“How was... Ione? How was my daughter?”
The mont I left the Secluded Palace, I was practically dragged away and brought before the Emperor.
Both the Emperor and Empress were staring at with overwhelming expressions.
What should I do?
Should I tell them, “Your daughter’s body is covered in self-inflicted scars, and she’s so thin she looks like a zombie”?
Of course, I can’t say that.
“To remove the fragnt of the Evil God and completely heal her mind, it will take so ti. I will need to visit the princess frequently from now on. For now, I have perford the basic treatnt.”
“I heard you entered without protective gear... Were you not hard by the curse?”
“Nothing of the sort happened. Please don’t worry too much.”
The Emperor and Empress both looked at with admiration at my composed response.
“Oh, Goddess of Grace, thank you for sending us this saint. Truly... thank you.”
“I am not a saint, Your Majesty. I am simply a human, Amayel. You can call by my na.”
As Yodel advised, I planned to strongly assert this every chance I got.
I am not a saint!!
I am not!!
But of course, they didn’t seem to believe .
“Please... I beg you. If you can heal my daughter, I will pay any price. Anything, so please...”
“I will do everything I can.”
“Ah, Saint! ……”
Unable to hold back, the Empress broke down in tears, collapsing in front of .
I tried to help her up quickly, but the Emperor, who should have been assisting , was simply standing there, shedding tears as he watched everything unfold.
Ah.
I give up.
Since I’m planning to take the curse and return to Korea anyway, I’ll just leave it be for now.
Besides, these are parents who have suffered for so long.
For sixteen years, they must have thought countless tis that it would have been better to just let their daughter die.
I can at least offer them so small comfort, can’t I?
“Do not despair. I am here.”
The person who will take your daughter’s curse upon himself, whose soul will be destroyed, is here.
“Saint!! … Saint!”
Carefully, I helped the sobbing Empress to her feet.
Fine.
Since I’m going back to Korea soon anyway, I’ll play the role of a saint for now.
After accepting the tears of the Emperor and Empress, I left the palace.
*****
I returned to the Mage Tower Shrine.
Soon, I will face the curse and return to Korea.
Once I’m back, I won’t be able to use these erotic-ga skills anymore.
Korea is a barren world, devoid of skills or magic.
So, before leaving, I decided to help as many patients as possible.
Since I won’t be able to use these skills anymore, I might as well make the most of them before I go.
Perhaps because of the clinic, there weren’t too many critical patients left to treat.
After roughly finishing treatnt by evening,
I was thinking about grabbing a al since I was hungry,
When Erfa ca to find .
She had been dropping by the shrine to see whenever she had so free ti lately.
Since the kiss incident, it felt like she had completely fallen for .
“I… I made so food today. Would you like to try it?”
She handed a lunchbox.
Oh.
A lunchbox personally made by a woman!
Not bad.
We ate together in the room provided for in the shrine.
She must have put in a lot of effort—the food was very delicious.
“How is it? Does it taste good?”
While I ate, she asked this question countless tis, as if anxious.
Each ti, I smiled and nodded.
Honestly, who cares about the taste?
What mattered more was that such a beautiful woman had made a al.
After finishing the al,
We chatted about trivial things.
How our day had gone,
What had happened,
I thought I wasn’t good at talking to won, but when the woman herself was so eager, the conversation flowed easily.
Thinking about it made feel pathetic.
I’m in a place where a woman treats warmly, but soon I’ll go back to Korea,
Where won won’t even want to talk to .
Thinking about living as a nobody again in that barren place made my chest feel suffocated.
But what can I do?
It’s still better than going to hell.
“It’s gotten very late. You must be tired from tending to the sick all day… Please rest, Saint.”
Erfa said this while clasping her two right hands together like a child.
“Yes, Miss Erfa. Please go and rest as well. I hope you have a good night.”
Even after my response, she didn’t leave.
Her four hands fidgeted, and her face flushed red.
“Um… could you… maybe…”
“Yes?”
“Before you leave… could we… kiss again?”
Even soone as dense as couldn’t fail to realize her feelings by this point.
This woman loves .
Not just ordinary love, but a deep, passionate devotion.
If it weren’t for the prophecy that the Goddess would personally obliterate …
I probably would have accepted her love.
Rejecting a beautiful woman like this—what kind of fool would do that?
I wouldn’t mind being close to her.
In fact, I’d love it.
But what would happen if I accepted her feelings?
Soon, I’ll be cursed and sent to Korea.
My soul will be torn apart and leave this dinsion, leaving her behind.
If I accepted her love, she’d only be left with pain.
And even if I chose to stay here instead of returning to Korea…
At first, it might seem fine.
But when the world eventually discovers my fraud and cos after , what would Erfa do?
She’d fight for , throwing away her status and honor, only to et a cruel, tragic end.
Of course, she might not die.
She’s an incredibly powerful witch, after all.
But in that case, the world itself would likely be destroyed.
“The form and motivation may be different, but just like the prophecy of destruction I saw, she could end up destroying the world.”
“In a scorched world,”
“With only the two of us left behind.”
“Would that really be a happy ending?”
My fists clenched tightly.
I had to refuse her.
Not for my sake, but for hers.
I had to hurt her feelings.
Just like how the Emperor and Empress had to tornt their daughter to save her life.
At that mont,
I realized I couldn’t bring myself to push her away.
I had seen the Princess Ione in her most wretched state.
Even if the ultimate goal was to save her life,
If the process was excruciatingly painful,
What good would the outco be, no matter how happy it seed?
I didn’t want to make such a choice.
I approached Erfa.
Wrapping my hands around her waist, I kissed her.
I could hear the sound of her heart racing, even from here.
I pulled away from her,
And as I looked at her lting, blissful smile, I gently stroked her hair.
“Could you promise just one thing?”
“Yes, yes, Saint. Anything…”
Erfa answered in a dreamy voice, as if she were floating in a dream. I smiled at her and spoke.
“Please love yourself more than you love .”
“Huh?”
“I want you to live a long, healthy, and beautiful life. You must not prioritize over yourself. Do you understand? No matter what happens to , you must live your own life.”
That was the best I could do.
Erfa looked at as if she didn’t understand.
I smiled at her.
She’ll understand with ti.
“Alright. Whatever you say, Saint…”
Erfa cautiously responded.
“It’s late. Please return safely.”
At my words, Erfa gave a radiant smile, then suddenly lunged at again, showering with kisses.
Her playful yet sticky affection made feel a tinge of sadness.
Damn it.
When I return to Korea, I’ll never experience anything like this again.
I have soone who loves so much, so why do I have to leave?
That damned Goddess.
It’s not like I chose to pretend to be a saint!
I made the Lilia Church ridiculously wealthy!
I treated patients for free, improved living conditions, created jobs—I did everything!
Why do I have to go to hell?!
I want a proper isekai harem life too!
I even have the perfect skills for it, damn it.
Why…
Forget it.
I should just focus on avoiding hell.
“I’ll visit again when I have ti! Let’s go on a date next ti, Saint!”
Her excited voice made nod in response.
Love yourself more than .
I ant that from the bottom of my heart.
That way, even after I’m gone, she’ll be able to endure.
Erfa left my room.
In the now-empty room,
I let out a heavy sigh.
Even though I’ll be returning to Korea soon, I couldn’t say I was entirely happy about it.
*****
Back in her laboratory, Erfa collapsed to the floor, her flushed face buried in all four of her hands.
She kissed him.
She actively, passionately kissed a man of her own will.
It was the first ti in her life.
She never imagined she would fall this deeply for soone.
She never even dread of it.
But she was overwhelmingly happy.
She had no idea that loving soone could bring such joy.
She was ecstatic that the saint had accepted her love.
With no one to share her feelings with, she sat on the floor, writhing in happiness for a while. Then, carefully, she took out a scroll she had tucked away in her robes.
It was a contraceptive magic scroll.
She stared at it with her heart pounding.
“Crazy. Erfa, you’re crazy!”
Of course, she had no experience with n.
No, not just that.
Because of her grotesque left face, she had never even held hands with soone.
She couldn’t muster the courage to propose a sexual relationship like so experienced woman.
All her bravery had been spent on that passionate kiss today.
But…
“Soday. One day. I’ll make it happen.”
She carefully folded the contraceptive scroll and placed it back in her robes.
In one corner of her laboratory stood a small statue of the Goddess of Grace and a holy scripture.
Approaching it, she placed her hand on the scripture and cautiously prayed to the Goddess.
“Goddess, it’s again. I’m praying to you today too. Thank you for sending the Saint to . Thank you for making every single day of mine so happy. Your grace feels like a daily miracle.”
She had already received so much.
Her life had turned around, her career had flourished, and she had achieved everything she had ever wanted.
But humans are greedy creatures.
And so, she decided to ask for one more thing.
“Please grant just one more wish. You must fulfill it. Please.”
She clasped her four hands together tightly in prayer.
“Let the Saint love as much as I love him. Let him see as a woman, hold in his arms, and love for the rest of his life. And, above all…”
Erfa grinned mischievously.
“Please let him stay by my side forever and ever. I beg you, Goddess, please grant my prayer.”
After crossing herself and standing up, she felt as if the statue of the Goddess of Grace was smiling a bit more brightly at her than usual.
Erfa smiled back at the statue.
For so reason, she felt confident that the Goddess would answer her prayer.
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