<Chapter 72>

*  *  *

◆ Ultimate Objective: Save the World

◇ Current Objective: Raise Northern Faith to 10,000 | Confessions 9/10 | Holy Relics 0/3

 

*Northern Faith: 8,110

*Familiar: Flurry (Hamster)

*Key Items in Possession: 3 Divine Oracle Tokens, Oracle Tablet

 

▼ Replay Divine Oracle

So, this is what they mean by being full without eating?

‘It feels like just yesterday I broke past five thousand, and now I’m already at eight thousand. At this rate, hitting ten thousand will happen in no time.’

The most important part, though, is that I now have two priests. This means I don’t have to attend the chapel anymore.

Is it just the priests? Oh no. Holy knights? Over forty, at least from my count. The Northern Faith is growing on its own now, without me having to intervene much.

‘Someday, it’d be nice if everyone just prayed lightly at home instead of coming all the way to the chapel.’

Maybe if I stay here for 10 or 20 years, I could foster that kind of atmosphere.

Knock, knock.

“Hm?”

The sound of knocking pulled my attention toward the door. I looked up just as it opened.

I had a guess about who it was since the door opened without waiting for my response. As expected, it was Temenos.

‘What’s with him? Did something happen?’

He didn’t look too happy, judging by his expression.

“Something wrong? Don’t tell me… did the holy knights give you trouble?”

Temenos stood silently for a moment before finally speaking.

“If I said yes, would you go scold them for me?”

“Of course! Where are they? I’ll give them a good earful! How dare they trouble my husband when he’s already so busy!”

I sprang out of bed, dramatically rolling up my nonexistent sleeves. Temenos chuckled at the sight.

He removed the mask he’d been wearing and set it on the table, followed by his gloves. Then, he loosened the buttons fastened all the way up to his neck. He finally looked a little more at ease.

“Inosensia.”

“Hm?”

He gazed at me for a moment before approaching and sitting down on the edge of the bed. Without a word, he stretched out his arms toward me.

“Huh?”

Why is he acting so out of character?

I stared at him in shock. He, too, seemed a little self-conscious about his unusual behavior, clearing his throat awkwardly.

When he started to lower his hands, I quickly shuffled over and nestled into his embrace.

If I missed this chance, this man would never try something this cheesy a second time!

“Not sure what happened, but it seems you missed your wife’s warmth. I’ll gladly oblige.”

“…Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. This is nothing.”

I chuckled softly, and above me, I heard a faint sound—was it a laugh or a sigh? Temenos wrapped his arms around my waist. Though his touch was gentle, as if afraid he might hurt me, his warmth and scent were enough to envelop me entirely.

“I have a question…”

“What is it?”

After hesitating briefly, Temenos finally asked, “How much of your memory has returned?”

“My memory?”

Oh, right. That was part of the setup.

Nestled in his arms, I rolled my eyes upward before answering as calmly as I could, “Well… I don’t think any memories have come back yet… probably?”

“But you called the intruder that day your ‘brother.’ Doesn’t that mean at least the memory of having a brother returned?”

“Oh, that?” I waved dismissively. “That wasn’t a memory returning. It was more like… muscle memory, or a reflex. Just a subconscious reaction. Definitely not a sign of my memory coming back.”

Feeling slightly guilty, I fidgeted with my hands.

‘Why isn’t he saying anything?’

I peeked up at Temenos, only to find him looking at me with the stern expression of a teacher catching a student skipping class.

“I heard you haven’t been consulting the physician regularly, either.”

“Well, I didn’t see the point. It’s not like counseling would bring back my memories. Besides, do I really need to recover them? Look at me. I’m doing just fine without them.”

Hmm. Judging by the look on his face, he was about to insist I take my counseling sessions seriously moving forward.

‘Ugh, what a pain.’

Maybe I could bribe Dr. William to forge a report saying I’ve been attending my sessions? No… that won’t work.

“You have a point.”

“Huh?”

“Our family’s new motto, isn’t it? ‘Let the past lie buried; focus on the brilliant future ahead.’ Something like that.”

“Exactly! Dwelling on the past does no good. We’ve got so much life ahead of us, don’t you agree?”

Temenos chuckled softly.

“You’re absolutely right.”

“…Wait a second. This feels weird. Why are you agreeing with me so easily? Are you really my husband? Or is someone pretending to be him and sneaking into our home?”

I crawled closer, placing both hands on his shoulders. Squinting suspiciously, I began poking at his face.

“Let’s see if those scales are real or fake…”

“What are you doing?”

“Checking if they’re glued on.”

I gently scratched at a scale on his left cheek with my fingernail, but it didn’t budge. Still, I wasn’t convinced. Pressing my finger against his cheek, I prayed silently.

‘Dear God, just a tiny bit of divine power. Please.’

My fingertip lit up faintly, like a flashlight, and the small amount of divine power flowed into Temenos’ skin. Instantly, three new scales sprouted on his cheek.

Temenos’ hand shot up to his face as he realized what had happened. His expression was a mix of shock and disbelief.

“Did you just grow more scales on purpose?”

“Only three! Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility and remove them.”

I clasped his hand reassuringly and leaned in to kiss him on the lips.

He didn’t seem angry; instead, he followed my lead, even wrapping his arms around my waist as the kiss deepened.

‘See? He’s enjoying this.’

I leaned back with a playful smirk.

“See? One’s already gone.”

“……”

He pressed his lips together, unsure whether to believe me without a mirror. Finally, he muttered, “I think there are more on my abdomen and sides now…”

Wait, what? But I only applied divine power to his cheek!

“Really? Let me see.”

“Wait!”

When I tried to lift his shirt to check, his large hands quickly stopped mine.

Looking up at him, I saw his ears turn red as he gently pried my hands away.

“I’ll check in the bath.”

“Oh?”

Why is he blushing? What did he expect?

I trailed him to the bathroom door. “Want me to help you wash?”

He turned back with a horrified expression.

“No, thank you. I’m not a child.”

“Even adults can’t reach their own backs. I’ll just soap your back for you. No funny business, I promise!”

But the bathroom door shut firmly in my face.

‘Seriously? As if it makes a difference whether I see him here or in bed later.’

Still… he seemed to be warming up to the idea of being a husband. Too shy, though…

Confessions 9/10

‘So… when is he planning to confess he loves me?’

Does he even plan to? Doesn’t seem like it. Could he just be interested in my body?

‘Damn it. Just you wait and see, Temenos. I’ll make you admit you’re head over heels for me someday!’

<To be continued>

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