Saint, You’re So Vulgar!

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#021 Chapter: Finally Acknowledged. My Body

A man and a woman were rolling in the garden, soaked in sweat.

It was quite a display of chaos, but… it could be understood.

Rubena, in that regard, was quite open-minded.

However, the problem was that the subject of her openness was Bershia.

They had known each other for ten years.

The fact that her walls came down outside was a shocking revelation.

As for other peculiarities, well, Rubena had only seen Bershia’s bare legs for the first time today.

Her skin was as white as snow, and the curve from her thighs to her ankles was so smooth it could evoke a gasp.

I couldn’t help but think that if painters saw this scene, they might just seize up and burn with artistic passion to capture it on canvas.

Even Rubena, who detested her, felt an urge to touch her, so further explanation seemed unnecessary.

Well, anyway.

“Yeah, we were sparring, and somehow I ended up falling. Can you please stop it now?”

“Am I understanding this correctly? Really?”

“Oh, now I’m starting to get annoyed.”

Rubena’s expression twisted.

Asher’s lips pursed together.

At this point, I didn’t care about that guy’s pretentiousness anymore.

I just figured I’d understand it as something like falling in love.

Well, that slick face didn’t really appeal to me, but his skills as a guard were objectively handsome, weren’t they?

Rather than being muscular, his delicate features and tall, slender figure were definitely different from my bald-headed guard.

Of course, I didn’t feel jealousy over a handsome porter.

It would look nice to have him around, but this wasn’t the time for that.

Thud—

Rubena tossed a letter onto the tea table.

“What’s this?”

“What do you think it is? It’s an order.”

“Huh?”

Rubena said with irritation.

“It says we have to go on a mission. You and I.”

Honestly, I didn’t find anything pleasing about this.

*

Rubena left.

Whether this was a blessing or a curse, she didn’t mention the incident any further.

It felt more like she didn’t care rather than truly believing me, and the cause of that was clear.

It was the mission order.

“…Northeast, huh?”

“Ah, the area with many mines.”

“Yes, definitely a place where heretics could be active. There are many hidden caves.”

The heretics that Asher had hunted were more likely to have dug tunnels somewhere underground than to be out in the open.

After all, who would perform biological experiments or sacrificial rituals out in the open?

Moreover, with the witch’s rampage growing their numbers, they likely needed large caves to accommodate them all.

Asher’s expression grew serious.

“It appears that there have been frequent disappearances among the populace. There are many strange rumors that cannot be explained by natural phenomena… most notably, a knight from the local branch has died. A fourth-rank… just barely scraped by as a graduate, but this merits our attention.”

“Isn’t it possible it was just an accident or a personal vendetta?”

“Low likelihood. If you look here, it states ‘no visible wounds.’”

“Why is that?”

“A knight usually doesn’t die so neatly.”

It was because of combat prayers.

The first thing students learn is the “Prayer of the Fighter” which temporarily dulls pain to boost combat endurance.

It’s easy to predict how a knight’s battle would unfold.

Even if they die, they die fighting until they become a rag.

The ‘no visible wounds’ designation was indeed strange.

“I’d say it was an ambush by overwhelming enemies. Or perhaps a curse from heretics. Given the circumstances, the latter seems more likely.”

“Hmm….”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it just seems like your injuries were minimal given what you said.”

Asher tilted his head.

“Well, they wouldn’t intentionally take hits while fighting. Not taking damage doesn’t mean they deliberately get hit, you know?”

“…….”

“…Really, what’s wrong?”

Bershia’s gaze turned strange.

Asher’s eyes narrowed.

Finally, the answer came.

“No, I’ve just never seen someone boast about themselves in that manner.”

“Huh? I didn’t brag….”

It was just that up until now, there hadn’t been many worthy adversaries to match against.

I tried to explain, but Bershia changed the subject.

“Anyway, it seems there’s going to be a battle. Hmm, can I handle that?”

“…I’m sorry, but we ought to leave that to Sir Heisenberg.”

Feeling guilty about using my senior as a shield didn’t sit well with me.

But there was no choice.

Even if Bershia could take on a few aberrations using combat prayers, her lack of experience would lead to mistakes she wouldn’t be able to overlook.

Moreover, Saturn Heisenberg, Rubena’s guard, was among the top tier of first-rank knights in terms of breaking through enemy lines.

As long as he took the offensive, a few hundred heretics would not stand a chance against Saturn.

But there was always one major issue.

“…We mustn’t be discovered.”

“Won’t that be fine? Rubena doesn’t seem the least bit interested in my antics.”

“You never know….”

A deep sigh escaped.

*

There were three days left until the mission.

Asher used this time to train Bershia and build up his own stamina.

On top of that, he was figuring out how to use combat prayers sealed by divine power.

“It’s an amulet.”

“Yes, as long as I break it down before battle, I should be able to fight several times.”

The amulet was a type of magical tool that contained designated prayers and ignited them for manifestation.

While its efficiency was largely diminished, Asher could compensate for that shortfall with overwhelming output.

Having finished preparations, Asher tucked the amlet away.

Just then, as he looked up…

“Wow! You startled me!”

“Huh?”

“W-what are you doing so close?!”

Bershia had come up so close that they were breathing the same air.

Her questioning eyes soon turned playful.

“Are you flustered?”

“How could I possibly be?! You seem to have forgotten that you are currently using my body! There’s no way I could be flustered looking at my face!”

Really.

Muttering to herself, she took a step back.

The slight embarrassment that arose was likely due to recalling the moment they had fallen together in the garden days ago.

Heat crept up unexpectedly.

While it seemed she was brushing it off as trivial, the vivid memory of Bershia’s frown and the feel of her sweat against him lingered oddly sharply.

Asher cleared his mind of such thoughts and stood up.

It was time to head to their meeting place.

Bershia giggled and stood beside Asher.

In that moment, she suddenly let out a “Ah.”

“Um, by the way…”

“If you’re going to babble nonsense, don’t. I won’t listen to you anymore.”

“Your attitude has become impolite. Nonetheless, I’m an adult.”

“Right now, I’m the saintess.”

There was a need to be a little brazen.

If she didn’t, she might just call her ‘Saintess’ in front of Rubena and Saturn.

That would be a major disaster of the highest order.

Bershia chuckled.

“Anyway, it’s not nonsense.”

“…Then please go ahead.”

“If we go out, I guess you’ll have to wash your body alone.”

Thud—!

“Finally, you acknowledge it. My body.”

Asher squinted and glared at Bershia.

Bershia grinned wickedly.

No matter how many times he saw it, he couldn’t get used to her making such a strange expression on her own face.

Was it a problem with her personality?

In any case, it had become an unavoidable situation for him to do the thing he had been putting off for so long.

It was an embarrassing thought, but he couldn’t skip it either.

After all, an unwashed saintess would not only reflect poorly on her but would damage the entire church’s image.

Thus, Asher steeled himself.

For the past few days, he had also observed Darlin’s methods for cleaning herself with half-closed eyes.

Though just a silhouette, he had come to know how Bershia’s nude form looked by now.

The guilt couldn’t be helped.

With a flushed face, Asher cleared his throat and said,

“…Don’t worry. I won’t be looking closely, I promise. I’ve found a way.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

“…Could you please just do it for me?”

“But then, what about Sir Knight’s virtue? Isn’t it lacking?”

“What?”

Asher’s eyes sharpened.

Bershia laughed.

“I’m saying I trust you that much. If it comes to that, just tell me, and I’ll wash you.”

He couldn’t get ensnared in this.

Holding back his instinctive rebuttal, Asher turned sharply and walked out.

And so they arrived at the promised location, the church’s northern gate.

There stood Rubena, crossing her arms, wearing a casual dress, while Saturn stood nearby in leather armor, looking somewhat lost.

As they were on a mission, they disguised themselves to avoid being discovered as part of the church.

As they walked, Asher squinted.

Saturn’s bald head was reflecting the sunlight.

Bershia whispered.

“It’s always surprising. Does that guy do scalp treatments? His head shines more than other bald guys.”

“…It’s not that, it’s due to the knight’s vision. And you shouldn’t say such things in front of him.”

“I know. But I’m still curious about what a shining scalp entails.”

…Is this journey going to be alright?

“Hey! Why are you taking so long?!”

Rubena shouted impatiently.

Asher quickened his pace in response.

Before long, standing before the carriage, Rubena scanned Asher from top to bottom and asked,

“Is that how you’re going to walk around in your robe?”

“Uh….”

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what role you’re playing here?”

“…….”

Right.

Since it was a mission, Asher also had a role assigned.

Asher and Rubena’s roles were that of merchant’s daughters visiting to purchase precious metals from the mining city. Bershia’s role was as Asher’s fiancée, and Saturn was to serve as a servant.

Asher reluctantly began to remove the robe.

The motion was drenched in embarrassment.

His flushed earlobes reflected his flustered feelings.

What lay beneath was undoubtedly a dress.

A white blouse and a dark blue skirt that reached mid-calf.

The thin fabric accentuated Bershia’s feminine curves.

Asher’s heart couldn’t settle.

The downward gaze of Rubena made him shrink instinctively.

His gaze fell to the ground while his fingers fidgeted restlessly.

Bershia smiled mischievously.

“You look beautiful, Saintess.”

“…Don’t say that.”

Having even changed her tone in front of Rubena, Asher felt even more embarrassed.

With a disgusted look, Rubena commented as she glanced at Asher.

“Let’s get going. You two get in the carriage. I have no intention of babysitting you while you trip over yourselves.”

“I-I won’t do such things….”

“Especially not with that dog-like expression? I’m really getting nauseous.”

Thud—

A dagger was stabbed into Asher’s heart.

His body froze in shock.

Regardless, Rubena turned around and climbed into the carriage.

Bam!

Her carriage started moving.

Bershia poked Asher in the side playfully and said,

“Shall we go then?”

“…….”

“Oh, what should I call you from now on? ‘Lady’… no, that wouldn’t fit since I’m not nobility. ‘Miss’ feels too hierarchical. Hmm….”

Asher felt a cold chill run down his back.

It felt like he had no allies at all.

The mission was proving difficult right from the start.