Saint, You’re So Vulgar!

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#012 Chapter: Ah, It Hardens

The commercial city of Evona, not far from the Order, had a high floating population due to its geographical location through the capital.

The atmosphere created by those wandering the streets was quite bustling.

The loud voices of the hawking merchants greatly heightened that excitement.

On such a street, there passed a pair of men and women.

From the perspective of passersby, they were hard to ignore… even the merchants who sometimes saw nobles couldn’t help but stare at this pair.

First of all, the woman was vibrant and clear. Her light sky-blue hair flowed, accentuating her freshness, and her delicate features were so distinct that they made their presence known in her small face.

What she exuded was vitality.

The woman walked with a straight posture, smiling softly, then blushing shyly, and finally looked sulky with a pout, repeating all those processes, each one filled with freshness.

It made onlookers feel as if they were gazing at a clear blue sky, and even when she pretended to be stern, it was the same.

As if she were admonishing someone, the man who shot her a glance had an entirely opposite atmosphere.

He appeared somewhat cynical and hollow. His unkempt black hair fluttered, and beneath it, his blue eyes created a strange sorrow. His straight nose and thin lips had a refined look, but the trajectory he drew was somewhat delinquent.

His distant gaze, as if uninterested in the world, was mysterious, and yet, the moment the woman began to move her lips, he would return to reality with a bittersweet feeling.

As he moved his lips, the woman was taken by surprise and shot him a lively glare filled with indignation.

Onlookers thought.

Ah, what a well-matched pair they are.

Surely they must be young lovers basking in their youth.

From a distance, it was like they were inside a comedy.

However, like most comedies, if seen up close, they were going through a tragic situation.

…No, only one side was tragic.

“I can’t allow you to have that picture book. You keep throwing a tantrum, and I will never give you permission, not even if I die!”

“But I’m just going to look at it!”

“Isn’t it against the rules to look?”

“Then what should I do? Leave it piled up until it explodes and make me responsible for it?”

“E-explode? My body isn’t that weak…”

“Masturbation.”

“Eek!”

Asher jumped.

Bershia, who had suggested going out to buy new clothes or candles, was now throwing a fit, demanding a single picture book.

Of course, he knew it was a joke, but it was indeed worrisome if she genuinely decided to buy it.

Asher, whose eyes were ablaze with vigilance, was already feeling tense inside.

‘Today, I decided that I wouldn’t be swayed by such pranks!’

As with past days, spectacular failure.

Like how his actions never aligned with his heart, it seemed irritating that she easily disturbed his composure.

Today, as his irritation grew, he dreaded becoming a grumpy person and made a decisive resolution.

“Follow me! Hold my hand! Don’t look elsewhere, just stick close behind! We’re only going to take care of this and return!”

“You’re quite obsessive. Trying to get in some skinship, too. Want to hold hands?”

“That’s…! It’s not like that!”

The will drained out of him.

With his face burning red, Asher snapped back at her, but ultimately found himself leading Bershia to the clothing store with his arms crossed.

Of course,

“Your chest is touching my arm.”

“That’s your gas… isn’t it…!”

“Are you ashamed of my chest? Why are you talking with such a small voice? Now, repeat after me: Chest.”

“Ugh…!”

It wasn’t easy.

“Ah, it’s hardening…”

“Ugh, come on!”

…It was very, very difficult.

*

Had he ever been this drained after just a day out?

Well, at least Asher couldn’t remember a day being this tough unless it was hunting down heretics.

In other words, going out with Bershia was just as tiring as hunting down heretics, which made Asher feel a strange sense of worry creeping inside him.

When he opened his eyes in the morning, he found himself still in her bedroom.

Asher stared at the ceiling with his mouth agape and drowsy eyes.

Today, too, he felt mild despair at the realization that his body had not returned.

Yet, amidst that, the feeling of silk bedding was pleasant.

He blinked repeatedly.

Suddenly!

Darlin peeked in.

“Eek!”

“What…?”

Startled, Asher jumped.

With the woman’s face suddenly thrust into view, his heart thumped wildly.

Darlin covered her mouth as if to apologize. Asher awkwardly smiled and shook his head.

Ah, this was also one of those not-so-easy things.

Trying to maintain an appropriately domineering attitude as Bershia advised, but Darlin, as if to belittle his efforts, progressively closed the distance day by day.

Then suddenly, he thought of Bershia’s words.

– Is it because you’re so pathetic?

– Cancel that!

It was indeed because he was pathetic.

Asher’s spirit was ignited by that, and today he sharply cleared his throat and turned his head away.

When would he realize that such behavior looked cute in Darlin’s eyes?

As he tried so hard to pretend to be mature and elegant, it was Asher alone who remained unaware of the closeness in their psychological distance.

“Saintess, may I start with your makeup?”

Darlin asked, smiling brightly.

Though he felt odd about her attitude, which resembled treating a child, Asher nodded nonetheless.

People really adapt, don’t they?

On the first day, he had closed his eyes tightly and trembled in fear, but now he was quite accustomed to such scrubbing.

Of course, he still hadn’t seen Bershia’s naked body.

That was a vow he made as a knight to himself.

Once he immersed himself in the warm water, he felt his tension slip away.

As he drowsily relaxed, he realized the bath was over and he had also put on his clothes.

At first, he felt bashful, but he didn’t realize how lucky he was to have someone helping him get ready.

When Darlin brushed his hair, he felt a bit drowsy.

Asher had to struggle to keep his sleepy eyes open.

‘Ugh….’

Bershia tended to be a heavy sleeper in the mornings.

Getting up at the same time every day to do morning activities was more difficult than before.

However, if he succumbed to temptation, he would turn into a lazy person who overslept.

Before he knew it, Asher had finished fixing his hair and stood up.

Around then, he felt something was off.

“Has the knight still not come?”

“Hmm, it seems so.”

Bershia hadn’t appeared.

Although he was still groggy, she always arrived right on time during this hour.

Could something have happened?

Asher realized a wave of worry washing over him.

Wasn’t it true?

Though his body had changed, Bershia’s life rarely involved complications with others.

However, considering his life was different.

Asher socialized reasonably well and lived in a barracks where he had to live with others.

He never knew when an unforeseen accident might pop up.

‘What if…!’

Could he have been found out!?

A chill ran down his spine.

Asher felt his heart racing and turned on his heel.

“Th-Then, I’ll head out!”

“Eh? The knight hasn’t come yet…”

“Actually, I decided to go to the barracks today!”

Asher rushed out of the room, leaving Darlin behind.

Even while hurrying, he didn’t forget to maintain a stride of one and a half spans, proving his rationality still lingered in him.

His mind raced with various potential mishaps.

By the time he could visualize how he would resolve each scenario, Asher arrived at the barracks and came to a sudden halt.

“Ah…!”

“Haah….”

Behind a pillar near the training ground, the priestesses were staring blankly with flushed cheeks at something.

What in the world is this? Asher squinted to see the source of their gaze.

There it was.

‘Saintess…?’

Bershia was there, sweating profusely as she nervously brushed her hair away.

It was the morning joint training.

But why was Bershia over there?

Confusion surged within him, and amid this, the priestesses sighed deeply while looking at Bershia.

“Looks good….”

“Indeed… Was that Lord Trebion?”

“Something….”

“Yeah… different. He wasn’t someone who caught eyes like this before.”

“He’s become more masculine, hasn’t he?”

Asher felt a strange shot in his heart.

It wasn’t easy to admit that it felt like a defeat to masculinity.

He could only stare at Bershia’s face with a blank expression, dull and unresponsive.

Furrowed brow, sweat-drenched body, and the action of pushing his hair back created an odd sense of deprivation within him.

‘Isn’t he just struggling…?!’

Isn’t that correct?

A usually handsome knight should win such training with a bright smile, right?

He should encourage his exhausted comrades and set an example ahead of them, being more manly.

Of course, he couldn’t voice such comments to the priestesses.

Trying to clarify might lead to his own embarrassment.

In the end, Asher distanced himself from Bershia, alternating between gazing at her and the priestesses with a frowning face, suppressing his frustration.

He trembled slightly with pursed lips.

It was at that moment.

“Saintess.”

Startled! Asher’s shoulders jolted.

There, familiar and troublesome to see at that moment stood someone.

He turned his head with hopes of it not being reality; however, reality was somewhat cruel.

“C-Commander?”

“Yes, if it wouldn’t be a bother, could we have a moment of conversation?”

It was Commander Weill of the Knights.

‘Crisis…!’

His body froze in tension.

“…Should we move to another place?”

Commander Weill carefully asked as he glanced between the two directions that Asher had been alternating his gaze.

Asher, meeting Commander Weill’s eyes again, felt a strange tightening in his chest.