” —!”
‘Mr. Shilo, what are you doing?!’
‘How could he just grab my hand like that!’
Her chaotic mind was unable to handle the situation calmly, and her burning cheeks were a constant reminder of her current embarrassment.
‘No… I have to let go…’
Just as she was about to pull away from Shilo’s hand, Lintis suddenly remembered that she was the one who had started this. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to back down now?
Shyness and the fear of looking pathetic clashed in her mind. Caught between the two, she didn’t know what to do and simply let Shilo lead her along.
‘Ugh… Is this what it feels like to tease a big dog and then get bitten?’
Lintis wanted to cry, but no tears came.
She regretted it…
Time passed slowly—so slowly that Lintis felt every second was an agonizing ordeal.
Yet time also passed quickly, and before she knew it, they had already walked out of the Black Forest.
Outside the forest, Marcus and his companion, who had supposedly left long ago, were talking to some association staff.
When they saw the two emerge, everyone’s eyes turned toward them.
No one spoke. They all looked at one another, seeing the same confusion reflected in each other’s eyes.
The air fell into a heavy silence.
Finally, Marcus stepped out of the crowd and approached Shilo. He glanced at their joined hands, hesitated for a moment, and asked, “What’s this about?”
It was only then that the two realized their situation, and their bodies froze for half a beat.
A second later, they let go at the same time and turned their faces away, their hands fidgeting awkwardly with nowhere to go.
‘Hmm?’
Marcus raised an eyebrow. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, and a hint of amusement flickered in his eyes as he believed he had seen through everything.
However, he didn’t press the matter further and instead brought up something else.
“Hey, brat. How did it go? Is that Golem taken care of?”
“I felt a powerful surge of divine power earlier, and then that strange feeling the Black Forest was giving off vanished. You two must have done something, right?”
As he spoke, he looked at the priestess. He knew Shilo’s strength well; the most the boy could do against that Golem was stall it. He shouldn’t have been able to destroy it outright.
That left the priestess as the most suspicious one. A priestess who had mastered such powerful offensive divine arts was quite rare…
Suddenly, a youthful face leaned into his field of vision.
“Old man, I was the one who handled that Golem. Do you have a problem with that? Just because you’re useless doesn’t mean others can’t be strong.”
These aggressive words instantly provoked Marcus. “You little bastard! Do you think I don’t know what you’re capable of?”
Shilo snorted, not showing him any kindness.
“What do you mean, what’s my strength? Did you think hiding the existence of reinforcement arts would stop me from getting stronger? You think everyone is as pathetic as you?”
Despite the harsh words, Marcus’s expression froze. His anger slowly faded, and he gave Shilo a long, deep look.
“Where did you learn about that?”
“None of your business.”
“…I see. Was it the priestess? Since you’ve already learned those things… I suppose it’s normal that the Golem was dealt with.” Marcus nodded, seemingly accepting the possibility.
“However—” His tone suddenly shifted as he gripped Shilo’s shoulder firmly and whispered into his ear, “Don’t let the Church see any of that.”
Shilo didn’t respond to the warning. He simply brushed the hand off his shoulder with a look of extreme impatience.
Marcus grew annoyed. “You brat! Did you hear me?”
Shilo glanced at him. Seeing the man’s serious expression, he remained silent for a moment before finally giving a slight nod.
Marcus’s expression immediately brightened, and he let out a sigh of relief. Then, he immediately began winking and signaling at Shilo.
Shilo felt goosebumps all over, but Marcus didn’t care. He roughly dragged Shilo to a spot nearby.
He only let go after Shilo struggled. Shilo was about to curse him out when Marcus leaned in with a mischievous, playful grin.
“Hurry up, kid! Tell me, what’s the deal with that priestess? You were even holding hands. How far have things gone? Are you two official yet?”
“Damn it, say something! I’m dying to know!”
Shilo ignored the frantic man and gave him a cold glare. Then, without holding back, he drove an elbow into Marcus’s stomach. The unguarded Marcus took the hit full-on.
His body doubled over, and he dropped to his knees. Clutching his stomach with one hand and covering his mouth with the other, he dry-heaved several times, though nothing came up.
Shilo felt a slight tinge of regret. ‘I have to admit, the Saintess’s move is quite effective.’
‘And what kind of nonsense is this old bastard spouting?’
How could he possibly develop that kind of relationship with the Saintess?
He gave the twitching Marcus another annoyed kick and then ignored him, walking back toward where Lintis was standing.
The Saintess was currently talking to the association staff, reporting exactly what had happened. The lead staff member breathed a massive sigh of relief after hearing that the source of the filth had been dealt with.
When asked for the specific details of how it was solved, the Saintess pinned everything on him. As for herself, she claimed she had only provided blessings and treated the wounded.
The association staff didn’t doubt her. After all, it was perfectly normal in their eyes for a priestess not to participate in the main combat.
Seeing him return, the Saintess blinked and gave him a bright smile, waving her hand.
It was a beautiful smile, especially given the Saintess’s flawless appearance.
However, the Saintess gave that same smile to everyone.
Smiling was second nature to her…
So… ‘It’s not affection…’
Shilo thought to himself.
The nonsense that old bastard Marcus spewed about “how far things had gone” was utter rubbish.
The Saintess wouldn’t like him, and it was impossible for him to like her.
His relationship with the Saintess wasn’t anything complicated; they were simply a thief and his victim.
If there was any difference, it was probably just that this victim’s train of thought didn’t seem quite normal.
So… ‘It was just an accident…’
It was merely an accident that happened after the Saintess extended an invitation.
It wasn’t anything special, nor did it require much attention.
Once today passed—no, given the Saintess’s personality, she had probably already forgotten about what happened just now.
After all, she was smiling just like she always did.
Shilo walked over, intending to mention the girl they had found inside the Golem to the Saintess.
Marcus was right there, so if they were going to discuss it, they could hand the matter over to him now.
Just as he was about to speak, the Saintess suddenly took a step forward. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned her head close to his ear, her warm breath brushing against his skin.
“Mr. Shilo~ How does it feel~? Was my hand comfortable to hold~?”
“…”