“Mr. Shilo?”
Shilo snapped out of his daze only to find the Saint looking at him with a puzzled expression. He instinctively looked away, but then realizing that acting this way made him look too guilty, he suppressed his instincts and looked her straight in the eye.
“Saint, please stop changing the subject. You still haven’t explained your physical condition.”
Lintis tilted her head. Although she was a bit curious about what was going on with Mr. Shilo, her currently sluggish brain couldn’t handle much thinking. She simply followed his lead.
“Well… as you can see, the lovely Lady Lintis has a fever~”
“……Saint, do you think I’m an idiot?”
“Eh, how could I!”
“So, you’re telling me that a Saint blessed by the Goddess would catch such a minor illness? Please stop joking around. Let alone you, even an ordinary person who believes in the Goddess would almost never catch such a disease. Yet now you’re telling me you have a fever? You really do take me for a fool, don’t you?”
Lintis blinked. She didn’t deny it, instead tapping her head and letting out an “ehehe” in an attempt to act cute and breeze past the issue.
Her country, Aeresia, was a complete theocracy. Everyone in this nation, regardless of who they were, didn’t mind having faith in the Goddess.
This didn’t necessarily mean they held deep reverence for her; it was simply because believing in the Goddess provided tangible benefits.
As long as one went to the church to pray regularly, they would maintain a protection known as the Goddess’s Blessing. This protection greatly reduced the possibility of the recipient being plagued by illnesses.
Naturally, such a pragmatic faith would develop an enormous following. Even if they weren’t sincere, it was the very foundation upon which Aeresia was built.
Faced with the Saint’s deliberate acting, Shilo felt a sense of helplessness. He was about to give up on questioning her when he suddenly noticed something flash beneath the covers.
It was only after he noticed this that he sensed an uncomfortable aura that had been lingering in the surroundings.
The Saint was hiding something…
In the past, he probably wouldn’t have bothered to care… but now… the feeling of being the only one kept in the dark made him feel quite displeased.
Shilo’s face suddenly darkened, his expression becoming so solemn that it was intimidating.
Feeling the strange shift in the atmosphere, Lintis blinked and asked tentatively, “Mr. Shilo?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Shilo suddenly leaned over the bed and moved much closer to her. Their faces were inches apart, forcing them to lock eyes.
‘E-Eeehh—!!!’
Lintis screamed internally, blinking rapidly to try and ease the tension, but her cheeks slowly began to flush.
One second, two seconds, three seconds… more than ten seconds passed, and Mr. Shilo still hadn’t made his next move.
However, she could no longer take it. She propped herself up and scooted backward, trying to put some distance between them.
But just as she moved, she felt a touch on her arm…
Lintis: “!!!”
‘Is he… is he finally going to lose control? Mr. Shilo!!!’
Enduring her physical discomfort, Lintis began to circulate her Holy Power, prepared to give him a good lesson.
However, Mr. Shilo simply lifted her arm. Her sleeve slid down toward her shoulder.
Both of them stared at the abnormality on her arm, then their eyes met again. A few seconds later, it ended with Lintis guiltily glancing away.
Shilo tilted his head back slightly, his gaze becoming more scrutinizing.
“Saint… this is…” Shilo paused for a moment, pondering what words to use to describe the anomaly. Then, he said with some uncertainty, “Is this Filth? The aura is somewhat similar, but… it feels very strange.”
“Is this what’s causing you to be so weak? Saint, please explain yourself.”
Lintis didn’t respond immediately. Only after turning her head several times to find Mr. Shilo still staring at her relentlessly did she let out a long sigh, once again putting on that annoying “I really can’t do anything about you” face.
“Now, now, don’t be so tense~”
“I was just accidentally tainted by a bit of Filth. It’s no big deal. I am a priestess, after all.”
Lintis’s tone was light, but it didn’t stop Shilo’s curiosity. He frowned slightly, thinking about something, and after a while, he suddenly spoke.
“Was the Filth on the girl inside that Golem so severe that it would affect you, Saint?”
“Eh!” Lintis gasped, not expecting to be exposed so easily.
Seeing her reaction, Shilo nodded thoughtfully.
“I see… so it really was the Filth on that girl…”
Hearing this, Lintis puffed out her cheeks, her face full of unhappiness.
“You baited me!”
Shilo ignored the Saint’s petty mood and continued to stare at the dark patterns on her arm. He even reached out to touch them to see if there was any reaction.
Lintis was startled by his action, worried that he might be affected. But before she could stop him, Mr. Shilo’s fingertips had already made contact.
The sensation of skin-to-skin contact made Lintis feel as if an electric current had surged through her, leaving her feeling tingly and weak. It felt somewhat embarrassing, so she suppressed her physical reaction and looked at Shilo with a forced smile.
“Mr. Shilo~ how much longer do you plan on holding me?”
Shilo froze. He looked up and met the Saint’s resentful little eyes, then silently let go of her hand.
“Hmph!”
Once successfully rescued, Lintis huffed and hid her hand under the blanket, glaring at Shilo with dissatisfaction.
The latter ignored her and continued to himself, “So, when you didn’t let me go over there back then, were you protecting me?”
“…Mr. Shilo, why do you have to be so sharp at a time like this? You’re usually such a dummy…”
With her little secret being peeled away bit by bit, Lintis threw up her hands, no longer bothering to hide anything.
“You guessed right. I really was protecting you~ Hehe, aren’t you touched to be protected by such a cute girl like me?”
“……” Shilo fell silent for a few seconds before nodding. “Yes… thank you, Saint.”
“Eh? Why aren’t you being stubborn this time! How boring!” Lintis’s eyes widened in confusion.
“……” Shilo was speechless for a moment. “Didn’t you say I should be more straightforward?”
“Why have your requirements changed now? You’re quite troublesome, Saint…”
“Hey, hey, hey, did you just say your thoughts out loud!”
“No, you heard wrong.”
“It was definitely your inner thoughts! You jerk, Shilo! You’ve had a problem with me for a long time, haven’t you!”
Shilo gave her a puzzled look. “Saint, do I even need to say it?”
“……”
“Cough, cough.” Lintis coughed awkwardly, pretending to be serious as she said, “Where were we? Ah, right, right, we were talking about that girl. Let me tell you, that girl…”
“You start running away as soon as you hit a difficult question.”
“……”
“Idiot! No disrespecting the Saint!”
Lintis’s face flushed red with embarrassment. She grabbed her pillow and slammed it onto Shilo’s head.