I Can Hear the Saint’s Inner Thoughts

36 – A Wizard Who Doesn’t Believe in Love vs. A Saintess in Love (3)

“Now, let me explain our plan again.”

Hero Kyle gathered us all together, then spread out a map and began to explain.

“Our goal is to reach the Nightmare Theater ruled by the succubus queen, Bellamora…”

Kyle opened his mouth with a grave tone, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. For this purpose, we had wandered the Demon Realm for a year, preparing to subjugate the succubus queen.

“Kill her, and minimize the demon king’s power.”

Kyle spoke through gritted teeth. It seemed that he was traumatized by an enemy who could enter people’s dreams and show them realistic illusions.

He had a childhood sweetheart back home, his lover.

Kyle had once said that for her sake, he would gladly kill the demon king of this world.

And seeing how he was still writing letters to her every day with such devotion, the chances are high that he had a nightmare related to her.

I had a nightmare about Victoria confessing her feelings to me, after all.

“…So, Kyle, why are you so banged up?”

“That’s right. We were worried because it was way past our meeting time, and no one was here. We thought something might have happened.”

Tarion and Anima noticed something was off as they looked at Kyle, covered in scratches and bruises. They were supposed to meet at exactly 10 o’clock, and it was way past that now.

“I fell pretty hard on the way here.”

Kyle was lying, for my sake and Victoria’s.

He must be exhausted from killing so many demons and monsters, yet he hadn’t once uttered a word about being tired.

“That’s a blatant lie…”

“Exactly. Kyle, are you hiding something from us?”

Tarion and Anima started questioning Kyle, seeing that we weren’t saying anything. Even a stranger could tell that his injuries weren’t just from a simple fall.

“I had to go to the Aurelium Holy Kingdom for Victoria’s health. Kyle took the brunt of it.”

“…Astal?”

Watching the scene unfold, I blurted out the truth to my companions. Lies are like snowballs, they only get bigger the more you try to hide them.

Besides, thanks to someone next to me, I really didn’t want to try to hide my emotions or lie anymore.

“What, you got a problem with that?”

I threw that out to Kyle and Victoria, whose eyes had gone wide, and the rest of my crew. I really hated seeing anyone in the party die.

“Y-yes, sir. Astal… you did that for me…”

– Oh no… I’m never getting married now…

Victoria’s face turned bright red, and she couldn’t lift her head. She just stood there silently, holding my hand tight. The tickling sensation spreading from her fingertips felt strange.

“Astal, are you seriously into Victoria like that…?”

“To be honest, I thought the two of you were just messing around and trying to prank us with the whole lip-lock situation.”

Anima blinked her eyes in disbelief at what was going on, while Tarion looked at me with a satisfied smile, patting my shoulder.

“How did you get to the Holy Kingdom from here? The regular spatial warp gate wouldn’t have worked.”

“I ripped through space with my own body. Like a needle and thread, I went straight to the Holy Kingdom in one go.”

“…Wow, you are one crazy b*stard, aren’t you?”

Anima let out a frustrated sigh, smacked her forehead with her palm, and her bear ears twitched slightly.

“How could you even think about tearing through space with your body? If you didn’t even tell us, how much do you treasure Victoria?”

Anima, who was usually quite laid back, was cursing for a reason. Normally, I would’ve used a gentler method.

I’d always been the type to analyze the cause and effect and use the most ideal magic.

“You two were at each other’s throats like you couldn’t live without each other before, when did you get this close? It’s kind of upsetting?”

“…Shut up. It was an emergency, I didn’t have a choice.”

“So, can I summon an emotion spirit and check it out?”

Anima took a step closer to me, a smirk twisting her lips like she’d just had a brilliant idea.

Emotion spirits, Phantasmas.

Spirits that gauge feelings toward someone and convert them into an objective “Affection Level” number.

Using that, I’d clearly know Victoria’s feelings for me, but since I don’t harbor any such feelings…

‘It’ll reveal that our relationship is a fake!’

I swallowed hard, realizing the gravity of the situation.

If that happened, it could put us at a disadvantage against the Succubus Queen. This fake relationship could only benefit us if no one else knew.

While I was wracking my brain, wondering whether to trick the spirit’s Affection Level and what kind of magic I should use without incantation…

“Playing pranks isn’t nice, Anima.”

“Oh, come on! Astal is always saying things like, ‘Love is inefficient!’ and ‘Don’t you know how much trouble it is to let emotions cloud your judgement?’ and stuff…!”

A hand stopped Anima from summoning the Phantasma. Tarion grabbed her arm like she was a doll, holding it still.

“Anima, love isn’t an emotion that can be expressed in concrete numbers, is it? Is there really a need to test a couple who seems to be doing well?”

“But, they’ve been acting so weird these past few days! My gut’s telling me something shady is going on…!”

“Anima, even if my feelings for you were expressed numerically, that wouldn’t really tell you everything, would it?”

Anima was looking up, fuming, and Tarion spoke to her in a calm voice, trying to soothe her.

‘Ugh… What are these dumb lovebirds even saying…’

The cheesy lines made my stomach churn. I hid my cringing hands behind my back, trying my best to look okay.

Do people get blinded like that when they love each other?

Victoria had her hands clasped over her mouth, looking moved, and Kyle was nodding with a little smile.

I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t want to.

“Tarion….”

“So, let’s give them a little time for now. Isn’t that the virtue of those who’ve been in love for a while?”

The way a person changes with one word from their lover is similar to how a Succubus enthralls someone, or puts them under some weird hypnosis.

I’d never be like that, no way.

Judging by my personality, it’s highly likely I’d never be the kind of person to give my everything to some girl.

“Hmph, you’re lucky Tarion intervened. I want to pull out a Phantasma right now and see what you two are plotting!”

“Yeah, thanks so much.”

I answered Anima, looking indifferent. After all, even if she had summoned a Phantasma, it wouldn’t have revealed that I liked Victoria.

“Victoria, what do you even see in a guy like him? He even confessed first, didn’t he…!”

Anima was badmouthing me, speaking as if she were lecturing Victoria, but Victoria still couldn’t quite lift her head.

“…Yes, you are too much, far too much for the likes of me.”

Her voice was practically a whisper, her fingers fidgeting, rubbing against each other.

– To give your life for me, travel all the way to the Holy Kingdom, rage at the rude thugs who slandered me, and even choose to endure pain to save me…

Victoria’s inner thoughts were on the verge of overflowing with praise for me. It was almost as if I were seeing a store owner spewing words at machine-gun pace.

“Lord Astar always manages to surprise me.”

– How could I not love you?

As if trying to control the beat of her heart, Victoria placed her hand over her chest and began to take deep breaths.

“…Victoria? You didn’t eat something weird, did you?”

“No. It’s just… my emotions are heightened….”

I was hearing her inner thoughts right beside her.

Honestly, how could a saintly person so easily give their heart with such a small favor? It was beyond my understanding.

“Enough with the excuses, alright? Then Victoria is coming with me. Let’s gather again tomorrow and head to the Succubus Queen’s territory.”

Before Victoria could make any more slip-ups, I grabbed her hand and pulled her along. It was better if they didn’t find out I’d secretly bought food, either.

Food that boosts virility and increases the chances of pregnancy in half-bloods? That’s the kind of thing that’d make anyone think the worst.

“Yeah, it’s late, the sun’s already starting to set. Let’s each think about how we’re going to escape the dreamscape of Vellamora.”

The hero, Kyle, slowly closed one eye as he watched me.

He seemed to realize that Victoria and I were in an awkward situation, and even had the kindness to postpone our plans to the next day.

“Ah, Astar… you’re walking too fast…! Please wait…”

Surely, with Victoria’s strength, she could easily resist my tug, yet she was obediently following me, hand in mine.

– Lord Astar protected me… This has never happened before…

Judging from her inner thoughts, it seems she was too flustered to even think about resisting.

How long would we have to continue this kind of farce? My head was starting to hurt a bit.

* * *

And so, we arrived back at our lodgings, and Victoria and I were once again sharing the same room. It’d be strange to start asking for separate rooms at this point.

‘Was there really something wrong with the food I ate before…?’

I kept feeling my body getting hot, and I tried to use detoxifying magic to release the tension building in various parts of my body.

It was my fault for swallowing all the food in my stomach so my companions wouldn’t find out. With Victoria watching me, I couldn’t easily discard it.

‘It was awkward how she kept trying to feed me directly, so I just tried to finish it off quickly…’

Had something changed in her heart after the incident in the Holy Kingdom?

– Now, open your mouth. Isn’t it lovely to be fed by your beloved?

Victoria tried to feed me grilled eel with a fork and knife, and because I hated that cringey act, I quickly shoveled the food into my mouth.

‘…I should have just secretly thrown it away.’

A belated regret washed over me, but I had no other option.

Even if I knew, by hearing her thoughts, that it was a food good for stamina, showing that I noticed would reveal the fact that I could hear Victoria’s thoughts.

If she knew I could hear the inner thoughts of Saint Victoria, who was filled with all sorts of shady ideas, she might try to die from shame right then and there.

“Victoria, am I going in?”

I had intentionally exercised to sweat and expel the food’s energy after Victoria said she would shower first, and returned.

The feeling of being aroused wouldn’t go away, to the point that it felt like something would actually happen if I didn’t release it. It was almost like a eunuch regaining his manhood.

“…Yes, you may come in, Astal-nim.”

A captivating voice came from inside the room, and when I opened the door, I momentarily doubted my eyes.

“I’ve been waiting. My fake lover.”

– Tonight, I want to see if Astal gets properly excited by me.

Victoria, wearing my oversized robe loosely over her body and only in her undergarments, was sitting on the bed.

“…First, go wash. Isn’t that basic courtesy?”

Victoria let out a more fervent breath than ever, and with sweaty fingers, she fidgeted and gave me an alluring smile.