Published at 25th of March 2019 10:00 pm

Chapter 65: Structure of Slavery.

「Shiki-sama, who was that person leaving just now?」

The saint asks when I turn around to face her.

「The daughter of the head of this city’s Slave Merchant Union; her name is Marianna, apparently.」

I was curious when I saw her arguing with the knights so I came to check it out, and before I knew it the beautiful woman was making me rub those giant tits of hers.

…And it’s not like I was particularly obligated to wait patiently in my room for the saint to come by; plus I don’t need her permission to rub a hot lady’s rack.

But… I can’t look the saint directly in the face. Well yeah, that’s because of course I feel some guilt. Or should I say, I’m feeling nothing but guilt.

「…It would seem that the intel about Shiki-sama has already leaked outside. They must have already ascertained the fact that Shiki-sama is extremely weak to women…」

I thought she’d say something to me, but the saint puts her hand over her mouth like she’s lost in thought, and calmly mutters that.

「I-I’m not extremely weak to women, so…」

Since we’re in front of Yuel I deny it just in case, but the saint isn’t listening. She just keeps tapping her finger, looking like she’s pondering something.

「…Shiki-sama, are you aware of how a slave comes to be?」

Then the saint abruptly blurts that out. After that, not waiting for a reply from me, she continues.

「In this present era of stability where prisoners are not captured through war, the primary reason that slaves are produced is poverty.」

「Poverty?」

The way that slaves are made. Now that she mentions it, Yuel told me the reason that she became a slave. I’m pretty sure she said the orphanage where she lived went bankrupt, so she was sold off to cover their debt.

「The former archbishop, D’arnaud, greatly restricted the budgets of institutions such as orphanages, intentionally adding to the number of destitute people. As a result, the people who were rendered penniless and the homeless orphans had no other option but to become slaves. As the number of slaves increased, the slave merchants profited. And the archbishop received a portion of those gains as his reward, further lining his own pockets… simply put, that was their arrangement.」

「Ah, so the “consideration” that woman named Marianna or whatever was talking about… that’s what it meant?」

I wondered what the saint’s point was, but apparently she’s explaining why Marianna came here to contact me. If there are more poor people, they become slaves voluntarily in order to keep on living, or they’re sold off to cover debt, or they’re pressed into slavery when their hardships lead them to commit crimes. Which means that from the slave merchants’ side, it’s ideal for the archbishop of the church to be stingy with money and continue forcibly exploiting the poor.

…In that case, my predecessor D’arnaud must have been quite the magnificent archbishop as far as the slave merchants were concerned.

「To slave merchants, the archbishop who monopolizes the local welfare is an important figure who can greatly influence their future business. I was certainly expecting them to contact you… but by no means did I anticipate that it would be this soon. That they were allowed to contact you… was my blunder.」

The saint grimaces like she’s ashamed at the naivete of her thinking. I kinda sensed it already, but this girl has a strong sense of responsibility. Although I wish she wouldn’t worry so solemnly about me rubbing a beautiful woman’s tits. This guilt is killing me.

「From now on, there may be further temptation from beautiful women who are aiming at you, Shiki-sama. But at the very least, I beg of you, please do not be deceived by women connected to the slave merchants and end up becoming their pawn. I shall consider countermeasures.」

Then, she gives me a warning. But, well, I have no intention of letting that happen. If it did, as far as Eris is concerned, it likely wouldn’t end just with scorn. And after all, I don’t have the hobby of stealing money from orphans in the first place.

「Yeah, got it.」

When I acknowledge her, the saint bows her head in relief. She’s making a face like her shoulders can’t handle the burden.

「Well, let us set that aside.」

However, the saint immediately changes her expression. Seems like she still has something to say.

…The saint takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, gazing intently into my eyes.

Now that I really take a good look at her face, she definitely deserves all the praise she gets about her beauty. And as I’m staring at the saint like this, for some reason she abruptly stands on her tiptoes. Then she wraps both of her arms around the back of my head.

「Owah!?」

-And she hugs my head tightly. In one motion, she brings my head to her chest and tenderly presses me into it.

「Gh…!」

I hear Yuel emit a gasping noise, from her throat clenching in surprise.

「Saint-sama!?」

The nearby knights are also astonished at the saint’s behavior.

「Oi, what exactly are you…!?」

Of course I’m surprised as well. I thought we were having a serious conversation just now about the connection between the slave merchants and the archbishop, but before I know it she’s hugging my head and pressing it into her chest. I’m happy about it, more or less, but more so strongly confused. I don’t have the slightest clue what this girl is up to.

「How is it? Has your pulse quickened?」

「No, not really…」

In my overly bewildered state, I end up answering her question honestly. I was surprised, but I’m not excited. There’s a nice smell wafting over to me, but I can feel her rib cage bonking into my forehead. And grinding against it kinda hurts. Plus I was just rubbing Marianna’s massive mammary earlier, so to be honest this really isn’t doing much for me.

「…I see.」

Along with the robotic tone of the saint’s voice, I can hear a sound like she’s grinding her teeth. I feel a turbulent atmosphere and look at the saint’s face… and when our eyes meet, she smiles sweetly. But I definitely heard her grinding her teeth, and her voice just now definitely sounded tumultuous. No doubt about it, her facial expression and her inner thoughts don’t match at all. This lady is a bit scary.

Then, muttering “In that case it cannot be helped… everyone has different taste in women, I suppose.”, the saint releases my head.

「Nonetheless… How about this?」

Then for her next move, she gently takes my hand, and slowly guides it.

「Oi!?」

Onto her chest. But she doesn’t just pull my hand to her chest.

…She slips it beneath her clothes. She guides my hand under her clothes, onto her bare breast. I thought she was completely flat, but touching it directly, there’s just a little something there. It’s supple.

「Saint-sama!? What in god’s name are you doing!?」

One of the knights who’s been watching the whole scene can’t hold back his outcry.

「…」

And Yuel is silently staring transfixed at my hand.

「Shiki-sama, how is it?」

However, the saint disregards both the knight and Yuel, and questions me. Even if she asks my opinion, I haven’t the slightest clue about the meaning behind her eccentric behavior.

「Is your heart not pounding? Are you not in the mood to push me down and make babies with me?」

As expected, she’s averting her eyes as if she might be embarrassed, but both her words and her actions are radically extreme. What the hell is up with her? No, I did say “I’m not excited” so I can understand what brought on this recklessness, but I wonder why she went down this road in the first place.

「The next time you are tempted by the succubus or a beautiful woman like the one earlier, if I am nearby, won’t you choose me instead?」

「Ahh… I get it, That’s what this is about.」

When I hear the word ‘succubus’, I finally comprehend. I mean, now that I actually think about it that’s the only thing it could’ve been. Most likely, the saint must have been confirming whether or not she could become, in a certain sense, a “war potential” in opposition to the succubus.

…This saint really puts her body on the line. Although if we’re gonna talk about countermeasures against the succubus, it’d be fine to just keep someone like Eris or Ruruka near me at all times, so it shouldn’t be necessary for the saint herself to go out of her way to do such things. In my wildest dreams, I never expected the saint to go this far. And yet, although I feel guilty that she’s going this far for me,

「But you can’t rival the succubus. That’s on a whole different level.」

to say nothing of Marianna, even Eris’ “I will do whatever you want” offer was just barely enough against the temptation of the succubus. It’s probably impossible for the saint in the first place. She’s hopelessly lacking in the chest department.

「Even if I go this far, is it hopeless for me…?」

This time, the voice the saint emits sounds truly heartbroken. To get barely any reaction after going this far might have been a considerable shock to her. Well, she is a beauty and all. And I got to touch the bare breast of an important person with the title of saint, no less.

But for me, titties are greater than titles. Since it was after I rubbed those bodacious boobs, in the end I couldn’t hide my dissatisfaction.

「If the succubus appeared somewhere with just me and Philine, without a doubt I’d be swept away by the succubus’ temptation. I can guarantee that.」

But if I told the saint something suitable here to protect her feelings and got abducted as a result, humanity would be in trouble. My wide-range healing is way too compatible with the succubus’ horde of manipulated monsters.

And Yuel is currently here too, not to mention the nearby knights. It’s not like I’ll be kidnapped that easily. But just in case, I’ll properly convey my impressions.

「I see…」

The saint’s head droops a little. Since Eris was able to get me back from the succubus, the saint may have been thinking that she should be able to as well. But to be honest, the saint’s chest isn’t much different from Yuel’s. No, Yuel’s might even be bigger. The saint is flat beyond hope.

However, after letting out a single deep sigh, the saint soon switches to a serious expression.

「I must say, this is somewhat irksome… a night has passed, and yet the succubus’ whereabouts are still unknown. She will require time to assemble more monsters, so the probability of an immediate repeat attack ought to be low, but we cannot discount the possibility that she remains lurking within the vicinity of this city.」

「I see… but her leg was definitely hit by the Earth Dragon’s breath, so couldn’t she also just be a statue by now?」

「Indeed, however… judging from the battle thus far, an apostle of the evil god possesses a physical body that is far tougher than we had surmised. The petrification may not proceed at the same rate that it does with people. I have heard that, compared to humans, those monsters that have a strong vitality are abnormally resistant to petrification and poison. We cannot disregard the possibility that the same is true of the succubus.」

Now that she mentions it, even though the succubus got fairly trounced by the dragon, she was okay. Even when she got smacked into the wall or the ground by its tail, she was still relatively lively. Although she did seem to be in pain. But if she had been an ordinary human, those powerful attacks would have turned her into mincemeat.

「…Ultimately, the better option seems to be to solidify Shiki-sama’s environs.」

Then the saint mutters that and claps her hands peremptorily. At the same time, a small figure comes hopping down from the roof of the mansion, and stops beside the saint.

「Philine-sama, how may I serve you?」

The identity of the figure is a beast-eared girl I sorta remember. Her age looks to be around the same as Yuel’s.

「Shiki-sama, this girl is Astel, my escort. Shiki-sama’s slave is excellent, but it would seem that she has not received training as an escort… forgive my impertinence, but while I am here in this mansion, let Astel here teach her the techniques of an escort.」

「Escort techniques?」

I don’t know what “escort techniques” is referring to, but, well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt for Yuel to learn them. I take a glance in Yuel’s direction, and she seems eager. She looks into my eyes and nods, firmly clenching both fists.

「…Me?」

But as for the kid named Astel, she seems a bit dissatisfied. What’s more, it looks like she’s glaring at Yuel a little. Oh wait, I only just remembered now, but this kid is the saint’s spy who Yuel mistakenly chased around back at the orphanage.

…I get the feeling that she hates Yuel quite a bit. Something tells me this is going to get rather troublesome. It’d be great if they don’t bicker or anything, though.

As I’m fretting, a knight rushes over from outside the mansion. Then, when he locates the saint, he stops in front of her and reports.

「Saint-sama, the succubus has appeared in the city of Crusell!」

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