Atelier Tanaka

Book 7: Chapter 2 (7)

Great Holy Land (1st)

After wading into the pool to retrieve the limp body of my blonde loli Sensei, I started applying recovery magic to her.

We still remained in the living room.

I wasn’t sure how much the fell had taken out of her nor how much water she may have ingested while in the water, so I knew I had to act fast. I set her down face-up on the sofa and activated my recovery magic several times. Lying her down face-up had nothing to do with my desire to see her vagina through her wet clothes.

Just as I was about to start CPR, the doctor started to regain consciousness.

“…Edita-san, are you okay?”

“….”

As her eyes started to blink open, she slowly raised her upper body from the sofa.

Our faces were close, but Ii was forced to lean back as she got up.

So close, but it ended in failure.

Sadly our lips never came into contact.

“How are you feeling?”

“W-Where am I….”

“You’re in a resort controlled by the Penny Empire. What were you doing flying above here, Edita-san?”

“Eh? Ah, n-no, that’s….”

I expected her to be back at her home in the capital. Maybe she was coming here for her own vacation. I thought this place was reserved for the nobility. I doubt that’s the case considering how she arrived here by falling out of the sky.

The more I thought about it, the less I understood her presence here.

Well, whatever.

I should just be happy considering I was able to see my Sensei wearing see through wet clothing. Even her nipples were completely visible to me. I couldn’t take my eyes off the beautiful small mounds that lifted up her shirt ever so slightly.

“We should first get you some dry clothes to wear.”

“Ah…you’re not listening.”

“What do you mean?”

If she stays in those clothes any longer, I won’t be able to stop myself from reaching out to touch her.

I’m going to try to touch one of her most precious places.

“I-It’s just I need to ask you a question….”

“Feel free to ask. If it’s something I can answer, I will.”

“….”

Sensei looked down at the ground and appeared to be choosing her words carefully.

She then looked up to me and hesitated for a moment before speaking,

“…c-can I stay with you at the resort?”

“Of course, you’re more than welcome to stay here with us, Edita-san.”

“….”

It’s not even like she’s a burden. This is like a dream come true.

I was jumping for joy in my mind as I maintained a solemn expression and met Sensei’s gaze. She didn’t look angry but it wasn’t a joyful expression either. It was a complex mix of emotions that created a unique and attractive look.

“I-Is something wrong?”

“No, i-i-it’s nothing! Nothing at all!”

She panicked and turned away while scrunching up her face.

I don’t understand that reaction, but I’m not going to push any further. It was all very strange, but I’m sure Sensei has a lot on her mind.

Maybe she was coming out here to get away after having her heart broken.

“….”

I wonder if she’s fully recovered.

I’ve learned my lesson after the shotachinpo. Checking someone’s status window is essential. I have no doubts that Sensei is a woman. After all, I’ve seen her pussy in the flesh, but I would like to confirm that she’s fully healed.

Come on, status window.

Oh, this is a surprise.

Sensei, you’re such a high level, but all of your stats are low.

She may even be weaker than the shotachinpo. This really isn’t good. It’s stimulating my desire to protect her. Not to mention her low LUC made me feel a sense of camaraderie. Memories of everything that’s happened to me since arriving here flooded through my mind and made me think she must have similar experiences.

This makes me want to love her even more.

“What’s wrong? Why are you staring so intently into my eyes…?”

“Ah, no, it’s nothing. Just forget about it.”

I need to calm down so I can hold a conversation with Edita Sensei.

I’m doing everything I can to resist hugging Sensei right now. I feel like I’m moments away from finishing inside of her.

“If there’s anything going on or you run into any problems here, I’ll do whatever I can to help you, Edita-san.”

“Eh?”

Oh god, I love her too much.

I desperately want to hold her.

***

Just as Drill-chan and I agreed, we were going to leave for the Great Holy Land early.

We set out for the Heroes’ airship early the following morning. The Heroes had borrowed the ship from the Great Holy Land and expedited our voyage to visit the Saint. The Great Holy Land airship was just as luxurious as the one lent to me by Richard.

The resort wasn’t far from the Great Holy Land so the journey was only about half a day via the airship. I overheard that the Great Holy Land supplies the resort with anything it may need and the land there is technically owned by them as well. Apparently, the Penny Empire owned resort was established there as a gesture of good will from the Great Holy Land.

This fun fact on its own was enough to inform me of the power the Great Holy Land holds. The power they hold doesn’t necessarily come from its military strength or its magical capabilities. No, much like medieval Europe, this is a faction that’s power comes from a god or gods, either real or imaginary. Basically, my immediate future has been decided.

If you’re dealing with something more powerful than you are,the only thing to do is give in and allow yourself to be driven by their commands or desires.

The trip wasn’t long, but I still had many opportunities to speak with the Hero of the West and I learned a lot from him. There was nothing to definitively confirm this, but the Hero of the West believed that there was no prophecy that said to bring me to meet the Saint. He believes that the Saint wished to meet with me of her own accord. This made me wonder what business a religious state could have with a simple baron like me.

Neither of us had an answer. Of course, the Hero of the West could be lying to me. Despite his rough personality, he is a chosen hero that takes his title seriously. He seems like an honest enough person, so I doubt he knows the truth. It just seems like he as well as the Hero of the East and their respective parties are just being used as a tool by someone far more powerful than any of us.

We arrived at our destination in the Great Holy Land.

I stood on the dock where our airship had landed, a magnificent pier overlooking the holy city beneath us.

The way in which it was situated reminded me of how Kiyomizu-dera Temple sits on the side of a cliff. Replace the Eastern architecture with more Western stonework and you’d have any accurate picture of the place. There were several other airships docked at the pier. It’s cliffside location was obviously to make it easier for airships to land.

“…this city looks to be prospering.”

“As it should. All of the neighbouring countries work in unison to support the Great Holy Land. Even your king must offer his support when requested. The territory held by the Great Holy Land may be small but its economy is the strongest in the world.”

The Hero of the West gave a serious response to my casual remark about the city.

“I see.”

Merely seeing the vast cityscape from this vantage point could’ve told me how wealthy this place is.

It’s as large as Kalis.

“So, what did we come all this way for?”

Drill-chan and the Kimoronge came up from behind me.

They stood side-by-side overlooking the city from the pier. The way Drill-chan’s massive drills swayed gently in the wind looked like a scene out of a movie. The pose she struck with her arms crossed and a stern look in her eyes suited her perfectly.

“Well, I’m not the one with an answer to that….”

“It’s been years since I’ve seen the Great Holy Land. I’m looking forward to this.”

“You’ve been here before?”

“Only for a few weeks, long ago.”

“For a vacation?”

“You could call it that. It’s really not that important.”

Maybe it was something similar to a pilgrimage.

I had learned through my conversations with the Hero of the West that the religion of the Great Holy Land is followed by the majority of the people of this world. The description of the religion and the power the Saint holds reminded me of the reign of Pope Innocent III who I had read about in a history book.

A pilgrimage to visit the pope was considered to be a great feat that many nobles tried to accomplish to solidify their rule or to give them power in the eyes of the commoners.

“Star-san, where are we headed?”

I relayed Drill-chan’s question to the Hero of the West.

I wonder how long this will take.

“We’ll now take you to meet with the Saint.”

“I see. Meet the Saint….”

I wonder where this Saint ranks in the power hierarchy of the Great Holy Land.

I recall Allen telling me that there’s a similar power structure amongst the clergy here as there is amongst the nobility in the Penny Empire. I suppose someone with the title of ‘saint’ would hold a lot of power.

I guess it would be safe to assume she holds similar power to the head of business department for a large organization.

If my assumption is true, I probably should have prepared my self for this a little more.

That makes me wonder: do business cards exist in this world? I’ve met several nobles and heard them post about their power and wealth, but I’ve never seen anything like a business card. Maybe I should get one and start a new trend.

Whenever I manage to return to the Penny Empire, I might try to bring it up to Richard and see what he thinks.

“…do you not want to? Meet the Saint that is.”

“It doesn’t matter what I want. We’ve come all the way here for that reason….”

I don’t have any choice.

I could just ignore all of this and return home, but His Majesty would certainly command me to return.

“….”

I exchanged a few more words with the Hero of the West before taking notice of Edita Sensei standing nearby us. She had a similar look on her face to the one she made when we first met in Academy City. Today, however, there appeared to be more sadness behind it.

“Edita-san, is something on your mind?”

“A-Ah, no, it’s nothing to worry about.”

It’s hard to listen when someone tells you not to worry about them when something is clearly wrong with them. It becomes an even greater challenge when tat someone is a beautiful girl like Edita Sensei. Any virgin is going to be more inclined to pursue a cute girl if she shows a melancholic expression combined with a dismissive attitude.

“Really? You know, if you’re not feeling well….”

“Even if I’m sick, it won’t matter as long as you have your magic, right?”

She cut me off when I tried to offer my help.

Maybe it’s seasickness?

I couldn’t help but be reminded of Ester-chan back when we were on another airship.

“I’m worried about your health and I’ll happily use my recovery magic to heal you right here and now. Just let me know if it’s necessary so I can stop worrying about you.”

“….”

Sensei’s shoulders started shaking.

“Are you not feeling well?”

“D-Don’t worry about it! It’s nothing like that!”

“Are you sure? You look unwell.”

“I’m fine! Thank you for worrying about me, but I’m fine!”’

“I really don’t mean to keep pushing, but I really am worried about you. Don’t overdo it if you’re not feeling well. Sensei, if you were to get hurt or seriously sick, I wouldn’t be able to stop worrying about you.”

Oh, no, I got so worked up that I called her ‘sensei.’

I can’t help it. She looks like somethings on her mind or she might be sick. Combine this with her low stats, and I can’t help but worry about her. I don’t think she noticed or it hasn’t bothered her as she looks like she’s going to continue the conversation,

“Ah, no, like I said, I-I’m fine, really….”

She looked restless and couldn’t stop fidgeting.

She was even rubbing her thick thighs together.

Is she fine with me calling her Sensei?

“…Edita-san?”

“….”

I looked straight into her eyes and waited for an answer.

But Sensei quickly looked away with a ‘hmph.’ I’m not going to lie, this hurt my fragile virgin heart. What’s with her reaction? I don’t understand why she’s acting this way, but I know better than to push any further. Everyone has secrets or touchy subjects that they don’t want to discuss and pushing them to talk about it can ruin relationships.

The only people allowed to break this rule are ikemen. Busamen like me work best from the shadows where we can observe. I can observe her from a safe distance and come to protect her if she needs me.

“Are you ready? We can start by giving you a tour of the city.”

I left the conversation with Edita Sensei in an awkward place after the Hero of the West interrupted us.

Just like the classroom leader on a school trip, he was waiting for us to finish up before speaking. The Hero of the West might still be a little rough around the edges, but I still prefer him over the Hero of the East that seems to put his job as a hero and the words of the Saint above all else. I hope we can continue to get along in the future.

“That sounds good. Sorry for making you wait.”

“Right this way.”

“Of course.”

He gave off a more mature aura than his age might suggest.

He looks like he’s familiar with this city. Considering he is a hero chosen by the Great Holy Land, he may have grown up here or lived here while training to become a hero. I suppose acting as a guide is only natural to him.

“It will be my pleasure to show you around.”

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

I gave him a big nod and followed after the Hero of the West and his party of beautiful people.

***