"Pfft, Claire. That's amazing. I didn't expect you to prepare something like this."
"Hehe. If Master is happy, I'm incredibly happy too. Master♡"
The evening after the Saintess appointment.
Back at my residence, I hugged Claire, who was dressed in her Saintess's robes. She hugged me back, burying her face in my chest.
Oh dear. She's a Saintess, yet she announced she'd join my guild's activities, and even sent Paul away like that.
Although it was surprising, it was quite a pleasant event.
Of course, seeing my citizens talking to me afterwards made me a little uncomfortable, but I could easily handle it with a smile.
"So, it's alright if we go to Ladia together now, right?"
"Yes. Officially, I've been dispatched to the Ladia branch of the Cult of Goddess as a Saintess. Although I'm the highest-ranking person there and need to manage things… I'll basically be with Master."
Since we're going to Ladia, I thought I'd make you their representative there?
There's nothing wrong with that.
My female is the representative of the Church of Ladia… Ah, this church seems to have become my new playground?
"Speaking of which, you said you'd appoint me as the Saintess's Guardian? What's that?"
"Heh. You can think of it as an outsider appointed by me. It's actually an honorary position without real power, but the Church of Goddess will still treat you well. Even if I'm always by your side, as long as you say I'm your guardian, no one will suspect anything."
Click. Great, great. Even taking Kleia, now the Saintess, around won't be a problem! Just thinking about having Lisbeth and Kleia by my side makes Сock's erection rock hard.
"Simply joining the guild isn't quite enough in name. And you can also be useful as my master…"
"Well done, well done. I'm very satisfied. Kleia."
"I'm unworthy of such praise. Master♡"
Both the kingdom's divine beast and the Saintess's guardian. This identity suits me perfectly.
At this point, no one in the kingdom should dare attack me.
Hmm. How should I repay Kleia?
"...Ah. Speaking of which, how's Paul? It's over just like that?" While holding Claire and thinking, she suddenly remembered Paul.
Poor Paul wasn't just abandoned, he was completely sent away.
Probably... Claire fabricated some crime and sent him away like that.
"Hehe. Actually, the crime I framed for Paul wasn't serious. The kingdom conveyed that too, and he'll be released after an investigation. But returning to the Goddess Cult will be difficult."
Hmm. Treating an ex-lover like that. Claire, what a terrible child!
"Actually, there was another reason for fabricating the crime against Paul. Right? Liz?"
"You mean 'that' we talked about before, right? Hehe♡"
"That's right. Before leaving for Ladia, we need to leave Master with pleasant memories."
Hmm?
Lizbet seems to know something too.
Was it planned beforehand?
"Eh? What are we going to do?"
"Hehe...that..." Claire and Lizbet gave mischievous looks and began to explain their plan with snickers.
Faced with that shocking plan, I could only manage a dizzying smile.
......
"Really…really not me…I…Waaah…" In the kingdom's cramped prison, Paul, dressed in tattered clothes, gripped the iron bars, tears streaming down his face.
How unfortunate. Paul's face was swollen, and he murmured hoarsely.
Despite his status as both a hero and a bishop, the knights who witnessed his attempt to gain personal advantage through the saintess's examination refused to listen to his explanation.
They stared coldly at him, locked him in the prison, and ignored his cries, preoccupied with their own affairs.
Compared to the crimes of others, his offense might have been less serious, but for a hero and bishop of the goddess's cult to commit a crime was enough to instill disgust in the knights.
And so, he wept in the prison for an unknown amount of time. Finally, a voice spoke to Paul.
"Prisoner Paul! Stand up."
"Was the injustice proven?!" Paul walked toward the knight in the prison, but the knight sneered and looked down at him. "Injustice? Ha... You're still not fully awake... Get ready! Her Majesty the Saint wants to hear your final explanation."
"K-Krea!"
"However, out of consideration for our past acquaintance, she seems reluctant to punish you directly. She wants to hear why you did such a thing."
Krea was searching for him. Hearing this, Paul seemed to see a glimmer of hope.
There must be some misunderstanding. As long as he explained properly, Krea, his lover, would surely clear his name.
With this hope in mind, Paul quietly allowed the knight to handcuff him and blindfold him.
After following the knight's lead for a long time, he suddenly heard the knight talking to a familiar voice from somewhere.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Yes. I'll come out and report immediately if any problems arise."
Then, Paul, being led along... entered the building where he couldn't feel the sunlight, and the blindfold was removed by someone's hand.
The moment the blindfold was lifted, what came into Paul's view was—"Miss Lisbeth!!!" Krea's friend, the woman who seemed to be the lover of the mythical beast Shimo. It was Lisbeth.
"Hehe♡ Hello, Mr. Paul, the criminal."
"Miss Lisbeth! I'm innocent!!!" Paul, his hands and feet in shackles, cried out to Lisbeth, tears streaming down his face.
Looking at Paul, Lisbeth chuckled softly.
"Looks wronged, doesn't she?"
"I-I really didn't do it! Absolutely not…!"
"Hehe…♡ Come with me." Lisbeth turned and walked away, and Paul followed her into a familiar-looking building.
No, this building… is one of the buildings of the Goddess Church…? Why are you here...?
"It seems Claire is quite shocked by Paul's crime~"
"I-I didn't commit a crime...!"
"So, Claire wants to hear Paul's reasons for committing the crime through the Sacrament of Confession."
"Ah, no, I..."
"Normally, it's not allowed to meet with a sinner like Paul alone... but Claire, as a saint, pleaded repeatedly, and the kingdom, knowing your close relationship, approved it."
"...I see..."
"Some things can only be said alone. She insisted on the two of you being alone... so the meeting was arranged under the guise of the Sacrament of Confession."
"..."
Of course, there are knights waiting outside. Don't cause any trouble, okay? Hehe...♡ Come. We're here. Confess Paul's crime to the saint♡"
With that, Lisbeth led Paul into a spacious room with two doors.
...A confessional like this...? Because the Royal Capital Church is so large and has so many buildings, even Paul, as a bishop, was seeing this confessional for the first time.
Looking around the unfamiliar space, Lisbeth walked to a door, knocked, and spoke into the room.
"Master~♡The sinner has arrived♡"...Master? What is Miss Lisbeth saying...?
"...Hehe♡Come. This way, Mr. Paul." Following Lisbeth's lead through another door, they saw a rather spacious room with a confessional in the center, consisting of a chair.
…Calling it a confessional seems too spacious…No, calling it a confessional…that curtain-like cloth…?
And there's a strange smell… Before he could even think about it, Lisbeth pulled him to sit in the chair.
"Alright. Don't move around. I'll put shackles on your legs too. You've already told the knights."
"Ah, okay. Okay…" An iron chair connected to the floor. Lisbeth pointed to the shackles on the chair, urging Paul to sit down quickly.
Paul slumped into the chair, a sly smile playing on Lisbeth's lips.
Then, Lisbeth moved her fingers…
"…Huh?" The shackles attached to the chair snapped onto Paul's legs and above the handcuffs.
"N-No, you don't have to go this far… No, compared to that…?"
"Heh. It's alright if you don't know♡ Come on…♡" With that, Lisbeth opened the door and walked outside, waving to Paul.
"Please repent for your sins♡ Paul♡" The door closed, and Lisbeth's face vanished. Paul stared blankly at the door.
It seemed Lisbeth had no doubt that he had committed a sin.
…Why… If it were Miss Lisbeth, she should know I couldn't possibly have committed a crime… Thinking this, Paul sighed and looked around.
…Why is the confessional a partition curtain instead of a wall… Is it a makeshift confessional…? And he had a feeling… a strange atmosphere emanating from the other side of the curtain… Just as Paul was thinking this and looking towards the partition, the voice he had been longing for came through.
"Gurgle…♡The sinful…little lamb…♡Hmm…♡Paul…♡"
"C-Claire!!!" Paul, who had been wearing shackles just moments before, had completely forgotten them, dragging them along with a clatter as he called out to Claire's voice from behind the curtain.
"No, it wasn't me! Claire! Believe me! I'm innocent!!!"
"No…♡Heh heh…♡Ah…♡Paul. You…♡committed a crime…♡"
"Ah, no, I…!!!" From the moment Lisbeth left, he had sensed something unusual.
He seemed to hear a faint, sticky sound of water.
What…a sound?
Why would there be such a sound in the confessional…? No, more than that…he must now prove his innocence to Claire…! "How dare you pretend to be my lover to my master's female…♡ ♡ Ah…♡ This is an unforgivable sin…♡"
"Ah, no…! …Huh? Claire, what did you just say…"
"Hehehehe…♡" For some reason, Claire's voice sounded chilling.
Why was she laughing like that? What did Claire just say? Dizzy and confused in the chaos, Paul heard Claire's increasingly chilling laughter.
"A traitor who harbored filthy desires for my master's female—me—and treated me as his lover. Paul."
Then… the partition in front of Paul moved open, and in Paul's eyes…
"Confess your sins to my master…♡ and my master's female saint—I…♡…♡" He saw a bizarre four-legged beast, and beneath it, a woman laughing, propped up on her limbs.
Below the enormous beast, a blonde woman with a noticeably protruding belly.
His lover and the saintess of the Goddess Cult, completely naked and wearing a strange collar.
Claire was facing Paul.