Chapter 2: The Saintess and the “Saintess” (Part 2)

“Heh heh heh… counting stars, one by one, counting stars, two stars…”

The Saintess, who had transformed into a little demon, hummed a soft nursery rhyme while gently caressing the “little stars” on someone’s body.

As a puppet bound to the Saintess, Hailey could not only feel her touch but was also subject to her endless demands and the siphoning of her magic.

By relying on the magic drained from Hailey, Idledra could briefly regain her clarity, though it required a massive amount of mana to maintain.

“Little star, don’t move… I’ll be very, very gentle.”

As for the specific method of siphoning magic, Hailey was never quite sure what it involved.

All Idledra had to do was touch her lightly, and it felt as if she were being sucked dry.

Furthermore, perhaps due to the puppet bond, whenever Idledra’s emotions peaked, Hailey’s body would inexplicably experience a sensation of pleasure.

Of course, her mind was still filled with the debilitating weakness that came from having her strength drained…

During the day, she appeared as fragile as a reed, but at night, Idledra seemed to turn into a different person, greedily demanding and devouring everything from Edhailey…

“Let go… don’t do this… please…”

Feeling the magic drain from her body, Hailey looked at the girl mounted atop her in despair.

Instead of stopping, the girl’s eyes sparkled with even more excitement.

“Good girl, close your eyes, and it won’t hurt anymore…”

Seeing a single crystal tear roll down from the corner of the puppet girl’s eye due to fear, she leaned down and kissed the corner of Hailey’s eye, licking away the tear.

With a smile, she helped Hailey close her eyes…

‘I don’t want to be sucked dry! I just crossed over into this world!’

Waking up from the nightmare once again, Hailey looked toward the window where the faint morning light was beginning to peek through.

‘Is it morning already? Was that scene just a nightmare…’

However, when she tried to lift her hand, she found her right arm so heavy she couldn’t even move it.

A pair of delicate, slender hands were hugging her arm, and an entire body was pressed against her.

Though she was called a Body Double Puppet in name, she was, after all, a high-end magical creation.

Hailey’s physical structure was almost identical to that of a normal girl, including her sense of touch and feeling.

At this moment, Idledra was still immersed in a beautiful dream, clinging to Hailey’s arm as her cool skin pressed tightly against Hailey’s body.

Hailey, who had never been in such close contact with a girl, turned bright red in an instant.

She wanted to push the sleeping girl away, but it was useless.

The lingering effects of the magic drain from the previous night left her unable to struggle.

She could only lie paralyzed on the bed, silently praying for the Saintess beside her to wake up.

It seemed her prayers worked. Idledra rubbed her eyes and fumbled around the bed in a half-asleep state, accidentally touching a soft, chubby cheek.

“Good morning, dear Hailey.”

“Uh, good morning…”

At this time, her eyes had returned to a dull, dim pink.

She could only rely on intuition and her perception of magic to fumble around, carefully finding her clothes and putting them on with practiced ease.

However, she was quite confused.

Why was little Hailey, who was usually quite noisy, not making a sound right now?

If she could see, she would have discovered a tomato-red face.

“You… why aren’t you wearing clothes… and why are you changing right in front of me?!”

“Oh? But my clothes are right here… if Hailey isn’t there, I can’t find any other clothes.”

Idledra looked aggrieved.

Her clothes were placed according to habit; even though she was blind, she could find them through memory.

Put that way, it sounded quite reasonable.

Hailey had no choice but to force her eyes shut to stop herself from thinking about those embarrassing things.

She definitely hadn’t seen the girl’s smooth, delicate back…

“I’m finished changing, Hailey. Help me out, okay?”

Feeling the magic slowly returning to her body, Hailey couldn’t help but marvel.

This magical body was truly wondrous, capable of continuously generating mana.

No wonder those people from the Holy See looked like they wanted to devour her when she first arrived.

They had spent so much effort gathering rare materials, only to hand them over to someone else.

It was just like a sharp Three Diamond Sword that had been painstakingly enchanted, only to be stolen by someone using a random Looting effect.

It was heart-wrenching, but luckily, she hadn’t run away.

Otherwise, if she were caught, she didn’t know if this puppet would be chopped into magical scraps or ground into magical powder…

While she was dazing off, something suddenly poked her forehead.

Idledra, now in her casual clothes, looked at her with a pouting little mouth.

Hailey rubbed her eyes and realized the other girl wasn’t wearing her usual Saintess attire.

Instead, she was wearing a light, youthful, casual dress and had even specially put on a blindfold.

Hailey suddenly had a bad feeling.

She wanted to run, but her legs suddenly gave way.

The exhaustion from last night hadn’t worn off yet, and her legs were still weak, allowing her to be easily caught.

“Hailey, accompany me on an outing today, okay?”

‘My god… the shut-in lady who hasn’t left the house in ages actually wants to go out? Is the sun rising in the west?’

Idledra was born blind, so her perception of the world mostly came from her magic.

Because of this, she was like a potted plant, always preferring to stay on the balcony and daydream.

Regardless, being able to go out and get some sun was good.

She was about to start sprouting from staying in this big villa for so long…

“Hailey, come with me. Without you, I can’t see the way…”

Before she could refuse, a light, dark green dress was placed in her hands.

This wouldn’t do! How could she go out wearing girls’ clothes?!

“I don’t want to…”

Even if she had been forced to wear the Saintess’s attire to the church as a double not long ago, work was work, and life was life! She absolutely could not be a girl in her daily life…

***

“Hailey?”

‘This is a matter of principle. Even if I’m forced by a demon like you, I will absolutely never—’

“Good morning, Saintess! Your new dress is so beautiful!”

A group of children playing nearby gathered around their Saintess, looking at the two of them curiously.

The Saintess in the dark green dress smiled gently.

A kind and beautiful Saintess would naturally be loved by children.

‘The shame, the absolute shame. My lifelong reputation as a man… cough cough, formerly a man.’

“Who is this older sister next to the Saintess? Why are her eyes covered?”

A little girl curiously approached Idledra and touched her wheelchair.

Unable to see the girl, Idledra gently stroked the child’s head.

“This sister… is the Saintess’s little secret… and these eyes can only be seen by the Saintess.”

“Oh… she’s the Saintess’s secret! She’s the Secret Sister!”

This immediately piqued the curiosity of all the children.

Only Hailey stood there with a red face, covering her eyes.

‘What on earth is this person saying? Don’t corrupt the flowers of the Empire…’

“What are you all doing?”