"Ah...how...how could you be so cruel...Goddess who cares for Esendia! Please have mercy on this lost lamb..."
The beautiful nun who had turned pale and collapsed in terror upon seeing me was now trembling and slumped in prayer.
Lately, they seem to have gotten used to my presence in Ladia. Their initial fear has transformed into the look of wonder they see in new things… I never expected to encounter what is arguably the most intense reaction in history…
"Pure, pure and flawless goddess. Please grant this lamb the power to fight, to overcome the darkness…"
"Claya, Claya! Calm down. This is the divine beast from Ladia that I mentioned before. Not the kind of being you think of."
"Eh, eh? Paul… that fierce aura… a divine beast…?"
Ah… that expression really looks hurtful…
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, Sister. It's all my fault for looking so fierce and frightening you."
"It… spoke…!? Is it really a divine beast…?"
"Yes. It is indeed a divine beast. Although it can't yet take human form…"
Paul helped the woman he called Claya to her feet, but for some reason, she still had an incredulous expression on her face as she stood up. Looking at her still pale face, I couldn't help but feel sad.
"It seems we should take our leave."
"Okay, I'll see you out. Claire, calm down and go to your room to rest."
"Ah… okay, Paul…" They left the building with the reception room together. Once outside, Paul walked towards the ward, sighing.
"This… I apologize for making you look so flustered."
"No… I've been through a lot and I'm used to it."
"But you do seem very shaken." Seeing her reaction, Lisbeth, equally shocked, asked Paul what was wrong. Paul sighed again and replied.
"Actually… she can't see. No, to be precise, she can see, but her vision is extremely poor; she can barely distinguish whether there are buildings in front of her." No wonder she kept her eyes closed; it wasn't because she couldn't see that she kept them closed. "But the problem is that she was born and raised in the Church, and she is a nun with exceptional spiritual abilities. Although she is blind, those abilities influenced her spiritual skills and her capacity to sense Ethel's presence during her upbringing in the Church." Paul continued, his voice tinged with a hint of regret. "Due to her exceptionally keen senses, she is currently the most capable nun in the entire Cult of Goddesses in sensing Ethel and Tesel. Furthermore, her faith and skills are also at a considerable level. However, her blindness is ultimately a major flaw, inevitably affecting her activities..." Hmm...after all, visual impairment is a significant inconvenience among various disabilities...
"Perhaps it was because of that keen sense of perception that she was greatly frightened upon seeing the aura of the Divine Beast. Please allow me to apologize again."
Although he felt somewhat conflicted, he still said it was alright. Paul murmured regretfully as he continued.
"Ha...if it weren't for her eye problem, she would have surpassed that woman and been chosen as a saint long ago...ah, that's beside the point. Sorry."
Wow, a saint? This nun is more impressive than I imagined.
Thinking this, we entered the ward we had arrived at. After confirming Ars's condition, we wrote Lisbeth's address down for the nun at the entrance and went to the church's main gate. "Well then, we'll contact you once Mr. Ars's condition changes. We'll pay the fees then. Considering your situation as both heroes and novice adventurers, we'll calculate it accordingly," Paul said, smiling as he saw us off.
Hmm…it's expensive, but we should be able to afford it with what we have…?
On the way back, the sun had already set before we knew it, and the streets were filled with the atmosphere of people leaving get off work. Lisbeth looked listless, so to comfort her and have dinner together before going back, we first reported the situation to the guild administration office and then ate dinner together in the administration office's restaurant.
I had intended to ask Lisbeth to perform another sexual intervention, but she was too depressed to bring it up.
Tsk…it's a pity, but there's nothing I can do…
............ Then two weeks passed. On the third day, I heard that all the Tesser that had seeped into Ars's body had been purified, and I thought he would wake up soon, but for some reason, Ars didn't regain consciousness at all.
The priests and nuns, as well as Paul, checked on Ars's condition; his body was clearly fine, yet he inexplicably wouldn't wake up.
What's going on?
Could he be in a vegetative state?
After realizing my own desires, I initially thought it didn't matter what happened to Ars, but this situation continued, making me inexplicably uneasy. Lisbeth was completely listless due to this continued state, checking on Ars's condition every day. I worried that she might be completely unable to manage her sexual desires, so I quietly asked her, and she just obediently complied.
No, rather than that, it's more accurate to say that she, who was initially listless, became more engrossed in dealing with her sexual desires than usual.
Was it as if she was relieving the stress caused by her anxiety through sexual activity?
I was genuinely startled when I saw her secretly hiding in the bushes, inserting herself into her mouth in a disturbingly rough manner, like a deep throat, and moving vigorously.
I always felt that the longer Ars remained unconscious, the rougher her behavior would become. Although I quite enjoyed this situation, I had actually had another worry for some time.
It was her humanization skills.
Now I'm slowly preparing to take the next step towards Lisbeth, but crossing this horse's body is fraught with problems.
The visible difference in size alone is more than double, and looking at the size of that thing about to enter her neck, although I held onto a sliver of hope, this exaggeratedly large member was ultimately too much of a stretch.
Taking the next step in this state seems extremely difficult.
During Ars's collapse, I grew increasingly anxious. I inquired with the adventurers who appeared to be mages at the administration office, hoping they might know something, but no one knew.
I grabbed bookstore owners or intellectuals in the shopping district and pressed them for answers, but no one possessed the relevant knowledge.
I even went to the lord's city to ask the civil servants if they had any information, but to no avail.
As the days passed, my anxiety intensified.
Was I really destined to remain without humanization skills for hundreds of years?
Was it said that we would perish in a few hundred years?
Was I destined to live and die in this world as a horse?
Would it end without even experiencing sex with a woman?
It was so suffocating.
I desperately wanted to resolve this situation, but I was at a loss.
Even if I could create that romantic atmosphere with Lisbeth, in this state, she probably wouldn't even have the desire to have intercourse.
Moreover, if I were to force myself to use member's penis, what if it injured Lisbeth… With these worries, I lay in the warehouse and sighed deeply.
The clouds outside the window were hazy, and I had a feeling it was going to rain. I tossed and turned in the warehouse all day.
After Lisbeth visits Ars, she should come and help me deal with my sexual desires.
Ah.
This frustration is infuriating.
............ "Miss Lisbeth! Just in time! Mr. Ars has woken up!"
These words reached Lisbeth's ears as she arrived at the ward, instantly dispelling her gloomy mood and filling her chest with joy.
For two weeks after Ars collapsed, Lisbeth was consumed by self-reproach for not having been more resolute in stopping him.
She should have stopped Ars no matter what, but seeing the look of self-reproach on his face as he reflected on his weakness, Lisbeth simply couldn't bring herself to do it.
But it was this choice that allowed Ars to remain unconscious for over two weeks.
During those two weeks, a agonizing pain weighed heavily on Lisbeth, tormenting her.
To escape this torment, Lisbeth indulged in the sexual desires that Shimo had repeatedly told her she had to deal with.
Shimo's member exuded a pungent, masculine odor, leaving her in a daze like a drug.
The burning pleasure and the subsequent exhaustion while servicing the member with her hands and mouth brought her ecstasy.
Even more intense was the strong, masculine scent of his semen when he ejaculated.
The wonderful feeling of suffocation as the semen clung to her throat and mouth.
By processing everything she felt through sexual desire, Lisbeth temporarily forgot her worries and sorrows.
However, even though the treatment was over, Ars remained unconscious.
Watching the priests who still couldn't find the cause, her unease grew stronger with each passing day.
But now that Ars had awakened, there should be no need to worry, right?
Thinking this, she pushed open the door to Ars's room.
"Ars!!!" She rushed into the room where Ars was lying, calling his name.
Although he was already sitting up, Ars's face still showed signs of fatigue, with faint dark circles under his eyes.
Seeing that face, Lisbeth's eyes welled up with tears as she ran to him and hugged him tightly.
"Ars! That's good... really... that's good..."
"Lizbeth..." For some reason, Ars's voice was weak.
Was it because he had been lying down for too long and his throat was blocked?
Lisbeth asked, continuing to hug him, thinking this.
"Ars…are you alright? You've been lying in bed for over two weeks. What would I do if you didn't regain consciousness…"
"I…over two weeks…?" Lisbeth hugged Ars tightly, her eyes sparkling with joy.
However, Ars's face was filled with shock. He gripped the sheet covering his lower body, crumpling it into emotionally charged wrinkles.
"Ah, Ars…? What's wrong…?"
Perhaps sensing Ars's emotions, Lisbeth asked again with a worried expression. For some reason, Ars's face was shrouded in shadow, making his expression unreadable.
"I'm sorry…Liz…"
"W-what? Ars doesn't need to apologize…after all, I didn't expect the Hero Devourer to shoot out that kind of thing…" Unable to understand the emotions Ars was expressing, Lisbeth tried to comfort him.
But to Ars, this comfort sounded like a reproach for his weakness and recklessness. "No...it was my stubbornness in challenging the Hero Devourer...I was no match for him at all...no...
I even made that absurd mistake before we even engaged...I didn't even have a chance to use the Heroic Combat Techniques I'd painstakingly practiced..."
"Ah, no, Ars! No one could have predicted that! You shouldn't blame yourself!" The fact that his stubbornness had led to this situation, only to be ruined by his own mistake, filled Ars with immense shame and self-reproach.
If he had even tried swinging his sword then, perhaps he wouldn't feel this way.
Recalling the fact that he would have been dead if Shimo and Lisbeth hadn't been there, Ars felt utterly pathetic. "Then, think about it! The reason we dared to challenge the Hero Devourer was precisely because Shi Mo was there, wasn't it? Even in that situation, we believed we could escape, which is why we challenged him! Although it's regrettable, there's no need to blame yourself so much…!" Ars understood Lisbeth's desperate attempt to comfort him, but the anger and shame swirling around him made her words sound like a condemnation. "First, the information on the Hero Devourer has been submitted to the guild administration, and a comprehensive search of the area around Radia has begun. Now that we know they possess special abilities, we don't need to worry about them anymore. Therefore, we should now deal with the others besides the Hero Devourer…"
Heard that other guilds were about to take over the mess Ars had created. To Ars, Lisbeth's words seemed to say: You, weakling, should step aside. The shame and anger that gripped him, along with the sluggish thinking after waking from a two-week coma, were gradually pushing Ars beyond the boundaries of reason.
"Um... Ars, you just need to focus on recovering for now! Once you're better, we can go do daily missions together, right? Shimo will be coming too, so don't worry..."
"I know, so stop it!!!" In an instant, Ars roared at Lisbeth, his face contorted in pain, as if he could no longer bear it.
Lisbeth, stunned by the roar, froze in place, unable to move. "...Let me be alone for now..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lisbeth lowered her head, her expression darkening. Then, she stomped her foot and stormed out of the room. "...Ugh..." Ars, who had roared at Lisbeth because of his own cowardice and anger at it, was now tormented by a surge of intense self-loathing, almost to the point of nausea. "...Ah...Damn it..." A curse he would never normally utter, now escaped his lips. Otherwise, he felt overwhelmed by the nauseating disgust and would vomit on the spot.
To forget the irritation that compelled him to yell at his lover, with whom he had spent most of his life since birth, Ars collapsed onto the bed, burying his face deep in the blankets. "...Liz...I'm sorry..."
But this apology ultimately failed to reach Lisbeth's ears.
............
"Damn it, why did it suddenly start raining?" He carefully ran across the street against the sudden downpour.
He had thought the gloomy weather was unsettling, and he needed to get back to Lisbeth before the rain started, not knowing if she had an umbrella.
But as if mocking his prediction, the downpour began to lash him down after only a few steps outside.
I was often tricked by the weather back on Earth, but even the weather in this other world was playing tricks on me.
"Damn, if I run past Lisbeth like this, it'll be a real backstab."
This body can't even withstand an umbrella; I'm soaked in no time.
Since things are like this, even if Lisbeth has an umbrella, I have to meet her first. So I sprinted towards the church.
However, in front of the church's main entrance, I vaguely saw a human silhouette.
"Looks like there are others like me. Ah, how nice...wait, what?" I ran towards the figure, feeling a strange sense of camaraderie, and discovered that it belonged to Lisbeth.
Looks like she didn't bring an umbrella.
Then why didn't she stay inside the church?
"Lisbeth! Why are you outside?" I approached Lisbeth, who was looking down, and leaned forward to shield her from the rain.
Although it was raining heavily, this gesture wasn't very meaningful, but having lived on Earth as a man who valued etiquette, I instinctively wanted to protect Lisbeth from the rain.
"You should have stayed inside if it was raining… Does Ars know you came out? I came out to pick you up because of the weather forecast, but then it started raining…"
"Shimo." Lisbeth, still looking down, suddenly interrupted me, calling my name. What's wrong? Just as I stepped back to observe her expression, Lisbeth looked up and said,
"Come drink with me."
As she said this, tears inexplicably streamed down Lisbeth's face.