“…What?”
As it was such an unexpected question, not just Riley, but Ian too had his mouth wide open in shock as his stare alternated between Riley and Pricia.
“If that’s not it, then is it this? You prefer men?”
With her arms folded behind her back, Pricia leaned her face towards Riley.
In light of this, the holy temple’s priests panicked. Not able to stand still, they eventually started to make hastened steps to call the high priest.
“If that is not it, how could you have that look on your face after laying your eyes on my visage under the veil? Isn’t that unusual?”
Pricia was looking at Riley with a certain expression, half of which was reflecting her interest in him, and the other half displaying her unbounded confidence in herself.
He was facing Pricia as if he was looking at something absolutely abhorrent.
“Why should I be subjected to such a question?”
The look on Riley’s face could be summarized in those two words.
“Ha…”
Is she really still a child?
“What about it?”
This time, the look on Pricia’s face became hollow as if she had just taken a blow.
“That is, what I am saying is…”
“…Huh?”
Due to the height difference, Riley was able to stare down at Pricia. Now he was sending a contemptuous glare toward her.
“Uh, u…”
It was most unexpected.
Her face was still the same, pretty and becoming of a priestess, but teardrops were moistening the corners of her eyes.
“What now? Are you crying? So you are crying. Why? You are the runt who slapped me first, so why?”
The tone of his voice suggested that he was trying to protest and say that he was the one being treated unfairly. Riley looked around and asked the priests nearby.
“I responded because she asked me if I was impotent, so is it still my fault?”
The priests only rushed to Pricia’s side and handed her handkerchiefs.
Instead, the phrase ‘unrefined little brat’ was a more apt description for Pricia’s current demeanor. She tightened her fists and started to glare at Riley.
It was definitely a look fitting of an adolescent girl in puberty.
“What? What are you glaring at me for?”
Riley stared down at her once again with contempt-filled eyes.
To be honest, Riley wanted to strangle the priestess by her neck, but he was holding himself back. Riley’s hatred and anguish were to the extent of feeling better after watching this little girl cry.
“M-Master?”
Riley cringed as if he was trying to say that he couldn’t stand looking at Pricia on the verge of shedding tears. He turned and started to march away.
“…Ha!”
After Riley left, Pricia, who was just standing there aimlessly, shed a tear that rolled along her cheek. She crossed her arms and said,
“Really…what ridiculousness, seriously!”
Perhaps she was too embarrassed to cry in front of the priests. Pricia raised her eyes and trembled slightly.
“Wh-why are we having a guest like that?”
The priests who were watching from the side were breaking out in cold sweat.
This was because a priestess was someone they were not allowed to touch. Therefore, none of the priests dared.
“Excuse me! Mister!”
“Am I…really ugly?”
“I’m asking if I’m really ugly!”
Pricia yelled.
“Ah, no way! That’s not…”
The priests shook their heads and denied the harsh words that Riley spewed out a moment before he left.
“Lady priestess, you are the most beautiful one under the Irenetsa. You are so beautiful that it makes one wonder if you might be the physical manifestation of the Holy One’s vision of an ideal beauty.”
“That’s right! That’s right!”
Ever since she had devoted herself to the temple at a young age, Pricia lived her life without ever once having the word ‘ugly’ being directed at her.
With her eyes dyed in golden light, Pricia gave a piercing stare towards where Riley had stood a moment ago.
* * *
“Riley, did something happen inside?”
Iris tilted her head as she asked if anything happened while she was having a conversation with the high priest.
“Nothing in particular?”
“Ouch?!”
Crunch!
As if he was trying to tell Ian to get a grip, Riley firmly stepped on Ian’s foot with the heel of his boots and conveyed the following with his eyes,
‘Act with some tact, please.’
As if Ian read what Riley’s eyes were trying to tell him, Ian broke out in cold sweat and smiled.
“…Yes, beautiful, I mean the inside of the temple.”
Sera made suppressed laughing noise as she watched Ian’s awkward smile.
“Oh, the Magic Tower?”
“People don’t learn magic for that purpose though.”
Ian was dragging his feet.
“Oh, anyway!”
As Ian was mumbling at the back, Sera clapped her hand loudly and brightened the mood.
“At least we can visit that place.”
There was a tall tower not far from where the four were headed.
“It does, doesn’t it? When you get closer, they say it feels different, starting with the air around it. I heard it is because mana of high purity is accumulated here, but I do not know much about the specific details.”
“Yes, that ring of light is the device.”
This was because humans, including Riley, had either a curse or a blessing when they fought monsters to defeat the Demon Lord.
‘If it is as described in the books, it is said you can shoot fire, lightning and icicle spears from one’s hands. Is this true? Moving objects with one’s will is a given, and one can even fly through the sky freely.’
In Riley’s entire life, he only had a blessing that was related to blades. He never had any other blessings like the ability that allowed for breathing fire, creating ice, telekinesis or flight.
He was wondering if it really was possible to use such abilities without a blessing.
“Ah, that’s right! Would you like to try it when we head into the Magic Tower?”
Sera, who was leading the way, looked like she just recalled something and asked Riley.
“It?”
“…What’s that again?”
It appeared Iris too was wondering about the mana measurement result. She was looking at Riley with eyes filled with wonder..
“Um.”
The old man’s eyes were regaining life once again, glowing.
‘As expected of him…’
Ian, the mercenary hero…
Ian, the first one in the mansion to realize Riley’s ‘potential,’ had gleaming eyes.