The nun, despite her earlier excited attitude, kept silent during the walk back, and so did Ashen.
The road was quiet enough to hear their footsteps echo.
…And that only made the noise in Ashen's head louder.
Braun's earlier worries about his daughter had made him recall his own family.
He'd promised to go back in February, and now it was almost two months past that date, and here he was… still tangled with monsters while shackled to a continental prison.
He wondered if he'd already screwed up the minuscule trust he'd regained last time he'd met them…
He also wondered how they were handling his prolonged absence, especially that mother of his…
He always tried not to think too much about Esperra since he knew he'd only get impatient if he did… just like now, as he felt like rushing out of the bastion and slaughtering every last one of those monsters.
Sigh.
'Calm down… They will understand… I can still fix this… Ah fuck… Maybe I should also send a letter back… Yeah, that's it.'
Finding a way to temporarily lay his worries to rest by mimicking Braun's idea, Ashen felt his mind wander somewhere else…
Braun's fate was suspiciously similar to that of his first timeline self.
Ashen almost felt some kind of irrational guilt because of that, but he soon shook his head.
'Braun probably died in the tutorial phase when we were hunted by that Gorefiend… I probably gave up on him to save mine and Seraphine's lives.'
'...And I would have entirely forgotten about him afterwards, due to my Sloth concept.'
When he put it like that, Braun's current situation didn't seem too bad. At least he was alive this time around…
Braun was just one of the many. Ashen knew this from the countless stories he'd chronicled in his last step, so it was actually he who was strange for being allowed to go back to Esperra.
'This is all due to Lucia's peculiar personality… as well as my luck in finding her in a vulnerable position and taking advantage of it then…'
Realizing this, he figured he'd treat her better going forward. She was a hidden gem among recruiters, no matter how cunning she was.
What he didn't know was that she was only like that toward him, since she'd developed a soft spot for him. Others, if they heard his thoughts, would have spat on his face.
…Especially those conned by her.
THUD—tik—THUD—tak—SCRAPE—tik
As they walked under the strange symphony concerted by the sound of heels and military boots, Ashen finally lifted his head.
They'd finally reached the area designated for the Lust Domain.
Ashen glanced around at their soldiers and found that despite the good quality of their armor, the sharpness of their weapons, and the robustness of their bodies, they looked jittery and uneasy.
But he wasn't that surprised. The majority of these men were composed of the City Regiment, also called the Bastion Guard.
They'd probably spent their whole lives guarding towns and cities, only dealing with lawbreakers and petty squabbles.
Even the Houndwardens from the Territorial Regiment were the same to a lesser extent, but at least those guys dealt with Narkals, even if they were just the ones who'd gone unnoticed by the Bloodwall soldiers and had climbed over the Great Wall.
In fact, it was the Bloodwall soldiers who were the weird ones for acting like this situation was just another Monday to them.
"We're here."
Finally, the silence was broken. They'd reached their destination.
It was the Ashbastion's Chapel. Being occupied by the saintess seemed fitting, so Ashen didn't question it.
He shot her one last glance before nodding in thanks and entering the room she was gesturing to.
The moment he went in, the door behind him locked with a suspicious click.
He couldn't have paid attention to that, however, since someone had decided to crash into his embrace and hug him tightly.
He found his own arms reciprocating as they slowly snaked around her back.
How could they not? The one in his arms was, after all, "...Seraphine. So the so-called saintess turned out to be you."
One year later, after they'd separated, Braun was living the life of a slave; he'd become a prisoner of the Pit, but Seraphine seemed to have defied all odds and made something out of herself.
…Despite the unimaginable revelation, he wasn't surprised because from the moment he'd been called by a saintess, his thoughts had involuntarily drifted to Seraphine.
She was the only one he knew from outside the Ashbastion in Seravelle aside from Braun, whom he'd already met. And if that wasn't enough clues, then the way these nuns dressed sealed the deal.
Her recruiter had used a similar attire when he'd seen her last in the tutorial phase.
Ashen looked down as he noticed the prolonged silence. "Sera…?"
"Sniff—Mmm…"
"..."
"Are you crying?" he asked as he slowly reached one hand up to caress her hair. He noticed how the ends seemed to turn pink now.
"...Not."
"...What? Can't hear you~"
Ashen was genuinely happy about their reunion and had a ton of stories he wanted to share with her. Also, seeing her standing there, safe and real, was a relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding onto.
Crying from happiness, however, was a bit beyond him, so he couldn't help but lightly tease the woman whose tears seemed far too eager to fall.
"I'm not crwiying…!" She finally lifted her head from his chest, and he was met with eyes full of tears and a runny nose full of snot. A scrunched-up face trying to hold it all in finished the "not crying" look.
"Pfft— you're not what?" Ashen couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Stop laughing!" She tightened her hold on him in protest, but the soft cushions known as her breasts rendered her efforts useless.
His hand never stopped moving through her hair, fingers threading through the strands in soothing motions even as he laughed.
"Haahaa, damn it… haah~ not even a minute in and you had me chuckling. Sera… you're a natural."
"...At least I'm useful for something to you…" Her voice came out muffled against his chest, and he felt her grip loosen slightly.
"Hmm? Where did that come from? Why would you say something like that?"
'So the tears weren't tears of happiness…' Ashen frowned, his hand stilling in her hair.
"...Isn't it true, though?"
"No, of course not."
"..." She stayed silent for a moment, looking at him with worry in those clear blue eyes, then she eventually spoke.
"...You know how the bond between us works, Ashen. I felt everything you went through. I know the struggles you had to go through alone… the dangers you had to confront on your own…"
Her fingers clutched at his uniform, bunching the fabric.
"...And in the midst of all that, I was never by your side. I was safe and sound while you risked your life… how is that fair? How useless am I… Ash… I'm so sorry—Sniff…"
Ashen took a moment to comprehend what she was saying.
"...Me? Alone? What the fuck are you talking about, you absolute airhead?"
The hand that was caressing her hair slowly clenched and lightly pulled down, lifting her head and making her fully face him.
"You have shared every wound, every pain, every moment of my self-destructive training… You know what I put myself through in a way that no one else can."
His other hand left her back in favor of cupping her cheek, thumb brushing away the tears that kept falling.
"...Even though you were never here, you gave me relief, you gave me pleasure, you were my light and motivation…"
She leaned into his palm unconsciously, eyes closing for a brief moment.
"How could I succumb to pain when I knew you did not, refusing to sever the bond from the other side?"
"I…"
Ashen didn't let whatever excuses Seraphine had to say leave her lips, as he took her by the chin and sealed them with his thumb.
"Shh… Don't deny yourself, lady, or I'll have to keep affirming your worth. In fact, I'll keep doing it. If you deny yourself a hundred times, I will affirm your worth a thousand times, a million times… for as long as it takes for you to understand…"
He paused… looking at this enchanting woman who was looking at him unblinkingly with those crystalline eyes still wet with tears, and then finally let his deepest feeling out.
"...That I was never alone. That you were always with me… In my hardest moments… in my most painful moments… and also in… the most pleasurable ones."
His thumb traced the outline of her lower lip as he spoke, and he felt her breath hitch.
"So never say that you left me."
She gave him the slightest nod, since her mouth was sealed by his thumb.
"Good girl." Ashen finally smiled.
And to his surprise, she responded with a… lick.
"...?"
He raised an eyebrow as he watched how she kept licking his thumb until it eventually found its way between her plush lips. Her eyes never left his, half-lidded and misty.
'Sometimes I forget that this girl's pathway is Lust…' he internally mused, but didn't retract his finger.
Instead, he pushed it even more, lodging it right on top of her red tongue.
"...What a needy girl. You look just like a freshly caught fish. No resistance whatsoever. What would those church guys say if they saw their saintess like this?"
Seraphine responded by lightly nibbling on his thumb while looking at him with hazy eyes, a soft hum escaping around his digit.
"Mmm…ah~" Eventually, she let go with a sigh, her tongue darting out to lick her lips as if she had just tasted the most delicious bait. "Hehe… you're such an expert at fishing, I was hooked just like that. It's not my fault."
"Uh-huh… I guess the next step is to cook the caught prey, then." The hand holding her by the hair slowly let go before slipping down until it cupped something much fuller—the round ass down below.
"Ah~" She pressed closer against him instinctively, her hands sliding from his chest to loop around his neck.
Ashen looked down and nodded once. "It's good that you're not parading yourself in that nun's 'attire' like your other sisters."
Seraphine had always worn a long coat when in public, so the outfit stayed hidden. "Mmm… of course. Only you are allowed to see… That's what you always say…" Her fingers played with the hair at his nape.
"Good. What an obedient girl I have. You deserve a reward."
Ashen slowly closed in on those red parted lips, thankful for the lady who'd had enough foresight to lock the door.
No one could interrupt his "reward-giving" time now…
Their lips met softly at first, before Seraphine pulled him closer. The kiss deepened, became hungrier. His hand tightened on her backside while hers tangled in his hair, nails scraping lightly against his scalp.
She tasted so sweet it was almost inhuman. The lust concept was slowly but surely rewriting her body to be more desirable in every way.
He angled his head, deepening the kiss further as his tongue slipped past her lips to dance with hers. Seraphine responded eagerly, pressing her body flush against his, the soft pressure of her breasts against his chest drawing a satisfied sigh from him.
His other hand left her face to slide down her side, tracing her curves through the fabric of her clothes before joining its twin in gripping her ass, lifting her slightly onto her toes. She gasped into his mouth, breaking the kiss for a moment to breathe before diving back in, more desperately now.
The kiss soon turned sloppy as they devoured each other. A year of separation, of shared pain through their bond, of longing compressed into this single moment. His tongue explored her mouth thoroughly while hers fought back, neither willing to submit.
When they finally broke apart, both panting, a thin string of saliva connected their lips. Seraphine's face was flushed, eyes glazed with want, lips swollen and red.
"Ash…" she breathed, and the sound of his name on her lips was too sultry for him to resist.
He was about to pull her back in when—
Click—
"Ah!"
"Oh."
Despite the lock being locked, and that few could be allowed to barge in when the saintess was busy in a meeting, as well as even fewer having a reason to, Ashen had overlooked one person.
One woman who had every motivation to see him, and coincidentally, had enough authority not to be impeded in her path, especially here in the Ashbastion, her home ground.
Ashen and Seraphine, still tangled together, froze and looked toward the door.
Standing there, in all her glory, was the head of the Creation Department, Alice Sinclair.
She tilted her head as she watched the spectacle with an almost analytical curiosity.
⛧⛧⛧