* * *
A time-honored saying, passed down from generation to generation in my warm homeland, came to mind.
"When favors continue to be done, they become a right.
I can't think of a better way to describe human nature.
If this unfortunate tendency of the human species to conceit that what is in its grasp is entirely its own, is the deliberate handiwork of the creator we call God, then I have to say, as a creature, what a wonderful hobby he has.
''saintess----. Please step aside----.''
''----''
The sight of the young girl's new model standing in my path, arms straight out in front of her, made my head spin.
I felt like I was watching the threatening posture of an anteater in an animal documentary.
I wondered how that pose, which I thought was insignificant when the anteater was doing it, could be so threatening depending on who was doing it. Just as my mind was filling up with thoughts of escapism, a voice so divine that I wondered if it was echoing directly into my head lifted my consciousness.
'' Chu----. I didn't----.''
The rebuke was directed at me with the resentful rebuke of one who has neglected to do something that should have been done.
However, the emotion welling up inside my chest at the moment was a bit far from guilt or sinfulness.
It was, by definition, boredom.
I was aware that such feelings were unholy and unseemly for a guardian priest who was supposed to be devoted to a saintess to harbor towards a saintess he was supposed to be protecting.
As a priest, as a protector, as a man, and as a man before he was a guardian priest, it was a little unreasonable.
''Saintess. As I told you before the meal, any unwholesome physical contact with me ends today.''
''----?''
She shook her head, as if she couldn't understand what I was saying.
There was no way to tell if she really didn't understand me, or if she was just pretending not to, but it was clear that she, who had always been in her own world, was listening to my voice at this moment, so I took advantage of the momentum and blurted out the words I had been holding back.
''It is not the proper relationship between a saintess and her guardian priest to embrace, stroke each other's hair, or kiss each other in the first place, and if this scandal were to reach the ears of other members of the faithful, or even the people who worship you, it would bring great disrepute to your dignity, and by extension, to the honor of the Holy See. ''
Furthermore, there is a lack of consideration for my mental health, which is becoming more and more tattered by the day.
As if that weren't bad enough, since I was appointed as Saintess's full-time guardian priest, I've been receiving 10 death threats a day on my doorstep, allegedly from jealous seniors, and the day they found out about the physical contact between me and Saintess was catastrophic.
''First and foremost, my body is a shield for you, not a toy, and whenever you get a chance, you grope, lick, bite, and---- everywhere on my body, and even I can't turn a blind eye anymore.''
The fragments of the memories that had been tormenting me flashed through my mind like a panorama, as I let out the inhibitions that I would normally have kept to myself.
A girl so mysteriously beautiful that I wondered if she was a work of art sculpted by the gods, burying her breath into my flesh so close that I could hear her heartbeat.
Her sculptural nose brushes carelessly against my skin, as if she's trying to dig up something buried deep inside me, and her mesmerizing body scent, like sweet milk mixed with dense honey, viciously eats away at what little self-control I have left.
Most of all, what drives me crazy are those luscious lips that make an unintentionally sensual sound, ChuChu, every time they touch my flesh.
Honestly, it's already a miraculous feat that I've been able to maintain my sanity this far in the face of such giddy ecstasy.
''So, let's call it a day on the 'family fun'.''
I balled my fists, my words filled with desperation.
Hoping my firm intentions would reach her, hoping she would see through them.
Turbuck.
Perhaps she sensed something untoward in my uncharacteristic tone, as she slowly closed the distance between us with a shaky, unsteady gait that was tinged with damp anxiety.
'' Chu----.''
''No.''
I grabbed her slender shoulder blades and stopped her in her tracks. Then I firmly pushed her feathery body away.
Heartbreaking, but it had to be done.
A book tucked into the back pocket of his pants. "Parenting 101. How to Raise a Tantrum-Free Child" had said that in times like this, you have to eat your heart out even more.
''As a substitute, I'll read you two fairy tales at every meal from tomorrow. I'll also change the menu to remove the bell peppers that you don't like without the sisters' knowledge, and I'll talk to the cook and ask her to remove them. If there's anything else you need, please let me know. I will prepare anything within my power.''
He also reiterated the importance of compensation.
Just saying no is the sewage of sewage. If you want to forbid or restrict something to a child, it's better to prepare a variety of rewards for them.
''So, saintess. Tomorrow, we will turn----.''
The air around the suddenly sharpened blade pierced his lungs.
I shuddered uncontrollably at the chill like a blade cutting through my skin, but it was nothing compared to the ugly throbbing of my heart, pounding like a frightened beast.
''Stand, saintess----?''
Squeak.
Wrapping her arms around my waist, she buried her face into my abdomen, her hands clamping down, cutting off any possible escape.
I can assure you that the sequence of movements, which resembled a serpent strangling its prey, was not a hallucination or an aberration of any kind.
It was a tenuous force that I could have easily shaken off with a light tug on my bones. However, the willpower that was currently completely subduing my body, making it impossible for me to even move, undoubtedly originated from that weak force.
It was then. Something had invaded inside my body.
At the same time, an overwhelming feeling, as if a transcendent entity was squeezing my soul from above, stifled my breathing.
It felt like an invisible hand was clutching my heart and forcibly accelerating the blood flow through my body. My senses became unusually acute, my bones and muscles twitched, and an unexplained sense of omnipotence coursed through my body.
It was unmistakable. This was a power said to be entrusted by the gods to only a handful of faithful girls. The power of the Most High, granted only to a saintess.
The protection of a saintess.
A shapeless armor against demons, meant to be bestowed upon a warrior who fought against demons, a key to a taboo door that allowed a human body to harness the omnipotent power of a god.
But.
The saintess's favor, granted to the unworthy, was no better than a poisoned chalice.
It was like trying to hold the ocean in a paper cup the size of your palm, and then pouring salt water over it until it broke.
Yes, that was what she was doing to me now.
She the ocean. I am the paper cup. Or rather, a bunch of paper cups.
Not even a scream came out.
One, two, three, four.
As the spells she bestowed upon me stacked on top of each other, an uncanny sensation of burning in my gut, but without any pain, engulfed my consciousness.
Then the unknown sensation of sinking to the bottom of the ocean, clad in layers of heavy armor that didn't fit me, until I could not see a single inch of the dark, murky depths, robbed me of my last remaining possession: the desire to survive.
Full stop.
As if in surrender, my knees buckled.
Then, my vision, cramped by the difficulty of breathing, slowly opened up.Our eyes met, and that was it.
There she was, clutching the children's book I'd read to her today to her chest, staring at my ungainly muzzle with her usual dignity.
Snicker.
And in the next moment, in a dramatic turn of events, my ragged consciousness took another flight at the shocking sight before me.
Boo-boo-boo. Saintess, who had casually torn my favorite fairy tale book to shreds, was caressing my cheeks with a desperate expression that I had never seen before.
''I don't need---- any----. I don't need---- no----.''
''Huh----! Huh----!''
At first glance, it looked like he was angry, and then it looked like he was afraid of something, but in the end, it was all in the realm of speculation. The only thing that was clear was that it was an emotion that I couldn't discern.
Sadly, it was all too easy to predict what she was going to do to me next.
Because when you have a sad premonition in your sleep, you're never wrong.
Therefore, in the aftermath of the sensations and muscles of my entire body going limp, I desperately moved my ugly mouth, which was drooling in disbelief, to desperately get the words out.
''Yi, lips---- lips don't---- work----!''
''----''
''Stand, saintess----, please------------!''
''----''
''Well---- me----!''
''----''
How many times must my piteous pleas have rung out, beneath the chasm of consciousness falling into the abyss.
Chu.
My world went black with an ecstatic ringing that I couldn't tell if it was reality or a dream.
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