Chapter 66

"K-Kruse's town!? You mean to say that they gathered monsters so quickly and launched an attack! What about the damage to the town!?"

The holy maiden exclaimed in shock.

Succubi have no combat ability on their own.

It should take several days to gather thousands of monsters for an urban attack.

And the succubus had just attacked this labyrinth city yesterday.

Indeed, it was far too early for another attack.

"Hey, isn't Kruse pretty close from here? Don't you think we should send reinforcements?"

This labyrinth city had remained unscathed thanks to reinforcements from the surrounding areas and my presence, but I remember that Kruse was a smaller town than this labyrinth city.

If it were to be attacked by succubi without any reinforcements, it would fall easily.

If they are still holding out, we should head there as reinforcements immediately.

"N-No, that's not the case! It's a misunderstanding! The succubus didn't attack the town with monsters!"

However, the knight, seeing the shocked holy maiden and me, quickly corrected his words.

"Then... what exactly happened?"

"The succubus... appeared before the bishop of Kruse alone, asking to have her feet healed."

The knight, who seemed reluctant to speak, answered the holy maiden's question.

"Her feet? Alone before the bishop? I'm sorry, could you give me more details?"

"Yes. The succubus initially tried to manipulate the bishop of Kruse with her abilities to cure her petrification, but she couldn't manipulate the bishop, who has a clean and upright character, even a little bit. The succubus tried various methods, from seduction to cunningly recruiting her to the forces of the evil god, but the bishop of Kruse rejected them all. In the end, the succubus clung to the bishop, showing her petrified feet up to her ankles, and repeatedly begged for her life, crying and pleading, 'Please, please heal my feet! I'll die if you don't!'"

"A disciple of the evil god begging for her life..."

Hearing the knight's report, the tension in my body dissipated.

I thought we needed to send reinforcements immediately, but it seems there's no need at all.

It appears she was just trying to get her feet treated.

Moreover, she seemed to be in a desperate situation, with no sense of shame or propriety.

"…I thought the bishop of Kruse could only use high heels… What did the bishop do after that?"

"The bishop tried to call the troops and capture the succubus, but she managed to escape at the last moment."

"An ideal response, but… so she escaped, huh."

Hearing that she escaped, the holy maiden bit her nails.

…However, the image of the succubus was being completely shattered.

The Bible described her as a disciple who sometimes worked in the shadows and sometimes openly destroyed cities, significantly reducing human territories and truly being the right hand of the evil god.

But this… she just seemed like a naughty and perverted young girl.

"The succubus is described as much more formidable in the Bible, right?"

"…Indeed, the number of monsters she can control and her strategic abilities are not as great as written in the Bible…"

The holy maiden picked up on my muttered words but said with a troubled expression.

"However, we must not be complacent. In the past, the succubus made humans fight each other without lifting a finger, slaughtering many. She can see through the weaknesses in people's hearts and skillfully recruit them to her army. That is the true nature and the troublesome aspect of the succubus. She seems to be weakened now, and she appears powerless against someone like the bishop of Kruse, who has no weaknesses. But…"

The holy maiden looked at me as she spoke.

She was implying that I, a person full of weaknesses and desires, should be extra cautious.

…Indeed, the succubus had seen through my character just by looking at my slightly exposed chest and tried to seduce me.

Even after Elise interfered, she still tried to betray me with words, saying, "If you join the forces of the evil god, you can have a harem of beautiful women from all over the world♡" She is a disciple who can negotiate by offering what I desire, not just using her body to betray me.

"However, given this situation, there is a possibility that the succubus may appear in other cities' churches. Please inform the surrounding cities to strengthen the security of the churches and high-ranking priests."

The holy maiden gave a brief order to the knight, then seemed to think about something before turning to me.

"There are only two priests who can use Exheal in this area now: me and Shiki. If the succubus knows this, she will surely launch a re-attack on this labyrinth city. In particular, the possibility of her targeting Shiki, who has a grudge and was almost manipulated by the succubus before, is very high."

Very high, you say.

"I need to talk to the lord about the security of this mansion and coordination with surrounding cities immediately. We will take measures here, but please be very careful. …Astel, I'm counting on you."

The holy maiden, leaving the task to the young girl with dog ears called Astel, hurriedly returned to the lord's mansion.

…So, the subordinate she wanted to introduce was this dog-eared girl.

Given her age… of course, she has no chest.

I had been hoping for a little more, though.

When the holy maiden entered the mansion, Astel sighed unhappily.

"…You interfered with me at the orphanage, didn't you?"

She then turned to Yuel and said in a reproachful tone.

…Indeed, she still held a grudge over being chased at the orphanage.

Although she was about the same age as Yuel, her anger was still palpable, even if it lacked the force of an adult.

Her cheeks puffed up in anger.

"That was a very important operation to expose the archbishop Darno's plans. Because you interfered, I was severely scolded by the holy maiden afterward."

She was severely scolded.

But, indeed, Yuel's presence might have interfered with the holy maiden's plans, though at that time, Yuel didn't know Astel was a monitor for the holy maiden.

In fact, I didn't even think the holy maiden was on our side at that point.

It would be unreasonable to expect Yuel to have noticed Astel's intentions and acted accordingly.

"I-I'm sorry…"

Yuel apologized, but I made sure to put a stop to Astel's blame.

It would be problematic if she blamed Yuel too much.

Blaming her wouldn't help Yuel improve in the future.

Yuel would likely continue to try to eliminate any threats to me, which is desirable as a bodyguard.

If we were to learn from this failure, I should have clearly identified the allies and enemies and informed Yuel, which would probably be the lesson to take away.

But it didn't seem like it would make much difference to Astel.

She had been severely scolded by the holy maiden and was likely attributing her failure to Yuel, who was about the same age.

She couldn't blame me, who was called a saint.

She might even react negatively.

However, Astel didn't react negatively to my words.

In fact, she looked shocked, her mouth half-open.

"Y-You noticed I was on the roof…? It wasn't just a coincidence that you climbed up there…?"

Then she looked down, muttering something to herself, appearing dejected.

"I was found… found by an amateur… an amateur child…"

…Perhaps she had been confident in her stealth skills.

As a spy for the holy maiden, being seen by an amateur, especially a child like Yuel, might have been unacceptable.

She seemed to be in a daze, as if she had been struck by a blow.

The holy maiden's spy had a title, but her mental resilience seemed to be that of a child her age.

"Hey, you're here to teach Yuel the skills of a bodyguard, right?"

But I couldn't let her stay in a daze forever.

I decided to call out to her.

"Y-Yes…! You, fight me! Before I train you, I need to assess your skills!"

Astel, startled by my voice, quickly regained her composure and said firmly to Yuel.

She switched gears quickly.

…But her recovery seemed a bit off.

It felt like she was trying to prove her own strength by beating Yuel.

I wasn't sure if this was a good idea.

"Fight, huh?"

I thought about stopping it, but Yuel's eyes sparkled at Astel's words.

She seemed eager to fight.

…Well, she probably hadn't had the experience of fighting someone her own age.

I was also curious about Yuel's true strength.

Astel was a trained spy for the holy maiden.

Yuel was strong, but Astel was likely stronger than she appeared.

"I have been trained in the fundamentals of close combat, which even knights can't match. I won't lose to an amateur elf who has only fought monsters!"

Astel took out a wooden training sword and threw it to Yuel.

She seemed very confident.

"Yuel, if you want to fight, that's fine, but don't get hurt. Even with wooden swords, let's do it with a one-point stop."

"Understood, Master!"

I reminded them to prioritize safety, and Yuel responded enthusiastically.

She was bouncing around, warming up.

Her chest might not be full, but her enthusiasm was.

"…!"

Astel glared at Yuel with a stern expression.

Why did she glare at that?

No… I had meant to say it to both Astel and Yuel, but Astel might have thought I was warning Yuel.

"Kukuku, my bodyguard Yuel. Astel over there is no match for you, but don't go overboard."

Astel might have felt looked down upon.

She seemed a bit too sensitive.

Maybe it was because they were about the same age, and she had a competitive spirit.

But having someone to compete with isn't a bad thing.

It's good for Yuel to get stronger, and I'll let her train with Astel without getting hurt.

The next update will be in about 3 days.