Vol 3 Chapter 73 – A Cute Goddess

“And so, that Alvarado keeps offering me corpses, saying he’s making offerings. I really don’t want those… Why did things turn out this way…?”
“I see, I see.”

In a hidden hideout in a city dominated by the Church of Arias, sat Eusuaria, the current leader of the Church of Shannon.

And sitting directly across from her was the goddess Shannon herself—the very object of the Church of Shannon’s worship, in all her sexy glory. The scene looked like an OL doing a humble-brag about her problems, which was supremely irritating.

However, Eusuaria wore a gentle smile—the kind you’d give a child.

Worth noting: if the child wasn’t a Church of Shannon believer, she’d kick them to death if necessary.

“Plus, he offers me prayers for hours every single day. I wish he’d consider the position of the one receiving them. It’s not that I’m unhappy about it, but it’s exhausting.”
“Oh my.”

Eusuaria nodded with a beaming smile at the chattering Shannon, her golden hair swaying with the motion.

“I wonder… it’d be fine if it were more normal, you know? Like, someone who pays attention to me when we occasionally meet? You get what I mean, right?”

Shannon looked up at her pleadingly. She was so beautiful she could’ve been the goddess of beauty herself.

Her long black hair gleamed with luster, seeming to emit glittering particles of light. Her bangs were cut straight and short, giving her a somewhat childish air.

Her thin outfit clearly displayed her body’s curves, conveying her voluptuous chest and childbearing hips. Though Eusuaria was a woman herself, she thought, Damn, that’s one hell of a sexy body.

Various accessories adorned her brown skin, making them stand out. All were made of gold, giving an extremely luxurious impression.

Natural for a goddess to be dressed up like that. And this pervy goddess she so adored was complaining like an OL exhausted by romance.

Though it’d be annoying for anyone listening, Eusuaria maintained her gentle smile.

“Yes, of course I understand. It came through more than clearly enough.”
“Hehe, I see! Then you tell Alvarado for me too.”
“Understood.”

Goddess Shannon became delighted, feeling vindicated. Watching her, Eusuaria smiled brightly.

“In other words, our goddess absolutely loves Alvarado-san.”
“Why would you come to that conclusion!?”

Bang! Shannon slammed the desk, displaying her dissatisfaction. Her face was bright red.

What kind of adorable goddess is this? Having such a sexy body yet being so pure—what’s up with that?

“Where was there any element suggesting that!? I didn’t say anything like that at all!”
“Eh, no, I mean… You really have no self-awareness…?”
“Wh-what’s with that look like you’re viewing an idiot? Stop it. I’m not stupid. I’m smart.”

Shannon suddenly started flailing in panic. A goddess whose expressions changed so rapidly was adorable.

Eusuaria felt a thrill of pleasure run down her spine. Yes, our goddess truly shines when being teased.

“I mean, you peek at Alvarado-san almost every single day, so what’s this ‘now’ about…?”
“N-no no no, as a goddess it’s natural to reward devout believers.”
“True, no one worships the goddess as fervently as Alvarado-san, but you’re totally playing favorites.”
“Th-that’s not true. I properly love all believers equally…”
“Can you say that while looking at my face?”

Shannon averted her face as hard as she could, sweat pouring down. Even so, Eusuaria continued staring intently.

Then, less than a minute later, unable to endure it anymore, Shannon stood up.

“…I’m going to check on Alvarado for a bit.”
“…Our troubled goddess is so cute.”

The fact that Alvarado’s place was the first thing that came to mind as an escape destination made her favoritism glaringly obvious. But that was fine.

As long as she could see her cute goddess, Eusuaria had absolutely no problem with it. She’d wholeheartedly support a goddess in love with love itself.

That, after all, was the duty of the Church of Shannon’s leader.

◆

In the small village Alvarado and the Holy Sword had visited, two women were talking.

“What!? You’re seriously going!?”

The one with a shocked expression was the wanted alchemist Hannah. She was currently teetering on thin ice, just barely avoiding Al’s “evil” classification.

Giving her a wry smile was her best friend, Rasha. Lately, Hannah had been suspecting Rasha might be showing her feminine side to the man she admired.

“Yeah. They said if I go, they’ll provide support to this village too.”
“Using that as negotiation material is already all kinds of sketchy. Are you really sure it’s okay?”
“Y-you don’t need to put it that strongly… But still, the support is attractive. Everyone’s lives will become richer.”

The善性-strong Rasha seemed to believe the other party, but Hannah thought it sounded fishy. At the very least, if she were in the opposite position, she’d never go.

Frankly, the villagers were just strangers, so she didn’t care. Except for Rasha.

She was the most precious existence.

“But if Rasha can’t be happy, there’s no point…”
“Uh-uh, I’m happy, you know?”
“Rasha…”

Hannah was moved by Rasha’s smile. To be able to act for the villagers’ sake to this extent…

Since she herself could never do that and had no intention of trying, the awesomeness of it hit even harder. To that Hannah, Rasha gave her brightest smile.

“Because this means I can go search for Alvarado-san!”
“…Huh?”

Wait, did I misunderstand something? Hannah’s cheek twitched.

“Please wait for me, Alvarado-san!”
“Rasha!?”

Hannah screamed at the maiden in love with sparkling eyes. That guy’s no good! In so many ways!

“Ugh, fine! I’m coming too!”
“Hannah…”

Unable to let Rasha go alone, Hannah raised her voice with reddened cheeks. Anyone could see she’d raised her voice out of concern for Rasha.

That embarrassed her, making her blush. Rasha looked at her with moist eyes and…

“I knew it, you really do care about Alvarado-san…”
“No! Absolutely not!”

Hannah screamed at the weird misunderstanding. And so, Rasha and Hannah left the village, following the Church of Arias’s request.