When I Reincarnated as the Villain of a Game World, I Created a Harem and Broke the Protagonist's Heart and Efforts!

Chapter 84 : The Situation In Hand

“Now, come with us.”

The Saintess of Light said as she held out her hand.

I slowly reached out and slapped her hand away.

A dry sound echoed in the classroom.

“I refuse.”

“…..”

The Saintess’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, but quickly returned to normal.

Withdrawing her hand that was slapped away, she asked,

“May I ask why?”

“I already belong to my husband, Marquis Wraith Heaville. I don’t have the power to wield for strangers whose faces I don’t even know, like you. And, to begin with, I do not meet the requirements your Church seeks.”

“Requirements?” the Saintess tilted her head curiously.

Feeling a slight sense of unease at her gesture, I continued, hoping to make things clear and, ideally, for them to withdraw.

“The purity of the body.”

“…Ah, now that I think about it, there was a condition like that huh?”

The Saintess remarked, as if just remembering.

The sense of unease within me intensified even more.

The Saintess’s power and the Saintess’s purity.

These two were major conditions the Church demanded of the Saintesses themselves.

I had heard it from my husband before, and I had researched it myself, so there could be no mistake.

Besides, there had been no announcement in recent years that the conditions had been removed or changed.

And yet, the girl before me, one of the Saintesses, spoke as if she didn’t know about it.

It was clearly strange…

And then, the words that confirmed it came from the Saintess’s mouth.

“But, there is no problem.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Certainly, the Church requires ‘purity of the body’ from those who possess the power of a Saintess. This is based on the idea that Saintesses are loved by God, and their entire bodies belong to God.”

The Saintess paused, then sat down in a nearby seat. With a distant look in her eyes, she began to continue.

“Once we are under the Church’s protection, Saintesses are supposed to return to their home country and go to the sanctuary in the depths of the cathedral. There, in the sanctuary, they offer themselves to God to demonstrate their oath and loyalty. However, it is very rare for our God to manifest on earth, so it is impossible to offer one’s body directly to God.”

The Saintess of Light lowered her gaze. Her eyes no longer seemed distant, but reflected the present moment.

As if trying to avert her eyes from the past.

As if desperately trying not to see the past.

As if trying to prevent past scenes from surfacing.

“Therefore, they offer themselves to the most devout and loyal person in the Church, His Eminence the Cardinal. The one who is referred to as God’s representative…”

The Saintess… no, the girl, Raphilia, trembled slightly.

A faint sweat glistened on the exposed parts of her skin, such as her hands, neck, and face.

“After offering myself to His Eminence the Cardinal, several priests came and comforted me… Several of them forced themselves on me, and I was unable to move…”

Raphilia’s breaths grew shallow and rapid.

Clearly, the events she was recounting were traumatic.

“Raphilia, it’s alright now. You don’t have to say any more.”

But she didn’t seem to hear me, continuing as if in a trance.

Lulua, though still wary, approached with a worried expression at Raphilia’s unusual state.

“When I was allowed to go outside, I was treated like a slave, told to do this and that, and drilled in the behavior of a Saintess. And then, I was made to… again… I’m tired. It hurts, it’s agonizing, it’s painful, it’s sad, it’s frustrating, it’s agonizing, it’s painful, it hurts, it’s sad, it’s frustrating, I want to die, it’s sad, it’s frustrating, I want to die, it hurts, it’s sad, I want to die, it hurts, I want to die, I want to die, I want to die, I want to die, I want to die, I want to DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE…”

Suddenly, Raphilia lost consciousness.

It seemed strength left her body and I supported her as she fell forward.

“She’s light…”

She was very light.

Unbelievably light for someone close to my age.

And now that I was touching her directly, I realized how terribly thin she was.

Her uniform had disguised her physique, but she felt as if she might break at any moment.

“What is the Church…? What is a Saintess…?”

“Nee-san…”

As I gently laid Raphilia on the ground, I heard a very familiar voice.

“It seems you have a similar situation to mine.”

My husband, who had appeared beside us at some point, said those words.