I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 1 Part 3

It was frustrating and unfair, but there was nothing else I could do. The priest bound me tightly with his holy power and started dragging me away as though he were escorting a notorious criminal.

“Oh, Father, it’s really not me…”

“Don’t say a word until your identity is verified!”

This priest is really strict. He doesn’t look that old, so why is he so uncooperative?

“I’m really not a dangerous person!”

“Spies from the Magic Tower say the same thing.”

What spy? No, really, this guy can’t even use his imagination properly, can he?

“I’m just a virtuous citizen who doesn’t even know where the Magic Tower is!”

The Magic Tower didn’t have the image of being an axis of evil from the beginning. Originally, the Magic Tower was like an academic institute that had no connection to any interests.

It started to corrupt ten years ago when a new leader took control of the tower.

The new leader of the Magic Tower supported the nations that had conflicting relations with the Holy Kingdom, both openly and secretly, and also caused various conflicts within the kingdom.

He even dealt with forbidden dark magic and didn’t hesitate to gather demons and send them to the Holy Kingdom.

In the end, the Pope declared war against them, claiming to eradicate the Magic Tower. That was about three years ago.

So, as a citizen of the Holy Kingdom, it is the most insulting misunderstanding.

“I haven’t even set foot outside of Liche until today!”

Of course, for me, it was more a sense of injustice than an insult. As if it wasn’t enough that I had to serve here for two years and a half, why did this annoyance have to happen from the beginning?

But I couldn’t explain further because I didn’t know the name of the knight who helped me.

Why did I forget that? The important thing! Even during our conversation, his name briefly came up, but I should have paid better attention!

But it was, coincidentally, the same knight who had rescued me once again.

“Father Charles?”

Just as I was walking aimlessly without knowing where I was being led, someone called for the priest.

As soon as I turned to see the owner of the voice, I thought that, by this point, I could believe in the state religion again.

The perfectly formed features that appeared to save the damsel in distress were truly moving. I shouted with great excitement, as if I had discovered a helicopter on a desert island.

“Sir Knight!”

If only my arms weren’t bound with holy power, I would have waved my hands as well. His normally reserved face looked even more handsome now.

“Sister?”

When it seemed like he recognized me, the priest finally started to notice my presence. With a sense of urgency, the old man removed his holy power, coughed, and asked the knight.

“Do you know this person?”

I had been promoted from ‘you’ to ‘person.’

Ah, cider¹??? is used to express a cathartic feeling or a refreshing sensation. I’ve fallen for him for the fourth time now.

“What happened? Why were you tied up?”

In response to his awaited question, I squeezed out a few tears and put on a pitiful expression.

“Well, I was in the magical circle, and I lost my bag….”

For a moment, an unidentified man came to mind, but for now, I decided to keep it to myself. Considering what he had done to my ears earlier, mentioning anything about him could be dangerous.

“As you know, my identification and proof of status were all in there.”

“Ah.”

The knight, as if understanding the situation, shifted his gaze from me to the priest. In the meantime, I moved to his side and stuck closely.

Ah, so reassuring.

“She’s a Stella, who will come in as a novitiate. Due to some circumstances, I have her transferred here.”

“I see. Well, I have acted out of line.”

See, see, I told you so!

Using his back as a shield, I shot the priest a hard look, and the priest gave an embarrassed glance.  I gave a small snort and turned away.

“I will contact the temple about matters about your lost bag, including your lost identification certificate.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

“But it would be best if you became more familiar with your bag.”

“Haha, I will… I will.”

He is not only sensitive, but he also has a sense of humor. I have no idea how many times this man can make me fall for him.

Whether he knew or not the intensity of his staring at me with pink-tinted eyes, he withdrew his gaze from me and looked at the road and the priest.

“Father Charles, if it’s alright with you, please give this priest some guidance.”

“Of course, no problem.”

The priest scratched his head and stared at me. He still couldn’t meet my gaze, perhaps because he still felt sorry.

“Um, what’s your name, Sister?”

“My name is Duna Valorem.”

“Ahem, I apologize for earlier.”

“Oh no, I had no idea there were so many ‘spies’.

I forced a laugh while emphasizing the word ‘spies’, mockingly. It was meant as a stab, thinking about how deeply offended I was.

Whether it was an absurd guess, even in my own opinion, the priest coughed again.

By the way, if those words were true, could that man from earlier also be a spy?

It seems like I’m involved in some trouble.

“Well then, Sir Peidos, I’ll see you later.”

“Farewell, Father, Miss Duna.”

As we suddenly parted ways, I also bowed my head. I looked nostalgically at the diminishing figure of the knight and thought,

From today on, I will only have one subject in my prayers.

Please make that handsome knight a member of the Grand Temple!

That way, I might have a chance.

“Miss Duna, the first orientation training will take place this evening. Until then, you can relax in your quarters.”

“Yes, thank you for letting me know.”

Following the priest, I stopped by the room where the magic circle was before and grabbed my luggage. He seemed apologetic about what happened earlier and enthusiastically explained the meaning of related histories and symbols throughout the temple.

With the priest-turned-guide, we were having various discussions about the structure of the temple on our way to my lodging.

Suddenly, curiosity struck me.

“Um, Father. May I know the name of the knight who helped me earlier?”

Of course, this time I heard the name clearly. Peidos. Even his name sounded romantic.

But I wanted to know his full name. Not for some mundane reason like knowing his family.

…No, well, I can’t exactly say I wasn’t interested, but still, I was more curious about knowing his name properly.

“Ah, Sir Peidos Carmel.”

“….”

And in that moment, my budding love was shattered into pieces.

Ah… No wonder he seemed excessively cool.

The son of the Duke of Carmel. A high-ranking priest who served as the Pope’s trusted personnel and became a pride of the Holy Kingdom through consecutive victorious expeditions as a holy knight.

And the character who falls in love with the protagonist, the woman who will become a great saint in the future.

Peidos Carmel was the male protagonist.

* * *

It didn’t feel like having a feast after my unrequited love. Actually, even if I wasn’t giving up on one-sided love, I couldn’t help but lose my appetite when I looked at the table.

“Why isn’t there any meat at all…”

The religion chosen in the country, Herr, doesn’t entirely forbid meat. It is written in the scriptures that all the beasts of the earth, all the birds of the sky, and all the fish of the sea are under human dominion.

But the problem was the unnecessary sentence added right after that. Because of that sentence, even though killing for consumption wasn’t prohibited, one was encouraged to avoid eating meat.

In order to set a good example, meat was not served within the temple.

As someone who had lived a life close to carnivorous animals in my previous life, it truly felt like the sky was falling.

“It seems like my sins from my previous life come back like this.”

Knowing the impact of the livestock industry on the environment, I must have been guilty of eating one meat a day. Apparently, dying at a prime age wasn’t enough.

“Are you more accustomed to meat?”

The woman sitting in front of me asked cheerfully.

Leila Beltrix. A Stella, who will be sharing the lodging with me in the future. With her hair dyed and divided into five colors, she had a free-spirited personality as colorful as her hair.

“Oh, something like that.”

“You seem to adjust well. I envy you!”

As a member of the gentry class, it is correct to say that I grew up in wealth. In a place where people of diverse backgrounds gathered, I should have been cautious of my words, but I forgot all about it.

This naturally raises eyebrows, but luckily she didn’t seem to mind. She seemed as cool as she looked.

“It’s not the rice, but something else that’s the problem.”

“Something else?”

“I’m at a prime age. But they told me not to do this.”

Leila made a ring with her finger and repeatedly put her index finger inside it.

“Cough, cough!”

Her unexpected hand movement startled me so much that I started coughing.

When I started coughing like I was out of breath, Leila kindly handed her a cup of water and spoke.

“But there must be a way, right? I saw some cute novices earlier.”

“W-well.”

As someone influenced by Confucianism in my previous life and strict Herric beliefs in this place, it was a surprising idea. It was something that I wouldn’t even have dared to attempt if I hadn’t been drunk last night.

“Haa, I need to dye my hair right away.”

Dyeing the hair within the temple itself was not prohibited, but a uniform color was required. Just the thought of it made Leila sigh as she pulled her hair forward.

Yes, it’s possible that things like food and hairstyles could be considered poison. Whether I could truly adapt to this place was still uncertain.

This Grand Temple was quite strict.

I knew early on that the temple boasted a vertical structure. But I didn’t think that life here would be so oppressive.

But it was understandable, as all the priests I had seen so far had been benevolent. Even the priest I saw earlier today seemed overly cautious at first, but he was somewhat friendly afterward.

But when the orientation began, I realized how mistaken I had been.

[Welcome, new recruits!]

I felt anxious from the tone of their words.

[We expect nothing less and nothing more from you! The study of theology, spiritual development, and adherence to discipline!]

I had forgotten. Stella is classified differently from ordinary clerics.

[Depending on how you behave, the priests can become angels or devils!]

[…….]

The next thousand days were words that didn’t excite me even a bit.

The woman, dressed in a flawless priestly robe, with her gleaming eyes carefully observing the novitiates, came to mind, making me shudder involuntarily.

“I hope these thousand days pass quickly.”

Leila chuckled at my weak murmuring.

“Eyy, who knows? Don’t they say that if you accumulate merits here, you can open a smooth path to the door of prosperity?”

“Merits… Yeah.”

Until seven years ago, I wondered what I could achieve with the power that I didn’t even know I had.

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