Chapter 15
Raphael didn’t seem to care that I’d started walking again.
He quickly caught up to me and wiped the sweat away with his wrist. His soaking wet black hair clung to his skin.
“Whew.”
Raphael stopped in front of me, looked over my clothes, and frowned.
“Just looking at you makes me hot. Aren’t you hot wrapped up in all that?”
‘Look who’s talking.’
Was he really in any position to criticize my clothes?
“It’s the rule that we have to wear the entire nun’s habit.”
When I answered while glancing pointedly at his upper body, Raphael looked slightly flustered and raised his voice.
“I was talking about your veil! Who told you to take your clothes off? Seriously, you beast, what the hell is going on inside that head of yours?”
“W-What did you say?”
“I should be careful too. I might fall victim to those sinister hands of yours like the Commander did.”
He crossed both arms over himself as though covering his body and stepped backward.
Talk about getting ahead of himself!
I snapped back sulkily.
“I have eyes too, you know? Maybe if it were the Commander, but I don’t have even the slightest thought like that about you, Vice Commander.”
“What?”
“You could walk around naked and I wouldn’t even bat an eye, so don’t worry!”
“Ha, what a relief!”
Raphael snorted and crossed his arms.
He turned his head to the side, but he was still standing in the corridor blocking my way.
“Excuse me, could you move?”
The corridor wasn’t very wide, so with his broad build planted there, I couldn’t get past him.
Well, I could, but there was no way to do it without brushing against him.
“Where are you going?”
“Where else would I be going while carrying this heavy holy water? The Saintess’s Palace.”
“Really?”
Raphael turned back toward me and stepped closer.
A wave of heat rolled off him.
“W-What? Why?”
“Was this just consecrated?”
“Y-Yes?”
Raphael reached a hand toward me.
Without realizing it, I squeezed my eyes shut.
But the only thing I felt was the weight disappearing from my arms.
‘Huh?’
I cautiously opened one eye and saw Raphael staring at me as though I were pathetic.
“What are you doing?”
He sounded dumbfounded, and he was holding my holy water container in one arm.
“It must be the heat. My eyes are dry.”
“Sure they are.”
He snorted and adjusted his grip on the holy water.
“Ha, haha.”
I let out an awkward laugh and watched Raphael’s expression.
It was embarrassing to have misunderstood someone else’s kindness.
‘What’s gotten into this guy?
He doesn’t seem like the considerate type who’d carry something heavy for someone.’
I was quite puzzled, but I decided to thank him anyway.
“Thank you for help…”
But before I could even finish.
Raphael opened the lid of the holy water container and, without the slightest hesitation, began gulping down its contents.
The stream of cool water disappearing down his throat looked like it amounted to nearly half the container.
I froze on the spot.
“W-What are you doing right now?”
“Ah, that hit the spot.”
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and spoke without a care in the world.
“Thanks for the drink. It really is cold since it was just consecrated.”
I took back the noticeably lighter holy water container and stared blankly.
So, basically…
‘Did this bastard just screw me over?’
No, strictly speaking, I was the one who gave him water.
And very cold water at that!
“How could you drink this! This is holy water for the Saintess!”
“Oops, was it? Guess you’ll have to go get some more.”
“Jeez, you’re seriously awful. Why are you like this, seriously!”
Did he have any idea what kind of holy water this was?
It even contained Priest Leo’s warm consideration when he’d told me he hoped the trip back wouldn’t be so difficult.
“Do you think holy water is something you can just scoop out of a well? I had to ask Priest Leo to consecrate it!”
His strength had already been declining noticeably lately.
I glared at Raphael with tears welling in my eyes.
The smug grin on Raphael’s face immediately stiffened in alarm.
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