Chapter 82

After Ruruka ran out of the room,

I watched as Yuel lovingly stroked her protruding belly, lost in thought.

Just how could I resolve Yuel's pregnant state?

Perhaps because I had complimented her on her clothes, Yuel was now fiddling with the hem of her loose dress, looking at it, and blushing when our eyes met. Her face clearly read, "I am happy."

It was too late to tell her to take off that maternity wear now.

...But, I couldn't just leave Yuel as she was.

Everyone in this mansion knew that Yuel and I had a master-servant relationship.

If Yuel's belly were to show, it would be obvious that I was the father.

In other words, everyone in the mansion would think I was a pedophile who had taken advantage of Yuel.

"Even to a child, the Saint is a pervert after all."

"I heard that he was the only one tempted by a child-sized succubus; I suspected it might be the case even then..."

"While serving and cleaning the mansion, he always looked at our skirts with a lecherous gaze. I always thought he would do something eventually."

I could easily imagine such testimonies pouring out from the maids throughout the mansion.

If this continued, the image I had cultivated in the mansion—sometimes as a great saint from the Holy Scriptures, sometimes as a kind guest who casually healed burns and injuries—would be completely ruined.

I would go from being a respected and beloved figure to being treated as a pedophile.

...At the very least, I couldn't let the pregnant Yuel leave the room.

...If Yuel were to leave the room, I wouldn't be able to stay in this mansion anymore.

Mentally, that is.

"By the way, I heard that the Holy Maiden is planning to build a mansion for Master. Should I ask her to build a hut for this child as well?"

As I was thinking about this, Yuel, who was lovingly stroking her belly, called out to me.

"A hut? ...Right, if I'm going to live there, Luluka will be living there too, so we'll need to build a place for the dragon as well..."

As Yuel said, the Holy Maiden was currently leading a plan to build a mansion for me in this labyrinth city.

Apparently, the country and the Church of Medine were providing the funds, and construction had already begun.

It was probably part of the reward for defeating the evil god.

I had also received some expensive decorations and valuable magical items.

There was even a magical item that allowed a well-known saint to blend in with ordinary people, which seemed quite convenient.

...It might eventually lead to an audience with the king, which would be troublesome.

Anyway.

My new home would be built soon.

It was almost certain that I would need to create a living area for the dragon.

A considerate Holy Maiden would probably have included space for the dragon, but she didn't know about this dragon egg yet.

"Right, I should tell the Holy Maiden that we might have two dragons to keep."

"Yes! I'll go tell her right away!"

And then, naturally.

So naturally that I didn't even feel the urge to stop her, Yuel opened the door and was about to leave the room.

"W-wait, Yuel!"

I almost let her go, but I managed to stop her at the last moment.

But if I stopped her without a reason, Yuel would be suspicious.

"T-that's right, I want to talk to Yuel! Yes, right now, just the two of us... Come, sit next to me... on this bed, let's talk!"

I came up with a reason to call Yuel back.

"Y-yes, Master!"

Hearing my words, Yuel happily returned to the room.

She moved to sit next to me, holding her heavy belly.

Then, she sat down on the bed.

...I managed to stop Yuel.

Now, I just needed to find a plausible reason to keep her from leaving the room in her maternity wear.

That was the difficult part.

I needed to come up with a good idea that would keep Yuel from leaving the room in her maternity wear without hurting her feelings.

Just as I was about to start thinking of a plausible reason to convince Yuel,

"...?"

I noticed that Yuel's gaze was directed not at me, but at something else.

Her gaze was fixed on the half-open door.

Then I realized it.

---The half-open door.

Through the gap in the door, I could see a maid's uniform.

"Is there something you need?"

Yuel called out to the other side of the half-open door.

Her words seemed to imply, "You've been standing outside the room, but why don't you come in?"

"U-um, I was asked to bring clothes for the servant, and I wanted to confirm if the size and fit were correct... I..."

In response to Yuel's voice, the door slowly opened.

When it opened fully, three maids holding fabric and sewing tools were standing there.

Their eyes were fixed on me, sitting on the bed, and Yuel, sitting next to me.

What they were most likely surprised by was Yuel's protruding belly.

...Probably, these maids had come to this room to adjust Yuel's clothes.

Just as they arrived, Yuel was about to leave the room.

They didn't enter the room immediately, perhaps because they were shocked by Yuel's pregnant appearance.

Or maybe it was because I had said something mysterious like, "I want to talk to you alone," to keep Yuel in the room.

I had only intended to have a casual conversation to keep Yuel in the room.

"If we are being a bother, we will leave..."

The maid seemed to be considerate of our private conversation on the bed.

"Ah, no, the clothes fit perfectly. I'm sorry for the sudden request. Thank you for your help."

"Master said they fit well. Thank you for the clothes. I will take good care of them!"

I replied to the maid, but her eyes never left Yuel's belly.

Yuel's eyes also avoided mine.

They were just staring at Yuel's belly.

After staring at Yuel's belly for a while, they hesitantly looked at me.

...Their eyes were not filled with the respect one would have for a saint from the Holy Scriptures.

Instead, they were filled with surprise, confusion, and a hint of disgust.

They had definitely misunderstood.

"Hey, is that the Saint's and the servant's child...?"

"S-she's stroking her belly so lovingly..."

The other two maids, who were not talking to me, were whispering to each other.

They were clearly concerned about Yuel's belly.

Their surprise was so great that they couldn't control their volume.

I could hear parts of their conversation.

"N-no, she looked normal yesterday... It's impossible for her belly to have grown so much in just one day..."

"Oh, right. That does make sense. It's impossible..."

But listening to those two maids, I realized something.

---It would be strange for Yuel's belly to suddenly swell in just one or two days.

Ordinarily, people would realize that she wasn't pregnant but had something in her belly.

...Maybe I had been overthinking it.

If I acted normally, no one would think Yuel was pregnant, no matter how much she tried to look pregnant.

To the residents of this mansion, who were used to seeing Yuel and me, it would be inconceivable for her belly to suddenly grow that much.

"R-right. I'm glad. Thank you. I'll take my leave now."

The maid I was talking to seemed to come to her senses and said that.

Then, she bowed deeply and left the room.

...But why did the maid I was talking to look at me with disgust, unlike the others?

It should have been obvious.

As I was thinking about this, I heard the maid's voice through the wall.

"B-but, he's a Saint! I've never read the Holy Scriptures, but I've heard he can do incredible magic that defies common sense... Maybe he can make a girl pregnant instantly and bring her to full term!"

No way.

◆

A few days later.

The rumor spread among some of the maids that the Saint, who defied common sense, could impregnate a girl in a day and bring her to full term.

Just touching the Saint could make one pregnant.

Just making eye contact could make one pregnant.

He was an outrageous pedophile.

I used the recognition-blocking magical item given to me by the country and ran away from the lord's mansion with Yuel.

I want to introduce Eito and Gazer.