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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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The carriage carrying Lina’s party sped down the road.
The party, which had been chattering loudly all morning, had fallen asleep after lunch, perhaps due to food coma.
Even the Saint, who loved to act elegant, was dozing.
Lina stared intently at the Saint.
‘The Saint has really changed a lot.’
In fact, Lina had been very tense all this time.
The trauma with the Saint she experienced in her past life.
Of course, Lina was aware of the problems from her past life, so she wasn’t easily intimidated.
She was prepared to clash with the Saint at any moment if necessary.
It would be a tiring and bothersome task, but it was worth drawing the Saint in, even if it meant that.
But what was this?
There was no need for it at all.
The headstrong Saint of her past life was gone, and a docile Saint was before Lina.
It was all thanks to Kerry.
Even this morning, when she heard the Saint complain about the side dishes, she thought the Saint’s original personality might be resurfacing.
But with just a glance from Kerry, the Saint closed her mouth. She even ate all her soup, cleaning the bowl so thoroughly it shined.
‘Did Kerry have some weakness over the Saint? Or….’
Or were the Saint and Kerry in a special relationship?
Lina looked at Kerry, who was also dozing like the other party members.
Tall, with clean skin and a handsome face.
Honestly, watching Kerry asleep like this, it seemed natural that he would be popular.
Then Kerry sneezed while dozing.
“Ach-oo! Hmph…hmph…”
Lina, who had been watching Kerry, was startled and quickly turned her head away. Her heart pounded, wondering if she had been caught staring.
‘What on earth am I thinking? Kerry is…Kerry is…Natasha’s beloved.’
Having resolved to protect Natasha’s happiness in this life, she couldn’t possibly contend with Natasha for a man.
Lina forced herself to look out the window, trying to ignore her eyes constantly drifting to Kerry.
The blue sky was visible.
Whenever Lina saw the blue sky, she was reminded of her longed-for homeland, the Kingdom of Astria.
Lina gazed out the window, recalling memories of her homeland. The vast blue land and the sight of people living ordinary lives in the kingdom.
Lina was willing to sacrifice her own life to protect that everyday life of the people.
That was her mission as the Hero.
Then, a memory she wished not to recall also came to mind.
It was something that happened in her homeland, Astria, when Lina was young.
A wrinkled old woman.
Everyone treated her like a madwoman, and no one approached her, but Lina treated the old woman kindly.
The old woman had said, as if in return:
[You seek to stop bloodshed, but your destiny is a twisted one that calls forth blood. Pitiful child…truly pitiful….]
[You wield a sword to protect, but because of it, the continent will be stained with blood.]
Lina initially didn’t pay attention to the old woman’s words.
She simply thought the old woman was saying meaningless things, as usual. But as time passed, she realized.
That everything the old woman had said had come true.
When Lina drew her sword to protect.
That was when Lina first drew the Holy Sword in Astria.
She drew the Holy Sword to stop a war, but because of it, a holy war erupted.
Lina resolved in this life.
‘In this life, I will never draw the Holy Sword.’
She couldn’t let the old woman’s prophecy come true again. This life, she absolutely could not fail.
Lina didn’t know how to break the prophecy.
But if a holy war occurred because she drew the Holy Sword…she had to avoid drawing the Holy Sword.
There was no guarantee that another opportunity like this life would come again. This had to be the last chance.
Lina gazed out the window. Her longed-for homeland was getting closer.
After meeting that person in the Elven village, she would immediately leave for Astria.
Because there was a black stele in Astria too.
Lina quietly spoke to the coachman, so as not to wake the party.
“Please hurry. It’s a long journey.”
“I’m driving as fast as possible, my lady.”
The road was long, but looking at her companions beside her, she felt reassured.
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The road to the Elven village of Scandinavia was long.
After days of traveling in a rattling carriage, his butt would be aching.
Though he was gradually getting used to it.
But the journey wasn’t too boring, all thanks to the Saint.
The fun of secretly drinking the Saint’s milk was truly enjoyable.
“Haaang! Stop drinking my milk!”
“I cannot!”
He sucked the Saint’s milk every chance he got.
He even made her wear clothes that were easy to remove to make it easier to suck her milk. But all of that wasn’t just because the milk tasted delicious.
[Divine power has increased by 1.]
This message, appearing along with the sweet taste of the milk.
This couldn’t be ignored either. Even though it was Elena’s divine power, he was relieved since the Witch had declared there would be no problems.
He didn’t know where he’d use it, but he had to diligently collect it while he could.
“Hee-eet! How long will this milk keep coming out?!”
“Forever!”
“No…no…the milk keeps flowing…I really feel like a milk cow…Haaah-ooh-ooh!”
Slurp-slurp-slurp-
[Divine power has increased by 1.]
This was awesome.
He was drinking so much milk he worried he might gain weight.
It was alright. He’d just eat a little less for dinner.
Kerry took his mouth off the Saint’s breast.
Her pink nipples looked red and swollen from how much he had sucked them. Had he sucked too much?
Seeing the Saint glare at him with teary eyes, any shred of pity vanished. Right. This was how a delinquent Saint should be.
Kerry and the Saint returned to the party separately. No one seemed to notice Kerry and the Saint had disappeared.
Except for Lina.
Lina hadn’t taken her eyes off Kerry lately. Because of that, it was even harder to have private moments with the Saint.
Kerry kept bothering Lina.
‘For some reason, it seems like the Saint and Kerry have been leaving their seats often lately…’
Kerry and the Saint didn’t blatantly disappear together.
But when one of them was gone, the other always seemed to follow. That behavior was suspicious.
They looked like secretly dating lovers.
‘Saint…not the Saint.’
Natasha was alright. Victoria was also alright. But the Saint was not alright.
Lina believed Kerry didn’t know the Saint’s true nature. The Saint’s verbal abuse of Kerry then was just a tiny fraction of her true self.
‘No way, the Saint isn’t trying to seduce Kerry to get revenge for me questioning her mistakes, is she?’
Lina knew very well that the Saint, that wicked woman, was capable of such a thing.
Thinking that, her chest felt heavy.
She wanted to rush over and ask Kerry what his relationship with the Saint was.
If, just if, Kerry were to be taken in by the Saint and leave the party…there would be no solution.
She had keenly felt it every time Kerry was briefly absent.
‘This isn’t a personal feeling; it’s something I need to confirm as the party leader.’
Lina rationalized it that way.
Lina quietly called Kerry aside.
Kerry followed with an innocent expression. Lina spoke heavily.
Reminding herself that this wasn’t about showing interest in Kerry.
“Ugh…Kerry.”
“Yes, Lina.”
“I’m just asking in case…I have no other intentions. Please don’t misunderstand.”
“Yes, Lina. Please speak.”
“So…it’s a hypothetical question…”
So, what was it?! Kerry hid his frustration and smiled kindly.
“Are you, by any chance, in a special relationship with the Saint?”
“A special relationship…do you mean a romantic one?”
Lina nodded. Why did Lina have such a misunderstanding?
Had they been too obvious disappearing together lately? He thought he was being careful.
Kerry shook his head. But he had already simulated this situation several times in his mind.
“I don’t understand why Lina is asking such a thing.”
“Well, the truth is…I saw it. You and the Saint returning late at night from the abandoned house that day.”
So that was the reason. Lina had been awake then. He needed to be more careful in the future.
Kerry spoke casually.
“Ah. You’re talking about when the Saint woke me up at the abandoned house that day?”
“Yes…”
“That’s nothing for you to worry about at all.
The Saint woke me up in the early morning, and I wondered what was wrong, but she said she felt a strange, wicked energy in the forest. And she asked me to go out with her.”
“Why did she wake you up? I and the other party members were there too.”
“Well, the Saint and the party are still not close because of past events, aren’t they?
Victoria and Natasha openly dislike the Saint…and Lina also keeps her distance from the Saint.”
“!”
“Actually, the Saint seemed quite troubled by that. I was the one who persuaded her to come along, so I couldn’t help but be concerned.
So, I often had private conversations with her to cheer her up.
I guess that’s why you misunderstood.”
Lina felt as if she had been hit on the head with a hammer.
Everything was a misunderstanding. The event that night was a misunderstanding, and the times the Saint and Kerry disappeared were also misunderstandings.
“I…I didn’t even know that.”
On the contrary, Kerry was kindly helping the Saint adapt to the party.
Which, originally, should have been Lina’s job as the party leader.
‘…How can Kerry be so kind?’
Among the party members, Kerry himself was the one who had been insulted by the Saint.
Yet that same Kerry was kindly helping the Saint.
Lina felt as if her ideal type, the one she dreamed of, had appeared in reality.
“…I made a baseless misunderstanding. I apologize, Kerry. I truly didn’t know…Haaah.
What on earth can I say? I have nothing to say, even if I had ten mouths.”
Kerry waved his hand at Lina, who bowed her head.
This would make him feel too guilty. Being too upright was also a problem.
“It’s alright, Lina.”
Lina felt the heavy weight on her chest completely lift. The Saint and Kerry were not involved.
Everything was a misunderstanding caused by her own delusions. She was truly sorry to Kerry.
Lina repeatedly apologized to Kerry. At the same time, she directly confronted the easing of her own heart.
‘Am I relieved that the Saint and Kerry aren’t dating?’
To Lina, Kerry was just a party member. No. He should only be a party member.
But Lina was slowly realizing.
That her feelings for Kerry were unusual.
This was just like that dream.
It was similar to the feeling she got when the faceless man appeared in her dreams.
Lina finished her conversation with Kerry.
Lina approached the horse, which had worked hard pulling the carriage, and gave it water.
They had to hurry, but when they rested, they had to rest properly. Otherwise, the horse wouldn’t be able to keep going.
“I’m sorry. Is it very heavy?”
Snort-
The horse snorted, as if to say it was alright. It was a good horse that responded well to human touch.
So much so that it felt a waste to use it to pull the carriage.
Lina gently stroked the horse.
The horse eagerly drank the water Lina offered. Seeing the horse’s warm body and how it drank water made Lina thirsty too.
Lina opened the carriage and rummaged through the luggage. She was sure she had put her water bottle somewhere.
“Lina. Are you looking for something?”
“!”
Kerry’s voice came from behind her. Why was she like this? She should just act normal, but her heart kept pounding.
Was it because she had realized she might like Kerry?
Perhaps because that thought was conscious, dealing with Kerry no longer felt as comfortable as before.
‘Calm down. Just act as natural as possible.
Keep…keep…killing these feelings. Then…there will be no problem.’
If she just kept these feelings hidden from Kerry, it would be fine. As she resolved this, Lina’s chest felt heavy again.
Lina, rummaging inside the carriage, said without turning around,
“…I’m looking for my water bottle, but I can’t seem to find it.”
“Natasha overturned the carriage earlier looking for something, so it might be hard to find. Drink my water.”
“…Thank you, Kerry.”
Lina gave up looking for her water bottle and took Kerry’s.
Kerry looked at her with an innocent expression, as usual.
‘Kerry’s lips are moist.’
He must have just drunk water.
Lina opened the water bottle. She had received Kerry’s water bottle a few times before.
She had also given him her water bottle.
But she had never trembled like this before.
“Thank you for the water, Kerry.”
The water bottle Kerry had just drunk from.
Had Kerry’s lips touched it? She found herself having such thoughts.
Lina couldn’t convey her feelings to Kerry.
Because of Natasha.
But…but…she was enduring it well. Couldn’t she at least give herself a small reward?
Lina looked at the water bottle.
She slowly brought the water bottle to her lips. Instead of drinking with her lips far away, as she usually did, she pressed her lips against it.
Imagining Kerry’s lips.
Lina’s Adam’s apple bobbed as the water went down.
“Thank you for the water, Kerry.”
Lina, like someone who had committed a sin, deeply bowed her head and returned the water bottle to Kerry.
Lina’s face was slightly flushed.
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