novelraw Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Chapter 18: A Life of Self-Discipline Is Too Terrifying!
The clash between the Grandmaster Swordsman and the Hero drew to a close with Lilu casting Advanced Healing Arts. Fred had taken a sword blow, and he stood up with a look of frustration—his whole bearing heavy with dejection as he walked away under Lilu's worried gaze. Lilu wanted to go after him, but Aernis stepped in front of her. She gave a slight shake of her head, then made a "don't worry" gesture toward Lilu, before quickly going after him herself.
"Lady Holy Maiden," Molay stepped forward, "setbacks are the opportunity for a person to grow. The Hero's strength is not lacking at the moment—but in terms of mindset, he cannot be called mature. He is like a young man who has grown too accustomed to smooth sailing, wrapped in the halo of his own vanity, completely blind to his own shortcomings. I hope this sword stroke of mine will knock some clarity into his head—and if it still isn't enough, then he has no right to continue carrying the title of Hero."
"Fred will pick himself back up," Lilu said evenly. "I have faith in him."
"Understood," Molay gave a nod. "I will serve as your personal guard for the time being, Lady Holy Maiden."
Huh?
Lilu's heart gave a thud. She turned her head somewhat mechanically—and looked directly into Molay's blood-red eyes. Those eyes seemed to be glowing. A chill crawled up her spine, and her body gave an involuntary shudder.
"I am a Babur man from the Red Desert," Molay said. "Our skin is brown and our eyes are red—this kind of appearance is quite common in the south."
Lilu felt a measure of relief settle over her. She had half thought Molay's eyes were the legendary "Blood-Crazed Demon Pupils."
"It is getting late—it is time to begin the Evening Prayer. Shall I accompany you?"
"Huh? Evening Prayer?"
"A Holy Knight prays to the Goddess three times a day, thirty minutes each time. Please prepare yourself."
"Huh? Hold on—I'm only a regular believer, not a member of the clergy!"
"Per the Church's internal regulations, the Holy Maiden is equivalent in rank to a Cardinal."
"No Way~~~~!"
Lilu spun around to bolt and was instantly seized by the scruff of her neck by Molay. She was hoisted up with effortless ease, swinging in his hand like a little cat. Molay's expression remained entirely blank as he carried her toward the Prayer Hall, with a large crowd trailing behind him, murmuring "Lady Holy Maiden is so adorable~"—the whole throng poured in, startling the cleric presiding over the Evening Prayer nearly out of his seat.
When the cleric saw Lilu dangling there, the corner of his mouth twitched on its own.
And so, from that day forward, Lilu began living a life as regimented as a monk in ascetic practice. Five o'clock in the morning: wake up. Five-thirty: proceed to the Sanctuary for prayer. Six o'clock: breakfast. Six-thirty: Morning Lesson. Ten o'clock: physical training—running laps around the Training Grounds in the rear courtyard under Molay's supervision. Twelve o'clock: prayer. Twelve-thirty: lunch. One to three in the afternoon: two hours of rest. Three o'clock: reading and studying in the Library. Six o'clock: prayer. Seven o'clock: dinner. Eight o'clock: Evening Lesson. Ten o'clock at night: lights out.
The above schedule was supervised in its entirety by Molay, and Lilu could not escape it no matter how hard she tried! She had begun to miss the lazy, unhurried life of those first few days—aside from having slightly limited freedom of movement, she had been able to sleep in until she naturally woke up in her little room!
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye. Lilu lay in bed and refused to get up.
"Lady Holy Maiden, it is time to rise……"
Lilu burrowed deeper under the blanket and played dead.
"Lady Holy Maiden, the hot water is ready."
Lilu rolled over and pretended not to hear.
"L-Lady Holy Maiden! Lord Molay is charging this way!"
Lilu buried her face in her pillow and kept playing dead!
Bang! The door exploded inward. Lilu flinched under her blanket—and the next instant, the blanket was suddenly launched into the sky. A fully armored Templar Knight loomed before her. Molay was already 190 centimeters tall to begin with, and now he was looking down at her from above—Lilu, wearing nothing but a nightgown, instantly became a small, helpless, pitiful little kitten.
Would letting out a "meow" right now save her from getting hit? While her mind was spinning with that kind of thought, she suddenly noticed a pink heart icon had appeared above Molay's head—with the number 25 displayed beside it. Ah…… this…… wasn't this the same X-Desire Value she'd seen floating above Fred's head? Lilu's jaw dropped in shock, and on pure instinct she tried to tuck her pale white legs further beneath her nightgown—but in doing so she accidentally knocked the strap off her shoulder.
And then she watched the number above Molay's head shoot up to 80 in an instant.
Lilu: Shocked!
At this point, Lilu finally understood why the Goddess had upgraded her Talent from Universal Charmer to Beloved by All. The so-called "love" in "Beloved" apparently meant something far less wholesome—strung together it became: "any person who laid eyes on her would want to have their way with her!" This was truly…… leaving her not even the tiniest margin to survive!
Lilu was stunned. Lilu was panicking. Lilu felt she was completely done for!
No—absolutely no one was acceptable except Fred!
Just as she was bracing herself for a dying struggle, she saw Molay say with an entirely blank expression: "Help the Holy Maiden change. Prepare for Morning Prayer."
"Yes, Lord Molay."
The nuns filed in one after another, and began attending to Lilu's dressing with practiced ease, their entire routine smooth and seamless under Molay's training. Lilu cooperated obediently and let them fuss over her—but then she saw Molay quietly slip out of her room and walk toward the Sanctuary alone.
By the time Lilu nervously made her way into the Sanctuary, she found Molay already down on one knee before the Goddess Statue in prayer. His figure was bathed in the first rays of morning light, the sacred radiance shimmering across his silver armor—like the Holy Knight depicted in an oil painting. Lilu narrowed her eyes and quietly checked the number above his head—the figure next to the pink heart had already dropped from 80 down to 45, and was continuing to fall at a rate of one point every ten seconds.
Phew……
Lilu finally let out a breath of relief. Lord Molay truly lived up to his rank as a senior Holy Knight of the Templar Knights—he was actually able to suppress his own X-Desire through sheer willpower. Worthy indeed of being the Goddess's most devoted Fanatic. She wondered whether he would be able to perform once he ascended and met the Goddess in person—after all, the fabric coverage of the Goddess's attire was roughly five percent, and if one set aside her dreadful personality and focused purely on the physical…… it was genuinely quite a sight.
Morning Prayer lasted only half an hour—given the number of things to attend to in the morning, it could not be stretched very long. Some of the monks needed to tend to the nearby farmland, while the rest were each assigned their duties. The clergy and nuns bore the responsibilities of doctors, since this world had no comprehensive medical system to speak of—it relied almost entirely on Healing Potions and magic. Among those who remained, the younger Temple Acolytes handled cleaning the Church, with the Sanctuary being the highest-priority area and all other spaces ranking below it. Lilu's room was cleaned daily by two young acolytes—it would have been fine if only there were no iron bars on the windows.
The unexpected development came at eight o'clock in the morning.
Serina, who Lilu had not seen for several days, suddenly summoned her to her office. Lilu followed the escorting nun inside in a perfectly well-behaved fashion, with Molay close behind. That was right—over these past few days Molay had been following her everywhere, giving her the distinct feeling of being shadowed by a fierce guard dog.
"Lord Molay, there is a letter of orders here for you."
Serina placed a metal message tube on the table. Molay picked it up, inspected the wax seal on it, and snapped it open with a click down the middle, drawing out the parchment inside and scanning it—then immediately frowned.
"So something like this has happened."
"It is a Beast Tide. A monster rampage has broken out in White Mist Forest to the southwest. The surrounding towns are still holding, but the situation is not looking good at all." Serina sighed. "I have no wish for things like this to happen either—unfortunately……"
"Understood," Molay gave a nod. "When I return, I will escort Lady Holy Maiden to the Holy Capital."
"In the meantime, I will look after her well."
Lilu stood to the side listening, thoroughly baffled. It turned out this entire matter had nothing to do with her—so why had she been called in? But on second thought, if Serina had summoned Molay alone he would probably have ignored it—so she had been used as the hook!
That woman Serina was truly no simple character!