NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15
Finally, the Saint pulled away from me after quite some time.
Thanks to that, the bread which was still piping hot when I took it out of the Pocket Dimension had gone completely cold.
‘If I had known this would happen, I should’ve just put it back inside the Pocket Dimension.’
I let out a small sigh and handed her a piece.
“It’s cold now, but it should still taste good.”
“…This looks absolutely delicious.”
The Saint mumbled as she took the bread.
Then, with a sound of ‘ang,’ her cheeks puffed up.
“Mai-daaa!”
Even though her bangs were covering her face, I could still see her eyes sparkling brightly.
Seeing that, I gave her a slight smile.
“Well, it was made by Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth. Among the Gods I know, Hestia’s cooking is the best.”
“…Does the Goddess give out her cooking as gifts too?”
The Saint looked at me intently and asked.
Her voice was slightly muffled as her mouth was full of bread.
“Hmm, should I call it a gift? Or maybe a reward? It was something I received after fulfilling a request from Hestia. It must’ve been around five years ago.”
“…It’s been five years since you received it?”
“Perhaps? …No, wasn’t the food I received five years ago something else? Was this bread made eight, nine years ago? When exactly did I receive it?”
I muttered while trying to recall my memories.
Since I’ve received so many foods from Hestia, I’ve started to confuse the exact times of when I received them.
‘…The most recent thing I received was some sweets, I think.’
Hestia is very interested in human food, just like me.
She often buys and brings foods that are trendy in the human world.
That large castella cake was something she brought during its peak trend, and then later she gave it to me saying she had tried making it herself.
‘When exactly was that trend?’
Deep in thought, I looked up to see the Saint staring at me.
She was looking between the bread and me while tilting her head in curiosity.
“Is something wrong? Are you choking? Would you like something to drink?”
“…No, it’s just surprising that a bread made years ago tastes so fresh.”
The Saint, full of curiosity, immediately waved her hands nervously.
“Ah, if it’s something I shouldn’t press about…!”
“No, it’s fine. I can explain this.”
But I should avoid revealing any confidential information.
After carefully considering, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Items made by a God rarely break unless necessary, because they are imbued with divine power.”
“So…this bread is also imbued with divine power?”
“Yes, that’s correct. And…”
I stretched out an arm, pulling out white milk from the Pocket Dimension.
This milk has also been here for more than a year, but it doesn’t matter.
I opened the milk for confirmation and took a sip.
Just as expected, it hadn’t gone bad at all.
“This milk was bought over a year ago, but it hasn’t spoiled at all.”
“…Is this milk also sold by a God?”
“No. This is something I bought in the human world.”
The Saint’s face showed a trace of doubt.
While hesitating whether to drink or not, I added more explanation.
“The Pocket Dimension from where I retrieve items is actually my domain. It is a space where only my powers exist, so anything inside is unaffected by anything other than death.”
After hearing my explanation, the Saint abruptly stood up from her seat.
“Then, if I enter there, can I…”
“Don’t you remember how you were bounced out earlier? Absolutely not.”
“If I try to go in with more force…”
“You’ll just bounce out even further.”
The very disappointed Saint lowered her head.
That sight annoyed me quite a bit, so I tapped her forehead firmly.
Taken aback, the Saint stroked her head with one hand and looked up, confused.
“…Ah?”
“Please stop treating someone else’s domain as a tool for euthanasia.”
“Mi, I’m so sorry…”
The Saint, looking dejected, curled her shoulders.
She seemed to want to apologize further, tightly closing her lips while looking at me cautiously and hesitating.
Then she lightly tapped my hand and looked up at me.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“You really must not do this again. Please stop thinking like that. Thinking about dying is also not acceptable.”
The startled Saint slowly dropped her gaze.
Not only that, she began nervously fiddling with her fingers, as if pretending to not pay attention.
“Ahg?!”
Feeling so annoyed, I pulled her cheeks to admonish her soul-like.
“…Hmm, they’re softer than a soul?”
Pulling her cheeks was surprisingly enjoyable.
I stretched them repeatedly, then started patting them.
The soft and fluffy sensation transmitted through my fingertips.
‘This feels much better than a soul? And it’s warm…’
The Saint muttered, showing an aggrieved expression but offering little resistance.
“Ah-uuu…”
Instead of resisting, she closed her eyes softly and left my hands on her cheeks.
It felt as though she’d given her approval for me to continue…
But I should stop tormenting her now.
“Repeat after me. Cherish life.”
“Ayey oouey.”
“Please, don’t make these kinds of remarks come out of Mr. Death, alright?”
“…Mhm, mhm.”
After letting go of her cheeks, the Saint clutched them and glanced at me cautiously.
Seeing that made me burst out laughing without realizing it.
“Hahaha!”
“…What?”
The dissatisfied Saint, who had been sticking out her lips, looked at me with wide eyes.
“…Mr. Death laughed.”
“No, I don’t think so?”
“Nope. I just saw it. You really, truly smiled.”
While whispering, the Saint kept her eyes on me.
Her increasingly intense gaze made it impossible for me to face her.
‘…For some reason, my throat feels dry.’
Turning my head awkwardly, I pulled out a water bottle from the Pocket Dimension.
“It must’ve been a mistake.”
“Nope. I saw it clearly. Such a soft, gentle smile.”
Hearing her definitive tone, I awkwardly fiddled with the cap of the water bottle.
“It was a mistake. Even if it did happen, it’s no big deal.”
“No, it’s a huge deal!”
The Saint clasped both her cheeks and smiled brightly.
“You see, Mr. Death looks so adorable when he smiles.”
“…What!”
I suddenly felt a burning sensation in my face.
Opening my mouth, then closing it multiple times, I eventually covered my face with one hand and lowered my head.
“…Let’s just eat.”
“Can you smile once more?”
At the Saint’s words, my whole body froze, and I couldn’t respond.
Breaking the brief silence, I barely managed to utter a word.
“No.”
“Why? I want to see it again… Mr. Death’s smile, it was really beautiful.”
The moment those words reached me,
an overwhelming feeling of something I couldn’t handle surged, causing me to tightly clutch the water bottle.
“A! Mr. Death, your sleeve is wet!”
“…Whose fault is that?”
“Mhm?”
Innocently tilting her head as if she knew nothing of the cause of all this.
‘Why am I feeling choked up…’
I decided against pinching her cheeks again and let my hand drop.
Instead, I sliced another piece of bread and placed it in the Saint’s mouth.
“Eat quickly. It’s already colder and harder than before.”
“Eeeaa oh my.”
“I’m glad you think it’s delicious. …Oh, right. It’s choke-worthy, right? Here, have some milk too.”
The Saint’s face noticeably reddened.
She hesitated, then took the milk from me while bowing her head deeply.
‘…Why is she suddenly like that?’
The nape of her neck was also noticeably red.
Maybe it’s… lactose intolerance… or something? Anyway, whatever makes her face turn red just by touching the milk carton.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out the reason, so I carefully asked.
“Saint, is something uncomfortable? …Or are you perhaps unable to consume milk?”
“No, I’m fine! Really!”
Surprised, the Saint firmly shook her head while tightly holding the milk, but her face was still bright red.
‘Her voice is trembling, so she clearly doesn’t seem fine…’
Worried, I looked at her.
Then the Saint clutched the milk with both hands and bowed her head even further.
Then a tiny voice reached me.
“J, just… a little…embarrassed…”
“…What about?”
Seeing my puzzled expression, the Saint covered her face even more and fidgeted anxiously.
“Saint?”
“…Mm, mm…”
The Saint, who had been groaning, suddenly shot her head up.
Then she gulped down the milk in one breath.
“I’m finished eating!”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Then! …I, I’m leaving!”
“Yes. Safe travels.”
The Saint, nodding her head, left her seat in a hurry, as if fleeing.
I scratched my cheek as I watched her rapidly disappearing back.
‘…What’s going on? Could there be something wrong with the milk? That’s strange. It tasted like normal milk when I drank it earlier.’
I thoroughly inspected the now empty milk carton, but found no obvious issues.
With no answers after much thought, I decided to stop pondering and tidy up the hallway instead.
There’s no way I’m missing something important.
“…I’ll just clean.”
The old house-like rooms, the kitchen, my domain—all needed cleaning.
There was a mountain of work to do.
‘It’s best to clean the shared spaces first.’
After neatly organizing the hallway, I walked toward the kitchen.
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