That wasn’t because she didn’t feel anything. She was gritting her teeth and bearing the pain this whole time. She kept telling herself that it was some sort of trial. As a follower of Zeus, she knew that crying would only draw more ire from those around her, so she feigned disinterest.
That didn’t change when she was recruited by the Hades Church. They felt that dying for their dark lord was something to be proud of, so Astesia didn’t shed tears when her men or the orphans she loved died. In the end, she could never truly become one of them in that regard, so when those she cared for passed on, she grieved for them like anyone else.
Just like before, she knew all too well that if she cried, she would only make those around her worry, so she kept her emotions hidden behind a mask.
Ah! My best girl was so noble. That was why I wanted to protect her.
I tightly embraced her in my arms, and she held me in return as she cried. Her grip was strong, like she was desperately trying to make sure her salvation didn’t get away. My heart ached for her.
“Royce! Bad news! The reverend father is…”
It was rare for Rosalia to barge into a room without knocking. I watched as her panicked expression shifted to something much harder to describe.
“Um, uh, it sure must be rough, huh?” she muttered, then raised her voice. “It’s nice that you’re popular with women, but I have something important to discuss, if you do not mind?”
Huh? What’s with that look? I thought before starting to process the situation I was currently in.
I was in a young woman’s room, late at night, and holding her tightly in my arms…
Yup, this looked bad.
Astesia and I hurriedly moved apart.
“I swear, this isn’t what it looks like. Right, Astesia?”
“Exactly. Please do not worry,” she said awkwardly. “He was simply holding me tight after whispering kind words to me.”
Talk about an awful explanation! In fact, it was only going to make things worse!
“Is that so? Well done, Royce.”
What did she mean by that?! I was terrified of Rosalia in that moment. I could feel myself sweating on the inside and tried to change the subject.
“So, what did you need to tell me?”
“Could you come with me?” Rosalia asked. She shot Astesia a glance before beckoning me over to her. She must not have wanted her to hear. This was serious.
“White, look after her, okay?”
“Kew!” White hopped off of my shoulder and into Astesia’s hands with a chirp.
“Oh, Divine Beast, you are so adorable…” She whispered to him, like she was in a trance. This arrangement would work out just fine. After all, animal therapy was helpful, wasn’t it?
I exited the room with Rosalia.
“Things are bad,” she told me. “Father Claise was attacked by someone. His life is not in danger, but he’s recovering from his injuries at the church. The attacker used wind magic, so I am guessing it was the work of that man we encountered before.”
“Seriously?”
Cold sweat ran down my spine. This was so sudden! Up until now, Darkness had only been surveying the church. Had we provoked him into taking action?
The man acted like a goofball, but I could tell he was genuinely powerful. Astesia’s stats were high, but she had no practical combat experience. We couldn’t let him take her.
It would be tough with just Rosalia and myself, but we had White with us as well. If I could use the same powers I did during the battle with Hades, surely I’d be able to take him down. Thinking that, I hurried back to the room to get White.
“Astesia, we have to…” I trailed off when presented with a shocking sight.
“Aww, who’s a little soft and cuddly cutie?” she crooned to White as she snuggled him. “You are! Ah, this is so wonderful. Your ability to heal my weary soul is God-rank, little Divine Beast. My word, how many years has it been since I last got to touch an animal? Hee hee, you’re just the cutest.”
“Kew, kew!”
The expressionless Astesia of before might as well have been an illusion given the giant smile on her face while she cuddled with White. He seemed to be having an absolute blast from all the attention. Ah, right… Animals weren’t a part of the Hades Church, therefore the curse affected them as well…
And wait, I never got to see Astesia smile like this even in the game!
“Ah, would you like some yummy tweaty-weaties? I wonder what kind of food Divine Beasts eat?”
I was frozen solid from the unexpected sight, and just as Astesia lifted her head to feed White, our eyes made contact.
Her smile disappeared instantly, and her expression smoothly reverted to a flat one.
“While you may be my savior, you should knock on the door before coming into a lady’s room.”
“Yeah, uh, my bad. Uh, we’re going to go patrol the grounds real quick, so wait here. White, please come with me.”
“Kew!”
“All right. Be careful.”
A lonely expression crossed Astesia’s face for a moment as White left her. She must have really loved animals. Just knowing that made me glad that I reincarnated into this world. There was still so much to learn about my faves!
“Hey, I just want you to know,” I said, “I think it’s great how relaxed you are when you’re playing with White.”
“Wh-what?! Ah, urk!” Astesia’s face turned bright red.
With that, I parted ways with her and met up with Rosalia waiting outside of the room. She must have been listening in on our conversation because she had a big smile on her face too.