Chapter 112: A Sandwich and a Promise

“Ah! Our Hero has arrived!”

“Hello there.”

As expected, I was cutting it close; everyone except me had already arrived when I got there.

Thankfully, Yuri had given me a sandwich, so I avoided having to skip breakfast.

However, because I had rushed over, I hadn’t had time to chew and swallow properly, so my mouth was still full of a barely-bitten sandwich.

“Why don’t you swallow what’s in your mouth before you speak?”

“…Gulp. Hello, Saint.”

After chewing and swallowing a few more times, I could greet Mariel again with proper pronunciation.

“Yes, hello. Well…. It’s definitely important to eat breakfast.”

Even during the first semester, I was so strapped for cash that I always skipped breakfast, but in the second semester, I could count the number of days I skipped on one hand.

Basically, it was thanks to the support I received after becoming the Hero, and because Celian and Yuri always took me to breakfast while living with my friends in a four-person room, I didn’t skip it, half voluntarily and half forced.

Why don’t I mention Anne?

I still wake up on time and go to the cafeteria on my own, but no matter how much we wake Anne up, she can’t get up on time, so one of us has to grab her hand and drag her along before she finally trudges along.

Even then, she’s not awake, her eyes are still closed, and we can sometimes hear her unique breathing sounds that she makes when she sleeps.

The only good thing is that she eventually wakes up when she smells the food in the cafeteria.

“Saint, you didn’t skip breakfast either, did you?”

“Well…. Of course, I usually make sure to eat regularly, but today I had to prepare early, so….”

Mariel stroked her stomach with her slender hand with an awkward expression.

I certainly would have had to skip breakfast like Mariel if it weren’t for the help of Celian and Yuri.

“Ah! Would you like some of my sandwich? I’m not going to eat it all anyway since it’s morning, so it’s enough for me….”

“Eh?”

I held out the sandwich that I had only taken one bite out of towards Mariel.

However, Mariel only let out a short exclamation and didn’t say a word.

“Saint?”

“U-um!? Did you call me?”

When I called Mariel again, she finally answered with a flustered face.

“I asked if you wanted some of my sandwich.”

“Oh? Ah, ah…. You did.”

Mariel spoke as if it weren’t her business.

But since she didn’t show any intention of refusing, I should assume that Mariel was also hungry.

So why doesn’t she ask to share?

Does she doubt the taste of the sandwich? But Mariel already saw me take a bite. Unless I ate it in a way that made it look unappetizing, that assumption would be wrong.

So another assumption, is she feeling sorry for taking away my breakfast?

This assumption is quite possible.

Sometimes Mariel is greedy for money and rips people off, but basically, she’s sincere with kindness itself.

Whether it’s the kindness that others show her, or the kindness that she shows others.

“You really don’t have to hold back. Why are you being so formal between us? If you want to eat it, just eat it.”

“Ah, no, it’s just….”

I raised the sandwich I was holding towards Mariel and beckoned her.

But she hesitated, her gaze still unable to leave the sandwich.

“Ah! Maybe it’s because it’s the part I ate, so you might feel a little uncomfortable. Please wait a moment. I’ll cut it in half….”

“N-no! One bite is enough for me!”

I was going to tear half of the sandwich and hand over the part that my mouth hadn’t touched, but Mariel stopped me by grabbing my hand as if I was going to take it away from her, and slowly brought her mouth to the sandwich.

Rather, as if she was conscious of the fact that I had mentioned that my mouth had touched it, Mariel bit into the sandwich where my teeth marks were so that I wouldn’t feel awkward.

However, the part that Mariel bit off was really small, just barely cutting off the part where my teeth marks were.

Moreover, she wasn’t moving her jaw at all, as if she was trying to savor it or even melt it, since she only took such a small bite.

Mariel slowly, slowly rolled the sandwich around in her mouth for a long time, then swallowed it with a regretful expression.

“Here…. Would you like another bite?”

“Uuuung. It’s okay. You have to eat too, Hero.”

I felt like she must have been very hungry to do that, so I offered her another bite, but Mariel shook her head and told me not to worry about her.

I felt a little uneasy eating alone in front of someone who was hungry, but there was nothing I could do if she said she didn’t want to eat.

I ate another bite of the sandwich, watching Mariel’s reaction.

However, before I could even bite into the sandwich in my mouth, Mariel smiled awkwardly and spoke to me.

“Hehe…. I’m still hungry, so can I have one more bite? Is that okay, Hero?”

Of course.

How could she possibly be full from just one bite, a very small bite at that, out of consideration for me?

I chewed the sandwich in my mouth thoroughly and silently held out the sandwich to Mariel.

Mariel put another bite in her mouth, following exactly where I had eaten.

Mariel only bit off a small piece of the part of my mouth had touched, and this time, she slowly ate it, using only her tongue instead of her teeth.

Even when I gestured for her to eat more, Mariel only shook her head with her mouth closed.

Just in case, I took another bite of the sandwich, and only then did Mariel beg me for just one more bite.

There’s no need to be so considerate; she’s probably worried that if I tear it in half, I’ll try to eat an even smaller portion on purpose.

So that’s why she’s only taking the smallest bites possible while taking turns eating one bite at a time.

Anyway, she’s such a Saint.

But if I didn’t do it this way, Mariel would have refused to eat at all, so in the end, Mariel and I took turns sharing one sandwich, one bite at a time.

It was almost sunrise. The streets were already full of people who had come to see the opening ceremony, and Mariel and I were waiting in a separate space prepared for the opening ceremony.

“Okay, it’s about to start soon. Get ready.”

The person in charge who had been directing the rehearsal came to call us in person.

At the person in charge’s words, Mariel and I prepared to go outside.

“You didn’t forget the scrunchie I gave you.”

While standing side by side and waiting to go out, Mariel spoke as she put her hand on my ponytail.

It’s not a matter of forgetting or not, I always wear it on my wrist like a bracelet even when I don’t tie my hair.

And today is not just any day, but a special day with Mariel.

With Celian’s help, I carefully held my hair, which was more neatly styled than usual, in one hand and tied it with the scrunchie so that it wouldn’t get disheveled.

“How is it? Does it look strange?”

I turned my head slightly to the opposite side of Mariel and shook my ponytail.

“Hehe. It suits you well. Do you want to see this? I also wore the hairband that our Hero gave me?”

Mariel slightly lifted the veil she had been wearing until just now.

Then, inside, I could see a small, sparkling hairband woven with small floral patterns that I had given her.

I hadn’t even noticed that she was wearing a hairband because it had been covered by a veil since the first time I met her today.

Indeed, a Hero and a Saint. Maybe this is what they mean when they say they were meant to be.

I wore the scrunchie that she gave me out of consideration for Mariel, and Mariel wore the hairband that I gave her out of consideration for me.

“It suits you well too, Saint. Of course, you’d look pretty in anything if you dressed up, Saint.”

“Hehe…. Then should I just get rid of this?”

Mariel took off the veil she had been lifting slightly.

As she took off the veil, the ivory-colored hair hidden inside cascaded down.

Mariel handed the veil over to a staff member who was busily moving around due to the opening ceremony that was about to begin.

“Wasn’t that outfit designated by the temple? Is it okay to just take it off like that?”

“Hey, it’s just a veil. Or maybe, does the Hero want to see my naked body?”

“Keheck! Wh-what are you saying, Saint!”

I coughed and vehemently denied it in embarrassment.

However, Mariel only smiled at my flustered appearance.

Honestly, when Mariel mentioned a naked body, I imagined it in my head, just a little.

But this was unavoidable for any man.

Mariel’s figure, which couldn’t be hidden even by her plain nun’s habit, was something that all men would have pictured in their minds at least once.

If there were any guys who didn’t, nine out of ten would be liars, and the remaining one would be gay.

So I can confidently say that I’m innocent.

Maybe the Goddess would agree too?

When I was about to hit the noisy Holy Sword, which was somehow buzzing and making noise, to shut it up, Mariel came close to me.

Just as Mariel’s breath, which she was exhaling carefully, tickled my ear, she spoke in a small voice.

“If you’re curious about my naked body, should we go to a bathhouse together?”

“…I’m not going. I’m not going. I’ll go anywhere else, but I refuse to go to a bathhouse.”

At least while I’m at the academy, while I have to be careful of my friends, I won’t be going to a bathhouse.

It’s just going to be a pain in the ass if my friends find out about my master-servant imprinting if I go to the bathhouse.

“I-is that so?”

However, despite my refusal, Mariel was actually smirking.

“Then after the Heavenly Casting Festival…. We’re going to hang out together? Got it? Promise!”

It seemed that Mariel was focusing more on the part that I would go anywhere else, rather than the part that I wouldn’t go to the bathhouse together.

“Why a promise…. Don’t worry about it and just think about where to go.”

“No! It’s definitely a promise? Come on, link fingers.”

Mariel held out her pinky finger to me.

“I don’t know if there’s a need to go this far, but…. Is this okay?”

When I held out my hand and linked pinkies, she pressed her thumb against mine several times and made me promise.

“Ufufu…. I’m already looking forward to it?”

But seeing the suspicious smile that was hard to believe was on the Saint’s face, I wondered if it was a bad promise.

Well, a man can’t go back on his word, can he? There’s no way the Saint would actually take me to a weird place.

Let’s just worry about the opening ceremony that’s about to happen in a little while.