“Shi… Shi… Mr. Shilo! Please put me down!”
Lintis cried out with difficulty. Her stomach had been pressed painfully against Shilo’s shoulder the entire time. It would have been one thing if he were walking slowly, but this idiot was actually running!
In the span of 100 or so meters, she felt like she had taken a dozen elbow strikes. She almost met her end.
Who carries a girl like that?!
Hearing her, Shilo, who had been carrying Lintis as he ran toward the main street, stopped and set her down.
Finally saved, Lintis crouched on the ground, clutching her stomach. Her cute little face was twisted in pain.
“Lady Lintis, we should head back,” Shilo said, looking down at her.
Lintis, still recovering, felt her lip twitch. Her fists clenched involuntarily as she snapped her head up to glare at Shilo.
“I’ll give you a ‘head back,’ you big pig! Are you even human, Mr. Shilo? You’re definitely not human, are you? What kind of monster are you disguised as? I’m so curious! Please just admit it and let me hit you with my magic!”
At that moment, Lintis bared her teeth and clawed the air at Shilo.
Her identity, image, and plans were all completely forgotten.
Right now, she just wanted to lob two fireballs at the “pig-headed monster” in front of her and make some roasted pork.
Facing the fiercely adorable priestess, Shilo didn’t show much of an emotional reaction. He simply spoke in a cold, flat tone.
“Lady Lintis, I believe I just saved you. Is the lesson you learned to shout insults and even mock your savior and the kind person providing you with lodging?”
“I’ll save your m —”
At the last second, Lintis forcibly swallowed the profanity, but she had to find another way to vent.
Her petite body suddenly lunged forward. She moved so fast she left an afterimage. In the next breath, Lintis had crashed into Shilo’s chest and buried a fist into his abdomen.
Shilo’s pupils shrank as he realized what was happening. He hadn’t expected the Lady Saintess to actually strike him. He only had time to move one hand to defend himself, but he certainly didn’t expect that soft, pink little fist to pack such a punch.
It slammed right through his palm and into his stomach. The undeniable pain forced him to double over, his expression momentarily contorted.
It took him a moment to recover. When he looked up at the culprit, he saw her performing strange movements, breathing in and out deeply.
Noticing his gaze, Lintis stopped and offered a standard, practiced smile, as if nothing had happened.
“Mr. Shilo, we should go buy clothes. Did you forget? Also, you were planning to leave me behind and go off on your own just now, weren’t you? Waaah… sob sob… how cruel… I’m so sad…” Lintis pretended to wipe away tears, then playfully winked and stuck out her tongue.
Seeing Mr. Shilo’s brow twitch, Lintis laughed gleefully. Her mood seemed to have improved significantly. She then held up a single finger and spoke in a serious, heartfelt tone.
“Also… Mr. Shilo, if you use such a rough method to carry a girl, you’ll be hated~”
Looking at that harmless, cute face, Shilo’s lip twitched. He lightly squeezed his somewhat numb palm and then stood up straight.
Because of the commotion just now, quite a few people had gathered to watch. Since a combination of a knight and a priestess was a rare sight in the city, the crowd was rather large.
Lintis didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. As a Saintess, being the center of attention was a normal occurrence for her. She even had the energy to wave at the crowd.
Ignoring the Lady Saintess who was now enjoying the attention, Shilo frowned and scanned the area before walking away in a certain direction.
Seeing Shilo leave on his own again, Lintis grunted in dissatisfaction and jogged to keep up.
After they were clear of the crowd, she spoke with a hint of mischief, “Mr. Shilo, which clothing store are we going to?”
Shilo looked at the Lady Saintess with some surprise. He thought she was going to ask where he was going again.
“Mr. Shilo, you’re definitely wondering why I’m not asking where you’re going, right?”
Shilo’s expression stiffened as she read his mind. Lintis immediately burst into laughter. Hearing her, Shilo’s face darkened, and he sped up even more.
Lintis sped up to follow, holding up a finger as she spoke behind him as if stating a matter of fact.
“Mr. Shilo… you really are easy to read~ But you’re quite cute like this, so you can keep it up!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shilo replied coldly.
“My, my, my… it just means that I’ve gotten to know you a bit better, Mr. Shilo~ Well? Does it make you happy to be understood by a beautiful girl like me?”
At that moment, the fast-walking Shilo suddenly stopped. Lintis, who was right behind him, didn’t notice and bumped straight into him.
Her head throbbed from hitting his rock-hard back. She pouted her lips and clutched her forehead in grievance, only to see Shilo staring at her with a serious expression.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Mr. Shilo? Even if you’re not happy, you don’t have to be this serious, right? I’m going to cry!”
Ignoring the Lady Saintess’s playful words, Shilo looked into her eyes.
“What about you, Lady Saintess? You say you understand me, but I don’t understand you at all. Why have you been acting this way for the past two days? You claim to have run away, and then a girl inexplicably begs a stranger for shelter using a lame excuse about losing her money. And just now, you were performing charity at the Adventurers’ Guild. What was the point of all that?”
Shilo truly didn’t understand. Honestly, the Lady Saintess’s behavior had exceeded his expectations.
She was completely different from the priestesses he had seen before. She didn’t have the arrogant, noble air of the aristocrats. Being with her really felt like dealing with an immature child.
She was always doing inexplicable things and insisting on following him around. He didn’t understand what he could possibly have that she was after.
“Lady Saintess, what exactly are you trying to do?”
The string of questions left Lintis a bit stunned.
‘A lame excuse? Didn’t you steal my ring? And now you’re turning it around on me? You jerk. And what do you mean “why”? I just want my ring back and to help a person with such a rotten personality turn over a new leaf.’
Why did it seem like he viewed her as some villain with an ulterior motive?
‘Oh… wait… I guess I do seem a bit suspicious… Haha.’
Lintis gave an awkward laugh, thought about it, and then spread her hands innocently. “My, my, my… Mr. Shilo, let’s not dwell on such minor issues~ Aren’t we going to buy clothes? GO GO GO!”
Seeing Lintis try to dodge the question again, Shilo frowned in dissatisfaction. He stood motionless, refusing to speak. Only after the atmosphere grew increasingly tense did he let out a sigh.
“I don’t know why you’re so excited to ‘GO.’ At least explain why you were doing charity at the guild.”
“Hmm?”
Lintis blinked, seemingly confused by his meaning.
Shilo repeated himself. “I’m asking why you treated those adventurers for a price that was practically charity. I consider myself to have a decent understanding of priestesses. I don’t believe a holy spell capable of directly purifying that level of corruption is only worth five copper coins.”
“Mr. Shilo.”
“Yes? What’s with that look?”
Shilo was stunned. He didn’t quite understand why the Lady Saintess was suddenly looking at him as if he were a complete idiot.
Lintis spread her hands, appearing quite helpless.
“Mr. Shilo, please stop talking such pigheaded nonsense. Isn’t it only natural for a priestess to heal people? Charging five copper coins is a regulation. It’s only to ensure the service isn’t seen as too cheap. Otherwise, according to the teachings of the Holy Church, it’s supposed to be free.”
Shilo: “???”