Chapter 65

### Summary of Previous Chapters

Shiki, along with a knight, defeated the succubus who was resurrected by the Archbishop's plot and stayed at the lord's mansion. Suddenly, Meliana, the daughter of a slave trader with large breasts, came to the mansion and asked for his consideration. Confused, Shiki tilted his head, and then the Holy Maiden arrived, and Meliana left.

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Starting from today, I will post every three days or so.

There are about 17 episodes in total.

The healing magic will conclude the main story in this fifth chapter, both in the web and the book.

I would be happy if you could stay with me until the end.

Thank you.

"Master Shiki, who was the person who just left?"

The Holy Maiden, who was standing behind him, asked.

"This, this is the daughter of the head of the slave traders' guild in this town. Her name is Meliana."

Shiki had been watching the knight and Meliana arguing, and before he knew it, he was fondling her large breasts.

... Not that he had any obligation to wait in the room until the Holy Maiden came, and fondling a beautiful woman's breasts was his own choice.

But... he couldn't look the Holy Maiden in the eye.

Of course, it was because he had guilty feelings.

In fact, he had nothing but guilty feelings.

"... It seems that information about you, Master Shiki, has already leaked to the outside. It also seems that they already know you are very weak for women..."

Shiki thought he would be scolded, but the Holy Maiden covered her mouth with her hand as if in thought and calmly murmured.

"J-Just because I'm weak for women doesn't mean I'm that weak..."

He denied it for Yuel's sake, but the Holy Maiden didn't seem to hear.

She continued to tap her finger, as if deep in thought.

"... Do you know how slaves are born, Master Shiki?"

Then, the Holy Maiden suddenly asked.

Without waiting for his response, she continued.

"In the current stable situation where war captives are no longer produced, the primary reason for the creation of slaves is poverty."

"Poverty?"

The reason slaves are born.

Now that he thought about it, Yuel had told him why she became a slave.

She said that the orphanage she was in went bankrupt, and she was sold to pay off its debts.

"The former Archbishop, Darno, deliberately increased the number of people in poverty by significantly squeezing the budgets of institutions like orphanages. As a result, people who were struggling to make ends meet or orphaned children had no choice but to become slaves. The more slaves there were, the more profitable it was for slave traders. The Archbishop then took a portion of the profits as a reward, enriching himself... In simple terms, that's how it worked."

"Oh, so that's what Meliana meant by 'consideration'..."

He had been wondering, but it seemed the Holy Maiden was explaining why Meliana had approached him.

As the number of poor people increased, they would become slaves to survive, be sold to pay off debts, or turn to crime out of desperation.

In other words, from the perspective of slave traders, the ideal Archbishop was one who was greedy for money and continued to exploit the poor.

... If that was the case, the former Darno must have been a wonderful Archbishop for slave traders.

"For slave traders, the Archbishop, who controls the welfare of the region, is a crucial figure who can significantly influence their business. I expected they would try to make contact, but I didn't think it would happen so soon. Allowing the contact was... my mistake."

The Holy Maiden looked embarrassed, as if ashamed of her own naivety.

He had a feeling, but it seemed she was a person with a strong sense of responsibility.

However, he didn't want her to take his fondling a beautiful woman's breasts so seriously.

He felt a lot of guilt.

"From now on, there might be more women trying to seduce you, Master Shiki. But please, do not be swayed by women connected to slave traders and become their puppet. I will also think of countermeasures."

She gave him a stern warning.

But he had no intention of doing such a thing.

If he did, Elise would not just look down on him; it would be much worse.

Besides, he had no interest in extorting money from places like orphanages.

"A, alright, I understand."

When he agreed, the Holy Maiden nodded in relief.

She looked as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Anyway, aside from that..."

However, the Holy Maiden quickly changed her expression.

It seemed she had more to say.

... The Holy Maiden took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

When he looked at her face, he could see why she was so revered as a Holy Maiden; she was indeed beautiful.

As they stared at each other, the Holy Maiden suddenly stretched and placed her hands behind her head.

"O-Oh!?"

—Then, she hugged his head tightly.

The Holy Maiden then gently pressed her chest against his head.

"!"

He heard Yuel choke in surprise.

"H-Holy Maiden!?"

The knights around them were also shocked by the Holy Maiden's sudden actions.

"H-Hey, what's going on...!?"

Of course, he was also surprised.

They had been having a serious conversation about the relationship between slave traders and the Archbishop, and suddenly his head was hugged and pressed against her chest.

While it was a pleasant situation, he was more confused.

He had no idea what she was thinking.

"How does it feel? Does it make your heart race?"

"N-No, not really..."

He answered the question honestly, still in shock.

He was surprised, but his heart didn't race.

Her chest smelled nice, but he could feel his forehead bumping against her sternum.

It was also a bit painful.

After being fondled by Meliana's large breasts, he found it quite unsatisfying.

"... Is that so?"

The Holy Maiden's voice was mechanical, and he heard a grinding sound.

Sensing an ominous atmosphere, he looked at her face, but when their eyes met, she smiled.

However, he had definitely heard the grinding sound, and her voice had been ominous.

Her expression and her inner thoughts were clearly not in sync.

She was a bit scary.

Then, the Holy Maiden said, "If that's the case, there's nothing I can do. ... Everyone has different tastes," and released his head.

"But... how about this?"

Then, she gently took his hand and guided it.

"Hey!?"

The place she led his hand to was her chest.

But it wasn't just her chest.

... She was guiding his hand under her clothes.

Under her clothes, to her bare breasts.

He hadn't expected it, but when he touched them directly, they were a bit soft.

"H-Holy Maiden! What are you doing!?"

One of the knights, who had been watching, couldn't help but shout.

"..."

Yuel was also silent, staring at his hand.

"Master Shiki, how does it feel?"

However, the Holy Maiden ignored the knights and Yuel and asked him.

When asked, he had no idea what her strange behavior meant.

"Does it make your heart race? Do you want to push me down and have children with me?"

She averted her eyes, seemingly embarrassed, but her words and actions were extremely bold.

What was she thinking?

He understood that she was doing this because he had said he didn't feel his heart race, but why had she started this in the first place?

"When a succubus or a woman like the one earlier tries to seduce you, if I'm nearby, will you choose me?"

"Oh, I see... So that's what this is about."

Hearing the word "succubus," he finally understood.

In fact, it was the only explanation.

The Holy Maiden was probably testing whether she could be a force to counter the succubus.

... This Holy Maiden was quite willing to go to great lengths.

If it was about succubus countermeasures, he could just stay close to Elise or Ruruka.

There was no need for the Holy Maiden to go to such lengths.

He hadn't expected her to go this far.

However, he felt grateful, but...

"But, I don't think I could resist a succubus. They're in a league of their own."

While Meliana might be manageable, the succubus's seduction had been quite intense, even with Elise's "I'll do anything for you" offer.

He doubted the Holy Maiden could do it.

Her chest was just not big enough.

"Even after all this...?"

The Holy Maiden's voice was genuinely dejected.

She must have been quite shocked by his lack of reaction.

After all, she was beautiful, and she had even let him touch her bare breasts.

But for him, the size of the breasts mattered more than the title.

After fondling large breasts, he found it unsatisfying.

"If Filene and I were alone and a succubus appeared, I would definitely be seduced and taken away. I can say that with certainty."

However, he didn't want to say something insincere to comfort the Holy Maiden, only to end up being taken away.

His area healing and the succubus's ability to control a horde of monsters were a dangerous combination.

In reality, Yuel was also there, and there were knights around.

He wouldn't be taken away so easily.

But he wanted to be honest.

"I see..."

The Holy Maiden's shoulders drooped slightly.

She might have thought that if Elise could save him from the succubus, she could do it too.

But honestly, the Holy Maiden's chest was not much different from Yuel's.

In fact, Yuel's might have been bigger.

She was hopelessly flat-chested.

However, the Holy Maiden took a deep breath and quickly regained her serious expression.

"But this is a bit of a problem... We still haven't found the succubus. It takes time to gather monsters, so it's unlikely she will attack again soon, but we can't rule out the possibility that she's hiding nearby."

"That's true... But she did take a hit from an Earth Dragon's breath. She might have turned to stone by now."

"Yes, but from the battles we've had, the apostles of the evil god seem to have much stronger bodies than expected. They might not petrify like humans. I've heard that strong monsters are less susceptible to petrification and poisons compared to humans. The same could be true for the succubus."

He remembered that the succubus had survived several dragon attacks.

She had been slammed into walls and the ground with her tail but had remained relatively unharmed.

She had shown pain, but the attacks were powerful enough to turn a human into mincemeat.

"... It seems we need to strengthen the security around you, Master Shiki."

Then, the Holy Maiden clapped her hands.

A small shadow flew from the roof of the mansion and stopped beside her.

"Filene, is there something you need?"

The shadow turned out to be a familiar-looking girl with animal ears, about the same age as Yuel.

"Master Shiki, this is Astel, my bodyguard. Your slave is excellent, but she doesn't seem to have received formal bodyguard training. If it's not too presumptuous, I would like Astel to teach her bodyguard techniques while I'm here."

"Bodyguard techniques?"

He wasn't sure what bodyguard techniques entailed, but it couldn't hurt to learn.

Yuel seemed eager, nodding and clenching her fists.

"... M-Me?"

But Astel, the girl, looked a bit reluctant.

She also seemed to be glaring at Yuel.

He remembered that she was the Holy Maiden's spy who had been chased by Yuel at the orphanage.

... She probably didn't like Yuel very much.

He had a feeling this would be troublesome.

He hoped they wouldn't fight.

As he was thinking, a knight rushed in from outside the mansion.

Spotting the Holy Maiden, he stopped in front of her and said:

"H-Holy Maiden, a succubus has appeared in the town of Cursel!"