On the second floor of the Church of the Goddess of Life, after using her authority to temporarily send Tia away, Eve finally got the alone time with Truth she had been hoping for.
Now, the entire second floor held only the two of them.
Even though they were alone, Eve was still a little nervous.
For someone like her, committing blasphemy against the purest existence felt like the greatest thrill of a lifetime.
By the balcony, one tall and one small figure were bathed in the morning sunlight.
Compared to Eve, who wore her guilty conscience plainly on her face, Truth looked even more sacred, half her smiling face illuminated by the light, her hair turning a bright silver sheen.
“Um, Saintess, may I ask how old you are this year?” Eve asked.
Simple, pleasant questions were an easy way to close the distance between two people. As she spoke, she carefully scooted a little closer to Truth.
‘Heh heh, a white-haired loli.’
For young girls, talking about age was often a point of pride.
Most were more than happy to hear compliments like, “You are only so young and already this beautiful?!” or “So young? I could not tell at all!”
Unfortunately, when it came to Truth, those lines needed to be flipped around.
“Over five hundred years old,” Truth replied lazily.
The morning sun was neither harsh nor scorching, making it very comfortable to bask in.
“So young?! I really cannot—wait, huh?!” The answer completely exceeded Eve’s expectations.
After her mind froze for a few seconds, she finally responded, “Uh, wow… you really cannot judge by appearances! I honestly could not tell!”
Five hundred years old? What a joke. Either the Ninth Saintess had a few screws loose, or she was deliberately teasing her. But it did not really matter.
After all, Eve’s goal was just to touch the Saintess.
All that talk about longevity, all that talk about good fortune—I wanted to see if it was real.
So Eve leaned even closer to Truth. Now, besides that special life energy she had sensed the first time they met, she could also smell a faint hint of tulip.
It seemed the Ninth Saintess used tulip-scented soap.
But why did that scent feel so familiar? She seemed to have smelled it on some annoying person before. It was…
That High Priest?!
That was right. When she had confronted the High Priest earlier, she had caught the same tulip scent on her.
Could it really be such a coincidence? Was it because they happened to use the same soap, or was tulip soap the standard issue for priests in Deya City?
Or could it be that… the Ninth Saintess bathed together with the High Priest every day?
Eve imagined the worst possible outcome. Even though she did not know whether the two of them actually bathed together, just thinking about it made her chest tighten with anger.
To think someone would use their position in a border region the Church struggled to supervise, just to prey on an adorable Saintess who knew nothing of society’s dangers or the mysteries of the human body!
And it was bad enough to keep it all to herself—she was even being so blatant about it, as if unafraid of anyone finding out. It was utterly lawless!
Suppressing the jealousy in her heart, Eve kept smiling and gently shifted the topic to food.
“Then, Saintess, what do you usually like to eat? Do you like sweets? I am actually pretty good at cooking. Would you like me to make you some snacks?”
“I like fries from McDun, chicken tips from Tastin, burgers from Burger King, and egg tarts from Kendeji.”
“McDun? Chicken tips? Egg tarts?” Eve was stunned again.
What were those things? Local food from the borderlands, or was this little one just making things up?
“Ahaha, just hearing about them makes them sound delicious. Oh, right, your real name is Truth, correct? What a unique name. Um… may I call you by your name directly?”
It felt like a brat asking their own father, “Dad, can I call you by your real name?” Eve’s voice grew softer and softer toward the end.
Even archbishops in the Church had to treat Saintesses with utmost respect, yet here she was, a mere Apprentice Inspector, wanting to call a Saintess by name.
“That is fine. It is just an ID, after all,” Truth said. Just as Eve had expected, Truth was easygoing and agreed without hesitation.
“Ai-di? Never mind. Th-then… Little Truth?”
“Mm,” Truth replied softly.
At that moment, Eve’s heart nearly melted. Her breathing grew heavier and quicker, and her expression gradually turned dazed.
In the entire royal capital, how many people could call a Saintess by her true name?
Today, Eve was one of them. And she was not going to stop there.
Facing such a rare, obedient Saintess, Eve had no intention of letting things end so easily.
“Hah… Little Truth, may I… touch you?”
“That is fine,” Truth said, taking the initiative to extend her left hand.
Eve instinctively took it gently and slowly rubbed it. It was small, soft, and pleasantly warm.
She actually got to touch her? She had expected the Ninth Saintess to be obedient, but not this obedient.
No wonder that High Priest dared to pick her up so casually.
So that meant pinching her cheeks, patting her head, hugging her, maybe even kissing her cheek would not be too difficult either, right?
Thinking this, Eve could not help but grin foolishly.
“Hehehe…”
Truth simply watched her quietly, saying nothing.
‘Sigh, a lolicon.’
If she did not need to make use of her or extract information from her to deal with the Church’s inspection, Truth would not have bothered with her at all.
And this woman’s laugh was really unpleasant. She should probably not let her touch anywhere else.
“Hehe…” Snapping out of her fantasies, Eve wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and continued, “Little Truth, can I touch your—”
“Little Truth, let me touch your little face!”
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice entered Eve’s ears, cutting her off and stealing her wish at the same time.
Looking up, Eve saw that behind Truth stood a woman in black and gray clothing who had appeared from nowhere.
Without any restraint, she crossed her hands in front of Truth’s chest and then pinched Truth’s bouncy little cheeks.
“Heehee, I came to tell you some juicy gossip again. So, what are you two doing here?”
After pinching Truth’s cheeks, Omili sprawled directly on top of Truth’s head and looked at the stunned Eve, leaving Truth slightly displeased.
‘These instant-movement types who rely on mechanics instead of stats are the worst. Appearing behind me out of nowhere gives me no time to react at all. It is seriously unsettling.’
‘And do not butt in now. Tia getting jealous is already troublesome enough, and now Eve is getting jealous too. What is wrong with you people? Do you all have to claim ownership over me and compete for superiority?!’
That was right—Eve was jealous too. At first, when she saw Tia holding Truth, she had only felt confused and envious, not quite jealousy. But after Omili arrived, her mindset shifted in a subtle way.
So the Ninth Saintess was someone anyone could take for a wife!