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“Haah, haah… I see, intelligent demon beasts are basically armed humans.”
“Fufu. Yes, they are. They swing their limbs, walk on two legs, think and act — they’re no different from humans, except they use claws and fangs instead of knives or swords. While amateurs might struggle, those trained in combat can anticipate their movements to a certain extent… In that sense, dealing with a demon beast that uses nothing but instinct can be more tiring since you have to constantly be on your toes.”
“—So you’re saying that fighting a more ‘human’ one is much better, huh?”

They bantered lightly, but if someone from the Saintess’ Church were to hear them, they would likely be scandalized, considering such words disrespectful or even heretical towards their doctrine. After all, such statements are deemed unfitting for clergy who are supposed to regard demon beasts as impure creatures of darkness.

However, neither the young priest nor the young lady seemed concerned. With their backs touching, they continued to banter casually while mowing down attacking monsters, covering each other’s blind spots.

Of course, they weren’t casually chatting amidst a life-threatening battle.

Conversing like this served to restrain emotions that might otherwise spiral into panic and also helped them maintain their morale by aligning their feelings with each other’s.

—No. I’m just making up a convenient excuse…

As he reminisced, Cestlavie let out a sigh.

He had wanted someone by his side because he felt vulnerable otherwise. Just feeling her warmth, enveloped in her sweet scent, touching her soft contours—it gave him a surge of energy, allowing him to fight for hours, beyond any rational explanation. That’s why they were back-to-back. That was all there was to it…

Realizing this now, Cestlavie twisted his lips into a self-deprecating smile.

Whether this feeling was love or just an illusion when men and women fall into extreme situations, he didn’t know. Yet, the sense of vulnerability in his back after she was gone was indescribable. Perhaps, his taking a gamble and risking his life against that Orc Princess might have, to be honest, been a form of misplaced anger to fill the void left behind by her absence at the time…

That was why, when he woke up to the pleasant sensation akin to basking in the warm spring sunlight, or the radiance of Advanced Healing Art, and found himself on her lap with her smile greeting him —he might or might not have seen the scene of the cat beastfolk girl disposing of mountains of orc corpses behind her, but that’s beside the point— what he felt at that moment was not embarrassment, but rather a nostalgia and satisfaction akin to rediscovering a long-lost treasure.

Absence truly made the heart grow fonder. How he wished time would freeze… But that was when he lost consciousness again, and when he next became aware, he was lying in the bed arranged by the guild.

Due to having slept for a full three days, she had already been taken away by the search party that had come to pick her up, and he couldn’t even bid her farewell.

So, in the end, he wasn’t sure if that scene really happened, or if it was just a dream… Honestly, he wasn’t confident and didn’t feel like confirming it because it would be too embarrassing to ask the person involved. Still, for him, just like the promises of his childhood, he was convinced that it would be a scene that he would surely never forget in the future.

While feeling a sense of contentment about that, he couldn’t help but feel a prick of pain in his chest at the same time. Just like those events of his childhood, she was ultimately an unattainable partner. No matter how much he wished for it, it would only lead to another disappointment.

By the way, there were no particular taboos regarding romance or marriage for the clergy of the Saintess’ Church. The only exception was for shrine maidens (it was said that shrine maidens must remain pure), and even then, as demonstrated by the famous example of Cattleya of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom, aka Clara, it was possible for them to return to secular life and have children.

Returning to secular life or marriage was a matter of personal judgment, so it was not hindered by doctrine. In fact, some passages in the holy scripture advised the regular clergy to do so.

The background of this is said to be based on the story that the Saintess revered by the church, Snow, raised a child who was not biologically related as her own—although the church officially denies any favoritism towards specific individuals, stating that the saint’s love is universal—but it was because of this tale that the church was tolerant of families and having children.

That being said, the common practice was for members to marry each other, or with a member’s chosen blood relative. Cases like Clara’s, who married a common believer not affiliated with the church (albeit her partner was a significant aristocrat with dicey circumstances), were rare. Especially if it involved believers from other countries, it was even rarer.

“Come to think of it, today is the entrance ceremony. Since everyone from the Higher Education Department was supposed to gather in the main auditorium, the noble class should have been there too,” Cestlavie muttered, thinking that if he hadn’t skipped, he might have met her there. After that thought, he sighed, feeling regret.

At that moment, as if sensing an opening, the fire lizard crouched in front of him, slammed its log-thick tail onto the ground with explosive force, and closed the distance rapidly while spewing flames from its wide-open mouth.

Dealing smoothly with a potentially fatal blow that could instantly kill or at least inflict a mortal wound on a lesser opponent, Cestlavie countered with a lightning spell, Riot, to its body.

“UGHAGHA——!!”

Although it only seemed to break a few of its red-black scales and didn’t deal much damage, the fire lizard, wary, backed away as it fell to the ground, then began to wander around the boy with an uncertain gaze, its eyes darting here and there, its behavior unpredictable.

That triggered the memory of the conversation Cestlavie had with the girl, about facing an opponent whose mind was incomprehensible, and he let out a chuckle. “I would’ve let my guards down and become salamander feed if not for her.”

A voice called out from outside the barrier.

“—Hmm. You’re not laughing, are you? Salamanders are technically C-class… They’re beasts that can’t be taken down without a fairly competent team of adventurers,” grumbled the white cat beastfolk—a self-proclaimed employee of the All-Solutions Firm and a beast tamer named Chaton, with a slightly displeased expression.

“Just so you know, that salamander is a wild animal. I cannot hold it back or even control it. If you want to survive, you’ll have to either run out of the barrier and escape — in which case, we’ll immediately cut ties with you — or defeat it and form a familiar contract. Ah, I’ve adjusted the barrier’s magic circle so that the contract is automatically formed upon its defeat. Special service, on the house.”

“I get it. I have to prove my mettle before you consider me a negotiation partner, right?”

“That’s right. You have no money, no authority, and no status. Your only capital is your body, so make sure to sell it well.”
“Fine. Just you watch, I’ll make short work of this salamander and tame it.”
“Good. I expect great results — or so what the Boss said.”

Instead of replying, Cestlavie released his suppressed fighting spirit. In response to this fighting spirit, the fire lizard sporadically spat out a mass of flames from its mouth but he had read the preliminary movements and quickly avoided it, maintaining a safe distance.

While watching from the side as all of the fireballs touched the ground or the invisible border of the barrier and scattered to the four corners, Cestlavie quickly threw the talisman in his hand.