I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous Saintess

Chapter 79: Imperial Capital Edelmarion (7)

‘Curious about how it tastes’ What kind of question is that even supposed to be?

Well, wouldn’t it taste sweet? It’s candy, after all.

Maybe there’s a hint of fruitiness mixed in.

I’m not particularly fond of candy, so it was just a casual answer I threw out without much thought.

Especially since I’m the kind of person who avoids sweet things late at night.

As I blankly stared at Sirien, the corners of her mouth curved up into a sly grin, the candy still perched between her lips.

“Do you want one too, Razen?”

“Do you even have another one?”

Smirking, Sirien rolled the candy over her tongue.

A faintly sweet aroma wafted from her slightly parted lips.

Her crescent-shaped eyes gleamed like a predator that had just found the perfect prey.

Her playful voice continued to tickle my ears.

“You know, most people just call it sweet and leave it at that. But in reality, there are so many kinds of sweetness. And this one? This is my absolute favorite. It’s almost too good to keep to myself.”

“…?”

“I bet you’d be surprised if you tried it. But here’s the thing—this is the last piece of candy I have, and I’ve already had plenty of it. So, what should we do?”

“I-I don’t mind not having it.”

“Nope, that won’t do. It’s too good to enjoy alone. I’ll share it with you now, so make sure to accept it properly.”

Without warning, Sirien grabbed my head and leaned in close.

It wasn’t just a kiss—it felt more like an ambush. Her soft, rosy tongue slipped into my mouth, delivering something sweet onto my tongue.

I felt a tiny, glassy orb.

…Peach-flavored.

The candy, already melting in Sirien’s mouth, flooded my senses with a violently sweet taste.

It was strangely luxurious yet intense—a subtle fragrance that left my mind hazy.

The sticky mixture of saliva entered my mouth with a faint, wet sound.

It felt like the world had suddenly transformed into a dream, with an ethereal scene unfolding before my eyes.

Sirien’s face, with her eyes gently closed, was serene.

Her snow-white eyelids looked so clean and pure, like eternal frost.

Amid this surreal moment, faint, slightly indecent sounds echoed.

“Mmm, ngh. Smack, slurp.”

As if forbidding me from escaping, Sirien’s hand gripped me tightly.

Once again, I found myself powerless against that gentle strength.

The kiss wasn’t too short, nor was it overly long.

Finally, Sirien lightly nibbled on my upper lip before pulling away, looking triumphant, as though she’d scored a major victory.

I sat there, dumbfounded, as she bade me goodnight.

“Well, I’m off now. Sleep well. Sweet dreams. It’d be even better if you dream about me.”

“Oh, uh, okay…”

“Pfft. Cute, my little knight. If only you’d show me that face every day.”

I heard the door click shut.

I stayed seated, unmoving, until the candy in my mouth had completely melted away.

Today, it seemed, was my complete and utter defeat.

****

The meeting place the dwarf had given us yesterday turned out to be a graveyard near the capital.

Contrary to my assumption that such a meeting would happen late at night, it wasn’t very dark at all.

We arrived just as twilight began to settle over the horizon.

The setting sun melted into the dead grass.

While flowers wilted beside moss-covered tombstones, Sirien and I strolled through the cemetery at a leisurely pace.

Our shadows stretched long over the slight incline.

“It’s a nice place. Despite how it looks, all the souls here seem to be at rest. No signs of malevolent spirits.”

“Looks like the priests at the temple aren’t slacking off.”

“For the amount of money they get, they’d better be working hard. If undead were to show up in the capital, the entire empire would be in chaos.”

“You’re still hung up on that, huh?”

“I’m serious—I’ll get my payback someday.”

“…Alright.”

The graveyard clearly hadn’t been well-maintained.

It looked like some people visited occasionally, but not with much care.

Most of the tombstones were thick with moss or partially broken.

Some graves didn’t even have proper tombstones—just small markers indicating someone had been buried there.

It didn’t seem to be a burial site for nobles; likely a place for commoners or criminals.

Still, it wasn’t a bad spot for a secret meeting.

“We’re looking for a man with a cross-shaped scar under his chin, right?”

But no matter how hard I searched, there was no one who matched that description.

In fact, there wasn’t anyone here at all.

This place was desolate—not a trace of people, save for signs of someone mowing the grass months ago.

“Is this a dead end?”

“Let’s look around a bit longer, just in case. Things might’ve gotten a little delayed.”

“Sure.”

“Besides, I’ve got something to take care of while we’re here.”

I wasn’t particularly disappointed. I hadn’t expected much to begin with.

You know what they say—if you don’t get your hopes up, you won’t feel betrayed.

For all I knew, the person we were meeting might’ve been captured or decided not to show up at all.

As we walked, Sirien released faint traces of divine power.

The souls in this cemetery were resting, but not all of them had found true peace.

Touched by the divine energy of Hibras, the spirits slowly dissolved into the earth, one by one.

It was after we had finished our sweep of the graveyard that we finally found the man we were supposed to meet.

We had climbed a nearby hill to check the entire area.

There was a tree—large enough to be visible from a distance.

And slumped against the trunk, as if he had fallen asleep, was a man.

“Looks like we’re a little late.”

“This isn’t good. It means they’ve already caught up to him.”

Just as we’d been told, there was a cross-shaped scar on his chin.

The problem was that the man was no longer alive.

A deep stab wound marred his chest, and his clothes were soaked in dried blood.

Judging by the condition of the body, he had likely been dead for only a few hours at most.

This was no accident.

The evidence was clear—he had been murdered. He hadn’t even managed to put up much of a fight.

It seemed likely he had been stabbed from behind and died instantly. If this was an assassination, the killer was disturbingly efficient.

“Tsk. I didn’t think Count Eloran would just sit quietly, but it seems he’s decided to take a more violent approach.”

“True. In a place like this, no one would find it strange if a few people ended up dead.”

Sirien clicked her tongue.

Her delicate brow furrowed, and dark divine power surrounded the man’s lifeless body.

I didn’t feel particularly sorry for the man.

After all, it was his schemes that unleashed demons upon us, leading to countless deaths and tragedies. He deserved the consequences.

Even so, Sirien guided the man’s soul to rest.

It was her duty as a saint.

Each god has their own divine power, and for priests, this power defines their purpose.

For instance, a priest of Hibras gains strength by guiding souls to rest.

Conversely, abandoning lost souls without reason comes with consequences—it’s considered a form of blasphemy.

Not that the gods are entirely inflexible, of course.

Hibras, in particular, had a reputation for being relatively lenient.

“Let’s check his belongings.”

“I’m not expecting much. Be careful, though—there could be poison or traps.”

“Would they really go for such a cheap trick?”

All we found on the man was a small amount of money and a single dagger.

The fact that the money was still there indicated this wasn’t a random act or a robbery.

Whoever killed him had plenty of time to dispose of the body.

Leaving the corpse here could only mean one of two things: it was either a warning or bait for a trap.

In this case, it was clearly the latter.

“In the end, you were right yesterday.”

“About what?”

“You said things would get dangerous starting today.”@@novelbin@@

“Didn’t expect the first threat to come from humans, though.”

We had company.

They weren’t here to exchange pleasantries. If anything, this was going to be an ugly conversation—one with weapons involved.

They were trying to approach unnoticed, but Sirien and I had both been active soldiers just weeks ago.

Even demons, with their invisibility magic under the cover of night, never managed to sneak up on us.

Simple concealment spells wouldn’t work on us.

Sirien gathered her divine power. In one hand, she conjured a glowing lantern; in the other, she held an axe.

Naturally, I drew my sword as well.

Without a word, we instinctively stood back-to-back.

“Six? No, seven of them.”

“Seven, indeed. What do you think, Sirien?”

“Killing them all at once isn’t feasible. It’ll be tedious, but fighting is the better option.”

A sharp whistle pierced the air from the distant forest.

It was their signal to engage.

As the enemies charged toward us, I couldn’t help but smirk.

“They don’t seem to know anything about us, do they? Of all places, they chose to pick a fight in a graveyard.”

The graveyard itself was a place of death—a symbol of final rest, where spirits leave everything behind.

Sirien’s divine power spread across the graveyard.

The sun hadn’t fully set yet, but an early nightfall seemed to have descended over the area.

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