going to do, I’ll let you go.”
“I-I don’t kno······.”
‘Huh?!’
At that moment, Iris turned her head, locking eyes with Erica.
Hastily hiding behind the door, Erica covered her mouth, desperately trying to suppress her racing heart.
Iris had seen me.
Well, not me exactly, but she must have noticed someone peering from the doorway.
Then Iris would surely be embarrassed and come out of the hospital room.
For some reason, that thought brought a sense of relief to Erica.
“Got it! I’ll show you what I was going to do.”
“······?”
But instead of exiting, Iris began to make increasingly bold sounds from within.
Erica raised her head again, mouth agape at what was happening inside.
Characterizations alone couldn’t describe the audacity unfolding before her.
As Iris leaned in for a kiss with Schlus, their eyes met, sending chills down Erica’s spine.
Those weren’t the gentle saint’s eyes.
They mirrored the gaze of a beast fearful of losing its prey.
“Ah······.”
A gasp escaped Erica’s lips as she couldn’t take her eyes off the sight of the two bodies rolling over the hospital bed.
