SH – Chapter 13 – I was Nursed by the Saint

When I woke up, a beautiful girl was peering at me.

She had silky golden hair, azure eyes, and a gentle expression.

When I shifted my gaze slightly downward, I could see her ample assets hanging there.

By the way, I could faintly see some cleavage through the gap in the collar of her nun uniform.

“Oh, you’re awake?” (Maria)

She asked in a voice as clear as crystal.

This is Maria Santaaria, the second heroine of this story.

She is a saint who, like the other heroines, carries deep agony within her and ends up falling into darkness, only to be saved by Allen.

I had already decided that I would save her myself later.

The Allen in this world didn’t seem very competent for some reason. He didn’t make much of an impression.

Anyways, since he couldn’t save her completely, I’m going to do it myself.

However, I had planned to do this at a later date.

There should still be time before the Evil God approaches her, and trying to save Maria in the current situation would likely end up spreading my bad reputation again.

The heat was already slowly dying down, saving her would bring up more talk about my bad reputation.

So, I had intended to wait until my impression had changed somewhat, but I wonder if us meeting has something to do with fate.

For now, I should just observe the situation and wait for the right moment.

“Well, thanks to you, I could rest comfortably.” (Louis)

“That’s good to hear.” (Maria)

“But… where are we? This looks like a room in the girls’ dormitory…” (Louis)

Where I am right now is definitely not the infirmary.

It’s a place that looks almost like a room in a girls’ dormitory, similar to what I saw when I invaded Irina’s room before.

However, unlike Irina’s room, it’s plain and has very few items.

In my past life, this is what you might call a minimalist’s room.

Despite that, there’s a pleasant, feminine scent.

Moreover, there was a faint aroma of a young girl radiating from the bed.

“Um, actually, I wanted to take you to the infirmary, but you seemed to be in quite a lot of pain, so I brought you to my room instead.” (Maria)

“Why your room…” (Louis)

“That’s because I’m a saint, and there are more holy-attribute magic tools in this room than in the infirmary. This makes it much easier to use healing magic here. Well… for some reason, healing magic didn’t seem to work very well, though.” (Maria)

I see.

Healing magic probably doesn’t work since my headache is like a form of mental pollution.

But on the flip side, being around so many holy-attribute magic tools probably had an impact on the “Light Factor” within me which is why my headache cleared up.

In other words, it seems that Maria bringing me to this room was the right move in the end.

“I see. Well, that’s a relief.” (Louis)

I try to sit up, but for some reason, Maria stops me.

“It’s better for you to keep resting. You seem to have been quite weakened. Would you like me to prepare something easy to eat?” (Maria)

“Well… It’s just that it’s not exactly good for my reputation to be staying in a beautiful girl’s room like this.” (Louis)

Not only have I already started dating Irina, but if I keep doing things like this, my bad reputation is just going to get even worse.

So, I really should leave soon…

“Fufu, could it be that you’re concerned about your own bad reputation, Louis-san?” (Maria)

“Well… my reputation, huh? I have never really cared about it.” (Louis)

I inadvertently tried to act tough.

I really didn’t care about it, but it’s just that I need to clear my bad reputation for Irina’s sake.

Besides, after everything that happened, it would be kind of lame to suddenly start caring about it.

However, Maria stared deeply into my eyes, as if she could see right through me.

Unable to withstand that gaze, I averted my eyes and let out a sigh as I spoke.

“Haa… Well, okay. I do care a bit. Let’s just leave it at that.” (Louis)

“It’s good to be honest. God blesses those who are sincere.” (Maria)

“But you seem to know quite a bit about me. I didn’t think I was that well-known.” (Louis)

“You’re underestimating yourself too much. Louis-san stands out quite a bit.” (Maria)

Well, even if I stand out, it’s probably in a bad way.

However, the fact that this news reached even the saint. My bad reputation seems to be quite something.

After she confirmed that I had obediently laid back down on the bed, she spoke while standing in the kitchen.

“Anyway, is there something you’d like to eat? I can make most things.” (Maria)

A home-cooked meal by a beautiful girl…

It’s the ideal situation, but why can’t I fully enjoy it?

In the back of my mind, the image of a silver-haired beauty keeps flashing.

“Well, what do I want to eat… I guess I’ll have some rice porridge.” (Louis)

But I shamelessly said that.

Honestly, in this situation, what else could I eat besides rice porridge?

Maria nodded in response to my words and began to prepare the rice porridge.

This world was based on a game from Japan, so even though it has a fantasy setting, the food culture is similar to Japan. Not only the food culture but most aspects of the culture adhere to Japanese norms.

“Alright, I’ll make the rice porridge. —Ahh, that’s right. I haven’t introduced myself yet, but do you me to?” (Maria)

Maria asked as if she had just remembered, but I shook my head.

“No, there’s no need. You’re Maria Santaaria. A saint and my schoolmate who enrolled in the same year.” (Louis)

“Fufu, as expected, you already knew about that.” (Maria)

After that, there was a period of silence as Maria continued to prepare the rice porridge silently.

However, I became curious and broke the silence by asking Maria something that has been on my mind. 

“By the way, Maria, have you had any strange dreams recently?” (Louis)

When I asked, she turned to me with a slightly surprised look in her eyes. 

“You knew about it, huh? It’s true that I have been having some unsettling dreams lately.” (Maria)

…Really?

This room is filled with holy-attribute magic tools, so it should be difficult for the Evil God to make contact with her. 

Nevertheless, if she is having unsettling dreams now, there’s a possibility that the “Dark Factor” within her has increased more than expected.

Normally, this shouldn’t happen this early, but it seems that some things have changed a result of me saving Irina.

Should I expedite¹ my plan…

But if I do that, I’ll miss the opportunity to remove my bad reputation.

I hope Irina will understand, but who knows how this will turn out.

I, myself, don’t really care about things like my bad reputation or how society sees me, so it doesn’t really bother me.

Maria’s troubles are also related to her parents, so it will take more time. Right… It’s probably better to take action sooner rather than later.

While I was thinking about what to do, it seemed that Maria’s rice porridge had been completed, and she returned with a plate in hand.

I sat up, intending to take the plate, but Maria shook her head.

“You can’t, Louis-san, please stay still. I’ll feed you.” (Maria)

“No, I was just… Haa, I understand. I’ll leave it to you.” (Louis)

No matter what I say, Maria will never cut corners when it comes to taking care of someone.

I knew that well, so I gave in and let her feed me.

She has a tendency to “sacrifice herself to serve others”.

I have a bit of that tendency as well, but in her case, the boundaries with others are blurred, and she tends to agree to everything.

Perhaps it’s because of her high empathy towards others and her experiences of being neglected by her parents, especially her father, that she has become this way.

Furthermore, her father, who had been neglecting Maria, suddenly changed his attitude when he found out that she was a saint. 

As a result, she associates her value and purpose in life with being a saint, or more specifically, with serving others.

Because of this excessive self-sacrifice, she ends up suffering a lot.

But the worst part is… She is unaware of it.

The fact that she is unaware that she is suffering is also a problem, and all this makes it quite challenging to save her.

Well, I’ll definitely see it through.

“Alright… *blow blow*. Here you go, ahh.” (Maria)

Maria scooped up some piping hot rice porridge with a spoon, blew on it to cool it down, and then brought it close to my mouth.

After that, I continued to receive care from Maria while carrying a sense of unease in my heart.

---

TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

Most aspects of the culture here adhere to Japan…? So I guess harem is not one of those things.

There is a Maria backstory chapter later.

---

Footnote:

1. Expedite means to make an action or process happen sooner or be accomplished more quickly.