PMEVBO 136
To praise the Pope, I had to sneak back into Chepony Castle. To do that, it was better to go dressed in clerical robes. The only problem was how clean those robes were.
Ah, damn it. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve just taken them off before getting down to business…
I was currently crouched on the bathroom floor, hand-washing the semen-stained clerical robes.
“Ugh…”
Even if this wasn’t a world that demanded celibacy from clergy, this was a bit much…
Maybe being ordained as a priest left an impression on me. Regardless of my faith, it felt like I’d done something I shouldn’t have. It made me feel even worse because it wasn’t even mine, it belonged to a friend.
I soaked the robes, which I had scrubbed vigorously with soap, in a basin of water. Then, while rinsing off the suds, I checked my status screen.
Praise ‘Jin Atalef Sarachephon’!
(0/1)
D-0 (10h 40m 32s)
The key was getting to Chepony Castle. Unlike last time, the cooldown on the Guidance skill hadn’t ended yet. Besides, I needed to save it for when I went to the Academy, so I wanted to conserve it as much as possible.
Suddenly, I remembered the Location Lock ████ had given me, but since the target was only me and the location was Cell 1004, it was useless.
Then something happened.
───────【 System Error 】 ──────
An unexpected intervention has been detected.
‘████’ is temporarily assuming control.
‘████’ is fixing the location of ‘❘’
to ‘❘’.
(Note: The timing and duration of the fixation are at the player’s discretion)
──────────────────────────
Again……?
…This time, the target and location fields were blank.
Not only the timing, but the duration was up to me too. How was this any different from the Guidance skill? I didn’t even have to sacrifice HP for this.
Why have they been so cooperative lately……?
After I bound the system to Iser to save him, and was confused because I had even forgotten that, it was ████ who suddenly appeared and helped me.
However, if ████ hadn’t fixed Iser’s location to Duke Hayut’s castle, Iser wouldn’t have been killed by a demon. If it weren’t for the location lock, I would have somehow persuaded him and sent him to Isabelle.
More importantly, they interfered when I revived Iser too.
I rested my elbows on my knees, propped my chin in my hands, and frowned.
“Who the hell is this bastard?”
At first, I thought it was some kind of computer virus. But the status window listed “demonic brainwashing” as the virus instead of ████.
…Decide whether you’re friend or foe.
Just then, the bathroom door opened.
“What are you doing?”
Iser walked in and asked. I rested my arms on my knees, glanced away, and replied.
“……Doing laundry.”
“Oh, laundry.”
His gaze fell on the clerical robes in the basin. All the semen on the robes was mine. Maybe that was why I felt strange. It was just like getting caught by my lover cleaning up after a wet dream.
I was going to finish before he got here, but I totally failed.
I felt like dying a little.
Iser smiled gently and shook a small box in front of me.
“I brought what you asked for.”
I had asked Iser to bring me a tali piercing. But my hands were too slippery; it didn’t look like I’d be able to put it in right now.
“Can I put it in for you?”
I looked up at him for a moment and chuckled.
“I’d appreciate it.”
He approached and knelt down on one knee in front of me. A whiff of his fragrant scent wafted over. The moment his cool hand touched my earlobe, my body flinched. As the tip of the piercing bar dug into my skin, I forced myself to act calm and focused on the laundry.
“It only goes in halfway and won’t go any further.”
As he muttered softly, his breath brushed against my ear. I felt a sudden flush of heat in my ear.
“Does it hurt?”
He asked as he gently rubbed the back of my earlobe in a circular motion with his index finger.
“No, it doesn’t hurt…”
It didn’t hurt. It just felt a little strange.
“I guess I left it alone for too long and it closed up. Then just leave it. I’ll do it after I finish the laundry.”
Then, as he gently touched my earlobe, he asked,
“Can I be the one to pierce it for you?”
Our eyes met, the way he tilted his head with a gentle smile was cute.
“I’ll do it gently so it doesn’t hurt?”
“……Alright, you can do it.”
Six years ago, I’d taken getting my ear pierced lightly and ended up getting a rude awakening. Since it hurt a bit even when I did it myself, I figured it would hurt even more if someone else did it. I had mentally prepared myself with that thought in mind.
“Huh? Is it already over?”
“Yes.”
He replied as he tightened the stud.
It just felt a little cold, that was all.
It really didn’t hurt. I marveled as I touched my earlobe, now adorned with the piercing.
“You’re really good at this.”
“Am I?”
He smiled as he gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
After finishing the laundry, I roughly wrung out the water from my clerical robes and let a wisp of divine power flow through them. The fabric dried out instantly.
Now that the brainwashing had worn off, I knew the truth. The Hayut Massacre wasn’t something I had done, and I had never lost control of my divine power that day. Even so, using divine power still felt disturbing in many ways.
I had no choice but to use it this time because it was urgent, but I’ll have to exercise restraint from now on.
***
By ‘████’, the location of ‘Player and XXX Hayut’
is fixed to ‘the wine cellar located in the basement of the < Tower of Serpents > within <Chepony Castle. >
I closed my eyes against the blinding light flaring from the status window. When I opened them, I was in the wine cellar. Just in case, I checked between the wine barrels, but there was no one here but us.
It was a place where people rarely go, and since the banquet was winding down, no one would bother coming all the way out here.
The moment the banquet week ended and the guards on the 9th floor returned, the news of my escape and Iser’s resignation would spread.
In the data file “The Happy Ending,” Isabelle resigned from her position as a guard immediately after her revenge was successful. Until the story ended, her identity as the commoner Eve, which she had used during her time as a guard, never held her back.
Although Iser was also using the identity of Eve, his situation was different. It would look as though a guard on duty alone had disappeared along with an escapee.
…Will we be able to avoid getting caught until we reach the ending?
In case things go wrong, I would have to make it look like I kidnapped the guard on duty during the escape. That way, at least Iser’s safety would be guaranteed.
But I wasn’t unaware that there was an even surer method. That was to win over the Pope.
Honestly, I’m not confident… but I have to try what I can.
It’s not just me, after all.
I glanced back at Iser without thinking, and my heart sank.
“Ugh.”
He was crouching with his hands clutching his head. That image overlapped with the memory of him dying, and the blood in my body ran cold.
“Iser, what’s wrong with you…?!?”
I immediately grabbed his chin to check his face. The moment our eyes met, he smiled.
“Did I scare you? I’m sorry.”
“……Are you hurt somewhere?”
“No, not really. I’m just a little dizzy. I guess it’s because I smell alcohol.”
As he said that, he leaned his face against my shoulder. His soft hair tickled the back of my neck.
…I suppose some people are sensitive to the smell of alcohol.
If he came to me right after coming back to life, he probably wouldn’t have had much chance to drink……
Still, I was just as worried. I patted his shoulder and took a slow, deep breath.
“……Let’s get out of here first. Can you walk? Should I carry you?”
At that, Iser let out a soft chuckle.
“I’m fine. It’s not that bad.”
“Really?”
It seemed it was not that serious after all. That was a relief.
Just as I sighed, Iser brushed my fingertips and whispered.
“But can you hold my hand? I think I’d be able to walk better that way.”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
I chuckled and took his hand in mine.
Perhaps because the location lock was set to follow my will, we were able to leave the wine cellar without any restrictions. As soon as we stepped out of the cellar, Iser’s condition returned to normal. It must have really been the smell of alcohol that made him dizzy.
When we reached the lobby on the first floor of the tower, I pulled my hood down over my eyes. Then I realized that what really needed to be hidden was Iser’s face.
I absolutely could not accept the method of disfiguring his face to alter his features, as he had done last time. Perhaps because he knew that I wouldn’t agree, Iser didn’t even mention that approach. Instead, he dyed his hair the same brown color as before…
Wow… Even with a different hair color, he’s still handsome.
If we went on like this, we were bound to attract every last bit of attention. This was bad.
It was then that Iser stopped walking. The hand that had been interlocked with mine was pulled back. Confused, I turned to look, and he was smiling.
“I’ll wait here.”
“……You’re going to wait here?”
“Yes.”
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