I Can Hear the Saint’s Inner Thoughts

42 – Astal Kaisaros’s Secret (1)

The inside of the movie theater, where Victoria and I entered arm-in-arm, resembled a lavishly decorated ballroom.

“How is it? This is a VVIP exclusive movie theater. It was specially created just for you.”

A brilliant chandelier illuminated the space, and a sweet smell wafted through the air, seducing all the senses.

Everyone else in the theater, besides us, were nothing more than shadows with half their heads blown off.

“Disgusting. Bellamora, how many people’s souls have you enslaved?”

– They’re all just remnants of memories. Fake shells, mimicking their past selves without any feelings or souls left.

Victoria’s face twisted in disgust as she took in the scene. To a holy woman like her, the shadows here must have looked like demons’ minions.

“…I haven’t counted. I just turned the beings that created what I consider masterpieces of movies into shadows.”

Bellamora counted on her fingers, but then shook her head vigorously, as if she’d given up on the calculations.

“Those ‘movies’ you mentioned, weren’t they just recreations of other people’s memories and lives?”

“That’s right! Every person’s life is unique! Even twins, who look alike, are the same age, and even have the same environment, are different! You really have an eye for things…!”

Bellamora smiled, showing her fangs as if pleased that I had understood her, and tried to hug my other arm against her chest like Victoria had done.

“…Get lost.”

“That’s so mean. I might just cry?”

I brushed off Bellamora’s physical contact and glared at her with contempt. She even pretended to wipe away fake tears from her eyes.

“You’re not even crying, yet your acting is impressive.”

“Oh, was I caught? I thought all your intelligence went to your chest, but I guess not.”

Hearing Victoria’s words, Bellamora instantly stared at her chest and started to insult her, as if she was jealous of the large sack of divine power.

“Can you even properly feed a baby later with that meager chest? Normally, they’d starve to death with that size….”

Victoria chuckled softly at Bellamora and pressed her chest even closer to my arm. I felt her weighty presence rising up my arm.

-To breastfeed eleven babies, my current size might not be enough. I should ask Astal to massage them later. I heard they get bigger when someone you like touches them!

I got goosebumps listening to her lascivious thoughts and the way she smacked her lips as she stared at me. Where on earth did she get that kind of information?

“Ultimately, a wife’s duties are not determined by breast size, are they?”

“I understand the jealousy of wanting what you don’t have, but honestly, I find it pathetic, Bellamora.”

– Though, when it comes to Astal, I think I could be infinitely more lewd than that succubus…

Just listening to the saint, dressed like a whore, and the chaste succubus queen, tearing down each other’s flaws, was enough to make my head throb.

“I could give you a more ecstatic experience than you, a saint. Intercourse with a succubus is inherently different from that of ordinary humans, after all.”

“Is that so? My lover is only s*xually aroused by my figure, so I don’t think that would happen.”

Bellamora deliberately provoked Victoria with a playful smile, and she, like a snake slithering over a wall, never once conceded.

“Oh my, would you mind if I tested that out? I don’t think a little touch would wear it down.”

“I’m sorry to say, but I’ve already claimed him.”

Victoria glared at her, showing an intense possessiveness over me. The exchange of looks felt like sparks flying, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Did you two do some licking and sucking when I wasn’t looking? I don’t think you’ve gone that far yet… So, doesn’t that mean I still have a chance?”

“Is that all a low-grade b*tch who hasn’t tasted Astal’s hefty package can imagine? Your imagination is weak. Ah, and your breasts, of course.”

– I really want Astal to spend a heated night calling out my name. Shaking his hips, curling his toes, and experiencing intense pleasure.

Listening to the escalating level of their words, my head started to pound more and more. Victoria’s true feelings were running wild to keep Bellamora in check.

“…Can you two please try to keep it down?”

I sighed deeply, speaking to Victoria and Bellamora.

I thought I’d had my fill of jealousy and envy during my time in the magic tower, but I hadn’t expected this level.

I’d once seen two female colleagues, who’d sent me love letters, grab each other by the hair and fight from afar, but now, they weren’t using violence, just words that felt like blades.

“No matter what anyone says, Victoria is my lover now. No matter what you do, Bellamora, that fact won’t change.”

I gently stroked Victoria’s head as I spoke. I needed to make sure Bellamora didn’t doubt that we were lovers.

The reason I came here in the first place was to kill the Four Heavenly Kings before confronting the Demon King.

I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to meet my parents again, who didn’t even get a tombstone.

“You… You’re saying something commendable for once.”

– I love having my hair petted…

My words caused contrasting reactions from Victoria and Bellamora. The saint hummed happily as she received my touch, while,

“Huh…? So you’re siding with this wet-behind-the-ears boy who knows nothing but shaking his chest in a slutty manner? I didn’t think you’d be like this!”

The succubus queen threw her accessories to the floor and stomped her feet, making it hard to tell who was the demon and who was the holy figure.

How many men in this world are loved by two women as different as these? I rubbed my forehead with my other hand, pondering how to move forward.

“…You really are a pervert. Well, that side of you is manly and charming, though.”

Then, Bellamora loosened the front of her dress a little, trying to seduce me. The rustling sound and the visible veins under her pale skin were tantalizing.

“Well, would you like me to get you this worked up? I don’t think I’m someone who can be overlooked either.”

Bella Mora, a confident smile playing on her lips, asked me how I liked it.

Any other man would have been easily seduced by that body and face, but looking at it only left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“It’s an eyesore.”

It was the enemy who killed my parents, trying to win my favor. The sight of it made me want to gouge out my own eyes.

Then, a voice pierced through and my vision went pitch black. A soft, pleasant floral fragrance began to waft around me.

“Don’t look at such things. Don’t fall for that slut’s schemes, Astar.”

Victoria’s lips were close to my ear, her voice a sweet and sticky whisper.

“…I wasn’t going to anyway.”

“You are a virile man, aren’t you? Lust is one of humanity’s basic desires, so as your lover, it’s only natural for me to be worried. Please understand.”

Victoria unwrapped her arms and was already pressed up against my back. The feeling of her flesh melding with my back was vivid.

– Once this is over, I’ll give you the chance to touch my bare breasts. Isn’t a tangible large chest better than an untouchable small one?

“……”

Hearing Victoria’s thoughts, I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping things would somehow pass without incident.

Those dark pronouncements that occasionally leaked out felt like they couldn’t possibly be her thoughts.

“Hmm, then I’ll try something else. I heard in romance movies, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

Seeing her seduction fail, Bella Mora clicked her tongue slightly, and pointed towards a nearby food stall.

At her gesture, the shadows, their heads half-gone, rushed about busily preparing something.

“Want anything to eat? Popcorn? Squid? Cola? Just name it. All the employees here will obey your every wish, Astar, with your VVIP ticket!”

Bella Mora, laughing as she chewed on the bubbling black liquid and the dry, twisted leg of some grotesque creature.

“…Not really. And where do you even get this stuff anyway?”

Seeing the foods, utterly foreign to me except for the fried corn, a question began to form in my mind.

In this desolate, blood-soaked demon realm, swarming with demons and monsters, how could she possibly sell such peculiar things?

“I got them from the memories of lunatics who came from another world. Thanks to them, I was able to build this movie theater on a grand scale, so isn’t it ultimately a good thing?”

“Lunatics from another world…?”

There was another world besides this one?

Hearing such a story for the first time, I opened my eyes wide, trying not to miss any detail.

“Ah, that’s hard to understand, isn’t it! Occasionally, the gods pick heroes from other worlds to kill the demon king and send them here.”

“…I’ve heard of it. There were records of interdimensional travelers among the hero parties in the past.”

“Well, no human will ever be able to kill our demon king, so calling them lunatics is even an understatement.”

“You speak harshly of the dead. I guess being a demon is something you can’t change.”

– They’ve all been transformed in the style of Bella Mora, the succubus queen. Now I understand why this territory felt so alien compared to other demon realms.

Victoria shuddered, listening to Bella Mora. The way her hands clenched into fists looked like she was just barely holding herself back from swinging a hammer.

“Oh, I didn’t kill them, though? I only enslaved those who willingly swore their loyalty to me. My goal is, after all, for all life to live in happy dreams.”

“A little shit with such a noble goal, making these husks into shadows for your staff after sucking out all their memories and souls?”

“Well, the memories were useful… but there were so many horny monkey b*stards who sold their souls just for a chance to touch my chest. I guess I really only have you, Astar, huh?”

Bella Mora smiled sweetly at me, and I had to fight down the urge to slice her to pieces at that loathsome smile.

“First, let’s buy some popcorn and cola and then watch the movie. I can’t watch without them, I love them that much! My recommendation is caramel popcorn!”

“…You just wait until the movie’s over.”

To see my parents again, I had no choice but to obey Bella Mora, no matter how much I hated it.

“Will you be ordering?”

“I’ll have the caramel popcorn and that frothy white drink. And that tasty-looking pastry there, too… No, give me one of everything here.”

“Victoria…?”

Victoria’s eyes sparkled as she ordered every single food item on the menu. I’d momentarily forgotten about her love for delicious food.

“I need to check if Astar’s food is poisoned, of course. Is something wrong?”

– There are so many foods I’ve never seen before… They smell so incredibly delicious…

I could practically hear Victoria swallowing. I briefly imagined just where all that food would go in her body.

“This is Bella Mora’s territory. How do you know what she’s done to the food?”

“Are you scared? No matter how she tries, she won’t steal you away, Astar. We’re engaged, after all.”

Victoria saw Bella Mora grinding her teeth with jealousy and raised the corner of her mouth as if it was nothing.

“You look like you two are a couple. Would you like a couple’s set? It’s a little more, and there’s a special gift that comes with it.”

Then, the shadow selling the food said something shocking as he looked at me and Victoria.

A couple’s set? I’ve never even heard of such a thing.

“What’s the gift?”

“Well, it’s related to the movie that’s showing. For someone like Astar… It’s a ring with a cosmos design.”

Cosmos was the flower my mother loved, the one my father brought home and planted in front of the house.

It was what I used when I held a small funeral for my parents when I finally returned to my hometown.

How could they possibly know this?

This movie was starting to make me feel uneasy.

“Then I’ll have that.”

– A ring identical to Astar’s on my left ring finger… This means we have to get married…

Victoria, like an eagle, snatched a pair of rings right off the shadow’s hand.

“Hey, Shadow, you…! What the hell are you doing?! I told you to secretly give those rings to me and Lord Astar…!”

“Huh? Weren’t you talking to a different shadow? I didn’t hear anything like that?”

The rings, presumably prepared by Bellamora, ultimately ended up in Victoria’s clutches.