"Chirp, slurp, chirp, slurp♡"
"Chirp, chirp, hah, haa...♡ Ah, Master. Are you awake?" Opening my eyes, I saw two women rubbing their breasts, giving me a morning oral sex act on my Сock.
Looking at their sleeping faces, I had only fallen asleep before sunrise. Could this have happened during my short sleep?
Not only Lisbeth, but even Claire's expression seemed pleasant; it seemed she was quite calm from sleeping soundly.
"You two. Did you sleep well? Hehe. Seeing my females clinging to my Сock so early in the morning makes me feel good."
"Slurp♡ Because I couldn't do it properly last night...♡"
"Slurp♡ Yes. A little regrettable...♡"
Saying this, my females focused on the Сock again.
Looking at their faces, I recalled my helplessness yesterday before the fangs of the serpent and the Hero Devourer.
Yes… to protect this scene, we must cheer up and work harder from now on.
............ After feeding the two of them morning horse semen, we all bathed and caressed each other.
Although I wanted to start enjoying this sticky, intimate time from the morning, I'll wait until we get back to Ladia.
As we each took out our clothes and put them on, I asked Claire about her future plans.
"Claire. What are you going to do about the Saintess exam? Since what happened yesterday, it's okay to give up, right?"
"…I have something to say about that." Claire, dressed in her underwear and holding her nun's habit by the window, turned to me with a serious expression.
After putting down her nun's habit, Claire clasped her hands together and took a deep breath, as if her whole body was tense.
"I want to become a Saintess." Claire, speaking with her back to the window, had an expression on her face as if she were making a momentous decision.
"...Are you really sure it's alright? Even though the serpent's fangs are useless, there will definitely be many more difficulties..."
"It's alright. I can handle it." Claya, who had been smiling gently and nodding, now declared her resolve with a hint of anger.
"More shocking than anything else is that there are people within the church capable of what happened yesterday. In the Goddess's Church, which was created by Her Majesty the Goddess to create a peaceful and stable world..."
Her trembling head revealed her true rage.
"I won't let those people do whatever they want within the Goddess's Church. We must never let something like yesterday happen again... I will become a saintess and stop them."
"...Yes. If it's Claya, she can definitely do it."
Hmm. I'm a little disappointed. That means Claya will be coming to the capital... The thought of parting feels a bit... Seeing her determined expression, I can't really dissuade her.
Should Lisbeth and I go to the capital too?
...I guess we should go after all.
"How dare she do such... trash... dog-like garbage to her master... she must be eliminated…" Hmm? Claire seemed to have muttered something quietly just now.
What did she say?
I think I heard something unusually vulgar from Claire… Was it just my imagination?
Gentle Claire wouldn't say something like that, right?
"…Aha♡" Lisbeth, standing next to Claire, chuckled and whispered something in her ear.
What? Why did she leave me out? I feel so disappointed.
"What are you two whispering about? I want to join in."
"Hehe♡ A girl's secret♡" After saying that, the expressions on their faces as they avoided my ear seemed strangely bright.
............
Then two days passed.
It seems the Goddess Cult is also somewhat flustered, unable to immediately decide on subsequent activities, leaving the Saintess candidates to wait in place.
Paul seems to have secured some favorable conditions for Claire, making it difficult to even see her these past two days.
Aside from being summoned occasionally, Claire essentially just waited around. I, on the other hand, was quite content with the peace and quiet.
I either indulged in sweet physical intimacy with Lisbeth in the dormitory, or discussed with her how to become stronger after the Saintess Selection… a period of leisurely rest and recuperation.
Now that I've had ample rest and recuperation, it's time to slowly chat with Lisbeth about adventurer life, right?
Although I'm a little concerned that Bivora and the Hero Devourer haven't been captured yet… I can leave that to the Kingdom Knights.
I heard they're currently turning the capital and surrounding areas upside down.
And today. Just as I went downstairs to greet Paul, he informed me that the Saintess Selection trials would restart today.
"Now? Is it alright to do this so hastily?"
"Although it's a bit urgent, the Saintess Selection is also important. Whew…"
Paul looked incredibly tired.
He seems to have suffered quite a bit these past two days. Poor thing.
"First, the monster extermination from the other day will not be counted in the score. Due to the highly unusual circumstances surrounding the Hero Devourer's appearance in Claire, it's difficult to compare her with other candidates."
So this is how it turned out. Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense.
Not only us, but the other candidates will be quite annoyed.
"...Furthermore, Sister Clarice will continue to participate in the Saintess selection. Because no connection has been found between her and the Serpent's Fang."
"Really? Even so, judging from the situation..."
"Unfortunately, currently, apart from Claire and Mr. Shimo's testimonies, there is no evidence. The bishops of the capital and several archbishops insist that someone is framing Clarice."
Whether it's been hidden too well or there's something else going on, even the adventurers who acted with her say they have no connection to the Serpent's Fang.
What's going on?
How could they do something so flawlessly?
Or is it just a different person with the same name?
No, perhaps Bivora, along with the Hero Devourer, has set some kind of trap?
Not to mention evidence, there's not even anything suspicious.
Just how much effort did she put into concealing it?
Even a guild crest would confirm her identity.
Without that… then there's truly nothing she can do…
"Although quite uneasy… Sister Clarice probably has no other choice. With so many eyes and ears around, she can't do anything else." Paul shook his head regretfully, then resumed his expression and relayed the next steps.
"Starting today, other verification tests will be conducted. These include tests of character, administrative skills, holy magic abilities, and talent assessment, followed by… a seven-day period of ascetic prayer. After all the activities during this period, a saint will be chosen through an election by the archbishop and bishops."
"The other tests all sound like ordinary tests… Holy magic refers to the skills of clergy, right? And what does administrative skill refer to?"
"Yes. It's categorized separately, like the magic skills of mages. Unlike magic, it doesn't require converting Ethel into mana… As for administrative skills, Claria will be paired with an assistant." So most of these seem like manageable tests… What is this ascetic prayer?
"Hmm, so... what's this ascetic prayer? Seven days of it?"
"It's seven days of silence, fasting, and non-stop prayer to the goddess."
"Wh...what? Silence aside, seven days of fasting and sleeplessness?"
"Sleeplessness is just a figure of speech; in reality, everyone tries to stay in the prayer position and sleep a little to tough it out. If the posture collapses, points are deducted. Fasting is indeed difficult, but you're allowed one drink of water a day, so... it's manageable... Actually, not just me and Claire, but the other candidates have probably all gone through it once or twice." Crazy... doing this kind of insane prayer when there's no goddess.
I've heard of things like silent prayer on Earth, but seven days of fasting and sleeplessness... and they say they've done it once or twice?
Doing that kind of thing repeatedly?
"It's okay. I have experience. I can handle it."
As I looked at Claire and Paul in disbelief, Claire smiled and nodded as if to reassure me.
No, on the contrary, I could sense an unwavering determination in Claire's expression that she had to complete the task; this was not a situation that could be dissuaded.
"Furthermore, as the process progresses, the escort arrangements will be more rigorous than originally planned. Originally, only a few members of the Kingdom's Knights and one Hero Knight were responsible for supervising the exams, but this time, each exam will have a Hero Knight providing one-on-one escort to the candidate." Each of these strong individuals has one… then there shouldn't be any worries during the exams… right?
"Are the Hero Knights… trustworthy?"
"...? Ah? Of course… Oh. I see. Mr. Shimo doesn't understand yet."
"...Ah. Indeed. I haven't told you yet."
Upon hearing my words, Paul and Lisbeth, who had previously shown expressions of confusion, suddenly looked at me with expressions of sudden realization.
Then Paul coughed lightly, straightened his chest, and began to explain.
"The conditions for becoming a hero... while not entirely clear, researchers generally agree on a basic condition."
"A basic condition?"
"Yes. A perfectly obvious condition."
After saying this, Paul glanced at Claire... then, with a subtly infuriating smile, stated decisively.
"Only those with good intentions, those who wish to protect something, can become heroes... that's supposedly it."
Paul gazed at Claire with a proud smile.
"That's what a hero is."
He nodded, looking at me with a completely unconcerned smile.
"How could a knightly order of heroes, chosen from among those heroes with unwavering resolve to protect the kingdom and its citizens, possibly encounter any danger?"
His expression radiated absolute confidence.