The girl’s whisper stirred the boy’s thoughts.
It was chaotic and annoying…
The Saintess maintained her posture, her scent lingering at the tip of his nose—a faint floral fragrance, subtle yet present only when close, his face flushing, turned his head and pushed Lintis away. The latter caught his rare moment of embarrassment, her eyes twinkling as her smile widened.
The sense of transgression from teasing the boy and the joy of succeeding intertwined within her.
Neither emotion retreated; instead, they intensified as they influenced each other.
Shilo felt extremely awkward. His knightly senses made it clear that the Saintess was still staring at him, her gaze possessing an unusually strong presence.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he turned around abruptly and snapped in embarrassment,
“Saintess! Could you please stop staring?!”
“Eh? No!”
The Saintess refused his request with dissatisfaction. She circled him with a mischievous grin, poking him once or twice to urge him on.
“Tell me, tell me, Mr. Shilo~ You’re not so shy that you’ve lost your voice, are you?”
“It’s fine~ If you’re shy, just say so. After all, it’s inevitable to feel shy when holding hands with a girl as cute as me~”
“Go on, say it~ If you just speak up, I promise I won’t laugh at you!”
The Saintess patted her chest, giving a solemn guarantee.
Shilo: “…”
‘You’ve been laughing this whole time. You haven’t stopped once…’
Seeing her struggle to hold back her laughter, a spark of irritation rose in Shilo’s heart. For some reason, he felt indignant. Why should he be the one toyed with by this girl?
With that thought, he decided to go all out. Meeting her curious gaze, he grabbed her hand again and squeezed it a few times as if confirming the sensation. He offered a mockingly serious critique, “It’s nice.
Although it’s a bit cold, it’s comfortable, soft, and the texture is quite good.”
His evaluation, which came entirely from the heart, was spoken with complete gravity.
After finishing, he immediately locked his gaze on the Saintess’s face, concentrating intently so as not to miss a single change.
Sure enough, the Saintess’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her pretty face turned a startling shade of red, and her gaze darted away to avoid his.
“Um… well… that… th-thank you?” she stammered, her eyes wandering.
“…No… wait… Mr… Mr. Shilo! Could you… let go of my hand…”
As she spoke, her voice grew quieter and quieter. If not for the proximity, he might not have heard her at all.
Seeing this interesting sight, Shilo felt a strange sense of satisfaction. He originally intended to refuse, wanting to teach the Saintess a lesson so she would behave herself in the future.
However, he noticed that because he hadn’t reacted, a layer of mist had formed in the girl’s eyes as if they were about to overflow at any moment.
Shilo fell silent. After a few seconds, he sighed and released her hand.
He thought to himself that grabbing someone’s hand twice in a row was indeed a bit much. Now that the
Saintess had suffered this loss, she probably wouldn’t cause trouble again.
However, the moment he let go…
He saw it. The Saintess was no longer the soft, vulnerable girl she had just appeared to be. The triumphant smile at the corners of her mouth was brighter than ever before.
‘Damn it!’
Lintis took a few steps back to maintain a safe distance. She scrutinized the stunned Shilo with a smile before shaking her head in feigned disappointment.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. So Mr. Shilo is that kind of person after all… I really misjudged you, you big pervert!”
“So wicked! Hmph (｀＾´)ノ, once wasn’t enough, you had to touch me a second time! Are you really that thirsty, Mr. Pervert?”
“You!” Shilo was so angry he nearly cursed out loud.
But Lintis didn’t look guilty at all. Instead, she puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips righteously.
“What about me! You big pervert!”
Shilo took a deep breath. Looking at her, he realized he could do nothing. Fuming, he turned and walked away.
He approached Marcus, who was still lying on the ground, and delivered two more kicks as a way to vent his frustration. Ignoring Marcus’s groans, he said, “Old bastard, get up! I have something to discuss with you!”
His tone was aggressive. Marcus, feeling offended, glared at him and rolled over to sit on the ground.
“Spit it out. Dammit, you brat, what did I do to you? Every time we meet, you have to get physical. Do you really think I can’t beat you?”
“Heh, if you have the skill, then try it. I was just looking for a place to vent.”
As he spoke, he raised his fist, ready to strike.
“No, no, no!” Marcus quickly begged for mercy. “You brat, don’t you know how to respect your elders?”
“Did you get upset with your little girlfriend and come here to take it out on me?”
Shilo fell silent, looking at Marcus with a serious expression. “You saw?”
Marcus looked confused. “Saw what? That a girl whispered to you, and then you forced yourself to hold her hand and made her cry?”
Shilo’s knuckles cracked. He looked at Marcus with a forced smile, and the latter immediately sensed trouble.
The next second, a fist swung toward him. Marcus immediately rolled away to dodge. Just as he was about to curse, another punch arrived.
He had no choice but to scramble to his feet, running while dodging attacks.
Shilo pursued him relentlessly. Because of the difference in their physical stats, Marcus took a punch every few steps.
Aside from shouting in pain, the old man would occasionally look back to mock him, successfully drawing Shilo’s aggression.
That’s a knight for you…
On the other side, Lintis remained where she was, watching them run around.
Normally, when Mr. Shilo fled in embarrassment, she would have mischievously followed to tease him.
But now…
Lintis covered her reddened cheek with one hand and placed the other over her heart. She felt her heart beating rapidly and blinked frequently.
She had been in this state since Mr. Shilo held her hand a second time. Although she didn’t want to admit it, most of her reactions afterward were genuine.
She really hadn’t expected Mr. Shilo to be so bold. To think he would grab her hand even after being seen by everyone… the warmth still lingered in her palm.
‘No! What am I thinking!’
Lintis felt a wave of lingering fear. She hurriedly patted her face, forcing herself to calm down.
Recalling the scene just now, she felt lucky she had some experience and didn’t freeze up completely.
She had managed to come up with a way out; otherwise, she wouldn’t have known how embarrassing it would have been.
As she reflected, Lintis took a slow breath, her heart finally settling.
‘That was a close call. I really can’t do that again.’
‘Keep your distance! Keep your distance! Keep your distance!’
Even if she wanted to tease him, she had to maintain a safe distance.
She realized now that she truly enjoyed teasing pure boys like him; it was far too interesting.
As for whether this made her a bad woman, she didn’t think so.
She wasn’t deceiving Mr. Shilo’s feelings; she was just playing around. Besides, he had touched her hand several times now, so he wasn’t losing out. Plus, she wouldn’t be staying for long, so there was no way she could lead him on…
After clarifying this, she let go of her restraints. “Free-spirited” was her middle name!
She repeated the phrase ‘Keep your distance!’ in her mind several more times. This time happened because she hadn’t learned her lesson. From now on, she had to carve those words firmly into her brain!
As she thought this, she noticed the two brawling men had stopped. Apparently, after their fight, neither had much energy left.
Sensing her gaze, Mr. Shilo seemed to notice and looked over, only to turn his head away a second later.
Lintis blinked.
‘By the way… I think I won, right?’